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

Chapter 15. Cycle Plan

You've got to think about "big things" while you're doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.

—Alvin Toffler

This chapter bears remarkable similarity to the TPM approach. In fact, everything we do in this chapter, the traditionalist will also do (see Figure 15-1). There are two differences, however: One, the traditionalist will do cycle planning for the entire project using a complete version of the WBS. As noted in the previous chapter, the project manager using the APF (APFist) works only on the part of the WBS that corresponds to the work that will be done in the upcoming cycle. Anything beyond that would be conjecture on the part of the APFist. Two, the traditionalist will use project management software, whereas the APFist will use a whiteboard, Post-It notes, and marking pens. The APFist could use project management software, but it is not necessary. In fact, using project management software to do cycle planning is like killing mosquitoes with a sledgehammer.

Remember that cycle length is typically around two to six weeks, and that is the window of time during which the APFist is doing cycle planning. Because TPM and the APF are so similar in this planning stage, there is some repetition of material in the first part of this chapter. This repetition is needed to keep the presentation flowing smoothly, but I will keep it to a minimum.

Note

If you are an APFist and you still want to use project management software, be my guest. ...