Many start-ups, speaking both from experience and observation, are often solely focused on getting themselves up and running in terms of revenue generation.  Start-ups are rightly looking at marketing, customer attraction and conversion, cash-flow, possible investment, business plans and hiring the necessary people to make it all happen.

This is all good stuff and absolutely should be done.

However, what many start-ups fail to do at the beginning is put the necessary processes in place to manage themselves and make sure they are optimally operating from day 1. For effective operations management, this is must-do!

Processes take time to implement – time often deemed to be better spent elsewhere.

But this can lead to problems down the road.

For example, you have a generated a sales and marketing strategy. But how are you going to measure its success or otherwise? How are you going to capture the leads, follow-them up next week, next month or next year? How are you going to determine what channels are working for you and just as importantly those that are not?

This is important. Consider how much time and money you might be wasting in a marketing channel if you don’t measure it? Perhaps the cheapest marketing technique is bringing in the majority of the customers. Why carry on marketing other ways when there is no tangible commercial upside to doing so.

Another example could be the measurement on how you are delivering your projects or services. How are you going to track why some things are going well and other things not so much? If you can’t, it will cost you time and money – no doubt.

The list is long as to what you should be generating reasonable processes around from the off-set.  You almost certainly won’t have them all in place from the off-set. But you should have some. Consider the key ones.

For us it’s;

1. Sales and marketing measurements across the multiple channels we will be selling through.
2. Effective project delivery. We’re obviously going to use MyProjectTracker to help us with this – that what it’s for.
3. Support - how are we going to look after our customers? Service support hours? Who is going to be responsible?
4. Financial management reporting – we have it now so we can measure daily on how we’re doing.

We feel that this will get us going, but know we are not there yet and will continue to work on the processes to constantly improve our business.

How do you measure your business? Let us know, we’d love to hear from you.

Photo: db photographs

A project should not only be measured on its outcomes, but also on how it was delivered. The overall goal may be a finished product or service, but along the road to completion, many other deliverables are expected. I believe that communication should not just be an action, but something that a project must deliver.

A consistent and regular approach to communication benefits all. The knowledge that a customer will receive a weekly email updating the status of their project (every week) or that they may raise any concerns at the weekly conference call or fortnightly meeting, instils confidence in all parties involved.

Unfortunately, for a number of projects I’ve been involved in recently, I’ve seen a move towards using technology as the sole means of communication. Technology alone is an insufficient channel of communication. Technology should be utilized to support communication; sending minutes of meetings, updating the team on agreed changes, tracking and versioning documents etc, but it should not be used as the only form of communication.

I know when I was a teenager I had many a conversation with my parents that resulted in the line “it’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it!”. it has been cited that 55% of all communication is nonverbal. If this is true, you can see why email and phone/conference calls are just not as effective as a face-to-face meeting. Pitch, tone, facial expressions and body language can all affect the meaning of the message.

How do your Project Managers communicate with both your customers and team?

Project managers often have contention with line management when it comes to the allocation of project team members. The skill of the project manager to overcome this contention will directly effect the overall success of the project planning process and indeed the project as a whole.

If the project manager can get a line manager “on-side” from the off-set through early engagement and active communication, in turn the line manager will ensure that the project manager gets the right information needed to resource plan correctly.

Why is this important in project planning?

Simply put, the project manager is reliant on the line managers resources to make the project a reality. The line manager understands;

1. The skills that are available within the team and consequentially who is best placed to deliver optimally for the project.
2. The availability of those resources over the expected course of the project. Team members go on vacation or have other commitments. Are there available replacements?
3. The operational constraints that the team members experience. Could they be called away at a moments notice to work on an operational issue? How can this be managed?
4. The standards and techniques that the teams applies to its day to day operations. These may impact the project estimates.

The above four elements are key for project managers to understand and to build into their planning process. Often, an inexperienced project manager will not consider the impact of these elements on the plan and produce a linear plan based on best case scenario.

Lets use resource availability and skill set as an example.

The assumption in the initial planning process may have been that a resource is available 100% of the time for a four week project deliverable.  However, early in this planning process, the project manager engaged with the line manager and discovered;

1. That the expected resource was on a weeks vacation during that four week period.
2. That there is another team member available to cover that week, but he is less experienced and it is likely to take longer for the work to get done.
3. That the team resources were committed to completing another project at the time.
4. That operational issues are at an all time high due to a problem with a key piece of IT infrastructure and this is taking more time than expected for the team. These issues look like continuing for the next number of weeks.

The project manager is now armed with totally different information against which the plan can be built. It gives options to him in the planning process such as;

1. Factor in the holidays and make an allowance of a couple of days for the duration of the activity to occur.
2. Request that the line manager take on contract resources at the expense of the project to cover the operational issues. Sometimes this may be possible and is worth considering.
3. To work with the project manager of the other project the team are engaged in to consider whether anything can be moved around to free up resource time.
4. Factor in an allowance within the timeline for the resources to work on the expected operational issues.

All of the above can have a significant impact on the planning process. Like anything, if the potential issues are detected early solutions can be found and the likelihood of success is dramatically increased.

Early engagement works for everyone.

Do you engage sufficiently early with key players to make sure your planning is as effective as possible? What works for you?

Your business has survived the first couple of years and is still viable (well done, that’s a great achievement). You were a one man show and now there are three of you and the odd sub-contractor when things get really busy.

But, everything is still done in your head. Your business is still small, so you are getting by like this where you seem to intuitively know how things are going – what’s been done well and those things that perhaps aren’t.

You also know that it’s time to expand and perhaps keeping all of the business processes and operational information in your head is not such a good idea.

So, decision made, you need to put some decent business processes into place.

Business processes – where do you start?

• Do you rush out and by the latest and greatest software package available?
• Do you hire in a consultant to examine how you operate and what you need to consider?
• Does the very thought of “process” make your blood run cold or create an image of countless documents and time wasting?

If you’ve worked in big companies in the past, you will be familiar with the concept of business processes and perhaps even have some ideas that you could be apply. You also probably feel that the processes were too intense and that they were often unnecessary.

If you have had this experience, then you are at an advantage. You know how business process can help – but also how it can interfere with operations and make things ineffective. You won’t make this mistake with your own. If you have not been fortunate (unfortunate perhaps) to have been exposed to solid, industrial scale process – then just understand that process is good, but not so much that it creates more work than it solves.

Start small. Look at a particular area where you feel that you need to start “industrialising” what you are doing. Pick an area that is actually running reasonably well. This will give you the confidence then to start on tougher areas.

Consider why you want to create the business process and what you want to get out of it.

• Consistency of approach in customer delivery?
• Consistency of approach in internal communications?
• Effective management reporting that is timely and accurate?
• A more robust customer support function?
• A properly formulated and executed sales strategy?

The list goes on, but the key point to take is the “what and why” of your business process. The “how” comes afterwards in the shape of anything from a simple document pinned to your desk depicting a flow chart (it’s a start) through to a fully documented process document and/or a relevant software package.

Keep it really simple initially. Software can help, but only if you know what you want. If you are unsure, work with your process ideas first and once they seem to be there – then examine the software that can expedite that process for you and make it more efficient i.e. save you time and effort.

What advice would you give to people who are going through growing pains and know they need some business process?

Photo: avlxyz

When I was up at the dojo training yesterday evening, the sensei were running a grading for a few of the group. One of the guys was totally unaware that it was on as he’d been missing for a while. When he arrived, he was presented with the statement that he would be grading at the end of the class.

He could have reacted badly. Total panic could easily have ensued and he could have gone to pieces. Thankfully, he had far more presence of mind and did exactly what he should have done. He asked one of the senior members to run through the possible grading routines with him and focused on the things that he needed help with.

It got me to thinking how we, as business owners and managers, react in a work or business environment when stuff hits us from the side that we were not expecting.  Take the recent volcanic episode and the differences between how different airlines have reacted.  Some have excelled and some have failed to really get off the plate in dealing with the challenge that they and their customers face.

As business owners our ability to react to a sudden change can make or break our organisation. If we fail to react and pretend things are just the same as they were before we were thrown the curve ball, we might struggle along for a while, but eventually we will have to alter the way we do things.

On the other hand, if we accept the fact that the change is there and we embrace the challenge(s) that it throws at us, we are far more likely to respond more appropriately for both our business and our customers.

Often our own personality can get in the way of acting correctly. I will readily admit that I think feet rather than head first sometimes. I really have to make sure that I take a deep breath, literally count to ten, and then examine the challenge that has presented itself.  This simple technique works for me. I calm down and focus on what needs to happen, making the necessary changes to any plans and ensuring the correct priority is applied to each item.

Surprise and change, it can come on us suddenly. How do you handle it to ensure your business continues as optimally as possible?

Photo : h.koppdelaney

Scope creep is simply when changes are allowed to the  original project scope that are not controlled in any shape or form and lead to project failure. It’s a great term. Creep is exactly what it is – the silent killer that takes you totally unawares and is the undoing of your customer project.

It applies to any of size of project in any business that delivers services to a customer. Whether it’s a single person consultancy or a larger consulting organisation, scope creep affects each without exception.

How do I know if my business projects suffer from scope creep? Well, in a nutshell, you will find yourself delivering a scope that is different than intended.

How do we find ourselves in this situation?

1. The original scope was not documented sufficiently well.
2. A pushy customer, not necessarily intentionally but because we continually let them ask for more to “keep them happy”.
3. A project manager who does not keep a close enough eye on what’s going on. This is usually more applicable to larger teams where multiple contact points are in place with the customer.

What are the impacts?

1. The timelines will be missed and resource that should be working on the next project are stuck working on the “project that never ends”. This costs you money and also the goodwill of the customer of the next project you should be working on.
2. The budget will overshoot costing you cash.
3. You may not deliver to quality if your team are trying to deliver more in the same timeframe. This will over-stretch and annoy your team and also diminish your customers satisfaction with your project.

Essentially, you have lost control of the big four – scope, time, budget and quality.

What can I do to protect myself?

1. Have a properly documented scope that is signed off by both parties that clearly states what is in and out of the scope of the delivery. While you won’t get it 100%, you should try to get as close as you can. And no, it does not need to be a manuscript – whatever is appropriate for your business is enough.
2. Have a change management process in place. This does not need to be anything fancy as long as it works. You need to agree with the customer a process that basically says “this is how we will handle changes that are going to affect the timelines, budget or scope”. They need to be made aware that they are responsible as you for sticking to this.
3. Ensuring that the project manager, this might be you(!), stays abreast of what is being delivered and ensures that the scope is kept as planned or that the change process is adhered to in the event that the scope is being altered.

These are the biggies. There are others I’m sure, but for most of our businesses, this will be enough to protect you.

Scope creep is inevitable to some extent in most projects that are undertaken with a customer.  All of us factor in an allowance for things that may come up. The key is to make sure that it is controlled.

What methods do you use to manage scope creep in your business?

We were contacted one afternoon by Des from Contrast to make the decision on the payment solution for MyProjectTracker. Payment Server Provider or Payment Bureau.

Myself and Barney sat down one afternoon to trash out the pro’s and con’s of using a Payment Server Provider (RealEx) or a Payment Bureau (PayPal). To be honest, Barney favoured PayPal and I favoured RealEx.

A well formulated guide that helped us make sense of the online payment choices was www.webpayments.ie. This should really be the first port of call for anyone creating a website that will be required to take payments.

Here is a summary based on our discussion that day and our discussion of this topic with others who have setup website that require payment:

Payment Server Providers: (RealEx)

• Higher quality system
• Better user experience
• No need for customers to visit other website for Credit Card verification
• No additional accounts required for customers
• Better system in the long term
• Tougher to set up with banking in the short term
• It may take a number of weeks to acquire a Merchant ID from the bank
• A Setup fee may be required with the Payment Service Provider

Payment Bureau: (PayPal)

• Messy user experience
• Customers must visit third party website to for Credit Card verification
• Messy administration of account
• Easier to set up in the short term

A number website designers we spoke to seem to seriously regret choosing PayPal as a solution, but their decision was made at the time due to time or financial constraints.

We plan to provide the best customer experience possible for MyProjectTracker customers, and this begins at the door. It’s all about first impressions, and we want a smooth credit transaction to be the start of a long customer relationship.

As we were not under anytime constraint with regards applying for a Merchant ID, we decided to go with the Payment Server Provider solution.

The fact that we had heard good things regarding RealEx’s customer support, we then decided to choose RealEx as our Payment Service Provider.

Did you decide to go down the Payment Service Provider or the Payment Bureau route?
What were the reasons for you decision?

Project managers are consumed with processes and complex tools to help their projects along. Project management is described as an art form and a huge industry has grown out of this whole space.

Our project managers are producing report upon report, continually seeking to learn the “latest trend” in project management thinking and talking in a language often lost on the customers with whom they are dealing.

They are acting like this because, in my view, the whole system has completely lost focus on what being a project manager is all about.

Sure, process is good (when it delivers benefit and is not a hindrance) and the latest thinking can indeed bring those benefits. Tools are prevalent and offer varying levels of capability and function but cannot cover weakness in the area of communication. Process and tools are a means to the end, not the end itself.

We need to re-focus. Project managers need to be allowed to deliver a quality project for their customers without over-burdening them with the expectation to produce copious amounts of internal attributes (a.k.a management reports). The key attribute of any project manager is the ability to deal with and manage the people on his/her team and the people receiving the project i.e. the customer.

If a project manager cannot communicate effectively and keep the team on side, they are ineffective and should not be performing this role – period. No amount of hiding behind flashy statistics, documents or process will counter this – nor should it be countenanced.

I have encountered numerous project managers who are superb at process and when things go wrong, quote the processes not being followed (usually by others) as the reason for failure. 90% of the time, this is simply not the case. The problem is associated with poor communication between the project manager and the team and/or the customer. If we got this “art-form” right, the rest would follow naturally.

Project managers - it’s about the communication and the people.

What are your thoughts? Can we simplify our project processes?

Photo : Dichohecho

I was reading a post about the fascination certain business managers/owners have with the spreadsheet and how dependant on it they are to run their businesses. This got me thinking to how dependant project management has become on the processes it uses rather than the actual delivery of a project.

Project management is about delivering a quality end-result. To deliver the project, the manager has a list of things that need to be done, a timescale and a budget in order to produce that end-result. That’s it!

The problem with project management is that it spends too much time looking at itself rather than what it is trying to achieve. Methodologies and processes are created by project managers – which is correct, but they produce them for themselves and not the end recipients i.e. the customer of that project.

Project management theorists will tell you that the customer is at the forefront of all the thinking behind the processes. I would disagree. To a large extent, project management methodologies and the endless reams of documentation that come out as a consequence are, by in large, designed to elevate the status of the project management function. Ouch(!).

Before you jump down my throat, a project manager is an extremely valuable member of any organisations. They need to be effective communicators, highly organised, budget and quality focussed, team leaders, decision makers and thick skinned! Where my “beef” is that the constantly updated theories and practices being touted as “best in class” do not necessarily contribute anything extra to the projects effectiveness from the customer standpoint.

The most effective project managers that I have worked with know how to manage their team and clients through superb communication. More often than not, the dreaded Gantt chart is only produced to satisfy the needs of the internal management team and most of the effort is managed from a simple spreadsheet or indeed a notepad with a list of to-do’s. A simplification, but designed to drive the point that it does not need to be as complicated as it has become.

Project management should be accessible by everyone in every field where the high level concepts can be applied. It has some really great operational practices, but needs to be pared back to make sure these are obvious and adopted by all.

Project management – It’s just a list of things to do! Oh – and its for everyone, not just project managers!

As someone who has worked in the world of project and program management, it never ceases to amaze me on how complex project management has become. I often think that many in the field have lost sight of the end game through the continued re-invention of the wheel. This will be subject of many a post but to get started, I thought I’d take the opportunity to de-mystify some of the more common project management terms and put them in plain English by applying them to a business context.

These are a few of my favourites – there are plenty more. All of these are relevant to businesses of every description but the language of project management has made them seem removed and exclusive which I find frankly unnecessary and frustrating!

Do you have some more to add? Do you feel project management principles apply to your business or seem to daunting to tackle? I’d love to know your thoughts.