Proactive development

1. Any project task must directly contribute to project goals achievement.

2. Project manager shall explicitly allow (or forbid) any task, which is not directly related to project goals.

3. How to distinguish proactive task? If you can explain customer or end user the benefits of the task and approval from them, task could be considered as proactive.

4. Optimization, searching for the best solution, uncontrolled improvement, often training are the examples of the non-proactive development.

To act proactive, participants shall:

• Know precisely what and when to do
• Understand project goals
• Have tight schedule

Explanations

It is important and difficult to follow this principle during project implementation. It is easy for software developer to "escape". For example:

he (or she) could start program immediately, OR
   begin with investigations on the best library, then
      search for better compiler, code editor, then
         switch to more effective programming language,
            which worth to get learning,
                etc.

This principle originates from the ideas of the Lean Software Development by Mary Poppendieck.