The Power of Thinking Small: How Incremental Projects Deliver Big Results

The Power of Thinking Small: How Incremental Projects Deliver Big Results

In today's fast-paced business environment, the pressure to deliver significant results can often lead organizations to embark on ambitious, large-scale projects. However, emerging research and real-world experience increasingly point to a counterintuitive truth: smaller, simpler projects often deliver better outcomes with less risk and greater speed. This approach, championed by experts like Bent Flyvbjerg in his groundbreaking book "How Big Things Get Done," offers valuable insights for project managers, business leaders, and anyone responsible for delivering results.

The Problem with Going Big

Before we explore the benefits of smaller projects, let's understand why large projects frequently fail to meet expectations:

According to Bent Flyvbjerg's extensive research, IT megaprojects are the fifth most likely project type to fail, surpassed only by nuclear storage, Olympic hosting, nuclear power, and hydroelectric dams in their failure rates. The statistics are sobering—IT projects face some of the highest failure risks among all major project categories.

Large projects often suffer from:

  • Complexity overwhelm: As projects grow, their complexity increases exponentially rather than linearly
  • Extended timelines: Longer projects face greater exposure to changing requirements and market conditions
  • Higher coordination costs: More people, more dependencies, more communication challenges
  • Delayed feedback cycles: Value and learning come too late in the process
  • Increased risk exposure: All-or-nothing approaches magnify consequences of failure

The "Think Small" Approach

The alternative isn't to avoid ambitious goals altogether—it's to achieve them through a series of smaller, well-defined projects that deliver incremental value. This approach has several key elements:

1. Break It Down: The Modularity Principle

In "How Big Things Get Done," Flyvbjerg advocates what he calls the "Build with Lego" heuristic—breaking down large, complex projects into smaller, manageable components. This modular approach minimizes the impact of errors and allows for faster iteration and adaptation.

The beauty of modularity is that it:

  • Simplifies complex processes
  • Makes components easily replicable
  • Creates an environment conducive to iterative improvement
  • Reduces the risk of catastrophic failure

As Flyvbjerg explained in an interview: "The approach of 'move fast and break things' might work for small-scale, easily reversible projects like developing software. But for large, irreversible projects like constructing a bridge, this approach doesn't work. Modularity offers a way to get the benefits of both approaches—speed and reliability."

2. Deliver Value Early and Often

Incremental delivery focuses on producing functional pieces of value over time rather than waiting for the entire project to be complete. This allows for continuous feedback, improvement, and adaptation throughout the project lifecycle.

Key benefits include:

  • Earlier ROI: Start generating returns before the entire project is complete
  • Faster feedback loops: Learn and adapt based on real-world usage
  • Increased stakeholder confidence: Regular deliveries build trust and maintain momentum
  • Better risk management: Identify and address issues before they compound

3. Learn Through Doing

Small projects create more opportunities for learning and adaptation. Each completed increment provides valuable insights that can improve subsequent phases. This creates a virtuous cycle where:

  • Teams become more efficient with each iteration
  • Processes are refined based on actual experience
  • Assumptions are validated (or invalidated) quickly
  • Course corrections happen early and at lower cost

Real-World Success Stories

The incremental approach has proven successful across various industries and project types:

Software Development: The Agile Revolution

The software industry's shift from waterfall to agile methodologies exemplifies the power of incremental delivery. Companies like Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon deploy code hundreds or thousands of times per day, each deployment being a small, manageable change rather than a massive release.

Construction: Modular Building

Even in traditional industries like construction, modular approaches are gaining traction. Prefabricated components and standardized designs allow for faster construction with fewer defects and more predictable outcomes.

Product Development: Minimum Viable Products

The concept of MVP (Minimum Viable Product) embodies incremental thinking. Rather than spending years perfecting a product before launch, companies release basic versions to gather feedback and iterate based on real user needs.

Implementing Incremental Delivery in Your Organization

To successfully adopt an incremental approach:

1. Start with Clear Vision

While projects are small, the overall vision should be clear. Each increment should contribute to a larger goal, ensuring that small steps lead to significant outcomes.

2. Define Success Metrics

Establish clear metrics for each increment. This allows you to measure progress, demonstrate value, and make data-driven decisions about future phases.

3. Build a Culture of Iteration

Encourage teams to view each increment as a learning opportunity. Foster an environment where feedback is welcomed and continuous improvement is the norm.

4. Manage Stakeholder Expectations

Help stakeholders understand that incremental delivery doesn't mean slow progress—it means consistent, reliable progress with reduced risk.

5. Invest in Integration

Ensure that individual increments can be smoothly integrated. This requires thoughtful architecture and planning to avoid creating disconnected pieces.

Common Objections and How to Address Them

"But we need everything at once!"

Reality check: Even in "big bang" approaches, not everything is truly delivered at once. Incremental delivery simply makes the phases explicit and ensures each delivers value.

"Small projects lack vision"

Small projects can absolutely serve a grand vision. The difference is that the vision is achieved through deliberate, manageable steps rather than one giant leap.

"It will cost more"

While there may be some overhead in breaking down projects, the reduced risk of failure, earlier value delivery, and ability to course-correct typically result in lower total costs.

The Bottom Line

In an era of rapid change and uncertainty, the ability to deliver value quickly and adapt based on feedback is more valuable than ever. By embracing smaller, incremental projects, organizations can:

  • Reduce risk while maintaining ambition
  • Deliver value faster and more consistently
  • Learn and adapt based on real-world feedback
  • Build confidence through regular successes
  • Maintain flexibility in an uncertain environment

As Bent Flyvbjerg's research shows, the choice isn't between thinking big or thinking small—it's about thinking smart. By breaking down complex initiatives into manageable increments, we can achieve extraordinary outcomes through ordinary steps.

Remember: Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was built one brick at a time. The same principle applies to your next project. Think big, start small, and deliver value incrementally. Your stakeholders—and your success rate—will thank you.