Product design changes, infrastructure uplifts, moves to the cloud, new product or services lines….

What’s the link between them all?

They should all have had business cases created for them, but many probably havn’t!

We’ve all (come on now – you know you have) been either tempted or have implemented some change within your business that has been driven by;

1. An assumption.
2. A knee jerk reaction.
3. To be seen to be doing something.
4. A combination of the above or something else!

Whatever the reason, the change has been implemented and not delivered any real or tangible benefit to the business over and above the one or two people who thought it might have been a good idea.

Role of a business case

Every change that you are bringing into your business needs to be supported by a business case.  Irrespective of what that change might be.

Some changes may not have a direct financial benefit to the company e.g. a regulatory change, but if you don’t do it, you may end up with a fine or worse!

But most changes will either;

1. Reduce costs.
2. Increase revenues.

If the change is not going to do this, then it should not be going ahead – period.

When doing the business case, the most important element is ensuring that you have considered all of the impacts (financial and operational) to your business.

This should also include a consideration for the impact on your business teams including how their roles may change. If they are going to change radically, then where possible, they should be engaged during the change implementation to ensure continued buy in to what you are trying to achieve.

If you have never created a business case, or indeed want to check whether you are missing anything, I found this handy link that is useful.

So, whatever you are planning to implement in your business, make sure your business case stacks up. Your bottom line will suffer if you don’t – and things are tight enough without wasting time and resource on something that isn’t going to bring your business benefit.

Do you prepare a business case for any changes you are implementing? Have any useful tips you could share?

Photo: Kevin Dooley

Normally, I would enjoy the sight of new leaves on the trees. It heralds the beginning of Spring. Rejuvination. Out with the old and in with the new after the Winter season.

But, I’ve just noticed new leaves on trees that have quite literally only finished shedding maybe 4 weeks ago.

It just doesn’t feel right at all. We’ve only just started Winter and know that there is alot more of it to come.

There are new leaves on the trees because the climate is changing. Nature is “confused” about what time of year it is. (There are still summer roses trying to flower in the garden too!).

Irrespective of how passionately or otherwise you believe in global warming, all of us realise that this is happening. Man is directly interfering with nature’s ability to self-regulate and as a consequence, change is afoot!

Business projects, are you changing for the worse?

When we look at how we manage our projects in business, they can sometimes be a little like global warming if we’re not careful. Particularly if projects in our business works.

We do successful implementation after successful implementation. We’ve learned as we’ve gone along and the efficiency and excellence that we are trying to achieve is there.

And then circumstance makes us think that maybe there are other ways of doing things.

• We look at taking on a new supplier who is cheaper – but maybe the quality is not as good.
• We put a less experienced project manager in charge and don’t give them the support they need.
• We put a less capable team in place to reduce the baseline costs.

For whatever reason, we’ve decided to cut back on an area that works.

And we get green shoots. Some leaves that show us that things are changing, getting better.

The problem is, it’s still Winter. The green shoots will soon die back as the weather gets colder. Your projects will run into difficulties as timelines get extended to cope with less capability, customers give out because the product that you are delivering are not what they used to be.

Sometimes, it is just better to let things be if they are working. While change can be good, change for changes sake can radically impact your success.

What are your thoughts? Have you interfered in your project delivery to squeeze an extra few % margin points and suffered?

Photo: Wickenden

Aside from Agile, the most commonly used form of project planning in my experience is the standard waterfall model.  Each stage of the project follows in sequence – as one completes, the next commences.

Having worked in operations for most of my life, along with the odd sojourn into the project management space, it’s safe to say that it appears almost impossible to operate a linear strategy to project management beyond the very high level work package structures.

At least this is certainly the case when you are reliant on operational resources to participate in projects as most organisations are.

On paper, within a work package, an operational resource might be mapped in the plan to do their “bit” in the following form;

 But in reality, an operational person is usually working that more closely resembles;

• Plan for the day:  “Project time for the day as agreed with my manager”

• Reality of the day: “It’s breaking, we need  you now, you’ll just have to leave the project work til later.

Expected time on project work: 8 hours. Actual time on project work: 3.5 hours.

Result : Stressed out operational person, delayed project plan, frustrated P.M.

This is not through any fault of the engineer.

• The fault lies with the operational manager for over-estimating the available time to that engineer

or

• The project manager who pushed the operational manager so hard to give an estimate that fitted the timelines of the project.

Operational work effort is business as usual for an operational team  and not project work. In order for a resource to be given the correct amount of time required,  realistic availability needs to be put forward to the project manager.

If the timelines available do not work for the project then backfill needs to be found for the operational resource in question and this needs to be factored into the project costs. Ignoring the issue will end up simply causing problems for the project during implementation.

By organising operational resources correctly within the context of a project timeline, you can get closer to a linear delivery.  Just don’t look to closely at the operational resources day though – that’ll never resemble linear!

Photo: Raiderslight

“If you chase two rabbits, both will escape”

— Unknown

As a project manager, are you focused on achieving your project goals and objectives? Or are you trying to micromanaged and as a consequence are not as focused as you should be?

Project manager, remaining focused

The tools of a project management methodology such as work packages are designed to assist the project manager in delivering a successful project. However, if there are multiple issues arising at any one time within a project, a project manager can end up trying to deal with them all in parallel and failing simply through the sheer volumes of work required to do so.

In order to remain as an effective project manager in control of a project, it is vital for that project manager to organise their work in such a way that what can seem like overwhelming levels of issues can be handled correctly – each in their own right.

Prioritisation and impact analysis are the most obvious ways of handling this type of scenario.

•  Can the project continue with this issue for the moment?
• Does the issue cause a significant impact on one of the big four – Budget, Time, Quality of Scope?
• Do the issues require the same resources to resolve them or can a different resource set take-on some of the challenges?

Each project issue requires this level of analysis. It is only by doing this, the relevance of that issue can be determined and the work structures altered to handle them. The project manager needs to assess the impact of the project issue against each of the big four and prioritise based on that.

The other key to managing multiple issues that arise when they seek to overwhelm the project manager is to ensure that others are engaged to focus on the actual resolution i.e. people with the right set of expertise. Even if this means in drafting other managers to focus on their resolution. The project manager can then focus on working the issues into the project plan and assess the impacts at a project level rather than at the issue level.

A project manager cannot afford to be like the hunter of the two rabbits. The project manager needs to send two hunters out – one for each rabbit – that way, both will be caught.

What are your thoughts? Do you think a project manager should engage other management resources to help overcome issues?

 Photo: Robobobo

Going for a walk this afternoon, I was immediately struck by the vivid change in the scenery that has gone from soft greens to fiery oranges and reds. The atmosphere of the walk totally changed by Autumnal scents – mushrooms, woodland damp. The air crystal clear after recent rains.

I do this walk frequently, but it appeared transformed and engendered an engagement with the landscape that felt totally different to the last time I did it.

So it is with our business projects and operations.

The landscape is changing constantly and yet many of us can remain stubbornly reticent to look at those changes and see how we could be changing as well.

• Perhaps of methods of operation are outdated.
• Perhaps there are new project management methodologies that could help us deliver more effectively.
• Perhaps our customers needs have changed and we need to change with those needs.

As business managers, it is important to take the time out to understand those changes. To talk to our customers. To look at new ways of operating and educating ourselves as necessary.

Here at MyProjectTracker, we are changing. Our product is going to evolve based on feedback from our customers. More on this to come. It is going to take some time and indeed can be seen as “going backwards to go forwards”.

We’ve listened and are going to adapt in order to deliver on our business plan.

It is not acceptable in today’s challenging business climate to remain static. To rely on past principles and methods to get the job done without validating that they are still relevant.

I leave you with this thought from President Kennedy;

But there is a “me” or at least there is if you juggle the letters about a bit!

There has to be a “me” in any project team. Without the “me” the team doesn’t function.

Project team – the “me’s”!

• Me – the project manager.
• Me – the lead designer.
• Me – the implementer.
• Me – the quality manager.
• Me – the tester.
• Me – the account manager.
• Me – the project client.

There are lots of me’s in a project team all of whom perform critical and unique parts towards delivering a successful project.

But working as a group, not as a set of individuals.

The project team needs to be a cohesive unit and this is the responsibility of the project manager.

• By encouraging open communication.
• By focusing on addressing issues as they arise to ensure the team does not lose direction.
• By being aware of the team and their pressures.

The project manager is the linchpin against which the team gels together… or otherwise.

So while there is a “me” in the project team, the team will not function as a group of disparate individuals. They need focus, direction, support and encouragement and that’s where the project manager comes into their own.

What do you think – is there an I in team?

Photo: Mahalie

When initiating any project or change, getting an understanding of the impact of that project or change is vital. Of course, you’ll know the intented impact of the project through the project business case.

Project impacts – considering the non-direct effects

Sometimes the obvious impacts are addressed, but peripheral impacts are over-looked.

• The impacts on the operations of areas of your business not directly linked to the project delivery.
• The impacts on your support teams (usually IT). Have their needs been considered in the project?
• The impacts on data security and integrity.
• The impacts on your customers.
• The impacts on understanding the operations of your business and business reporting.

When defining a business case, the non-direct impacts do need to be as carefully assessed as the impacts to the direct recipients of that project. Without understanding these project impacts, their may be negative side-effects of project implementation for your business;

• Increased costs of operation.
• Operational inefficiencies within the teams.
• Quality assurance concerns.

Effective project managers and project management methodologies will ensure that all impacts of a project implementation will be considered. The right questions will be asked to ensure that all possible project impacts are considered as part of the overall project plan and scope.

• All teams considersations will be factored in, not just those directly impacted by the project.
• Operational impacts will be assessed and changes to work practices initiated as part of the proejct implementation.
• Management reporting requirements will be included.

In some instances, the impacts of a project on wider areas may well negate the positives of the business case that was put forward in the first place to initiate that project.

While it may well help one area of the business, the implementation of that project may impact another area in such a costly manner that the project should be at worst cancelled, at best – re-assessed to include the impacts on the previously in-considered areas.

So when you are implementing a project in your business, make sure to cover off those silent “non-impacted” areas – you just never know when they may come back to haunt you!

Photo: Likeablerodent

Project Controls

At the project outset, it is important to determine how control is going to be monitored and maintained over the course of the project itself.

While projects are split into work-packages that generally flow in sequence and that these project work-packages are (or should be) small enough to be measured and achievable to demonstrate progress – what exactly is being monitored within them and the project as a whole?

In the project plan itself, there should be reference to checkpoints (control checks) at all stages and it is up to the project manager to ensure that these checkpoints are undertaken.

However, it’s all very well having checkpoints – but exactly what are you checking?

How are you going to demonstrate control within the project?

When you are controlling a project, there are a number of key areas that need to be considered.

1. How are you capturing progress information during the project?
2. Who is signing off on each of the work packages in place and where is this being recorded?
3. Are the number of controls commensurate with the size of the project itself?
4. How will feedback from the control points be used to update the plan (either the overall plan or the individual work package)?
5. How will exceptions be handled if there is a variance within a stage? What reports are produced?
6. Were control checks carried out at the end of each work package? Where are the observations and lessons recorded?

This all looks like rather a lot of work and indeed Prince 2 and other project management certifications would have these along with many others that could be included.

But the scale of the exercise should only be sufficient for you and your project team or business to understand what is going on.  And that is the key.

Understanding what is going on within your project.

Nothing more or less.

Do you have the correct controls in place for your project?

Photo: JoJakeman

Repeatability in project management

When your business or project team engages on a project, the margin you make will depend very much on how proficient at delivery you are or have become.

When you do something for the first time, irrespective of how well planned the project is, problems or issues will arise that you simply did not consider because you’d never experienced them before.

• A team member that was not quite sure of what their role was.
• A piece of material that you ordered that was not quite up to scratch.
• A poorly managed client which led to scope creep.

Whatever the issue encountered, it leads to margin erosion or even worse – a loss!

We’ve all done projects like this and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’ve learned how to overcome these problems and hopefully are now applying them to new projects that we are engaged in.

As the circle of project delivery is repeated over time, the efficiencies start to come through.

• The team are more confident and become more expert at their responsibilities.
• The project manager becomes better at managing scope and client expectation.
• Material quality is no longer an issue because the supplier we now use is giving you the expected quality.

All of these things, whether large or small, will contribute to a higher margin on your project delivery.

Without learning lessons, discarding what is redundant or failing, adopting efficiencies from prior experience – creating and maintaining a healthy margin will be an impossibility.

All of this goes hand in hand with the management of any current project and the tracking of the spend and time on that project. Without tracking what’s going on with the current project – how will we learn for the next time?

What are your thoughts? Do you use repeatable process in your project delivery to enhance margin?

Photo: Teretta

We are all too familiar with the popularist acronyms used in the social mediea space  O.M.G, L.O.L., L8R, B.B.F.N – they are becoming two a penny. At least in the world of my offspring!

But where acronyms don’t belong is in the world of business.

As soon as an acroynm or indeed the dreaded “tech speak” appears, people will mis-interpret what is being said and something will be missed.

And alot of this is down to the fact that many are too embarassed to ask – especially when everyone else in the room seems to get what’s being said (but some others almost certainly won’t!)

I was sitting in a meeting the other day about storage area networks. All good – but within 5 minutes of the start of the conversation I was totally lost.

Not because I am not a fully fledged geek – but because the techies in the room started talking in their own lingo as opposed to describing the topic in a business context.

Whatever we are saying or writing needs to make sense to the audience. Frankly, I believe that even if we are communicating with peers who should understand what is being said, it is still better to spell it out to be sure of what’s being said.

A customer needs to understand why they are buying a technology.

What are the business reasons for implementing it?

• Increased productivity?
• Reduced opex (oops – operational expenditure, must practice what I preach!)?
• Increased security?

And it needs to be explained in this language and nothing else. Sure, the guys in the IT department might be interested in what’s under the hood – but often, they are not the ones making the decision to buy.

Acronyms and “in-house” speak have no place in the commercial world. Clarity is key!

What are your thoughts?

Photo: See-ming Less