Strategic Project Management

Events of the last couple of weeks have reinforced in my mind how we are all a part of one complex system.  As volcanic ash from the eruption in Iceland drops ash over Europe, grounds airlines, and strands travelers, the ripple effect is costing millions of dollars.  Driving into work this morning, I heard that Great Britain estimates they are losing $30 million dollars a day resulting from the lack of air traffic—and is sending out the Royal Navy to retrieve stranded British citizens abroad—which will also be expensive.  The airline industry is estimating that the losses will ultimately be in the billions of dollars.

Considering these delays the result of an "act of God," the airlines feel it unnecessary to provide much assistance to stranded passengers.  However, the media reported on one New York couple who opened their home to a stranded family from Ireland, inviting them to wait in comfort for at least a few hours. (Having spent a week in Kennedy one afternoon, I can only imagine the horror of being stuck there for any length of time.)  Although they were total strangers, I'm sure this random act of kindness has made an otherwise unbearable situation more tolerable.

I wonder if cross-departmental teams could learn something from this experience.  It's only natural for departments to believe they work within a vacuum.  However, just as with the grand ecosystem of the earth—everything within the corporate ecosystem is also interconnected.  For example, the fallout (pun intended) from the challenges (or delays) faced by an IT project designed to make an accounting or HR process more efficient, has a greater impact than those faced by IT.  By stepping out of departmental silos and avoiding the impulse to throw IT under the bus, cross-departmental cooperation can mitigate the collateral damage caused by our struggling IT project example.  After all, we're all on the same team, right?

Pointing fingers and assigning blame in the case of grounded airliners does nothing to alleviate the problem of stranded passengers or lost revenue.  However, dispatching other means of travel (Britain's use of the Royal Navy) or providing a comfortable place to stay (the kindness of the couple from New York) does.

Unfortunately, I don't think I have ever seen a project that was executed flawlessly.  Inherent in any project based work is the need to overcome challenges and adapt work management methodologies to accommodate changing circumstances.  I imagine if the volcanic eruption in Iceland could have been accurately predicted, the world might be dealing with a different set of circumstances right now.  However, like most project challenges, some catastrophic events cannot be accurately predicted and must be dealt with as they occur.  And consequences, even anticipated ones, will still create issues to be dealt with.

Project and portfolio management best practices encourage looking at how projects interrelate, and groups together projects with similar objectives within related portfolios.  No project is an "island," and as such often requires cross-departmental cooperation to ensure success.

Hopefully, you don't have to deal with the equivalent of an unforeseen volcanic eruption in your current project plan, but how do you encourage cooperation among departments?  Please feel free to share some of your work management best practices here.
 

1. Actually talk to each other.  The technology in project management software is a great way to provide status updates, create an audit trail, and share documents.  New technology makes it possible to communicate and collaborate with project team members across the hall, across the country—even across the world.  However, reliance on technology for all project communication could be problematic.  There's no body language associated with a terse email or abrupt text message, so it's safe to assume that the intent of your message will often be misinterpreted by colleagues.  As often as possible, walk across the office and have a face-to-face conversation.  You might be surprised at how much an occasional chat can mitigate mis-communication.
2. Email and text messaging really can be cordial.  In today's work environment, where time-lines are truncated and project teams are asked to do more and more, take an extra few seconds when writing an email to consider that your communication is going to a person.  I like to begin every email with a salutation, which reminds me that I am writing to someone.  The immediacy of the medium shouldn't determine the attention we give to the communication.  The extra two or three seconds it takes me to address the person I'm writing to doesn't negatively impact my productivity, but it does help me foster a productive and cordial working relationship.
3. Take time to be polite.  Whenever I would argue with my sisters, my mother would say, "Ty, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."  Of course within the imperfect world of project-based work, sometimes difficult discussions take place—but that doesn't mean that we can throw civility out the window.  In the thirty plus years of my professional career I have watched what used to be considered common courtesy among superiors, subordinates, and coworkers become quaint and "unnecessary."  There is nothing wrong with considering the feelings of the person needing correction, regardless of how stupid you think they are or how big a mistake you think they made.  Being polite and considerate of each other is the very least we should be able to expect from our "professional" colleagues.  Anything less is unproductive and immature.
4. Remove the criticism from "constructive" criticism.  I was taught early in my career, by friends and colleagues much wiser than myself, that "criticism" was never "constructive."  I don't think I have ever worked with a project team where we all agreed all the time.  Project management involves a lot of creative problem solving, which means that it is seldom done right the first time.  Fostering a creative environment where team members are creatively solving problems and pushing for excellence requires collaboration, not criticism.  Where disagreements arise or a course change is required, "I don't like this" should be followed by, "here's why, and here's a suggestion as to how you might proceed."

1. Schedule regular meetings (usually monthly) with sponsors, team members, and other important stakeholders.  This may be a good time for "quick" status update; but more importantly, it is a time for reinforcing the value and significance of the project in terms of business value and the sponsor's commitment to helping the team.
2. Educate the sponsor on their role as part of the team.  The sponsor has a significant role as a project advocate in the steering/stakeholder committee as a way to communicate with stakeholders and provide visibility to executives.
3. Don't neglect impromptu one-on-one time with the project sponsor.  Make sure your sponsor is willing to have the occasional informal meetings as needed.  It's not only important to cultivate the relationship with the sponsor—your success impacts their success, too.

1. One of the most widely used social media tools by project managers for business is Linkedin.  47% of respondents use Linkedin, which makes sense to me.  Linkedin provides an opportunity to connect with friends and peers along with the ability to participate in a broader community of project managers.  As I've mentioned before, participation in an online community is a great way to share best practices and experiences that ultimately benefit individuals and the profession.
2. Wikis are a popular social media collaboration tool.  A useful tool for encouraging collaboration and communication, at 35%, it looks like a lot of project managers are using wikis.
3. At 24%, it looks like project managers are active bloggers and blog readers.  Of course a blog doesn't offer a very practical way for project teams to collaborate, but like wikis, blogs are a great place to learn from others within the project management community.
4. Interestingly, online project management tools are used by 27% of the respondents.  For anyone providing on-demand project management software like @task, this is good news.
5. Facebook, Twitter, SharePoint, MySpace, Microsoft LiveMeeting, Skype, Instant Messaging, Podcasts, and Video podcasts round out the rest of the survey.  From as low as 1% for MySpace to the 48% that identify themselves as SharePoint users, social media appears to be alive and well within project management.