eXtreme Project Management

555 Pages·2004·2.4 MB·English

DeCarlo.ffirs 8/27/04 4:13 PM Page v
eXtreme Project
Management
Using Leadership, Principles,
and Tools to Deliver Value
in the Face of Volatility
Doug DeCarlo
Foreword by James P. Lewis
Afterword by Robert K. Wysocki
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DeCarlo.ffirs 8/27/04 4:13 PM Page i
Praise for
eXtreme Project Management
“Revolutionary. Doug DeCarlo’s eXtreme project management frame-
work shows project managers and sponsors how to succeed where
they might typically fail. Finally, a refreshing and practical approach
for today’s extreme projects.”
—Ravi Mohan, principal, ProjectScape
“Agile, extreme, and adaptive are words that identify a significant new
trend in project management. These approaches to project manage-
ment, such as Doug DeCarlo describes in eXtreme Project Management,
need to contain three vital parts—mind-set, a framework, and specific
practices. Doug’s book succeeds in all three areas. His description of
quantum and Newtonian mind-sets establishes the critical difference
between traditional and extreme project management values. His
Flexible Project Model, from Visionate to Disseminate, defines a
process framework that embodies the quantum mind-set. Finally, spe-
cific practices such as the Project Prospectus and 3-sentence Project
Skinny will help teams deliver project results with minimal overhead.
Great job.”
—Jim Highsmith, director, Agile Project Management Practice,
Cutter Consortium; and author, Agile Project Management:
Creating Innovative Products
“If change is a constant in your life and on your projects then this
book is a must-read. Doug DeCarlo, a veteran of the leading edge,
turns standard project management conventions upside down by
revealing new insights into the realities of successfully delivering
today’s projects.”
—Steven Weidner, PMP, president, Program Navigators, Inc.
“Doug has nailed my world with a practical, insightful book that is also
a fun and invigorating read. Project managers frustrated by tradi-
tional methods that don’t work on their crazy, people-dominated
projects will recognize in eXtreme Project Managementa new approach
that absolutely resonates with their reality; and like me, they’ll walk
away with tools for putting the new mind-set into action.”
—Cinda Voegtli, president, ProjectConnections.com
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“All projects I meet today fit Doug’s description of eXtreme. This
book is something that we all need to face the current environment
with a realistic mind-set and real tools to be successful.”
—K. C. Yelin, Yelin Associates
“Perfect for the project manager looking for alternatives to process-
heavy, bureaucratic management. Doug opens the door for new man-
agement strategies to deal with the rapid-fire complexity of projects
in a constant state of flux.”
—Carl Pritchard, principal, Pritchard Management Associates
“Drawing on his unique combination of project management expe-
rience, technical/scientific training, and esoteric studies, Doug has
given us a profoundly thoughtful and useful approach to managing
the chaotic projects of our time. Easy reading on a complex topic for
project executives and managers.”
—Ed Mahler, PMP, president, Project Administration Institute;
and president, PMI Westchester, New York, chapter
“Our medical center has greatly benefited from the application of the
concepts and principles described in this book in organizing, man-
aging, and successfully completing our most complex and extreme
projects. I highly recommend this book to anyone facing similarly
challenging projects!”
—Zed Day, CIO, University of Kentucky Medical Center
“Finally, a project management philosophy that actually supports true
teamwork! This is an extremely useful book—a quantum leap for-
ward for project teams that want their planning tools to match how
they really work!”
—Christopher M. Avery, author, Teamwork Is An Individual Skill:
Getting Your Work Done When Sharing Responsibility
“At last! Doug has provided us with a way to break from the ‘normal’
waterfall world and given us a look at projects as they really are today.
The book is an easy read and a necessary companion for anyone who
must tackle today’s fast-paced delivery cycles.”
—Donald Gardner, Gardner Project Integration Group, Ltd.
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“The unpredictable is the project manager’s playing field. Doug changes
the rules to achieve success in the extreme! He captures the extreme
need for forward and creative thinking in project management. It’s
an educational quantum leap in the field of project management.”
—Frank P. Saladis, PMP, president, Project Imaginers Inc.
“Project managers and business owners will benefit from the eXtreme
project management approach described in Doug DeCarlo’s book.
Moving beyond the traditional IT project management approach to
an approach that acknowledges the complexity and fluid nature of
business change programs—in most cases ‘uncertain journeys to
uncertain destinations’—will greatly increase their chances of suc-
cessfully delivering business value.”
—John Thorp, president, The Thorp Network Inc.;
and author, The Information Paradox
“‘Drive along the freeway for exactly one hour, then hang a left . . .’
Instructions like that court disaster, so why do we stubbornly stick to
prescriptive project management that does little better? Humankind
is exquisitely competent at dealing with complexity, responding to
emergent information, and adapting to current reality. So why not
just describe the destination and let the competent driver figure out
a successful journey? General Patton famously said, ‘Never tell peo-
ple how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you
with their ingenuity.’ Doug DeCarlo has captured that vision in this
excellent volume: absorb and practice the principles and you will
achieve mastery in eXtreme project management.”
—Ralph White, Ph.D., MRPharmS; and director, PPMLD Ltd
“A must-read for all levels of practitioners of project management.
Doug provides new insights on the most important success factor for
projects: the people and how to manage the relationships.”
—Theresa Kane Musser, senior director, project management,
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
“It’s refreshing to read a book by a real practitioner of non-traditional
project management. Traditional project management often falls short
in projects containing a great deal of uncertainty. Doug’s approach,
exemplified by the eXtreme methods of iteration and adaptation, fits
the world of high-technology, new-product development.”
—Martin Wartenberg, senior consultant, Engineering and
Information Technology, University of California
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eXtreme Project
Management
Using Leadership, Principles,
and Tools to Deliver Value
in the Face of Volatility
Doug DeCarlo
Foreword by James P. Lewis
Afterword by Robert K. Wysocki
DeCarlo.ffirs 8/27/04 4:13 PM Page vi
Copyright © 2004 by Doug DeCarlo.
Published by Jossey-Bass
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Page 516 is a continuation of this copyright page.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
DeCarlo, Doug, 1942-
eXtreme project management: using leadership, principles, and tools to deliver value
in the face of volatility/by Doug DeCarlo; foreword by James P. Lewis; afterword by
Robert K. Wysocki.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(The Jossey-Bass business & management series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7879-7409-9 (alk. paper)
1. Project management. 2. Leadership. 3. Teams in the workplace—Management.
I. Title. II. Series.
HD69.P75D43 2004
658.4'04—dc22
2004015788
Printed in the United States of America
FIRSTEDITION
HB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
DeCarlo.ffirs 8/27/04 4:13 PM Page vii
The Jossey-Bass
Business & Management Series