Earlier we talked about how you can successfully combine communication systems, problem solving and knowledge base . In this approach, the calendar plan loses a key role. We had a long discussion on which example it would be better to show the planning of a project and what to isolate into isolated parts.
Our collective mind has an analogy with the object-oriented approach, when the key element of planning is the definition of entity-objects. So in project management, you can select key objects, and then work them out.

Knowledge structure instead of gant

In order for each team member to have access to the knowledge necessary for working on a project, the project information is collected into an information system.
We illustrate the difference between our approach from the approach based on the scheduling of stages in the Gantt chart .


Gantt chart. Different areas of knowledge have a different color.
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If the project is based on a calendar plan, then the dates are conveniently read. But the related knowledge is scattered about the project and is perceived poorly.
If, however, to allocate units of knowledge objects, it is convenient to perceive the substantive content of the project, but it is harder to work with deadlines. Knowledge is easiest to perceive if they are represented in MindMap .


Current affairs on MindMap knowledge structures

Planning a project through a calendar plan is a thing of the past, fewer and fewer managers remember a project in which a calendar plan lived from start to finish. Apparently, the reason for this trend is that the rate of change in the external environment is increasing. To plan the main terms of work before the project starts is harder and harder.
In our article on business exhibitionism there is an example of such a structure of knowledge.
Explain the analogy further.

Growing the product

Consider the development of the project in time. First we create one discussion. Each new message falls into the appropriate context. Useful information (knowledge) is accumulated. A logical and understandable section structure is formed and the discussion smoothly turns into documentation.
If any section grows, then we continue to “grow” it in the new discussion, leaving the link in the original section.
We represent the project in the process of development - in the form of a growing tree. Different colors, as before, denote different sections of the project knowledge.


Analogy between project development and tree growth

The advantages of the iterative approach are difficult to challenge. When structuring a project through WBS (SDR) and a Gantt chart, it is very difficult to implement an iterative approach, since you have to make a lot of changes in the project structure.
We believe that if the project is structured by areas of knowledge, then it is easier to implement it with an iterative approach. In this case, each iteration of the project is a study with a given depth. According to the results of one iteration, the model is supplemented, the next goal is set.
With a small iteration step, the development of the project increasingly resembles the development of a living system. In the long term, solutions (patterns) of implementation that have shown their flexibility and efficiency will be applied again.

You can look at copyright holivary in Google Wave