P3.express – minimalistic Project Management framework

P3 express is a minimalistic project management system created in June 2016 by two talented Belgian Project Managers and co-funded by Erasmus+ Programme of the EU.  The name P3 comes from People, Projects, and Products – main 3 words of every project.

Main goals of P3 are to simplify and streamline Project Management. It’s motto is to get 80% of the result with 20% actions. That’s why P3.express is designed for accidental project managers and not experts in project management processes.

Because despite the existence of fundamental systems such as PRINCE2^® and the PMBOK^® Guide, most projects are run intuitively, without the help of a structured project management system. This is the case because the fundamental standards, while invaluable, are too complex for normal projects.

Imagine all the people who use Excel. What happens if you replace Excel with a programming language? Most people won’t be able to use it, and they will be left without a tool, even though a programming language is more capable than Excel.

The fundamental project management systems are all like programming languages, and what people need most in projects is something like Excel. P3.express is that simple tool that most people can use.

You can use p3express in any project team with minimal tailoring required. P3 is suitable for any projects ranging from startups and new products to government projects.

P3express claims to include best practices from Prince2, PMBOK, DSDM, SCRUM and XP and organize them in 33 management activities. Each bundled with guides, document templates and checklists. These activities are split in 7 groups: Project Initiation, Monthly Initiation, Weekly Management, Daily Management, Monthly Closure, Project Closure and Post-Project Management. These groups come in monthly, weekly, and daily cycles.

Project Initiation (A01-10). Management activities in this group are run at the beginning of the project to prepare the environment and create a high-level plan. At the end of this activity group, a decision will be taken on whether the project will proceed or not.

Monthly Initiation (B01-05). The management activities in this group are run at the beginning of each month to prepare us for a new monthly cycle, and to check whether it’s a good idea to continue the project.

Weekly Management (C01-04). The management activities in this group are run once a week to implement our structured measurements and controls.

Daily Management (D01-02). The management activities in this group are run every day.

Monthly Closure (E01-03). The management activities in this group are run at the end of each month to close it and prepare for the next monthly cycle.

Project Closure (F01-06). The management activities in this group are run to close a project when the work is done, or when we decide to cancel it.

Post-Project Management (G01-03). The management activities in this group are run after the project has been closed for 1 to 5 years to check the benefits resulting from the project and to come up with ideas for improving them. This cycle repeats every 6 months, or with a different frequency that matches the environment.

I couldn’t find any substantial criticism of P3 express. Here’s a testimonal from Geraldine Courtenay who’s a Project Manager at Sligo Chamber of Commerce (Ireland):

And there’s a big interview with Nader Rad, a co-developer of P3.express, in which he tells a lot about his vision of P3 and its applicability:

You can learn more about P3 Express on it’s official website.