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Finding the Shortest Path to Project Success
Categories:
Teams
Categories: Teams
| What's the shortest possible path from project initiation to completion? You might say it depends on the size of the project or the work involved. But there's always a shorter path than the one you have in mind -- even for larger projects. There's always a solution that makes better use of resources while providing faster delivery times. It's like when you play Scrabble® and come up with a word combination that uses the fewest letters and still gives you the highest point value. Say you walked into a job interview, for example, and you were hired on the spot. Although it seems impossible to get hired just by walking into the room, it's the ability to recognize the possibility that allows you to open yourself up to ideas that you'd otherwise discount. So what's wrong with the way you currently manage a project from initiation to completion? Maybe nothing. But what if you could get there faster? Try asking these questions to help you create the space in which actions towards the shortest path will arise:
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Are We Self-Organized Yet?
Categories:
Agile
Categories: Agile
| The Agile Manifesto calls for teams to be "self organized," but this is often easier said than done. The manifesto states, "The best architectures, requirements and designs emerge from self-organizing teams." This can be a challenge for some team members. Project managers on traditional teams may be more comfortable working alone than working closely with each other, as Agile demands. So how can they implement self-organization? Here are some ways to know if your team is self-organized: 1) Actions taken after Scrum meetings. Good teams have frequent exchanges during the daily standup meetings. Are people mentioning problems and are teammates offering help? Do members take collaborative actions to solve those problems after the meeting? Watch for teams where people remain individually focused. 2) Flexible roles. Members on self-organized teams will be able to support each other by handling tasks outside their usual specialties. 3) Communication. Self-organized teams will use immediate forms of communication: text messages, instant messages, phone and even walking to each other's desk. 4) Role of the project manager. On self-organized teams, the project manager will spend less time assigning work, and more time facilitating the team as work is "pulled" from the backlog. 5) Role of the manager. The project manager's boss does less hands-on direct planning, but more coaching, rewarding and gathering resources for the team. Teams may also benefit from better understanding of diverse personality styles (See my post: Making the Most of Team Differences). The benefits of self-organization are not just a better product. You will sense renewed energy in the team. Is your Agile team self-organized? What benefits do you find in that structure? |
Valuing Your Employee Stakeholders
Categories:
Stakeholder Management
Categories: Stakeholder Management
| Rewarding good performance helps keep employee stakeholders motivated during projects. But there's a difference between the methods many businesses use to motivate people and what actually works. Simple financial incentives and other "carrot and stick" methods have been shown to be largely ineffective motivators, especially for employees on your team. And these incentives can be totally inappropriate if applied to stakeholders outside of the organization. Instead, rewards should address our deep need for: Autonomy: The desire to direct our own lives Mastery: The urge to get better at our work and be successful Purpose: The yearning to work in the service of something larger than ourselves Rewards don't need to be huge, but they should be visible to the entire team. They can be as simple as acknowledging a job well done in a daily stand-up meeting. Or it can be more substantive, such as granting greater autonomy or responsibility. As a leader, you must allow employee stakeholders the freedom to define their work within appropriate boundaries. Provide opportunities for them to develop new skills and link your team's work to the objectives of the organization or a larger social benefit, where possible. So where can you start? Rather than instructing the team member receiving the award on what to do and when to finish, offer a little bounded autonomy by asking how he or she can best achieve the objective of the task and how quickly it can be accomplished. If the stakeholder is a senior manager, create a sense of purpose by linking your request for help to the manager's goals for the organization. You may be surprised at the positive reaction. What do you think? Can autonomy, mastery and purpose be motivational rewards? |
Know a Project Management Superstar?
Categories:
PMI
Categories: PMI
| There's a lot of talk about the importance of acknowledgment. But many project managers in the trenches go unnoticed. Here's your chance to change that by nominating a peer for the PMI Linn Stuckenbruck Person of the Year Award. Named after Linn C. Stuckenbruck, PhD, this award recognizes a PMI member for outstanding contributions to the development and advancement of the profession, and his or her contribution to PMI during the previous calendar year. Each nominee's contribution must: 1. Help recognize PMI as the world's leader in project management through activities completed in the previous calendar year (2010 for the 2011 award) 2. Expand and advance the knowledge, use and application of project management 3. Demonstrate broad, far-reaching implications for the profession Nominees may work in any field, including but not limited to business and academia. For the complete list of eligibility requirements and biographical information on Dr. Stuckenbruck, please download the nomination guidelines. Nominations for the 2011 PMI Linn Stuckenbruck Person of the Year must be received at the PMI Global Operations Center by Friday, 1 April 2011. Talk to your project team and PMI chapter colleagues about nominating a PMI member: four to six members must join together to nominate a candidate for this award. No one knows excellence in project management like you and your peers. Nominate a deserving colleague today. |
Does Crowdsourcing Work in a Project Environment?
Categories:
Nontraditional Project Management
Categories: Nontraditional Project Management
| Can someone please help me understand the hype surrounding crowdsourcing? I understand the premise: Tasks are essentially outsourced to a large group of people through a call to action. (For more, see "The In Crowd" in the June 2009 PM Network®.) This seems like a project manager's worst nightmare. The requirements and quality management alone must be a huge undertaking:
With many highly visible crowdsourcing projects, for example, there seems to be a lot of press about individuals within the "crowd" who ultimately feel cheated or used for their skills, having been inadequately compensated -- or not compensated at all. It looks like you take a big chance when you sign on to these projects, given that there's usually no contract to fall back on. I imagine this risk goes both ways. I hope this will serve as a conversation starter. What does your organization think about crowdsourcing? Have you ever participated -- or managed -- a crowdsourced project? I'm very interested in hearing the challenges and victories out there around this approach. |