 |
CreativityModel Method and Project Management
Abstract
CreativityModel Method can be used for creativity management and development purposes. CreativityModel Method defines the word "project" very broadly and is relevant to a wide variety of personal and professional activities.
Further, CreativityModel Method differentiates between deductive and inductive project development approaches. This article describes the two approaches briefly, in order to illustrate, when and why choosing the inductive approach over the deductive one for the overall project management, or business or organizational management, can create considerable problems.
This article discusses briefly the theoretical aspects of only one area and situations that are relevant to CreativityModel Method usage. CreativityModel.com, which is under construction, will address similar topics in a less theoretical and dry manner. Further, CreativityModel.com will also offer creativity management and development solutions, addressing, what can be considered the flip side of the issue that is addressed here - steps, that help to manage and develop both the deductive and inductive side of personal and professional creative abilities.
 Top
Introduction
Computer-Optimized Creative Development Method is a description of elements, thought processes and steps needed for planning and development of any type of project, and for creating computer application parts that provide problem-solving, planning, or creative development related assistance to application users.
The word "project" is used here a lot.
Project is defined here as "any undertaking that requires creative development efforts or planning." So, a project can be any kind of personal or professional, business-related or non-profit or educational undertaking big or small, like, for example, putting together a business plan or its parts, or a meeting's agenda, or a travel itinerary, doing research, working on a company or regional policy making, or on an IT project, or writing an essay, or a memo, or poetry, or something longer, or designing something, or an activity that is related to performing arts, working on a Web or other type of computer application development tasks, deciding what to give as a gift or what movie to see, doing online or offline shopping, and so on, and so on. For all practical purposes, this list can become very long, if not endless.
Computer-Optimized Creative Development Method, as the name says, is a method, not a technology or a programming language.
Computer-Optimized Creative Development Method has two parts.
The first part, CreativityModel Method, is a description of elements, thought processes and steps needed for planning and development of any type of personal or professional project.
CreativityModel Method usage can help to achieve project development related results effectively and efficiently within its user's individual sets of abilities, experience and expertise. To put it differently, CreativityModel Method usage can help its user to optimize his or her project development abilities.
Once again, the word "project" is defined here very broadly, which means that CreativityModel Method usage is relevant to very many areas of life.
The second part, CreativityModel Tool Development Method, is for development of advanced computer application functionality and provides instructions for implementing the first part, CreativityModel Method, programmatically.
This article addresses misusage of certain CreativityModel Method aspects.
Top
CreativityModel Method and Project Management
The Basics
CreativityModel Method describes the usage of project elements and project development stages. Further, CreativityModel Method differentiates between deductive and inductive project development approaches. This article focuses on the latter concepts.
The deductive project development approach is helpful in situations where achieving goals and efficiency and effectiveness are important. The inductive project development approach is usually associated with artistic projects, and can equally well be used for development of otherwise goal-focused projects individual parts that require creative, imaginative or innovative solutions.
The two approaches can be successfully combined, but the entire project's development process itself should be characterizable by one of the two approaches. Otherwise, the consequences can be rather dire.
This article describes the two approaches very briefly, in order to illustrate, when and why choosing the inductive approach over the deductive one for the overall project management - or business or organizational management - can create considerable problems. This issue is addressed here, because it seems to be happening rather often.
Two Complementary Approaches
I apologize, if the next few paragraphs seem very abstract. Please bear with me, and the points that the article makes should become understandable. The concepts addressed here are relevant to different aspects of everyday and professional life, so, learning about them is time well spent.
The deductive project development process, in a nutshell, is about establishing the goal or goals for the project, then establishing project's structural parts from the last to the first (not from the first to the last!), so that the structural parts lead to achievement of the established goals. After establishing the structural parts from the last to the first, the structure should be filled with components to the level of detail necessary. That's the project planning part. The implementation, of course, should be done in the opposite direction, from the first step toward the last one.
The inductive project development process, in a nutshell, is about creating one or more sets (pools) of components and other elements (theme and structural parts), developing further and connecting the elements in different ways, evaluating the results, choosing the combinations that express the project's theme in the best way or the project participants otherwise like the best and also confirms to any project-specific rules and restrictions that the project participants decide to follow, and thereafter discarding the elements that are not going to be used.
There is more to these processes, but this is their overall anatomy.
Mismatched Approaches
If you are working on an artistic-creative project, or if innovation itself is the project's main objective, then applying the inductive approach to the overall project development process may be a very good idea. Of course, in that case you also have to allocate resources, including time, accordingly - or, if you don't allocate enough resources, you may have to compromise on the quality of the outcome quite a bit, including accepting the probability that the outcome will not be sufficiently usable for the intended purpose.
Most business and organizational projects, including most computer application development projects, do require combinations of efficiency and creativity - that is, combinations of the two approaches described here. However, in most instances the project does have goals that need to be achieved and project development-related efficiency and effectiveness are important. This means, that the project itself should be developed so, that it is based on the deductive approach. Problems arise, when the inductive, creativity-oriented approach is used in situations that actually require goal, efficiency and effectiveness-focused handling.
Illustrative Examples
Usually it's easier to figure out what conditions need to be met for achieving some immediate results, than it is to put together ways for achieving longer term objectives or goals. Both the inductive and deductive project development approach involve this principle's usage, but it is applied very differently.
The inductive approach can be used for an entire project's development, or for development of goal-oriented, deductively developed projects individual aspects or parts. When the inductive approach is being used, the project participant or participants can work on the project's elements (theme, structure and components) in any order they like. To put it differently, the inductive approach is about developing a project further in any direction the project participants want. How much freedom the participants have for generating the project's structural parts and components varies, depending on the project-specific rules, guidelines that have been established for the project and on the participants tolerance for ambiguity.
To illustrate this, lets say that we are in point A - the project's starting point. Using the inductive approach, next point could be B1, or B2, or B3 and so on, where B1, B2 and B3 all can be either slightly or radically different. The possible steps that will follow, can be even more different from each other. The project's overall development can zigzag and proceed in countless different directions.
Briefly, certain aspects of artistic projects and project parts necessitate steps, that from the prospective of the goal oriented approach seem wasteful, but may help to increase the artistic qualities of the project.
The deductive approach is about using the goals for defining which steps should be taken. Project development steps are put together from the last to the first, and carried out in the opposite direction. Project development structure can be modified as needed and the individual steps can be put together inductively, but a goal-focused project's overall development approach should remain deductive.
To illustrate this, lets say that our goal is point Z - the project's completion point. Using the deductive approach, next we will have to figure out what is the point Y that precedes point Z, then the point X that precedes point Y, and so on, until the beginning of the project. (We need to achieve Z, therefore, we need to do Y, and so on.) We will put the project development plan together from the last step toward the first one and will carry out the plan in the opposite direction, from the first step toward the last one. We can make changes and modifications when needed, using the deductive approach for the overall project development and for the development of these individual project parts that have to be handled in a goal-oriented manner. Further, we can use the inductive approach for the development of the rest of the individual parts of the project, making sure that each time the end result is in accordance with the project's goals and theme.
Why Does It Matter?
Using the inductive approach in situations where actually goal, efficiency and effectiveness-oriented approach should be used, can derail projects. If we would graph such projects' development steps, the result would look like a chain of zigzagging links, because the participants went in one direction for a while, and then in another direction, and so on. Each such direction and its length mean usage of time, labor, and often other resources as well.
Such projects tend to go on and on without producing the necessary results, and that tends to exhaust the participants emotionally, in addition to consuming more time and labor resources than is necessary. Further, this problem can create on the organizational level ripple effects that either directly or indirectly affect very many persons professional lives.
If a company or organization operates in a competitive environment, and/or an labor, time and other resources are limited, then having continuously inefficiencies and not meeting the deadlines leads to lost opportunities, and that tends to affect negatively either directly or indirectly people who work for the company or organization.
Conclusion
Deductive approach-based project planning cannot be done with absolute accuracy. Using certain planning-related techniques, extra resource (including time) reserves can be built into the schedule so, that these extra resources can be moved around on as needed bases. Despite of that, from time to time, the goal and deadline focused approach may require extra efforts from the project participants.
However, if efficiency and effectiveness are important, then goal and deadline focused approach is likely to be preferable despite of the extra efforts it requires. To put it differently, efficiency and effectiveness tend to necessitate the usage of the goal and deadline focused approach.
CreativityModel.com, that will be launched in 2010, will address the relevant concepts further in detail and will offer through its website online creativity management and development solutions that can increase personal and professional productivity, effectiveness and success rate. The solutions that are offered are based on CreativityModel Method.
|
|
