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How to Manage Multiple Stakeholders on a Program
| Programs are formed by projects with stakeholders from both similar and different backgrounds. Therefore, program managers must be able to work with diverse personalities. For example, Taiwanese fashion designer Sun Hua Chen wanted to get young people interested in the fashion industry. He saw an exhibition by fashion photographer Su Yi Liang, which spurred the idea that a fashion photography exhibition would be a good way to interest upcoming generations in fashion. "The Big Shot Charity Photography Exhibition" first held in 2011, will hopefully become an annual event held at the Fubon Cultural & Educational Foundation in Taiwan. The foundation is known for its work in supporting young people. The end result that first year was 111 designers, photographers and non-profit workers who collaborated to make the exhibition a success. The event raised US$308,200 to support young adults' work in art and design. But reaching that level of success wasn't easy. For starters, Mr. Chen found it challenging to get the foundation to understand his vision, mainly because of the vast difference between the fashion industry and charity work. To secure buy-in, he presented a benefits realization plan in a way that the foundation would understand. They translated the potential effect of the fashion event into how much money could be raised, which would in turn benefit the foundation's stakeholders. The stakeholders also had different concerns based on their interests. On one hand, there were artists and designers seeking perfection and impact. On the other, there were volunteers and professionals seeking efficiency and effectiveness through non-profit. However, both groups understood that they needed each other's strengths to make the event a success. In this case, that meant utilizing one group's creativity and the other's business sense. It was the eventual synergy of both groups that resulted in the event becoming an annual success. How have you managed a large, complicated program successfully? Do you have any tips for managing multiple stakeholders? |
Lessons Learned from PMI® Global Congress 2012--North America
| After the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York, New York, USA, architect and planner Frederic Schwartz set out to rebuild lower Manhattan, one project at a time. Each proposed project pulled in 50 city departments -- an astronomical number of stakeholders. And having gone "mano a mano" with then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Mr. Schwartz told Congress attendees to always "believe in yourself and never stand down." He worked that same brand of stakeholder management in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city in August 2005. With US$14.5 billion for levee repairs and another US$8.5 billion for home revamps, Mr. Schwartz headed projects to rebuild 21 historic areas, 9,000 acres (3,642 hectares) and 1 million homes. And in that process, he learned the value of reaching out to the local community. Along with door-to-door research, his team held 200 district meetings in churches and politicians' homes. Mr. Schwartz also pulled in local architects, engineers and historians. "We could not have moved forward without local experts," he says. Also at Congress, four leaders in the profession discussed the state of women in project management. Moderated by Immediate PMI Board of Directors Past Chair Beth Partleton, PMP, the panel included Leigh Stevens of Microsoft; Teresa A. Knudson, PMP, of Mayo Clinic; and Eleanor Silverman, PhD, of NASA. The comprehensive panel discussion covered a range of topics, including a new take on the triple constraint: work, home and family. There's no question of the value that female project managers bring to projects. It's just good business. "A diverse workforce is a business imperative -- 83 percent of consumer decisions are made by women, yet 90 percent of tech products are developed by men," said Ms. Stevens. For women looking for an edge in what remains a male-dominated profession, Ms. Knudson recommended training. "Education is one of the best ways to find a trap door up and around the glass ceiling," says Ms. Knudson. "And it is something women have within their control." The panelists agreed that developing trust among team members -- regardless of gender -- helps overcome project challenges. "In the best project I've worked on, there was respect, and there was trust," says Ms. Stevens. "For me as a leader, being able to create that environment where you feel like people have got your back is key." |
Which Leadership Style Fits Your Personality?
| Don't try to be like Warren Buffett if you're more Sir Richard
Branson, said best-selling author Marcus Buckingham in a
thought-provoking keynote address at the PMI® Global Congress 2012 --
North America. Project professionals in
leadership positions must let their personal strengths shape their
unique style of management. For example, Sir Branson, head of British
conglomerate Virgin, is a public figure, championing his brand. Warren
Buffett, head of U.S. financial firm Berkshire Hathaway, is more of a
behind-the-scenes leader. "One leader's
techniques are not transferable to another," says Mr. Buckingham. "What
looks authentic with one leader looks foolish with another. People
follow your authenticity. Only try techniques that fit you." He identified nine types of leaders: 1. Advisers are invigorated by the challenge of solving others' problems. 2. Connectors align the most-qualified team members with the appropriate problem. 3. Creators ask, "What do I understand about the challenge ahead?" 4. Equalizers are driven by commitments and ask, "What is the right thing to do?" 5. Influencers inspire team members to action. 6. Pioneers boldly explore uncharted territory and look for ways to do things differently. 7. Providers are concerned with team members' well-being first and foremost. 8. Stimulators raise the team's energy level. 9. Teachers are in a constant state of development, always looking to learn. In
today's world, nearly everything is customized to the individual. For
proof, Mr. Buckingham pointed to social media juggernaut Facebook. At
every login, its more than 1 billion users magically receive ads fit for
their personalities. Leadership development is just as unique. So, what kind of leader are you? Read more posts from Congress. |
Odds-Defying Project Wins 2012 PMI Project of the Year Award
Categories:
PMI Global Congress 2012 - North America
Categories: PMI Global Congress 2012 - North America
| Seven years had passed since the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency gave engineering firm URS a 1 percent chance of meeting a global treaty deadline to destroy 220,000 chemical weapons. But on 20 October at PMI® Global Congress 2012 -- North America, the URS project team accepted the 2012 PMI Project of the Year Award -- a high honor showing excellent project management can defy the odds. Steven Warren, PhD, PMP, project general manager at URS, called the project a "massive undertaking." The company would be destroying the largest stockpile of chemical weapons in the United States. To reduce the risks on the eight-year project, the team packaged each nerve agent into different "campaigns," during which only the designated chemical could be incinerated. For instance, from September 2004 to July 2007, only sarin gas munitions were destroyed. Given the volatility, safety aspects were featured prominently at meetings. And around the facility, the team placed safety signage with a "safety message of the day" along with updated statistics, such as the number of hours since the last work injury. Despite the extensive safety precautions, in March 2010 a worker ignored protocols and was exposed to mustard agent. Though the worker only suffered minor injuries, the mistake could have been fatal. The accident prompted regulators to shut down the site for a month as they investigated. In response, the team created a position dedicated to identifying potential safety issues throughout the facility. Empowered to escalate problems to management, this team member circulated weekly safety reports among the highest-ranking members of the team. The project was ultimately delivered under budget and early -- a powerful, true team effort. "On behalf of URS; our contractors; our client, the U.S. Army; our stakeholders; and even, to a lesser extent our regulators, thank you," Mr. Warren said in accepting the award. The winning project was honored along with two finalists: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Capability Replacement Laboratories project, Richland, Washington, USA; and Procter & Gamble, ordering, shipping and billing process project, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Look for video case studies of all the finalists, more awards coverage and a full list of winners on PMI.org. |
5 Steps to Master Requirements Prioritization
| Requirements prioritization is a recognized project management practice. It's a decision-making process that enables project managers to focus on the deliverables that add the most value to a project's outcome. It is quite rare that projects are conducted without time, scope and budget constraints. Most projects will likely need requirements prioritization. Sometimes the prioritization process can lead to conflicts between the project beneficiaries. You might have to scope in requirements that address one person's needs, while de-scoping other requirements that address someone else's needs. This five-step approach can help a project manager master requirements prioritization without getting into conflicting situations: 1. Prioritize as a common practice Make it clear from the beginning that requirements prioritization is a common and required practice for any project that deals with constraints. Without prioritization, a constrained project could fail to reach its objectives. 2. Involve stakeholders Not everyone on the project team should be involved in prioritizing requirements, but not involving the right people in this decision-making process could lead to project conflicts or missed project objectives. The project's beneficiaries -- such as product owners, end-users or business departments -- should prioritize their own requirements. But project sponsors or organizations outside the project, such as legal departments, can be involved in your prioritization process. 3. Qualify requirements Identify and apply key qualitative dimensions that support prioritization, such as priority, severity, urgency, complexity or mandatory requirements. Then identify and apply key quantitative dimensions, such as weight or grades. Use numbers to reflect the possible grades for each qualitative dimension. For example:
Based on the qualitative and quantitative values, define a formula or matrix to apply when prioritizing requirements. For example, a requirement with high severity will get a 0.8 rating (0.8 x 1) and will be prioritized ahead of a requirement with a high urgency (0.8 x 0.7= 0.56) 5. Document the approach Document the prioritization approach in the requirements management plan as part of the project management plan. This leaves no room for interpretations, doubts or subjective biases during the prioritization process. How do you prioritize requirements on your projects? |