Voices on Project Management

By

Peter Tarhanidis, Ph.D.

Project management methodologies have evolved significantly over the years, with waterfall and agile emerging as two of the most prominent approaches. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, making them suitable for different types of projects and organizational needs.

• Waterfall is a linear, sequential approach to project management. It is characterized by distinct phases; each phase must be completed before the next begins with limited ability to revisit or revise previous stages. Waterfall is effective for projects with well-defined requirements and a clear path to completion, such as construction or manufacturing projects.
• Agile is an iterative, incremental approach designed to accommodate change and foster continuous improvement. It emphasizes collaboration, customer feedback, and small, manageable units of work called sprints. Agile is well-suited for projects where requirements are expected to evolve, such as software development or other innovative fields.

Surveys indicate:

• 51% of companies implement waterfall and 71% of companies utilize agile.
• PMI’s 2020 Pulse of the Profession® report Ahead of the Curve: Forging a Future-Focused Culture indicated that 11.4% of investment is wasted due to poor project performance.
• The Standish Group’s CHAOS report showed only a 31% project success rate.
• Harvard Business Review estimated a $3 trillion annual global financial loss, wasted resources, missed opportunities, and negative societal impacts due to project failures.

Given these statistics, you may ask which method is best for a given project. Many organizations find value in blending these methodologies to create a hybrid approach, leveraging the structured planning of waterfall and the flexibility of agile. This hybrid model can offer a balanced framework that enhances efficiency, adaptability, and customer satisfaction.

While waterfall's structured approach provides clear milestones and accountability, its rigidity can be a drawback in dynamic environments. Agile's flexibility and responsiveness to change make it ideal for such settings, but it can struggle with scope creep and lacks the clear, long-term planning of waterfall.

The hybrid approach seeks to combine the best of both worlds, providing a structured framework that remains flexible and adaptable. By relying on a competency and development framework, management can highlight the key components of hybrid—consistently applying best practices to mature success and project outcomes.

Key components of hybrid project management include:

1. Phase-based structure with iterative execution: Projects are divided into phases similar to waterfall, but within each phase, agile sprints are used to execute tasks. This allows for detailed planning and requirements gathering upfront, followed by iterative development and testing.
2. Defined milestones with flexible deliverables: Hybrid project management sets clear milestones to track progress and ensure alignment with overall goals. However, the deliverables within each milestone can be adjusted based on iterative feedback and changing requirements.
3. Customer collaboration and feedback loops: Regular interactions with customers and stakeholders are maintained to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments. This aligns with agile’s emphasis on customer collaboration and helps ensure the project remains on track to meet user needs.
4. Comprehensive documentation with adaptive planning: Initial project documentation and planning follow a waterfall approach to establish a clear roadmap. Throughout the project, adaptive planning is used to refine and update this documentation based on iterative insights and changes in scope.

Steps for implementing a hybrid model:

1. Assess project requirements and environment: Evaluate the project's nature and complexity, and the environment in which it will be executed. Projects with stable requirements and clear end goals may lean more toward waterfall, while those with uncertain or evolving requirements may benefit more from agile practices.
2. Define phases and iterations: Establish major project phases with clear objectives and timelines. Within these phases, implement agile sprints or iterations to manage work increments, allowing for continuous assessment and adjustment.
3. Foster collaboration and communication: Create a culture of open communication and collaboration among team members, stakeholders, and customers. Regular meetings, such as daily stand-ups and sprint reviews, can help maintain alignment and address issues promptly.
4. Balance documentation and flexibility: Ensure that initial project plans and requirements are well-documented but remain open to revising them as the project progresses. Use documentation as a living document that evolves with the project.
5. Monitor progress and adapt: Use waterfall’s milestone tracking to monitor overall progress, and agile’s sprint reviews to assess interim deliverables. Be prepared to adapt plans and strategies based on feedback and performance metrics.

The leadership required in hybrid project management has a blend of strategic oversight and adaptive facilitation to balance the structured rigor of waterfall with the dynamic responsiveness of agile. Effective leaders in this context must embody several key traits and skills to ensure project success:

1. Visionary thinking: Leaders must articulate to the team a clear vision of the project’s goals. They need to establish long-term objectives while accommodating short-term adjustments, maintaining alignment with overall project aims.
2. Flexibility and adaptability: Leaders must pivot between structured planning and iterative development. They must be comfortable with change and capable of guiding their team through unexpected challenges and shifts in project scope.
3. Strong communication skills: Open, transparent communication is essential. Leaders must facilitate continuous dialogue among team members, stakeholders and customers. Regular updates and feedback loops are crucial for maintaining alignment and addressing issues.
4. Collaborative mindset: Encouraging a culture of collaboration is vital. Leaders should promote teamwork, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued. This involves fostering an environment where team members feel empowered to contribute ideas and solutions.
5. Strategic decision-making: Effective hybrid project leaders must be adept at making informed decisions quickly, balancing the need for detailed planning with the flexibility to adapt plans based on real-time insights and feedback.
6. Risk management: Proactively identifying and mitigating risks through both structured risk assessment and iterative reviews is crucial. Leaders must be vigilant and responsive, adjusting strategies as necessary to keep the project on track.

By embodying these qualities, leaders can successfully navigate the complexities of hybrid project management, ensuring that projects are both well-organized and adaptable to change. The overall benefits of hybrid project management provide for:

1. Enhanced flexibility: Combining structured phases with iterative sprints allows for greater adaptability to changes in project scope, requirements and market conditions.
2. Improved stakeholder engagement: Regular feedback loops and collaborative practices ensure stakeholders are consistently involved and satisfied with the project’s direction.
3. Risk mitigation: The hybrid approach can identify and address risks earlier in the process through iterative reviews, reducing the likelihood of major issues arising late in the project.
4. Balanced planning and execution: It provides a comprehensive planning framework while maintaining the flexibility needed for creative problem-solving and innovation.

In conclusion, hybrid project management offers a robust framework that leverages the strengths of both waterfall and agile methodologies. By blending structured planning with iterative execution, organizations can achieve greater efficiency, adaptability, and customer satisfaction, making it a versatile approach for a wide range of projects.

Please share in the comments how your organization defined hybrid project approaches and any case studies that you would like to share.

References

1. PMI Pulse of the Profession®: Ahead of the Curve: Forging a Future-Focused Culture
2. The Standish Group: Benchmarks and Assessments
3. It’s Time to End the Battle Between Waterfall and Agile
4. Agile vs Waterfall: Which Approach Should You Choose for Your Project
5. Waterfall vs Agile Methodology: What’s Better for Your Project?

By Peter Tarhanidis, Ph.D.

One of the impacts artificial intelligence has had is prompting a reconstitution of project management. Here I look to leading industry experts to explore the benefits to project management systems due to matured AI software; and the maturity of the project manager as a data- and fact-driven champion of business outcomes and innovation. This combination of advanced project systems performance and leadership competence will significantly transform project success rates.

As a background to the current state of project management, HBR states that $48 trillion is invested annually in projects. The Standish Group notes that only 35% of projects are successful, and 65% of projects waste resources and have unrealized benefits.

Additionally, Proofhub attributes project failure to firms that lack project management delivery systems; they are prone to miss targets and overspend. It noted that 67% of projects fail because project management is undervalued; 44% of all managers do not believe in the importance of project management software; and 46% of firms place a high priority on project management. Also noted: Utilizing a good software program reduces failure by 10%, and scope creep by 17%.

More specifically, a PMI Learning Library article noted some reasons for project failure:

1. Unclear goals and objectives
2. Lack of resource planning
3. Poor communication across the organization
4. Inadequate stakeholder management
5. Poorly defined project scope
6. Inaccurate cost and time estimates
7. Inadequate risk management
8. Inexperienced project managers
9. Unrealistic expectations

Maturing Systems
An HBR article suggests that poor project success rates are due to a low level of available mature systems. Many firms continue to rely on spreadsheets, slides and other applications that haven’t matured current practices. While the current tools are adequate in measuring project performance, they do not allow for the development of intelligent automation and collaboration across the portfolio of projects. The opportunity to apply AI to project management could improve the success ratio by a quantifiable 25%, or trillions of dollars of newly realized benefits for firms and society.

Gartner Inc. analysts predict that by 2030, AI software—driven by conversational AI, machine learning and robotic process automation for gathering data, reporting and tracking—will eliminate 80% of all project management office tasks. Gartner identifies project management disruption in six aspects:

1. Better selection and prioritization
2. Support for the project management office
3. Improved, faster project definition, planning and reporting
4. Virtual project assistants
5. Advanced testing systems and software
6. A new role for the project manager

PwC envisions AI-enabled project management software will improve a project leader’s decision-making process across the following five key areas crucial to success:

1. Business insights improvements by filtering better data for relevant knowledge
2. Risk management assessing scenarios that offer mitigation strategies
3. Human capital in allocating resources more appropriately to meet the business priorities
4. Integrating various technologies and specialists to improve project outcomes
5. Active assistance by enhancing administrative tasks and stakeholder progress communications

PwC posits the advancements in project management software are an opportunity for firms and leaders that are most ready to take advantage of this disruption and reap the rewards.

PM Competence
PMI’s Project Manager Competency Development (PMCD) Framework provides an assessment and development of a project manager’s competence. It is based on the premise that competencies have a direct effect on performance. A project manager’s competence can be categorized in terms of project management knowledge, project management performance and their accomplishments, and personal competency in performing the project activities and personality characteristics. This combination is the stated success criteria for a competent project manager.

AI’s capability to assess disparate sources of big data to obtain actionable insights arms project managers with improved decision-making competence throughout the project lifecycle. However, a challenge noted by PwC’s recent analysis of OECD data (covering 200,000 jobs in 29 countries) warns that AI’s job displacement effect will automate 30% of jobs involving administrative manual tasks by the mid-2030s. This indicates a clear need to upskill project manager competence in order to thrive in the future.

In order to succeed, a firm’s culture of adaptability and lifelong learning is a cornerstone for shifting today’s project management roles into the future. They will need to expand competence in soft skills, business and management skills, technical and digital skills—all working in concert with each other.

IAPM states project managers will face fundamental changes over the next 10 years with job descriptions and roles. It suggests AI will make logical analysis and decisions, allowing the PM to focus their main area of responsibility on creativity, resolving conflicts, and innovation.

Lastly, with any transformation or disruption, one must consider the actions and obstacles—whether financial, management support, or workforce ability—to embrace and enact change. Here are some key considerations to reflect on:

1. Does your firm value project management?
2. Is your firm a quick adopter of intelligence-based project software?
3. Will your firm invest in your competence development?

Post your thoughts in the comments!

References

1. PMI: Project Management Competency Development Framework—Second Edition
2. PMI: Why do projects really fail?
3. HBR: How AI Will Transform Project Management
4. Gartner Says 80 Percent of Today’s Project Management Tasks Will Be Eliminated by 2030 as Artificial Intelligence Takes Over
5. IPAM: Will project managers soon be replaced by AI?
6. PWC: A Virtual Partnership? How Artificial Intelligence will disrupt Project Management and change the role of Project Managers
7. Proofhub: Top 10 Reasons Why Projects Fail (And How to Solve Them)

by Cyndee Miller

After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, many—including me—wondered if the storied city would ever be the same. Slowly but surely, citizens, companies and non-profits began to rebuild.

One of the most ambitious efforts was Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System’s Project Legacy. The decade-long, US$1 billion project resulted in a state-of-the-art healthcare center serving some 40,000 veterans.

That fighting spirit was honored last night when it was named Project of the Year.

“New Orleans is a beautiful city full of culture and this hurricane devastated it. But it did not destroy its soul,” said Fernando Rivera as he accepted the award at the PMI 2018 Professional Awards Gala.

Yet passion alone didn’t get this project across the finish line. “We couldn’t have done it without the principles and skills of project management,” he said.

Mr. Rivera didn’t leave the stage without acknowledging the outstanding work of the other two finalists:

Poor roads, impassable bridges, a site located 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the nearest port and the worst economic recession in Brazil’s history. Let’s just says Fibria faced its fair share of hurdles as it expanded its hardwood pulp production facility in Três Lagoas, Brazil.

The project to deliver the industry’s first forest-to-port pulp operation wrapped two months early, nearly US$500 million under budget and with no serious accidents among workers. It also provided a huge economic boost to the community, creating more than 40,000 temporary gigs and 3,000 long-term jobs. And by incorporating big data, machine learning and automation, the project gives Fibria an edge on the innovation front, too.

The other finalist was McDonald’s Digital Acceleration project, an aggressive tech play—especially for such an established player—that put customers in charge of how they wanted to order and pay. It all started in March 2017, when the fast food behemoth’s president and CEO vowed to company shareholders that the chain would deploy mobile order and pay in 20,000 restaurants by the end of the year.

The team not only beat the deadline by a month, but it delivered the project nearly US$10 million under budget. And the response was massive. Within months of the project’s launch, the app had racked up 30 million downloads and 110 million redeemed offers in the U.S. alone.

It wasn’t just the big-budget projects racking up kudos. Attendees also got a look at this year’s PMI Award for Project Excellence winners (which all had budgets less than US$100 million):

University Health Network created standardized, timely and meaningful electronic discharge summaries for its 35,000 annual patients across a Canadian healthcare system.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions excavated, consolidated and covered massive amounts of ash and contaminated soil alongside a closed coal-fired power plant in the U.S.

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland rolled out a new online platform to replace its paper-based system used to track physicians’ progress across 36 medical competencies.

Want more? PM Network will take a deeper dive into all the project action over the next few months. Plus, you can check out video case studies on PMI’s YouTube channel.

Find Purpose to Unlock Exceptional Performance

By Peter Tarhanidis, MBA, PhD

There are three common maturity levels in developing project management leadership:

• In the first level, the project leader becomes familiar with PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) and begins to implement the methods in their initiatives.
• In the intermediate level, project leaders broaden their abilities by implementing more complex projects and demonstrating a strategic use of the methodology.
• And in the most mature state, project leaders demonstrate high performance by using advanced project methodology and leadership competencies to take on an organization’s most critical initiatives.

It takes many years to cultivate the skills necessary to execute complex initiatives of all sizes and types. And project leaders may find gratification in the personal development to sustain their performance, as well as their project achievements. 

However, over time, it’s not unusual to lose sight of that passion, excitement and engagement for executing initiatives. Instead, the project leader may default to simply providing the project management administrative activities of project execution. This reversal of development is a leadership pitfall and creates a chasm between high performance and exceptional performance.

One way to bridge the chasm is to be purpose-driven. A defined purpose distinguishes oneself as a distinctive as a brand. A brand is underpinned by one’s education, abilities and accomplishments. By identifying what is central to your interests and commitments, project leaders can re-engage with purpose and unlock exceptional performance. This can be broad or can be very specific in a subject expertise.

I have use the following method to find my brand and define my purpose:

1. Develop a purpose statement—this is your elevator pitch that quickly and simply defines who you are and what you stand for as a project leader.
2. Assign annual goals to achieve the purpose and watch your performance increase.
3. Create a network of relationships that support your purpose and brand.

Having used this approach to define my purpose, I learned I enjoy the macro view of the firm. I regularly coach leaders and help them develop their teams. Therefore, I like to simultaneously drive toward exceptional performance to achieve a firm’s mission and to advance the needs of society.

Please share your purpose and any examples of exceptional performance you achieved toward that purpose.

by Cyndee Miller

Agile is the punk rock of project management. After years of living on the fringe, it’s officially gone mainstream—much to the joy of some and the utter dismay of others.

Like punk, it was built around a call to disrupt the status quo.

When a group of software programmers wrote the agile manifesto 16 years ago, the big goal was to embrace change: “to be aware of changes to the product under development, the needs and wishes of the users, the competition, the market and the technology,” Andy Hunt, a co-author of the agile manifesto, told PM Network last year.

While that purpose still holds true, the agile club is no longer limited to software developers, startup leaders and waterfall haters. An HPE survey showed agile’s ascendancy from anti-establishment to mainstream really took off in the past five years, with a significant adoption inflection point occurring around 2010. And check out the current numbers: Ninety-four percent of the survey respondents in the latest VersionOne State of Agile survey said their organizations practiced agile. PMI recently partnered with Agile Alliance on an Agile Practice Guide.

Some of this comes down to the business world’s obsession with digital transformation, which 42 percent of execs say they’ve begun, according to a 2017 Gartner survey. As Jason Bloomberg, president of Intellyx, wrote: Companies are increasingly going agile “to successfully navigate the disruptive waters that threaten to drown them.”

Take South Africa’s Standard Bank. Facing competition from a rapidly expanding fintech sector, this 155-year-old bastion of financial service embarked on a multiyear digital transformation—with a shift to agile software dev at the center, according to McKinsey.

Not everyone, however, was onboard. I know, shocker, right? To change hearts and minds, the company’s CTO and his team held town hall meetings to explain their logic and set targets for the transition, gave teams autonomy to make decisions on how to go about their day-to-day functions, and co-located team members for better collaboration.

So far, so good. In early agile engagements, Standard Bank reported productivity increases of up to 50 percent and unit-cost reductions of up to 70 percent per function point.

But for some, agile’s entrance into the mainstream has given rise to a new challenge: the dilution of the very term. Mr. Hunt told PM Network the word has become “sloganized” and is “meaningless at best, jingoist at worst.”

In that same article, Jordi Teixido, PMP, COO at Strands, Barcelona, Spain, said: “Agile is wonderful when you’re really iterating and collaborating, but it’s also a refuge for mediocre practitioners who are unable to document or express their requirements or forecast what they want to build. If you don’t follow the rules of the game in waterfall, everyone knows it. But in agile, that’s harder to tell from the outside—and because of that, some people use agile on projects that would be far better under waterfall.”

What do you think? Is your organization using more agile? And do companies have a grasp on what the term really means?