Our AdPM™ Process for
Organizational Project Management

Broadbrush Project Plan

1½ page Document for Project Initiation

The AdPM™ Broadbrush Plan is a concise 1½ page plan that allows executives to exercise strategic control over projects and the business value they produce. It also provides them with hard-edged metrics for measuring performance and the quality of deliverables.

Work Breakdown Structure

Crystal-clear accountability for each team member

Rather then creating mindless "to do" lists, PMs craft AdPM™ work breakdown structures by decomposing the scope into a high-level achievement network of measurable results that become peoples' accountabilities. Every team member's assignment is in the form of a measurable business outcome. The resulting WBS is compact so PMs can update it quickly but each entry is supported by a work package that makes everything clear so nothing is missed. Both the PM and executives have unambiguous checkpoints to measure progress.

Dynamic project scheduling in MS Project

Schedules updated in 10 minutes a week

PMs use dynamic AdPM™ project scheduling techniques that let them update plans in minutes each week and quickly model the impact of changes to budget, duration and the business value a project produces. These techniques give executives the hard data they need for decision-making and consideration of alternatives.

Status reporting that spots problems early

Clear checkpoints to identify problems early

With AdPM™ tracking, PM and sponsors have hard-edged checkpoints to measure progress. They can anticipate problems and implement corrective action early when it costs the least. PMs make concise status reports on projects and always offer a range of alternatives for executives to consider.

Requirements & Scope: Top Down Business Outcomes

We’ve based our AdPM™ methodology on driving projects to measured business outcomes not pointless activities. Therefore, we begin our planning using the AdPM™ scope interview and questioning techniques with executives to unearth the business results they expect from the project.

As the scale of the project expands, so does the methodology. AdPM™ adds additional techniques for more complex project environments with multiple stakeholders. For larger customer/client projects, AdPM™ expands further and adds techniques for assessing echelons of achievement in complex project situations.

AdPM™ Achievement Network Template

Broad-brush Project Plan

The next step in initiating the project is a Broad-brush project plan that is usually less than two pages long. In addition to the scope & achievement network developed above, it contains order of magnitude estimates of time, resources and cost for each of the high-level achievements and the project as a whole and resource requirements. We also assess the risks we face on each of those high-level business results. Next, we identify the key assumptions for the project and then design an authority and accountability structure based on the achievement network. All these elements come together in a one or two page broad-brush plan for sponsor review and approval. As the scale of the project expands, each of the preceding elements can expand including; more sophisticated risk analysis and mitigation, team development, procurement planning and quality.

AdPM™ Broad-brush Project Plan

Work Breakdown Structure

In AdPM™, we do not develop the normal “to do” list which is impossible to track or keep current. Instead, we develop a work breakdown structure that is concise and supports a management style of holding people accountable for their results rather than micro-managing all their activities. To build an AdPM™ work breakdown structure takes more thinking and skills because we decompose the high-level achievement network down to the level of the "right size" assignments for each of our team members. Our students get lots of practice on this technique in our courses because it is so important for project success. The AdPM™ approach yields commitment and accountability from team members and easier tracking and updating of the project plan. It allows project managers to quickly know the status of their project rather than spending hours updating the plan.

AdPM™ WBS Decomposition

MS Project Scheduling & Optimization

PMs can use AdPM™ with a wide variety of project management software but most of our clients and students use Microsoft Project so all our textbooks and courses include detailed instructions for using this software. The methodology includes techniques for building dynamic project schedules that make it easy for project managers to analyze alternative ways of doing the project and assess options for recovering when the project encounters problems. The AdPM™ methodology also includes techniques for optimizing the project schedule and resources. These techniques get more sophisticated as the scale of the project expands. Optimization always includes the analysis of trade-offs between project scope and duration and budget, so the project managers can tailor the project plan to meet executive’s or client’s needs.

AdPM™ Techniques for MS Project

Status Reports: Spot Problems Early

All the preceding steps from the development of measured achievements to a lean work breakdown structure and a dynamic software model allow project managers who use AdPM™ to spot problems early when they’re small and most easily resolved. The measured achievements provide unambiguous checkpoints that allow PMs to compare where they are to where they should be. In tracking, we again apply the AdPM™ trade-off techniques to assess options for recovering from variances.

AdPM™ Variance and Problem ID

AdPM™ is a straightforward methodology that minimizes paperwork and meetings and focuses on business results and accountability. We've designed AdPM™ for organizations where many project team members are working on multiple projects. It also supports enterprise project management, portfolio management and the effective allocation of resources based on the organization's priorities and the business value projects produce.

See also Application of AdPM™ Methodology for:

• Enterprise Project Management
• Consulting Projects
• Project Portfolio Management

We teach AdPM™ in all our courses and certifications.

We can tailor AdPM™ to fit the culture and environment of your organization