An honest comparison. Each of these frameworks is excellent — at the thing it was built for. Here's where they stop, and where 1:90 Align begins.
Most frameworks answer "How do we manage work?"
1:90 Align answers "How do we make sure we're doing the right work — every day?"
Five frameworks. Five different purposes. One gap they all share.
| Dimension | 1:90 Align | Agile / Scrum | PRINCE2 | OKRs | EOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Purpose | Business operating system | Software delivery | Project management | Goal setting | Business management system |
| Planning Horizon | 90 days (Arc) | 2–4 weeks (Sprint) | Project duration | Quarterly / Annual | Quarterly (Rocks) |
| Who it's for | Entire organisation | Development teams | Project teams | Leadership teams | SME leadership |
| Connects Strategy to Daily Work | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Partial | Partial |
| Includes Software Platform | ✓ | 3rd party tools | 3rd party tools | 3rd party tools | 3rd party tools |
| Includes Training Programme | ✓ | Separate certification | Separate certification | Self-directed | EOS Implementer |
| Capacity Management | ✓ | Sprint velocity | Resource management | ✗ | ✗ |
| SME-Ready (Out of the Box) | ✓ | Requires adaptation | Complex for SMEs | Requires discipline | US-centric |
Agile is one of the most successful methodologies in the history of software development. Its focus on iterative delivery, cross-functional teams, and working software over documentation transformed how products are built. So why does Agile so often fail outside of software teams?
Because Agile was designed to answer "How do we build it?" not "What should we build?" An Agile team that runs perfect two-week sprints can still be perfectly productive in entirely the wrong direction. Agile has no mechanism for connecting sprint work to the organisation's 90-day strategic goal. It is a delivery engine without a strategy compass.
The 1:90 Distinction:
The 1:90 Align Framework is the strategy layer above Agile. Many 1:90 Align clients continue to use Agile or Scrum for their development teams — but add the Arc/Wave/Milestone hierarchy to connect their development sprints to the business's 90-day goal. They are complementary, not competing.
Agile Answers:
1:90 Align Answers:
PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Environments) is a rigorous project management methodology used extensively in the UK public sector and large enterprises. It provides detailed governance, risk management, and stage-gate controls for complex projects.
The fundamental difference: PRINCE2 manages projects. 1:90 Align manages business execution. A project has a defined start, defined deliverables, and a defined end. A business operates continuously. PRINCE2 is excellent for managing a discrete initiative — a new IT system, a construction project, a regulatory implementation. But no business runs exclusively on projects. The day-to-day strategic execution that determines whether a business grows happens outside the project boundary. That's where 1:90 Align operates.
When they coexist:
A business can use PRINCE2 to manage a specific transformation project (e.g., a new CRM implementation) while using 1:90 Align to manage the overall business execution that project sits within. PRINCE2 governs the project; 1:90 Align governs the strategy.
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), popularised by Google and Intel, is a goal-setting framework. An Objective defines what you want to achieve; Key Results define how you'll know you've achieved it. OKRs are powerful for creating organisational alignment around measurable outcomes.
The limitation: OKRs tell you what the goal is. They don't tell you how to get there. Many organisations implement OKRs successfully at the leadership level but find they don't cascade effectively to daily work. The Objective sits in a spreadsheet; people keep doing what they've always done. There is no structural mechanism connecting the OKR to Tuesday morning's task list.
OKRs provide:
1:90 Align adds:
The key difference: An Arc in the 1:90 Framework is similar to an OKR Objective — but it comes pre-loaded with an execution architecture. The moment you define an Arc, you define three Waves. Each Wave requires Milestones. Each Milestone requires Tasks. The execution structure is non-optional, which is why 1:90 Align companies actually achieve their goals rather than just setting them.
EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), popularised by Gino Wickman's Traction, is a comprehensive business management system for SMEs. It covers six components — Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction — through quarterly planning using "Rocks" (priorities).
EOS and 1:90 Align share the most overlap of any frameworks on this page. Both are business operating systems. Both use quarterly rhythm. Both focus on SMEs. The key differences are:
Execution depth
EOS defines Rocks (quarterly priorities) but leaves the execution structure to the team. 1:90 Align provides a hierarchical execution architecture — Arc → Wave → Milestone → Task — that connects quarterly goals to daily work structurally, not aspirationally.
Software platform
EOS relies on third-party tools (Ninety.io, etc.). The 1:90 Align Platform is purpose-built for the methodology — the Arc, Wave, Milestone, and Task hierarchy is native to the software, not bolted on.
UK & international focus
EOS was developed in the US and the EOS Implementer network is predominantly North American. 1:90 Align was built by UK operators, for UK businesses — with a global coach certification network.
Agile is a great delivery methodology — for delivery teams. PRINCE2 is a great project methodology — for discrete projects. OKRs are a great goal-setting framework — for setting goals. EOS is a great business system — for the six components it covers.
None of them answer the question every growing business actually struggles with:
"How does every person in our organisation know what to do today to move us closer to our 90-day goal?"
That is the Alignment Gap. That is what 1:90 Align was built to close.