The most difficult aspect of the pragmatic approach to management is its simplicity. It appears blatantly obvious, and for some readers there may be a sense of ‘Your telling me to suck eggs’. Yet, it is keeping this practical perspective in mind that is at the core of the pragmatic approach.

Reflecting on the descriptions of Cowboys and Zealots provided in my first article, you will recall that there are two unique approaches to ‘Best Practice’. The zealot tending towards a 'Do it all?' model. That is focusing on the Framework or method as the solutions. For example, apply ITIL out of the box "It'll do it".

Compare that to the cowboys who aim to drive a pure quick win approach with out any consideration to long term plans. That is, 'Do something, anything, but not against a long-term? plan'. The key principle that both approaches omit to consider is that "One company’s best practice can be another company’s burden".

The above sentiments are in fact indicators of the difficulty inherent in a pragmatic approach. That is, an approach that endeavours to manage the business urgency and expectations to take time to clearly articulate the business problem or opportunity to be addressed using the framework of the method or best practice to assist in planning (and prioritising) the way forward.

If there is a key differentiator for the pragmatic approach from that of the zealot and cowboy it is the adherence to Deming’s principles of "Plan, Do, Check, Act". Concentrating on upfront planning. Many of you would have heard of the 5 P's - Poor Planning Prevents Proper Performance; or a derivative of this.

The following 'Pragmatic' approach has come about through hard-won experience in problem management, project salvation/closure and turn-around situations; all of which in some shape or form have been dependent or impacted by ‘Best Practice’ thinking.

Pragmatism is focused on ensuring a practical, matter-of-fact approach is used to assess the situation and solve problems or drive opportunities. It is in no way absolute, and continuously improves from scenario to scenario.

The Pragmatic approach (in brief) consists of the following five steps; Note these five steps can be mapped against the principles of plan, do, check, and act:

1. Define and confirm the business problem/opportunity

2. Define your scope, approach & principles

3. Create & Communicate Direction

4. Check, correct and communicate

5. Iterate or complete

Step 1 focusing on the problem/opportunity definition is critical. Often your sponsor may have a loose or high level idea of what the problem or opportunity is. It is critical that you do not simply run with this perception, taking some time out to understand the scenario objectively, this will often involve interviews, observations, and other formalised methods to ensure the rounding out of the problem or opportunity to be addressed.

Once you have evolved a solid understanding of the situation (i.e. done your analysis), arrange to 'quote back' and revisit the mandate with your sponsor, ensuring that your primary stakeholder has a clear understanding and is in agreement with the opportunity you have defined.

Key to Step 2 of this pragmatic approach is the establishment of some 'Guiding Principles' for the work to be done. The core idea behind principle based approach is that they are clear and concise. With all of your stakeholders able to comprehend, associate with and adhere to during the initiative. These principles are also used for testing your solution, and implementation going forward.

SCOPE!! This is the nemesis of any best practice initiative. Control the scope; make sure it is agreed up front. Any changes to the scope are to be agreed and accounted for appropriately. The risk for anyone involved in an improvement initiative is that discovery and business demand will always tempt you away from your original goal.

Step 3 - Create and Communicate Direction (CCD - there is more detail on this idea on my blog at 5Whys). We have all heard of, or even experienced initiatives on varying scales that have failed due to the lack of communication. The concept of CCD is the idea of answering four key questions for each of your major stakeholder groups. These are:

Why are you communicating to them?

What is it you want to tell them?

How should they respond or participate?

What next/if/else.

Naturally messages can be more complex and complete than what is outlined here; at the end of the day though, being able to answer these questions for any of your stakeholders at anytime, be it in an elevator, presentation or meeting will help you improve your chance of success.

By the time you hit step 4 of the pragmatic approach communications should almost be second nature. It is at this point you work with the relevant stakeholders and team members to confirm your progress against the original problem/opportunity statement, guiding principles, scope and proposed solution. Taking corrective action where required as well as communicating the success and challenges of the program thus far.

Finally, on completion of all the above activity you will either iterate through another cycle to deliver on the next priority or complete the task at hand. The rationale behind the need for iteration is that this particular approach is not meant to be a complete project management methodology, and provides the opportunity for small iterative cycles within a large project or program of work.

As stated earlier in this article, the approach we have outlined above is in no way absolute, or complete; it has been provided in the hope that you will see one or two ideas in here that grab your attention. If you have any ideas or observations do not hesitate to add comments to this post. We are continuously trying to improve this idea of a ‘Pragmatic’ way of doing things.