How to Blend PRINCE2, Agile and Scrum Without Losing Control

1) PRINCE2 vs Agile vs Scrum: the short version

Two quick notes that matter in practice:

• •PRINCE2 v7 leans hard into tailoring – it expects you to right-size controls instead of copying a textbook.
• •The Scrum Guide 2020 sharpened transparency with explicit commitments (Product Goal, Sprint Goal, Definition of Done).

In other words: PRINCE2 gives you governance, Agile gives you a mindset, and Scrum gives you a team-level execution pattern. The sweet spot for most organisations is a hybrid of all three.

2) How to choose (and when to go hybrid)

Once you're clear on the basic ingredients, the real question becomes: what does my world actually look like? Regulated? Vendor-heavy? New product? Mixed bag?

Here's a simple way to think about it.

The point isn't to be “pure”. It's to design an operating model where governance, mindset and team execution line up instead of fighting each other.

3) Training that actually changes behaviour

Once you've chosen how you want to work, the next step is simple (but often skipped): helping people actually operate that model day to day.

Good training doesn't drown people in slides; it gives them just enough structure, then lets them try it on real work.

Think in terms of short courses, live practice, and immediate application.

4) Consultancy when you need momentum

Training builds capability. But if your delivery landscape is already messy, training alone won't unstick it.

That's where short, targeted consultancy is useful: you keep ownership, but you borrow momentum and expertise to move faster.

Typical focus areas:

• •Discovery & design – Operating model review, governance refresh, and backlog health check. The question here is: does the way work flows today actually match what you say you're doing?
• •Programme stabilisation – Cutover readiness, hypercare playbooks, decision cadence, RAID review. This is about stopping programmes from “wobbling” around go-live.
• •Scrum refresh – Fix mini-waterfalls disguised as Sprints, reset Definition of Done, and restore flow so reviews show increments, not slide decks.
• •Hybrid rollout – Design month-end and quarterly governance that uses Sprint reviews as inputs, rather than duplicating them with separate “status meetings”.

Consultancy should build on your training, not sit beside it – the goal is to make the model real in your toughest projects, then leave the capability behind.

5) A practical 90-day enablement plan

So how do you put all of this together without creating a year-long transformation monster?

One practical pattern is a 90-day enablement plan: enough time to see real change, short enough to feel manageable.

This isn't the only way to do it, but it's a concrete example of how governance, training, coaching, and consultancy can combine into a single, coherent push.

6) FAQs

A few questions that come up repeatedly when organisations start blending PRINCE2, Agile and Scrum:

7) Next steps (and what to do with this article)

If you've read this far, you're probably recognising some of your own challenges: over-heavy governance, “agile” in name only, or programmes that wobble around go-live.

Three practical next steps you can take from here:

Over time, you can formalise supporting assets – things like a RAID log, checkpoint pack, Sprint Review checklist, and a sharp Definition of Done – but you don't need a library of templates before you start.

The real win is this: a delivery approach where governance, mindset and team practice all tell the same story. Once that's in place, the methods stop being theory and start becoming an advantage.