According to our observation, almost everywhere in the country projects are treated as a secondary and distracting element. However, according to some data, by 2025, up to 60% of executives’ working time will be spent on projects. And according to our research, already now, in 2023, up to 50% of managers’ time will be spent on project management.
This is confirmed by global experience - more and more companies are starting to sell complex projects/products to fully satisfy customer needs and increase their profits.
At the same time, mistakes made and not corrected at the beginning of the project can be guaranteed to bury it, and the cost of changes at the stage of putting the project into operation is 1000 times more than at the initiation and planning stage.
And the ability to correct errors during the implementation of the project decreases.
Therefore, modern methods provide up to 30-40% of the time of the entire project for its planning and risk development.
Content:
Where to begin?
Before diving into management standards, you need to determine what type of project you have in front of you.
The Kinevin model, which was developed by Dave Snowden back in 1999, is perfect for this and is based on the fact that “different problem situations require different approaches to finding the right solution,” as Snowden himself said.
The model identifies five types of systems: simple, complex, intricate, chaotic, and disordered (or uncertain).
Simple system
Typically these are repetitive and relatively simple linear projects. For example, installing a mobile communications base station, laying a sidewalk in the yard, holding a webinar. In such a system you can work according to any “cascade” standard (“waterfall”). The main thing is not to be fooled by simplicity and not to neglect planning and control points.
A complex system
Characterized by an increase in the number of relationships. The creation of a medical center, the implementation of an ERP system, the reconstruction of a production line - all this can be classified as complex systems. Here it is necessary to comply with the key requirements of the PMBOK, Prince 2, P2M standards, and work with stakeholders and risks. "Agile" methodologies here can lead to unreasonable budget overruns and missed deadlines. But they can be used as part of a "hybrid" approach.
Tangled System
The number of relationships increases significantly, which destroys the linearity of processes. These are projects such as, for example, the development of a new mobile application, entering a new foreign market, or creating a bill in the field of artificial intelligence.
In such projects you have to communicate a lot with the customer. Moreover, he himself does not fully understand what he needs, and the final product may differ significantly from the original plan.
Therefore, such a project must be managed flexibly. This is Agile and Scrum territory. Clear technical specifications are not suitable here, but awareness of the risks and willingness to deviate from strict requirements are mandatory.
Chaotic system
That very case when “there is no time to explain...”. As a rule, this is either a crisis or innovation.
The first step in Chaos is Action. The goal is to reduce Chaos. Then it is necessary to feel the result of this action and react in order to transfer the system from a chaotic state to a confused or complex one. There is simply no time to test hypotheses, because in chaotic systems everything happens incredibly quickly.
The result depends on the literacy, courage and creativity of specific managers.
Chaotic system
This is a system that is difficult to classify into one category or another. It is best to break it down into its component parts and classify them separately.
A set of characteristics, risks and recommendations for types of systems is attached:
Now that you have decided on the type of your project, you need to choose a standard for managing it.
Nowadays, hybrid methods are mainly used. There is very little pure approach. These include:
Classic approaches include the so-called “Waterfall” - the very necessary basic level of management. Today, in its pure form, it is practically not used, but it was from “Waterfall” that such philosophies as the same “Agile” grew.
According to the waterfall approach, the project is divided into five stages: requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, deployment.
The project team moves sequentially from stage to stage.
The main thing in such a scheme is the agreed technical specification. It is the God of the entire project with a clear plan, instructions, formalities and restrictions. This is the type of management that is characteristic of government agencies and large corporations. TK here is 50% of all success.
Accordingly, it is not suitable for complex, confusing, and even more so chaotic projects.
After all, everything is done according to specifications and with limited budgets. The success of the product itself is assessed relative to the initial requirements. If it does, the project is considered successful. And therefore, why invest in its improvement? But if, despite compliance with the technical specifications, the organization realizes that the decision was wrong, then dissatisfaction is usually expressed in punishing those responsible.
However, for simple projects or for some stages of complex and intricate projects, the waterfall method is quite suitable.
Project Management Body of Knowledge - in Russian, this is a body of knowledge about project management, a “classifier” of processes that dictates what needs to be done and when in order for the project to achieve its stated goals.
This code is the result of the work of the Americans in their desire to create a universal “instruction”. They wanted to get away from the human factor in management and make it so that anyone, taking these instructions, could implement the project. According to this code, PMI (Project Management Institute) certification is carried out.
PMI also issues a certificate of PMP (Project Management Professional) status.
PMBOK is the most common waterfall methodology that can be used in most simple and complex projects.
This approach introduced the concept of the "project triangle", describing the balance between project cost, time and quality:
Now the sixth version of PMBOK is still relevant, but the seventh version was released in 2021. There is a transition to more “flexible” management. The standard no longer dictates what to do and when to do it, but rather provides tools and tips. You yourself will navigate the circumstances.
This was a response to uncertainty and instability. the so-called VUCA world concept.
The current sixth version focuses on the waterfall model and the following stages of the project: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, completion.
For each stage, certain processes must be performed.
The most common causes of problems are undeveloped initiation and planning stages, when there are no clear criteria for success, risks and communications have not been worked out.
In the current uncertainty, it is extremely important at the planning stage to include 30-35% for force majeure (the main postulate of risk management), and a number of IT practitioners generally believe that this figure should be at the level of 50%.
At the same time, the above groups of processes are not strictly tied to the stages of the project. There are also initiation processes at the project closure stage (initiation of closure, collection of documents, etc.)
PMBOK also implies management:
Integration
Making decisions on concentration of resources; attempts to anticipate potential problems and resolve them before they become critical; coordinating work on the project. Through integration, trade-offs can be made between overlapping goals and alternative options.
Contents
For example, creating a project work breakdown structure, defining, planning, confirming and managing scope.
Deadlines
Determining the composition of operations and the relationships between them, assessing resources and duration of operations, developing and managing a schedule.
Cost
Budget development and cost control. Cost assessment is carried out, a cost budget is developed, and cost management is carried out.
Quality
All processes associated with achieving goals. These include planning, quality assurance and quality control.
By human resourses
Organizing and managing a project team. Human resource planning, recruitment and team development
Communications
Communications are planned, information is disseminated, performance reporting is created, and project participants are managed.
Risks
The processes involved in this area are risk management planning, identification, qualitative and quantitative risk analysis, response planning, risk monitoring and management.
Supplies
Planning purchases and contracts, requesting information from suppliers, selecting suppliers, administering and closing contracts.
Personally, we focus on managing communications and people, working with suppliers, customers and integration.
Through this, we quickly learn about risks, possible problems with quality or deadlines, and contractors. This helped to implement projects in different industries and with different people.
Communication problems also cause problems in project implementation. Excessive emphasis on formal tools will not save you from problems; on the contrary, it will build barriers in communication.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the approach, it takes a long time and hard work to master it. The relationships within the project look like this:
You can independently study the standard and books based on it here:
Video on the topic:
PRojects IN Controlled Environments 2 (projects in controlled environments, second version) is the most “directive” method of project management. He focuses on the mandatory nature of all tools (processes, topics, principles) and omits the importance of soft skills (leadership, working with motivation, and so on). Everything is as we like it.
But he is already focusing on AGILE. For example, PRINCE2 Agile Foundation and PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner certificates are issued.
Unlike the PMBoK manual, which explains which parts of a process can be included depending on the situation, the PRINCE2 structural standard assumes a clear sequence of stages (steps) for a number of repeatable processes.
But just like PMBoK, it can be classified as a “waterfall” approach.
The creators of the methodology believe that using PRINCE2 helps provide the right information at the right time to the right people to make the right decisions.
The standard includes 7 principles, 7 topics, 7 processes.
7 principles:
Constant assessment of feasibility. The customer, even if it is internal, must be constantly confident in the need to implement the project; if such a need has disappeared, then the project should be terminated. The expected benefits must outweigh the costs and risks.
Taking into account previous experience. Project managers must continually analyze and apply lessons learned from other projects, as well as record their own experiences during the project.
Defined roles and responsibilities. Each project must have a matrix of responsibilities within the project and its organizational structure. The authors of PRINCE2 identify three project stakeholders: business (defines the project's goals and invests in it), users (use the project's product) and suppliers (provide resources).
Management by stages. The project must be planned, monitored and controlled in stages. At the end of each stage, the plan for the next stage should be updated, taking into account the results of the current stage that is ending. Between each stage there must be key decision points.
Management by exception. Project management should be accomplished by defining duties and responsibilities at each level of the project through strict delegation of authority. This method of management allows you to save time both for senior management, project sponsors, and the project manager himself. Tolerances must be defined for each level of the project plan.
Focus on the product. The emphasis in the project should be on the final product and its quality. The change control procedure reduces the increase in project scope. The emphasis on quality and the approved product description reduces dissatisfaction among users (consumers) of the finished product of the project.
Adaptation to external conditions. The project team must be aware of how the PRINCE2 principles are adapted to the external conditions of the project (corporate standards, corporate culture), and whether the method used is suitable for the project environment.
7 topics of constant attention:
The economic justification allows the formation of mechanisms to determine the demand, feasibility and viability of the project, and whether the project remains so throughout its entire implementation. Based on the economic justification, taking into account benefits, costs and risks, a decision should be made on the further continuation of the project and its investments.
Organization. A project stakeholder is a person or group of people who can influence or be affected by the project (including project processes and risks). The project must define and formulate a clear structure of project responsibilities and responsibilities. A detailed description of each role can be read in the standard.
Quality control. Determine and implement means within the project to verify that the project's products conform to the approved description and are fit for the purposes for which they are intended. Any project product must have a certain set of properties and inherent or specified characteristics that indicate that the product meets expectations or satisfies stated needs, requirements or specifications.
Work plans - broadly describes the concepts and levels of plans in a project (plan for the project initiation stage, plan for the project itself, plans for the stages of product creation, exception plans, team plans).
Project risk analysis and management. Risk management should be carried out not only at the initiation of a project or at the moment of risk occurrence, but throughout the entire duration of the project. The topic of risk analysis and management provides an approach to identifying, assessing and controlling risks during a project and, as a result, increasing project success.
Scope Change Management = identifying, assessing and then managing any potential and approved changes to project deliverables. When managing change, previous experience should always be used and change requests and deviations from specification should be assessed for impact on the business case of the project.
Decision making - designed to form and approve mechanisms for monitoring the actual results and achievements of the project and their comparison with the planned ones, forecasting the goals of the project and its deviations.
7 processes:
Start. A project manager is appointed, and requirements for the characteristics and quality of the product are established. The project manager must deal with the details and report to the Management Committee (MC). The committee, in turn, provides overall management of the project, is responsible for its success and ensures that the project adheres to the chosen course.
Initiation. The manager draws up an “initiating document”. It describes the top-level plan, which outlines the ways to achieve the goal. After signing the management document, the management stage begins. The duration of the phases can be varied, but the sequence is strictly maintained, as in traditional project management.
Control. The management structure is approved and it is established how exactly each next stage will take place, and what to do if design changes are made.
Control. Even in favorable conditions, changes are made to it during the implementation of a project. Since the road map for the next stage is created after a detailed analysis of the previous stage, a project in this format naturally adapts to changes. Such changes also make adjustments to the project plan, which must be agreed upon with the management company.
Implementation. The main stage during which project operations are implemented. The manager at this stage ensures that the entire team performs its tasks in accordance with the set goals. Also here the manager is responsible for accepting parts of the project.
Constraint management. At this stage, it is determined whether it is possible to create what the business needs, whether issues regarding the advancement of the process and the conditions for implementation are resolved.
Completion. At the final stage, an in-depth analysis of the progress of the project and its results takes place. A report on this is submitted to the Criminal Code.
Roles:
The customer is the person who pays for the project.
The user is the person who will use the project's product, or the person who will be affected by the results of the project. Sometimes the customer and the user may be the same person.
The supplier is a subject matter expert. Offers the knowledge necessary to design or create the final result of the project.
The project manager is responsible for organizing, planning and controlling the work of the project. Selects and manages people to perform project tasks.
The project team and its leader perform project tasks. Team leaders oversee detailed aspects of day-to-day work and report to the project manager.
The administrator organizes meetings, keeps everyone in the loop, keeps track of documentation, etc. When working on small projects, project managers often take on these responsibilities themselves. But basically an administrative support service is organized to carry out these duties.
Summary of the standard:
Video on PRINCE2:
The Japanese approach, or rather even a knowledge system for project management. It is based on the practical experience of Japanese companies and aims to create value for clients in projects where there is a high degree of uncertainty.
Its goal is to create conditions for creating greater added value, plus eliminating the situation when, by the time the project is closed, no one needs its result/product, or is needed, but in a different form.
P2M focuses on the value we create for the consumer of the product and teaches us to understand who needs the product and why. And in this way he comes as close as possible to the modern trend - product management.
If PMBOK (5th edition, the most common among us) defines a project as “a temporary enterprise aimed at creating a unique product, service or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and end,” then P2M speaks of a project as “an obligation to create value based on the mission of the project, which must be completed within a certain period within the agreed time, resources and operating conditions.”
Any project begins with defining its mission. This distinguishes P2M from other project management standards, which usually start by defining goals.
The main document of P2M is a Guide to managing innovation projects and enterprise programs.
P2M recognizes not only content, resources and deadlines as limitations, but also external circumstances
And most importantly: P2M aims to manage not just one project, but a program or portfolio of projects so that they are synchronized and united by a common goal/mission of the entire company. That is, he looks at the project as an element of an interconnected system.
Based on our experience and analysis of projects of different companies, including the implementation of digitalization and transformation, we can say that this is one of the most critical and painful issues. This condition is, as a rule, not met.
The Japanese classify P2M as the third generation of standards:
1st generation
The basis was to set goals for cost, timing, quality and content to achieve consistently high results (I would include early editions of the PMBOK as one of them)
2nd generation
In addition to project activities, emphasis was placed on operational activities to achieve expected results that satisfy all stakeholders (for me this is PRINCE2)
3rd generation
Unlike the other two generations, which emphasize the internal environment of the project, here there is an emphasis on changing the project environment and on finding solutions to complex missions to increase company value, as well as on using the best sides of the project teams involved. It is to this generation that P2M belongs. I would also include Agile/Scrum and the seventh generation of PMBOK here.
To determine the mission, the 6W1H (Who, What, When, Why, How, Which and Whom) method is used with answers to the questions:
Who is the program manager?
What will be the main problem and its solution?
When will the program start and end?
Why is it being created?
How will it be implemented?
Which plan will be implemented?
Who will benefit from the result?
This is a variation of the 5W1H (What, When, Why, Who, Where and How) tool used to formulate problems in lean manufacturing.
The result is a brief program management plan:
Description: adapting to external changes and fulfilling the overall mission of the company
General overview: understanding the specific elements for the programs being implemented
General Basics: Setting the Main Purpose of Program Management
Integration management: creating company values and overall optimization of management in it.
What needs to be managed in a project:
Project strategy: the relationship between corporate strategies and projects. Directing the effective implementation of project activities in accordance with corporate values;
Finance: creating and preparing the basis for mobilizing the money needed for projects;
Project organization: the ability to organize work for a quick and flexible response to indirect changes in the external environment of the project;
Objectives: a plan for achieving project goals, as a result of which project managers and teams can plan project execution processes until the very end of the program, taking into account all restrictions (including contract terms and limited resources) and carry out project work in a balanced manner;
Resources: resources necessary for the project and their distribution (materials, people, information and financial resources, intellectual resources, etc.);
Information: approach to preparing most of the information during the project;
Communications: defines the basic principles and methods of communications based on previously gained experience, taking into account intercultural communications;
Risks: monitoring and responding to each risk;
Relationships: principles and methods of managing relationships between stakeholders (interested);
Values: collection of knowledge, experience and sources that provide values (for example, typical corporate or project activities) for projects;
Interrelationships: Understanding the interrelationships in the project and allowing you to avoid ambiguous and unexpected issues during the implementation of the project.
Basic principles applied when working:
The basis of innovation and its implementation is the mission - the global goal for which the innovative product was created.
The result should be a unique product that brings benefits to stakeholders, as well as improves the external environment (society) and the internal environment of the company;
The actions of team members must be interconnected.
The most important role in the implementation of programs is played by managers, who must have strategic thinking, planning skills, have system knowledge and be focused on achieving results.
It is imperative to have a mental space for all team members (in Japan this space is called “Ba” - platform), in which there is constant interaction and exchange of ideas.
Assessing the value of the product and developing alternative solution methods must be ongoing so that in a changing environment the plan continuously develops in a given way and the program moves towards the goal.
Key competencies to achieve value and create a new product:
Understanding the mission of the program
Availability of innovative ideas
Strategic Thinking
Coordinating abilities
Result oriented
Relationship skills
Ability to meet given deadlines
On a personal note, if you are assigned to a project “from above,” then choose between PMBOK and Agile, depending on the degree of uncertainty. P2M will be effective if implemented at the level of the entire enterprise.
The standard itself can be purchased from the link .
Video about P2M:
This concludes our review of “classical” project management methods and in the following parts we will talk about flexible approaches, statistics in project management and working with risks.
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