CRITICAL CHAIN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
When dealing with projects that are two distinct areas that require solution; the single project area and the multiple projects one. The TOC Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) solution treats both.
In the single project environment the solution calls for clearly accepting that projects have high uncertainty, and that the mechanisms for managing this uncertainty need to be not only clear, but useful. This is achieved by introducing protective mechanisms called buffers into the project plan, that are a vivid demonstration of the uncertainty. Thereafter the solution calls for shifting attention from planning to execution, and using the buffers as a mechanism for absorbing schedule glitches and reacting to them in accordance with their effect on the ability to complete the project as a whole.
In the multiple projects environment, the solution focuses on the synchronization between the "flow" of projects and the capacity of resource to executing them by introducing a project "release" mechanism. The combination of these two parts of the solution results with decrease in projects duration, improved on-time performance and increased productivity.
