Extreme Project Management (XPM)

Abstract

Extreme project management (XPM) is a modern approach to manage projects this method is used when managing complex and uncertain projects which has a lot of new or changing requirements during the project duration. The methodology is bordering on a tactical operation of an ongoing project with the goal of completing the project ahead of the normal timeline. Extreme project management differs from normal project management with its open and non-deterministic approach and with a larger focus on managing the stakeholders involved in the project. Extreme Project management came about as a consequence of modern situation requiring a method which allows managing constant changes and complexities in more turbulent projects. This nature has led to Extreme Project Management being one of the main methods used in the software development industry. In this article the XPM approach will explained and compared with the traditional approach additionally the leadership skills and stakeholder managements methods will be explored.

Background

There exist many types of project management with different industries using different methods most suitable for their respective challenges. Extreme project management Extreme project management one of the most project management methods used in the software industry due to the large changes and alterations occurring in the industry.

Extreme project management is fast pace working environment which allows the project teams to work in shorter timelines. For the Extreme project management to keep up the accelerated pace it is necessary to for all team members to understand what the work entails this is done by having close thorough communication in the execution of the project, this however should not affect the strategy of the project.

Extreme project management uses a variation of the more often used rapid application development (RAD) called rapid application planning (RAP). In this planning the project manager invites the steak holders to rapid application planning sessions where the planning of the project is made.

Extreme Project Management Vs. Traditional Project Management

A main distinction between the traditional project management and extreme project management is the amount of predictability in the given project. Usually in a traditional project a plan will be made often using the waterfall method describes what actions needs to be taken when and where and what deliverables there is. While the plan is often challenging to follow exactly in traditional project management it is an overview of what the project will entail. The extreme project management however will usually change rapidly during the course of the project since XPM is mainly used in cases of turbulent environment. The waterfall method works by organizing a set of project activities in a direct line when changes then occur in this line the whole project will be reset from the previous point. In extreme project management the work is divided into smaller deliverables with a timeframe of days or weeks. Because the deliverables are smaller the amount the project team has to reset when there is a change is decreased allowing the project team to review and approve thought the project. The projects managed using XPM is “a complex, self-correcting venture in search of a desired result” (Ref), In these project requirements will change constantly during the project due to reasons like technology, economic conditions and technology. Extreme projects is a process to discover what is truly wanted done through trial and error(Ref duncan). The Extreme project is self-correcting because the fast pace work does not allow all of the decisions to be run up the hierarchy which results in the decisions being made be the team members, thus making the project self-correcting. In case of a traditional project the goal is to produce a planned result efficiently by minimizing the deviations from the plan. A key difference then becomes the traditional project focus on efficiency and the extreme projects focus on effectiveness.

Traditional project management

• Fully plan driven
• Manages the known
• Stable and predictable
• Achieve planned result
• Efficiency
• Process driven
• It thrives on managing

Extreme Project Management

• Fully adaptive with short cycles of development
• Manages the unknown
• Chaotic and ever changing
• Self-correcting leading to right result
• Effectiveness
• People and result driven
• It thrives on leading