Finding a way to allow visibility and communication across distributed teams, such as developing standard processes for organising requirements and cross-team development, ensuring comprehensive release visibility for both upstream and downstream stakeholders, and managing the entire lifecycle of work within one tool, will make hybrid organisations much more productive.
4. Speak a Language Everyone Understands
There is a lot of terminology associated with Agile and often it is an area ripe for miscommunication. In addition to making sure everyone understands the terminology and is speaking the same language, it's important to identify key data points, such as what the team is working on, where the team is in the process, and when the team will complete the task. Then, translate the data points into either methodology.
For example, you can convert story point-based estimates to planned hours, stories to tasks, and iteration or sprint dates to task completion dates. When everyone can see at a high level, in the language they best understand, how the project is moving and what the commitments are that teams are making, it's then much easier to blend methodologies.
5. Use the Right Tool
Tool selection is not the only factor in making a mixed-methodology environment run smoothly, but it is a critical one. To get the most visibility and productivity, look for a single-tool solution that can capture and manage all work. Find that one tool that can identify, plan, execute, and measure the outputs of multiple projects, people, and schedules, quickly and easily—all in real time and all in one centralised place—for both Waterfall and Agile frameworks.
In addition, find the tool that's designed to let the data flow back and forth between the methodologies or integrate with other tools in a way that lets the organisation see exactly what's going on so it makes the right strategic decisions.
Moving to a mixed management style will always present challenges. Adoption may happen in baby steps, rather than leaps and bounds. But, following these tips can make implementation much more successful and allow you to structure projects in a more productive manner to achieve your business goals.
Bryan Nielson, Work Management Evangelist at AtTask
