Extreme Measures?

  ProjectsAtWork  

So-called 'extreme' project management methods might actually serve as a happy medium on your project, but you must know when to use them.

Extreme project management (XPM) is commonly used to describe a type of agile or lean methodology to deliver projects on time and budget based on the scope. But considering the either reckless or rigid alternative ways projects are often managed, is the theory behind XPM really all that "extreme" - or even very different from what many project managers already know intuitively?

Let's first identify two true "extremes" in project management. The first extreme is the "just do it" approach. There is little documented planning, and everyone begins to work on their own on different pieces of the project. There is little overall coordination of the tasks, or a plan for how the pieces will fit together to accomplish the project objectives, which were probably not clearly defined or perhaps not defined at all.

The second extreme is akin to crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i'. Here, the planning process is done at such a detailed level that the project never seems to get started. Once the scope, plan and objectives are fully and finally defined, the team has used 50 percent of its time and budget. Now the dates and costs on the plan are obsolete, and the project manager needs to go back and revise the plan again.

If these are the …

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