ABSTRACT
This chapter is a key chapter in the systematic operationalisation of Lean Project Management because it describes a variety of practices for implementing the core principles. Practices in this context are action principles such as the Gemba (“go local”) or the demand for standardisation, but also concrete methods and tools. While the implementation of the core values of Lean (Project) Management is essential (focus on value creation for the customer, etc.), the use of practices is to be understood as a possible aid to achieve this implementation. The selection in this chapter is certainly comprehensive but cannot be described as complete, since the latter seems hardly possible – as anything that helps is allowed.
The practices presented are classified according to their areas of application: Contract Design, Scope Management, Project Planning, Process-Oriented Control, Continuous Improvement ... just to name the umbrella terms. Many of these practices have their roots in Lean Software Development and Lean Construction, but they are all described independently so that they can be used in any type of project. Some of the practices have also been newly developed in the course of shaping the concept of Lean Project Management. One of these is the so-called Agilometer, which makes it possible to systematically record a project’s boundary conditions and deduce whether a plan-driven or an agile approach is more appropriate. This is a question faced by many users in the PM domains of companies.
This central chapter concludes with the application of value stream mapping to project management. This is done by first identifying the value streams and then orchestrating them end-to-end, using the processes of the Unified Project Management Framework as examples for project risk management and project knowledge management. For each of these value streams, a detailed description is given of who the process customers are, what waste typically occurs, and what core principles and practices can be used to reduce it. The direction is given by the formulation of “Benefits Expectation Stories” which are developed within the framework of the concept – a sentence template that can be used to formulate the expectations of process customers in a lean and consistent manner.
