eXtreme Project Management
Project management is a discipline that has changed quite thoroughly in modern times. It consists of different approaches that have evolved this study to cope with different types of management methods, even the most high pressured ones. One such approach defined as an agile method of project management is XPM. EXtreme project management (XPM) is a methodology that handles projects that are characterized with speed, complexity and uncertainty, thus, an agile method. What we would call eXtreme projects are those that are chaotic and unpredictable, where speed is essential and preparation for the project is made ‘just-in-time’. These characteristics are what differs it from traditional projects where planning is measured, sure and organized. It refrains from the ‘slow and steady’ pace and does a direct go at a project with a goal that is both changing and approaching into a clearer focus.
Processes are done in order to complete components of a project; usually there are standards for these processes as well as guidelines on when to use these processes. A detailed list of these fundamentals of project management is summarized in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). It is considered a standard for project organization where it offers methods that can bring about a healthy and excellently planned project. It consists of different knowledge areas:
• Project Integration Management
• Project Scope Management
• Project Time Management
• Project Cost Management
• Project Quality Management
• Project Human Resource Management
• Project Communications Management
• Project Risk Management and
• Project Procurement Management
These knowledge areas all follow into different processes used in a project phase: Project Initiation, Planning, Monitoring & Controlling, Executing and Closing. As PMBOK, conceptually, defines a project of value, these characteristics should be present in different systems of project management such as XPM in order to ensure a successful project and its management.
Going back to XPM, it is an approach which requires a project that has been defined at a high level and where detailed functionalities and well-defined objectives already exist. Once those are defined and a scope is made clear, the XPM method is applied. The customer lists and defines the functionalities that are most important. Deliverables in XPM are usually required a maximum of one month of completion. Delivering functionality is done every few weeks in order to keep the project on course. Those more complex functionalities are broken down in a way that the overall timeframe is unaffected. This is one characteristic of XPM in where deliverables are usually done in parts. This makes changes and additions wanted by the customer to be done on the spot. It makes up for its lack of strategic planning by utilizing more human interaction: promoting to the project team members better collaboration and giving the customer a more active role in the project.
What seems to disagree from the standards set in PMBOK and the XPM methodology is that one would think that following the standard of the different knowledge areas and processes requires a good amount of time, usually required for traditional project management. That could be a common misconception as XPM, although seemingly lacking in project prioritization, keeps a project’s development at a rate where planning is minimal and thorough work is capitalized. There is management for the knowledge areas: integration and scope is present from the beginning. Cost and time management is one of priority as deliverables are given only weeks. Also customer and team members maximize their collaboration, ensuring quality and maximizing human resource & communications managements. Risk and procurement management is also visible in these. The PMBOK knowledge areas and its processes all essentially apply in XPM though the time used for processes done are reduced, relative to the time pressure given by the eXtreme project. It is an adaptive project management approach where work is done in high complexity, usually done for projects of eXtreme quality yet not for project priority.
References:
- eXtreme Project Management by Carlo Luis
- eXtreme Project Management: Using Leadership, Principles and Tools to Deliver Value in the Face of Volatility by Doug DeCarlo
- PMBOK Guide 4th edition (2008)
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