Improving Processes To Reduce Rework And Stress

Have you ever felt or looked like the character below? Unnecessary rework can cost you time, energy, and money. Charette (2005), stated “Reducing the percentage of avoidable rework should be one objective of most process improvement initiatives.” One way to improve processes and reduce rework is to use an efficient project management methodology, especially during the product development cycle. “The problem that sinks many projects…is the lack of an efficient project management methodology” (Forbes, 2015).

The Eclectic Product Development (EPD) Life Cycle

Dr. Lester Frederick created and copyrighted the EPD Life Cycle that’s displayed on the left side of the table below. It can assist in reducing time-wasting and costly rework. It’s featured in the Managing Creative Projects chapter in The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management book (6^th ed.), which is an international best seller. The EPD Life Cycle is a hybrid life cycle that can foster efficiency, consistency, and creativity for managing any project, especially Media, Entertainment, Technology, and Art (M.E.T.A.) projects. Multidisciplinary teams can execute the fairly replicable processes, principles, and practices for each phase of the development cycle on multiple types of projects, including eLearning projects.

The table’s listed activities and deliverables focus on creating products but some of the same tasks could be used for producing services, such as a marketing campaign. A key benefit of EPD is that it highlights both project management and product development activities and deliverables (Frederick and Verzuh, 2021).

The Fusion Project Management (PM) Methodology

The Fusion PM Methodology was created by Lester. It integrates the lean, waterfall, and agile processes. It is designed to improve efficiency and consistency to minimize waste and maximize value (Lean). It can be modified, scaled, and applied to any project. For example, the illustration below starts with a linear and structured approach (waterfall/predictive) from the Define to the Design phase. Then it switches to an iterative and incremental approach (agile) to iterate between the Design, Develop, and Detect (Test) phases. Finally, it switches back to a linear method from the Deliver to the Debrief and Determine (Evaluate) phases. The Fusion PM Methodology’s phase titles and the EPD Life Cycle’s phase titles are the same to promote consistency and clarity. One critical phase that’s missing from the popular ADDIE model that’s integrated in Fusion is the Detect/Test phase, which is critical for iterative projects (Frederick and Verzuh, 2021).

Fusion can be enhanced by adding a Kanban board to visualize task progression, as shown below. New teammates could be onboarded more quickly by customizing the project management and the product development processes with Fusion. For example, a new animator could work with a seasoned interdisciplinary team on an eLearning or VR project and understand the varied phases and processes better. That can reduce common communication and collaboration errors. Take the Fusion PM Methodology and the EPD Life Cycle for a test run to improve your processes and reduce rework!

Example Of Integrating Fusion With The EPD Life Cycle For An App

Comparing The Fusion PM Methodology With The ADDIE ID Methodology

References

Charette, R.N., (2005). Why software fails. IEEE spectrum, 42.9 (36).
Forbes. (2015). Late And Over-budget? A Method To Avoid Project Management Disasters IESE School https://bit.ly/3XnbePP
Ohno, Taiichi (June 1988). Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production. Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press.
Verzuh, E. (2021). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management: The Comprehensive, Easy-to-Read Handbook for Beginners and Pros. John Wiley & Sons.