#5 - The "adaptive project professional" - The landscape of project management approaches - an Overview!

Welcome to the fifth's issue of my newsletter,

" The adaptive project pro"!

After we discussed the?"project economy"?and why the "adaptive project pro" is needed, we looked closely at?what makes an "adaptive project pro"?and what competencies, skills, and abilities the "adaptive project pro" must have or develop to be successful in the digital age. In the last issue, we talked about the foundations, what projects are, what project management is, and what makes a project professional.

In this issue, we will proceed with our journey and look at the ever-evolving landscape of project management frameworks, methodologies, and approaches.

There are literately hundreds and hundreds of such approaches out there, and no one can master or even know them all (and this is not necessary at all).

Just for instance here is a brilliant infographic showing "only" 43 of the most used agile methods. This masterpiece was created and presented by Christopher Webb at the LAST Conference 2016 Agile Landscape; you can see the full presentation here: https://www.slideshare.net/ChrisWebb6/last-conference-2016-agile-landscape-presentation-v1

But I will try to give you some orientation and guidance on what your path through that overall PM landscape can look like, especially if you are a beginner on your journey to become a project professional of the future: An adaptive Project Pro!

As you may already know, my theoretical PM background is with the Project Management Institute, and I had the pleasure and honor of being involved in developing the PMI's current PM standard work - the PMBoK Guide 7th Edition.

Those who have already studied the 7th edition of the PMBoK Guide will agree with me when I say that the intention of the current, principles-based PMBoK Guide is building the foundation that should apply to virtually all PM approaches out there.?

The great Ricardo Vargas has illustrated this very clearly in a brilliant graphic. If you can, I highly recommend his PMBoK Guide course.?

In addition to the many well-known PM frameworks and methodologies such as Waterfall, CPM, Scrum, Kanban, DA, LEAN or SAFe, there are also many lesser-known approaches.?

Or have you heard of p3.express, CRISP-DM or PM2??

And then there are also hundreds of methods and practices that cannot necessarily be assigned to a method or framework but can still be valid to be helpful in a specific project situation.?

Imagine, for example, that you are in a development project and you and your team are facing a huge problem to be solved; otherwise, the project cannot continue. Now you can think of some techniques like Brain Storming or Creative Thinking that could be applied here, but have you ever heard of "WICKED Problem Solving"?

You should; a closer look at it can be very rewarding!?

And if all this were not enough, we are all already facing the next significant upheaval. The age of A.I. transformation is rolling inexorably towards us and will also turn the project management world upside down. And that in several respects. One dimension of this also concerns the implementation of projects in this environment. That means that an entirely new PM framework will be required since implementing A.I. projects with the previous PM approaches usually does not get very far and therefore does not lead to success. But more about this particular topic in one of the following newsletters. Just this much: In the last few weeks, I have been very intensively involved with the topics of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), primarily in the context of strategy, project management, and business applications.?

The topic fascinates me, and I am now convinced that this is where the future will lie, at least for many of us. But as I said, more about this shortly ...?

Back to the various project management methods, practices and processes.?

You may ask yourself, "How am I ever going to learn all of this, let alone master it?".?

An excellent question and the answer is quite simple, "Never."

It can't be done, but it's also not required.?

However, a roadmap might look something like this:?

1. you learn the theoretical basics of project management, both of a general nature and related to the most common methodologies and frameworks, such as Waterfall, Agile project management, etc...?

2. in PM, experience is simply everything. Finding a mentor or at least someone you admire and want to learn from is ideal. Work with these people if possible, gain practical experience, and learn much from the already experienced professionals.?

3. in parallel, learn more methodologies and practices to upgrade your PM toolbox. The more methods and practices you master, the more diverse your solution portfolio for specific project situations will become.?

To illustrate this, here is a small example:?

If a hammer is your only tool at your disposal, you will think of every problem as a nail.?

But not every problem is the same and can always be solved with the same tool.?

The more choice of tools you have at your disposal, the more likely you are to have the right tool for the given problem.?

4. once you have found the industry you are most comfortable in and where you prefer to work, focus on the methods and practices that are most common in that industry.?

Again, an example to explain:?

For example, if you work in the construction industry, you will rely less on agile methods and more on traditional methods. Conversely, if you work in the software development industry, you will be more likely to use agile practices than traditional approaches.?

This way, you can get at least somewhat narrow down the choice of methods you should learn.?

As mentioned in one of the last newsletters, tailoring the chosen project management approach and the methods and practices to be applied is so critical nowadays that PMI has dedicated a comprehensive section to this topic in the new PMBoK Guide.?

If you don't know what this process looks like and when and how to apply it, you should take a closer look at this article by my friend and colleague Mike Clayton.?

However, to apply a PM approach to a given situation - problem, organization, sponsor, stakeholder; project team; environmental factors; processual requirements, etc. - it is essential to know how to apply the process. - I, as the responsible PM, must have an arsenal of tools at my disposal to offer several options from which the most promising one can be selected for the specific situation.

That makes sense, doesn't it??

I have changed the order of topics for the upcoming issue of my newsletter. That is because, as mentioned before, I like to emphasize the topics of Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and other disruptive Technologies a bit more.

I am very much looking forward to it, until then.?

Markus

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Co-creation, Your Views Matter

Please share your opinion and personal experiences. Whether you agree or disagree, it is through exchanges that the best ideas and concepts are developed. And if there is any particular topic you want me to cover or a fantastic project you are aware of we should discuss, let us know through the comments.

Thank you so much!?

you might consider connecting with me: ??https://bit.ly/38JD3hA?

Maybe you like to visit my websites:

??www.projectmanagement.plus?

??www.mp4pm.club?

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Here is an overview of the past issues and the upcoming newsletters:

• 1# - You need to be(come) an "Adaptive Project Pro" ! - Welcome to my LinkedIn Newsletter!?(May 2022, the 06th)
• 2# - Welcome to the "Project Economy", driven by the "Adaptive Project Pro" ... by whom?!?(May 2022, the 20th)
• 3# - What you need to do, to be successful as an "Adaptive Project Pro"!?(June 2022, the 10th)
• 4# - "Adaptive Project Pro" - the journey starts!?(July 2022, the 11th)
• 5# - The landscape of project management approaches & and why Tailoring is essential! -?(September 2022, the 23rd)
• 6# - AI | DS | BC | ML | DL | ... - What must the adaptive project pro need to know about the modern technologies and how can they benefit the project management discipline? - TBD
• 7# - IQ | EQ | DQ | nQ - What intelligences does the adaptive project manager need to have? - TBD
• 8# - ... - TBD
• ...