The previous article in this series summarized the necessary elements of governance required to build a disciplined system for bringing qualified opportunities into the organization. Once you’ve decided that a new product opportunity is consistent with strategy, meets financial hurdles, and is feasible, the next step is to create a robust plan and realistic timeline that your team and customers can understand and accept.
The answer to creating robust plans lies in a different approach called Critical Chain Project Management—a fundamentally different approach to projects that has allowed thousands of companies to reach as high as 95% on-time performance. CCPM takes the padding out of individual tasks and uses part of it to create a shared project buffer. The result is 25% shorter project durations, but with plans that avoids procrastination and actually protect due dates. Plans are built for rapid execution where, like a relay race, key tasks start as early as possible, people work with limited interruptions and multitasking, and the “next runner” is always ready for the handoff.
