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

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

A definition for poor service delivery

When perception of the service by the customer is poor, but the provider believes that all is well!

A definition of good service delivery

When perception of the customer is aligned with the reality of the service being delivered and both say that all is well!

A definition of excellent  service delivery

When the perception of the customer is greater than the reality of the service being provided!

While perhaps poorly constructed statements, the message I am trying to portray is that customer perception is everything.

If they believe that something is lacking in the service, then there is a problem even if the internal stats say otherwise.

Perception is the key to all successful service provision (along with actually delivering the service).

But often that perception of service is not articulated by the client. They can be seething with a perceived absence of service that is never brought to the table so the service provider carries on with the mis-conception that all is well.

However, it is not up to the client to articulate their perceptions of the service – although some might. No, it is the responsibility of the service provider to find out how they are doing.  And unfortunately the only way to find out is to ask!

1. Account managers have a responsibility in meetings or over that cup of coffee.
2. Service desk engineers have a responsiblity to seek feedback before they resolve that call.
3. User surveys should be undertaken.

Whatever the method, the service provider needs to understand how they are perceived by the client. Or it could be the death knell for the engagement.

Ideally, the service provider wants to engage the client on further business out of the perceived (and actual) value being delivered and not on a cost basis.

Otherwise it’s just a race to the bottom that no-one wins.

What are your thoughts?

Photo: Kevin Dooley

I was in conversation yesterday with a colleague and we got onto the subject of how projects are handled by different cultures. The two in question were Israeli and Irish.

Irish approach – all gung-ho at the beginning. Everyone is on board. Whiteboards abound. Team work the key. Open communications. But the projects invariably hit that “uh-oh” phase at the end and all hell breaks loose.

Israeli approach – everyone gets very hot and bothered at the beginning. Lots of arguments. Lots of passionate shouting. Lots of issues. And the projects invariably come in early.

What struck me was the “shouting and screaming” bit. Either before the project started or when it finished.

My view is why can’t we just deliver the project in a planned and organised way with no shouting, screaming or panic.

Delivering a project with a fuss!

• Get the right team.
• Agree the scope and make sure that everyone knows what they are doing.
• Create a viable and achievable project plan.
• Understand the various risks that are possible and mitigate accordingly.
• Stay close to the project team and address issues as they arise.
• Engage with and manage the client (and make sure they stay engaged and understand their responsibilities).
• Deliver the project to time, quality, project and scope.

A solid blend, in this case, of the positive team work of the Irish approach to the effectiveness of the Israeli approach to come in early sounds like a good one!

There is no need for huffing and puffing at any stage if the project is managed correctly! Much better to just get on with it.

Rage against the machine – a most excellent rock band… but not the topic of this blog.

The machine I am talking about here is the one that I see day and day out in business projects and operations.

The machine that creates;

1. Pointless meetings that cost in lost man hours and achieve very little.
2. The debates on quality and consistency of delivery.
3. Over-commitment but under delivery.
4. Disappointed clients.
5. Stressed out teams.
6. Reduced productivity.

The list goes on and on. Project and operational teams the world over are guilty of some or all of these and indeed many more besides.

But why does this happen? Why do services business continue to operate in this manner?

Clients are largely responsible in many ways. With pressure on to reduce costs and the large amount of choice out there, it is easy for them to push and push project delivery houses to lower the delivery costs while asking for greater scope.

At some point the value proposition is lost in many businesses and it becomes simply a drive to offer to deliver a project more cheaply than the next guy. But a race to the bottom is not where any of us want to be.

But clients only do this because they can.

Because service delivery businesses allow them to do this. By not creating the value proposition that their business provides. By not creating the unique selling point that allows them to be more expensive than the other guy, but to still get the business.

The problem is that by reducing the selling price, then investment to make things better in the longer term because difficult and the circle starts all over again.

So try to find your value proposition. Your way of delivering projects that allows you to deliver solid quality while retaining a viable cost base and profit margin to allow you to get better and stronger.

Rage against the machine!

What are your thoughts? Is there a way of stopping the race to the bottom and the focus on simply delivering cheaply rather than with value?

Photo: IT290

As both a project and operational project manager, I’ve been in that unenviable position of being over-whelmed with an issue that has presented itself.

The task at hand has spiraled out of control despite my best efforts otherwise.

• The project is at risk.
• The operational budget for the quarter is going to get blown.
• The client is totally unreasonable and won’t get on side.

Whatever the reason, the issue is there and has to be dealt with.

But sometimes it just seems to big to handle. The task so momentous that I simply can’t get my head around it.

Of course, I do – but how? How do I end up extracting myself from the project issue or operational cock-up that has appeared in my otherwise peaceful existence despite my best endeavours.

I’d love to tell you it’s easy. But you know I’d be telling lies if I did.

What I do is break the issue down.

The starting point is understanding where I need to get to.

• What am I trying to achieve?
• What needs to get fixed?
• What needs to be improved?

Once this has been determined, then I go to “so exactly where am I right now” mode.

• What’s getting in the way of dealing with the issue or challenge?
• Who needs to help me get out of the situation that I’m in?
• What operational or project based constraints am I operating under?

Now I have the beginning and the end. I know where I am and I know where I’m going.

But the leap from one to the other is fantastic. I’m not Superman!

So I break it down into deliverables. Component pieces. Pieces of a jigsaw.

Basically, I establish a five step approach from getting from beginning to end. 5 measurable steps that allow me to understand how I’m getting on and also to demonstrate progress.

Why five?

Because that’s the number that seems to work for me. Your number might be 3 or 50. It doesn’t matter.

The key is measurability. The ability to assess progress. To understand where you are going and how you are going to get there.

Whether it’s a project issue, an impossible operational management challenge, a decision about life or career – breaking it down into smaller, achievable pieces will help you get there far more successfully than trying to do the whole lot in one go.

Do you know where you’re going? And more importantly how you’re going to get there?

What tools and techniques do you use to manage those monstrous, out of control issues or challenges?

Photo: Ramkarthik

Over the course of the weekend, I was weeding the flower bed around the patio area. A flower bed in a state of abandonment due to the excuse of bad weather but in reality I just hadn’t gotten around to it!

As I dug up the weeds, silently cursing when the Dandelion roots did not come up whole – knowing that I should really dig deeper and get the last bit out, the flower bed started producing rich treasures.

Strawberries from buried plants that were forgotten. A flowering rose. Sweet peas struggling to see the light again.

All far more attractive than the weeds. All curtailed by the strangling weeds.

Once I’d finished, the flower bed looked a whole site better.

The weeds were gone.

The bed dominated by the plants, trees and shrubs that were put there over the last number of years.

And yet I had that niggling doubt. It looked great on the surface. But I knew that those damn Dandelion roots were going to cause mischief again in the weeks to come. I allayed my doubts by saying that I’d deal with them once they surfaced. Quickly this time so they didn’t take over the bed.

Projects are like the flowerbed. Each task or activity a plant, tree or shrub. Each waiting to come to fruition and be allowed to deliver what is expected of them.

Project issues are like the weeds. They always come up and have to be dealt with. Risk awareness aside, something always surfaces.

The project issues cannot be allowed to take-over like the weeds. They also cannot be allowed to return once dealt with. Leaving “Dandelion roots” i.e. not solve root cause, will create an atmosphere where the same project issues come up time and again.

When dealing with a project issue, deal with the symptoms – sure… but focus on ensuring the root cause is addressed also.

And then pass this lesson on for future projects.

Let your flowerbed flourish – deal with the weeds effectively!

Photo: John Lustig 

A few years ago, I planted a small rhododendron in the front garden.  An exquisite looking little flower was blooming on it when it was taken from its container and planted in the prepared ground.

It didn’t do alot in year 1 – but then you wouldn’t really expect it to.

The problem was, it didn’t do much more in year 2 – except to turn increasingly anaemic looking. Only a few blossoms and then ….nothing.

Year 3 – just more of the same and it started to look like it was about to die. No amount of nutrients, compost or TLC could make it happy.

So it was dug up and given to a new home.

In one year, it’s trebled in size and has more blooms on it than can be counted.

The difference?

The climate, the soil and the location in the garden it was planted it.

It was now in it’s optimal environment.

When you run your projects, are they being operated in their optimal environment?

• The right team.
• A realistic budget.
• An achievable timescale.

Or are you like I was with the Rhododendron. Hoping that everything would be ok, but knowing that it really wasn’t.

If you think this is how your projects are being run, take some time out – look at what needs to change and then make it happen.

They can’t recover on their own.

Project management is about delivering an agreed result.

• A product or service implemented according to the agreed scope.
• The budget adhered to.
• The timelines met.
• A quality delivery that everyone is happy with – customer and team.

Project management is about communication.

• Keeping the team abreast of progress and any issues/risks.
• Keeping the end recipient up to date with how the project is progressing.
• Being open with all parties if something is going wrong.
• Keeping buy-in from all those impacted by the project implementation.
• Talking to the team and being aware of their issues that can impact delivery.

Project management is about the team

• Making sure that everyone is heard and allowed to bring their strengths to the team.
• Engendering a feeling of shared responsibility – the team is going to make this project happen.
• Making sure a culture of blame isn’t even being allowed to raise its ugly head.
• Ensuring that everyone knows what to do if something is coming off the rails.
• Giving credit where it is due to both the project team member and (if relevant) their line manager.
• Saying thanks when the job is done.

Project management is about utilising tools and processes

• Tools as aids.
• Processes to give direction.
• The development of project intelligence and learning that can be applied to create more effective and efficient project deliveries in the future.

Project management, therefore, is more about the people than the tools and processes. The latter are elements that are aids in project management rather than the ends themselves.

Project management success comes from the people – the end client and the team delivering it and is held together by the ability of the project manager to engage at this level.

Without people management, project management fails.

Photo: NZGabriel

How expensive was that project you just ran?

• The salaries of the team engaged?
• The cost of the contractors?
• The cost of the materials used to complete it?

There are many direct costs that are associated with delivering a project. Most, if not all of these, are obvious costs because they can be seen.

The people, the materials that were used, the output of the project as it takes shape.

Hidden project costs

But there are also indirect costs that should be included when you consider how expensive it is to deliver a project.

For consultancy based businesses, revenues only come from the delivery of projects/services to clients.  Without those projects, the business would not exist.

In order to deliver that business, however, there is a minimal outlay that must be factored in. The general costs of running the business in order to deliver those projects or services;

1. Rent and rates.
2. Insurance.
3. Licences for the PC under the desk.
4. Training.
5. Sales costs.
6. Phone bills.
7. ……

Every one of us engaged in business is acutely aware of these costs.  But they are sometimes overlooked when it comes to costing up a project.

It is not true to say that the costs of the projects are purely those that I indicated earlier (salaries, materials for the project).

They should also include a portion of the operational costs that the business is incurring. This ensures that the project reflects an accurate gross profit margin for the business.

By fundamentally understanding the underlying costs and factoring these into each project that is being delivered out of the business, the more complete will be the understanding of the effectiveness of those projects on achieving the bottom line margins set by management.

In essence, these costs should be attributed at a project team member level so that their daily cost to the project becomes;

Salary + cost of employment + portion of operating costs

If a business does not cost its projects in this way, then understanding profitability within projects becomes impossible. It also is difficult to assess how “tightly” margins can be cut when pricing a deal i.e. at what point it starts losing money for the business.

Are measuring all of the right costs for your project deliveries?