Effective Software Project Management

Traditional Versus Adaptive Projects

As you know, the Traditional project has clearly defined requirements, functions, and features. They are completely documented and unlikely to change—despite the fact that reality will prove otherwise and this specificity is unlikely to happen. However, it still leads the project manager to adopt a Linear or Incremental SDPM strategy. A complete project plan with the resource schedule is followed, and the project is completed within budget, time, and scope requirements. The success of the Traditional project hinges on the accuracy of the original requirements document. Small adjustments can be made, but the major direction of the project is determined at the front end. Major adjustments most often result in project termination with a view toward restarting the project with a new scope and requirements specification. That turns into a big wasted effort of time and money resulting from the aborted attempt.

Adaptive projects do not have that degree of specificity. In fact, much of the solution (expressed in terms of requirements, functions, and features specification) may be unknown. The more unknowns there are, the more challenge it will be to the creative energies of the whole team to produce a successful solution. This leads the project manager to shy away from speculation and develop a plan only for the known requirements. That plan is very different from the Traditional plan. For one thing, it is not a process-driven plan.

The Adaptive plan ...