Rollingwave

Rolling Wave Project Planning
Gregory D. Githens, PMP Catalyst Management Consulting (www.CatalystPM.com)
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Rolling Wave Project Planning (RWPP) is a phased iterative approach to project development, applicable to new
product development, information systems and other
technical development environments. It is an excellent
formal project development approach for inventive
work. When donewell, it balances structured process
with flexibility. It is appropriate for project life cycle
models/methods that allow incremental development
(spiral, evolutionary prototyping, etc.).

Gaps in Project Performance
Many organizations have a disconnect between project
planning and execution. Over the past two years, I have
asked over one thousand project practitioners “why do
projectsfail?” and collected the data. In every session,
the practitioners cite poor planning. Exhibit 1 lists general themes relating to planning, execution, and control
(they are three of the five process groups described in the
PMBOK Guide) and suggests large gaps in project performance.
Planning is the filter between the complex, dynamic,
and risky “open” systems of the organization environmentwith the “closed” project system. Project planning must
provide structure, while preserving flexibility, especially
for those projects involving inventive work. In many situations, it is not possible to determine precise answers and
create detailed plans. We need ways to “sense and respond” to change and emergent innovations. In this environment, project planning must balance emphasis on projectgoals with capability (existing resources and
knowledge).

Planning Assumptions and Inventive Projects
Before selecting the RWPP strategy, the project planning
team should consider organizational climate and basic
planning assumptions. Project planners hold many
assumptions, or are influenced by organizational behaviors that reward certain assumptions. One common set
is:
• Assumption No.1: The best way to solve problems is
to break into sub problems and solve them.

• Assumption No. 2: Planning and doing are separate
project functions.
• Assumption No. 3: The future is predictable; a plan
prescribes a course of action.
• Assumption No. 4: Projects are simple. (In-depth probing reveals that the performance gaps identified in Exhibit 1 originates with over-simplifiedassumptions held
by project planners.)
These assumptions lead to linear, step-by-step problem
solving approaches. Certainly, there are many projects that
are compact, well defined and modular in nature (thus,
the assumptions are valid). However, if the assumptions
are false, then the project manager should consider RWPP
.
Inventive work involves strong elements of discovery,
and requirementstend to emerge and evolve as the project takes shape. For example, many efforts involving prototyping or demonstration projects have the purpose of
identifying customer requirements in a cycle of buildshow-evaluate-modify. Early and razor-sharp project definition is difficult for inventive projects.

The RWPP Work Breakdown Structure Strategy
The work breakdown structure (WBS) is an absolutelyessential technique of project management, providing a
framework for all planning and execution activities. A
poor WBS undermines all project planning, execution,
and control work. The goal of project scope management, and the WBS, is to capture all the work and only
the work needed to produce the product of the project.
The WBS is NOT a schedule, and is developed before
the project teamdevelops a timeline for the project. The
WBS is a hierarchy of the work and does not show flow
between work packages. A WBS is an input to schedule
development, risk management, cost estimating, and other project management concerns.
A core premise of RWPP is the use of time-phased
structure at the high level of the WBS. At the end of each
phase, the team develops the work for the next phase....