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.

Methodology

In extreme project management the project team members are given a lot of room to improvise within the given framework of the project. Even though there is a lot of improvisation the work is not ad hoc because of the planning and review of the work. -

In traditional project management the people are servants to the process i.e. gannt chart, status reports and other such deliverables. In an extreme project the process is servant to the people, since a good quality of life is necessary to produce the needed creativity to insure the projects success. -

A key aspect of extreme project management is to realize that you cannot manage the uncertain and unknown the same way you would manage the known quantities. It is a waste of time to trying to change reality to fit the project, in an extreme project no single person is in control everyone in the team will be in control of the project. -

Important to the project manager is the mindset when managing an extreme project since a lot of control will be distributed to the project team, the manager must adopt a mindset which thrives on change and innovation. -

When managing an extreme project, it is not the managing that is in focus it is leadership. A good process leadership will allow the project team to discover the best solutions and to self-correct the project, this is necessary due to the minimalistic planning and fast-pace work. -

Success requires that the technical aspects of the project is integrated with the business and political aspect of the project. This management is focused on managing the expectations of the clients and making sure the deliverables match the expectations of the client.

The Methodology of extreme project management can be separated in to 11 rules and 5 tools.

Rule 1: When managing creative people, the management process needs to be creative

Rule 2: The project manager should focus on the business and organization aspect of the project and not on the technical issues.

Rule 3: In extreme project management it is the future is more important than the past.

Rule 4: A plan without the full participation of the stakeholders is worthless.

Rule 5: The extreme project manager must be more concerned with the context of the project than the content of the project. This is achieved by the manager being in constant communication with the stakeholders.

Rule 6: The success conditions of the project must be defined at the start of the project otherwise success will not be achieved by the end.

Rule 7: Show continuous progress and results to the stakeholders.

Rule 8: The project stakeholders can be the project mangers worst enemy or closest ally all depending on the stakeholder engagement.

Rule 9: It is impossible to predict the future and therefore it should not be planned in detail.

Rule 10: If there has been no change in the project there is something wrong.

Rule 11: In internet or it project a day is a long time.

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

Managing the Extreme Project Environment

The project manager in a professional in the field of project management whose job is to plan, execute and manage a project. In the extreme project the project manager must complete these duties at a high-speed environment while following the mythology of extreme project management.

One of the key components of in extreme project management is the high focus on the project stakeholders this leads to the first step of the management is to meet with the client or stakeholders and have these people or organizations involved with the planning the project. A specific analysis which accentuates the value the client or stakeholder will gain must be made.(Ref) “Traditional project management is past oriented. Extreme project management is future oriented.”( Adaptive Software Development (2000)). The point of this quote is that the traditional manager’s goal is to get it right the first time, while the extreme project managers goal is to get it right the last time. The extreme project most often seen in software development the focus is on the client and often the client will change the specifications of the project many times during the life cycle of the project therefore if the future is going to change why plan for it. This means that the manager be adaptable to change by using a minimalistic approach when planning the next step. The role of the project manager can be described by using four steps

• Navigating the political landscape, The first step entails the communication with the stakeholders and ensuring that the stakeholder expectation align with what the project is producing

• Generating results, The second step is about facilitating project infrastructure like tools and processes as well as decision making. In this step it is also necessary to continuously demonstrate results and track progress.

• Manage the mood Third step is about making an environment which empowers the project team members to produce innovative and creative results. Here it is also important coach and encourage and eliminate the everyday barriers which stops the team from working effectively.

• Ensuring business value In this step it is important to maintain a strategic view of the project orientation. This means focusing on what the project is trying to achieve rather than focusing on what the specific task entails. With this in mind a project manager should be able to eliminate tasks with the reason of the task not following the strategic goal of the project.