The Four Waves of Project Management

Project management has evolved through a number of stages or waves. Table 2.1 highlights the major differences between the waves of project management.

Table 2.1. The Four Waves of Project Management

First Wave ”Initial	1950 “1970
Project Justification	Projects were justified by experimentation and proof of technology.
Senior Management Role	Generally unaware of major project issues ”IT were trusted as "scientists/experts."
Business Expert Role	Little or no involvement in development process.
Management Focus	Focus on development effort only.
Team Structure	Single teams with dominant technical leader.
Planning Approach	Informal and verbal planning.
Project Dynamic	Generally unlimited time and budget.
Second Wave ”Engineered	1970 “current
Project Justification	Projects were justified by token cost “benefit analysis ”no effective benefits realization.
Senior Management Role	Involved in token steering committees ”IT were still trusted as "scientists" or "experts."
Business Expert Role	Token involvement as business analysts and in testing and documentation ”Some business project managers with little support or training.
Management Focus	Continuing focus on development effort only ”Formal metrics recorded on development productivity.
Team Structure	Single teams with dominant technical leader and related technical experts such as database experts.
Planning Approach	Macro planning based on engineering concepts such as one-off planning at front, fixed, formal specifications.
Project Dynamic	Expert-driven where the IT and other specialists set budgets and technology.
Third Wave ”Dynamic	1980 “current
Project Justification	Cost “benefit taken more seriously and greater awareness of benefits realization.
Senior Management Role	Committed sponsor and steering committee roles with greater awareness of project management issues.
Business Expert Role	Business experts involved more actively in development and project management process.
Management Focus	Whole-of-life focus is adopted with development and support cycles measured.
Team Structure	Virtual teams emerge with small project team supported by contractors, specialists, and business people as stakeholders.
Planning Approach	Micro planning based on flexible plans with deliverables or time-boxes of 3 to 6 months.
Project Dynamic	Constraint-driven by fixed deadlines, limited budgets, and resources.
Fourth Wave ”eXtreme	1990 “
Project Justification	Projects are totally focused on added value and benefits realization.
Senior Management Role	Project sponsors as executive project managers for total life of product or system.
Business Expert Role	Business and technology teams completely integrated.
Management Focus	Focus on total whole-of-life product life cycle with integrated process and product management and metrics.
Team Structure	Virtual teams within virtual organizations based on partnerships and networks.
Planning Approach	Organic planning using micro plans and very short development cycles (daily builds).
Project Dynamic	Increasingly constraint-driven but balanced by return on investment considerations.

Clearly, this book is based on fourth-wave principles. However, in the assessment of our group , based on direct contact with more than 500 companies over the past 25 years , the majority of companies are still using second-wave project management practices.

Newtonian versus Quantum

Doug DeCarlo ( Cutter Consortium , www.cutter.com/consortium/ consultants ) used a wonderful model that is identical to our distinction between second- and fourth-wave project management. He described project managers with Newtonian neurosis, which is a pathological need to bring structure to projects. He argued that extreme projects require project managers with a quantum view of the world that embraces and accepts change, chaos, uncertainty, and relaxation of control to gain control.

In addition, the majority of published material on project management is clearly second-wave with some notable exceptions such as Steve McConnell's Rapid Development (1996) and Jim McCarthy's Dynamics of Software Development (1995). We provide a guide to the other people who have joined us in developing this new mind-set at the end of this book.

The good news is that the group is finally growing. ^[4]

^[4] Greg Howell and Lauri Koskela (www.leanconstruction.org) join Alan Patching (op cit) and others in addressing the need for a similar shift in project management approaches in the construction industry. You should also access the views of leading IT consultants such as Jim Highsmith, Doug DeCarlo, and Scott Ambler at www.cutter.com/consortium/consultants.

Managing projects is the management of creativity.

Jazz as eXtreme Project Management

John Kao in Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity (1997), and others use jazz as a metaphor for creative work. Anyone who has heard Miles Davis letting his awesome colleagues improvise within a highly organized but shifting structure knows the power of jazz. He was the first extreme project manager. ^[5] The key here, of course, is that you have to be a brilliant player to jam effectively. The same goes for creative teams: You need the best for eXtreme models to work.

^[5] Rock bands such as The Grateful Dead, Phish, and King Crimson also get into creative jamming.