You are an agile project manager leading a team that is used to waterfall. The project sponsor wants to plan the entire project upfront so they can see when it will be delivered. You tell them that agile uses adaptive planning. Why might this be a better alternative?

What Is Not the Answer?

Adaptive planning does not necessarily allow the project sponsor to adapt to the project plan over time. We want the project plan to adapt to customer requirements.

It does not ensure that users can adapt to the products delivered by the team. Users do not need to adapt. The product should adapt to what the users or customers want.

It is not about the team overhearing conversations in a common area. That is osmotic communication, a separate agile principle.

What It Actually Is

Adaptive planning allows the team to deliver usable features incrementally while continually re-prioritizing the next pieces based on business needs.

Why This Is Better

Traditional waterfall planning locks in requirements upfront. You plan everything, build everything and deliver everything at the end. But here is the problem. Business needs change. Market conditions shift. Customers learn what they actually need when they see working software rather than looking at requirements documents.

Adaptive planning solves this by delivering usable features early. Instead of waiting months or years for everything to be finished, users see working features in weeks. They can use them immediately.

Prioritizing based on current business value: Instead of building features in the order they were planned, you build the features that deliver the most value right now. As business priorities shift, you re-prioritize accordingly.

Responding to feedback: When users work with features, they provide feedback. You incorporate that feedback into the next iteration rather than being locked into a rigid plan.

Reducing risk: If business conditions change dramatically, you are not stuck with a plan that no longer makes sense. You adapt.

The Conversation with Your Sponsor

Tell your sponsor that adaptive planning means you can show them working features regularly and adjust direction based on what is actually delivering value. This is better than a fixed plan that may no longer reflect business reality by the time delivery arrives.

– David McLachlan

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You are working on a project with clear procedures based on past projects. The product is clear and the risks are fairly well known because the organization has done this type of work before. Which project approach should you use?

What Is Not the Answer?

It is not agile or adaptive. While the work is definable, agile is designed for high uncertainty work where requirements will change and evolve. This project has clear requirements and low uncertainty. Agile would be overkill.

It is not incremental or iterative. These approaches are for projects where you need to improve continuously or deliver in small pieces. The work here is straightforward and well understood. You do not need multiple cycles of refinement or incremental delivery.

What It Actually Is

You should use a predictive project life cycle, also called waterfall.

Why does predictive work here? Predictive approaches are designed for definable work where requirements are clear and stable. You know what the customer wants and it is not going to change significantly.

The product is well understood and the organization has done this before. There are proven procedures and processes to follow.

The risks are also known and manageable. Because you have experience with this type of project, you can anticipate what might go wrong and plan accordingly.

You can plan upfront. All work can be sequenced logically from start to finish. You design the entire solution, build it completely and test it thoroughly before release.

The approach can be to plan everything upfront, then execute the plan and deliver the complete solution at the end.

The Key Principle

Match the project life cycle to the level of uncertainty and change. Low uncertainty and clear requirements mean predictive. High uncertainty and evolving requirements mean agile or adaptive. Predictive works when you know what you are building and how to build it.

– David McLachlan

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Four Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!

PMP Cram Course – FULL PMP Course Condensed to just 8 hours! (12 PDUs)

Scrum Master Course (PSM)

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Business Analyst Course (10 PDUs)

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

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You are working with your project team in a way that ensures you analyze the requirements, then design, build and test for those requirements. You repeat this cycle, adjusting your product or approach as necessary, before releasing in one large feature at the end. Which project development approach are you using?

What It Not Correct?

The approach is not predictive or waterfall. While predictive approaches do release in one go, they generally do not improve and iterate over time. Requirements are locked in upfront and the solution is built once.

It is not adaptive or incremental. Both adaptive (agile) and incremental approaches deliver in small increments along the way. Users see and use features throughout the project, not just at the end.

What It Actually Is

You are using an iterative project management approach, iterating towards a single, successful release. Think of it like prototyping multiple models of a new car design before locking one in and manufacturing it.

The Defining Characteristics

Iterative development gathers feedback on the approach and the product during the project, learning from what you built to refine the product before release.

The key difference from predictive is that you are iterating and improving continuously. Each iteration builds on lessons learned from the previous one.

The key difference from incremental or adaptive is that you release everything in one final release rather than delivering features incrementally throughout the project.

The Timeline

Requirements → Design → Build → Test → Feedback → Refine → Repeat → Final Release

You cycle through this multiple times before the final release.

Why It Matters

Iterative approaches work well when you need to refine the solution based on feedback but you have a clear end point where everything is released together. It balances continuous improvement with a defined delivery timeline.

Know the difference between iterative, incremental and adaptive approaches and you can identify project life cycles confidently.

– David McLachlan

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Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

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You have collected the requirements for your project and are creating the scope statement and work breakdown structure. During this process, you notice some functionality in your database system that will help a different project within your PMO. What should you do next?

What Won’t Work

Placing the feature in the other project’s backlog and asking them to prioritize it isn’t the best answer. This puts the responsibility on the other project team and removes your control of the situation. You cannot force another project to adopt your suggestion.

Raising the functionality in your risk register as a threat and creating a mitigation response also isn’t the answer – threats are things you want to avoid or minimize. This functionality is not a threat, it is an opportunity.

Adding the scope to your project and completing it as soon as possible to help the other team expands your project scope to work that does not deliver value to your own project. It also distracts you from your own core objectives.

What You Should Do

Raise the functionality in your risk register as an opportunity and select the exploit response. Opportunities are positive events that can benefit your project or the organization.

Then meet with the other project team and your sponsor to discuss. Share what you have discovered. Explore whether it makes sense to build this functionality into your project. Discuss how it could benefit both projects and the broader organization.

Why This Approach Works

Opportunities require different handling than threats. When you identify an opportunity, you want to exploit it or enhance it. This means:

Taking action to make the opportunity happen. Building the functionality in your project if it makes business sense.

Escalating the decision appropriately. Your sponsor needs to decide whether this is worth pursuing and whether it aligns with organizational strategy.
Collaborating with other project teams. The other project team may have insights about how this functionality could benefit them.

The Bigger Picture

As a project manager, you are part of a larger organization. If you spot something that creates value across multiple projects, that is worth raising. But you raise it through the proper channels: your risk register, your sponsor and cross-project collaboration.
Do not try to solve it alone by changing your project scope. Escalate and collaborate.

– David McLachlan

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Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

The Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)

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Four Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!

PMP Cram Course – FULL PMP Course Condensed to just 8 hours! (12 PDUs)

Scrum Master Course (PSM)

Product Owner Course (PSPO)

Business Analyst Course (10 PDUs)

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Excel Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix, RACI, Stakeholder Matrix and more!)

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During a working group meeting, a stakeholder raises the concern that the product you are working on will be discontinued in 5 months. You were not aware of this and your project budget has already been approved until the scheduled delivery, which is also in 5 months. What should you do next?

What Won’t Work

Keeping the project going and assuming the discontinued product is not your responsibility isn’t the right course of action. This ignores the core issue: if the product is being discontinued, the project may not deliver value.

Changing the project scope to work on a different product so your project remains relevant also isn’t the answer – this completely changes the project and the product. It would require a new business case and new approval.

Asking for additional funding to improve the product simply to prevent discontinuation is unlikely to create business value and is not a project manager’s decision to make.

What You Should Do

Schedule a meeting with the project sponsor immediately. Share the information about the product discontinuation. Present a recommendation to terminate the project.

Why This Matters

As a project manager, your focus must always be on delivering value to the organization. If the product is being discontinued in 5 months, completing a project that supports that product will not deliver value. Continuing to spend time and money on a project that produces obsolete deliverables is not ethical.

Have the difficult conversation with your sponsor. Recommend termination or significant scope changes based on the new business reality.

– David McLachlan

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Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

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Four Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!

PMP Cram Course – FULL PMP Course Condensed to just 8 hours! (12 PDUs)

Scrum Master Course (PSM)

Product Owner Course (PSPO)

Business Analyst Course (10 PDUs)

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Excel Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix, RACI, Stakeholder Matrix and more!)

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You are managing a project team mostly made up of men. Recently, Jane was hired for her high expertise in the brands that make up your industry. You notice she has been left out of some key meetings and others are overlooking her opinions. You also notice she is being paid significantly less than her male colleagues. What will you do next?

What Won’t Work

We shouldn’t just accept the lower pay as a cost saving for the project and keep it quiet, as it’s not the most ethical approach. Just because she is paid less does not mean the team should benefit while Jane is undercompensated.

We also shouldn’t just document her knowledge in case she leaves so the company is protected. While this might be practical, it does not address the core problem and misses the ethical issue entirely.

If we just do nothing and accept that this is just how the industry works, this normalizes unethical behavior and ignores your responsibility as a leader.

What You Should Do

Take immediate steps to update her pay to match the same range as her male colleagues doing similar work. Pay equity, especially for a valued team member, is ethically conscious and will ensure fairness throughout the team.

Actively seek Jane’s opinion and advice specifically during each meeting. Make it clear that her expertise is valued. Include her in key decisions and give her a voice in strategic discussions.

Why This Matters

As a project manager, you set the culture of your team. When you allow bias or inequity to go unchallenged, you can lose team talent and trust. On the other hand, when you actively create an inclusive environment where all voices are heard and people are treated fairly, your team performs better and your project succeeds.

Ethics in project management starts with how you treat people.

– David McLachlan

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Four Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!

PMP Cram Course – FULL PMP Course Condensed to just 8 hours! (12 PDUs)

Scrum Master Course (PSM)

Product Owner Course (PSPO)

Business Analyst Course (10 PDUs)

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Excel Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix, RACI, Stakeholder Matrix and more!)

Pre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

In 2001, a group representing the most widely used lightweight software development methodologies agreed on a common set of values and principles known as the Agile Manifesto. Which of the following is one of the Agile Manifesto’s core values?

What Is NOT The Answer?

It is not developer negotiation over feature collaboration. It is not product owner interaction over Scrum Master delegation. It is not getting things right over getting the right things, though that sounds catchy.

What Is the Answer

The core value is customer collaboration over contract negotiation. The Agile Manifesto emphasizes working closely with customers and partners rather than being bound by rigid contracts and processes.

Agile Takes a Different Approach

Traditional project approaches rely heavily on detailed contracts that lock in requirements upfront. Agile takes a different approach. You work directly with customers, show them deliverables early and often and collaborate on changes as they see what has been built. When customers see working features, they understand the product better and can provide more valuable feedback.

The Agile Philosophy

Customer collaboration means you stay flexible. Requirements will change as customers learn more about what they actually need. Rather than fighting those changes, you embrace them. You incorporate feedback, adjust direction and continuously improve based on what you learn together.

This is the heart of agile thinking and one of the most important distinctions between agile and traditional project management approaches.

– David McLachlan

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Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

The Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)

The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs)

Learn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course (10 PDUs)

Four Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!

PMP Cram Course – FULL PMP Course Condensed to just 8 hours! (12 PDUs)

Scrum Master Course (PSM)

Product Owner Course (PSPO)

Business Analyst Course (10 PDUs)

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Excel Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix, RACI, Stakeholder Matrix and more!)

Pre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

You are working through the feature backlog with the product owner and they ask about the velocity chart hanging in the team area. What should you tell them?

A Velocity Chart is NOT:

A velocity chart does not measure how fast the project budget is being used up. It is not a measure of how quickly individual team members complete their work each day. It is not a count of how many team members are working on the agile project over its life cycle.

What It Actually Shows

A velocity chart displays the number of story points, tasks or features completed by the team in each given iteration or sprint. It is a measure of the team’s throughput over time.

How to Read It

The horizontal axis shows each sprint or iteration. The vertical axis shows the amount of work completed, typically measured in story points. Bars or a line trace the team’s output from sprint to sprint.

Why It Matters

Velocity is one of the most important metrics in agile. It tells you how much work the team can reliably complete in a single sprint. Once you know the team’s velocity, you can use it to forecast how long it will take to complete the entire product backlog. It also helps the team commit to realistic amounts of work in future sprints – to keep a sustainable pace.

The Conversation

Tell your product owner that the velocity chart shows how much work the team completes each sprint. A consistent velocity means predictable delivery. If velocity is trending up, the team may be getting more productive (as long as the estimates are not being intentionally skewed). If it is trending down, something could be slowing the team down and might need investigation.

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

The Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)

The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs)

Learn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course (10 PDUs)

Four Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!

PMP Cram Course – FULL PMP Course Condensed to just 8 hours! (12 PDUs)

Scrum Master Course (PSM)

Product Owner Course (PSPO)

Business Analyst Course (10 PDUs)

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Excel Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix, RACI, Stakeholder Matrix and more!)

Pre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

You are showing the project sponsor around your agile team area and they notice the burndown chart next to the Kanban board. They ask what it tells you. What should you say?

What A Burndown Chart Does Not Show

A burndown chart does not show return on investment for delivered features. It is not a measure of automated tests run as part of continuous integration. It does not track which team members are moving on and off the project.

What It Does Show

A burndown chart displays the remaining work versus what was planned for a given iteration or sprint. It is your planned versus actual performance for the sprint visualized on a single chart.

How to Read It

The vertical axis shows the amount of work remaining (usually in story points or tasks). The horizontal axis shows time progressing through the sprint. A line traces the actual work remaining as the sprint progresses. An ideal line shows where the work should be if everything is on track.

Why It Matters

The burndown chart gives the team and stakeholders a quick visual of whether the sprint is on track. If the actual line is tracking above the ideal line, the team is behind. If it is below, the team is ahead. This daily visibility helps the team make adjustments quickly.

The Conversation

Tell your sponsor that the burndown chart is a daily snapshot of sprint progress – planned versus actual. It shows whether the team will complete the committed work by the end of the sprint.

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

The Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)

The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs)

Learn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course (10 PDUs)

Four Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!

PMP Cram Course – FULL PMP Course Condensed to just 8 hours! (12 PDUs)

Scrum Master Course (PSM)

Product Owner Course (PSPO)

Business Analyst Course (10 PDUs)

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Excel Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix, RACI, Stakeholder Matrix and more!)

Pre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!