WEEK 07 DISCUSSION QUESTION SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AN ADAPTIVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE MODEL AND EXTREME PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE A. SIMILARITIES 1. The solution or outcome is not clear for both in Adaptive and Extreme PMLC models. The Adaptive does not defined goal and little is known about the solutions. Also the Extreme has neither the goal nor the solutions defined. 2. Client involvement and feedback process is required in both models. Clients are well accommodated to express their needs and their direction for the project.
However, in the Extreme PMLC, the client involvement is greater. The project direction is fully dependent on the inputs from the clients. 3. The five process groups beginning from scoping, planning, lunching, monitoring and controlling, and closing are all present in the both the Adaptive and Extreme PMLC models. Wysocki (2009, p. 465). 4. The Adaptive PMLC and the Extreme PMLC encourage discovery and learning as the iterations progress from one stage to another towards the achieving of some solutions. 5.
They are both complex with high risk management. 6. However the risk in Adaptive PMLC reduces after each iteration, thus enabling the team to have clear view of the project compared to Extreme PMLC with constant risk. In Extreme the project direction can even change during the phases of the project. 7. The Adaptive and Extreme PMLC models do not waste time. They are encouraged to move in fast to enable them achieve some result. Both models require well experienced project managers because of their complexity. B. DIFFERENCES 1.
The goals are known in Adaptive PMLC model while in the Extreme PMLC the projects have no clear goals and objectives Wysocki (2009, p. 337). Adaptive model can be used for construction industry because many construction projects have clear understanding of project goals or objectives but Extreme models cannot go for these kinds of projects. 2. The project cost and time are more defined in the Adaptive PMLC model while in the Extreme PMLC model we cannot define the time and cost. 3. Adaptive PMLC model has business value in a given time.
But no business value can be recognized within a given time in Extreme PMLC. The Extreme PMLC models require stages or processes to start all over from initial starting point, bringing no value cost spent to date. The deliverables are not guaranteed. C. Conditions that will suggest the use of model over the order Every project has what are common to it. And these features influence the choice of a particular PMCL model. According to Wysocki (2009, p. 337) we have some check list that can assist us in the decision to use a particular project model.
For Adaptive Models – the solutions and the requirements are only partially known, some functionality may not be identified, scope changes will be present from the client, new products may result or new project development process may result. Situations that favour above conditions will involve the use of Adaptive PMLC model. I may liken this PMLC to a project which I carried out in my fish farming. I practice fish farming and I needed to improve the growth of my fishes using local feed instead of foreign and processed feed which was getting expensive.
My goal was to enhance growth and save cost. But the solution was not clearly known since I do not know what exactly I would give the fishes as local feed. My fair idea was to introduce some food like garri- a common African food prepared from cassava, cassava peels, left over bread from bakeries etc. However, my success was partial. I succeeded getting the fishes get to their usual weight of about 1kg in 6months with less expenditure. A project similar to this can be managed with Adaptive PMLC model. For Extreme – the goal and solution are not clearly known.
The model uses repeated phases in attempt to find goals solutions of a project. It is the most complex model and has high failure rate. Example of projects that can be handled using Extreme is the Research and Development projects Monday Nwanyanwu 1. Wysocki (2009) Effective Project Management : traditional, Agile, Extreme. 5Th Ed. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing 297 -338, 383 – 411, 463 – 467) 2. http://projectmanagementforum. wordpress. com/2010/07/06/a-comparison-of-the-adaptive-pmlc-model-and-the-extreme-pmlc-model/