Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
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Embracing Complexity
Categories:
Complexity
Categories: Complexity
| We must learn to manage complexity, as it is not going away any time soon. The ability to do so may be the differentiation needed to ensure success for individuals and organizations. According to PMI's Pulse of the Profession® In-Depth Report: Navigating Complexity, the most defining characteristic of complexity is ambiguity. This ambiguity can come from requirements, resources, schedules, goals, or a variety of other sources within or outside the project environment. It can even be present due to diverse perspectives of what some people consider to be clear. Ambiguity offers a unique opportunity to embrace creative leadership and operational agility. When faced with imprecise requirements, or any other nebulous situation we are forced to investigate, we should be proactive rather than reactive, be creative and communicate more. We have the opportunity to explore new territory and dabble in innovation. Below are some suggestions on how to make the most of ambiguity in a project environment:
Calling upon creative leadership techniques, increasing the frequency and depth of communication, and remaining agile in execution are key approaches to make the most of the presence of ambiguity in a project environment, reducing complexity, and thereby improving the chance for success in meeting project goals and realizing intended business value. Find out more about navigating complexity in PMI's Navigating Complexity: A Practice Guide, now available for download online or for purchase in print. Learn more about Deanna Landers, PMP, immediate past chair, PMI Board of Directors. |
Managing to Go Green
| Is it expensive to build and run a green factory? I had been wondering this before meeting Chuang Tzu-Sou, director of the new fab planning and engineering division of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. His opinion: "Not at all!" The construction cost of TSMC's 14th semi-conductor manufacturing plant, compared to older facilities, only increased by 1 percent. And while the budget for "Fab 14" ("fab" is short for fabricating of semiconductor chips) was US$50 million, it is expected to easily recover this cost in electricity savings within the next five years. One of the major cost savings resulted from rethinking the industrial boiler. A major part of Fab 14 would be a boiler facility costing almost US$2 million -- industrial boilers are an integral part of the semiconductor manufacturing process, but they emit a vast amount of wastewater and carbon. Yet after researching alternate production methods and taking a close look at available technologies, they managed to do away with the boiler facility. That resulted in cuts in both Fab 14's building costs and carbon emissions once operational. Mr. Chuang, the program manager, thinks this cost-saving measure was possible only through a manager's ability to understand and motivate workers. He felt his technicians were individuals who tended to be most capable of solving problems on their own. However, being scientifically trained and aware of business constraints, they would go with what they knew would solve a problem. They are pragmatists who evolve their knowledge slowly and are not prone to experiment with new solutions. So Mr. Chuang realized he would need to inspire them, remind them of the bigger picture, encourage them to keep an open mind and give them sufficient time to search for new solutions. These cost-savings affected just one building of a facility that's part of a bigger factory complex. So how did Mr. Chuang and his technicians expand savings across all Fab 14 buildings and activities? He again encouraged his team to think outside the box. His technicians devised a way for the hot air generated from semiconductor production to be circulated to other buildings and work areas for their own use, such as for air conditioning. This created an additional US$230,000 in electricity savings. The technicians also developed a way to purify large amounts of wastewater, enough to supply half a million people with clean water for daily use. Apart from improving the efficiency of Fab 14's construction by recycling 90 percent of the wastewater (one of the highest rates in the world), this also cut supply and recycling fees. This meant a combined savings of up to US$88 million annually. Based on this experience, Mr. Chuang and his team realized that improvements in individual areas didn't amount to huge savings. Instead, it was making sure improvements were sought across the whole factory complex and at all stages of production. It was the creation of a green supply chain that made a change toward sustainability both possible and profitable, and TSMC is now trying to put that change into place for all its Fabs. The ultimate plan is that this will help stimulate other industries to do likewise and cause improvements for generations to come. While the vision for this program came from Morris Chang, the chairman of TSMC, it was realized by Mr. Chuang. Mr. Chuang succeeded by focusing on the bigger picture offered by the whole program, instead of getting mired in the problems of individual projects' technical difficulties or budget overruns. By relating Mr. Chang's vision to an organizational mission, Mr. Chuang ensured short-term problems and opportunities were dealt with in a way that fed strategic long-term goals. Learn more about Fab 14 in this video, and about Roger Chou, PgMP, on his Facebook page. How have you made green projects profitable? Read how a fellow project practitioner is making the most of advancements in sustainability in "Biofuel From Seed to Factory," in March's PM Network. |
The Non-Negotiables of Leadership
Categories:
Leadership
Categories: Leadership
| Project practitioners often get bogged down in the details of getting a project done at all costs. This can cause us to make decisions and take actions that we later regret, because they compromise our position as leaders within our organization. There are three leadership skills that we as project managers need to cultivate in ourselves and that should be non-negotiable, no matter how difficult the project. 1. Integrity: It is easy for a project manager to compromise and make decisions that are in the gray area between right and wrong. To be a strong project leader, it is important that you show character in your decision-making process. Even if compromising your principles makes the current project go more smoothly, in the long run you will lessen your effectiveness as a leader. And remember that your actions as a leader have a huge effect on your team -- if you are willing to cut corners or compromise your decision-making, how can you expect any more from your team? Maintain your integrity by setting clear operating principles for your team at the start of the project and always acting within those principles throughout the course of the project, even if it is difficult. 2. Adaptability: As project managers, we have really strong methodologies and standards that drive our planning, implementation and review processes. And sometimes, it's easy to allow those methodologies to hamper flexibility. To be a great leader, you have to be comfortable knowing the methodology and have faith in your understanding of the methodology and your decision-making process. At the same time, you need to be flexible enough to change with the dynamics of a project. These dynamics can play out as the project unfolds: when resources are limited after allocation; a sponsor or key stakeholder makes new demands; or even having to stop work on a project because it no longer fits into your organization's strategic goals. In these cases, rely on the solid plan that you developed earlier, but be willing and able to change or scrap that plan when it doesn't fit the new circumstances. 3. Judgment: Project managers will spend the bulk of their time acting as communicators between sponsors, stakeholders and the team. With all of this communication comes a ton of information, and a project manager must have the confidence and judgment to act on or discard that information. Beyond communication, you'll make decisions that will affect not only all stakeholders, but also your business and your organization's overall performance. Two really important points here. First, you have to be patient because big decisions don't come every day and when they do, you have to be bold enough to take action. Second, you also have to work within your organization to garner the trust necessary to make decisions and, more importantly, to make mistakes along the way. The learning curve isn't a straight line, and you need the support of your sponsors and supervisors to get the necessary experience in decision-making. Because at the end of the day, that's what judgment is all about: experience. By making these skills the core of your personal leadership development process, you can make all other project decisions with the clarity and confidence you need to move your project toward a successful conclusion. What are your must-have leadership skills? Find out what other skills you can sharpen to help your organization succeed in PMI's 2014 Pulse of the Profession®. |
The Power of Happiness
| People talk about motivation, work-life balance and developing a productive team. But only a few realize the importance of happiness within this equation. Look no further than the recent cricket matches between England and Australia for a very interesting case study of the effect of leadership and morale on sustained team performance. I'm not going to explain cricket other than to highlight that it's a team game and that each test match takes up to five days, with six hours of playing time each day. It requires sustained concentration, and outcomes are significantly influenced by the collective expectations and attitude within the team. Unlike many sports, a single star cannot make a huge difference without support from his teammates and the playing time resembles that of a normal workweek. In parts of what was once the British Empire, the game of cricket reigns supreme. One of the sport's major contests is the series of five matches between English and Australian teams every couple of years for "The Ashes." The outcome of each of the five series is of significant national importance -- defeating the "old enemy" makes headline news in both countries. Unusually, in the last nine months, there have been two series played: the first in mid-2013 and the second in the current Australian summer. England won the first series 3-0. And after losses in India and England, the Australian team was written off as "the worst ever" by the local press. But then Australia won the second series 5-0, a feat only accomplished twice before in Ashes history, and now they're national heroes. What caused the change? The difference wasn't in the skills of the players or the support staff (they were basically the same). It was the team's attitude. Prior to the start of the English series, Australia focused on peak performance at all costs. There were rules, curfews and strictly enforced discipline, which led to dissent, internal divisions and disenchantment. The Australian Cricket Board decided a change was needed and appointed Daren "Boof" Lehmann as the new team coach just 16 days before the first English test. The change was too late to make much of a difference in the England series, but by the time the Australian series started, Mr. Lehmann's philosophy had made a fundamental -- and enduring -- change in the Australian team culture. With Mr. Lehmann at the helm, every team member is committed to team excellence. And rather than training drills for the sake of drills to drive performance, players want to improve and develop. The drive is intrinsic, not extrinsic. The most often repeated comment among team members is, "Lehmann made it fun again!" The Australian team members are happy, taking genuine delight in each other's successes as well as providing support and encouragement when things don't go as planned. This transformation will undoubtedly be the subject of research in years to come, but my initial impressions of the key skills Mr. Lehmann has used are:
Applying these techniques takes courage (especially under the glare of national publicity). Building a champion team that enjoys its work and challenges is the challenge for any leader, particularly if you want your team to help you push your project through to a successful conclusion. How do you make your team's work fun when you need high performance? |
Digging Deeper into a PMO Implementation Plan
Categories:
PMO
Categories: PMO
| In my last post, we discussed the five basics of a PMO implementation plan. Here, I'll delve deeper into those five: 1. Current State Assessment When assessing the current state, it might be helpful to hire an external consultancy, as internal initiatives may lose momentum along the way. The people internal to an organization might not be able to ask the right questions or they might even resist due to a fear of change. An external consultancy can assist in overcoming political issues by adopting a structured approach. Usually, consultants force or drive change because that's what they are hired to do. In the end, a good diagnosis will point out issues and opportunities for improvement. 2. Future State Vision Based on the assessment, it is possible to design a future state vision, describing how projects, programs and portfolios should be managed in order to fulfill organizational needs. That's because when the current state is clearly understood, it is easy to compare to benchmarks. Consequently, the organization can realize what is missing or what is done but could be improved. Ultimately, the future state vision details exactly what the organization wants to become. 3. Gap Analysis The next step is to carry out a gap analysis by comparing the current state to the future vision. This analysis has to focus on three factors:
A successful gap analysis clearly identifies what is missing or what could be improved, prioritizing which features, processes and structure the PMO should have, according to effectiveness (cost x benefit), desirability (sponsorship; what the company want to implement) and feasibility (what is realistic and what is possible to do). We have to select and prioritize based on cultural and organizational feasibility, not only based on resources available. For example, imagine an organization wants to implement enterprise project management (EPM) software. There are plenty of options in the market. Some have fancy features and are more expensive. It might be desirable to have top-notch software, so we won't have to substitute or upgrade it for years. However, it is effective to choose software that offers the simplest solution and satisfies future state needs. Finally, it might be feasible to start with familiar software to overcome people's resistance and rejection to the PMO implementation. In this particular case, project professionals might desire the best EPM in the world (desirability) -- but the company could do well with a free version or simpler software (effectiveness). Finally, considering that people unfamiliar with project management practices will have to use the software, it might make sense to get something familiar or similar to other software they already use (feasibility). 4. Implementation Strategy After the gap analysis, introduce stakeholder requirements to define the implementation strategy. I recommend thinking of the PMO like a new business unit or a small new company. The PMO should have its own mission, vision and goals. We have to identify who are its stakeholders and customers, so we can define its value proposition and its services. Personally, I use the Business Model Generation canvas to do that. The implementation strategy defines the approach to implement a PMO, major expected results and the overall framework, considering organizational strategy and corporate project management governance. Consequently, the PMO business model must support and enhance strategic alignment by selecting, prioritizing and managing portfolios of projects that sustain and boost organizational strategy. 5. Implementation Plan Finally, the implementation plan is the detailed project management plan for implementing the PMO. While the implementation strategy is the approach chosen to implement the PMO, the implementation plan puts that strategy into action. We start by defining its scope and work breakdown structure. Then we create a schedule of tasks to deliver the project scope. Resource needs are identified and a budget is set. Other subsidiary plans are created to manage integration, scope, time, cost, quality, communications, human resources, risks, procurement and stakeholders. The implementation plan should be as detailed as you need. I want to emphasize the importance of defining a business model for your PMO, allowing for performance measurement and improvement after the implementation. In my next post, I'll provide a framework for sustaining and improving your PMO, once it is set up and running. Do you have any tips or examples of PMO implementation plans? For more on PMOs, check out the PMI® Thought Leadership Series: Strategic Initiative Management - The PMO Imperative. |