Strategic Project Management

The former Prime Minister of England, Harold Wilson said, "He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery."

Although there are a number of indications that the economy is improving, it doesn't appear that organizations are inclined to expect less from project teams or project managers over the coming eighteen to twenty-four months. I don't think there's any question that the role of project managers is changing in most organizations, and the need to do more with limited resources will continue to be a priority.

Because of these economic realities, project leaders need to look at projects in the context of all work, along with adopting a more flexible (or agile with a small "a") approach to managing toward objectives. Rather than asking whether or not Agile, Waterfall, Six Sigma or any other methodology is best, we must determine which method is the "best" for any given project and ensure that we are working on the "right" projects in the first place.

I don't think anyone would disagree that we need to look at the administrative burden associated with complex project plans and determine what can be eliminated and what must be maintained, so project leaders and project teams can focus on managing work to successful outcomes. If, as I've mentioned before, 20-55 percent of project requirements are really unnecessary, reducing or eliminating that burden on projects and project teams seems critical to me. Although there are projects where governance is mandated and important, I don't believe that can be said of every project.

Our focus as project leaders must be on producing value (which may be different for every project). Nonetheless, projects are initiated in the first place because someone within the organization perceives that the outcome will produce some kind of value—whether or not it's a cost saving project, an income-generating project, or some other anticipated value. What's more, depending upon the project manager's role within his or her organization, they may or may not have much input into this discussion now, but that does not mean that they shouldn't have that input.

Regardless of your current role, the world is looking for project leaders who are willing to seize the opportunity to do more than simply follow a prescribed process, they are looking for people who actually lead project teams to consistently produce organizational value. The need for agile project leaders has never been more prevalent than it is now. It's up to us to create that role in our organizations, if it doesn't already exist. Project teams and project leaders in particular should be where organizations look for future leaders. After all, projects are where people are tried by decision-making and leadership fire.

To do this, we need to put aside our preconceived notions of project management methodology and become more agile (with the small "a"), or ultimately wind up in the figurative cemetery.

Please share what you're doing to incorporate flexibility into your work management methodology.
 

Productive project environments don't just happen. In fact, doing nothing more than implementing a collaboration solution or other project management tool is not the answer either.

Last week I spoke with a project manager who wanted to better engage his project team in the project management process. He asked if I had any suggestions to help create an environment that would encourage his team to feel more ownership and willingly contribute at a higher level. Because I don't think this is a concern unique to his organization, I thought I might share some of my thoughts here.

He has taken the first step by implementing a project management solution, but that is only the first step. Here are some of my suggestions to him:

1. Empower the project team with input into time-lines and deliverables: Empowering behavior is healthy and creates a synergistic environment. Creating an environment where team members treat what they do as more than "just a job" involves more than just words—it requires giving them the opportunity to contribute at a higher level by making decisions and giving them ownership of their deliverables.
2. Foster a real grass roots problem solving environment: I've come to appreciate that I am not the only member of the team with the ability to identify and solve problems. Because projects are typically unpredictable and often present numerous challenges, I think it's important to foster an atmosphere where individual team members can freely offer solutions to identified problems. Of course, the buck has to stop somewhere, and usually stops with the project manager, but "two heads are better than one" is still true.
3. If leadership doesn't care about this, nothing will work: An empowered project team has buy-in from the top. I once worked with a guy who told me I was empowered to solve problems, until I did. When push came to shove, or I made a difficult decision for the benefit of the project (even if it was a decision he agreed with), he would always knuckle-under to stakeholders and overrule my decision. This was frustrating to me in the short term and very debilitating to the team in the long term. It forced me to shut down and basically stop making the tough decisions he didn't have the stomach for. Unless management is committed to this, it doesn't matter what you do—it's destined to fail.

Long-term productivity isn't the result of the stick (or the carrot for that matter). Long-term productivity is the result of engaged and motivated project teams who are committed to giving 110 percent every day. You can't beat that level of dedication into people, nor can you buy it.

What do you do to foster a productive project environment?

Some time ago I was talking with a friend of mine I hadn't spoken to in a while. He doesn't work in high teach, but is a professional who does data analysis for his company. He's what we would call a knowledge worker—and has been doing this type of work for many years. He's a very capable analyst, and I was surprised to hear him lament about how disenchanted he is with his current position.

They don't call what he does projects, but he is part of a "team" and is doing project-based work. His biggest complaint was that his manager uses a very heavy-handed command-and-control approach to managing time-lines and deliverables. He complained that no consideration is given to the individual nuances of the "projects" they work on, and for the first time in his career, he felt like he was on the equivalent of an assembly line and just another cog in the machine. "It's oppressive," he moaned. "It feels like the company has no confidence in my ability to get the job done—even through I have been doing this for over 20 years."

I wish I could say that his situation is unique. I believe that there are a lot of highly skilled and capable people who, because of the way they are managed, feel like they are trapped in the hamster cage running as fast as they can on a wheel in an unfulfilling job, working for people who don't appreciate their individual skills and think they need to micro-manage everything they do. In large part, I don't think this has as much to do with the tools they use as it does their organization's management style.

It wouldn't take much to help my friend and stop him from an unfortunate need to look for another job. In fact, the solution is pretty simple:

1. Empower him with a little bit of ownership and flexibility regarding deliverables and deadlines. Give him (and his colleagues) the ability to contribute to the establishment of benchmarks and time-lines. Doing so would not only give them a greater sense of responsibility, it would also make them more productive. I've noticed that team members who feel ownership in what they're doing work harder and expect more of themselves than project leaders typically expect of them.
2. A little recognition for a job well done goes a long way—provided it's sincere, relevant and public. Organizations that facilitate the recognition of individual team member accomplishments foster an environment where team members are motivated to perform. In fact, last night a colleague in another department dropped me a note with a totally random and unsolicited compliment. He said he appreciated working with me and noticed what I was doing to contribute to the success of our company. I have to admit, it really meant something to me. It just makes sense to foster an environment where that type of interaction among colleagues, team members and superiors can flourish.

As companies turn to project management tools to help them more efficiently manage project-based work, it's important to consider how the software will help team members interact with their managers and their work. I'm a big proponent of empowering team members and project leaders to make decisions and accomplish things. After all, project management success depends on people—and starts with the people on the front lines.

What are you doing to avoid the knowledge worker death march on your project teams.

 

After almost thirty years of marriage you think I would have learned by now.

Last night after work, I thought I would visit the old "haberdashery," and buy a couple pair of nice slacks to wear during the upcoming WorkOut 2011 Conference next week. I made the mistake of asking my wife if she would like to join me, which she did.

I'm not a big fan of shopping for clothes, and tend to lean toward "functional and comfortable," which usually means jeans. Needless to say, my wife seized upon the opportunity and made sure that I not only had a couple new pair of slacks (the purpose of the shopping spree), but also had a new sport coat, dress shirt, tie and a shiny new belt. Another 15 minutes and I would have had a suit!

As I watched myself get sucked into the "Ty, that really looks nice" vortex, I was thinking about scope creep. It started with something as simple as, "I think you could use a new belt," and the rest I described above.

Most of the time I think scope creep works this way. It starts innocently enough, but before you know it project scope is spiraling down the vortex. It's a slippery slope my friends. I learned that the hard way last night. Sometimes, you just have to put your foot down. For example, when they started showing my wife new suits. "Sorry dear, this project's budget doesn't have any room for a new suit."


 

If I had a dollar for every late night I've spent working on a project over the last thirty years I could probably take a very nice trip to Hawaii or some other tropical paradise for a week or two. I can't say I particularly enjoy burning the late night oil, but sometimes it just can't be avoided.

Because projects sometimes demand those types of efforts, project teams grudgingly accept them as a part of the job.That being said, reliance on heroic efforts to get projects finished successfully is not only a big red flag indicating a broken system, it's a recipe for disaster.

The problem with too many late nights and caffeine is more than just a team member's health, although that should be a concern. Too much junk food, too much caffeine and too little sleep is bad for health. Period.

What's worse in my opinion, is the damage it does to what fundamentally makes a good team member: his or her ability to recognize and creatively solve problems. Of course, everyone is different, and their tolerance for successive late nights varies. For example, when I was younger I could go a day or two without sleep if I was working on a critical project. Today, I need my "beauty sleep" or I am worthless the next day. Which is true in one degree or another for everyone. Our ability to process information, evaluate circumstances and solve problems eventually reaches a point where it starts to diminish and eventually is used up. I've observed that to be true whether or not you have the personal stamina of Hercules.

So what do you do about it?

First, you have to take capacity planning seriously. If your organization doesn't, you will never solve this problem and might as well face the fact that your personal life is over. Capacity planning is more than pushing names around a resource grid. It requires a realistic look at the people on your team, what they are capable of accomplishing in an average work day and planning around that. (Planning for 12-hour days and working through weekends isn't good capacity planning.)

If you're not sure, look to your team members for that information. In my experience, most team members underestimate what any particular task will take at first, but over time get better at accurately estimating how long it takes to get things done. And, done in a group situation (like a Sprint planning meeting or other similar venue), the group won't typically let a "slacker" pad his or her estimates. I've seen the team dynamic be very efficient at keeping everyone honest.

Conduct a project post mortem at the end of every project. Make sure you are in tune to what's going on with your project team. It's not always easy, but it's critical to look at our successes and failures if we want to increase the odds of success. I've worked with teams where the challenges faced in the previous projects were posted so everyone was mindful of what they were, and could work to mitigate them in what they were doing every day. Instead of dealing with them at two or three in the morning the week before the project is due.

Whether or not you are Agile, borrow from Scrum and conduct a daily stand-up meeting. Standing keeps the meetings short and daily keeps everyone focused on what they are supposed to be doing (hopefully avoiding late nights down the road). When team members are reporting on progress daily, it also gives project leaders the opportunity to recognize accomplishments, collaborate with the team and push away from the computer for at least 15 or so minutes every day.

As powerful as he was, even the great Hercules eventually fell. Remember, if you're not careful, caffeine and late nights spell failed projects.

Please share what you do to keep projects from turning into all night death marches.