Traditional Project Management vs. Agile Project Management: Week 4

May 7, 2014

—

agile, agile best practices, communication, daily stand-ups, scrum, self-managing teams, self-organized teams, traditional project management vs. agile project management, waterfall

So in my current role of PM, I’m experiencing the NEED to babysit EVERYONE on this project far more than I have in the past as a Scrum Master. Here are some examples:

No one is sharing information even after I’ve requested it. I have to pull it from them. For instance, I had no idea that two of my “testers” were even available for my team. I find myself digging for documents after I’ve asked people to share them, too.
Expectations are completely unclear. For instance, I just learned that I – as in ME – need to put together a test plan. For you traditional PMs out there this probably isn’t new for you, but I’ve never done this before. Why? Because I had self-organizing, cross-functional teams that took it upon themselves to take care of this crucial tidbit. Now I get the unsavory task of asking everyone to document what they’re doing so far.
Communication seems incredibly stifled since we don’t yet have daily stand-ups. For instance, dates (such as whether or not we’ll have to work over the 4th of July weekend) have been up the air for at least two weeks. AND dare I mention the tester availability thing again?

What are some differences you’ve noticed and how did you manage them? I’m feeling like a fish out of water in this more waterfall type of environment (yes. pun intended.)

Leave a comment Cancel reply

● About Me

I’m an Agile leader, coach, and systems thinker who has spent my career helping teams and organizations work better together.

Over the years, I’ve led Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches across large product and technology organizations, focusing on improving delivery predictability, flow, and the systems that surround teams—not just the ceremonies they run.

I write Scrumbubbles to explore the realities of modern Agile: where it works, where it struggles, and how teams can move beyond frameworks toward truly adaptive organizations.

My perspective is grounded in years of hands-on experience helping teams improve how they plan, collaborate, and deliver value in complex environments.

Scrumbubbles is a place where I challenge assumptions, share patterns from the field, and experiment with better ways of working.