Project management authors Steven G. Lauck and Jon M. Quigley have released a new book examining how organisations can combine Agile and traditional project management practices rather than treating the two approaches as competing methodologies.
The Insightful PM: Lessons and Reflections focuses on hybrid project management and the need for project professionals to adapt their delivery approach according to the characteristics of individual projects.
The authors argue that decisions over methodology should take account of factors including project risk, organisational maturity, customer expectations, regulatory requirements and business objectives.
The book comes as organisations increasingly bring together different forms of project delivery within larger programmes, particularly across software development, engineering, manufacturing, product development and digital transformation.
This can create environments in which Agile practices are appropriate for some areas of delivery while more predictive planning and governance remain necessary elsewhere.
“Project success isn’t about choosing Agile or Waterfall,” said co-author Jon M. Quigley. “It’s about understanding the problems you’re solving and selecting the practices that create the greatest value. The best project managers are adaptable.”
Focus on practical project experience
Rather than presenting hybrid project management as a single methodology, Lauck and Quigley explore how different practices can be selected and tailored according to the delivery environment.
The book draws on the authors’ experience across automotive, manufacturing, embedded systems, software development, product engineering and organisational transformation.
Topics include hybrid project management, integration between Agile and traditional approaches, leadership and decision-making, project risk and uncertainty, organisational learning, product development, continuous improvement, quality management and team development.
The authors have positioned the book around lessons from practical project delivery rather than purely theoretical discussions.
Its publication reflects the growing prominence of hybrid delivery as organisations undertake programmes containing multiple types of work.
A digital transformation programme, for example, may involve iterative software development alongside infrastructure, procurement, regulatory approvals, organisational change and fixed implementation milestones. This can require different management approaches within the same overall programme.
The book argues that project managers therefore need to understand both structured and adaptive delivery practices and determine where each provides the greatest value.
Adaptability increasingly important
The release also comes as project environments are being affected by artificial intelligence, digital transformation and increasingly complex cross-functional programmes.
These developments are placing greater emphasis on project leaders being able to adjust delivery practices as circumstances change while maintaining appropriate levels of governance, risk management and predictability.
The Insightful PM is aimed at project managers, PMO leaders, engineering managers, Scrum Masters, product managers and executives, as well as professionals preparing to take on greater project leadership responsibilities.
Alongside its focus on methodologies, the book examines wider project leadership capabilities including stakeholder engagement, decision-making, risk management, quality and continuous improvement.
Its central proposition is that project management is moving beyond a binary choice between Agile and traditional approaches, with the ability to select and combine practices becoming an increasingly important part of managing complex projects and programmes.
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