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

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

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

How good is your services company at PR?

Do you large up your achievements? Or do you allow the focus of a client engagement to focus on things that went wrong?

It is very easy to focus on the problems with any services delivery. Because it gets the immediate focus. The attention of all the client management as well as your own.

While all services do, or at least should, strive for services excellence – sometimes things go wrong.  When they do, the issue should be resolved and a permanent solution put in place to prevent it happening again. Standard ITIL stuff.

But things also go very right in services delivery.

• Incidents or problems solved ahead of schedule and to the satisfaction of the client.
• A positive outcome on a project.
• A service improvement program that has delivered a real benefit to the client.
• An internal quality assurance program implemented that will help general service delivery.
• The introduction of new processes that have shown benefits.

Whatever the positives are for your business, these make up your list of positive impact.

The next step is to promote these achievements with your clients. Not at the expense of identifying and resolving the problem areas, but to show the impact that your business is having on their organisation.

If the policy of engagement is to focus merely on the negative, then over time this erodes the impression that the client has on your business.

By highlighting the positive aspects of the engagement as well as demonstrating active engagement in the negatives, the client will have their faith either restored or confirmed as to why they elected to engage with your services in the first place.

Do you big up the positive while accentiating the negative?

Photo: Scalespeeder

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.

I was getting my daily fix of Seth Godin this morning and read his post entitled merging/emerging.

It was a quick post on how a company managers expect you to “merge” in with everyone else to suit the business.

“Emerging” is the allowance of the individual to develop in their own way to get the most out of themselves which effective leadership allows for.

The same can be applied to a project team and how a project manager manages that team.

Project manager as leader

Does the project manager create an open and trusting team relationship that allows people the creative freedom to get the job done to the best of their ability?

Or does the the project manager follow the latest PM methodology to the letter of the law and simply follow a dictated process?

Sure, a project manager is tasked with producing an end result. The project scope.

But the manner in which that is achieved will dictate the quality of the delivery and the “chi” of the team – their ability to work effectively.

The project manager must follow process to get the job done.  The project manager will ensure that work packages are clearly defined. End goals clearly visible. Budgets on track.

The effective project manager will do more than manage.

The effective project manager will lead.

The effective project manager will create a working environment that allows the team to “Emerge”.

An environment;

• Where issues are shared and addressed without fear of retribution.
• Where input is sought from the team rather than just the individual on how to approach a task or challenge.
• Where creative flair is encouraged and fostered.
• Where the status quo is unacceptable and challenged.
• Where credit is given where credit is due.
• Where guidance is given where it’s needed.

“Merging” is destructive in nature. It stifles. Far better to allow your project team to “emerge”.

What are your thoughts?

Photo: SidPix (Thanks Sid!)

A project is a little like a compost heap.

Madness you say.

But bear with me, there is reasoning behind my madness.

• A compost heap is essentially a mix of components to produce an end result – quality material for spreading around the garden!
• A compost heap, to be effective, needs to be worked. Turned over. Allowed to breathe.
• A compost heap needs to be managed. You can’t just fire any old crap into it. You need to put the right materials into it.

Our family compost is contained in one of those green plastic composters. You open the lid, fire in the kitchen waste, close the lid and let it break down. There is a door at the bottom to collect the broken down materials. The output if you will.

This year, we have used poor materials.

Too much kitchen waste. Not enough “woody” material.

We have been bad at managing it.

Not turning it over. Not making sure the lid was on it correctly.

We were not too worried about the result.

The compost is really not great and we can’t use it.

We weren’t watching what was going on and the compost that should be so useful is.. well… not!

Projects can be like this as well.

Without the correct ingredients;

• Your team.
• Your raw materials.
• Your planning.
• Your project scope.
• Your project sponsor
• Your project manager.

Without the careful management from a project manager;

• Scope management
• Risk management
• Issues management
• Budget tracking
• Team management
• Project reporting

Your end result will not be achieved. Sure, something will come out of the project – but will it be what you intended?

So how is your “compost heap”? Are you happy with the way you are managing it?

Photo: Hardworkinghippy

Seth Godin wrote a little post this morning about digging holes for ourselves. And he’s quite right – we do!

In a project management context we dig holes when;

1. We don’t address project issues as they arise in a timely manner.
2. We don’t have a closed project scope.
3. We havn’t relayed to the customer correctly what they will be getting out of the project.
4. We under-quoted to get the job and are now trying to do things on the cheap.
5. We havn’t the right resources on the project.
6. We don’t apply lessons learned from previous projects to the latest ones.

We all have the things we don’t address when we encounter them before, during or after a project implementation.

But why don’t we address project management issues quickly?

Personally, I feel that this is mostly about fear.

• Fear of not getting the job in the first place.
• Fear of displeasing the customer if we don’t jump over ourselves to deliver the world.
• Fear of creating a bad impression with the boss.
• Fear of being “found wanting”.
• Fear of making the wrong decision.
• Fear of failure.

This is human nature. It’s natural to fear what can and does go wrong.

But fear simply makes a small hole bigger.. and bigger….

Better to stick your head above the parapet and make the touch calls when they are necessary. Hiding issues is simply delaying the inevitable and in the longer term can actually make them much larger.

Protect against fear within the project team by ensuring that they have;

• A feeling of openness and the ability to express themselves without fear of retribution.
• Iron tight processes for delivering a project.
• A “people orientated” project manager who can handle team, customer and senior management alike.

There are, I’m sure, lots more ways of ensuring that issues get dealt with quickly so those big holes don’t get dug.

What would you add to the list?

Photo: Coljay72

Project managers and their teams always aim to meet and exceed customer expectations in project delivery.

And so they should.

The ability to deliver a project to time, budget, quality and scope along with effectively engaging the client in the project is paramount. The ability to go over and above the basics and to do everything better than everyone else is what seperates the good project manager from the superstar project manager.

But…

Expectation management should come with a bit of a health warning. Without ground rules, an enthusiastic or demanding client will just continue to make demands on both the project manager and the team irrespective of agreed scope etc.

How a project manager handles this is key.

If a project manager starts quoting process, this can then create a conflict scenario and may lead to a deterioration in what otherwise is a solid project engagement.

On the other hand, doing nothing can lead to significant pressure on the project manager and also a likely impact on their ability to perform their role.

So what to do?

Define a project communication plan

As well as defining the project scope and get agreement on this from the offset with the client, the best manner for handling an enthusiastic but demanding client is to have the communications plan agreed upfront also.

• How project reporting will be undertaken.
• When updates will be available.
• How changes will be handled.
• The content of the project reporting so the client can look for additions from the offset if required.
• How escalations are to be handled.
• Who to talk to about what!

Once the project is in play, the communications plan when adhered to from day 1 will help to reduce unnecessary and distracting client engagement. Once the project manager is issuing updates in the agreed timely manner and all other agreed communications points are adhered to by the proejct team, most clients will accept the processes.

As for the other ones? Hmmm – maybe just take them for a pint and let them vent for half an hour a week to you!

Photo: Krossbow