Effective Project Management: Traditional, Adaptive, Extreme, Fourth Edition

Chapter 13. Introduction to the Adaptive Project Framework

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.

—Winston Churchill

There is no data on the future.

—Laurel Cutler, Vice Chairman, FCB/Leber Katz Partners

For those businesses that have only recently realized the pain of not having a project management process in place and are struggling to adapt traditional practices to nontraditional projects, I say, "Stop wasting your time!" I'm not advocating the overthrow of the project management world, but rather asking you to stop and consider what has been happening. It's time to pay attention to the signals coming from the changing business environment and discover how to survive the fast-paced, constantly changing, high-quality demands of the new business model.

In the next seven chapters you are going to learn about an approach to project management that dynamically adjusts to the changing characteristics of the project, rather than an approach that follows a static "one-size-fits-all" approach. This adaptive approach will result in far fewer project failures, greater customer satisfaction, and maximum business value for the time and cost invested.

Note

The Adaptive Project Framework (APF) incorporates selected tools and processes from Traditional Project Management (TPM). Those tools and processes are not repeated here. This part of the book assumes that the reader is familiar with the TPM approach. A quick review of Part I is suggested ...