Why a project?
When you set out to use CSD to work a problem, The Muddle Buster strongly recommends you structure it as a project that is focused exclusively on that problem. The project starts with action on the awareness of a problem that demands a solution. The project concludes with a solution that extinguishes that problem.
Organizing CSD as a project imparts focus, and a commitment to moving with unity and expeditiously. It puts a boundary around the effort to resolve a particular complex and contentious issue. It says that everything inside the boundary is relevant to that effort, and everything outside the boundary is to be ignored as a distraction. It says, while engaged with the project, be concerned only with the project. Of course, in real life, people will have numerous concerns outside the project, but don’t bring them inside.
While working on the project, all participants operate with unity. That means, on the same page and moving toward the same goal. That, of course, does not mean mere passive compliance. In the spirit of distributed leadership, it means each participant takes personal responsibility to move constructively on any apparent need. Also, it does not mean the absence of disagreement and conflict. To the contrary, it means that addressing differences among stakeholders is a primary purpose of CSD, and in this case, unity means the commitment to seek a solution that effectively and equitably resolves the differences. That is the meaning of the “Collaborative” in CSD.
Contrasting CSD with Adversarial Power Politics
Adversarial power politics is like water polo. CSD is like white water rafting.
Water polo is an all-out competition between opposing teams. Above the surface the competition is fair (mostly) but rough. Under the surface and out of sight, all sorts of shenanigans happen. The result is one team exalting in victory and the other sunk in loss. Enduring grudges may be engendered.
White water rafting is the struggle of a single united team against the challenge of impersonal elements. All share in victory, which is reaching the security of calm waters. Of course it is possible to make a competitive sport of white water rafting with teams striving to make the best time through the rapids, but that is not at all necessary for rafters to enjoy the communal satisfaction of overcoming the obstacles.
Remember, It’s a Paradigm
This discussion is about the project as a part of the CSD paradigm. It is not a cookbook recipe to be followed rigidly. As you read on, just get the hang of it, grasp the essentials. Then apply it appropriately as fits your situation.
CSD’s Product is Knowledge
A CSD project is mostly about accruing the knowledge you need to implement the solution. At the end of the project, that knowledge-product includes:
- A description of the problem or issue that initiated the project
- A description of the solution with instructions on how to implement it
- Verification that it is a “good enough” solution to the initiating problem so we have confidence it will work and we don’t need to continue looking for something better
- A record of the path taken through the project from beginning to end, to illuminate how and why decisions were made along the way, and to serve as a baseline for subsequent improvements to the solution
To get through the project successfully also depends on knowledge about how to manage the project. That would include both directing the project and providing the resources needed to support the tasks on the path network to the solution.
The existence of all this knowledge therefore demands that a Knowledge Management function (search for that branch on the site) be a part of the plan, so the knowledge is collected, kept secure and whole, and made available for use.
A Project Needs a Plan
Having a project, of course, implies a Project Plan. So, what’s this Plan all about? A CSD Project Plan typically includes a network of tasks scheduled through time that takes the project from its starting point to its successful conclusion. It may also include a budget, an organization chart that most likely will evolve over the duration of the project, and an allocation of people and other resources to the tasks.
Stanley E. Portny, “Project Management for Dummies” is an excellent reference on this topic.
Starting From Scratch or From a Legacy Organization
CSD projects can be carried out over a range of scenarios. At one end of the range is the project that starts from scratch with no organization, no plan and no resources, just one or more individuals with the perception that a problem exists that calls for a solution. At the other end is a problem taken on by a mature organization with a legacy of experience in solving similar problems. For purposes of simplicity, The Muddle Buster will lay out a plan template for the start-from-scratch scenario. That template is easily adapted to other scenarios by leaving out parts that the chosen scenario already supplies, and modifying to fit the situation.
Building the Plan
The sub-branches to this branch, as described below, address the basic issues of establishing a CSD Project Plan.
Project Phases
The project, on its path from initial problem awareness to having the solution in place and ready to go, addresses certain challenges.
- Establishing the project organization
- Creating a Solution-Discovery process tailored to the problem at hand
- Then executing that Solution-Discovery process
It is suggested here that this overall path be structured in three phases that keep the attention focused on each of the major tasks as they occur in sequence, avoiding the confusion of jumping ahead prematurely.
The Project Task-Plan Template
A general template for the Project Task-Plan is offered, that applies to the typical CSD project. This template serves as a check list for building a plan tailored to a particular problem.
Making It Real
An approach is suggested for converting the generalized Project Task-Plan Template into a plan tailored to a specific problem.