Even experienced project managers are not immune to common reasons for project failure. Poor time and budget performance, failure to deal with complexity, and uncontrolled changes in scope can catch any project manager off guard.
Here's a collection of conference presentations, white papers, book chapters, and journal articles on topics developed over four decades of managing projects and programs in various domains. Arriving on or before the needed time, at or below the needed cost, with the needed Capabilities to accomplish a mission or fulfill a strategy is necessary for the project's success.
Five Immutable Principles of Project Success, no Matter the Domain, Context, Management Tools, or Processes
The basis of success for all project success, no matter the domain, project management process (Agile or Traditional), project management tools, and technology, starts by answering the questions posed by the Five Immutable Principles, first published in Performance-Based Project Management
, American Management Association, February 2014.
- What does Done look like in units of measure meaning full to the decision-makers, starting with Measures of Effectiveness (MOE), Measures of Performance (MOP), Technical Performance Measures (TPM), and Key Performance Parameters (KPP)?
- What is the Plan to reach Done, with outcomes fulfilling these measures on the needed date, for the needed cost, to deliver the needed Capabilities to accomplish a mission or fulfill a strategy?
- What Resources - staff, facilities, funding, and regulatory compliance will be needed to reach Done as needed?
- What are the Impediments to reaching done at the needed time for the cost with the needed capabilities?
- How will Progress to Plan be measured in units of measure meaningful to the decision-makers? The passage of time, consumption of money, production of Stories, and Story points are not measures of progress to Plan. Delivery of Capabilities to accomplish the mission are.
Increasing Probability of Success for Software Intensive Complex System of Systems using Agile Development and Earned Value Management
Complex Systems Development, including Software Development Lifecycles, is straightforward when there is a Bright Line between the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) and system development processes that define the Capabilities needed to accomplish a mission or fulfill a strategy using Measures of Effectiveness, Measures of Performance, Technical Performance Measures, Key Performance Parameters, all used to inform Physical Percent compared to the Planned Percent Complete - all with Risk-Informed decision making.
Increasing the Probability of Success for Complex System of Systems by Integrating Systems Engineering and Agile Project Management with Program Performance Management
Starting with Government—and industry-compliant processes and system development, including the SW Development Lifecycle (agile), is straightforward. The following 20 sections are individual content of the integrated materials in the next section.
- Executive Overview
?- Systems Engineering, Earned Value Management, and Traditional and Agile development have much in common.
- First Comes Earned Value Management
?- EVM and Agile must be deployed together to harmonize.
- Opening Background
?- both EVM and Agile measure progress to plan as Physical Percent Complete
- Start with the End in Mind
?- the integrated value proposition of Agile and EVM needs to be articulated upfront.
- Framing Assumptions
?- define and track key program assumptions made early in the program development.
- Foundations of Earned Value Management
?- physical percent complete is the foundation of EVM + Agile.
- Performance Planning
?- is performed by objectively assessing accomplishment at the work performance level.
- Connecting the Dots Between EVM and Agile
?- sharing a common theme of Progress to Plan measured by Physical Percent Complete
- Requirements Elicitation
?- technical and operational requirements flow down in traditional programs and emerge from Capabilities in Agile programs.
- Planning, Budgeting, and Estimating in Agile
?- using Cardinal Values to estimate work on Agile projects.
- Step by Step PMB
- building and executing the Performance Measurement Baseline.
- Dependency Management in Agile at Scale
?- with multiple agile teams working System of Systems, dependencies will appear.
- Change Control
?- differences between change control on traditional and agile projects.
- Physically Connecting the Dots
?- between Agile, Program Planning and Control, Earned Value Management and Reporting.
- The Dark Side of Agile
?- both EVM and Agile have dark sides.
- Failure Modes of Agile Transformation and Program Performance Management
?- finding and handling the root causes of failure.
- Maturity Models for Deploying Agile at Scale
?- applying EVM through the CMMI governance framework.
- Root Cause Analysis
- Identify conditions and actions creating root causes of project failure to develop corrective and preventive actions.
- Agile Contracts
?- FAR 15.201 and Agile Uniform Contract Formats, agile construction contracts, and other non-IT domainsConclusion
?- integration of agile on EVM programs is straightforward.
- Conclusion
- Integrating Agile on EVM programs is straightforward once the bright line is established between the PMB and Agile release Sprint and Story activities.
All this individual content (Charts 1 to 20) is in a single file ...
Essential Views
The 24 Views of a Project's Performance are the minimum set needed for Program or Project Management to effectively oversee the successful delivery of the project's capabilities on time and on budget.
The Essential Views are the leading and lagging indicators of project success. The data sources for these views start with project management data, including the Risk Register, Technical Performance Measures, Measures of Effectiveness, Measures of Performance, and Key Performance Parameters. Putting all these together in a set of views for use by management and stakeholders is the primary benefit of this approach. This section starts with two briefings, followed by a Workshop developed at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)
Essential Views Workshop Prepared for IDA
Here are the contents of a multi-day workshop for applying the Essential Views needed to increase the probability of program success prepared for the Institute for Defense Analyses
Managing the Development of Complex System of Systems with Traditional and Agile Methods
[Solutions] should always concentrate on the whole and not on assembling parts. All the great principles have one thing in common. They are simple. After one realizes such a simple but profound principle, one can not stop wondering how one survived without its knowledge. — Christopher Alexander (The Timeless Way of Building, Oxford University Press, 1979)
The Immutable Principles of Project Success
- Project Breathalyzer
—asking and answering the breathalyzer test questions every week keeps the project team, management, and participants focused on the outcomes rather than effort.
- Program Management - Important New Concepts and Definitions
—what is Program Management and how can it increase the probability of success?
- Making the Impossible Possible
—Applying Heliotropic Abundance to Create Program and Project Processes to Increase the Probability of Success, Glen B. Alleman, PM Summit.
- "Foundation" Readiness Review
—Outline for the readiness review of "Foundation," including technology, production, and sustainability.
- Heliotropic Abundance
—the key to project success is connecting Leadership Behaviors with Project Management Principles, Processes, and Practices, Glen B. Alleman, PM Summit, 2
- Applying Project Performance Management (PPM) to Agile and Traditional Software Intensive System of Systems (SISoS) Development Projects to Increase Probability of Success
—Starting with a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) Engineering Estimate, define needed Capabilities, plan for their production and deployment, handle reducible and irreducible uncertainties that create risk to cost, schedule, and technical performance, and take corrective and preventive actions to keep the project on plan.
- Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning
—Managers are people who do this right, while leaders are people who do the right thing - Warren Bennis, Ph.D. On Becoming a Leader
- Nine Best Practices of Project Management
—the difference between failure and success is between doing something almost right and doing something right - Benjamin Franklin.
- Integrated Program Performance Management
—Our Integrated Program Performance Management elements are organization, planning, scheduling, budgeting, accounting, analysis and management, and revisions and data maintenance. These are applied to increase the probability of program success in traditional and agile programs.
- Flawless Execution
—Using Fighter Pilot techniques to manage our weekly activities.
- Managing Enterprise Projects as
Wicked Problems
- Project Disappointment Starts When We Fail To Recognize the 5 Immutable Principles of Project Success
. All projects are disappointments. They push the boundaries of schedule, cost, and technical performance; otherwise, they'd be called production.
- Survival in the Matrixed Organization
—The common picture of the project manager in a matrixed organization is that of a frustrated diplomate struggling to cajole the functional departments into performing the work on schedule within budget.
- Project Success: The Basis of the Five Immutable Principles
, Building Project Management into a Mission-Critical Endeavor, Excerpt from Public Manager, September 14, 2015
- Five Immutable Principles of Program Success, Their Processes and Practices
, IPMW 2017.
- 5 Immutable Principles of Project Success
, Forum Safran 2013
- Five Immutable Principles of Capital Project Success
, Webinar Safran, 2017.
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success by Applying the Five Immutable Principles
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success with?Five Principles and Practices
, Project and Program Management Symposium, University of New South Wales, November 11, 2020
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success
, Spring Seminar, Austin Chapter, 2012
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success
, PMI Mile High Chapter, 19 April 2019.
- Five Immutable Principles of Program Success, Their Processes and Practices
, IPMW 2017.
- Five Immutable Principles of Capital Project Success
, Webinar Safran, 2017.
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success by Applying the Five Immutable Principles
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success with?Five Principles and Practices
, Project and Program Management Symposium, University of New South Wales, November 11, 2020
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success
, Spring Seminar, Austin Chapter, 2012
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success
, PMI Mile High Chapter, 19 April 2019.
- 5 Immutable Principles of Project Success
, Safran Forum 2013
- 5 Immutable Principles of Capital Project Success
, Safran Webinar, 2017
- The 5 Immutable \(?)i(m)-?myü-t?-b?l\ Principles of Project Management Needed To Increase the Probability of Project Success (PoPS
), PMI Symposium Fort Worth Texas, 16 July 2010.
- The 5 Immutable \(?)i(m)-?myü-t?-b?l\ Principles of Project Management Needed To Increase the Probability of Project Success (PoPS)
, Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, February 1st and 2nd, 2010
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success
, Spring Seminar, Austin Chapter, 2012
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success
, PMI Mile High Chapter, 19 April 2019.
- Five Immutable Principles of Digital Transformation Project Success
, PMI San Diego, 11 July 2018.
- Five Immutable Principles to Increase Your Probability of Project Success
, Lakeshore (Ontario) PMI, 27 October 2018.
- Improving the Probability of Project Success with Five Immutable Principles
, Lakeshore (Ontario) PMI, 27 October 2018
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success
, Northern Utah Chapter, PMI 2012.
- The Project Management Paradigm
, Carnegie Mellon University, Silicon Valley, February 3rd and 4th 2009.
- Increasing the Probability of Success - Integrating Process, People and Tools
, Dallas MPUG, May 6th, 2009.
- The Socratic Method
- the method that Socrates employed in his philosophical analyses had five distinct characteristics.
- Measures of Product
Value
in Exchange for its Cost
- we cannot determine the Value of something unless we know the cost to produce it.
Root Cause Analysis
Without finding the Root Cause of any dysfunction, the conditions and actions that created that cause, and defining the corrective and preventive actions to remove, protect, or isolate the system from those causes, no suggested method to avoid problems or fix problems after they appear can be credible.
Agile Project Management
Agile Project Management is an iterative approach to planning and guiding project processes that breaks the work activities down into smaller cycles (sprints or iterations). Just as in Agile software development, an Agile project in any domain is completed in small sections, with the results of those outcomes informing the plans for the next iteration.
- Agiley Managing Requirements
- a simple guide to requirements management in an agile organization.
- Scrum Master Processes
- 41 Tasks of the Scrum Master.
- Integration of Program Performance Management with Agile Software Development
—Starting with the Engineering Estimate, define the deliverables, the plan for their production and deployment, any variance of effort and cost, and the corrective actions to keep the planned work on plan. These are activities for Program Controls of Scrum development projects based on Product Roadmaps, Release Plans, and measures of Physical Percent Complete at the Sprint level.
- Estimating and Managing Agile Projects at DHS
—Thomas J. Coonce and Glen B. Alleman, DHS Cost Analysis Stakeholder Working Group.
- Software for Our Minds
—Patterns and Anti-Patterns for creating and maintaining a shared vision.
- Post-Normal Science and eXtreme Programming
—How can we understand the impacts of eXtreme Programming and other Agile methods without scientific data?
- WSRI Agile Program Management Process
—Appling agile principles, practices, and processes to the project, building the release plan for each program event in the Integrated Master Plan and deliverables for that review.
- Paradigm of Agile Project Management
—when we say Agile in the absence of a Domain and Context, how can it have any meaning?
- Effective Use of Kanban in a Nutshell
—Principles, Practices, and Processes of Kanban That Increase the Probability of Project Success.
- Lightweight Processes - An Overview of Lightweight Development Processes and Selecting One For Your Projects
—Lightweight processes are beginning to replace more formal methods.
- Agile Project Management and "Normative" Paradigms
- Agile Project Management Methods Meet Earned Value
—Glen Alleman and Michael Henderson, Agile Development June 25-28, 2003, Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS) provide valuable information for planning and controlling complex software development projects in high ceremony environments.
- Agile IT Project Management Methods
, Glen B. Alleman, Chapter X in The Story of Managing Projects: A Global, Cross-Disciplinary Collection of Perspectives, DR. E. G. Carayannis and DR. Y. H. Kwak, Greenwood Process 2002.
- A Workshop for Product Owners, Scrum Master, and Team Members for Improving Team Performance
- Agile Program Management - Moving from Principles to Practice
- Solutions should always concentrate on the whole and not on assembling parts - Christopher Alexander, 1979
- Agile Software Development for Government Software Intensive Systems of Systems (SiS)
, - If we're looking to increase the probability of success for Software Intensive System of Systems, look to where that effort can produce the highest return for the investment, Boulder Agile Meetup, 27 July 2016.
- Increasing Probability of Success for Complex System of Systems by Integration Systems Engineering, Agile Project Management with Program Performance Management?
- Managing Complex System of Systems Subject to FAR 34.2 and DFARS 234.2 by Applying Agile at Scale.
- Product & Process Development Kaizen for Software Development, Project, and Program Management
, LPPDR, Denver Colorado, April 21-23, 2008.
- When is Light Right?
, XP Denver, Aprile 23rd, 2001.
- Making Agile Development Work in a Government Contracting Environment
- Glen Alleman, Michael Henderson, CH2M Hill, and Ray Seggelke, Envision Technology, Agile Development, June 25-28, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Setting up the Agile Program for EVM Compliant Validation, using the Principles of Agile Systems Engineering
, EVM World 2016.
- You Don't Need Agile to Avoid the Seven Deadly Sins of Project Management
- Bad Project Management is Just That Bad Project Management.
- Agile Program Management: Moving from Principles to Practice
- Blending Agile Development Methods with CMMI?
- CMMI and Agile, Joining Principles with Practice to Produce a Single Integrated System
, PMI Professional Development Day, Grapevine, TX, June 23, 2011.
Estimating Agile Software and Traditional Projects
Estimating is a critical part of project planning and controls. It involves Quantitative processes to estimate cost, resources, duration, and technical performance.
- From Product Roadmap of Needed Capabilities to Release Plan, to Feature Breakdown Structure, to Credible Estimates
, DHS Cost Analysis Stakeholder Working Group, Thomas J. Coonce and Glen B. Alleman
- Building a Risk-Adjusted Engineering Estimate and Executing the Risk-Adjusted Product Roadmap
, the Risk-Adjusted Product Roadmap starts with Risk-Adjusted Engineering Estimates and the Resulting Rough Order of Magnitude Estimate.
- How Should We Estimate Agile Projects and Measure Progress to Plan
, Thomas J. Coonce, and Glen B. Alleman, Naval Center for Cost Analysis, Software and IT Cost Analysis Solutions, August 22, 2017.
- Options-Based Agile Decision Processes - How to Apply "Real Options" Theory to the Development of ERP
?- Agile Universe, 2002, Chicago Il, August 4 - 7, 2002.
- Calculating Physical Percent Complete for the PMB Using an Agile Tool
, EVM Work 2017
- Basis of Estimate Training - Developing a Basis of Estimate is an Art and a Science
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
, 5th Annual College of Scheduling, Chicago, May 4-7, 2008.
- Paired Comparison Analysis
- in paired comparison experiments, the worth or merit of a unit is measured through comparisons against other units.
Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
The Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) is an important tool in earned value management used by Program Managers and Systems Engineers in the Technical Assessment Process to appraise a program’s technical progress.
- The Road to a Successful Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) with a Validated Earned Value Management System
- The path to the IBR starts and ends with planning.
- Establish the Performance Measurement Baseline
, AACE Workshop, Denver, Colorado, April 16, 2011
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline
, Fort Worth PMI Symposium, 16 July 2010.
- Performance Measurement Baseline in a Nut Shell
- 5 Principles That Increase the Probability of Project Success, Austin PMI Chapter Dinner, 24 April 2002
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
, 5th Annual Conference, PMI College of Scheduling, 2008.
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline (White Paper)
, 5th Annual Conference, PMI College of Scheduling, 2008.
- Cost and Schedule Integration: An Industry Update
, 2nd Annual Acumen Sumit, September 18-19, 2012.
Managing Embedded Systems and Systems Architecture
Managing Software Intensive System and Systems (SISOS)
Planning and Scheduling
- Schedule Margin White Paper
- the term schedule margin is a project management tool for dealing with schedule contingencies.
- Concurrently Verifying and Validating the Critical Path and Margin Allocation Using Probabilistic Analysis
- The critical path, the path with the lowest total float to project completion, should be validated to ensure the project can identify and actively manage the tasks that may have the largest impact on the completion date of the project.
- Building the Three Tiered Schedule in Accordance with DOE IPMR 2018
- Building, deploying, and executing the Three Tier Schedule requires a change in the conventional paradigm of project planning and controls and management processes.
- 10 Best Practices of Scheduling
- using the Schedule Assessment Guide: Practices for Project Schedules - GAO-16-89G, December 2015.
- Using a Cross Walk File to Manage Givers and Receivers
, Ron Powell, Glen Alleman, and Risk Price, Joint Space Cost Council, Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation, Boulder, Colorado, 21 September 2017.
- Time Box Scheduling
- technology is not the strongest driver of productivity for a software project.
- Probabilistic Schedule and Cost Analysis
- developing a resource-loaded, risk-tolerant, Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), derived from the Integrated Master Schedule clearly showing the increasing maturity of the program deliverables, through vertical and horizontal traceability to the program's requirements.
- Network Schedule Analysis
- complying with DID 81650 and improving the probability of success.
- Event Based Scheduling
- planning the painting of the garage floor with the help of a 9 and 10-year-old.
- Event Based Planning
- Vertical planning provides visibility into the maturity of the project rather than measures the passage of time.
- Critical Success Factors for Enterprise Projects
- ERP, PDM, CRM, and EDM System critical success factors.
- Creating the Foundation for IT Project Portfolio Management at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site
- Connecting the 5
Principles
and the 5
Practices
of Performance-Based Project Management? to Increase the Probability of Project Success (PoPS)
- Both are needed, but neither work alone.
- Time to Do It Right
, Tom Coonce and Glen Alleman, October 31 - November 2, 2016 IPM 2016.
- Top Habits of Success Project Managers
?- Delivering Value.
- The Simple Problem of Schedule Performance Indices
- Knowing how our project is performing means knowing how our Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance is performing according to Plan.
- Performance-Based Project Management
?- Appling Performance Based Project in the DOE Order 413.3-9 Environment
- Building Teams Through Project Charters
- chartering empowers team members, both individually and collectively.
- Paradigm of Managing Agile Software Development
?- What does it mean when we say "Agile Development" depends on the domain and context of your work
- Mission Engineering, IPMDWeninar, Improving Program, and Project Management
, National Defense Industry Association, 26 July 2021.
- The Nine "I's" of Program Success - For any program to succeed, there are Nine Integration activities that must be in place and connected
, College of Performance Management, July 2013.
- 5 Immutable Principles of Projects Success
, EcoSys User Conference, San Diego, 2013.
Project and Program Management Symposium, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia
- Getting to Done - Principles, Processes, Practices, and Tools to Increase the Probability of Successfully Complete Project's On-Time, On-Budget, with Needed Capabilities
- PGCS 16 August 2018.
- Getting to Done and Some Issues Along the Way
- PGCS 15 August 2018.
- Increasing the Probability of Program Success with Five Immutable Principles, Five Practices, and 25 Essential Views of Program Performance
, Glen B. Alleman, Thomas J. Coonce, Rick Price, and Kym Henderson.
- How we Deal with Risk is a Critical Success Factor for Increasing the Probability of Program Success
- PGCS 14-16 August 2018.
- Integrating Systems Engineering (SE) and Project Performance Management (PPM) - The Match Made in Heaven Which Increases the Probability of Project Success
- PGCS 22 August 2019.
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success with Five Principles and Practices
- PGCS November 11, 2020.
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success with Five Principles and Practices
(Vimeo Narrated Version) - PGCS November 11, 2020.
- Strategies to Detect, Prevent, and Correct the Causes of Complex Program Stress and Failure
- Key Note, PGCS 12 August 2021.
- Strategies to Detect, Prevent, and Correct the Causes of Complex Program Stress and Failure
- Master Class, PGCS 12 August 2021
- Integrating Systems Engineering and Project Management to Increase Probability of Project Success
- 21-22 August 2019.
- Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value Performance
, 15 August 2018.
Deliverables-Based Planning (DBP)
Governance
- Principles of Program Governance
- governance of enterprise programs focuses on delivering products or services to support top-line growth with moving operational savings to the bottom line
- Program Governance Road Map
- Program Governance Road map for product development, deployment, and sustainment of products and services in compliance with CMS guidance, ITIL IT management, CMMI best practices, and other guidance to assure high-quality software is deployed for sustained operational success in mission-critical domains.
- Principles of IT Governance
?- governance of Enterprise IT focuses on the Delivery of Services to Support Top Line Growth.
- Project Governance
- Project Management is a well-defined concept found in many guidebooks and Bodies of Knowledge. Putting these guides and BOKs to work for the benefit of the enterprise is the role of Project Governance.
Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
- Performance-Based Project Management? in Nutshell
- Principles, Practices, and Process that Increase Your Probability of Project Success
- Performance-Based Project Management?
- The Principles, Processes and Practices used to increase the Probability of Program Success (PoPS) to accompany the book of the same title from AMACOM Books
, 2014.
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline
, Glen B. Alleman, Thomas J. Coonce, and Rick A. Price, The Measurable News, 2014.04
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
?- 21st International IPM Conference, November 2-4, 2009.
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline in Two Days
- starting with DID 81650, assemble a credible PMB to increase the Probability of Program Success (PoPS).
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline
- Project Success Assessment
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline
Management of Change
Case Studies
Risk Management is essential for the success of any significant project. All project risk comes from uncertainty. Project uncertainty comes in two forms: Epistemic uncertainty which is the lack of knowledge, Epistemology is the study of knowledge. This uncertainty can be handled by buying knowledge to reduce the risk. And Aleatory uncertainty, which is a random process. On projects, Aleatory uncertainty is handled by the Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance margin.
- What is Risk?
- Cost and schedule growth is created by unrealistic technical performance expectations, unrealistic cost and schedule estimates, inadequate risk assessments, unanticipated technical issues, and poorly performed and ineffective risk management, all contributing to program technical and programmatic shortfalls.
- Managing Risk with Deliverables Based Planning
- a 4-hour workshop following the guidance of Stephan Leschka of Hewlett Packard, when he says "without metrics, you're just another guy with an opinion"
- Risk Management Guidance
- The management of risk is a critical success factor of any project or program. This document is a collection of risk management categories that are used to ask the question “did you think about this risk and its impact on our probability of success?”
- Uncertainty and Resulting Risk on Project Management
- It’s popular to talk about risk in straightforward approaches to managing risk. Like a step-by-step approach to making a list of the risk, assessing the probability of occurrence, and the impact if the risk were to occur.
- Comments on "Managing Projects Involving External Threats
"
- Risk Assessment Template for Software Development or Acquisition Projects
- Managing Risk and Opportunity
- 1st in a Series
- Managing Schedule and Cost Risk
- 2nd in a Series
- The Risk Tolerant Master Schedule
- 3rd in a Series
- Risk Management and Agile Software Development
?- handling aleatory and epistemic uncertainties.
- Risk Management
- in Gower Handbook of Project Performance for Agile, Waterfall and Everything in Between, 1st Edition 2017.
- Building a Risk Tolerant Schedule - Technical and Programmatic disruption in project plans don't need to negatively impact cost, performance, or schedule metrics
- 5 Proven Approaches for Mitigating Project Failure
- Principles are needed before Practices and Processes can be successfully applied.
- Risk Management is How Adults Manage Projects
- Risk Management in Five Easy Pieces with Apologies to Jack
- Managing Cost, Schedule & Technical Performance Risk is the Basis of Good Project Management
- Five Easy Pieces: The Essential of Managing Programmatic Risk
, 10th Annual Rocky Mountain Project Management Symposium, Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 2008
- Applying Risk Radar to High Risk Technology Projects
- everyone involved in development, acquisition, or management tlks about risk. Trouble is
- Practices of Managing in the Presence of Uncertainties That Create Cost, Schedule, and Technical Technical Risk
, Risk Awareness Week, 11-15 October 2021
- Programmatic Risk Management: A "Not So Simple" Introduction to the Complex but Critical Process of Building a Credible Schedule
- Assessing Enterprise Project Risk - Probability of Program Success P(s)
- 5 Proven Approaches for Mitigating Project Failure
, American Management Association, 22 April 2015.
- Increasing the Probability of Program Success with Continuous Risk Management
, Glen B. Alleman, Thomas J. Coonce, and Rick A. Price Joint Space Cost Council.
- Practices of Managing in the Presence of Uncertainties that Creat Cost, Schedule, and Technical Risk
, Risk Awareness Week 2021, 11-15 October 2021.
- Managing Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance Risk at Y-12
- Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance risk management seamlessly integrates all three
- Five Easy Pieces of Risk Management
, 10th Annual Rocky Mountain Project Management Symposium, Denver Colorado, 11 April 2008.
- Managing in the Presence of Uncertainty
, PMI Mile High Chapter, 12 April 2019.
- Increasing the Probability of Program Success Using Risk+
- a workshop on the principles and practices of Risk+ and increasing the Probability of Program Success
- 5 Proven Approaches for Mitigating Project Failure
, American Management Association, 22 April 2015.
Integrated Master Plan / Integrated Master Schedule (IMP/IMS)
Building, deploying, and executing an IMP / IMS requires change in the conventional paradigm of project planning and controls and the management processes. This change starts by measuring progress as the completion of Accomplishment Criteria (AC) and the fulfillment of Significant Accomplishments (SA). This progress is described through the assessment of physical percent complete rather than measuring progress through the passage of time and consumption of resources.
- A Gentle Introduction to Integrated Master Planning
- Traditional project management starts with the identification of the tasks needed to deliver the solution. Integrated Master Planning starts by defining what “done” looks like, how we would recognize “done” when we encounter it, and what effort is needed to deliver “done." By defining accomplishments and criteria first, the effort needed to deliver can be easily identified.
- A Summary of the IMP / IMS Process Flow
- Guided by the Capabilities-Based Plan, the WBS, OBS, and RAM is the basis of the Integrated Master Plan.
- Integrated Master Plan Methodology
- The Integrated Master Plan (IMP) and Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) are important tools that significantly assist in planning and scheduling work efforts.
- IMP / IMS Step by Step
- Building the Integrated Master Plan (IMP) and Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) from Proposal and Successful Execution.
- An Introduction to IMP/IMS (Narrated)
- planning projects with tasks contained in the schedule, fails to define what done looks like in units of increasing effectiveness and performance of the outcomes. The Integrated Master Plan defines the increasing maturity of the program.
- Integrated Master Plan Methodology
- the IMP/IMS provides significant assistance in planning and scheduling work efforts.
- The Five + One easy Steps to an Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule
- Development of an Integrated Master Plan
- For the complex, system of systems acquisition programs, scheduling starts with an Integrated Master Plan (IMP) and only then moves to the development of the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS).?
- Integrated Master Plan Development
- Building the IMP as the basis of a credible Integrated Master Schedule.
- A Gentle Introduction to IMP/IMS
- In 2003 the US Government revised its acquisition policies with a procurement strategy focused on process improvement and acquisition reform implemented by performance-based management.
- Key to Integrated Master Plan Notation - Vertical and Horizontal Connectivity
- From WBS to Integrated Master Schedule
—a Step-by-Step Guide to Increasing the Probability of Program Success starts with the WBS, develops the Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule, risks adjusts the IMS, and measures progress toward the plan in meaningful units of measure for decision-makers.
- Integrated Master Plan - The Foundation for Program Success
- starting with the Integrated Master Plan provides clear and concise descriptions of what "done" looks like in units of measure meaningful to the decision makers.
- Six ? Day Session on the Road to Becoming a CAM.
- The Five + One Easy Steps to an Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule.
- Integrated Master Plan / Integrated Master Schedule in a Nutshell
- describes the measures of increasing maturity and the activities needed to produce this maturity provides measures of physical percent complete in units meaningful to the decision-makers.
- IMP/IMS Overview
- of the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Integrated Master Schedule Data Gathering Processes
?- Building the IMP and IMS starts with gathering the Tasks that define the Accomplishment Criteria.
- Key to IMP Notation - Vertical and Horizontal Connectivity
- IMP as the Definition of Done
, Robin Pulverenti and Glen Alleman,?IPMW 2017.
Earned Value Management World Presentations
Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project management technique for measuring project performance and progress in an objective manner. EVM has the ability to combine measurements of scope, schedule, and cost in a single integrated system. It’s notable for its ability to provide accurate forecasts of project performance problems. - ACQNotes, Program Management Tool for Aerospace
EVM World College of Performance Management 2010 - Naples, Florida.
EVM World 2014 - Alexandria, VA
EVM World 2015 - New Orleans, LA
- Informing Program Performance with Technical Performance Measures and Programmatic and Technical Risks
, CPM EVM World 2015.
- Informing BCWP (EV) with Technical Performance Measures of Risk
, Mr. Gordon Kranz, Mr. Glen Alleman, and Mr. Dave Walden, EVM World 2015, Office of Performance Assessments and Root Cause Analysis (PARCA).
- Scope and Organization Management Workshop: Technical Performance Measurement Basis of Schedule Status
, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, IPM Workshop 2015.
- Applying Risk Management to Increase Credibility of the IMS
, College of Performance Management, EVM World 2015.
EVM World 2016 - Naples, Florida
- Critical Thinking on Critical Path Analysis
, Rick Price and Glen B. Alleman, EVM World, 2016.
- Setting up the Agile Program for EVM Compliant Validation, using the Principles of Agile Systems Engineering
, Dr. AnnMarie L. Oien and Glen B. Alleman, EVM World 2016.
- Scope and Organizational Management Lesson C: Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value Management
, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, EVM World 2016.
- Creating Credible Plans, Integrated Reporting, and Control Systems Part 1
, Thomas Coonce, Glen B. Alleman, and Rick Price, EVM World 2016.
- Scope and Organizational Management Lesson C: Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value Management
, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, EVM World 2016.
EVM World 2017 - New Orleans, LA
EVM World 2019 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Other Earned Value Management Resources
- Earned Value for Commercial Projects
—Measuring Physical Performance Complete is the Foundation for Success for Commercial Projects. Assessing a project's general health and establishing an early warning system for unexpected problems starts by measuring the Physical Percent Complete of the project’s deliverables.
- Earned Value Management FAR 34.2 and DFARS 252.234-7001
- Building, deploying, and operating DCMA-compliant Earned Value Management System.
- What is in Your CAM Notebook?
- The CAM Notebook contains all the information needed to manage the Control Account or has references to the location for this information.
- Estimating Cost and Schedule for Monte Carlo Simulation
, Glen B. Alleman.
- Using Technical Progress to Inform Earned Value Performance,
Glen B. Alleman, Thomas J. Coonce, and Rick A. Price, College of Performance Management, IPM 2014.
- Integrating Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance to Increase the Probability of Program Success
, Glen B. Alleman, and Michael R. Nosbisch, PMI EVM Community of Practice, IPM 2011.
- Your Role as a Control Account Manager in the Integrated Baseline Review
- as a Control Account Manager, you're the critical success factor in the Integrated Baseline Review.
- Parametric Project Monitoring and Control
—Earned Value is one approach to Performance measurement for monitoring and controlling the progress of software development projects. There are other approaches, but all methods need to ask, “What value is being returned for the invested cost and effort? ” Without connecting predetermined delivered value with predetermined effort, progress can only be measured as the passage of time, and you'll be late before you start.
- Notes of Real Options
- Real Options are a powerful tool for guiding decision-making in the presence of uncertain cost and uncertain value.
- How to Develop Credible Cost & Schedule Estimate
- Credible cost and schedule estimates require discipline, skill, and experience. All three can be acquired over time. The starting point is understanding what processes make up the discipline of estimating.
- Project Management Plan (PMP) Earned Value Management System (EVMS)
- Deploying an EVMS starts with a Plan. Here's the Path to a Validated EVMS that has received DCMA and PM-30
- Earned Value, XP (Extreme Programming) and Government Contracts
- can XP live in an Earned Value reporting government contracting environment?
- Earned Value Management Essentials
- Earned Value Management is more than people, processes, and tools. It is an integrated service that provides actionable information to decision-makers.
- Calculating Physical Percent Complete for the NES Projects using Scrum and Atlassian Structures
- Assessing Project Performance Beyond CPI/SPI
- Informing Programmatic Performance (BCWP/EV) with technical Performance to Produce a Credible Estimate at Completion (EAC)
- Estimating and Reporting Agile Projects using SRDR and Earned Value Management
, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, PSM User's Group, Measurement: Measurement in a Complex Environment, 12-16 June 2017, Crystal City, Virginia.
- A Study on Informing Earned Value by Objectively Assessing Accomplishments at the Work Performance Level
- Gordon Kranz, Glen Alleman, and David Walden, IPM 2014
- Successfully Integrating Agile with Earned Value Management
?- NDIA PMSC Quarterly Meeting, February 1-2, 2011
- The Road to a Successful Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) with a Validated Earned Value Management System
- CAM Short Course
, skills need to survive the 1st 60 Days as a CAM.
- Control Account Manager Short Course - a short overview of being a CAM
- Using Earned Value to Manage the Performance Measurement Baseline
- Warren Buffet’s Noah Principle - There are no points for predicting rain, only for building lifeboats.
- https://app.box.com/file/1532896902619-
Earned Value measures the volume of work compared to the volume of work planned in units of Value (Effectiveness and Performance of the deliverables)
- Earned Value in Five Easy Pieces
- It is not that earned value can be made that easy, but this is the start of getting our minds on the concepts of project performance measurement.
- Earned Value + Agile A Match Made in Heaven?
The Nexus of Agile Software Development, Institute for Defense Analysis, Feb 19-20, 2015.
- A Cure for Unanticipated Cost and Schedule Growth
, Thomas J. Coonce and Glen B. Alleman, International Cost Estimating & Analysis Association, 2014 Professional Development & Training Workshop, June 10-13, 2014. (White Paper)
- A Cure for Unanticipated Cost and Schedule Growth
, Thomas J. Coonce and Glen B. Alleman, 2014 Professional Development Training Workshop (Briefing Deck)
- Big Data Meets Earned Value Management
, International Cost Estimating & Analysis Association (ICEAA), 2014 Professional Development & Training Workshop, June 10-13, 2014
- Increasing Confidence in Box 6a, b, c of IPM Format 1, Using Existing EV-CR Data and built-in tools for R
, The EV-CR contains data at the WBS level of program performance. Using R and built-in functions, the contents of IPMR Box a,b,c can be produced using this data and compared to the contents of 6 a,b, and c provided in the current IPMR submittal.
- Integrating Agile with EVM, College of Performance Management
, May 2013.
- The Intersection of Earned Value Management and Software Development
Earned Value Management and Agile Software Development,?A Deltek Webinar - Today's Shifting Landscape in Project and Portfolio Management
- Integrating Risk with Earned Value Management
, Pikes Peak Regional Chapter, 28 Feb 2009
- Earned Value + Agile = Success, Information Systems Summit II
, 4/4/2011 - 4/6/2011, Baltimore, Maryland.
- A Gentle Introduction to Earned Value Management Systems
- Good metrics let us see if we are doing the right things and doing them well.
- A Gentle Introduction to Earned Value Management
, PMI Professional Development Day, Grape Vine Texas
- Integrating Agile Software Development with Earned Value Management
, Deltek Insight, 2015.
- Earned Value + Agile = Success
, Northrop Grumman, C4ISR Systems.
- Earned Value + Agile = Success
- Increasing the Probability of Program Success requires connecting the dots between EV and Agile development to produce a measure of Physical Percent Complete, PMI Professional Development Day, June 23, 2011
Earned Value Management and Agile
Technical Performance Management (TPM)
- Technical Performance Measures
- CPM-200C, College of Performance Management, IPMC 2012.
- Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value
, College of Performance Management, EVM World 2016.
- Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value
, Glen Alleman, Thomas Coonce, and Rick Price, College of Performance Management, IPM 2014.
- Principles of Technical Management - Lesson D: Implementing Technical Performance Management
- 22nd Annual International IPM Conference, November 8-10, 2010.
- Forecasting Cost and Schedule Performance in the Presence of Uncertainty
- Probabilistic forecast of program performance.
- Forecasting ACAT1 Program Performance in the Presence of Statistical Uncertainty
- IPMC 2013.
Building the Perfect Schedule
The pursuit of operational effectiveness is seductive because it is concrete and actionable. Caught up in the race for operational effectiveness, many managers do not understand the need for a strategy - Dr. Micheal E. Porter - Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School.
Project Strategy is an overachieving set of guidelines to be used by the project in making decisions and taking action in alignment with corporate, business,
- Projects
- ERP, PDM, CRM, and EDM system critical success factors (CSF) significantly impact the project's success or failure.
- Strategy for Increasing the Probability of Project Success
- Strategy is a plan of action to achieve a particular Goal. Without identified goals, strategy has no purpose.
- Open Loop / Closed Loop Project Controls
- How to distinguish the difference between Open-Loop Control and Closed Loop Control and why this is important when discussing project management, software development, and making estimates in those domains.
- Increasing Your Project's Probability of Success - Glen B. Alleman, Microsoft Project Conference
, September 14-17, 2009.
- Influences of IT Strategy - how strategy impacts the development of systems based on Commerical Off The Shelf Products
- 10 Steps to Chartering the Project
- derived from "10 Project Chartering Tips," Baseline, HTTP://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/IT-Management/10-Project-Chartering-Tips
- Strategic Portfolio Management
- Glen B. Alleman and Steve Garfien - Performance Based Planning manages a portfolio of projects with unstable funding, emerging requirements, and deliverables and resource dependencies to provide actionable information in units of measure meaningful to the decision makers.
- Improving DOE Project Performance Using the DOD Integrated Master Plan 12481
, Glen B. Alleman and Michael R. Nosbisch, Waste Management Symposium Feb 26 - Mar 1, 2012.
- Successful Digital Transformation starts with a well-defined Executable Strategy for Success
, San Diego PMI, 11 July 2018.
- Mission Engineering
, IPMD Webinar Improving Program and Project Management, National Defense Industry Association, 26 July 2021.
- Ten Rules for Common Sense Program Management
?- These ten rules are guided by the work of Col. Lee Battle (USAF), director of the Corona / Discover satellite system.
Capabilities-Based Planning (CBP)
Electronic Document Management Systems
- Electronic Document Management Tutorial - The Functional Architecture of an EDM System in the Process and Manufacturing Industries
- EDM/PDM Implementation - Glen B. Alleman, Kalthoff User Forum Spring 1998
, March 25 1998.
- EDM Systems, In Depth Review
- Kalthoff University 301, 501, 19 September 1997
- EDMS Track - Selecting the Right EDM/PDM Vendor, TU 301
, Monday, March 10th, 1997.
- Electronic Document Management in the Process Industry
- Glen B. Alleman, March 9, 1997.
- Using EDMS in the Process Industry for Competitive Advantage
- Glen B. Alleman, Monday, September 23rd, 1996, TU-701.
CMMI + Agile + Program Management
- Incorporating Risk Management in the Planning Process,
risk management ranges from political risks of the project's outcomes to supplier risks, to technical failure of a product in the marketplace.
- Integrating CMMI and Agile - Integration
?- "to form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole."
- Program Management Office, Agile Software Development, Lean / 6?? - All Living in Harmony
- Agile at Scale for FAR 34.2 / DFARS 234.2 Acquisition Programs
- Integrating Agile Software Development on Earned Value Management Programs starting with EIA-748E
- Agile Software Development for Government Software Intensive System of Systems
, Boulder Agile Meetup, 27 July 2016.
- Estimating and Reporting Physical Percent Complete on Agile Projects
, DHS Cost Analysis Stakeholder Working Group, July 26, 2017
- Agile Lifecycle Product Roadmap, Release Plan, Roles and Responsibilities, Epics, Features, Stories, and Tasks
, the core concepts of a Release Based development cycle for agile projects.
- Agile Program Management Process Flow
, Starting with the development of a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimate of work and duration, creating a Product Roadmap and Release Plan.
- How Should We Estimate Agile Software Development Projects and What Data Do We Need?
, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, International Cost Estimating & Analysis Association, 2017 Professional Development and Training Workshop, Portland OR.
- Integrating CMMI and Agile
- Is Agile Project Management Actually Systems Engineering?
- Systems Engineering ensures the whole product works together with its external systems to meet the needs of the customer.
- Monte Carlo Simulation and Estimating Traditional and Agile Development
- Monte Carlo Simulation and some related approaches can be the basis for making informed decisions in the presence of uncertainty.
White Papers, Essays, and Journal Papers
These White Papers cover a wide range of topics while I was and still am engaged in delivering outcomes. Ranging from software development, software and systems management, management of the project in several different domains, electronics document management, risk management, work breakdown structures, and science and math topics applied to solving complex problems.
- Inversion of Control
- The Impedance Mismatch in Integrated Engineering Design Systems.
- Options-Based Agile Decision Processes How to Apply “Real Options” Theory to the Deployment of ERP
- Managing the Deployment of ERP Systems in the Publishing Domain
- Can Earned Value Save Government Projects?
- The Gardening Analogy for Project Management
- Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) - Glen B. Alleman
- Nilan-Sanders Associates 2002
- The Basis of Project Success
- 16 December 2009
- Comments on "Managing Project Involving External Threats"
in the American Society of Project Managers.
- The Basis of the Five Immutable Principles, in Building Project Management into a Mission-Critical Endeavor
in Public Manager, 2019.
- 20 Reasons Managers Fail and Ways to Fix Them
- Simple, Isn't Really Simple, failure of large systems
is caused by the inability to rapidly adapt to changing environments.
- Agile Project Management and "Normative" Paradigms
- From Arms Race to Green Space: PPM at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site
- What is System Architecture and Why Do We Care?
- Agile Project Management Methods for ERP - How to Apply Agile Processes to Complex COTS Projects and Live to Tell About It
?- XP/Agile Universe, 2002, Chicago Il, August 4 - 7, 2002, pp. 70-88, LNCS 2418, Don Wells and Laurie Williams editors.
- Agile Project Management Methods Meet Earned Value Management
, Glen B. Alleman and Michael Henderson, Agile Development, June 25-28, 2003, Salt Lake City.
- 5 Immutable Principles of Project Success
- all successful projects adhere to five immutable principles.
- "A Cure For Unanticipated Cost and Schedule Growth
," Thomas J. Coonce and Glen B. Alleman.
- Capabilities Based Planning
- Information Technology Risk Management
- The Concept of Risk, Its Management, and the Benefits to an IT Project, Glen Alleman, 2002.
- Increasing the Probability of Program Success
?- Cost and schedule growth and technical shortfalls for any project or program are created when there are:?1. Unrealistic technical performance expectations,?2. Unrealistic cost and schedule estimates,?3. Inadequate risk assessments, and?4. Unanticipated technical issues, all based on poorly performed and inefficient risk management.
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline
?- The Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) is a time-phased network of scheduled activities describing the work to be performed, the budgeted cost for this work, the organizational elements that produce the deliverables from this work, and the performance measures showing this work is proceeding according to plan.
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success
?- Principles are the Basis of Practices and Process for Project Success - Successfully managing any project, Capital projects, Software Intensive System of Systems projects, or home garden ? project success starts with Five Immutable Principles of Success, listed to the right.
- Connecting IT and Business Value
, Connecting IT and Business Value by Defining the Intangible Benefits through the Balanced Scorecard.
- Exception Handling in CORBA Environments
?- The Late Introduction of Distributed Exception Handling in Java CORBA-Based COTS Application.
- Is There an Underlying Theory of Software Project Management?
?- A critique of the transformational and normative views of project management. Traditional project management methods are based on scientific principles considered “normal science” but lack a theoretical basis for this approach.
Electronic Document Management
- The Impact of Reducible and Irreducible Uncertainty on the Probability of Program Success
- Incorporating Risk Management in the Planning Process
—In the project management domain, risk management covers addressing the political risks of a project’s outcome, the risks of a supplier failing to deliver on time, the technical failure of a product in the marketplace, and the nearly endless possibilities that could disrupt the path to success.
- Schedule Risk Management
- "One of the major intellectual triumphs of the modern world is the transformation of risk from a matter of fate to an area of study." In Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, Peter L. Bernstein, John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
- Building a Risk Tolerant Schedule - incorporating risk management in a visible manner
provides governance of the project's technical and programmatic performance.
- Quantitative Risk Management - Once the risk management processes
are been recognized as critical to the success of the project, the next step is to understand the details behind the development of the “risk profile.”
- Information Technology Risk Management - Installment 1: The Concept of Risk
- Information Technology Risk Management - Installment 2: Pre-Development Risks
- The Impact of Reducible and Irreducible Uncertainty on the Probability of Program Success
, Glen B. Alleman, Rick A. Price, and Thomas A. Coonce, Joint Space Cost Council, Scheduler's Forum, 2018.
- Building a Risk Tolerant IMS
, Safran Risk Roadshow, McClean, VA June 23, 2015.
- Building a Risk Tolerant IMS
- Using Earned Value to manage the risk of a project in terms of risk-adjusted physical performance.
- Building a Risk-Adjusted Engineering Estimate and Executing the Risk-Adjusted Product Roadmap
- The Risk-Adjusted Product Roadmap starts with Risk-Adjusted Engineering Estimates and the resulting Rough Order of Magnitude Estimate.p
- Building Risk Tolerance into Program Plan and Schedule
- Managing Risk as Opportunity
- with uncertainty comes opportunity. Good risk management is not about fear of failure, and it is about removing barriers to success.
- Lunch and Learn: Risk Management on a Well-Known Project
, PMI Lakeshore Chapter, 14 September 2014.
- Building a Risk Tolerant Schedule
?- Technical and programmatic disruptions in project plans don’t need to negatively impact cost, performance, or schedule metrics.
- Managing Risk as Opportunity
?- with uncertainty comes opportunity. But if a project manager is consumed with managing the risks, there is little time to manage the opportunities.
- Information Technology Risk Management
?- The Concept of Risk, Its Management, and Benefits to an IT Project.
- Risk Management in Five Easy Pieces with Apologies to Jack
?- Managing Cost, Schedule and Technical Performance Risk Is The Basis of Good Project Management.
- Risk Management is How Adults Manage Projects
?- Risk management is essential for the success of any significant project. Information about key project cost, performance, and schedule attributes is often unknown until the project is underway.
Programmatic Risk Management in PM Weekly
Essays on Science, Math, and Project Management