Unknowns Are Your Best Friends

This chapter provides a practical framework for managing uncertainties and implementing projects successfully, which aligns with the principles outlined in ISO 56007. It explains the process of assessing the effort required to reduce the uncertainty of Opportunities or projects. The first step involves identifying as many Unknowns/uncertainties as possible at the pre-project stage. The IpOp Model has been designed as a step-by-step process to facilitate the identification and prioritization of Unknowns, which are not to be confused with Risks. The list of Unknowns can then be used to calibrate the effort (time, money, and skills) required to reduce the level of uncertainty of the project. This chapter emphasizes the importance of drafting an Opportunity Case to demonstrate the merits of the Opportunity and obtain necessary Resources. It also highlights the need for two Action Plans, one outlining Tactical Moves for reducing critical Unknowns and a second one for delivering the Definition of Success. The process involves obtaining conditional buy-in from Decision-makers and Investors, spending Resources to reduce critical Unknowns, and obtaining later a final green light to launch the project. Since ISO 56007 recommends to catalog uncertainties as early as possible but does not explain how to identify them, the IpOp Model appears to be a very useful complement for operationalizing ISO 56007’s recommendations.