The development of a new approach to manage projects became necessary to deal with adaptive systems. Adaptive systems produce actions and reactions during the development of a project that need to be managed in order to ensure the achievement of the objectives.
While the traditional approach considers that plan B is an emergency plan to achieve goals, the unicist approach to project management considers that the plan B is superior and includes plan A, the plan C is superior than plan B but includes it, and the plan D is an abortion plan that includes the development of a succedaneum solution.
These alternative plans have to be predefined before the project begins. It is necessary to consider that the most participative alternative is given by plan A and the most “directive” alternatives are given by plan C and D.
That is why the unicist approach to project management is necessary to deal with adaptive systems that are in motion and unnecessary when dealing with systems where the adaptive aspects do not need to be considered.
The stages of the Adaptive Project Management are:
1. Process Control Centered
The process control centered manager is focused on establishing the necessary operational, administrative and control systems to monitor the process using a forward chaining design process that allows having the information on each stage of the process.
2. Authoritative Management Centered
Authoritative management includes having the capacity of controlling the processes. It implies that the manager has the vision of the problem and alternative solutions in order to define the plan C for any central aspect of a project.
3. Objects Management Centered
This level includes having the capacity of developing an authoritative management of the project. It requires that the manager be able to apprehend the complexity of the adaptive aspects of projects.
4. Process Management Centered
This level includes the capacity of developing the object management of projects. It is based on having apprehended the unified field of the project as a solution in the context where it is being developed.
Conclusion
Adaptive Project Management requires integrating project planning and project execution skills to ensure that the solutions be achieved. It is based on approaching projects based on the use of processes and objects that have proven their capacity to provide the necessary solutions. It implies having a sound systemic knowledge and the knowledge of the fundamentals that underlie the solution.
Peter Belohlavek
NOTE: The Unicist Research Institute was the pioneer in complexity science research and became a private global decentralized leading research organization in the field of human adaptive systems. http://www.unicist.org
