Lean Project Management

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Lean Project Management is a concept for planning and controlling projects. Lean Project Management combines the instruments and methods of project management with the ideas and philosophy of Lean Management . The scope of the design of Lean Project Management extends from the integration of instruments and tools of Lean Management in the more or less standardized project management methodology, such as B. visual management or the principle of eliminating waste to a more holistic approach that understands lean management as a trigger and motor of innovation for the introduced and standardized project management. Based on this holistic approach of Lean Project Management, principles can be described according to which the project management should be designed.

Construction projects in particular are increasingly being carried out using lean project management methods.

There are various specialist books with a corresponding title. In addition, the term is used on various websites (e.g. also German Society for Project Management , GPM).

Principles

Integrated project phases

In projects, a distinction is made between the main phase and the pre- and post-phase. Especially in the preliminary phase (before the start of the actual project), which is not part of the design in standardized project management, the decisive course for the later course of the project is set. The post-phase not only serves to formally conclude the project, but also, and above all, to use the experiences from the completed project for knowledge management and the evaluation of the experiences made. Therefore, the pre- and post-phase must be designed according to the same principles as the main phase.

Value of the project result

The value of what has arisen at the end of a project (project result) is a benchmark for management. Waste in the project can only be recognized and eliminated if there is a clear idea of ​​the value of the project result. This makes it possible to break through the “iron triangle” (quality, duration, budget) and at the same time achieve high quality results, shorter project durations and a reduced project budget without having to make “compromises”. In addition, the value of the project result changes continuously due to the cooperation between the organization / company that creates the service and the customer or user of the project result. This results in a constant adjustment of the value to the current requirements.

Conception of the value stream

The concept of the value stream comes from lean management and describes the various project tasks over time. The analysis of value streams in lean management results in the knowledge that all activities within the framework of a project contribute to the value of the project result, i.e. add value. For this reason, the value stream must be designed in such a way that the non-value-adding tasks are minimized or, if possible, completely eliminated.

Supplier integration

In many projects, value contributions are made by external suppliers (e.g. subcontractors) because they have special skills or knowledge. In addition to drafting the corresponding contracts, these suppliers must be seamlessly integrated into the value stream. Compared to the creation of a service on the basis of a specification or the market economy competition, the complementary and strategic capabilities of the suppliers only become available if a partnership is sought.

Function of project management

A project manager who sees his job as an administrative activity does not have the ability to lead a project to success. The leadership role of the project manager in Lean Project Management is characterized on the one hand by a bottom-up understanding. In other words, the project manager does not draw his authority from his function, but from his leadership skills. This type of project manager succeeds in promoting the creativity of the employees and supporting them in solving problems independently. In addition, the project manager has technical and content-related competence in relation to the project task.

Method of project implementation

In standardized project management, the method of project implementation, e.g. B. the sequence of the individual work packages, the task of technical experts and not of project management. In Lean Project Management it plays a decisive role how the project tasks are processed, i. H. how the order and the methodology of the task processing is carried out. The project management in Lean Project Management is therefore not only active administratively, but also in terms of content.

Project vision

Specifications or technical project result descriptions cannot motivate employees and give other project participants an understandable description of the project content. A vision that is emotional, thrilling and understandable for everyone not only represents an important basis for a project, but also makes it clear which obstacles stand in the way of the realization of the vision. The vision thus becomes an instrument for identifying barriers that stand in the way of project success.

Project culture

In Lean Management, errors and problems are not a reason to look for a “culprit”, but a welcome opportunity to analyze the causes and solve the problem “at the root” so that it does not recur. This error and problem culture is also an essential part of the project culture in Lean Project Management. Thinking not problem-oriented but solution-oriented, empowering employees to recognize, analyze and solve problems helps to avoid wasting time and resources.

Visual management

In Lean Project Management, key figures and the project status are not documented in extensive reports, but rather communicated to the decision-makers in visual form. They recognize the current state of affairs without wasting time and can make decisions quickly. Typical instruments of visual management are images that document the current project status, representations that show technical relationships or reports on a DIN A3 page that document the solution to a problem.

Balance in the use of resources

The more a resource (e.g. employees in a project whose task is to test technical components) is used to capacity, the longer the processing time (processing time). The task of project management is to ensure a balance between human and technical resources. Otherwise there will be queues in front of bottleneck functions, which lead to delays in the project process. The key to realizing this requirement of Lean Project Management is making the resources used more flexible.

Customized creation of the service

If a service is created when it is not yet required, the following problems arise: the results of the service must be documented for further processing or stored in the case of technical components (additional effort for administration), there is a risk that changes will already be made Make the created result obsolete or the service is no longer required. Therefore, project services should only be created when they are needed.

Striving for perfection

The pursuit of perfection is based on the vision on which the project is based. The aim is to realize this vision as precisely as possible. Even if this seems impossible at first glance, as errors and problems are inevitable. The vision and the definition of the value of the project result derived from it, however, specifies the target direction, which must always and constantly be taken into account during project processing. The project team thus has a compass that determines day-to-day actions.

Further principles that are used in Lean Project Management are:

Leadership of all project participants and interested parties

Problems in projects can best be mastered if all project participants and interested parties are integrated into the project in such a way that they are informed about the course of the project and can be included in the problem-solving process if necessary. This gives the project a broad base of support that increases the likelihood of success.

Project risk management

The analysis, evaluation and management of risks is necessary in order to identify events that jeopardize the success of the project with the probability of occurrence and the expected impact on the project and to counteract them with appropriate countermeasures. The planning of measures can start with a reduction in the probability of occurrence or a reduction in the negative impact.

Products

Three examples can be used to illustrate that Lean Project Management is not a theoretical construct.

Lean Product Development

Lean Product Development was developed by Toyota. Lean Product Development and is essentially based on the principles of Lean Project Development. A highlight of Lean Product Development is what is known as “Set-Based Concurrent Engineering”. Basic technical decisions are relocated to an early phase of the development project. This has the advantage that fundamental problems, e.g. B. the technical feasibility, do not lead to delays in the project process in a late project phase.

Software development with Scrum

In software development, it was recognized many years ago that the waterfall model (project process e.g .: requirements analysis, system architecture, system design, software architecture, software design, unit tests, integration tests, system integration, acceptance and use) is not in many cases led to a successful project completion. In addition, there was often the dissatisfaction of the customers with the project result. Special features of Scrum with regard to the principles of Lean Project Management are, on the one hand, the change in the order of the work packages (the functionalities or user stories of the software are developed and tested one after the other so that software components that can be delivered are created). On the other hand, there is no project manager in Scrum, but a Scrum Master whose task is to support the development team in carrying out the tasks and the product owner, who is the voice of the customer, among other things.

Lean public-private partnership

It can be assumed that Lean Project Management will also establish itself in public projects in the future and can even be used in public-private partnership projects.

Introduction of Lean Project Management

The introduction of Lean Project Management in the company or in the project world is not an easy task. In contrast to standardized project management, the following factors represent a hurdle during implementation:

  • Lean Project Management is not a project management tool that can be standardized in such a way that it can be used in all types of projects without adaptation. Lean Project Management cannot be designed according to the “one size fits all” principle . The characteristics of Lean Project Management in the sample products Lean Product Development and Scrum make this clear: Anyone who expects Lean Project Management checklists and predefined tools has not understood Lean Management . These “tools” are only a means to an end and are tailored to the respective task as required.
  • What is essential is the Lean philosophy, which is the real value of Lean Project Management. The core elements are the handling of problems and errors, the focus on the value of the project result, the avoidance of wasting resources and time through activities that do not add value, the flexible reaction to changes in the project environment during the project period and a convincing project vision.
  • Establishing a Lean Project Management culture is a task that takes on a period of time that can span several years and only makes sense where project teams work together with the appropriate continuity. Typically this is the case in corporate product development and software development. A tailored change management (For this task, change management ) required.

If these hurdles are successfully overcome, projects can be carried out more successfully in terms of project budget, duration and quality of results.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Project Management Institute "A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge" fourth edition, Atlanta 2008
  2. ^ LP Leach "Lean Project Management: Eight Principles for Sucess" Boise, Idaho 2005
  3. ↑ a b P. Pautsch, S. Steininger "Lean Project Management" Munich 2014
  4. ↑ P. Pautsch, S. Steininger "Lean Project Management" Munich 2014, p. 114 ff.
  5. ↑ "The Lean project management tools here include risk management, early warning systems, project controlling, Incidient reporting systems, schedule management, document management, defect management, meeting minutes management, task management, site management, contract management and claim management ... The successful implementation and use of Lean project management in the TGA { Technical building equipment } plant construction creates a number of potential competitive advantages: shorter project times by up to 10%, almost 100 percent adherence to deadlines and improvement of project success by up to 30%. "Martin Mohrmann: Rethinking construction projects with the help of lean project management: for companies in the technical Building equipment. 6th lawsuit, Verlag BoD , Norderstedt 2013
  6. ^ LP Leach "Lean Project Management: Eight Principles for Sucess" Boise, Idaho 2005
  7. ↑ http://www.gpm-infocenter.de/PMMethods/LeanProjectManagement
  8. ^ LP Leach "Lean Project Management: Eight Principles for Success" Boise, Idaho 2005
  9. ↑ JM Morgan, JK Liker "The Toyota Product Development System" New York 2006
  10. ↑ B. Gloger "Scrum" Munich 2013