Via Brad Appleton‘s excellent post of links to Agile Programme Management resources, a paper on Combining Agile Methods with Stage-Gate Project Management.
Based on studies in three engineering companies, the conclusion is that are benefits from both the management and engineering perspective.
Good things:
- Agile method add microplanning and day-to-day control to the stage-gate methods
- Engineering teams felt more in control of their work
- Stage-gate approach improves ability of agile methods to interact with other engineering teams, other functions (such as marketing) and senior management.
Things to watch out for:
- Need to manage expectations
- Challenge on large projects of finding a “customer representative” as required by Agile methods
