Project Type - Obeng

The maps the interaction of uncertainty and technical difficulty, knowing both ‘what to do’ and ‘how to do it’; or more importantly knowing how much you know about these two elements. The typology was developed by Eddie Obeng in the Project Leader’s
Secret Handbook.
The typology asks two questions:
• Are you clear about what to do (the outcome to be achieved)?
• Do you know how to do it (processes, methods, experience)?
This tool helps to position every member of the team in terms of their likely
experience of the required change. It also highlights the type of external help you
may require.

Painting by Numbers
Traditional project management works well when both ‘what’s to be done’ and ‘how
to do it’ are well understood. There are low levels of uncertainty and ambiguity, risks are largely known and manageable. The challenging is on large deliverables and achieved by delivering the requirements on time constraint and on tight budget. Examples are construction projects.

Going on a Quest
In these projects, the objective is clear but the way to achieve the objective is
uncertain. At the end of the day, success or failure is clear cut; whether the objective has been achieved or not. Process and system improvement projects tend to fall into this category. The objective is to reduce processing time by 20% – this is easily measured on the completion of the project. The difficulty is knowing what’s the best way to achieve the objective. Improving the user interface, simplifying the work flow, speeding up network traffic and processing times or a combination? Ambiguity is low – we know what’s needed, uncertainty is high – we are not sure how to achieve it. Before committing major resources to the main work of the project adequate time has to be allowed to prototype solutions and test options before a final design solution can be determined and then implemented. The project needs to be
developed in phases with go/no go gateways as the design is firmed up. There are
risks associated with any creative design process and most software projects are
‘quests’ requiring creative solutions to identified problems to achieve the desired
objective.

Making a Movie
In these projects the tools and techniques are well known but the final outcome is
uncertain. Only after the project is complete can the results be measured and the
success or failure of the project determined. Most culture change projects and
marketing projects (and making movies) are in this category. The tools to be used
including: training, communicating, advertising, etc are well known.
Traditional project management is not enough in these projects; there is a continual
need to measure results, feedback information and adapt the mix of activities to
optimize the likelihood of success. The key value measurement is attempting to
answer the question is it worth spending more or should we cut and run? Efficient
stakeholder communication and relationship management is crucial. The art is spending just enough effort to achieve an acceptable outcome – dealing with shades of grey.

Lost in the Fog
This project is a journey towards a desired new state. No one is sure of the
optimum outcome, or how best to achieve it. The only option is to proceed carefully,
stop at regular intervals to check exactly where you are and re-plan the way
forward. Exactly the way you navigate through a thick fog. Both ambiguity and
uncertainty are high. Project management is about making sure at each ‘stop point’ the value achieved to date is locked in and then refocus on the next increment. Agile software development is ideal for this type of project. Each iteration builds new capability and value and the learning provides a platform for the next iteration of development. Management is both easy and difficult. It is easy because there is no point in setting fixed plans (you have no idea what to plan). It is difficult because decisions on value and whether to stop or continue are subjective and need to be made in a collaborative environment of trust. Traditional measures of success such as on-time and on-budget are largely meaningless; typically there are no statistics to base this type of measure on. Consequently these projects are the realm of cost reimbursable contracts and partnerships; stakeholder relationship management, and a clear understanding of value are the only effective tools for building to a successful outcome.