An adaptive approach (in some places referred to as a change-driven approach) is an approach that is more incremental or exploratory in nature and focuses on the rapid delivery of business value in short iterations. The agile project methodology applied in software development projects supports adaptive planning approaches.

A real-world example of when an adaptive approach might be most suitable would be where there is a lot of uncertainty about what exactly the scope and/or the end result would be. This scenario applies to almost every software development project where the scope and requirements are not known in any detail and the understanding is that stakeholders will participate in the initiative to assist with formulating the requirements and specific design artifacts.

In today's world, new web development projects, e-commerce storefronts, and mobile applications are perfect candidates for an adaptive or change-driven planning approach to be applied.

It is important to realize that both predictive and adaptive approaches can be applied within the same initiative. When deciding which approach to apply during business analysis planning, it is key to always consider which of the approaches will deliver the most value within your context.