PMflex: Flexible project management for the public sector and beyond?

The number and complexity of projects in public administration are increasing, as are the associated costs and challenges. Effective project management is indispensable in this dynamic environment. The competence center for (large-scale) project management of the Federal Advisory Center at the Federal Office of Administration has therefore developed the PMflex project management standard. Discover how PMflex supports public administration in successfully implementing projects and meeting the challenges of the future.

Further building blocks

There are also building blocks for dissemination and knowledge transfer, such as networks and a teaching program.

It is based on the PM² project management methodology of the European Commission and incorporates elements of the S-O-S method of the (large-scale) project management competence center.

The name “PMflex” is derived from “project management” (PM) and the term “flexible” (flex). The “flex” in the name emphasizes the flexibility of the method, which is specifically designed to adapt to the different requirements and conditions of projects in public administration.

• Adaptability: PMflex is designed to flexibly adapt the PM² methodology to the specific needs of different project classes in public administration. This means that the method is not rigid, but can be modified depending on the project type, size, complexity and specific requirements.
   
• Wide range of applications: The flexibility of the method allows it to be applied in different contexts, from small, less complex projects to large, complex and cross-departmental ones. PMflex is suitable for a wide range of project types, including IT projects, organizational changes and strategic initiatives.
   
• Tailoring model: A central element of PMflex is the tailoring model, which provides detailed instructions for adapting the PM² methodology to specific project requirements. This increases the practicality and effectiveness of the method in different administrative environments.
   
• Integration and extension: PMflex not only integrates the proven PM² methodology of the European Commission, but also extends it with additional content and procedures relevant to public administration. This includes special quality assurance tools, such as the S-O-S Project Compass, and the consideration of regulatory and legal requirements.

PMflex was developed by the Competence Center (Large) Project Management (CC GroßPM) of the Federal Advisory Center in the Federal Office of Administration. It was designed to meet the needs of public administration, but has also proven useful in other organizations. PMflex users are often companies and organizations that have complex or varying project requirements, such as in software development or in areas that favor iterative, user-centered development. PMflex is particularly useful in sectors where customer satisfaction and responsiveness to change are crucial. It offers both flexibility and structure and is therefore used in both large and medium-sized companies that appreciate a hybrid management approach and want to rely on the agile success of methods such as Scrum and Lean. PMflex is used by project staff, project managers and management levels to effectively control and monitor projects and to strategically structure and control programs and portfolios.

Other parties involved

In addition to these structured roles and responsibilities, effective identification and supportive management of all relevant stakeholders is crucial to the success of the project. Stakeholders are individuals or groups that influence or are affected by the activities, services or results of a project.

PMflex Project Phase 1: Initiation Phase

The initiation phase marks the beginning of every PMflex project and is of crucial importance for the success of the subsequent project planning and implementation. Its main objective is to define the project goals and constraints clearly and precisely. Particular attention should be paid to ensuring that these goals are always aligned with the strategic goals of the organization.

1. A central part of this phase is the initiation meeting, where project initiators and project owners come together to discuss all the preliminary information about the project and determine the next steps. This meeting results in a better understanding of the project context and the decision to proceed with the creation of the project initiation request. All potential stakeholders who can contribute to the creation of the documents in this phase are invited to this meeting.
    
2. The project initiation request, which is created by the requirements manager, forms the foundation of the project and includes an estimate of costs and effort, sets the time frame for completion, describes internal or external effects of the project, emphasizes the relevance of the project, defines success criteria and identifies risks.
    
3. Once the project initiation request has been created, the requirements manager prepares the business case. This document explains the reasons for the project and includes a description of the business context, a problem and project description, the business justification for the project, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as detailed cost and time schedules.
    
4. The project charter, created by the project management, forms the basis for detailed project planning and defines the project objectives in terms of content, timing, finances and quality, as well as general requirements, risks and constraints. In addition, project milestones and deliverables are clearly identified.

After the business case and the project charter have been created and approved, these documents are sent to the project steering committee or an appropriate decision-making body, which decides whether to accept or reject the project.

To complete the initiation phase and move on to the planning phase, the activities and artifacts of the initiation phase must be reviewed and approved in order to achieve what is known as planning maturity for the project.

PMflex Project Phase 2: Planning Phase

In the planning phase, the defined project objectives are developed into a concrete plan for implementation.

1. The planning kick-off meeting marks the beginning of the planning phase and serves to ensure that all project participants are clear about the project scope and the expectations of all important stakeholders. During this session, project plans are discussed and initial project risks are identified. The project management presents the main elements of the project charter and schedule, as well as the intended project management approach, and raises awareness of key project roles, risks, constraints, and assumptions.
    
2. The project manual, created by the project management in collaboration with the requirements manager, is one of the most important deliverables of this phase. Together with the project work plan, it forms the basis for managing and executing the project and documents objectives, dependencies, constraints and assumptions, describes the selected project management approach, defines critical success factors, describes roles and responsibilities, identifies project processes and guidelines, and makes adjustments to the underlying project management methodology.
    
3. The project stakeholder matrix, also created by the project management and the requirements manager, lists all relevant stakeholders, their contact details and roles in the project.
    
4. The project work plan, which is created in this phase, refines the project scope and defines and organizes the specific project work and deliverables. Its components include the work breakdown structure, detailed effort and cost estimates, as well as a schedule and timeline.

The planning phase ends with the review and approval of the phase activities and artifacts by the project steering committee, which means that the project has reached execution maturity and can enter the next phase.

PMflex Project Phase 3: Execution Phase

The execution phase involves the practical implementation of the project results defined in the project work plan. During this phase, the project team carries out the planned activities and works continuously to achieve the defined goals.

1. The kick-off meeting ensures that the entire project team is familiar with the key components and rules of the project. The business case, project charter, project handbook, project work plan and all other relevant project plans and protocols are discussed here, and minutes are taken.
    
2. Project coordination is crucial to provide ongoing support to the core project team. The project management ensures that resources are assigned to the appropriate activities, regular quality checks are carried out, and communication with project team members is maintained.
    
3. Quality assurance is the responsibility of the project management and aims to ensure that project work meets established quality standards, methodologies, and best practices.
    
4. Project reporting is an important part of the execution phase to continuously communicate project progress and performance to stakeholders and controlling. This includes the project status report, project progress report, quality review log, contractor status report, and other custom or ad hoc reports.
    
5. Information distribution is carried out regularly in accordance with the communication management plan to inform and involve the stakeholders.

To complete the execution phase, the required activities and artifacts are reviewed and approved, first by the project management and then by the project steering committee. This makes the project ready for closure.

PMflex project phase 4: closure phase

The final phase, as the last phase of a project, focuses on completing all project activities and documenting the final state of the project. The finished results are officially handed over to the project owner. The following activities are carried out in this phase:

1. In the project closing meeting, the project management invites the core project team to discuss the project experiences, evaluate the project performance, discuss lessons learned and best practices, and make recommendations for future projects. Lessons learned and recommendations after the end of the project serve to learn from the project experiences and improve the way future projects work.
    
2. The project completion report is created by the project management after the project completion meeting. This documents best practices, difficulties, solutions to problems encountered and serves as a knowledge base for future projects.
    
3. The administrative closure takes place after the project closure report has been completed. The project management ensures that all project results have been accepted by the relevant stakeholders and that the project closure reports and all documentation have been checked, organized and archived. The project team is officially dissolved and all resources released.

The project is officially closed as soon as all activities of the closing phase have been completed and the project owner has approved the project. The administrative closure marks the transition from “project mode” to “operating mode”.

Project control and project controlling in PMflex

The monitoring and control activities are of crucial importance for the entire life cycle of a PMflex project and reach their peak during the execution phase.

The objectives are:

• measure ongoing activities
• Evaluate project performance against project plans
• Identify and implement corrective action as necessary

The project management is responsible for a variety of activities and the creation of a series of artifacts during this phase.

The activities can be divided into three subject areas:

• Administrative activities: These include all administrative processes according to the project management plans, as well as activities for outsourcing, implementation, business implementation and delivery acceptance according to the project-specific plans.
   
• Monitoring activities: These include the ongoing monitoring of project activities to measure overall performance in the project. Performance is evaluated against a predefined baseline.
   
• Control activities: These involve developing, planning, proposing, and implementing corrective action to address existing or potential performance risks or issues.

Project management must diligently execute these activities to ensure the overall success of the project.

The monitoring and control artifacts include the project work plan and various project logs that are regularly updated as new information becomes available. These include the risk log, issue log, decision log, change log, and various checklists such as the “phase completion check” and “quality check,” which were taken from the S-O-S project compass and help the project management team to control the project.

Step 3: Continuous Improvement

The tailoring should be regularly reviewed and adjusted based on project planning and execution. Major class L projects should conduct systematic reviews of the tailoring, supported by tools such as the S-O-S project compass and lessons learned.

The aim of PMflex is to make public sector projects more effective and efficient by also enabling simple and needs-based implementation of agile working methods. Agile working enables teams to respond quickly to changing requirements and thus improve service quality. PMflex therefore offers its own guidelines for agile project management based on the European Commission's PM² Agile method.

Agile roles, responsibilities, topics, events, artefacts, tools and techniques in PMflex correspond to those of the PM² Agile variant.

The PMflex guideline from CC GroßPM promotes standardized terminology and processes for better project communication and collaboration. It integrates the European Commission's PM² methodology and expands it into PMflex, a flexible project management approach. The guide consists of three parts: special features and success factors in public administration, the PM² methodology and its adaptation for different project classes. Supplementary regulations such as the V-Modell XT Bund are not replaced. The PMflex guide offers practical standards and also includes additional modules for knowledge transfer.

PMflex has the potential to become established in areas where a combination of fixed project structures and flexible working methods is required – for example, in innovative technology companies, start-ups or in industries that have to change dynamically, such as IT departments in the wake of digitalization in the public sector or the healthcare sector. PMflex could also be a valuable solution in regulated industries such as finance, where compliance and documentation requirements are high. Its flexibility makes PMflex attractive for teams that work iteratively across projects but still want to benefit from a basic structure.

To establish itself in the long term, PMflex would have to raise awareness of its advantages, particularly its hybrid approaches. In an increasingly saturated market with established standards, it could be difficult to establish a new standard unless it offers significant advantages or meets specific niche requirements. However, the lack of universal standardization and broad recognition could affect PMflex in terms of scalability and market penetration if large organizations rely on proven, widely used standards.

PMflex could therefore remain particularly interesting for specialized applications in the longer term, but to achieve widespread market acceptance would probably require additional investment in awareness, certification and clearer structuring. To implement projects according to the PMflex standard, it is recommended to use project management software that can adequately map the project phases, roles, responsibilities and steps of the PMflex methodology. Projektron BCS offers users of the methodology the ideal support for efficiently implementing their PMflex projects.