I have a book entitled “What Makes a Good Project Manager” by James S. Pennypacker and Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin. In the book, there is a reference to a 2001 ComputerWorld article that discusses “The Perfect Project Manager”. The consensus of the article was in the world of Information Technology (IT) there are three general areas of Project Management competency: Technology, Business, and Behavior (in no certain order).
One of the CIOs interviewed in the ComputerWorld article stated “in order to motivate IT workers, you need … an understanding of human behavior and how to motivate teams.” Do not miss this important point. Project Managers are primarily team leaders, motivators, and communicators. Project Managers will not be successful managing IT projects if they do not have an understanding of basic human behavior.
It has also been determined there are three Project Management skills that are required for success in IT:
General Management Skills
Project Management Skills
IT Management Skills
Under General Management, the key areas of expertise are (not in order):
Thinking Skills
Organizational Awareness
Leadership
Interpersonal Relations
Communication Skills
Many companies are now interviewing Project Managers placing a heavy emphasis on character traits versus professional competencies. These companies realize if a Project Manager cannot get along well with others and have poor communication skills they will not be successful.
The key to project success is having a competent project manager and the number one competency of a project manager is honesty. Research has shown that projects are more likely to fail because the human elements are not managed. In order to mitigate this type of risk project managers need to develop skills that support sound decision-making, good communications, motivational techniques, and conflict management.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Are You Trustworthy - Part II
I have always admired Stephen Covey’s writings. In his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” Mr. Covey talks about being Trustworthy. As project managers if we are not trustworthy, we are not going to be effective. When you are trustworthy, you can be counted on to keep your word. Trustworthiness is a qualitative measure so we cannot apply some objective measure to how honest or reliable a person is.
As mentioned in Paul Friedman’s Book “How to Deal with Difficult People”, Paul states “Faith in people is fragile”. “Every single breach of trust diminishes people’s confidence in you”. Paul goes on to say, “Most people believe themselves to be more trustworthy than others think they are. We forgive ourselves more readily for minor transgressions that linger in other people’s minds. We know why we neglected to do something. We know we had a good reason and intended no harm. However, others cannot read our minds or know what our lives are like”.
Take your promises seriously. When you are unable to keep your commitments, be quick to admit fault, explain, apologize and do whatever is necessary to repair the damage and reassure others that you will redouble your efforts so you do not repeat the same mistakes. Trust is earned, but it is earned only after you demonstrate that you are Trustworthy.
As mentioned in Paul Friedman’s Book “How to Deal with Difficult People”, Paul states “Faith in people is fragile”. “Every single breach of trust diminishes people’s confidence in you”. Paul goes on to say, “Most people believe themselves to be more trustworthy than others think they are. We forgive ourselves more readily for minor transgressions that linger in other people’s minds. We know why we neglected to do something. We know we had a good reason and intended no harm. However, others cannot read our minds or know what our lives are like”.
Take your promises seriously. When you are unable to keep your commitments, be quick to admit fault, explain, apologize and do whatever is necessary to repair the damage and reassure others that you will redouble your efforts so you do not repeat the same mistakes. Trust is earned, but it is earned only after you demonstrate that you are Trustworthy.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Project Requirements and the WBS
The project manager is responsible for controlling a project's requirements. To start the process of managing requirements the project manager works with the team to create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
A couple of things to keep in mind regarding a WBS are:
A WBS should identify the level tasks to be completed, and relate to the project’s deliverables.
The customer(s), project sponsor, and stakeholders are actively involved in creating the WBS.
The WBS helps avoid future "scope creep".
As you can see the WBS is an important project artifact. The WBS accomplishes several things:
It assists the project team to identify and create specific work packages
It is another way of communicating the project's objectives to the team
It is the foundation for future project planning and activity sequencing
In closing, a WBS summarizes deliverables, shows work relationships, helps the team to estimate costs and perform risk analysis, and assists the team to identify project assumptions and dependencies.
The WBS is your friend. Start taking time to create one for every project.
A couple of things to keep in mind regarding a WBS are:
A WBS should identify the level tasks to be completed, and relate to the project’s deliverables.
The customer(s), project sponsor, and stakeholders are actively involved in creating the WBS.
The WBS helps avoid future "scope creep".
As you can see the WBS is an important project artifact. The WBS accomplishes several things:
It assists the project team to identify and create specific work packages
It is another way of communicating the project's objectives to the team
It is the foundation for future project planning and activity sequencing
In closing, a WBS summarizes deliverables, shows work relationships, helps the team to estimate costs and perform risk analysis, and assists the team to identify project assumptions and dependencies.
The WBS is your friend. Start taking time to create one for every project.