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Many projects have changing requirements, and that’s usually because of one or a combination of several things:
Which means they don’t fit the linear, traditional project management approach in which one phase must first be completed before the next one can begin.
We all know the danger and ill effects of forcing a specific project management framework on a project that clearly needs something else -- hence, the increasing popularity of adaptive methods in project management.
One such method is the adaptive project framework or APF, an agile, adaptive approach introduced by project management expert Robert K. Wysocki.
The adaptive project framework, according to Dr. Wysocki in his book “Adaptive Project Framework: Managing Complexity in the Face of Uncertainty,” came about because of two client engagements with two things in common: “the goals were clearly known, but the solutions were not.”
The majority of today’s projects share the same characteristics, making it difficult to specify a project’s complete requirements, especially initially, which, in turn, makes it difficult to determine the project’s scope.
Insisting on traditional, linear PM frameworks under such circumstances is like fitting “square pegs into round holes.”
The adaptive project framework, in a nutshell, is an iterative and adaptive project planning framework designed to help project managers respond to constant change. APF attributes include the following:
APF’s adaptive life cycle follows five phases or stages.
This phase requires meaningful client involvement, and Wysocki advises against starting a project without client commitment. Version scope occurs early in the project and involves representatives from both your organization and the client’s side collaborating to perform these processes:
Figure out what needs to be done and why. Develop the project’s conditions of satisfaction (COS), which establishes a common language and vocabulary for everyone involved, and an agreement on how to prioritize issues, resolve conflicts, and solve problems.
Then, initiate requirements gathering. At the end of this process, you should have created two types of documents:
This process involves these activities:
In a typical waterfall or traditional project framework, comprehensive project planning is performed before work on the project begins. In APF, high-level planning happens once, followed by detailed planning before each cycle or iteration begins.
In the cycle plan phase, activities include:
Cycle plan is the first of three phases performed repeatedly -- called the APF cycle -- until the project is complete. The APF cycle also includes cycle build and client checkpoint.
Now that you have a plan, it’s time to put it into action. The cycle build phase includes these activities:
The client checkpoint phase is a critical juncture in the life of an APF project. It also marks the end of an APF cycle.
In this phase, the project team, with the client or their representatives, will review the functions and sub-functions of the deliverable just completed. The lessons learned from the review will dictate the tone and direction of the next and succeeding APF cycles.
This phase requires these inputs:
Once a project is complete, it’s time to perform a post-mortem analysis.
The post-version review also signals that work on the current version of a solution has been concluded.
To succeed at APF, an analogy Dr. Wysocki uses throughout his book is “to think like a chef and not like a cook.” He argues that cooks only follow recipes someone else wrote and find themselves lost when an ingredient the recipe calls for is missing, while chefs adapt and work with what’s available.
In the same vein, since all projects are unique, the skills, approach, project management tools, and technology (e.g., hardware, project management software, templates, etc.) that you choose to support them should align with their unique needs and circumstances.
APF is an agile, adaptive planning approach that requires outside-the-box thinking and creativity and, therefore, worth considering when working with complex projects filled with uncertainties.
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