Project Management

Strategic Project Management

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As an "accidental" project manager, it's very satisfying to contribute to the project management community online with anecdotes and stories I've picked up from my own experience. I hope you enjoy our daily conversation.
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Work Management and PM2.0: What's All the Hubub?

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A recent blog post by Geoff Crane, the PaperCutPM, has created some discussion around the office.  In his post Garbage in, Garbage Out. Haven't We Learned That Yet?, he shares his view regarding PM2.0.  His comments were interesting enough that I thought I would weigh in on one or two of them myself.  His blog post is an interesting read, which I am happy to recommend.  Although I don't know if I agree that the next generation of project management software will be a non-event, I do agree that without a proper framework for project management tools to operate within, PM2.0 will fall short.

I hope he won't mind if I borrow his format:
  1. Tools don't manage.  People manage.  I couldn't agree more with Geoff when he says, "...I don't have any illusions that a tool is anything other than an inanimate thing waiting to be put to use by someone who knows how to use it."  However, I'd like to push this a step further.  The real goal of PPM software should be to automate those processes that can be automated (like data collection and report building), so project managers can successfully lead project teams.  I don't think you can "manage" a report or status update, but a good project manager can motivate and lead the people on a project team.
  2. Hiring managers and financial control are as desperate as ever to find ways to save money.  Yes they are.  That being said, I don't think we articulate our value to the process as well as we could.  In a post from last January, I addressed a comment made by a fellow project manager who described what she was doing as being Knee Deep in Project Management.  As a profession, we need to talk more about the business value project managers provide and less about the process that is managed.  If we can successfully do that, the "irresponsibility" of assuming that a software solution could replace a skilled project manager will be obvious and laughable.
  3. Collaboration is worthless without a framework.  According to Geoff, "Frameworks are not one-size-fits-all.  They are unique to each project.  Software is not going to define your framework for you."  Geoff is correct, and what's more, if you don't have a framework or work management methodology in place before you implement a new project management software, the implementation will be lengthy and cumbersome—and adoption will suffer.  After speaking with dozens of customers over the years I have observed that successful implementations are generally preceded by an established methodology.  Software, by the way, should adapt to your processes, not the other way around.
  4. Projects require decision makers.  AMEN.  Projects are highly fluid and never follow the plan with exactness.  The ability to make decisions, often on incomplete or even sketchy data, is something that software can't do.
"Regarding this very naive notion that software can somehow replace leadership, experience and knowledge, and that team members will play nicely together by default, collectively united towards a common goal?  To that I say, 'nonsense,'" says Crane. 

I must agree.  There may be companies who look to software as the silver bullet that will solve all their problems, but like Geoff, I think that is a pretty naive view.  Will an organization doing project based work benefit from the tools available today?  Absolutely.  However, you wouldn't put a nail-gun on the shop table and expect it to build the furniture itself, would you?
Posted on: March 29, 2010 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Informed Work Management Decisions Require Trustworthy Data

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Is your project data always trustworthy?

If you answered no, you're not alone.  That being said, most project managers I know are dedicated and motivated individuals who work very hard to make sure the information that gets pushed up to their executives is accurate and up to date.  In fact, I know of PMs who make the rounds every week asking, cajoling, begging, and imploring individual team members to update task status—and yet, they can still identify inaccuracies in the information collected.

If some data associated with project based work is questionable, is there a way to improve the overall trustworthiness of the data used for decision-making?

I believe that there is.  I also believe project management software can provide the solution—provided software vendors are willing to reconsider how they approach the work management process.  Were you aware that next to accounting software, project management software is the second oldest software product?  It's been around for a very long time and has evolved into a sophisticated mix of capacity planning, resource management, and milestone tracking—creating project software so complicated that the average team member can't understand it, let alone use it.  Hence the need for begging and cajoling.

On the other end of the spectrum, easy-to-use collaboration tools that might be accepted by team members don't provide the robust business intelligence tools needed by executives to make informed business decisions.  Capturing the critical data that leads to smart decision-making requires that individual team members are engaged in the process with something that doesn't force them to jump through hoops or navigate a complicated maze of procedures.

In fact, the more difficult it is for individual contributors, the less business leaders will be able to trust the information.  However the same team members who struggle with updating task status in their company's project software will gladly update their accomplishments in Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter.  Giving individual team members an easy-to-use way to update their accomplishments and capture status will give project managers and executives confidence that the information they are looking at is accurate and up to date.

What are you doing to keep your project data accurate and up to date?

Posted on: March 26, 2010 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Successful Work Management: Strategic Execution and the Power Sweep

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In my dad's mind there was only one football team: the Green Bay Packers, one quarterback: Bart Starr, and one coach: Vince Lombardi. 

There was nothing fancy about the way Lombardi's Packers played football.  They relied on a play called the Power Sweep to power their way to five NFL championships during the nine years Lombardi was head coach.  In the Power Sweep (which was later called the Lombardi Sweep) both guards pulled to the outside and blocked down-field while the halfback would "run to daylight"—or in other words, to wherever the opposing team wasn't.  Let's just say it wasn't glamorous, it wasn't glitzy, but it worked.  It helped the Packers dominate the NFL from 1959-1967.

Executing the play well required everyone on the field to work together for the same strategic objective.  "It's my number one play because it requires all eleven men to play as one to make it succeed," said Lombardi, "and that's what 'team' means."

Successful work management requires the same kind of teamwork and focus on strategy.  A strategic approach that not only addresses how project based work is done, but also which projects get done is the project management Power Sweep.  In other words, it's about doing the right projects, not just doing projects right.

Lombardi focused on a few very effective plays, like the Sweep, to lead his team.  Answering these four simple questions for every project—and ensuring that every member of the team, from stakeholder to individual contributor, understands how their efforts contribute to achieving strategic execution—puts you well on your way to creating your own Power Sweep:
  1. What are the high-level objectives of the project?
  2. What are the estimated costs—and the anticipated rewards?
  3. Does it align with the mission, vision, and values of the organization?
  4. What are the risks associated with pursuing the project?
The Packers were consistent winners because there was no question in anyone's mind what the objectives were.  "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing," said Lombardi.  Taking a strategic approach to working on the right projects will put you in the end zone. 

Thanks for reading,

Ty Kiisel
www.attask.com

Posted on: March 25, 2010 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Work Management for Executives, Project Managers, and Teams

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I have always been fascinated by the manned-space program.  As a boy, John Glen and the Mercury Astronauts were my heroes.  I vividly remember the night Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon and took "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

What's more, NASA did all this with technology that was significantly less sophisticated than the calculators my kids used in high school.  In that regard, maybe we can learn something from the boys at NASA.  If you break down what organizations really need to successfully execute project based work, the list is relatively short:
  1. A solution that will help business leaders sift through project requests and evaluate each request based on business value, alignment with strategic objectives, and any potential risks compared to the project rewards.
  2. A solution that will help manage "the process" of project planning, implementation, and execution to ensure that projects stay on track and are completed on time, on budget, and with the desired functionality.
  3. A solution that makes it easy for project team members to participate in the project management  process.  Making team members jump through hoops or forcing them to become project management experts to complete tasks will only accomplish one thing—discourage them from participation.
  4. A solution that gives business leaders access to real-time data validates that decisions made in the board room are being executed by project teams, and guarantees that they are looking at timely and accurate information for making future decisions.
Looking at the above list points out three obvious requirements any project management solution must include to make a work management methodology more effective and efficient:
  1. It must meet the needs of project teams: I look at this from a garbage in, garbage out perspective.  If project teams don't have an easy-to-use way to input timely and accurate project data into the system—they won't.  It doesn't matter how sophisticated a project and portfolio management solution's reports or dashboards may be, if it's difficult for team members to use, it will only provide inaccurate and out-of-date information of little or no value to the organization.
  2. It must meet the needs of project managers: Helping project managers "manage" the process doesn't mean forcing them to manually input status information to push up to the executive suite.  It means automating the collection of project information so that ever time a team member updates status that information is automatically rolled up into the appropriate report or dashboard.  That way, managers can spend more time helping team members be effective and successful, and less time collecting data and building reports.
  3. It must meet the needs of executive decision-makers: Formalizing the project selection process makes it possible for business leaders to make data-driven decisions about which projects to pursue and which to abandon.  This enables them to make strategic decisions rather than knee-jerk reactions.  In today's economy, business leaders need a handle on what's happening within their organizations right now, not yesterday, last week, or even last month.  Accurate and timely information is often the difference between a business that is successful and thriving and one that is losing market-share and failing.
How do your project management tools address the needs of executives, project managers, and project teams?
Posted on: March 24, 2010 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Danger! Danger! The Warning Signs of a Failing Project

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As a kid I loved the Lost in Space TV series.  The story, an adaptation of the Swiss Family Robinson, features a 1997 version of the Robinson family on a mission to colonize a planet near the star, Alpha Centaruri.  Selected from among two million volunteers for the mission, the Robinsons, their pilot, and their B-9 environmental robot crash land on an unnamed planet after sabotage disables their spacecraft, the Jupiter 2.

The youngest member of the crew, 9-year old Will Robinson, and the robot become companions and playmates on the planet.  Warning Will and the Robinsons of impending danger, the robot's cry of "Danger! Danger!" usually meant something exciting was about to happen.

Although most projects don't have a B-9 robot, there are warning signs that identify a troubled project early enough to do something about it.

The earliest signs that a project is in trouble are hard to measure objectively, but are relatively easy to spot, if you're watching:
  1. Lack of interest: Whether it's a lack of interest within the project team or among project stake holders, it's often demonstrated by people not showing up for meetings, a lack of active participation and feedback, or a poorly energized user base.  This is an early-warning sign of a project in trouble.
  2. Poor communication: If nobody is communicating, including stakeholders, team members, and end users, there could be a problem.
  3. Lack of velocity: Projects should always be moving forward.  The best way to keep a good velocity is to divide your project into small deliverables at frequent intervals.  If the project isn't moving forward, it's likely in trouble.
  4. A "no-bad-news" environment: Nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes organizations need to face the reality of negative news.  This includes project team members who don't want to be the messenger and business leaders who tend to shoot the messenger. If there is not an environment where the communication is honest about "reality," projects tend to fail.
Intangible signals aren't the only indicators that a project is in trouble, there are a number of measurable signs as well:
  1. Lots of overtime: A project running on schedule should have little or no overtime.  Overtime is often a quick fix, but leads to poor employee health resulting from too much caffeine, too many late nights, and too much junk food.  (It also leads to mistakes.)
  2. Diversion of resources: When people are pulled from one project to work on something else it could be a sign of trouble.  If you've budgeted your human resources properly, a few hours here and there on a troubled project can quickly add up and cascade down, endangering healthy projects.
  3. Ratios trouble: Cost ratios and schedule ratios are financial metrics that allow business leaders to measure budgeted time and money verses money and time actually spent.  Without metrics, all you have to rely on is the accuracy of the communication you receive from project teams.
  4. Milestones aren't met: This is pretty obvious, but it is surprising how many times this warning sign is ignored.  Small, discrete, and often, are the guidelines for the milestones of a successful project.
  5. Scope changes: A common approach to shoring up a lagging project is to change the scope.  Eliminating features or relaxing requirements is not uncommon, but if project teams are doing it because the project is in trouble, it's a huge warning sign of danger ahead.
Of course, warning signs are not the work management harbinger of doom, they are just warning signs that a project might be in trouble.  Depending on how your organization handles project based work, the right project management tools can help identify potential issues early, when there's still time to do something about them.

How do you spot struggling projects early—when there's still time to take action?

Posted on: March 23, 2010 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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