Discussion of the benefits of hybrid project management methodology

75 to break the solution as much as possible to ensure it is built accordingly and delivers the expected results before it can be productionised.

Lastly, when the solution gets handed over and is fully operational, it is important to run initiatives that will socialise the organisation to the implemented solution. Change management is required for user adoption and managing the organisational culture towards the change. Therefore, the loop of culture change to the implementation of a new Hybrid model gets closed at the run stage.

The implementation of this cross-platform methodology empowers organisations to successfully implement a stable, adaptive reporting matrix at a strategic management level. The methodology provides timely monitoring and control along with the project lifecycle change from inception to beyond execution. Therefore, the ITMF can be a Hybrid framework that blends various methodologies and models to form a single delivery-oriented ICT environment that helps IT to deliver change at the speed of business (Pollard & Geisler, 2014).

In contrast, a study by Cooper and Sommer (2018) found the critical factors for successful Hybrid methods as resolving inconsistencies, addressing management scepticism, finding resources, defining sprint deliverables and matching projects to processes. Respondents assert that awareness sessions with all stakeholders including end-users, sponsors and process owners should be continuously conducted through to project delivery and beyond, just to give them feedback or background information on what Hybrid is and why this approach. This process facilitates stakeholder buy-in and adoption.

76 elements that lead to the advantages of implementing a Hybrid methodology.

According to Jaziri et al. (2018), Hybrid models are considered to reduce uncertainties and risks, including the increase of stakeholder’s feedback. The respondents specified that change management needs to be incorporated right from the beginning of a project where stakeholders can be consulted and informed on the project progress status and decisions to be taken.

6.3.1 Deriving Hybrid advantages

Flexibility and customer feedback

The Agile-Stage-Gate Hybrid model allows for design flexibility; having dedicated teams; reduces delivery cycle times; allows for proactive and continuous engagement to address the changing customer needs (Cooper & Sommer, 2016b).

The respondents have found that being flexible and Agile is vital to the understanding that things may not work the first time that they are adopted, plans might need to adjust along the way to be able to realise benefits later.

Project team

According to Conforto and Amaral (2016), the integration into Hybrid methods permits improved communication in the project team resulting in more team control and improvements and more visible management intuitive progress metrics, such as burndown charts. However, respondents shared that how the project team handles ad hoc requests or scope creeps also influences the potential benefits of the project.

Having the right level of skilled resources pulling towards the same direction helps derive benefits of implementing a Hybrid methodology. The benefits of Hybrid methods are to achieve more efficient planning, clear document resolution, improved attitude, avoiding inflexible, fixed plans that lead to delays on important features and

“requirements cramming” at the end of development (Cooper & Sommer, 2016).

6.3.2 Hybrid method success criteria

A Hybrid model that brings together Agile and Stage-Gate processes where the need to act faster and to be more flexible during product development is required, whilst still maintaining the idea-to-launch process, in a form of a rapid design cycle that provides for changes in client needs, and earlier client validations (Cooper &

77 Sommer, (2016). One of the key success criteria found by respondents is the speed of delivery to the client, whereby the quicker they are happy to sign off on certain pieces of code or pieces of a system that has been developed, then the benefit is the organisation being able to get paid sooner because at that point invoicing to the client can be done. Their customers can start realising benefits where they can start seeing a system and, in some instances, they can even start using the system.

6.3.3 Advantages interpreted as Hybrid benefits

The positive elements established during the implementation of a Hybrid method highlight the advantages before project completion, which already suggests the anticipated benefits to be realised at the end of the project. Using a Hybrid methodology provides the customer with the with opportunity to participate in the development process which helps them to get a feel of what the anticipated product will look like instead of waiting until the end and also the iterative development process allows them to provide inputs for improving or shaping the end product and they get to start testing the product much earlier.

Furthermore, in the Stage-Gate model, project completion may take up to twelve months to delivery or launching of which the objective of the requirements may have changed over the period due to a shift in the business outlook, making the delivery to no longer be relevant (Cooper & Sommer, 2016a). The introduction of Agile methods in projects deals with these issues using adaptive planning and iterative delivery methods (Cooper & Sommer, 2016b). Hence the respondents have pointed out to the benefit that Hybrid allows for quicker incremental delivery of a minimum viable product so that the customer can provide meaningful feedback that can be incorporated into the following development initiatives.

This method of delivery enables quality work and transparency throughout the process. Development faults can be picked up well in time to correct them. Another element is the improved focus on the business value as the customer is continuously engaged in the delivery process. Not having a lot of planning and communication sessions allows the flexibility of learning on the job, taking away delays that could have otherwise been caused by numerous meetings for planning.

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