Obtaining Accurate Project Intelligence Doesn't Require Bond, James Bond

 

Ian Fleming created the character James Bond in the 1953 novel Casino Royale. Bond is also featured in one of the longest running and most successful English-language film franchises ever, starting with Dr. No in 1962. Bond, agent 007, an officer of the British Secret Intelligence service MI6 has been the go-to guy when the mission was dangerous, the women were beautiful and the cars were fast, for a very long time. Fortunately, you don't need 007 to have accurate project intelligence.

Business leaders need accurate and reliable information for informing decisions. This includes both quantitative and qualitative information. Executives who leverage solutions that capture better information are able to keep an accurate pulse on their business and make proactive decisions. Let me share two keys to improving the quality of the information used to make project decisions:

1. Capture Information at the Source: The people closest to the work understand it best. Involving team members in project plans promotes a greater sense of ownership over priorities and commitments. Allowing team members to make public commitments, take ownership and prioritize their work changes the team dynamic from "you will do this" to "we will do this together." Most project management methodologies focus on planning and solving problems at the project manager or executive level (the traditional top-down management approach). I believe a more effective approach engages individual team members in the process, encourages real dialog and captures a more accurate flow of project information.
2. Capture the Whole Story: The most significant way to improve the value of the data collected is to capture more qualitative information. Encouraging a flow of conversational (qualitative) information, and providing frequent and more descriptive updates, delivers greater visibility and an understanding of the complete story. Qualitative information flowing upward in organizations gives managers and executives the ability to follow conversations on related initiatives—along with a greater sense of confidence in the data used to make decisions.

Considering how individual team members interact with the project management process and how that positively impacts the quality of the information used for making decisions is important. Engaging the front line with project management software or project tools that help capture accurate and up-to-date information that can be trusted for making informed decisions is critical. You may even find yourself sitting back in your chair and softly whispering, "Bond, James Bond."

What are you doing in your organization to encourage a more people-centric approach to managing projects?