Aug 12, 2025
1:00 pm MDT - 2:00 pm MDT
Are You Tired of These Impossible Choices?
Predictability OR Adaptability?
Everyone wants realistic forecasts AND the flexibility to respond when new information emerges. But current approaches force you to choose.
Planning OR Agility?
Detailed upfront planning feels safe but breaks at first contact with reality. Agile iteration keeps you moving but makes it hard to give stakeholders the commitments they need.
Clear Requirements OR Emerging Discovery?
Teams crave clear direction (“just tell me what to build”), while simultaneously needing to adapt when they discover what users actually want.
For too long, teams have been stuck on what we call the “planning pendulum”—swinging between rigid approaches that can’t handle complexity and chaotic approaches that can’t provide the predictability business leaders need.
Big scaling frameworks like SAFe don’t address the core problem, they’ve just built a structure for swinging the pendulum: We’ll start every quarter plan-heavy and shift into scrambling to respond to change a few weeks later when the plan no longer fits. Next quarter, we do it again.
But what if there was a way to get off the pendulum entirely?
Here’s What We’ve Discovered
For over a decade, we’ve been coaching our most successful clients on how to get both predictability AND adaptability without sacrificing either. We’ve recently formalized these practices into what we call CAPED (Complexity-Aware Planning, Estimation, and Delivery).
In this session, you’ll see how we’ve systematized what actually works.
You’ll Learn:
- Why traditional planning fails when applied to complex work (and why most product development work is more complex than we think)
- The difference between complicated and complex work—and why this distinction changes everything about how you should plan
- The four phases of CAPED and how they front-load uncertainty to reduce risk and maximize value
- Real examples of how organizations use Active Planning to resolve core complexity before detailed planning—even in the middle of struggling projects
- How CAPED applies to AI initiatives and other emerging technology challenges where requirements can’t be fully known upfront
This Session Is for You If:
- You’re being pushed into traditional project management to keep your job but don’t believe in it
- You’re struggling because “the business doesn’t really understand agile”
- You’re tired of management expecting detailed upfront plans for everything
- You’re sick of “waterfall with standups” passing for agile transformation
- You’re looking for tools to help teams and projects succeed without the usual friction
- You want an approach to work that aligns with your personal values while delivering results stakeholders trust
- You’re frustrated when PI Planning seems to go well, then everything blows up a sprint or two later
Your Hosts:
Peter Green and Richard Lawrence, co-founders of Humanizing Work and co-creators of the CAPED approach.
Peter 
led the Agile transformation at Adobe Systems that enabled their shift to a subscription business model and co-developed the Certified Agile Leadership program for the Scrum Alliance. He draws on experience across music, business psychology, and organizational design to help leaders create outcomes they care about most.
Richard 
brings together seemingly unrelated fields to create new possibilities, with deep experience in software development, engineering, anthropology, and design. He’s a Scrum Alliance Certified Enterprise Coach and Trainer and author of “Behavior-Driven Development with Cucumber” (Addison-Wesley, 2019).
Together, they’ve spent over two decades helping organizations navigate complex initiatives without sacrificing either predictability or adaptability, working with clients from biotech startups to Fortune 500 companies.
And Here’s What Happens Next
We’ll wrap up by sharing the most game-changing offering we’ve ever built for agile coaches, scrum masters, and change agents. Internal champions have always been the key to successful change in an organization, and we’ve got something that will help you succeed in breaking the core planning tension in your organization. We can’t wait to share it with you!
Everyone who attends live will get an extra bonus offer that won’t be available afterwards, so get this on your calendar!
Come prepared to think differently about planning. If you’re looking for the same old Agile vs. Waterfall debate, this session is NOT for you.
Register now for this free event!
Questions? Email us at info@humanizingwork.com.
Register For This Event
(Free Webinar) Breaking Free from the Planning Pendulum: Why Smart Organizations Are Moving Beyond Agile vs. Waterfall
Aug 12, 2025
1:00 pm MDT - 2:00 pm MDT