Hello THIAGO SIQUEIRA DA SILVA,
I want to share my experience in the construction industry, where I work as a lead planner for a major infrastructure project. We face many uncertainties related to design, procurement, authority requirements, and permits, which prevent us from using our traditional planning methods that rely on having everything mapped out from the start.
Instead, we have adopted adaptive planning. This involves making initial assumptions and then building a flexible schedule. We organize workshops to review the plan with the team, challenge those assumptions, identify risks (both opportunities and threats), update the schedule, and repeat the process.
This approach requires the commitment, collaboration, transparency, and full accountability of the project team. For any external issues that may be beyond our control, due to contractual relationships, we escalate these blockers to the appropriate executive level—often the project sponsor or higher management—to resolve them.
While I make this process sound straightforward, the reality is that complexity increases when multiple stakeholder groups are involved.
Please feel free to let us know if you have any further questions.
Community Champion
