The 'Pivot' Theory to Practice

Communicating between teams, stakeholders and individuals is vital for project success.  This is especially true when requirements are constantly emerging and shifting in the agile and hybrid project environments in which we find ourselves today (Mastrogiacomo, Missonier & Bonazzi, 2014).  Therefore, our communicating methods must accommodate this dynamism and agility.

Here are 3 methods of communicating that have been effective for me over the years.

1.  Get out of your office and talk to people--especially when you don't need anything

I have found myself at times in the past as the "room grenade".  It's an uncomfortable feeling that you get when people scatter (either physically or emotionally) because they feel like every time you come to talk to them you are going to ask them for something or to follow up on a task that is due.  Chances are that they know what they have to do, and they are used to PM's telling them that they either did it wrong or that they haven't done it on time.  Rather than waiting to develop a relationship during this stressful time, why not stop by someone's office on your team just to say hello, or to thank them for their work during the last phase or to complement someone on their team.  With all of the electronic methods of communication we have today there still is no better way to communicate your entire message and build a relationship than a face to face interaction.

2.  Remain consistent with your approach--unless it isn't working

I've had leaders and PMO's direct me to communicate a certain way, and I kept it up even though the results we wanted weren't coming.  I've been in project meetings in which people claim not to know what is going on even though I've sent out dozens of progress reports on tasks, milestones and overall project status.  Yes, it is up to other professionals to read emails, notifications or reports, but it's also up to us to communicate with people in the method that works for them.  How do we mitigate this risk of a message not received?  Ask people during the initiation phase "how would you like me to pass you project information?"  You may be surprised what you get as an answer to that question.  One of the engineers I work with told me "don't send me an email, I won't read it!  Either do a "drive-by" my desk or Skype me with something important." 

3.  Don't wait until the progress report goes out to communicate!
The proliferation of iterative development and smaller increments of capability serves well for communication as well.  If I can make contact through electronic methods (slack, chat, email), and personal methods (conversations in person, phone calls) several times during the period, it will only strengthen the impact of a progress report for a person.  Most of my teams are working other projects and will remember personal interactions in the hall and by Skype if I reach out to them regularly. 

Ultimately, we can know everything about our project--the percent complete, the CV, SV, SPI, CPI, key risks/issues--but if nobody else knows about the information or if they have a partial picture then we are failing our project teams.  Project success can be achieved even with poor communication, but it's easier to be successful with stellar communication.

Reference: 

Mastrogiacomo, S. Missonier, S., & Bonazzi, R. (2014). Talk before it's too late: Reconsidering the role of conversation in information systems project management, Journal of Management Information Systems, 31(1), 44-78. doi: 10.2753/MIS0742-1222310103

How many of us have been in PMO meetings where the topic of risk is discussed, and there is an uncomfortable pause in the room?  I believe that this pause is because we all are relatively adept at identifying risk, but after that identification we are uncertain of how to handle it.  Sometimes the plan is either only partially completed or can be executed only with extreme difficulty.  We tend to have trouble regarding the next steps to accomplish and grasping what it means regarding those risks/opportunities. 

- Who do we talk to about them?

- At what interval do we discuss them?

- Who is responsible?

- How long should we keep them on the register? our risk matrix?...our minds?

A Matter of Perspective

Before we can talk about uncertainty management (risks and opportunities) let's review some definitions and frameworks.

Individual uncertainty in a project or program is "a specific event or condition that might have an effect on project objectives" (Standard for Risk Management, 2009, p.10)

Overall project uncertainty "represents the effect on the project as a whole."  It is "more than just the sum of individual uncertainties on a project, and "represents the exposure of stakeholders to the implications of variations in project outcome(s)"  (Standard for Risk Management, 2009, p.10)

In other words, each individual risk (or opportunity) is an entity for management that combine in a complex fashion to shape the overall uncertainty management framework for the project.  "Framework" is also a key concept.  I've studied and practiced one (or a combination of both) of these in my career.

1.  Project Uncertainty Management Process (PUMP), (Chapman & Ward, 2011)

2.  PMBOK Risk Management Knowledge area

The PUMP framework emphasizes an early identification of risks in the process, but what to do about them is deferred until later.  During identification a tracking interval and series of metrics should be established so trends can be tracked for proper monitoring and impact analysis of risk. 

The PUMP structure follows (Chapman & Ward, 2011).

• Identification phase
  • Search—Using a range of techniques find sources and techniques regarding uncertainty
  • Classify—Aggregation and de-aggregation of the items found in the search portion to provide a structure for management
  • Clarify—Proactive and reactive potential response should be outlined here
  • Consider—Secondary effects responses of uncertainty management
  • Iterate—Identify items for further study and create a risk watch list
• Structure phase
  • Develop the order of sources and responses—provide order from chaos for future resource allocation
  • Characterize interactions—understand the additive and clustering of potential uncertainties
  • Classification refining—after more information is known, realign groups of uncertainties
  • Restructure appropriately—this is an iterative process that continues throughout the project lifecycle
• Clarify Ownership
  • Every element of the PUMP must have a person or team responsible for monitoring/controlling that uncertainty. Otherwise it could get lost in the structure, and remain a passive task that comes back to cause problems in the project (Chapman & Ward, 2011).

The PMBOK risk management (Project Management Institute, 2017) procedure includes the following:

• Plan risk management
  • Align with project charter
  • Identify stakeholders
  • Align resources & register stakeholders
• Identify the risks
  • Uses a variety of inputs from other processes to make a list of risks
• Perform quantitative & qualitative risk analysis of impacts
  • Leverages the risk management plan created in the first step above to mitigate each risk
• Plan responses
  • Updates the project management plan with appropriate risk response
• Control risks
  • An analysis of trends and strategic reserve are evaluated periodically
  • Updates to the project plan are derived

Pivoting from Theory to Practice

Now for the pivot--the flowchart below is a framework that has been working for me.  Note that blue denotes what to KNOW and orange denotes what to DO.

Posted on: January 07, 2019 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The Initial Pivot

Categories: PMI Practices, New Practitioners

 

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