Extreme project management

Extreme project management (XPM) refers to a method of managing very complex and very uncertain projects.

Extreme project management differs from traditional project management mainly in its open, elastic and undeterministic approach. The main focus of XPM is on the human side of project management (e.g. managing project stakeholders), rather than on intricate scheduling techniques and heavy formalism.

Extreme project management corresponds to extreme programming.

Advanced approaches to extreme project management utilize the principles of human interaction management to deal with the complexities of human collaboration.

About XPM

As it is known, the software industry is a fast growing domain and in constant development and change. Despite the fact that there are plenty of methodologies and techniques used when it comes to project management, some new, and others that have been used for decades, extreme project management is one of the modern approaches to project management in this industry.

Given that requirements are constantly changing and technology is evolving very rapidly, extreme projects move forward very fast and allow for teams to work in shorter timelines, being able to better understand and approve each other's ideas and work.[1][2]

For extreme project management to produce rapid change, it is necessary for all team members to communicate and reach full understanding. This method is used during the project execution and change control process and it is not allowed to be used for overall strategy or project prioritization.[3]

To produce project plans, XPM uses a concept similar to rapid application development (RAD) called rapid application planning (RAP). Stakeholders are invited by the project manager to the RAP session where a sequence of steps (including planning the project) is run so that the best decisions are taken.[4]

Extreme project management contributes to success in three different ways:

1. With it, you manage the unknown and unpredictable.

2. It instills desire and confidence among stakeholders and it focuses on gaining and sustaining commitment to the project mission.

3. It is a holistic approach, based on reality, managed by specialists.[1]

Extreme vs traditional project management

Traditional project management is defined as an approach which assesses the project through five stages: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and completion. Each of these stages done in chronological order, and none of them begins until the preceding stage is completed.[5]

The main characteristics of a traditional project management are:

While traditional project management is used for linear work, without any significant changes, extreme project management is ideal for fast-speed projects with unpredictable results.[1][5]

One challenge faced by the traditional approach is that most software development projects' requirements change during the project execution period.

Extreme projects are “a complex, self-correcting venture in search of a desire result” (Doug DeCarlo),[6] where requirements are constantly changing throughout the project as a response to environmental factors such as competition, technology, and economic conditions.

Extreme projects are characterized by:

Traditional project management utilizes the "waterfall method", whose purpose is to plan project activity in a straight line. Fig. 1 shows the traditional approach, in which each process runs linearly, resulting with what was planned from the beginning.[2][7]

In Fig. 2, there is a model for the extreme approach, which is not running constantly, adapting the project activity during the process, which leads in the final stage to a desired result.[1] [1] An extreme project management life cycle model is one that proceeds from phase to phase based on very limited knowledge of goal and solution. Each phase learns from the proceeding ones and redirects the next phase in an attempt to converge on an acceptable goal and solution.[8]

Mindset

Fundamental to success on an extreme project is the application of both the appropriate complex method and the required mindset. Mindset is one of the most important and critical factors related to the extreme project management. In order to change the mindset of a team, there are some main rules for extreme approach for project management:

Mindset is defined as “a set of beliefs and assumptions about how the world works” (Douglas DeCarlo). Mindset is the project’s internal programming.

A quantum mindset is needed to manage extreme projects in order to provide the project team an opening to change and unpredictability.[1]

Extreme project manager

A project manager is a professional in the field of project management whose responsibility is to plan, execute and manage any project. An extreme project manager has to complete all duties and tasks at a high-speed level, following the proper extreme project methodology.

The first step of any management methodology is that extreme project managers have to meet the client or the project stakeholders. Also, a specific analysis must be made to accentuate the value being provided to the client, emphasizing the benefits the client will gain as soon as the project is over. [9]

The extreme project manager is charged with responsibilities to the organization they represent, to the team, and to the project itself. Necessary skills include administrative credibility, political sensitivity and leadership.[10]

The main tasks that an extreme project manager has to fulfill for the project to be successful are:

One of the rules that a manager needs to know is that extreme analysis is a way for the clients to know the benefits he will gain, emphasizing its value once the project is completed.[9]

Books

Literature

See also

External links

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 eXtreme Project Mabagement. Using Leadership, Principles, and Tools to Deliver Value in the Face of Volatility, by Doug DeCarlo, Foreword by James P. Lewis, Afterword by Robert K. Wysocki, First Edition, October 2004, Wiley
  2. 1 2 The Extreme Approach to Managing a Project
  3. Extreme Project Management, 2014 Association of Modern Technologies Professionals
  4. XPM – from idea to realization. Critical approach to the concept of XPM. Synopsis. 2001
  5. 1 2 What is Project Management?, Elaine J. Hom, BusinessNewsDaily Contributor, February 25, 2014
  6. 1 2 Effective Project Management: Traditional, Adaptive, Extreme, By Robert K. Wysocki, Rudd McGary. August 2003, Wiley Pub.
  7. Radical Project Management.By Rob Thomsett. Published by Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle Creek, New Jersey, 2004
  8. 1 2 Traditional Project Management vs. Extreme Project Management. An Apples and Cumquats Comparison, by Doug DeCarlo
  9. 1 2 Extreme Project Management, by Shaun Ajani. Publisher: iUniverse, 1 Jan 2002
  10. 1 2 Project Management: A Managerial Approach, by Jack R. Meredith, Samuel J. Mantel, 8th Edition, Chapter 3: The Project Manager. Publisher: John Wiley & Sons. Release Date: Aug. 23, 2011
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