Cotemporary Issues in Project Management

Fesseha Afework (A/Professor)

Certified Management Educator and Trainer
Addis Ababa University
College of Business and Economics
School of Commerce
 Chapter 2. Complex Project
Management
• Learning objectives
2.0. Introduction
2.1. Agile Project Management
2.2. Extreme Project
Management
 Learning objectives
• After completing this unit you should
be able to:
–Know how complexity and uncertainty
affect the project landscape
–Identify and discuss issues that involve
in agile projects
–Identify and discuss issues that involve
in extreme complex projects ,
 Introduction
• Traditional project management is a
project management approach that will
work for most domains and
environments. This approach uses riged
tools and techniques for management and
solving problems.

4
 Introduction…
• Traditional project management is a
step-by-step predictive approach to
project management-also called the
Waterfall methodology-in which you
breakdown and plan an entire project
before launching it.
• Process in the requirements stage help
you predict and mange risks.
5
 Introduction…
• Benefits Of TMP
–Clearly defined objectives
–Controllable processes
–Clear documentation
–More accountability
6
 Introduction…
• CPM places a strong emphasis
on cooperation, communication,
task timeboxing, and the ability
to adjust to change as soon as
feasible.

7
 Introduction…
• Benefits Of CP M
–Flexible prioritization
–Early and predictable delivery
–Predictable costs and schedules
–Improves quality
–More transparency
–Scope for Feedback
–Customer Satisfaction 8
 Introduction…
• If TPM is the “Happy Path,” then Agile
Project Management (APM) and
Extreme Project Management (xPM)
are something altogether different.
 Agile Project Management
• APM is an iterative approach to delivering a
project throughout its life cycle
• Iterative or agile life cycles are composed of
several iterations or incremental steps towards
the completion of a project.
• Iterative approaches are frequently used in
software development projects to promote
velocity and adaptability since the benefit of
iteration is that you can adjust as you go along
rather than following a linear path.
 Agile Project Management…
• One of the aims of an agile or
iterative approach is to release
benefits throughout the process rather
than only at the end.
• At the core, agile projects should
exhibit central values and behaviors
of trust, flexibility, empowerment
and collaboration.
 Agile Project Management…
TPM vs. APM
Traditional Agile Methods
Methods
Define target Define vision

Take action Hybrid Start in broad

Approach direction
Lunch and Learn and adopt
manage
Focus on target Evaluate towards
target
 Principles of an agile way of working
• project breaks a requirement into smaller
pieces, which are then prioritized by the
team in terms of importance
• The agile project promotes collaborative
working, especially with the customer.
• The agile project reflects, learns and
adjusts at regular intervals to ensure that
the customer is always satisfied and is
provided with outcomes that result in
benefits
 Principles of an agile way of working…

• Agile methods integrate planning

with execution, allowing an
organization to create a working
mindset that helps a team respond
effectively to changing
requirements.
 Guiding principles of APM
• Satisfy the customer
• Don't fear change
• Deliver working versions frequently
• Bring business people and technical people together
• Motivate, trust and support your team members
• Engage in face-to-face conversation
• Measure progress with working versions of the final product
• Encourage sustainable development
• Pay attention tp technical excellence
• Keep it simple
• Use self organizing teams regularly reflect and review
 Agile Project Management…
• Use agile when:
– Project requirements are unpredictable and may
change frequently
– Projects are complex and will reqire frequent
interactions
– Frequent feedback to stakeholders or clients is
required
– Projects involve a high degree of risk or
uncertainty
– Projects are focused on delivering value.
 Agile project management…
• APM focuses on working in small batches,
visualizing processes and collaborating with
end users to gain feedback.
• ATM five phases
– The envision phase
– The speculate phase
– The explore phase
– The adopt phase
– The close phase
 Agile Project Management…
• APM is a collection of PMLC models that
can be used to manage projects whose goals
are clearly specified but whose solutions are
not known at the outset of the project.
• These are what we call “complex projects.”
Some of the PMLC models you are already
familiar with are old (Waterfall and
prototyping, for example), and these may
have to be adapted to the particular situation
presented by the project.
 Lean Agile Project Management
• Lean Agile Project Management
implies that any step in a process that
does not contribute business value is to
be eliminated.
• Each Agile Project Management
process possesses these steps to
varying degrees of effectiveness.
 Lean Agile Project Management…
• Principles that describe lean practices:
– Eliminate waste: If it doesn’t add business value, it is
defined as waste. Something that is lying around and not
used is a waste. Process steps that don’t add value are a
waste. Find out what the client wants and deliver it ASAP.
– Amplify learning: Cooks prepare dishes from a recipe.
APM processes are iterative, and through iteration learning
about the solution is discovered.
– Decide as late as possible: APM processes create learning
and knowledge. Decisions should be based on as much
information as can reasonably be gathered. Keep all options
opened until a decision must be made. Then make it based
on as much information that has been gathered to that point.
 Principles that describe lean practices…

– Deliver as fast as possible: Clients learn from the APM process just
as developers do. Giving the client deliverables ASAP gives them
additional input on which to base further learning and discovery.
– Empower the team: The team must work in an open, honest, and
creative environment and not be shackled by heavy process and
procedure. Their environment appears informal and unfettered by
management constraints, but from a creative standpoint is the most
effective way to search out a heretofore undiscovered solution.
– Build integrity in: The success of a deliverable when the client says
it is exactly what they had in mind and the ultimate market success
of the final deliverables speak to integrity.
– See the whole: Specialists are often fixated on the success of their
piece of the solution and give little thought to the overall
effectiveness of the whole solution. That tunnel vision has to take a
backseat in effective APM processes.
 The Iterative PMLC Model
• An Iterative PMLC model consists of a
number of process groups that are
repeated sequentially within an
iteration with a feedback loop after
each iteration is completed.
• At the discretion of the client, the last
process group in an iteration may
release a partial solution.
 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• Iterative approaches are used when you
have an initial version of the solution, but
it is known to fall short in terms of
features and perhaps functions.
• The iterative cycles are designed to
identify, select, and integrate the missing
pieces of the solution.
 The Iterative PMLC Model…

Close
Cont Close project
Scope Plan Launc
rol itera Next
Iter h
Iterati &mo tion
atio on nitor
iteration
n iterat
ion

Figure 2-2 is the process group–level view of the Iterative PMLC model.
 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• The Iterative PMLC model requires a
solution that identifies the requirements at
the function level but might be missing
some of the details at the feature level.
• In other words, the functions are known
and will be built into the solution through a
number of iterations, but the details (the
features) are not completely known at the
beginning of the project.
 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• The missing features will come to light
as the client works with the most
current solution in a prototyping sense.
• The Iterative PMLC model is a learn-
by-doing model.
• The use of intermediate solutions is the
pathway to discovering the intimate
details of the complete solution.
 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• The Iterative PMLC model embraces several types of
iteration. Iteration can be on requirements, functionality,
features, design, development, solutions, and other
components of the solution.
• The Iterative PMLC model embraces several types of
iteration. Iteration can be on requirements, functionality,
features, design, development, solutions, and other
components of the solution.
• An iteration consists of the Planning, Launching,
Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing Process Groups.
Closing an iteration is not the same as closing the project.
 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• The Iterative PMLC model kicks in when one of the
following occurs:
• Most but not all of the solution is clearly known.
• You might otherwise have chosen the Incremental
PMLC model but have a strong suspicion that there
will be more than a minimum number of scope
change requests.
• You might otherwise have chosen the Adaptive
PMLC model but are concerned about lack of client
involvement. There is some added risk to this
decision.
 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• Scoping Phase of an Iterative PMLC Model
– The Scoping Phase of the Iterative PMLC
model takes on a bit more complexity than the
Scoping Phase of the Linear or Incremental
PMLC models, and it requires decisions that are
not part of Linear or Incremental PMLC models.
– The key input for your decision to use an
Iterative PMLC model is the requirements
definition expressed by the Requirements
Breakdown Structure (RBS).
 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• Planning Phase of an Iterative PMLC Model
• Planning is done at two levels in the Iterative
PMLC model.
• The initial Planning Phase develops a high-level
plan without much detail. The reason is that the
full detail is not known at the initial stage.
• The functionality is known, and its design and
development can be planned across any number of
iterations.
• There are two ways to structure the high-level plan
in the Iterative PMLC model.
 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• Launching Phase of an Iterative PMLC
Model
• There is a significant difference
between the project team for a
Traditional Project Management
(TPM) project and the project team for
an APM project. Table 2-1 summarizes
those differences.
 Table 2-1: Differences Between a TPM Project Team and an APM Project Team

Characteristics TPM Project Team APM Management Team

Size Could be very large Usually less than 15

Skill level All levels Most skilled

Location Co-located or distributed Co-located

Experience level Junior to Senior Senior

Position responsibility Requires supervision Unsupervised

 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• Monitoring and Controlling Phase of an Iterative
PMLC Model
• In the Iterative PMLC model, the Monitoring and
Controlling Phase begins to change.
• Because of the speculative nature of the iterative
strategy, much of the heavy documentation and
status reporting gives way to more informal
reporting.
• Much of that formalism becomes non-value- added
work and begins to burden the team with tasks that
do not bring them any closer to the final solution.
 The Iterative PMLC Model…
• Closing Phase of an Iterative PMLC Model
• The Closing Phase for the Iterative PMLC model
is similar to the Closing Phase for the TPM
PMLC model in that there are client-specified
criteria that must be met in order for the iteration
or cycle deliverables to be considered complete.
• Those criteria were specified during iteration
planning. Each iteration has closing criteria, but
only regarding the iteration deliverables for that
cycle.
 Adaptive PMLC model
• An Adaptive PMLC model consists of a
number of phases that are repeated in
cycles, with a feedback loop after each
cycle is completed.
• Each cycle proceeds based on an incomplete
and limited understanding of the solution.
• Each cycle learns from the preceding cycles
and plans the next cycle in an attempt to
converge on an acceptable solution.
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• Scoping Phase of an Adaptive PMLC Model
• The Scoping Phase of the Adaptive PMLC model is a high-
level activity because not much is known about the solution.
The missing functions and features have to be discovered
and learned through repeated cycles much like the Iterative
SDPM strategy.
• For the Adaptive PMLC model, the scoping activities merely
set the boundaries and the high-level parameters that will be
the foundation on which you proceed to learn and discover.
• As part of the Scoping Phase deliverables, you will
document requirements, as you know them; functionality, as
you know it; and features,
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• Planning Phase of an Adaptive PMLC Model
• At this point in the Adaptive PMLC model,
planning is done for the coming cycle. High-level
planning was done as part of the Scoping Phase.
• Based on the known functionality and features that
will be built in the coming cycle, a detailed plan is
developed.
• This plan utilizes all of the tools, templates, and
processes that were defined for the Planning
Process Group.
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• Launching Phase of an Adaptive PMLC Model
• The Launching Phase will be the same as
discussed in the Iterative PMLC model. The
launch activities will include establishing team
operating rules, the decision-making process,
conflict management, team meetings, and a
problem solving approach.
• The only difference will be defining the approach
that will be used to establish sub teams and their
work plan to accommodate concurrent swim lane
tasks.
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• Monitoring and Controlling Phase of an
Adaptive PMLC Model
• As you move from the Iterative PMLC
model to the Adaptive PMLC model, there is
a marked shift from formality to informality
when it comes to this phase. That move to
informality makes room for the marked
increase in creativity that the team is called
upon to deliver.
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• Closing Phase of an Adaptive PMLC Model
• The Closing Phase produces the typical
artifacts: lessons learned, validation of
success criteria, and so forth.
• In addition to those, you might have items
left in the Scope Bank that were not
included in any cycle build. These are to be
documented and held for the next version of
the solution.
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• The Scoping Process Group includes the
following:
• Eliciting the true needs of the client
• Documenting the client’s needs
• Negotiating with the client how those needs
will be met
• Writing a one-page description of the project
• Gaining senior management approval to plan
the project
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• Planning the Next Iteration/Cycle
• The Planning Process Group includes the following:
–Defining all of the work of the project
–Estimating how long it will take to complete the work
–Estimating the resources required to complete the work
–Estimating the total cost of the work
–Sequencing the work
–Building the initial project schedule
–Analyzing and adjusting the project schedule
–Writing a risk management plan
–Documenting the project plan
–Gaining senior management approval to launch the project
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• Launching the Next Iteration/Cycle
• The Launching Process Group includes the following:
– Recruiting the project manager (usually part of the Scoping
Phase)
– Recruiting the project team (core team during Scoping Phase)
– Writing a project description document
– Establishing team operating rules
– Establishing the scope change management process
– Managing team communications
– Finalizing the project schedule
– Writing work packages
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• Monitoring and Controlling the Next
Iteration/Cycle
• The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
includes the following:
– Establishing the project performance and reporting
system
– Monitoring project performance
– Monitoring risk
– Reporting project status
– Processing scope change requests
– Discovering and solving problems
 Adaptive PMLC model,,,
• Closing the Project
• The Closing Process Group includes the following processes:
– Gaining client approval of having met project requirements
– Planning and installing deliverables
– Writing the final project report
– Conducting the post-implementation audit
• An APM project ends when one of the following occurs:
– The time and budget are expended.
– An acceptable solution with the expected business value is
found.
– The project is abandoned.
 Extreme Project Management

• Extreme Project Management (xPM) is the

least structured and most creatively
managed of the five models that define the
project management landscape.
• Extreme projects are at the furthest corner
of the landscape where uncertainty and
complexity are at their highest levels.
Because of that, the failure rates of Extreme
projects are the highest among all types of
projects.
 Extreme Project Management…
• Extreme PMLC models consist of a sequence of repeated
phases with each phase based on a very limited
understanding of the goal and solution.
• Each phase learns from the preceding ones and redirects
the next phase in an attempt to converge on an acceptable
goal and solution.
• A phase consists of the five Process Groups, each
performed once in the sequence Scoping Planning
Launching Monitoring and Controlling Closing.
• In effect, a phase is a complete project life cycle much as it
is in the Incremental PMLC model, but with an option to
release a partial solution at the completion of each phase.
 When to Use an Emertxe PMLC Model

• The Emertxe PMLC model should be your

model of choice in any project that seeks to
find business value through the integration
of a new technology into a current product,
service, or process.
• There are two major types of projects that
call for this model to be used: R & D
projects and some problem-solution
projects.
 Activity
• Identify the major categories of
projects by providing appropriate
example

49
 Classification of projects

• Strategic projects
• Tactical projects
• Operational projects
• Compliance projects

50
 Strategic projects

• Innovative breakthrough and

comprehensive projects
• Examples :
–New product development,
retail location, new branch or
division or even facility
51
 Tactical projects

• Focuses' on the boundaries of the project.

• Use of best practices, specific, concrete
steps and actions taken to support a
strategy and realize measurable objectives.
• Example:
• If a company wants to make a bid, it will
have to use promotions, lower prices, and
customized offers as tactics to achieve its
goal.
52
 Operational projects

• Focus on improving a business’s day to day operations.

• Where the objective is modifying a process in any way
that directly supports business goals. Any project that
aim to increase efficiency, decrease costs, or improve
productivity in the short term are considered operational
projects.
• Example:
• A company’s effort to implement a new customer
relationship management system. This type of project
involves considerable changes in processes with the
ultimate goal of improving service and increasing
customer loyalty.
53
 Compliance projects

• Projects that must be done in order to comply

with industry or governmental regulations or
standards.

54
Chapter 2 Ends