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What Everything in Your Project Depends On
byIn executing a project, it is up to the project manager and the stakeholders to make sure there is a solid foundation under the project team so that they can be successful.
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The Postmortem Process
byUnrehearsed players executing spontaneous postmortems will not reap the full benefits, but cultivated regimens can enable even casual players to consistently succeed and draw expected results in ad hoc postmortems. If you're in a PANIC, maybe it's time to get PACIFIC...
Navigating Conflict
byWhen two people are working together, there are going to be disagreements. Project teams are no exception, but there are good ways to navigate this conflict without completely derailing the project.
The Problem with PMOs and Governance
byOrganizations that take project governance for granted are headed for a fall. There is one area where governance seems to be failing in many organizations, and it's perhaps surprising--the PMO. That is incredibly dangerous, and here’s why...
Phased-Based Governance
byGovernance happens in projects all the time, and a well thought-out governance process can be a powerful project tool. In this article, we will examine why governance is necessary, where governance is most effective and how we as project and program managers can use governance to powerful effect.
PMO-level Issue Management
byEvery project has an issues log. But what about the PMO? Does your PMO manage issues and maintain an issues log? Do you look for trends across the issues of different projects and take proactive steps to address them? Do you attempt to prevent issues through good communication? In this article, we look at a model for PMO-level issue management and suggest ways that it can improve the quality of projects that your PMO is responsible for.
Involving Governance Stakeholders (Part 1)
byIt was the best of times--your project seemed to be going along swimmingly. It was the worst of times--suddenly there was a surprise from a governance stakeholder. Will you avoid the guillotine?
Who's Governing Your Governance Committee?
byIf governance is designed to ensure that project execution occurs appropriately, then who ensures that governance occurs appropriately? To try and avoid conflict, an organization needs to ensure that governance committees operate with a series of guidelines.
Canceling a Project
byIdeally, every project ends in success, on time and on budget. In the real world, projects are canceled--and the project manager needs to be ready for this eventuality.
Recovering from Project Failure
byMajor project failure can happen to anyone. What’s important is to make sure that the organization can recover from such a situation, and that requires both advance planning (it’s too late to start planning the recovery when the disaster has already happened) and strong execution. Is your PMO prepared?
In Case of Pandemic, Break Glass
byDo you have a readiness plan in place for potential pandemics? Even if you feel protected or isolated from such an occurrence, having a readiness plan can also serve as an important reinforcement to customers and stakeholders who are dependent upon your continued performance and success.
Whose Fault is This, Anyway?
byWhile “blame” is not a constructive term to use in establishing where things went wrong, every element of a project should have clearly defined owners. If it isn’t clear where that ownership lies, there's a fundamental problem in the way your project is structured. Here we look at how we can establish that ownership--and ensure that the model is applied effectively.
The Show Must Go On
byManaging issues on a project takes strategic planning and a little finesse so that issues do not turn into show stoppers. Do you have an issue management plan that can handle any problems and still keep the project on track?
Topic Teasers Vol. 6: Leading Without Authority
byQuestion: I work for a non-profit organization and am leading a five-year project supported by a grant. Four years in, I’m still unable to get cooperation from the participants (paid). How do I get them committed so that we have something to show for the five years of work?
| A. | There is no way to achieve performance goals in only five years unless you have full authority over these people. Ask the funder for another three years of funding. |
| B. | Find a few participants who you can pay extra to cooperate, and then use them as examples to shame the rest of the group into compliance. |
| C. | Create a clear performance structure with an irresistible payoff at the end, but be prepared to abide by your own rules if you want to change the participant’s behavior. |
| D. | Non-profit organizations are not planning to receive the expected outcomes promised, as they know from experience that only profit-driven projects can be successful. |
Topic Teasers Vol. 4: Phantom Teams
byQuestion: My project “teams” are random, siloed people housed all over the building. We never meet, and multiple project managers all use the same departmentalized individuals to complete activities. How do I get them to prioritize my work requests?
| A. | Ask your organization to restructure from a traditional hierarchy to a projectized organization. |
| B. | Offer free coffee mugs, t-shirts and award certificates each time someone completes an activity for your project. |
| C. | Show your manager that having these people moved to a common workspace for the duration of your project will add value to the project deliverables. |
| D. | Transition yourself from a project manager to a project leader and create a sense of connection and personal relationships between these random, siloed workers. |
Five Project Management Pathologies
bySince it’s the cold season, we wanted to share a list of maladies that will take your project down if you aren't paying attention or fail to keep your guard up. Each are preventable, and as the old saying goes: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Contingency Planning for the Knowns
byMany IT project teams do a good job of identifying project risks and applying associated contingency reserve factors to the project plan. Unfortunately, project teams sometimes overlook the unique challenges that distinguish many applications and affect all projects undertaken in a specific application domain.
Project Rescue in the PMO
byThe idea of project rescue isn’t new, but it has become more prominent in recent years. It’s the idea of parachuting a new PM onto a failing project in order to quickly turn things around. Can your PMO grow from a project rescue experience?
I Can Sing and Dance, But I Don’t Juggle
byWhat is the true cost of too much multitasking? Is there even a cost? Or is the ability to multitask just plain expected as you advance through the software development career path? Learn what steps to take so that you and your team can become more effective at focusing on getting to "done”.
Breaking the Cycle
byProject issues vary from organization to organization, but a few always pop up in the post-mortem. Here we identify some causes and offer some ideas on how you can finally get those issues off your report once and for all.
Surviving Failure
byProject failure is inevitable...are you equipped to handle it? Major project failure can be a life changer, so you need to make sure that it’s a positive experience by keeping the right outlook. Here's some advice from a PM who lived through a few rough experiences.
Targeting the Lessons Learned Session
byThe project manager should make sure the lessons learned sessions are positive experiences for all involved. But how can you turn a session on mistakes into something constructive?
My Big Fat Post-Mortem Failure
byThere’s nothing like getting the bitter taste of failure out of your mouth with poison from your attempt to get information to do better next time. Change the language used in the post-mortem to change the tone.
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Solutions are not the answer. - Richard M. Nixon |
