The Project Management Corner

As project managers and professionals we all want to improve ourselves, become better at what we do and grow. In his video 'How to get better at the things you care about', Eduardo Briceño talks about what we can do to continue improving. Here are my 5 takeaways.

1.    The Two Zones

The most effective people and teams alternate between two zones,

• The learning zone: Maximizes our growth and future performance.
• The performance zone: Maximizes our immediate performance.

To continue improving we must have both of these zones in our lives and we must be clear about when we want to be in each of them with goals, activities and expectations. The learning zone includes goals for what we want to improve and the activities for those improvements. This is where we concentrate on what we haven't mastered and most importantly expect to make mistakes. In the performance zone we focus on what we have mastered, execute as best as we can and try to minimize mistakes.

2.    The Way to High Performance

One of the reasons we don't improve despite our hard work is because we spend too much time in the performance zone, doing. This hinders growth and long term performance. To become a high performer we have to alternate between learning and performing.

The learning zone is where we do deliberate practice, being clear about which sub skills we are trying to improve and concentrating on going beyond what we can currently do. For example, improving our typing speed by 10%. We can also solicit frequent feedback and continue to adjust.

In the performance zone we get things done in the best way that we can and gather information to identify what to focus on next, when we go back to the learning zone. The key is to purposefully build our skills in the learning zone and then apply them in the performance zone.

3.    More Time for Learning

To continue improving we must spend more time in the learning zone. There are several things we can do to achieve this.

• Develop a growth mindset by believing and understanding that you can improve.
• Find a purpose that you care about, because improving a particular skill takes time and effort and it can't be done without a purpose.
• Have ideas or find ideas about how to improve and what you can do to improve.
• Be in low stakes situations. Mistakes are expected in the learning zone and their consequences must not be significant.

4.    High Stakes vs Low Stakes

One of the reasons that most of us spend more time in the performance zone is that our work environments are often high-stakes. Most of us operate in organizations that encourage great work and flawless execution cultures. We can't afford to make mistakes in our projects because the consequences could be catastrophic. This type of environment leads employees to stay within what they know rather than trying new things and taking risks. The learning zone requires low-stakes environments where we can make mistakes and learn from them. One thing project managers can do is to create low-stakes islands within high-stakes environments for ourselves and our teams.

5.    Create Low Stakes Islands

There are several things we can do individually to create low-stakes islands for ourselves and our teams.

• Find a mentor: Find a person with whom you can exchange ideas, have vulnerable conversations or role play.
• Feedback: Ask for feedback oriented meetings as your projects progress.
• Self-learning: Take time to read, watch videos or take online courses.
• Observation, reflection and adjustment: Execute projects and perform as expected. Then, reflect on what you can do better next time. Observe and try to emulate experts in the field.
• Sharing: Lead and lower the stakes for your teams by sharing what you want to get better at by asking questions about what you don't know and by soliciting feedback. Share mistakes and what you learned from them so that your team members can feel safe to do the same.

Always have something that you are trying to improve so that your improvement is never ending. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Requirements management is a critical part of executing a project. PMI’s research has shown that poor requirements management is a major cause of project failure. Apart from defining a good requirements management process, project managers must also recruit a team of skilled business analysts. The elicitation and the management of the requirements can define the entire course of the project and the capability of the business analyst team is crucial to success. As project managers we have to be able to spot good business analysts and know the vital qualities that distinguish them.

Here are the five essential skills that a good business analyst should have.

1. Analytical skills

A Business Analyst must be able to dissect a requirement, analyze its impact on the system and understand how it fits into the overall business objectives. Analytical skills are the livelihood of the business analyst. Even the greenest BA must have some level of analytical ability to take up the role. An experienced BA should know how much to analyze and be able to establish what is needed to implement the requirement. The BA team cannot be in a state of analysis-paralysis, not knowing when to end the analysis process. They must have the ability to keep the objective in mind and set an exit point for the analysis as well as guide the business users to do the same.

2. Communication

Business Analysts must have excellent communication skills. They spend a great part of their time communicating with clients, team members and other stakeholders, from eliciting requirements to discussing solutions to building  a consensus. The BA has to be able to communicate clearly and confidently with business teams and technical teams alike. They have the responsibility of eliciting the requirements from the client which can set the entire course of the project. Any gaps in communication can lead to serious problems and have an impact on the product  to be delivered. Project Managers therefore have a responsibility to ensure that the BA team has the necessary level of communication skills for the role.

3. Ability to build relationships

As the liaison between the team and the business users the BA should be able to build relationships and share a good rapport with all parties. They have to elicit the requirements from the business users and then convey them to the technical team. For a BA to conduct both of these activities successfully they must engage and build good relationships with everyone they interact. At times the BA may even have to mediate disagreements between business users and technical teams or development and quality assurance teams and get buy-in from all groups. The BA who can develop strong relationships and work collaboratively with everybody will be a great asset to the project.

4. Technical know-how

Business Analysts should have good technical acumen and knowledge of the technology being used to build the product. Sound technical ability will help the BA to translate the requirements from the business side to the technical team easily. Having knowledge of the underlying technology will increase the BA’s ability advice the client about technical limitations and propose alternative solutions during the requirements elicitation process. Moreover it will enable the BA to work more closely with the development team.

5. Domain knowledge

Another important skill for a Business Analyst is strong domain knowledge of the relevant system and industry. Lack of domain knowledge can cause problems with the requirements which in turn will have an adverse effect on the overall project. A BA who lacks domain knowledge will usually take everything the client says as-is and will not be able to advise or provide input. With sound knowledge of the domain a BA can work confidently with the business team, understand the business objectives, ask the right questions and improve the overall quality of the requirements.

What are the other skills that you think are important for a BA to be successful? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

A checklist is an extremely useful tool for project management. In every stage of the project from start to finish, checklists are needed to ensure all required activities are performed. The project schedule itself is a checklist of sorts with a breakdown of tasks that have to be completed to deliver the final product. In Atul Gawande's book 'The Checklist Manifesto', the checklist is presented as a tool for overcoming failure, something that makes up for human errors when expertise alone is not enough in complex environments.

The Good Checklist

A good checklist should be precise, efficient and to the point, easy to use even in the most difficult situations and above all, practical. They should not try to spell out everything but provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps. They should turn the user's brain on, rather than off.

A bad checklist on the other hand is vague and imprecise, too long, hard to use and impractical. They treat people using the tools as dumb and try to spell out every single step.

Key Decisions

The book points out a number of key decisions to make when creating a checklist from scratch. Define a clear point at which the checklist is supposed to be used. Decide whether you want a DO-CONFIRM checklist or a READ-DO checklist.

With a DO-CONFIRM checklist the team members perform their tasks from memory and experience. Then they pause to run the checklist and confirm that everything was done. With a READ-DO checklist team members carry out the tasks as they check them off. When creating a checklist, you have to pick the type that makes the most sense for the situation. DO-CONFIRM checklists provide greater flexibility to the team while stopping them at certain points to confirm that critical steps have not been overlooked.

As stated earlier, a good checklist must not be too long. A rule of thumb is to keep it to between 5 and 9 items, which is the limit of working memory. However, it depends on the context. You should keep the list short by focusing on the killer items, i.e. the steps that are most dangerous to skip and sometimes overlooked. Keep in mind that the checklist must not become a distraction, prompting the team to start short-cutting.

The wording of the checklist is equally important. It should be simple, exact and use familiar language. Ideally it should fit one page, be free of clutter and unnecessary colors.

Test and Refine

Once the checklist is drafted it has to be tested. First drafts can fail. You need to study the failure, make changes and keep testing until the checklist works consistently. Even the simplest will require re-visiting and refining. The purpose of the checklist is to aid. If it does not achieve the purpose it needs rework.

The Advantages

The book cites many advantages of using checklists. They act as a defense against failure arising from flaws in memory, attention and thoroughness. By clearly setting out the minimum necessary steps in a process they help in memory recall, establish discipline and a higher standard of performance. Even the most experienced among us can benefit from a checklist. They can help experts remember how to manage a complex process or configure a complex system.

Checklists make priorities clearer and help the team to function better. Most importantly, checklists get the mundane stuff out of the way. By removing the routines that your brain shouldn't have to occupy itself with, the checklist allows you to focus on the hard stuff.

Checklists can be useful both in your professional as well as personal life. Even a simple mental checklist will help you to be better prepared. For example, making sure you have everything you need before you step out of the house every morning.

Are you an advocate of checklists? In what situations do you use them? Share your feedback in the comments.

Project Managers have to develop a variety of skills to be successful. As business needs change quickly and projects become more complex, staying on time and on budget becomes increasingly challenging. One way to rise up to this challenge is to focus on improving your skills. Here are 4 ways project managers can develop themselves.

Team Management

Effectively managing the team is a must to ensure that the project is delivered on time, within budget and with the expected level of quality. Project managers have to lead their teams and guide them to deliver successful outcomes. Through its people analytics program, Google has identified 8 attributes that define top-performing managers. Cultivating these attributes will enable project managers to become better leaders and manage their teams.

1. Be a good coach.
2. Empower the team and don't micromanage.
3. Expresses interest in and concern for team members’ success and personal well-being.
4. Be productive and results-oriented.
5. Be a good communicator by listening and sharing information.
6. Help the team with career development.
7. Have a clear vision and strategy for the team.
8. Develop the key technical skills that will help you to advise the team.

Communication

Nearly 90% of a project manager's time is known to be spent in communication, which means that Project Managers have to be excellent communicators. Research conducted by Quantified Communications has uncovered what visionary leaders do when they communicate. Project managers can use these simple techniques to hone their communication skills.

1. Make things simple by breaking them down into steps.
2. Use second-person pronouns and perceptual language to get your vision into the minds of your audience.

Whether you are talking to your team or your stakeholders, these techniques will help you to get your message across and become a better communicator. 

Goal Setting

The way you articulate your goals has an impact on how well you achieve them. If the goal is articulated in a positive way, as doing more of a good thing than less of a bad thing people tend to accept them more willingly. For example "I will pay attention during the meeting" is better than "I will not check my e-mail during the meeting".

Whether you are setting a personal goal or a project goal, think about the way it is articulated. A goal that focuses on something positive will help you and your team to have a better rate of success. 

Learning and Adapting

As business needs and technologies change rapidly, project managers have to adapt. It's imperative to stay abreast of the trends in the industry and learn new skills which will help you to grow. The more open you are to leaning the more you will be able to compete and succeed.

Creation of new platforms, tools and applications will continue to grow. The industries of the future will not be what they are now. In order to adapt we have to be able to take our skills and domain expertise and learn how to orient them towards the new industries. Making a commitment to lifelong leaning will improve your ability to adapt and succeed.

How do you work on improving your skills? Share your thoughts in the comments.

References:

1. Effective Teams and Managers: What Google Has Learned - http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/brian-welle-wharton-people-analytic-conference/
2. Mastering the Art of Communication: What Big Data Can Tell Us - http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-science-of-effective-communication/
3. How to Have a Good Day at Work - http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/160523b_kwradio_webb-caroline-webb/
4. ‘Industries of the Future’: Alec Ross Unveils the Winners - http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/introducing-industries-future-alec-ross-unveils-winners/