No More Project History Lessons! Adopt a Future Focus Instead
Paul is the principal of Bird Advisory in Perth, Western Australia.
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Topics: Communications Management, Cost Management, Schedule Management, Scheduling
A project briefing, update or sponsors’ review can unfortunately often turn into a history lesson: “This month we did this, and we also did that…”
The attention paid to recording the recent past can sometimes sound like a captain reading from a ship’s log—a very boring register that no one will ever want to read again. Even worse, you can imagine the captain standing on the rear deck watching the ship’s wake as the boat somehow ploughs ahead.
The focus of a project team’s leadership, supporters and investors should overwhelmingly be on what the end looks like—especially “How much?” and “When?” And how does that compare to what was promised?
So, what drives a future focus? What does it look like, and what are some tips for putting it into place?
What Drives the Future Focus
There are several reasons to tailor your reporting, steering and general conversations to high-level cost and schedule outcomes:
- Firstly, you need to know where the project is heading. So do others. It creates alignment on something big and tangible within the project team and with its various supporters.
- Secondly, the promise that’s made at the time of funding should pervade everything: It’s a matter of pride and honor, and it drives…
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It's like deja vu all over again. - Yogi Berra |
