Adaptive Project Framework: An Introductory Guide for Beginners

Today, the majority of projects cannot be managed using project management methods traditional ones that are generally too rigid. One of the main reasons is that it is often difficult to accurately define the complete requirements of a project from the start. The origin of this difficulty is attributed to numerous factors including constant changes on the part of the customer, vague business objectives, changes in the market or competition.

Even if you can determine specific requirements, today's world is changing and evolving at a very high speed, and your project requirements cannot remain static, they must also evolve throughout the life of the project. Thus, wanting to manage a project with traditional methods that are too rigid is a waste of time and money. Project management is changing and it's time to adopt the Adaptive Project Framework (APF) methodology.

Definition

In 2010, Robert K. Wysocki, a recognized strategic leader in the field of project management, published the book Adaptive Project Framework: Managing Complexity in the Face of Uncertainty in which he describes the AFP approach.

Also called adaptive management in French, the AFP method was created to constantly adapt to the changing situation of a project. Thus, nothing is fixed in this approach, neither the duration of the project, nor the budget, nor the risks, and it is possible to adjust everything continuously according to changes in the characteristics of the project.

To use the metaphor used by Robert K. Wysocki in his book: to effectively manage your projects with the APF method, you need to think like a chef, not a cook. The cook only follows recipes, and if an ingredient is missing, he may be completely lost and will not know how to continue his recipe. In contrast, a chef has the skills and experience to adapt to the situation and create delicious recipes with the ingredients that are available.

For this methodology to be successfully implemented, two conditions are essential:

• Above all, your team should not resist change. On the contrary, it must be able to accept it, adapt to it and learn;
• the client must be fully involved in managing the project from start to finish, and your team must maintain a relationship of trust based on exchange.

Finally, remember that AFP is not a universal approach to use as is, but that it is constantly adapting to changes. It uses the just-in-time planning approach, considers the customer as the primary decision maker, provides maximum business value, and eliminates anything that doesn't add value.

How does it work?

The Adaptive Project Framework methodology consists of five steps.

1. Defining the scope of the project

To begin with, it is essential to define what will satisfy the customer. In other words, what is the aim of the project? What needs does the customer have to meet? It is therefore a question of determining The conditions of satisfaction (CDs). Remember that a project without a specific goal is doomed to failure. Obviously, the customer must validate the CDs.

Then you have to write the Project Overview Statement (POS) that summarizes the conditions of satisfaction, describes what will be achieved and how, and lists the risks and potential obstacles as well as the forecasts for success.

Finally, you need to produce three documents:

• The list of functional requirements which prioritizes the actions to be carried out. This list may change as the project progresses;
• Project task organization chart (OTP), called Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in English, which breaks down the work that needs to be done to achieve the goals of the project;
• the Triangle Scope which indicates how the various constraints of the project, namely time (i.e. the deadlines to complete the project), costs (the budget and available resources), and the scope of the project, influence the quality of the project.

2. The schedule of the cycle

The project is divided into mini-projects or cycles (also called iterations), and each cycle must provide one or more deliverables. This second step involves the planning of each project cycle. The objective is to define and plan the tasks to be completed.

List the individual tasks to be completed according to the OTP, then establish the order in which they should be completed, identify their interdependencies, assign them to your collaborators, and set their due dates.

3. The realization of the cycle

In this stage, we start working on the project. Follow and adjust the cycle as you go. It ends when the time set in advance has expired. Anything that has not been completed in this cycle will be carried over to the next cycle.

During each cycle, it is important to note all change requests and ideas for improvement. The problems encountered should also be noted in order to be able to remedy them in the following cycles.

4. The customer checkpoint

This is an essential step in the AFP method. The customer reviews the quality of what was delivered during this cycle. Together with the project manager, they plan the possible corrections or improvements to be made during the next iteration.

From there, the process is repeated (planning, implementation and verification) until the project is completed.

5. The final report

At the end of the project, the project manager, the team and the client assess the success of the project and determine whether the objectives were successfully achieved. They document what has been learned and identify potential process improvements for future projects.

Conclusion

Each project is unique. The methods used to manage them should therefore also be unique and adapted to the circumstances specific to each project.

This is the case of the Adaptive Project Framework methodology, which offers great flexibility and allows working jointly with the client throughout the project in order to guarantee their satisfaction, and therefore the success of the project.