As a kid, I grew up in Cornwall, UK surfing the cold Atlantic coast beaches of Newquay and Porthtowan. Next week I am excited to be in Los Angeles presenting on waves of change and hybrid approaches.

This talk is particularly poignant since it will be 20 years since I gave my first PMI Global presentation on hybrid techniques, which was also in Los Angeles (Link). It’s like coming full circle from talking about something new to returning to see it mainstream.

Of course, it was not really new in 2004. People have been combining agile concepts with more plan-driven approaches for much longer. Tom Gilb was doing this in the 1980s. In 2000, I helped co-author what I think was the first hybrid white paper (Link) on using an agile approach (DSDM) with a structured project management approach (PRINCE2)—and this was a year before the Snowbird meeting and the creation of the Agile Manifesto.  

Combining agile techniques with more plan-driven approaches has always interested me. It helps us link valuable techniques to the real world, which has many non-agile aspects. The very best teams I have worked with (including a winner of a PMI Project of the Year award) used hybrid approaches, which I documented in my Beyond Agile book on situational agility.

When I made my original presentation, I knew I could either lay out my proposals for agile integration and hope people listened or be a part of the integration process.

Inspired by quotes like “For every thousand hacking at the leaves… there’s one striking at the root.” – Henry David Thoreau, and “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald I knew this meant working with PMI to add these concepts.

Another concept I like is Jim Collins’ “Genius of the AND versus the tyranny of the OR,” which suggests that there is often more power and utility in using elements from multiple approaches than choosing approach A or B.

We have seen lots of changes at PMI since that initial presentation, including:

• Agile courses in PMI Seminars World (now PMI Training)
• Forming the PMI Agile Community of Practice
• Having Agile mentioned in PMBOK 5th Edition
• Launch of the PMI-ACP Credential
• Creation of the Agile Practice Guide in partnership with the Agile Alliance
• The DA Acquisition
• Agile content being added to the PMP Exam and PMBOK 7^th Edition

Yet I am sure these changes will seem trivial compared to how project management will change in the next 5 years, let alone 20 years. My presentation is about more than just hybrid. It covers the convergence of three transformative waves.

1. Artificial Intelligence
2. Hybrid Approaches
3. Remote Teams

Like agile entering project management, these waves are impacting project management whether we like it or not. We can learn to surf or be left spluttering for relevance. After all, "In an environment where everyone else is moving forward, standing still has the same effect as moving backwards."

So, given that these changes are coming with or without us, we can engage and help shape them or be passive and let them shape us. My talk outlines practical steps to stay abreast of these changes, learn to utilize them and thrive on the rising tide of change.

If you attend the conference, it would be great to see you there, session 320.