Measurement Concepts

In looking for concepts on which to base an adaptive management system, two proved to be particularly useful—beyond budgeting from Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser, and Rob Austin’s views on performance measurement in organizations. Both have a distinctly agile or adaptive perspective, and both deal with measurement systems in general, not just project management.

Beyond Budgeting

In Beyond Budgeting: How Managers Can Break Free from the Annual Performance Trap, Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser (Hope 2003) outline a measurement system, and in fact an adaptive, decentralized management style, that fits with an agile enterprise. Although Hope and Fraser discuss issues far beyond budgeting, they start with the issues surrounding traditional budgeting systems in organizations.