Project Canvas

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Project Canvas, Version 3.0, German

A project canvas is a visual project management tool . It helps with the design of new or re-design of existing projects. The tool is particularly useful for interdisciplinary groups who want to gain a common understanding before or during a project.

history

The Project Canvas instrument was first proposed by J. Kalbach in 2012 and goes back to the idea of ​​the Business Model Canvas by Osterwalder / Pigneur. From a methodical point of view, each "canvas" is based on two approaches that go back even further: " Visual Facilitation " and "Management Frameworks", such as the 7-S model . Several commercial and non-commercial variants of the Project Canvas are now available (see "Variants" below).

The Project Canvas presented by the creative-commons initiative Over the Fence in 2013 is freely available in several languages. The instrument is well documented, widespread and is sometimes used. a. Cited as a reference by the IPMA International Project Management Association.

construction

Project trip & question cards on the Project Canvas

Based on the visual metaphor of a “journey through the unknown”, the Project Canvas comprises all the building blocks that are important to know before a project can be started or continued. For each module there are questions that help to define this module. The community “Over the Fence” has tested and developed these questions in hundreds of international projects. The questions are deliberately kept generally understandable and free of technical terms in order to address everyone involved in the project.

The project canvas and the associated questions (also available as a separate set of cards) can be used free of charge under consideration of the Creative Commons license (BY SA) .

  • PURPOSE
    • What is the cause of the project? (also: motive, motivation)
    • Why is the project important and meaningful - and for whom?
    • To what extent will the project change the future - and for whom?
  • CUSTOMER
    • Who is actually the project's customer?
    • Who are the people ... who start and finish the project (owners)? ... who receive the project result (recipient)? ... who finance the project (sponsor)?
    • If there are several customers: Are there any foreseeable conflicts?
  • RESULT
    • What exactly should be delivered to the CUSTOMER at the end of the project?
    • What is it most likely to be ... a new product? ... a new service? ... new knowledge (findings)?
  • QUALITY
    • What makes the customers really happy in relation to ... the RESULT of the project ... the STAGE GOALS on the way there?
    • How do the CUSTOMERS want to collaborate and be informed in the project?
  • STAGE GOALS
    • Which milestones would be reasons to celebrate?
    • Are there dates for ... partial and interim results? ... visible and measurable successes? ... trend-setting decisions?
  • TIME
    • When does the project actually start? What is needed for this? (e.g. preparations, documents)
    • When is the project really finished? What is needed for this? (e.g. documents, releases)
    • How flexible is the project start date? How flexible is the project end date?
  • BUDGET
    • How much money is available?
    • How flexible is this financial framework?
    • How much money is needed for ... the team (internal / external)? ... the necessary resources?
  • TEAM
    • Who should be there?
    • Who is ... on the core team? ... in the extended team? ... external partner? ... Project Manager?
  • RESOURCES
    • What is required of ... work equipment (including software) ... materials ... methods and models ... project work rooms ... meeting rooms (on-site / virtual)?
  • ENVIRONMENT
    • Which known forces (events, conditions, people) act on the project ... as a tailwind ... as a headwind?
  • RISKS & OPPORTUNITIES
    • What uncertain events, if they occurred, would ... endanger ... the project success ... spur?

Areas of application

A project canvas is suitable for all types of projects . Due to its intuitive usability, the instrument is aimed at non-project experts as well as experienced project managers. It is particularly useful for groups of people who have never worked in this constellation or on a similar task.

The project canvas of "Over the Fence" follows the principles of the Project Excellence Model of the German Society for Project Management (GPM) and is in line with standards such as ICB , ISO , PMBoK . The instrument can be used regardless of whether a project is carried out according to Scrum , Prince2 , V-Modell or another, individual process model .

application

Project Canvas use cases

A project canvas is usually used in workshops . The simplest application works as follows:

Download a free Project Canvas and print it out in large format (DINA0). Pin the Project Canvas poster to a wall. Provide the participants with sticky notes and pens. Start with the "PURPOSE" of the project. Answer the appropriate questions and write the answers down on sticky notes. Then work your way through all the modules with questions about "CUSTOMER" and "RESULT". Step by step, the Project Canvas poster fills with sticky notes and a coherent picture of your project is created.

Tip: The best possible use of a project canvas depends on the type of a specific project and the corresponding environment. Various procedures for using Project Canvas are documented (see "Variants" below). Virtual meetings are also possible. If the principles of "slow thinking in projects" are taken into account, selective perception and undesirable effects of groupthink can be reduced by using the Project Canvas . The separately usable question cards enable additional dialogue and moderation formats.  

variants

  • Creative Project Canvas (creativeprojectcanvas.com)
  • openPM canvas (openPM)
  • Project Canvas (J. Kalbach)
  • Project Canvas (Over the Fence)
  • Project Canvas (projectcanvas.dk)
  • Project Canvas (sybit AGILE)
  • Project Square (turnaround.com)
  • Project management canvas (H. Zimmermann)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Project Canvas. Retrieved July 21, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Project Canvas, definition in the project management glossary of the project magazine. Retrieved July 21, 2017 .
  3. ^ The Project Canvas - Defining Your Project Visually. In: UX TO GO. May 25, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur: Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers . Wiley, Hoboken 2010, ISBN 978-0-470-87641-1 .
  5. ↑ Download Your Project Canvas . In: Over the Fence - Projects Newly Discovered . January 2, 2013 ( com.de [accessed on May 5, 2019]).
  6. ↑ a b c Arrange interdisciplinary projects. The Project Canvas - an effective tool for project definition | Project magazine. Retrieved July 21, 2017 .
  7. ↑ a b c Frank Habermann: The Project Canvas - Defining Projects Interdisciplinary . Ed .: Projektmanagement aktuell. tape 27 , no. 1 , 2016, p. 36-42 .
  8. ↑ Frank Habermann: The Project Canvas - Better start university projects . Ed .: DNH Die Neue Hochschule. No. 5 , 2016, p. 146-149 .
  9. ^ Frank Habermann: The Project Canvas - instrument for the cooperative definition of interdisciplinary IT projects . Ed .: S. Reinheimer, S. Robra-Bissantz. Springer, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-13760-1 , pp. 117-130 .
  10. ↑ Frank Habermann, Karen Schmidt: Over the Fence: Projects rediscover ... Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-00-059325-3 .
  11. ↑ Project Canvas - defining projects in a structured way - IPMA Blog - Learn more about project management . In: IPMA Blog - Learn more about project management . June 24, 2015 ( ipma.world [accessed July 21, 2017]).
  12. ^ Frank Habermann, Karen Schmidt: Project Design - Thinking Tools for Visually Shaping New Ventures . Becota, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-00-055576-3 , pp. 47 .
  13. ↑ Manifesto for slow thinking in projects . In: Over the Fence - Projects Newly Discovered . ( com.de [accessed on May 5, 2019]).
  14. ↑ Breaking familiar patterns. Slow thinking in projects - a manifesto | Project magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2017 .