Why Adaptive Or Predictive Is the Wrong Question. Successfully Delivering Value Is A Balance of Both.
Why Adaptive Or Predictive Is the Wrong Question. Successfully Delivering Value Is A Balance of Both.
For years, organisations have debated which project delivery methodology is best to deliver value: Adaptive (Agile) or Predictive( Waterfall)? It’s a familiar question. However, it’s also the wrong one. Framing the choice as binary assumes that one method must be better than the other. In reality, successful delivery is not about choosing sides, but about choosing what works best for the context of the project and the culture.
Agile and Waterfall were never designed to compete. They solve different problems. Agile is well-suited for work where requirements are expected to evolve (i.e software development, but alot more areas given the complex, uncertain and quickly changing business environments we tend to live in nowadays) and where speed of learning and innovation is key. Waterfall, on the other hand, is ideal when the scope is fixed and the pathway is well-defined (infrastructure, production lines and highly regulated environments).
Problems arise when businesses try to force one approach across every project, team, or department. That’s where delivery begins to suffer.
Different Business Units, Different Needs
It’s easy to think about delivery methods at the project level and deciding whether a specific initiative should run using Agile or Waterfall. But in practice, the thinking and consideration needs to go further. It’s often beneficial, and sometimes even necessary, for different business units within the same organisation to execute projects using different methodologies.
For example, your software development function might work in sprints, with fast iterations and daily standups where Agile is a natural fit. Meanwhile, your legal, procurement, or compliance teams may need the clarity and structure of a more predictive approach. And that’s okay. Each business unit brings its own operating rhythm, constraints, and value drivers.
What matters most is not enforcing uniformity but enabling cohesion. The goal is to ensure that all business units, regardless of how they deliver, are aligned in purpose, coordinated in execution, and measured in ways that reflect value.
Governance Needs to Keep Up
This leads to another challenge: governance. If some parts of a project — or even a single cross-functional team — are using Agile while others follow Waterfall, how do you maintain oversight? How do you report on progress, risk, and value when each discipline speaks a different delivery language?
This is where many organisations struggle. Traditional project governance models are often rigid and assume a single method will be used throughout. Agile governance, on the other hand, can feel too lightweight or unclear to those used to milestone-based control.
What’s needed is a hybrid management and governance approach. One that respects the principles of both methodologies and creates shared visibility without forcing artificial uniformity. Leaders and teams must be supported in creating and adapting context specific frameworks that make it possible to govern across methodologies without slowing down or losing control. These frameworks may include synchronised reporting cycles, cross-method dashboards, and value-based metrics that apply regardless of delivery style. These frameworks can also then be adapted and built upon to help manage portfolio level thinking and decision making.
Portfolio-Level Thinking: Delivering the Right Work
The picture gets even more complex when you zoom out from individual projects to look at your organisation’s entire portfolio. This is where leadership must shift from asking, “Are we delivering?” to ask, “Are we delivering the right things?”
Without portfolio-level visibility, it’s easy for resources to become fragmented, with teams pushing forward on low-value or outdated initiatives simply because they’re already in flight. A strong portfolio management discipline makes it possible to regularly reassess where value lies, and to make tough but necessary decisions, like stopping or re-scoping a running project if another offers greater strategic return.
This is especially important in hybrid organisations, where project types, scopes, and delivery methods vary widely. The ability to evaluate work not just on output or cost but on contribution to business outcomes becomes essential.
Leadership Is likely to be your Ceiling to Success
Successfully navigating this landscape, one where multiple delivery methods, business unit needs, and where governance models must coexist, depends heavily on leadership. It’s not enough to understand Agile or be trained in PMI or PRINCE2. Today’s leaders must be able to foster environments where different delivery rhythms can operate in harmony, where teams are empowered to choose the right approach, and where strategy and execution remain connected.
That requires a broader set of leadership capabilities. The ability to go beyond merely managing tasks but having the ability to lead cultural change. An understanding of leadership power styles and when to flex between them. A mindset that balances strategic alignment with empathy for the delivery reality on the ground (or in layman's terms, how to manage the balance of successful and timely delivery with cultural change and individual and team development). And most importantly, the confidence to experiment, learn, and adapt in real time. If your leaders cannot perform in today's fast changing business environment, it will likely be a ceiling to successful delivery of value.
How We Can Help
At Evolue, we specialise in helping organisations move beyond the Agile vs Waterfall debate. We support clients in designing and embedding delivery systems and portfolio governance models that reflect the real complexity of how they work.
This includes:
Supporting blended delivery models across business units
Designing hybrid governance frameworks for consistency and flexibility
Equipping leaders to manage across delivery styles and make informed portfolio decisions
Enabling cultural and behavioural change through leadership development
We also offer certified training in Agility in Leadership™ and Agility in Organisations™ — powerful workshops from the Agile Leadership Journey® that help leaders build the mindset and skills to lead confidently in a hybrid world.
If your organisation is struggling to make Agile and Waterfall work together, or if you’re ready to build a more adaptive, value-driven delivery culture, we’d love to help.
Let’s talk about building the delivery approach your business actually needs.