Viewing Posts by Mario Trentim
Getting Risk Identification Right
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While uncertainty can influence project outcomes, contingency and proper risk response planning can decrease the potential sting. But, despite the rich theoretical background and defined best practices that have been developed for risk management, it remains a struggle for most organizations and project managers. Why? Here are three reasons I often see:
Effectively Identifying Risks Risk identification demands effort and time. It is easy to overlook risks in the first pass. That’s why it should be reviewed periodically throughout the entire project life cycle. According to Rita Mulcahy in her book Risk Management, Tricks of the Trade, if you identified less than 300 project risks, you did a poor identification. To identify more risks (and exceed Ms. Mulachy’s target) try these three tips: 1) Review all documentation, including:
2) Utilize various information-gathering techniques:
3) Try different diagramming techniques, such as:
How familiar are you with these tools? Which do you find the most useful? Is there another you would recommend? I look forward to your comments! |
By Every Project Disrupts the Status Quo. So Show Stakeholders Why Change Is Worth It.
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Ever heard this joke? “You don’t need superpowers to change an organization. You only need one project manager—but the stakeholders must want to change.” In this post, I want to remind you to put yourself in your stakeholders’ shoes. As you think about the changes to be delivered by your project, take their different perspectives seriously. If you ask most people about their attitude toward change, they give answers trying to show how flexible and adaptable they are. After all, nobody wants to play the naysayer role. We don't want to be seen as resistors. For example, I once asked my MBA students if they like change. They cheerfully answered "Yes!", to which I promptly answered "Fine, let's extend our class by five hours. Moreover, I want you to read seven papers and two books by the end of next week so that you can take a four-hour exam." It’s easy to prove the point that we don't like bad changes. But what about good changes, the ones that benefit us? Do we really even want a change that’s good for us? In reality, our behavior and attitudes often contradict what we believe. Why? Because we are afraid, and our expectations and interests are different and changing. Our relationship to specific changes isn’t static. The biggest issue is that organizations (and project leaders) don’t always present planned changes in ways that makes it easy for people to answer the most important question: “What’s in it for me?”
I sometimes hear project managers complaining about their stakeholders. They say, “stakeholder X always changes his mind,” or “stakeholder Y creates obstacles to my project,” and so on. Wake up! Stakeholders are not the problem. The truth is that your project is the problem. After all, what is a project? From its definition, a project is a temporary endeavor to create a unique result. So, your project will create something that didn't exist before, something that wasn't there. A project is a disturbance in the environment. As a functional manager, for example, I will have to give up my status quo. I would be “forced” by your project to learn how to use the new enterprise resource planning system that you want to install. Do you really think I would help you? Is the functional manager the problem? No. As a project manager, your job is to convince stakeholders they are going to benefit from the outcome. Show them what they will earn. If you fail, they won't help. As long as your stakeholders are not happy, your project is doomed to fail. Want to learn more? Check out the webinar Managing Stakeholders as Clients. And, please, leave your comments! |
A Five-Phase Approach to Launching a PMO
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I recently delivered a webinar at ProjectManagement.com on how to effectively define a project management office’s business model, functions and structure (watch the recording here). In that presentation, I wanted to start a discussion on different modern approaches to defining and implementing PMOs. Today, I’m going to share some thoughts and examples on how to do that in practice. A step-by-step process to define and implement a PMO helps to build buy-in. The following five phases lay out a learning process in which stakeholders are identified and engaged to discuss and develop a PMO model that best suits their organizational needs.
Phase 1: Assessment Understand the organizational context and assess current project management practices and maturity levels. The as-is situation involves processes mapping and the use of maturity models, such as OPM3®.
Phase 2: Definition Once the current situation (as is) is described in detail, explore the future desired situation (to be). The Business Model Generation helps in defining the ideal solution for a desired PMO model. The gap analysis between current and desired situations will guide the implementation plan. This phase also includes defining the following aspects of the PMO: Mandate: mission and vision Business model: customers and value proposition Structure and functions: processes, resources and partnerships
Phase 3: Implementation This is not easy. It involves a lot of change management and stakeholder management. A phased approach to the implementation is recommended, especially for large endeavors. You might want to implement a pilot PMO in a region or department before rolling it out to the entire organization. The implementation work packages will depend on the PMO definition. Deliverables might include: training, software, processes, methodology, templates and more.
Phase 4: Continuous Improvement The PMO is an entity that must deliver business value. Its mission is not to help individual projects thrive but to boost the entire organization’s performance through best practices and governance. As the organization changes and matures, so does the PMO. It should be a flexible and adaptable structure to accommodate new project management challenges ahead. A continuous improvement plan may include a maturity-growing roadmap and regular assessment of PMO functions and KPIs to guarantee that it is always reinventing itself before it turns out to be obsolete.
Phase 5: Closeout The closeout phase should include a celebration of the PMO results, emphasizing its mandate, to engage stakeholders and keep buy-in. The main lesson: always involve and engage stakeholders properly. Keep in mind that a PMO is an organizational structure that should create value, distribute value and capture value. The Business Model Generation helps to identify what value is for the stakeholders (customer segments/value proposition), which drives the PMO functions and structure. It all starts with these frequently avoided questions about PMOs. Once you answer those questions, you can go to the next step: using the business model generation.
Example of a PMO Business Model
Of course, you may have other ideas for PMO business models. What are your PMO’s customers? Value proposition? Functions? Share your comments, thoughts and suggestions below.
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Want to Be Ethical? Follow Principles, Not Rules
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Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate in behavioral economics and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, has written about how people tend to make decisions based on the potential value of losses and gains rather than the final outcome. Considering our common cognitive and emotional biases, how can we cope with daily ethics challenges with integrity? We humans are in some ways predictably irrational. “Common sense” doesn’t mean best practices. Some people might have totally appropriate but opposite stances on the same topic. Does that mean ethical practices are a matter of choice? Of course not—ethics are a matter of common good: In his book Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do, Michael Sandel explores timeless philosophical and theoretical questions with real-world examples. He does the same in this video: My conclusion is that the more we abide by a code of ethics based on strict rules and procedures, the more people tend to display unethical behaviors when faced with gray areas and edge cases. So what’s the solution? In How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life, Russ Roberts provides extremely valuable insights to the question above. In summary, we are much better off by teaching and praising Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments than by creating new regulations and sanctions to prevent unethical behavior. What All This Means for Project Managers What’s the upshot of all this for project management professionals? We must abide by the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, but it’s even more important that we adhere to ethics focused on the common good. Project managers face extreme pressure. Shortcuts are tempting—but in the long run they seldom pay off. Here are two examples of unethical temptations that put our work into the broader moral perspective that I think is so valuable.
It’s easy to point fingers at doctors and lawyers—their work dramatically impacts people’s lives. A mistake made by a prosecutor may imprison an innocent. A doctor’s mistake may kill or handicap a patient. How about project managers’ mistakes? You may put your project in jeopardy, of course. But that’s not all: You may put your team members, client and other stakeholders at risk. You may even bankrupt your organization. The bottom line: The most surefire way to maintain high ethical standards is to think frequently about the far-reaching impacts of your work—on worker safety, the environment and social well-being, for example. Our choices matter—in ways we can’t necessarily anticipate. How do you respond to everyday ethical challenges in your project management practice? Share your thoughts below. |
Want to Start a PMO? Make Sure You Answer These Questions First
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In my previous post, I discussed “Frequently Avoided Questions About PMOs.” Now it’s time to successfully define a PMO using the Business Model Generation. To do this, your organization must ask a number of questions before the PMO is created so that it can achieve its planned benefits. To help you get started, below are questions in nine categories, plus example answers for most.
Figure 1 – Business Model Canvas (Osterwalder, 2010) 1. Value proposition What differentiates the PMO from existing organizational structures? How will the PMO create value for its customers? What products and services should the PMO offer, and how should they be offered? The answer to these questions can be in the form of a mission statement, such as: “The Strategic PMO will be responsible for selecting, prioritizing and authorizing strategic projects, coordinating funds from functional areas and suppliers, negotiating with internal and external customer projects, and centralizing information to senior management.” 2. Customers Who will the PMO’s customers be, and what are their needs and preferences? Example answers: Functional managers will need information and reports about ongoing projects, plus a centralized system of planning and resource availability. Project managers will need support in processes, methodology and templates. They’ll also need mentoring and coaching, historical information, lessons learned and documentation. Project team members will need training, information, infrastructure and help with resource allocation. Suppliers and contractors will need contracts and procurement management. They’ll also need project information and change request control. Senior management will need consolidated information, metrics, dashboards and decision-making support. 3. Channels How can PMO customers access the PMO’s functions? Where and how are the PMO's products and services going to be available? Example answer: The PMO will offer its functions through in-person and online support, meetings and training sessions, coaching and mentoring, administrative support, enterprise project management, a contract management system, and phone or e-mail support. 4. Relationship What type of relationship do customers expect to have with the PMO? How will the PMO interact with customers? Example answer: The PMO will interact via feedback (meetings, suggestion box or email), an ombudsman, workshops and seminars, benchmarking, and monitoring the use of tools and infrastructure. 5. Revenue streams What are the PMO’s potential sources of income? Will business units pay for PMO services? Does your PMO have an impact report or benefits realization plan to justify the resources needed to keep it running? What are the key success indicators of the PMO? 6. Partnerships Which people or groups can help the PMO fulfill its mission? Should any functional area, such as human resources, partner with the PMO? Are there external organizations that may help your PMO? Example answer: Consulting companies will provide training, the HR department will help define career paths, the IT department will help with infrastructure like computers and the network, and associations such as PMI or PMI chapters will promote joint workshops and seminars. 7. Key activities What processes, procedures and activities must be performed within the PMO so that it materializes its value proposition and delivers it to customers? Example answer: The PMO will select and prioritize projects, provide training, develop policies, methodology and templates, and provide IT software and infrastructure. 8. Key resources What resources (people, equipment, infrastructure, money) are necessary for the functioning of the PMO and the realization of its activities? 9. Cost structure What is the operating cost of the PMO, considering its activities, necessary resources and partnerships? Example answer: The PMO will require funds for wages, infrastructure, software, books and publications, and consulting and training services. Do you have any ideas on how to better define a PMO? Is there any way we could improve PMO implementation (or reshape existing PMOs) by using the Business Model Canvas? Please comment below! And by the way: Visit PMI’s Knowledge Shelf to learn more about PMOs. |
