pm-lotus by Howard Vaughan

Posts Tagged ‘Execution’

Much more than a Memory Jogger

Among all the tools at our disposal for managing projects, programs and portfolios, checklists are perhaps the simplest and most productive means of building consistency in work practices. Checklists are useful in almost every field of human endeavor, and in particular where repeatability and systematic action drive performance. Yet they are still much under-used in the planning and managing of projects.

As a good friend of mine, Nick Gogerty, recently posted in Checklists, hedge funds and human behaviour, checklists provide for better outcomes – both individual and team. And the more collective experience that goes into the creation of a checklist, the more value it will have. Well thought-out checklists are indispensable wherever there is a need for control, risk reduction, rapid response or safety – as doctors, flight crew, investors and others the world over can testify, the checklist provides efficient guidance, increased confidence and focus under stress (see The Checklist Manifesto – How to Get things Right - a great-sounding read that Nick highly recommends).

Twelve Checks for Planning

Likewise for project managers – checklists can be used for all manner of things. Where training builds knowledge, checklists facilitate application.  Here is a high level twelve-point checklist for use during project planning:

1. Have the needs and concerns of all key stakeholders been considered and resolved?
2. Does the project have an overall approved mission statement defining the scope, schedule and resources/budget?
3. Has the relative flexibility among scope, schedule, resources and budget been determined?
4. Have all project deliverables been identified and described in detail with unambiguous completion criteria?
5. Are roles and responsibilities defined and agreed upon for all project team members?
6. Has an appropriately detailed work breakdown structure been created with input from key team members?
7. Has a credible schedule with identifiable critical path and late schedule been developed from the WBS and optimized within the project constraints?
8. Have milestones been included in the schedule to track major events, completed phases and/or deliverables and external dependencies?
9. Have workload commitments been identified for each week of the project and agreed to by team members and their managers?
10. Have response plans been developed for the most significant threats to project success?
11. Has a change management process been defined and agreed to by all key stakeholders?
12. Has the governance structure for the project been established with an agreed sponsorship role and expectations set for review frequency and format?

One of the features of checklists is that they can be designed to extend hierarchically, such that a sub-checklist could be developed to facilitate any or all of the checks above (e.g. a stakeholder analysis checklist or a risk management checklist). The PMI, training firms and PMOs would do well to promote checklists more strongly – project managers like to use checklists; not many want to read through an overweight methodology. And managers like checklists because they improve quality and instill consistency. For the converted, I’ll have more checklists in future posts.

Project Management and Culture - not always love at first sight

One of the most critical success factors in implementing project management is ensuring the right fit of processes and systems with the culture of the organization. Yet culture is such a wonderfully complex and seemingly amorphous thing that it can be hard to know what “fit” really means if we can’t define the characteristics and boundaries of the firm’s culture.

The Re-Engineering Alternative by William Schneider provides both a fascinating insight into organizational culture as well as a practical toolkit for determining your own company’s core culture. This is not a new book but it is a gem. Designed as an aid to improving organizational effectiveness by leveraging cultural norms and behaviors, Schneider describes how peeling back the layers of any organization will yield one of four dominant culture types.

Understand Your Culture

Each culture is defined in fine detail by comprehensively describing the leadership and management styles, strengths and weaknesses, structure, relationships and decision-making attributes that characterize them. Discovering the differences will help explain why organizations operate the way they do and, by extrapolation, why project management has to be tailored to be sustainable. Schneider terms the cultures as:

• Control - structured, domineering, task-oriented
• Collaboration - trust-based, empowering, people-centric
• Competence - achievement-oriented, impersonal, excellence-driven
• Cultivation - potential-fulfilling, creative, informal

If you’ve worked in a variety of culturally diverse organizations, you’ll quickly recognize the distinctive traits of each of these four cultures that are described in the book so clearly and with plenty of examples.

Culture Limits Execution of Strategy

As Schneider rightly points out, culture limits strategy. And since culture sets expectations, priorities, managerial practices and communication patterns, it also limits the execution of strategy – and therefore projects. Culture ultimately defines how work is planned, organized and managed – which is why it is such a crucial consideration in any effort to improve enterprise project management.

Knowing the latest dates that we can start and finish tasks without impacting the overall project schedule is key to effective time management, especially for those projects where schedule is the least flexible component (see Flexibility Matrix).

Like the critical path itself however, Microsoft Project does not display this information by default. But we can easily set up the display options to reflect the late dates as in the example below:

Here’s how we configure this. First we display the critical path:

• From the menu, select View, Gantt Chart
• Then click the Gantt Chart Wizard button on the Formatting toolbar
• Select “Critical Path”, then Finish, Format It, Exit Wizard.

The critical path tasks are now visible in red. Next we set up the late schedule for the noncritical (blue) tasks:

• On the menu, select Format, Bar Styles
• Then click Insert Row to add a row just above the Critical Path display row (note that inserting a row at the top of the list may not work)
• Enter “Late Schedule” for the ‘Name’ and select your preferred bar styles for the ‘Appearance’ - (in the example above I used a navy horizontal line bounded by small triangles)
• Select “Normal, Noncritical” for ‘Show For … Tasks’
• Lastly ensure that you select ‘From’ “Late Start” and ‘To’ “Late Finish”
• Click “OK”

Now you should see the late schedule bars showing for the noncritical tasks indicating the latest each task can start and finish.

Useful Information

Showing the columns for Total Slack (the difference between the early and late dates) and Free Slack (how long a task can be delayed without delaying a sucessor task) as in the simple example above tells us the following:

• The critical path runs through tasks E, G, J
• The noncritical tasks have varying total slack
  • Tasks B, C, H, L have only 2 days, so are near critical and should be monitored closely for any slippage
  • Tasks A, K have 7 days
  • Task F can be delayed by up to 11 days before the project finish date is impacted
• Tasks B and C have zero free slack so any delay will immediately impact their successor tasks

Track the Slack

Knowing not only which tasks are critical and which are not, but also how much float or slack there is on each non-critical task, helps us prioritize work (according to slack value) and monitor trends in schedule variance (changes in slack week-to-week).

There are countless variations on content for project progress reports but there are ten items that should be on every report:

1 – Business Context
Why does this project exist?
Briefly summarize the desired business outcomes as a reminder to all of the rationale for doing the project – and include the names of the sponsor and customer.

2 – Objectives
What are the project’s tactical objectives?
Always keep the schedule, scope and resource goals in view. The Project Objective Statement provides a concise way of describing these.

3 – Flexibility Matrix
Which is least flexible – schedule, scope, resources?
Reflect the Flexibility Matrix on the report to remind stakeholders of the project priorities.

4 – Schedule
What is the schedule performance of the project?
Identify variance of current progress and forecasts against the baseline schedule for key milestones, phases and/or deliverables. Better yet, include performance trends over the past few reporting periods.

5 – Cost/Resources
Is the project meeting cost and/or staffing targets?
Point out significant variances with the plan such as staffing shortfalls or cost overruns.

6 – Risks
What significant risks exist?
Highlight those risks of highest severity and in particular those with high impact that may occur soon.

7 – Issues
What significant issues remain unresolved?
Identify the key issues and what is preventing their resolution.

8 – Changes
What changes have occurred?
Identify any major changes that were approved and/or implemented since the last progress report.

9 – Accomplishments
What has been achieved?
Capture the most important recent accomplishments such as completed deliverables, milestones that were met, or finished major work components.

10 – Next Steps
What major components of work remain?
Indicate what the focus will be for the immediate future and set expectations of what will be reported on in the next progress report.

Configuring these vital ten into a 1-page format is ideal for executive presentation. These items are of course in addition to the more obvious title and subtitle mentions of project name, report date and author/project manager name. (Surprising how often the obvious gets overlooked).

It doesn't have to be complicated

It shouldn’t be hard but giving thanks to team members doesn’t always come easy to project managers. Yet those two small words “thank you” can sustain an individual’s drive and enthusiasm long after the project is completed.

Whether for overcoming adversity, going the extra mile for the customer, infusing the team with drive and energy or just plain hard work, thanking contributors for all forms of outstanding performance should be high on the daily watch-list of any project manager.

Acknowledgement should be expressed in the following ways:

Honestly

• If it doesn’t come from the heart it won’t be valued. And mixed messages, such as conflicting verbal and non-verbal communication, imply insincerity – thanks that will be quickly discounted by its recipient.

Consistently

• Recognizing one person’s achievement but overlooking another’s is the swiftest way to divide a team. Staying in touch with the challenges on the ground and paying attention to what’s really going on in the team is crucial.

Openly

• There’s no point in keeping gratitude behind closed doors. Proclaim it, proudly. Thanking someone publicly, in front of the team, demonstrates how important it really is and sends a meaningful message that inspires and motivates.

A little thanks goes a long way.

Plans are not crystal balls. They are at best a logical and reasonable perspective of the future but no more. Every project involves uncertainty and uncertainty implies risk. And there is no such thing as a risk-free project. I call this the Fourth Law of project management.

All of which has a serious implication for project managers – the need to properly account for risk. The fact that plans are incomplete views of the future means they are always at least slightly wrong. Even if we correctly identify all the tasks and activities to be performed, errors will always exist in assumptions, duration and work estimates, task dependencies and so on.

Most project managers appear to ignore most risks (witness the lack of risk readiness as evidence) . Yet threats can and do suddenly materialize. But sudden does not necessarily mean unpredictable. Experience and a little structured thinking can expose potential threats that we can get ourselves prepared for:

5 Essential Steps to Managing Risk

1 – Get Prepared

• Determine how complex your project is and how much unmanaged uncertainty you (and the project sponsor) can tolerate, i.e. how important is risk management for your project? Then decide on the process you will use and brief your core team accordingly (risk management is not a solo effort).

2 – Identify Risks

• Review project documentation – business case, SOW, charter, plans (WBS especially) and assumptions to seek out sources of uncertainty, potential error and change. Wear the hat of Murphy – “If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.” Remember, this involves core team members, not just the PM.

3 – Assess Risks

• Evaluate each risk for (a) the likelihood of the risk occurring and (b) the potential impact to the project if the risk does occur. Rate the severity of each risk on these two dimensions. High likelihood and high impact means for those risks at least, response plans will be a necessity.

4 – Develop Risk Response Plans

• Evaluate alternative response strategies. Ask these questions: How could you avoid the risk? How could you reduce likelihood? How could you reduce impact? How could you transfer the risk to another party? Could you accept the risk with a just-in-case contingency or backup plan? If so, how would it work?

5 – Monitor Risks

• As the project progresses, risk monitoring should be a regular item on the agenda, week after week. Have any risks occurred? Are the response plans working? What has changed that might cause new risks?

These are the essentials. Large complex programs will take these steps to a very deep and sophisticated level. But even the simplest of projects will benefit from the same basic steps. Scalability, as ever in project management, is the key.

Here’s a good way to think about all this-

Ignoring project risks is the first and biggest risk to the project.

(See all 5 Laws summarized in The 5 Laws of Effective Project Management)

An important aspect of the project manager’s role is the appropriate balancing of trade-offs among the primary project constraints. In most cases this means determining priorities among schedule, scope and resources. The relative importance of these should be defined unambiguously by the project sponsor and then reflected by the PM in a matrix:

Forcing clarity on project constraints and priorities

In the example above, schedule is deemed to have the least flexibility, meaning that everything possible shall be done to meet the target completion date, even if scope has to be compromised in some way, or more preferably, by adding resources to expedite the schedule. It is important to state WHY a particular constraint is either least, moderately, or most flexible, according to the sponsor’s priorities, with guidance on the relative limits of flexibility (so no blank cheques).

This little tool is invaluable to the project manager during both planning (in ensuring the right focus in optimizing the project plan before baselining) and execution (in guiding both the tracking effort and corrective action in the event the project deviates from the plan).

While the relative priorities can be changed by management as desired, a simple rule must be followed to prevent insistence that everything be least flexible – only ONE check allowed per column and ONE check allowed per row.

The interdependence of truth and trust is a powerful force in projects. When both are prominent, we have a strong basis for effective team dynamics – a key ingredient of project success. Overlooking, ignoring or concealing certain realities inhibits team cohesion and severs trust – as sure as the sun rises. I call this force the Third Law of project management.

Creating an environment of truth helps build trust. This means straight talk, smart leadership and attention to good process. It also means reinforcing positives and not holding back on bad news. (Pop quiz: What’s worse than giving your sponsor bad news? Answer: Giving bad news late).

15 Truth Checks

Here are a few checks to test whether important project realities are being detected, acknowledged and acted on:

• Has a trustworthy process been used to plan and manage the project?
• Is project progress being tracked and reported accurately?
• Are team member status updates consistently submitted in a timely fashion?
• Are issues being aggressively managed?
• Are risks being reviewed at each progress review meeting?
• Are new risks being proactively identified and managed?
• Is outstanding performance being acknowledged, directly and publically?
• Is under-performance being dealt with effectively?
• Are people rewarded for behaviors that promote effective teamwork?
• Have gaps in expertise or credibility been identified and resolved?
• Is the team aligned with a common sense of purpose?
• Are morale and commitment being nurtured proactively?
• Have conflicts been acknowledged and addressed effectively?
• Are team members executing, communicating and reporting as required?
• Is a flexible leadership style in evidence, building trust across individuals and cultural differences?

Promoting open communication and instilling a sense of shared purpose are the starting points for any effective collaborative effort. But they need to be backed up by solid process and savvy leadership. Managing the project includes monitoring both the project and the project environment. It involves responsiveness to the unexpected in both project and human performance. Acknowledge the truth or face the consequences.

(See all 5 Laws summarized in The 5 Laws of Effective Project Management)

Ambiguity is the enemy of project success. Its one of the first things I instruct new project managers on. I call it the First Law in project management.

Its not hard to find ambiguity in projects. Look closely at the objectives, the requirements, the scope definition and the schedule. Are they each as clear and as accurate as they can be? Most importantly, do we know what “done” really looks like? This is crucial. (Glen Alleman’s prolific and consistently excellent blog at Herding Cats has a host of outstanding posts on this – check it out). Each ambiguity is a potential source of conflict, rework and failure.

Clarity Checks

The antidote to ambiguity is clarity – here are a few items that must be on the ‘Clarity Checklist’:

• Are deliverables defined with clear boundaries?
  • Are there detailed and explicit descriptions of inclusions and exclusions?
• Are completion and acceptance criteria clearly stated for each deliverable?
  • Do we know what “done” looks like for each deliverable?
• Are tasks defined at an appropriate level of detail?
  • Are most tasks in the range of 4-40 hours of duration? (a useful guide for most projects)
• Are task outputs tangible?
  • Have the outputs been agreed upon by their owners and dependents?
• Is progress tracked at task level?
  • Is evidence of progress validated before being reported upward?

Leaving ambiguity unchecked simply increases project risk. The pursuit of clarity isn’t always popular because it makes people have to think ahead a little harder. But its necessary. So put on your flak jacket and go on a mission – seek out ambiguity and destroy it… before it does some damage.

(See all 5 Laws summarized in The 5 Laws of Effective Project Management)

Custom fields in Microsoft Project offer a host of possibilities for tracking and managing schedules. I like to use the indicator functionality to help monitor and control progress. In the example below I’ve used the custom field “Number1″ to indicate task status based on total slack.

Here’s how to set this up-

• Select Tools, Customize, Fields
• Select the field “Number1″
• Click Rename to relabel field as “Schedule Indicator”, then OK

• Click on Custom Attributes, Formula
• Enter the formula:
  IIf([Baseline Finish]>100000,-1000,IIf([Actual Finish]<100000 And [Finish Variance]=0,-998,IIf([Actual Finish]<100000 And [Baseline Finish]>[Actual Finish],-998,IIf([Actual Finish]<100000 And [Actual Finish]>[Baseline Finish] And [Finish Variance]>0,-999,[Total Slack]/480))))
• Click OK

• Click on Values to Display, Graphical Indicators, and set up the images in the order below:
  White = -1,000 (will show tasks that are not baselined)
  Blue = -999 (tasks that finished late)
  Dark green = -998 (tasks that finished on time or early)
  Red <=  -5 (incomplete tasks that are late by 1 week or more)
  Yellow <= 0 (incomplete tasks that are up to 1 week late)
  Green >= 0 (incomplete tasks that are early or on time)
• Click OK, OK

Lastly, we set a Deadline on the Project Complete milestone to provoke negative slack values when behind schedule-

• Double click on the milestone name, then go to Task Information, Advanced, Deadline

That’s about it!