What is LeanCPM
A new take on project planning and execution. Not quite Lean, not quite CPM.
Work in progress
LeanCPM and this website are still a work in progress. I am working on making this open source, meaning anyone can contribute. If you’d like to participate or follow our progress, please email daniel at leancpm dot org.
LeanCPM was created because I wanted Superintendents to own their schedules. Since Superintendents don’t have the luxury of sitting at a desk all day, they need something easy, flexible, and foolproof, while also offloading some of the burden and accountability to subcontractors.
Philosophy
Logic-safe
Poor relationships between tasks, or a lack thereof, are responsible for 95% of schedule issues. LeanCPM not only enforces best logic practices but also prevents bad practices, ensuring every schedule is as sound as possible, given reasonable input.
Synchronous communication
Construction is synchronous: Participants must be present because they rely on the work or resources from others before they can provide the same in return. With legacy CPM, “the schedule was outdated the day it was published.”
Updating & maintaining the schedule should be a continuous, real-time operation, not an afterthought.
Bias for action
The problem with legacy CPM is that it is “defensive scheduling” (scheduling for lawyers). It is rooted in a system that ensures nobody finishes early.
LeanCPM doesn’t let you rewrite history. If something is done, you mark it as done that day. Telling the team you finished something a week or a month ago doesn’t do anyone favors. Going to finish a week early? Update the task so that others can be notified and plan accordingly.
When to use LeanCPM
While LeanCPM is more straightforward and more potent than legacy CPM, some project specs strictly dictate the use of legacy CPM. If that is the case, then LeanCPM and our full suite will not work.
No project is too small or too large for LeanCPM. Small personal jobs or multi-billion-dollar projects can all benefit from easier planning and better execution.