User:DmitryGaliullin/LMP (project management method)
Methodology of «Lively management of projects»[1] is based on systems approach, implying the systems theory usage in project management.
A project is regarded as a set (hierarchy) of all participants and relations between them, consequently project management – as initiation and realization of purposeful managerial influences on all project participants and stakeholders to get project goals attained.[2]
«Lively management» philosophy
Project manager’s everyday activity in various projects of all sorts of scale is first of all focused on intuitive management, based on whether personal experience or applying some existing methods, standards and forms of management. For all this, it turns out very often that clear notion about management object, about real surroundings and substance of the project escapes from our perception, and we hardly pay attention on the simplifying role of communication in project organization. Moreover, it seems that we miss here a very interesting fact – even classical project management theories and approaches promote our perception of the project in the capacity of networked organization among chaos of its environment.
Systems concept and fundamentals of network-structured objects interaction applied threw light for certain understanding that had been exactly what finally turned into the method described here and called «Lively management of projects»:
- in realization of any project, the object of management is in no way the project itself, but project participants or, otherwise, people who implement it [3]
- formal and informal arrangements initiated between all participants of the project and the most direct communication as possible which makes it much more likely to attain project objectives;
- the concept «why to manage in more complicated way than if only with a pen a piece of paper» applied to the project realization lets using effectively the systems theory;
- any project, being targeted by a project team for the purpose to accomplish it, represents chaos with its specific complex multilevel structure. What lets sorting out the matter inside of such organization is to realize and implement the project in the form of network-centric organization.
Method’s meaning
For understanding the chief matter of this method, there are some successive steps to describe organization of a complex project in the network-centric logic and the set of tools permitting to manage this structure.
Project organization in the network-centric way is available by imparting all informational, communicational project flows with networked order of functioning and interaction.
For a start, let’s lay out schematically all real and potential participants of the given complex project on different levels.
The first level includes a company managing the complex project and project key participants – customer, initiator, project sponsor, investor etc.
The second level implies the physical (mechanical) implementation of the project. Here are situated companies taking part in project realization and executing separate stages of work.
The third level is occupied by stakeholders, who can influence the project, as well as its separate participants and interrelations between them.
The project, as it is, represents a certain chain of participants, where all participants of the project including the area executors, project customer, and investor look like so-called «black-boxes» (it means that they stay unclear and unfold for the project as well as their role, extent of their influence, etc). Entry into these «black boxes» is provided by resources to make it available to get some results in the end.
Having defined project participants, let’s dwell on algorithm of project organization in network-centric logic.
1. The first step in creation of network-centric organization is initiation of networked tools and mechanisms for the project direct management. For that, the team of coordinators by separate managerial functions and areas, as well as work stages, are built. The expected network architecture will be based then on these coordinators.
2. At the second step, it’s necessary to decipher the «black boxes» of the customer, investor, project sponsor to make them clear for our understanding concerning their roles and influence as a concrete amount of specialists and managers, with their natural interrelations, responsibility patches, their personal interests as regards the project, etc.
In the issue, collective and individual goals for participation in the project, the set of independent knots and their actors whom we are going to work with are defined; also all information concerning actors’ powers and possibilities, secure formats of communication, responsible persons on the project and get list of contacts as wide as possible are fixed.
3. 3. At the following step it’s to take up on the level of project physical realization and perform the same number of actions concerning now each of participants who implement the project mechanically.
Thus, there emerges sensibly access to all existing and discovered elements inside the former «black boxes».
Our entire project immediate environment containing all project participants represents for us forward the common surface with accessible elements laid out around. Then, having the clear notion about structures of participating companies, their logic of internal interaction, actors, and existing inner knots, it is able to keep on building the project network architecture.
4. The forth step is to work out the strategy of interaction with stakeholders’ «black boxes». Why are stakeholders singled out to the separate level? On the one hand, stakeholders as well as the Customer, investor, sponsor are regarded as other networks’ elements. Nevertheless, on the other hand, they are not project participants and initially their activity doesn’t pursue attainment for the project objectives, and that is why exactly they should be regarded as a separate element.
Having been measured about the depth and form of interaction with stakeholders, the project landscape, as an area of real participants and stakeholders including all internal knots and actors, is seemed to be full-grown basic field ready for construction of the project’s network architecture.
To animate this project landscape, there is need to breathe volume into it – to specify direct network interconnections whose lack makes impossible project participants’ interaction.
5. To arrange these interaction and interrelations, all participants should elaborate, arrange, confirm and agree about the «Rules of game» - certain set of the participants’ expectations concerning their behavior of one towards another, shared commonly and arranged thoroughly.
The «Rules of game» is the tool, agreed and accepted by all project participants, designed for horizontal communication initiation, and further erection of the project environment.
6. On the sixth step, to let more information flowing from one point to another, more horizontal communication channels between all project participants, being hidden from us in «black boxes» before are to be created. After that, the project appears to have its own ground for communication enabling initiation of the network organization.
7. Creation of functional knots including some part of separate knots’ elements (internal knots and actors) and independent actors, realizing separate managerial functions, separate tasks and directions aiming the project objectives.
Functional knots are the primary artificial essences which increase effectiveness of project management and let coordinating its separate directions. Coupled with communication channels, they make the project grow till the size needed for network-centric organization.
8. The eighth, creation of mechanism for network coordination, for example, under the pretence of some kind of Coordinating Council. The mechanism of network coordination creates and supports at the same time the project environment, filled by continuous flows of generation, distribution, and arrangement of information, knowledge accumulation and exchange, integration and splitting up of functions and tasks, communication channels and common development of all participants in the project network-centric organization.
9. Providing the network-centric organization with backbone technical infrastructure – under the pretence of IT-ground destined to facilitate the matter of project management.
10. And, finally, to integrate in all working procedures the tools designed for development of network-centric organization’s participants, implying such ones like business and management games, trainings, seminars, lecturing, public conferences and others.
What is the result gained from this method adoption? According to the LMP-method, the multi-level complex project realized, manageability increases, the project becomes more effective and predictable. And what else is that relationships and communication are built in such manner, as if there were one’s own network around, as well as there is gained an opportunity for the future to build a proto-network ready for usage even after the project completion.
References
- ^ Author: LLC KommandCore
- ^ «Some Essays About Management», V.Salnikov, D.Galiullin, 2009.
- ^ Wasserman, Stanley and Katherine Faust. 1994. Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.;
See also
- Network theory
- Systems theory
- Chaos theory
- Game theory
- KommandCore – SaaS-service for project and communication management
- Project management software
- List of project management software
- Project management