Fractals as visual patterns for building sound projects

There are some useful concepts that can sustain the adoption of fractal as “thinking strategy”.

A mathematical fractal is based on an equation that undergoes iteration, a form of feedback based on recursion.

This could be roughly translated with the following definition:
The same structure can be scaled into the smallest dimension, maintaining the same pattern using the feedback.

A project is formed by the interactions (synergies) among the following areas:
Business Case (why)
Organization (who)
Planning (when)
Progress assessment (how much)
Risk management (what if)
Quality (whereas)
Change management (whence) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whence

Each different (Prince2) “theme” inherited peculiar aspects from its major actors. From the Sponsor (and customers’ approvers) to developers, every person who will work on the project needs to share a common logic. The aim, to be understood and convincingly shared, shall be clearly presented and associated with a “logical logo”.
From the beginning, these shall be considered threads, which will be woven in order to create a seamless banner. It will be the project’s flag.
Some links could appear more natural than others. Listening to the major stakeholder in a meeting that involves all key-players can facilitate the search for the items that will form the knots.

The pattern, that will be shown in every decision and embedded in each document, shall be built in a unique way.

An example

In order to create a project about improving the coordination of work-force using CRM. If the main aim of the project is about increasing the follow-up yielding, there are some essential topics to be investigated:

1. Which are the business drivers that support these features?
2. How these requests are developed into a topic mature enough to be encased in a project?
3. Which are the other important features or benefits?
4. How the latter are connected to the main one?
5. Are there available analyses of the company’s workflow?

Focusing on the meta-information (i.e. how, where, who, why, when) it should be possible to catch the logic of their connections. The way they have been collected, can offer a good hindsight about the company’s culture; a key for preparing the pattern to be shared by all stakeholders.

In order to render pictorially the relationship among the features, it is fundamental to understand how they were picked up. Again some questions could make the process easier:

1. Was it a “one person” intuition? How had been that pushed through the (group) of approvers? If so, how the approvers took their decision?
2. Did it come from an external audit? If so, how had been it perceived by the stakeholders (users)? Or were “users” proposing the issue?

The intrinsic value of these questions consists in the possibility of drawing the shape of the decision’s process.

1. Is it a sharp vertex?
2. Is there just one apex or are there many important drivers?
3. Are the other items on the same priority’s level?
4. How many people (stakeholders) are pushing for each of the points?

The results’ of above analysis could easily help to draw the first draft of the pattern.

However, this pattern – to be in working conditions – has to contain (at least) the following elements:

1. One vertex for each “Benefit”
2. The steepness of the slopes for showing the impact on the business (sheer slopes show the priority)

Drawing and then counting

Just using the whiteboard, it is possible to pinpoint the sources that supply the “Reasons” (those will be stated in the Business Case), connecting the points with lines a geometric figure will come out. It could be complex. However, all the stakeholders can find their own expectations and an introduction of these outlined requirements. In a certain way, Risks, Cost and Timescale can be figured out.

In the next post, this concept will be refined and tested through the application to the Business Case.

Conclusion

Finding a design for the project helps it in many ways. People can more easily understand the logic and so joining the common effort with more consciousness.

One image is worth thousand words (N. Bonaparte)

More readings

http://crossderry.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/our-relocation-project-capabilities-vs-specs/
http://www.gantthead.com/article.cfm?ID=250051
http://austega.com/florin/ALGEBRAIC%20FRACTALS-FRACTAL%20VARIETIES.htm