Traditional vs. Agile vs. Lean Project Management: Key Differences

Project managers in today’s corporate IT environment face many challenges in delivering products to customers quickly, reliably, and cost-effectively. Most of these challenges stem from a rapidly changing environment characterized by haste, unclear expectations, and arbitrary deadlines, among other factors.

Even when careful attention is given to accurately defining project goals, maintaining communication, and meeting deadlines, a project manager may still find the final product over budget, delayed, and met with lackluster reviews from the customer. This situation leads to frustration not only for the project manager but also for stakeholders, internal customers, and external customers.

By incorporating Lean and certain Six Sigma principles, you can significantly enhance the success of IT projects from start to finish. Although Lean and Six Sigma are traditionally associated with engineering and manufacturing environments, they can also be effectively applied to IT.

This article explores the benefits of integrating Lean and Six Sigma principles into an Agile IT project management environment. We will examine the typical Agile IT project life cycle and the differences between Agile and Lean principles. By identifying problem areas in Agile, we can discover where Lean can offer solutions. The following topics are covered in this article:

• Traditional Project Management
• A Quick Study of the Agile Project Management Roadmap
• Comparison of Agile and Lean
• Reasons for Blending Lean and Six Sigma into Projects

Overview of Project Management Methodologies

Traditional Project Management

Traditional project management, often referred to as Waterfall, is one of the oldest and most established methodologies. It follows a linear and sequential approach, where each phase of the project must be completed before moving on to the next. The phases typically include initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing. Traditional project management is highly structured and relies heavily on documentation, detailed planning, and a clear understanding of project requirements from the outset.

Agile Project Management

Agile project management is a more recent methodology that emerged in the software development industry. Unlike Traditional project management, Agile is iterative and incremental. It focuses on flexibility, collaboration, and customer satisfaction. Agile teams work in short cycles called sprints, which usually last two to four weeks. At the end of each sprint, a potentially shippable product increment is delivered. Agile is adaptive, allowing changes to be made as the project progresses based on customer feedback and evolving requirements.

Lean Project Management

Lean project management is derived from Lean manufacturing principles, particularly from the Toyota Production System. It emphasizes efficiency, waste reduction, and continuous improvement. Lean project management seeks to deliver value to the customer with the least amount of waste, whether it be time, resources, or effort. Lean is not as prescriptive as Traditional or Agile methodologies but rather focuses on guiding principles that can be applied to any project.

Roles and Responsibilities

Traditional Project Management Roles

1. Project Manager: The project manager is the central figure in Traditional project management. They are responsible for planning, executing, and closing the project. The project manager oversees the team, manages resources, controls the budget, and communicates with stakeholders.
2. Team Members: Team members are assigned specific tasks and responsibilities. They work under the direction of the project manager and are accountable for completing their work according to the plan.
3. Stakeholders: Stakeholders include anyone with an interest in the project, such as clients, sponsors, and end-users. They provide input during the planning phase and receive updates on project progress.

Agile Project Management Roles

1. Product Owner: The product owner represents the customer or stakeholders and is responsible for defining the project vision and prioritizing the product backlog. They ensure that the team delivers value to the customer.
2. Scrum Master: In Agile, particularly Scrum, the Scrum Master acts as a facilitator and coach for the team. They help the team adhere to Agile principles, remove impediments, and ensure that the team remains focused on the sprint goals.
3. Development Team: The development team is cross-functional and self-organizing. Team members collaborate to deliver the product increment. They are empowered to make decisions about how to accomplish the sprint goals.
4. Stakeholders: Similar to Traditional project management, stakeholders provide feedback and input throughout the project. However, in Agile, they are more actively involved in each iteration.

Lean Project Management Roles

1. Team Leader: The team leader in Lean project management is responsible for guiding the team and ensuring that Lean principles are followed. They focus on eliminating waste, improving processes, and delivering value.
2. Team Members: Lean team members are highly collaborative and involved in continuous improvement. They are responsible for identifying waste, suggesting improvements, and implementing changes.
3. Stakeholders: Stakeholders in Lean project management are engaged in defining value and providing feedback. They play a crucial role in ensuring that the project delivers what the customer truly needs.

What Are the Differences Between Traditional, Agile, and Lean Project Management?

Traditional Project Management

The role of a Project Manager is that of a team leader and liaison between project sponsors and the execution team. The project manager is responsible for the entire project life cycle, including Planning, Initiating, Evaluating, Validating, and Executing.

Project managers focus on tracking, stability, and management throughout the life of a project. They are also responsible for ensuring that the project is completed on time and within budget. Despite these responsibilities, project managers often lead a team without having the authority to make critical decisions regarding scope and deadlines.

Some common symptoms of a project that goes wrong include:

• Complicating and conflicting priorities
• Weak or missing user testing and acceptance
• Insufficient monitoring and maintenance after go-live
• Scope creep—starting with one objective that grows into larger ones
• Unrealistic timelines
• Lack of risk consideration
• No strategic alignment
• Providing the wrong solution to the right problem (or vice versa)

What causes these symptoms? The primary cause is that most projects focus on executing an assumed solution rather than solving the actual problem.

By applying Lean principles and tools, you can address the root causes of these symptoms and achieve more successful project outcomes.

Agile Project Management

In an environment where Agile principles are used to manage projects, the traditional project management roles undergo changes:

• The project manager is replaced by a Scrum Master.
• The project sponsor role is eliminated and replaced by the Product Owner.

We can compare the traditional project management life cycle of Planning, Initiating, Evaluating, Validating, and Executing with an Agile project management roadmap, which looks like this:

As we examine the stages in the Agile project management roadmap, we can see that Lean principles are integrated throughout and are tailored for software development. For example, in

Stage 1: Vision, stakeholders develop a vision and align the project with the overall business strategy. This stage embodies a Lean concept, as it incorporates a strategic perspective in planning—Lean is inherently strategic in its principles.

Stage 2: Product Roadmap focuses on the product features while taking a holistic view of what the customer wants and what you envision the product to be in the long term. This approach is strategic and therefore Lean in nature.

Stage 3: Release Planning, the focus shifts to the major functionality of the product and the product line, as well as planning for the release.

Within release planning, you also have Stage 4: Sprint Planning, where Lean principles are most prevalent. In this stage, sprints—iterative work execution blocks of one to four weeks—are planned. During a sprint, you engage in a Lean cycle of planning, checking, and acting, which mirrors a mini-project life cycle.

Stage 5: Daily Scrum is a daily check-in where team members convene to communicate what is in progress, discuss major developments, and assign tasks (“to-dos”).

Next, Stage 6: Sprint Review involves a demonstration of the working product.

Finally, Stage 7: Sprint Retrospective marks the end of the roadmap, where the team reflects on successes, areas for improvement, and lessons learned. At this point, the next sprint begins.

Comparing Agile and Lean Project Management

Agile and Lean project management share both similarities and differences. The differences offer opportunities for synergy through blending the two approaches. Both methodologies promote an iterative process of continuous learning and improvement, making them well-suited to be integrated and work effectively together.

To better understand why they should be blended, let’s explore their differences.

Tactical vs. Strategic

One key difference between Agile and Lean is that Agile is tactical, while Lean is strategic. Agile’s tactical approach, which relies on self-managed teams without the involvement of project sponsors, can lead to points in the project lifecycle where the project may veer off course. It is the sole responsibility of the Scrum Master to maintain focus on the business strategy and product goals. By incorporating Lean, which has a more strategic approach, the vision and long-term view of the product remain consistently within scope.

Philosophy vs. Tools

Another difference between Agile and Lean is that Agile places more emphasis on its philosophy, as outlined in the Agile Manifesto, rather than on using tools. In contrast, Lean relies on tools that align with its philosophy to reinforce and strengthen the process.

Software Development vs. Enterprise

A third difference lies in the industries where these principles are applied. Agile is primarily used in software development, whereas Lean is typically associated with manufacturing environments. However, Lean can be adapted to fit any enterprise environment and can be practiced wherever projects need to be managed.

Reasons for Blending Lean (and Six Sigma) Into Projects

Common issues that arise in Agile project management include:

• Scope creep
• Disconnect between the project team and stakeholders
• Overemphasis on efficiency
• Rigidity in addressing defects and quality problems
• Assumed solutions instead of addressing the root cause of problems

Due to its focus on control and stability, Agile project management can sometimes become rigid, hindering the correction of defects and quality issues.

Many aspects of Lean address these problem areas and benefit IT project management. Here are a few:

• Lean focuses on discovering the root cause.
• Lean maintains a constant consideration for a strategic perspective.
• Lean builds in time and tools to address problems.
• Lean aims to reduce project and business process rework, thereby reducing expenses.
• Lean seeks to reduce overall project time.
• Lean utilizes cross-functional teams, even in remote settings.

When Lean principles are incorporated, identifying root causes becomes a primary focus. This approach leads to solving real problems rather than continually addressing assumed solutions.

Lean also ensures that a strategic perspective is consistently considered, keeping the overall business strategy at the forefront of the project. Additionally, Lean integrates both time and tools into the process, helping to address many issues that could become roadblocks to a project’s success.

By reducing overall project time and utilizing cross-functional teams, Lean principles create space for more robust solutions. The formation of cross-functional teams has a significant impact on project success because it ensures that all key decision-makers are aligned and working towards the same goals.