Background about me:
PMP since 2015, BS in Project Management, 1 more class to complete MS in Organizational Leadership. 30 years work experience (Do the math ;), 15 years in my field. Currently manager of daily operations of 6 person team that maintains a public safety first responder radio system. Many years of experience performing upgrades, expansions, moves and site construction. I have been with my current employer for 13 months.
Current employer has undertaken a multi year system upgrade with a single vendor. Contract was signed prior to me starting.
$60 million total
$45 million hardware/software
$10 million services
$5 million contingency
RFP written by a consultant, contract negotiated by one person, reviewed by a non-technical lawyer. Contract signed 12/15/18.
We have been spinning our wheels for the last year. Disputing scope, responsibilities, schedule, costs. Contract signer believes he has contracted for a turnkey solution and a complete integration into current systems.
Contract signer rushed design/engineering stage and authorized shipment of $14million in equipment without sign off of final design. Now we are going back and negotiating design, statements of work, and costs. No viable schedule can be developed until the above is complete. Essentially ZERO progress in first year other than accepting equipment into our warehouse (and paying vendor!)
Contract signer has NO formal PM experience. He came from engineering/sales. No operational experience either.
We have ZERO formalized project management in place. The ONLY scope documentation we have is the RFP and the Contract... and the Contract is missing huge elements that were requested in the RFP. We have been presented with $10million plus in proposed changed orders!
We have no schedule, scope documentation, risk management, or accurate budget. Our "contingency" line item was for items we KNEW where going to happen, but no one estimated the costs. We have NO budget for unforeseen expenses.
Thank Goodness I am acting as technical input and supporting day to day operations. I am not directly responsible for the project, just supporting it with operational staff. However, I can't do my job well with all the project chaos.
I have expressed my concerns to leadership, mentioned that "no successful project" gets done like this and have been trying guide my manager/director towards PM. Neither of them have ever undertaken a project of this magnitude, type nor does the organization have anyone with the experience.
I feel like bringing in the PMBOK and saying "THIS is what we need to do."
Do these things "work themselves out"? Is it possible to complete a project of this magnitude without ANY formalized/structured PM? Has anyone been around a project of this size without any project management? Saving Changes...
If you're asking whether projects like this end up finishing on time, within budget, I think you've already answered that question.
DON'T throw the PMBOK Guide at it. Very few non-Project Managers will appreciate that. It can reflect negatively on you.
DO evaluate the problems you are facing. Which have the greatest impact? Which can be resolved quickly?
It sounds like the interested parties in the agreement do not agree. Resolving this might be one of your first priorities. Can you drive agreement on 1) what needs to be done, and then 2) how to do it? You can introduce project management into the situation, but the PMBOK Guide can be a big pill to swallow. Unless you are in a position to stop the project and redo everything (which you almost never will be) add project management in to the parts of the project you are planning and executing as you get there. You'll encounter resistance if people feel like you are slowing them down with process. Saving Changes...
Sounds like a government project..... Aaron has good advice. Don't show them the PMBoK, because they'll never look at it and it won't help solve the problems. Insert PM practices where you can, and be prepared in case someone needs to be sacrificed to cover for others poor performance. Saving Changes...
I work in the oil and gas industry, so I have had my fair share with over-runs, the biggest culprit being a failure to understand or identify total scope. Usually because main stakeholders were not properly addressed.
What I usually do to understand the reason for failure is to try and understand the Psychology and the Sociology behind the reason the project started and why it is failing.
A project is for people, run by people, made by people. This said, if you understand the people you will understand the problem.
Who’s the sponsor? Is this government run? Is the sponsor / managing director elected, appointed or hired? What’s the politics behind such a project? Is there a conflict of interest? Why would an engineer fast track the design process? Why were some stakeholders not involved on a multimillion-dollar project? Why is there no panic by the sponsor after a full year of no progress? What priority does the sponsor have on this project? How many other projects do they have on the go?
Once you examine these questions and others you will get a better picture as to why this is failing and the likelihood if it will be completed.
If this is political, I don’t think you or even your managers are going to be able to push this project to much. So, I wouldn’t blame your managers as they might not fully have the support they need either.
So, do these things “work themselves out”? – If this is a State-run public works project, then yes, I would say it will. Will it run over budget? Yes, already has.
Is it possible to complete a project of this magnitude without ANY formalized/structured PM? To be theoretical, anything that has a beginning and an end is considered a project, so if this project does not get cancelled then it will somehow work out. Most projects done today are done without any PM consideration and they still get finished, but not without any issues.
I think it all drills down to who the main sponsor is, what their priority is on this project, and when they are going to have their next project review process done.
If I was you, I would try and not get emotionally involved as It will only hurt your position of influence later. I would still record lessons learned and develop a project plan on how you will run your department during integration of the new system. If you do this correctly, who knows, you just might impress the powers that be. Saving Changes...
Richard OrrProject Manager| AcuStafEdina, Mn, United States
Based on what you have shared you have no scope, schedule, or budget , therefore you have no project. What you do have is a contract and 14M in equipment.
Kyle and Aaron made some great points. I would not throw the PMBOK at them as I have found that no project can meet that level of scrutiny.
But I agree, as Aaron said its important to evaluate the problems you are facing. Which have the greatest impact? Which can be resolved quickly? However, like Kyle I would recommend looking at it from the perspective of the people impacted.
What I might do is start by trying to understand the issues and then mapping them to stakeholders. Once you know who needs to be involved you can better influence the necessary parties to get thing moving in the right direction. Saving Changes...
Peter RapinSubject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent ConsultantOntario, Canada
I would consider using a risk driven approach to the issue. Pretty well everyone understands the concept of risk especially when converted to money (cost). Sit down for a few hours and list/identify everything that is going wrong, that will go wrong and that may go wrong. In a separate column list what could be the result of each risk item, a third column the probability that each will happen and a fourth with the impact should it happen. The fifth and last column (for now) is what you can do about it (mitigation). If possible, convert the impact of each into money.
If you want to get attention and start focusing on the delivery of the project - start making a plan, don't just complain.
As to PMBOK - PMBOK is a process document and requires a structure to implement. Your project apparently has no structure and trying to throw a process at it will just make it more complex and possibly even lower the probability of reaching a somewhat acceptable solution.
As to whether the project will ever be delivered - yup with lots of money, time, personnel turnover and premature aging. And, if its a government project, it will be declared a success and awards will be provided to the guilty. Saving Changes...
That's the perfect description of some of the projects that I worked. The ideal project, on time, on budget, all the scope documented, no issues with the 3rd parties...seems like a perfect dream for a project manager.
As Aaron and other peers mentioned before, please don't go to the executive managers with the PMBOK, and also, remember that the PMBOK will not give you the answer to all your issues.
People will save your project, talk with your team and try to figure out if they know what are the needs and what they can do on the target time.
Talk with your sponsor, not with PMIsh terms, if he/she is from finances, talk about numbers, if he/she is from supply chain, bring numbers as losses...
Influencing is the tool that will help you to navigate the water.
Good Luck, Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Understood all! The dropping the book comment was indeed in jest. What I do know is we need some sort of structure to even recover.
Yes it a government project and this is not my first government gig. Its my 5th. I have worked in this field in government for about 15 years.
The "project director" has indeed run into trouble with the Project Sponsor. The project was conceptualized prior to us merging. The project director WAS the Sponsor prior to merger and now he is subordinate to the organizations Executive Director/Sponsor.
I have been working towards progress, making suggestions, counseling (in a supportive manner) in private, voiced my concerns, highlighted opportunities for success and have tried to be a positive force.
My work/position is very safe. A bit uncomfortable right now but stable.
Its is a train wreck in slow motion that is hard to detach from. The sponsors/executives have never undertaken a project of this size, the project director has never implemented a project of any size (he came from sales)and the operations staff has never made any significant infrastructure changes. This project will get done. I just hate to see it years late, millions over budget and not meeting expectations.
Thanks for the sounding board. I do appreciate it. Saving Changes...
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