Project Management For Dummies, Part II: Being an Extremist

"If it takes one woman nine months to have a baby, it does not follow that it can also be done in one month by impregnating nine women."

~ Dr. J. Ornstein on the fallacies sometimes committed in strategy planning.


 "I know that you believe that you understand what you think George said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what he meant."
~ My colleague's email to our Training Manager concerning my instructions during a new store opening

 "A little risk management saves a lot of fan cleaning"

~ Anonymous

"Fast, cheap or good.  Pick any two"~ Advise to a franchisee while overseeing the construction of his new unit.

In my last posting, I outlined the general steps one needs to take in planning out a project and in managing it.  This traditional project management style was the go-to approach when creating and managing a project. But technology advancements now (should) get ideas to market faster than ever. Because of this, newly created project management approaches take more risk, quicker changes, and a lightening speed timeline into consideration.  I consider this to be something I call Extreme Project Management.

In his book Effective Project Management Robert K. Wysocki defines this as “projects that include characteristics of high speed, high change and high uncertainty.” Consider the differences between the traditional and extreme styles prior to creating your project plan. You should commit to the extreme approach if your project fits the bill.

Traditional vs. Extreme

Traditional project management follows a straightforward approach to planning and managing a project along the lines I outlined in my last posting. It utilizes what’s called the waterfall method. This method basically plans project activities one after the other, in a direct line. When change happens, the project resets itself at a previous point in the project timeline and starts over again with the same waterfall method.

The waterfall approach is very linear. Once a schedule is reset because of a change, the entire schedule and final deadline shifts accordingly. If you are working in a fast paced environment with let's say strict market launch deadlines, this approach most likely won’t work. You’d likely be knocked off schedule and miss your deadline. The traditional approach is most successful when a project does not include a lot of change and most details of the project are realized at the beginning.

The extreme approach differs from the traditional project management style because it actually allows you to plan for change and uncertainties. Timing is also a big difference between the traditional and extreme approach. Whereas traditional projects tend to take months and in some cases even years by their very nature, the extreme approach breaks activities down into a smaller timeline like weeks or days (or even hours, if necessary).

Analogously, the traditional style of managing a project is the running of a marathon whereas the extreme style is the 100m dash.

Extreme project management is dominated by a constant cycle of change and resetting. It allows for teams to work in a shorter timeline with more regular and consistent cycles of reviews, approvals and agreement on the path forward.

Should Your Project Take the Extreme Approach?

Whether you are looking to assign a new project or you’re the project manager yourself, you’ll want to consider a few factors when deciding if the extreme approach is right for a specific project. If timing is fast and uncertainties remain or are likely to remain, taking the extreme approach might be best for you due to the ability to rapidly and nimbly change vectors.

Consider what you currently know about the project. Ask yourself: Do I know what the exact outcome of this project will be? Do I have all the answers to create a successful project plan? Can I expect there will not be (many or sudden) changes during the process?

If you answered no to any of these questions, the extreme approach might be the right choice for your project.

You’ll also want to consider stakeholder expectations. Are they realistic if the traditional approach is taken? Many times a senior leader will be excited about a project and will then throw it into the lap of their most successful project manager. The leader won’t provide a lot of direction but will expect the project to happen very quickly. Suggesting an extreme approach to the project will show you are nimble and willing to work on a project that might not be clearly defined.

Setting Up Your Extreme Project

Now that you’ve decided to take the extreme approach, you’ll want to consider the project team. The extreme project management approach is fast paced so the project team must be nimble and energetic.

Request or select a group that will be welcoming of change and can adjust quickly.  Request input from each team member as you build your plan. This last part should not be optional.  Confirm that all aspects of the project can happen as quickly as is necessary, and have them outline what obstacles (if any) they foresee arising during the course of their assigned tasks and what their plan of action is should that happen.  This allows for everyone to know what the next steps to take are should something arise that threatens the timeline, and, at the very least, forces your group to begin to adopt an agile mindset.

Lay out your project plan with the extreme approach in mind. Begin with a kick-off, and schedule multiple rounds of quick work time followed by team reviews, check-ins and alignment on how to move forward. I would suggest at least three round tables for a medium sized project with a short timeline, but there can be as many rounds as you like, so long as these don't impact the time the team must devote to the project.

Discovery and research will be needed during the entire process so as to constantly feed the projects outstanding questions.  You should have the resources for this made available to you, a "go to" person or department.  If not, assign two members of your group the responsibility of getting the team the answers or the information they require and support them should they run into any obstacles or delays. 

You can manage your project accordingly now that the project plan is in place. There will be a lot of change to track and manage so communication is critical. Project managers taking this extreme approach should plan to be in constant contact with all key team members. The probability of change will cause questions to arise constantly, so being available for answers is imperative.

Once you become comfortable with the idea of taking the extreme approach, you’ll probably find it suites you well and applies to many projects. The great thing about extreme project management is that its flexibility allows you to create the plan that best meets your goals and objectives.

If you have any suggestions or topics you'd like to see covered, or if you'd like help with an issue you're currently experiencing, please drop me a line at gbossinakis@live.com. 
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