Even experienced project managers are not immune to common reasons for project failure. Poor time and budget performance, failure to deal with complexity, and uncontrolled changes in scope can catch any project manager off guard. This collection of materials can help improve your project’s success rate.
Here's a collection of conference presentations, white papers, book chapters, and journal articles on topics developed over 4 decades of managing projects and programs in a variety of domains, where arriving on or before the needed time, at or below the needed cost, with the needed Capabilities to accomplish a mission or fulfill a strategy is necessary for the success of the project.
Five Immutable Principles of Project Success no Matter the Domain, Context, Management Tools, or Processes
The basis of success for all project success, no matter the domain, project management process (Agile or Traditional), project management tools, and technology starts by answering the questions posed by the Five Immutable Principles, first published in Performance-Based Project Management, American Management Association, February 2014.
- What does Done look like in units of measure meaning full to the decision-makers, starting with Measures of Effectiveness (MOE), Measures of Performance (MOP), Technical Performance Measures (TPM), and Key Performance Parameters (KPP)?
- What is the Plan to reach Done, with outcomes fulfilling these measures on the needed date, for the needed cost, to deliver the needed Capabilities to accomplish a mission or fulfill a strategy?
- What Resources - staff, facilities, funding, and regulatory compliance will be needed to reach Done as needed?
- What are the Impediments to reaching Done at the needed time, for the needed cost with the needed Capabilities?
- How will Progress to Plan be measured in units of measure meaningful to the decision-makers? The passage of time, consumption of money, production of Stories, and Story points are not measures of progress to Plan. Delivery of Capabilities to accomplish the mission are.
Increasing Probability of Success for Software Intensive Complex System of Systems using Agile Development and Earned Value Management
Complex Systems Development including Software Development Lifecycles is straightforward when there is a Bright Line between the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) and system development processes that define the Capabilities needed to accomplish a mission or fulfill a strategy using Measures of Effectiveness, Measures of Performance, Technical Performance Measures, Key Performance Parameters, all used to inform Physical Percent compared to the Planned Percent Complete - all with Risk-Informed decision making.
- Getting Started - starting with Government and Industry compliant processes, and system development including the SW Development Lifecycle (agile) is straightforward.
- Executive Overview - Systems Engineering, Earned Value Management, Traditional, and Agile development have much in common.
- First Comes Earned Value Management - EVM and Agile must be deployed together to be in harmony with each other.
- Opening Background - both EVM and Agile measure progress to plan as Physical Percent Complete
- Start with the End in Mind - the integrated value proposition of Agile and EVM needs to be articulated upfront.
- Framing Assumptions - define and track key program assumptions made early in the program development.
- Foundations of Earned Value Management - physical percent complete is the foundation of EVM + Agile.
- Performance Planning - is performed by objectively assessing accomplishment at the work performance level
- Connecting the Dots Between EVM and Agile - sharing a common theme of Progress to Plan measured by Physical Percent Complete
- Requirements Elicitation - technical and operational requirements are flowed down in traditional programs and emerge from Capabilities in Agile programs.
- Planning, Budgeting, and Estimating in Agile - using Cardinal Values to estimate work on Agile projects.
- Step-by-Step - building and executing the Performance Measurement Baseline.
- Dependency Management in Agile at Scale - with multiple agile teams working System of Systems, dependencies will appear.
- Change Control - differences between change control on traditional and agile projects.
- Physically Connecting the Dots - between Agile, Program Planning and Control, Earned Value Management and Reporting.
- The Dark Side of Agile - both EVM and Agile have dark sides.
- Failure Modes of Agile Transforamtipm and Program Performance Management - finding and handling the root causes of failure.
- Maturity Models for Deploying Agile at Scale - applying EVM through the CMMI governance framework.
- Agile Contracts - FAR 15.201 and Agile Uniform Contract Formats, agile construction contracts, and other non-IT domainsConclusion - integration of agile on EVM programs is straightforward
Essential Views
The 24 Views of a Project's performance are the minimum set needed for the Program or Project Management to effectively oversee the successful delivery of the project's capabilities, on-time. on-budget.
The Essential Views are the leading and lagging indicators of project success. The data sources for these views start with project management data, including the Risk Register, Technical Performance Measures, Measures of Effectiveness, Measures of Performance, and Key Performance Parameters. Putting all these together in a set of views for use by management and stakeholder is the primary benefit of this approach. This section starts with two briefings, followed by a Workshop developed at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)
- Essential Views of Integrated Program Management Reports, Thomas Coonce and Glen Alleman, ICEAA Professional Development & Training Workshop, June 9-12, San Diego, CA.
- Essential Views of Integrated Program Management Reports, Thomas Coonce, September 2015.
Essential Views Workshop Prepared for IDA
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Essential Views
- TSAS WBS
- System of Systems
- IMP and IMS
- Building a Credible IMP
- 6 Steps to IMP Development
- Nuances of These Steps
- Connecting IMP to Performance Measurement Baseline
- First Pass at Building IMP
- Developing IMS from the IMP
- Scheduling Best Practices
- Developing Cost Baseline
- Managing in Presence of Uncertainty
- Connecting PMB to IPMR
- Earned Value Management
- Building IMP for PDR
- Avionics PDR
- Root Cause Analysis
- Bibliography
- Background
Managing the Development of Complex Software Intensive System of Systems with Traditional and Agile Methods
[Solutions] should always concentrate on the whole and not on assembling parts. All the great principles have one thing in common. They are simple. After one realizes such a simple but profound principle, one can not stop wondering how one survived without its knowledge. — Christopher Alexander (The Timeless Way of Building, Oxford University Press, 1979)
The Immutable Principles of Project Success
- Nine Best Practices of Project Management - the difference between failure and success is the difference between doing something almost right and doing something right - Benjamin Franklin
- Integrated Program Performance Management - Our Integrated Program Performance Management elements are organization, planning, scheduling and budgeting, accounting, analysis & management and revisions & data maintenance. These are applied to increase the probability of program success on traditional and agile programs.
- Flawless Execution - Using Fighter Pilot techniques to manage our weekly activities.
- Managing Enterprise Projects as Wicked Problems
- Project Disappointment Starts When We Fail To Recognize the 5 Immutable Principles of Project Success - all projects are disappointments, they push the boundaries of schedule, cost, and technical performance, otherwise, they'd be called production.
- Survival in the Matrixed Organization - The common picture of the project manager in a matrixed organization is of a frustrated diplomate struggling to cajole the functional departments into performing the work on schedule within budget
- Project Success: The Basis of the Five Immutable Principles, Building Project Management into a MIssion-Critical Endeavor, Excerpt from Public Manager, September 14, 2015
- Five Immutable Principles of Program Success, Their Processes and Practices, IPMW 2017.
- 5 Immutable Principles of Project Success, Forum Safran 2013
- Five Immutable Principles of Capital Project Success, Webinar Safran, 2017.
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success by Applying the Five Immutable Principles
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success with Five Principles and Practices, Project and Program Management Symposium, University of New South Wales, November 11, 2020
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success, Spring Seminar, Austin Chapter, 2012
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success, PMI Mile High Chapter, 19 April 2019.
- Five Immutable Principles of Program Success, Their Processes and Practices, IPMW 2017.
- Five Immutable Principles of Capital Project Success, Webinar Safran, 2017.
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success by Applying the Five Immutable Principles
- Increasing the Probability of Project Success with Five Principles and Practices, Project and Program Management Symposium, University of New South Wales, November 11, 2020
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success, Spring Seminar, Austin Chapter, 2012
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success, PMI Mile High Chapter, 19 April 2019.
- 5 Immutable Principles of Project Success, Safran Forum 2013
- 5 Immutable Principles of Capital Project Success, Safran Webinar, 2017
- The 5 Immutable \(ˌ)i(m)-ˈmyü-tə-bəl\ Principles of Project Management Needed To Increase the Probability of Project Success (PoPS), PMI Symposium Fort Worth Texas, 16 July 2010.
- The 5 Immutable \(ˌ)i(m)-ˈmyü-tə-bəl\ Principles of Project Management Needed To Increase the Probability of Project Success (PoPS), Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, February 1st and 2nd, 2010
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success, Spring Seminar, Austin Chapter, 2012
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success, PMI Mile High Chapter, 19 April 2019.
- Five Immutable Principles of Digital Transformation Project Success, PMI San Diego, 11 July 2018.
- Five Immutable Principles to Increase Your Probability of Project Success, Lakeshore (Ontario) PMI, 27 October 2018.
- Improving the Probability of Project Success with Five Immutable Principles, Lakeshore (Ontario) PMI, 27 October 2018
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success, Northern Utah Chapter, PMI 2012.
- The Project Management Paradigm, Carnegie Mellon University, Silicon Valley, February 3rd and 4th 2009.
- Increasing the Probability of Success - Integrating Process, People and Tools, Dallas MPUG, May 6th, 2009.
- The Socratic Method - the method which Socrates employed in his philosophical analyses had five distinct characteristics.
- Measures of Product Value in Exchange for its Cost - we cannot determine the Value of something unless we know the cost to produce it
Root Cause Analysis
Without finding the Root Cause of any dysfunction, the conditions and actions that created that cause, and defining the corrective and preventive actions to remove, protect, or isolate the system from those causes - No suggested method to avoid problems or fix problems after they appear can be credible.
- Root Cause Analysis - corrective and preventative actions of Agile + EVM
- Failure is Trying to Tell Us Something - Root Cause Analysis is a method of problem-solving that identifies the sources of failure or problems
Agile Project Management
Agile Project Management is an iterative approach to planning and guiding project processes that breaks the work activities down into smaller cycles (sprints, or iterations). Just as in Agile software development, an Agile project in any domain is completed in small sections with the results of those outcomes informing the plans for the next iteration.
- Integration of Program Performance Management with Agile Software Development - Starting with the Engineering Estimate, define the deliverables, the plan for their production, their deployment, any variance of effort and cost, and the corrective actions to keep the planned work on plan. These are activities for Program Controls of Scrum development projects based on Product Roadmaps, Release Plans, and measures of Physical Percent Complete at the Sprint level
- Estimating and Managing Agile Projects at DHS - Thomas J. Coonce and Glen B. Alleman, DHS Cost Analysis Stakeholder Working Group
- Software for Our Minds - Patterns and Anti-Patterns for creating and maintaining a shared vision
- Post-Normal Science and eXtreme Programming - How can we come to understand the impacts of eXtreme Programming and other Agile methods in the absence of scientific data?
- WSRI Agile Program Management Process - Appling agile principles, practices, and processes to the project, building the release plan for each program event in the Integrated Master Plan and deliverables for that review.
- Paradigm of Agile Project Management - when we say Agile in the absence of a Domain and Context, how can it have any meaning?
- Effective Use of Kanban in a Nutshell - Principles, Practices, and Processes of Kanban That Increase the Probability of Project Success
- Lightweight Processes - An Overview of Lightweight Development Processes and Selecting One For Your Projects - Lightweight processes are beginning to replace more formal methods.
- Agile Project Management and "Normative" Paradigms
- Agile Project Management Methods Meet Earned Value - Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS) provide valuable information for planning and controlling complex software development projects in high ceremony environments.
- Agile IT Project Management Methods, Glen B. Alleman, Chapter X in The Story of Managing Projects: A Global, Cross-Disciplinary Collection of Perspectives, DR. E. G. Carayannis and DR. Y. H. Kwak, Greenwood Process 2002
- A Workshop for Product Owners, Scrum Master, and Team Members for Improving Team Performance
- Agile Program Management - Moving from Principles to Practice - Solutions should always concentrate on the whole and not on assembling parts - Christopher Alexander, 1979
- Agile Software Development for Government Software Intensive Systems of Systems (SiS), Boulder Agile Meetup, 27 July 2016.
- Increasing Probability of Success for Complex System of Systems by Integration Systems Engineering, Agile Project Management with Program Performance Management - Managing Complex System of Systems Subject to FAR 34.2 and DFARS 234.2 by Applying Agile at Scale
- Product & Process Development Kaizen for Software Development, Project, and Program Management, LPPDR, Denver Colorado, April 21-23, 2008
- When is Light Right?, XP Denver, Aprile 23rd, 2001
- Making Agile Development Work in a Government Contracting Environment, Agile Development, June 25-28, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Setting up the Agile Program for EVM Compliant Validation, using the Principles of Agile Systems Engineering, EVM World 2016.
- You Don't Need Agile to Avoid the Seven Deadly Sins of Project Management - Bad Project Management is Just That Bad Project Management.
- Agile Program Management: Moving from Principles to Practice
- Blending Agile Development Methods with CMMI®
- Blending Agile Development Methods with CMMI®
Estimating Software and Traditional Projects
Estimating is a critical part of project planning and controls, involving Quantitative processes to estimate cost, resources, duration, and technical performance
- How Should We Estimate Agile Projects and Measure Progress to Plan, Thomas J. Coonce, and Glen B. Alleman, Naval Center for Cost Analysis, Software and IT Cost Analysis Solutions, August 22, 2017
- Options-Based Agile Decision Processes - How to Apply "Real Options" Theory to the Development of ERP - Agile Universe, 2002, Chicago Il, August 4 - 7, 2002.
- Calculating Physical Percent Complete for the PMB Using an Agile Tool, EVM Work 2017
- Basis of Estimate Training - Developing a Basis of Estimate is an Art and a Science
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB), 5th Annual College of Scheduling, Chicago, May 4-7, 2008.
- Basis of Estimate Training - Developing a Basis of Estimate is an Art and a Science
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB), 5th Annual College of Scheduling, Chicago, May 4-7, 2008.
- Paired Comparison Analysis - in paired comparison experiments, the worth or merit of a unit is measured through comparisons against other units
Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
The Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) is an important tool in earned value management used by Program Managers and Systems Engineers in the Technical Assessment Process to appraise a program’s technical progress.
- The Road to a Successful Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) with a Validated Earned Value Management System - The path to the IBR starts and ends with planning
- Establish the Performance Measurement Baseline, AACE Workshop, Denver, Colorado, April 16, 2011
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline, Fort Worth PMI Symposium, 16 July 2010.
- Performance Measurement Baseline in a Nut Shell - 5 Principles That Increase the Probability of Project Success, Austin PMI Chapter Dinner, 24 April 2002
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB), 5th Annual Conference, PMI College of Scheduling, 2008.
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline (White Paper), 5th Annual Conference, PMI College of Scheduling, 2008.
- Cost and Schedule Integration: An Industry Update, 2nd Annual Acumen Sumit, September 18-19, 2012
Managing Embedded Systems and Systems Architecture
- Architecture-Centered Publishing Systems - Architecture is the semantic bridge between requirements and software.
- Architecture-Center Information Systems in the Manufacturing Domain.
- Safe Reliable, Available High-Integrity, and Fault-Tolerant Embedded Software Systems, Advanced Embedded Systems Development, ECEN 5103, University of Colorado, Boulder
Managing Software Intensive System and Systems (SISOS)
Scheduling
- Network Schedule Analysis - compiling with DID 81650 and improving the probability of success
- Event-Based Scheduling - planning the painting of the garage floor with the help of a 9 and 10 year.
- Critical Success Factors for Enterprise Projects - ERP, PDM, CRM, and EDM System critical success factors.
- Creating the Foundation for IT Project Portfolio Management at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site
- Connecting the 5 Principles and the 5 Practices of Performance-Based Project Management® to Increase the Probability of Project Success (PoPS) - Both are needed, neither work alone.
- Time to Do It Right, Tom Coonce and Glen Alleman, Octber 31 - November 2, 2016 IPM 2016
- Top Habits of Success Project Managers - Delivering Value
- The Simple Problem of Schedule Performance Indicies - Knowing how our project is performing means knowing how our Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance is performing according to Plan.
- Performance-Based Project Management - Appling PerformanceBased Project in the DOE Order 413.3-9 Environment
- Building Teams Through Project Charters
- Paradigm of Managing Agile Software Development - What does it mean when we say "Agile Development" depends on the domain and context of your work
- Mission Engineering, IPMDWeninar, Improving Program, and Project Management, National Defense Industry Association, 26 July 2021.
- The Nine "I's" of Program Success - For any program to succeed, there are Nine Integration activities that must be in place and connected, College of Performance Management, July 2013.
- 5 Immutable Principles of Projects Success, EcoSys User Conference, San Diego, 2013.
- Strategies to Detect, Prevent, and Correct the Causes of Complex Program Stress and Failure, Master Class, Project and Program Management Symposium University of New South Wales, 12 August 2021.
- Strategies to Detect, Prevent, and Correct the Causes of Complex Program Stress and Failure, Master Class, Project and Program Management Symposium University of New South Wales, 12 August 2021.
Getting to Done
- Integrating Systems Engineering (SE) and Project Performance Management (PPM) - The Match Made In Heaven which Increase the Probability of Project Success, Project and Program Management Symposium, University of New South Wales, 22 August 2019.
- Getting to Done: The 5 Principles, 5 Processes, and 10 Practices needed to Increase the Probability of Successfully Delivering Project's Needed Capabilities, On-Time, On-Budget, PMI Mile Hi Chapter, 19 April 2019.
- Applying the Checklist Manifesto for Project Management Success, Denver PMI, 2013.
- Time Management According to Stephen Covey - Habits are like a Cable: We weave a strand every day and soon it cannot be broken.
- Project Maturity Flow in the Incremental Delivery of Business Capabilities on the Planned Date
Deliverables-Based Planning (DBP)
- Deliverables Based Planning, Providing Actionable Information to the Program Management, 11th Annual Rocky Mountain Project Management Symposium
- Framework for Deliverables Based Planning® Training - Putting Deliverable Based Planning® in the context of PMBOK® and the 5 Immutable of Proejct Success
- Deliverables Based Planning ®: Providing Actionable Information to the Program Manager, 11th Annual Rocky Mountain Project Management Symposium.
- Deliverables Based Planning® - Principles and Practices that increase the Probability of Program Success (PoPS) - a workshop
- A Gentle Introduction to Deliverables-Based Planning
Governance
- Program Governance Road Map - Program Governance Road map for product development, deployment, and sustainment of products and services in compliance with CMS guidance, ITIL IT management, CMMI best practices, and other guidance to assure high quality software is deployed for sustained operational success in mission-critical domains.
- Principles of IT Governance - governance of Enterprise IT focuses on the Delivery of Services to Support Top Line Growth.
- Project Governance - Project Management is a well-defined concept found in many guidebooks and Bodies of Knowledge. Putting these guides and BOKs to work for the benefit of the enterprise is the role of Project Governance.
Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
- Performance-Based Project Management® in Nutshell - Principles, Practices, and Process that Increase Your Probability of Project Success
- Performance-Based Project Management® - The Principles, Processes and Practices used to increase the Probability of Program Success (PoPS) to accompany the book of the same title from AMACOM Books, 2014.
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline, Glen B. Alleman, Thomas J. Coonce, and Rick A. Price, The Measurable News, 2014.04
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) - 21st International IPM Conference, November 2-4, 2009.
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline in Two Days - starting with DID 81650, assemble a credible PMB to increase the Probability of Program Success (PoPS)
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline
- Project Success Assessment
- Building a Credible Performance Measurement Baseline
Management of Change
- Managing the Change Culture - from John Kotter's Leading Change description of errors made by organizations that need to be directly addressed in order to assure a successful outcome from our change efforts.
Case Studies
Risk Management (RM)
Risk Management is essential for the success of any significant project. All project risk comes from uncertainty. Project uncertainty comes in two forms: Epistemic uncertainty which is the lack of knowledge, Epistemology is the study of knowledge. This uncertainty can be handled by buying knowledge to reduce the risk. And Aleatory uncertainty, which is a random process. On projects, Aleatory uncertainty is handled by the Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance margin.
- What is Risk?
- Risk Management Processes - Defense Threat Reduction Agency, March 27, 2012.
- Risk Management Guidance - The management of risk is a critical success factor of any project or program. This document is a collection of risk management categories that are used to ask the question “did you think about this risk and its impact on our probability of success?”
- Uncertainty and Resulting Risk on Project Management
- Comments on "Managing Projects Involving External Threats"
- Risk Assessment Template for Software Development or Acquisition Projects
- Managing Risk and Opportunity - 1st in a Series
- Managing Schedule and Cost Risk - 2nd in a Series
- The Risk Tolerant Master Schedule - 3rd in a Series
- Risk Management and Agile Software Development - handling aleatory and epistemic uncertainties.
- Risk Management - in Gower Handbook of Project Performance for Agile, Waterfall and Everything in Between, 1st Edition 2017.
- Building a Risk Tolerant Schedule - Technical and Programmatic disruption in project plans don't need to negatively impact cost, performance, or schedule metrics
- 5 Proven Approaches for Mitigating Project Failure - Principles are needed before Practices and Processes can be successfully applied.
- Risk Management is How Adults Manage Projects
- Risk Management in Five Easy Pieces with apologies to Jack
- Five Easy Pieces: The Essential of Managing Programmatic Risk, 10th Annual Rocky Mountain Project Management Symposium, Denver Colorado, April 2008
- Applying Risk Radar to High Risk Technology Projects
- Practices of Managing in the Presence of Uncertainties That Create Cost, Schedule, and Technical Technical Risk, Risk Awareness Week, 11-15 October 2021
- Programmatic Risk Management: A "Not So Simple" Introduction to the Complex but Critical Process of Building a Credible Schedule
- Assessing Enterprise Project Risk - Probability of Program Success P(s)
- 5 Proven Approaches for Mitigating Project Failure, American Management Association, 22 April 2015.
- Increasing the Probability of Program Success with Continuous Risk Management, Glen B. Alleman, Thomas J. Coonce, and Rick A. Price Joint Space Cost Council
- Practices of Managing in the Presence of Uncertainties that Creat Cost, Schedule, and Technical Risk, Risk Awareness Week 2021, 11-15 October 2021.
- Managing Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance Risk at Y-12 - Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance risk management seamlessly integrates all three
- Five Easy Pieces of Risk Management, 10th Annual Rocky Mountain Project Management Symposium, Denver Colorado, 11 April 2008.
- Managing in the Presence of Uncertainty, PMI Mile High Chapter, 12 April 2019.
- Increasing the Probability of Program Success Using Risk+ - a workshop on the principles and practices of Risk+ and increasing the Probability of Program Sucess
- 5 Proven Approaches for Mitigating Project Failure, American Management Association, 22 April 2015.
Integrated Master Plan / Integrated Master Schedule (IMP/IMS)
- Integrated Master Plan Methodology - the IMP/IMS provide significant assistance in planning and scheduling work efforts.
- The Five + One easy Steps to an Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule
- IMP / IMS Step by Step - Building the Integrated Master Plan (IMP) and Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) from Proposal and Successful Execution
- Development of an Integrated Master Plan - For the complex, a system of systems acquisition programs, scheduling starts with an Integrated Master Plan (IMP) and only then moves to the development of the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS).
- Integrated Master Plan Development - Building the IMP as the basis of a credible Integrated Master Schedule.
- A Gentle Introduction to IMP/IMS - In 2003 the US Government revised its acquisition policies with a procurement strategy focused on process improvement and acquisition reform implemented by performance-based management.
- Key to Integrated Master Plan Notation - Vertical and Horizontal Connectivity
- From WBS to Integrated Master Schedule - a Step by Step Guide to Increasing the Probability of Program Success
- Integrated Master Plan - The Foundation for Program Success
- Six ½ Day Session on the Road to Becoming a CAM
- The Five + One Easy Steps to an Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule
- Integrated Master Plan / Integrated Master Schedule in a Nutshell - describing the measures of increasing maturity and the activities needed to produce this maturity provides measures of physical percent complete in units meaningful to the decision-makers
- IMP/IMS Overview - of the Hubble Space Telescope
- Integrated Master Schedule Data Gathering Processes - Building the IMP and IMS starts with gathering the Tasks that define the Accomplishment Criteria.
- Key to IMP Notation - Vertical and Horizontal Connectivity
- IMP as the Definition of Done, Robin Pulverenti and Glen Alleman, IPMW 2017
Earned Value Management World Presentations
Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project management technique for measuring project performance and progress in an objective manner. EVM has the ability to combine measurements of scope, schedule, and cost in a single integrated system. It’s notable for its ability to provide accurate forecasts of project performance problems. - ACQNotes, Program Management Tool for Aerospace
EVM World 2009
- Earning Value from Earned Value, Using EV to Improve the Probability of Project Success, EVM Work 2009, PM-CPM 25th Anual International Conference
EVM World College of Performance Management 2010 - Naples Florida
- Integrating Systems Engineering with Earned Value Management, Glen B. Alleman
- Coming Late to the Party - Getting to GREEN on the Fly - Patrick K. Barker, DR. Willaim G. Chadick, and Glen B. Alleman
EVM World 2011
- Implementing Technical Performance Measures, Glen B. Alleman
- Identifying Schedule Margin using Monte Carlo Simulation, Glen B. Alleman
- Integrating Technical Performance Measures, PMI EVM Community of Practice, EVM World 2011.
EVM World 2014 - Alexanderia, VA
- Exploring Ways to Inform Earned Value Using Technical Performance Measures, EMV World 2014 Conference
EVM World 2013
- Integrating Agile with EVM, Glen B. Alleman
EVM World 2015 - New Orleans, LA
- Informing Program Performance with Technical Performance Measures and Programmatic and Technical Risks, CPM EVM World 2015
- Informing BCWP (EV) with Technical Performance Measures of Risk, Mr. Gordon Kranz, Mr. Glen Allemanm, and Mr. Dave Walden, EVM World 2015, Office of Performance Assessments and Root Cause Analysis (PARCA)
- Scope and Organization Management Workshop: Technical Performance Measurement Basis of Schedule Status, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, IPM Workshop 2015.
- Applying Risk Management to Increase Credibility of the IMS, College of Performance Management, EVM World 2015.
EVM World 2016 - Naples, Florida
- Critical Thinking on Critical Path Analysis, Rick Price and Glen B. Alleman, EVM World, 2016.
- Setting up the Agile Program for EVM Compliant Validation, using the Principles of Agile Systems Engineering, Dr. AnnNarie L. Oien and Glen B. Alleman, EVM World 2016.
- Scope and Organizational Management Lesson C: Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value Management, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, EVM World 2016.
- Creating Credible Plans, Integrated Reporting, and Control Systems Part 1, Thomas Coonce, Glen B. Alleman, and Rick Price, EVM World 2016.
- Scope and Organizational Management Lesson C: Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value Management, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, EVM World 2016.
EVM World 2017 - New Orleans, LA
- Calculating Physical Percent Complete for the PMB Using an Agile Tool, Glen B. Alleman, EVM World 2017.
- Scope and Organizational Management Lesson C: Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value Management, Glen B. Alleman, EVM World 2017.
- Dynamic Schedule Management Workshop, Rick Price and Glen B. Alleman, EVM World 2017.
EVM World 2019 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Earned Value Management Process Flow - Providing Actionable Information to the Decision Maker - For developing ROM, planning the Product and Sprint Backlogs, executing and statusing the Sprint, and informing the Earned Value Management Systems, using Physical Percent Complete of progress to plan.
Other Earned Value Management Resources
- Parametric Project Monitoring and Control - Earned Value is one approach to Performance measurement for monitoring and controlling the progress of software development projects. There are other approaches, but all methods need to ask “what value is being returned for the invested cost and effort? ” Without connecting predetermined delivered value with predetermined effort; progress can only be measured as the passage of time, and you'll be late before you start.
- Notes of Real Options - Real Options as a powerful tool for guiding decision-making in the presence of uncertain cost and uncertain value
- How to Develop Credible Cost & Schedule Estimate - Building credible cost and schedule estimates require discipline, skill, and experience. All 3 can be acquired over time. The starting point is understanding what processes make up the discipline of estimating.
- Project Management Plan (PMP) Earned Value Management System (EVMS) - Deploying an EVMS starts with a Plan. Here's the Path to a Validated EVMS that has received DCMA and PM-30
- Earned Value, XP (Extreme Programing) and Government Contracts - can XP live in an Earned Value reporting government contracting environment?
- Earned Value Management Essentials - Earned Value Management is more than people, processes, and tools. It is an integrated service that provides actionable information to decision-makers.
- Calculating Physical Percent Complete for the NES Projects using Scrum and Atlassian Structures
- Assessing Project Performance Beyond CPI/SPI - Informing Programmatic Performance (BCWP/EV) with technical Performance to Produce a Credible Estimate at Completion (EAC)
- Estimating and Reporting Agile Projects using SRDR and Earned Value Management, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, PSM User's Group, Measurement: Measurement in a Complex Environment, 12-16 June 2017, Crystal City, Virginia.
- A Study on Informing Earned Value by Objectively Assessing Accomplishments at the Work Performance Level - Gordon Kranz, Glen Alleman, and David Walden, IPM 2014
- Successfully Integrating Agile with Earned Value Management - NDIA PMSC Quarterly Meeting, February 1-2, 2011
- The Road to a Successful Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) with a Validated Earned Value Management System
- CAM Short Course, skills need to survive the 1st 60 Days as a CAM
- Control Account Manager Short Course - a short overview of being a CAM
- Using Earned Value to Manage the Performance Measurement Baseline
- Earned Value and the Critical Path - Earned Value measures the volume of work compared to the volume of work planned in units of Value (Effectiveness and Performance of the deliverables)
- Earned Value in Five Easy Pieces - Not that Earned Value can be made that easy, but this is the start if getting our mind around the concepts of project performance measurement.
- Earned Value + Agile A Match Made in Heaven? The Nexus of Agile Software Development, Institute for Defense Analysis, Feb 19-20, 2015.
- A Cure for Unanticipated Cost and Schedule Growth, International Cost Estimating & Analysis Association, 2014 Professional Development & Training Workshop, June 10-13, 2014
- Big Data Meets Earned Value Management, International Cost Estimating & Analysis Association (ICEAA), 2014 Professional Development & Training Workshop, June 10-13, 2014
- Increasing Confidence in Box 6a, b, c of IPM Format 1, Using Existing EV-CR Data and built-in tools for R,
- Integrating Agile with EVM, College of Performance Management, May 2013
- The Intersection of Earned Value Management and Agile Software Development, A Deltek Webinar - Today's Shifting Landscape in Project and Portfolio Management
- Integrating Risk with Earned Value Management, Pikes Peak Regional Chapter, 28 Feb 2009
- Earned Value + Agile = Success, Information Systems Summit II, 4/4/2011 - 4/6/2011, Baltimore, Maryland
- A Gentle Introduction to Earned Value Management Systems - Good metrics let us see if we are doing the right things and doing them well
- A Gentle Introduction to Earned Value Management, PMI Professional Development Day, Grape Vine Texas
- Integrating Agile Software Development with Earned Value Management, Deltek Insight, 2015.
- Earned Value + Agile = Success, Northrop Grumman, C4ISR Systems.
Earned Value Management and Agile
- CPM Series on Earned Value and Agile - Connecting EVM and Agile, Glen B. Alleman, PM World Journal, Vol. IV, Issues VIII, August 2015
Technical Performance Management (TPM)
- Technical Performance Measures - CPM-200C, College of Performance Management, IPMC 2012.
- Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value, College of Performance Management, EVM World 2016.
- Using Technical Performance Measures to Inform Earned Value, Glen Alleman, Thomas Coonce, and Rick Price, College of Performance Management, IPM 2014.
- Principles of Technical Management - Lesson D: Implementing Technical Performance Management - 22nd Annual International IPM Conference, November 8-10, 2010
- Forecasting Cost and Schedule Performance in the Presence of Uncertainty - Probabilistic forecast of program performance.
- Forecasting ACAT1 Program Performance in the Presence of Statistical Uncertainty - IPMC 2013
Building the Perfect Schedule
- Building the Perfect Schedule, Rocky Mountain PMI, 20 SEpt 2014
Balanced Scorecard (BSC)
The pursuit of operational effectiveness is seductive because it is concrete and actionable. Caught up in the race for operational effectiveness, many managers simply do not understand the need to have a strategy - Dr. Micheal E. Porter - Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School.
- Notes on Balanced Scorecard - Performance-Based Project Management - this Notes On presentation describes how to develop a Balanced Scorecard needed to define the strategy of a project, from which the Capabilities needed to accomplish a mission are derived.
- Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map - The Leader's job is to set a clear direction of what their organizations mean by results - Peter Drucker
- Program Based Strategy Map - a Balanced Scorecard for an effective enterprise IT organization at the National Nuclear Security Agency IT department cleanup project
- Balanced Scorecard Roadshow - taking a Balanced Scorecard on the road to the stakeholders of the strategy
- Integrated Performance Management - The importance of performance measures for Balanced Scorecard Initiatives
- Notes on Balanced Scorecard - Performance-Based Project Management
- Capabilities-Based Planning and Balanced Scorecard Process
- Social Interest Solutions: Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map - What products and services must we deliver to satisfy our stakeholders and clients?
- Balanced Scorecard IT Strategy and Project Management, Denver IT Balanced Scorecard Conference, November 7, 2002.
- Building a Strategy Focused IT Organization using Balanced Scorecard, Arizona SIM, March 21st, 2007.
- Creating the Balanced Scorecard - Small Group Hands On
- Information and Communication Technology Communications Group Balanced Scorecard, CY 2004
- Introduction to Balanced Scorecard - Large Group Orientation
- Information Technology Department Balanced Scorecard
- Using Balanced Scorecard to Build a Project Focused IT Organization - -Inverting the Balanced Scorecard pushes strategy down into the organizations to the project management level.
- Balanced Scorecard Readiness - Deploying the Balanced Scorecard is an evolutionary process, requiring awareness along the way of the readiness of the organization to proceed to the next step.
- Technology Services Division (TSD) Balanced Scorecard - BSC for a public agency Information Technology department
Project Strategy
- Open Loop / Closed Loop - How to distinguish the difference between Open-Loop Control and Closed Loop Control and why this is important when discussing project management, software development, and making estimates in those domains.
- Increasing Your Project's Probability of Success - Glen B. Alleman, Microsoft Project Conference, September 14-17, 2009
- Influences of IT Strategy - how strategy impacts the development of systems based on Commerical Off The Shelf Products
- 10 Steps to Chartering the Project
- Strategic Portfolio Management, Glen B. Alleman - The Probability of Program Success in increased by applying Performance-Based Management in the presence of unstable funding, emerging requirements and resource dependencies providing actionable information in units of measure meaningful to the decision-makers.
- Improving DOE Project Performance Using the DOD Integrated Master Plan 12481, Glen B. Alleman and Michael R. Nosbisch, Waste Management Symposium Feb 26 - Mar 1, 2012.
- Successful Digital Transformation starts with a well-defined Executable Strategy for Success, San Diego PMI, 11 July 2018.
- Mission Engineering, IPMD Webinar Improving Program and Project Management, National Defense Industry Association, 26 July 2021.
- Ten Rules for Common Sense Program Management - These ten rules are guided by the work of Col. Lee Battle (USAF), director of the Corona / Discover satellite system
Capabilities-Based Planning (CBP)
- Capability-Based Planning for Enterprise Services - Capability-based planning fits naturally with Strategy Based Planning and Business Process Improvement, May 2005
- From Needed Capabilities to Project Deliverables - On Time, On Budget, On Specification
- Capabilities-Based Planning for Enterprise Projects, PM Summit
- Making the Impossible Possible, PM Summit
- Heliotropic Abundance, PM Summit
- Capabilities Based Planning - defining what Done looks like fir needed Capabilities, through Accomplishments, and their Criteria in units of measure meaningful to the decision makers starts with a Plan.
- How to Build a Credible Concept of Operations and Use it to Derive Capabilities and Features - a ConOps is a user-oriented document that describes the characteristics of a proposed system from the User's point of view - Thomas J. Coonce and Glen B. Alleman.
- Showing How to Increase the Probability of Project Success by applying the Five Immutable Principles of Project Success in Under Four Hours - Glen B. Alleman - GoGoAir Business Aviation, 12 July 2019.
- Agile Program Management Process - Applying Agile principles, practices, and processes to build the Release Plan for each program event and deliverables for that review
- 5 Immutable Principles of Project Success - Project Performance Management, The Rocky Flats Sory of Making the Impossible Possible
Electronic Document Management System
- Electronic Document Management Tutorial - The Functional Architecture of an EDM System in the Process and Manufacturing Industries
- EDM/PDM Implementation - Glen B. Alleman, Kalthoff User Forum Spring 1998, March 25 1998.
- EDM Systems, In Depth Review - Kalthoff University 301, 501, 19 September 1997
- EDMS Track - Selecting the Right EDM/PDM Vendor, TU 301, Monday, March 10th, 1997.
- Electronic Document Management in the Process Industry - Glen B. Alleman, March 9, 1997.
- Using EDMS in the Process Industry for Competitive Advantage - Glen B. Alleman, Monday, September 23rd, 1996, TU-701
CMMI + Agile + Program Management
- Incorporating Risk Management in the Planning Process
- Integrating CMMI and Agile - Integration - "to form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole"
- Program Management Office, Agile Software Development, Lean / 6𝜎 - All Living in Harmony
- Agile at Scale for FAR 34.2 / DFARS 234.2 Acquisition Programs
- Agile Software Development for Government Software Intensive System of Systems, Boulder Agile Meetup, 27 July 2016.
- Estimating and Reporting Physical Percent Complete on Agile Projects, DHS Cost Analysis Stakeholder Working Group, July 26, 2017
- Agile Lifecycle Product Roadmap, Release Plan, Roles and Responsibilities, Epics, Features, Stories, and Tasks
- Agile Program Management Process Flow
- How Should We Estimate Agile Software Development Projects and What Data Do We Need?
- Integrating CMMI and Agile
- Is Agile Project Management Actually Systems Engineering? - Systems Engineering ensures the whole product works together with its external systems to meet the needs of the customer.
- Monte Carlo Simulation and Estimating Traditional and Agile Development - Monte Carlo Simulation and some related approaches can be the basis for making informed decisions in the presence of uncertainty.
White Papers, Essays, and Journal Papers
Technology
- Components of Corba - keys to a complete Publishing System, News Paper Techniques
Capabilities Based Planning
Project Management
- Can Earned Value Save Government Projects?
- The Gardening Analogy for Project Management
- Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) - Glen B. Alleman - Nilan-Sanders Associates 2002
- The Basis of Project Success - 16 December 2009
- Comments on "Managing Project Involving External Threats" in American Society of Project Managers
- The Basis of the Five Immutable Principles, in Building Project Management into a Mission-Critical Endeavor in Public Manager, 2019
- 20 Reasons Managers Fail and Ways to Fix Them
- Simple, Isn't Really Simple
- Agile Project Management and "Normative" Paradigms
- From Arms Race to Green Space: PPM at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site
- What is System Architecture and Why Do We Care?
- Agile Project Management Methods for ERP - How to Apply Agile Processes to Complex COTS Projects and Live to Tell About It - Agile Universe, 2002, Chicago Il, August 4 - 7, 2002.
- Agile Project Management Methods Meet Earned Value Management, Glen B. Alleman and Michael Henderson, Agile Development, June 25-28, 2003, salt Lake City
- 5 Immutable Principles of Project Success - all successful projects adhere to five immutable principles
- "A Cure For Unabticipayed Cost and Schedule Growth," Thomas J. Coonnce and Glen B. Alleman.
- Capabilities Based Planning
- Information Technology Risk Management - The Concept of Risk, Its Management, and the Benefits to an IT Project, Glen Alleman, 2002
- Increasing the Probability of Program Success - Cost and schedule growth and technical shortfalls for any project or program are created when there are: 1. Unrealistic technical performance expectations, 2. Unrealistic cost and schedule estimates, 3. Inadequate risk assessments, and 4. Unanticipated technical issues, all based on poorly performed and inefficient risk management.
- Establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline - The Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) is a time-phased, network of scheduled activities describing the work to be performed, the budgeted cost for this work, the organizational elements that produce the deliverables from this work, and the performance measures showing this work is proceeding according to plan.
- Five Immutable Principles of Project Success - Principles are the Basis of Practices and Process for Project Success - Successfully managing any project, Capital projects, Software Intensive System of Systems projects, or home garden ‒ project success starts with Five Immutable Principles of success, listed to the right.
- Connecting IT and Business Value, Connecting IT and Business Value by Defining the Intangible Benefits through the Balanced Scorecard.
- Exception Handling in CORBA Environments - The Late Introduction of Distributed Exception Handling in Java CORBA-Based COTS Application.
- Is There an Underlying Theory of Software Project Management? - Traditional project management methods are based on scientific principles considered “normal science,” but lack a theoretical basis for this approach.
Electronic Document Management
- Electronic Document Management Tutorial - The Functional Architecture of an EDM Systems in the Process and Manufacturing Industries
Earned Value Management
- Earned Value Management Meets Big Data, Glen B. Alleman and Thomas J. Coonce, ICEAA Denver
Risk Management
- Incorporating Risk Management in the Planning Process - In the project management domain the subject of risk management ranges for addressing the political risks of a project’s outcome; to the risks of a supplier failing to deliver on time; to the technical failure of a product in the market place, to the nearly endless possibilities that could disrupt the path to success.
- Schedule Risk Management - "One of the major intellectual triumphs of the modern world is the transformation of risk from a matter of fate to an area of study." In Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, Peter L. Bernstein, John Wiley & Sone, 1998
- Building a Risk Tolerant Schedule
- Quantitative Risk Management
- Information Technology Risk Management - Installment 1: The Concept of Risk
- Information Technology Risk Management - Installment 2: Pre-Development Risks
- The Impact of Reducible and Irreducible Uncertainty on the Probability of Program Success, Glen B. Alleman, Rick A. Price, and Thomas A. Coonce, Joint Space Cost Council, Scheduler's Forum, 2018.
- Building a Risk Tolerant IMS, Safran Risk Roadshow, McClean, VA June 23, 2015
- Building a Risk Adjusted Engineering Estimate and Executing the Risk Adjusted Product Roadmap - The Risk-Adjusted Product Roadmap starts with Risk-Adjusted Engineering Estimates and the resulting Rough Order of Magnitude Estimate
- Building Risk Tolerance into Program Plan and Schedule
- Managing Risk as Opportunity
- Lunch and Learn: Risk Management on a Well-Known Project, PMI Lakeshore Chapter, 14 September 2014
- Building a Risk Tolerant Schedule - Technical and programmatic disruptions in project plans don’t need to negatively impact cost, performance, or schedule metrics.
- Managing Risk as Opportunity - with uncertainty comes opportunity. But if a project manager is consumed with managing the risks, there is little time to manage the opportunities.
- Information Technology Risk Management - The Concept of Risk, Its Management, and Benefits to an IT Project.
- Risk Management in Five Easy Pieces with Apologies to Jack - Managing Cost, Schedule and Technical Performance Risk Is The Basis of Good Project Management.
- Risk Management is How Adults Manage Projects - Risk management is essential for the success of any significant project. Information about key project cost, performance, and schedule attributes is often unknown until the project is underway.
- Calling BS - reading Do I Make Myself Clear where he speaks about use and missed of language.
- Capabilities Based Planning - over the years the success rate of traditional project management methods applied to software development projects has been underwhelming
Programmatic Risk Management in PM Weekly
- Programmatic Risk Management - 1 in a Series
- Programmatic Risk Management - 2 in a Series
- Programmatic Risk Management - 3 in a Series
- Programmatic Risk Management - 4 in a Series
Strategy
- IT Strategy Sample
- Earned Value and IT Incompatible? - The Value in Earned Value is not business value. It is how much of the budget has been earned? EV=PV * Physical Percent Complete
- What is Strategy?
- What is System Architecture and Why Do We Care?
Work Breakdown Structure
- Building Workpackages from Requirements - Using well-formed requirements, Work packages can be constructed directly from the Work Breakdown Structure
- Getting the WBS Right is Paramount - Focus of most Programmatics and Technical Status Discussions - Glen B Alleman and Gordon Kranz, Office of Performance Assessments and Root Cause Analyses (PARCA)
- WBS Compliance Challenges for Agile ERP Projects - Robin Pulverenti and Glen Alleman, 29th Annual International Integrated Program Management Workshop, October 30 - November 1, 2017
- IMP & WBS - Getting Both Right is Paramount - Gordon Kranz, Glen Alleman, Thomas Coonce, and David Walden, Integrated Performance Management 2014
Essays on Science, Math, and Project Management
Science and Math
- The Kepler Problem - Can Kepler's Equations be Considered a Law of Nature?
- Proof of the Kepler Problem - Can Kepler's Equations be Proved and then Considered a Law of Nature?
- A Time Study in Numerical Methods Programming, Glen B. Alleman and JOhn L. Richardson, University of California, Irvine, APL IV, Anaheim, CA, May 14-17, 1974 - With the digital computer firmly established as a research tool used by the scientist and engineer alike, a careful examination of some of the techniques used to solve the problems faced by the scientific user is warranted.
- The Mathematical Tour of the Electromagnetic Force - From Michael Faraday to Quantum Field Theory
Project Management
- Project Management Guidebook - A Framework for Planning, Managing and Successfully Delivering Enterprise Projects
- Inversion of Control - the integration of COTS components
- Leading on the Edge & Managing IT Department - Dennis Perkin's book about the management lessons learned from the 1914 Ernest Shackleton Arctic Expedition.
- Management of Risk in the Performance Measurement Baseline - Many large government and industry programs are plagued by cost and schedule overruns and technical shortfalls.
- Managing Schedule Risk - The hope that risk can be "programmed" out of a project schedule is a false hope.
- Nine Best Practices - The Software Management Framework - Glen B. Alleman, 3 June 1999
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