Often the concept of progressive elaboration is misunderstood. A couple of years ago, we were going over our enhancement request log. One had one lady, who wanted the customer to exactly layout definitively what was desired at the time of project request. Each requested was viewed as once again the customer had no-idea what they wanted, and we laboriously had to go through the request to understand what was needed. She was an avid marathon runner, so I asked her about her training detail and all of the pre-work and dedication it took to get prepared for a race. We want on to explore if she had actually understood the level of regiment it would take to train until she had actually done it. She mentioned having an idea but really didn't understand the effort and commitment needed until during execution of preparing for the first half-marathon. We brought that conversation around to our customer's view point. They know the want something to be done, but the shared understanding of how, what, who, and when comes from planning. While planning the team gathers a greater level of detail and insight into the work needed to achieve the business benefits. This is the heart of progressive elaboration.
Progressive elaboration enables the project management team to manage to a greater level of detail as the project evolves. Progressive Elaboration is really the planning activities to review and understand the project and how to manage it. Most of this detail is captured in the Project Management Plan.
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Welcome to the Healthcare IT Project Management Blog of Elyse Nielsen. This is the place where I share the ideas I have learned, the things I’d like to remember, and my thoughts for a brighter future. Find out more.
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