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Names and affiliations of all authors with the presenting author listed first.
Title
3 Learning Objectives
3 questions somebody would ask at the end of the presentation, speech or workshop to elaborate on the
subject and improve understanding and transfer of idea.
The submission must include a short biography of the author(s) and a digital picture.
Mark Woeppel, President, Pinnacle Strategies
Deconstructing Critical Chain
A Failed Implementation Leads to an Evolution
Objectives:
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Identify a major un-verbalized negative effect in CCPM implementations
Learn why the generally accepted solution is incorrect
Identify the correct core conflict in project management
Questions:
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How to deal with tasks with technical uncertainty or lack of specifications, but meeting a deadline
is mandatory?
How does this new approach work in an organization - Weak matrix to Strong Matrix?
Flow of information is also important for the project execution, which sometimes depends on
various interfaces - consultant, vendor, contractor and client? How do we address 'Holds' and
waiting periods?
Deconstructing Critical Chain
A Failed Implementation Leads to an Evolution
What are the core components of critical chain project management? Should we accept the “generally
accepted” solution as being the best or correct solution?
The main experience in CCPM speaks to revising task estimation and buffering strategies, establishing the
roadrunner task completion behaviors, buffer driven priorities and changing the measurements (to what?)
to facilitate the above. The planning processes have historically driven implementation tactics, with an
emphasis on software, network building, and education. Successful changes have been built on strong
leadership and technical skills.
With the holistic implementations, there was an impetus to deliver results sooner and the strategy and
tactics approach for projects was created. This was a major breakthrough in the implementation
approach, exposing many of the change management obstacles and requirements to make the initiative
successful. Many implementers and practitioners use the S&T to improve the speed and quality of their
implementations. Still, there is an emphasis on planning and software, so, while there are some results
coming much faster, the obstacles of software adoption and learning how to plan using probabilities and
buffers remain.
If we use the “traditional” approach or the currently accepted S&T for projects, there is an undesirable
effect – portfolio and senior executives do not see direct benefits until a critical mass of projects come into
the new process. The benefits are organizational; there is little in the process for these executives to
improve their managerial effectiveness, and thus, their engagement in the management process is limited
and distant. Without this engagement, many implementations fail to realize their potential.
In this presentation, we are going to show that the core problem that CCPM solves has little to do with
planning. Focusing the transformation initiative on the correct conflict and assumptions immediately
engages senior and portfolio managers into the day-to-day process of project execution, improving the
decision processes at the senior level, enabling leadership to drive their business, and incorporating the
entire organization into the process in a matter of weeks.