Nimble, more adaptive lightweight management methods are quickly displacing their heavyweight ancestors.
Life finds a way…
Organisations need to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital environment.
This has given rise to lightweight, often digitally focused management frameworks, methods and approaches that tackle today’s fast-paced challenges.
Lightweight vs Heavyweight – respond quickly to sudden environmental change
The impact of Chicxulub, the 80-kilometre-wide meteorite which carved out what is now the Gulf of Mexico, changed everything. Life was never going to be the same.
The long slow decline of cold-blooded giants made way for the rise of nimble mammals. Initially small in stature and numbers; these grew to diversify – empowered by their ability to adapt to changing conditions.
This parallels today’s framework market – moving away from the large legacy frameworks in favour of newer lightweight options.
Why are the heavyweight frameworks in decline?
- They take a long time to learn
- The sheer scale of these frameworks makes them less attractive to study and apply.
- Their size and reliance on unwieldy documentation often containing conflicting terms , presents the learner with a daunting and time-consuming prospect.
- The sheer scale of these frameworks makes them less attractive to study and apply.
- It’s hard to respond to Change quickly
- The ability to effectively respond to change is a highly sought-after trait of a modern framework.
- In today’s fast-paced environment the time invested in studying these frameworks produces diminishing returns.
Often people choose to study a framework to address an organisation’s challenge.
- These challenges may become acute whilst your team slowly slogs through the learning.
- The ability to effectively respond to change is a highly sought-after trait of a modern framework.
- They often contain material that’s not relevant
- Heavyweight frameworks are typically rigid – so you’ll often have to study material that’s either not relevant to your organisation or the job role you wish to fulfil.
- It is hard to justify the high opportunity costs associated with a large framework when much of the material is superfluous.
- Heavyweight frameworks are typically rigid – so you’ll often have to study material that’s either not relevant to your organisation or the job role you wish to fulfil.
Advantages of lightweight frameworks
- Better suited to fast change initiatives due to their focussed material and quick implementation
- No heavy documentation like heavyweight frameworks so you can focus only on what’s necessary
- Almost instantaneous feedback so you can quickly apply corrections during a change programme
- Greater efficiency – as most defined activities focus on delivering value
- More frequent cycles allow stakeholders to review and redefine to meet business needs
Learn and get certified in the use of Lightweight frameworks and methods
Continuous Digital Transformation (CDT) is becoming a key priority for organisations.
Market conditions no longer match such large and overgrown monolithic methodologies and frameworks.
The market has moved on, preferring smaller more targeted management methods like DevOps, Agile and Scrum.
APMG’s portfolio of certifications delivers real agility for individuals, teams and organisations.
Organisations such as AMEX and University of Zurich have used APMG’s lightweight offerings to augment their internal processes.
