Good Planning will Eliminate Many Surprises - Most project problems can be traced back to poor planning desicions, or inadequate planning. Take the time to plan your project properly.
Have Agreed-Upon Project Objectives - Ensure that the project has several agreed-upon objectives that can be reviewed throughout and at the end of the project to ensure they have been met.
Create Verifiable Milestones in your Project Schedule - To measure progress make sure you have milestones that can be verified by someone outside your team. This will assist you to measure real progress.
Manage Scope - Ensure the Project Sponsor approves all Scope Change Requests. Make sure you give the project sponsor your opinion whether the Scope Change Request (SCR) should be approved and why or why not.
Track and resolve Project Issues in a Timely Manner - Ensure that you keep an accurate log of Project Issues and that this log is distributed to the Project Team and Sponsor on a regular basis.
Continue to Assess Your Project Risks throughout the Project - When meeting with your team it is a good idea to reassess the Risks you identified in planning and to see if any new Risks have surfaced that need to be captured.
Communicate Status on a Regular Basis - Depending on the size of your project a status report can be delivered orally, via e-mail, formally, via a website or some other mechanism identified in your Project Communications Plan.
Be Personable and Approachable - Many people will be more willing to help the Project Manager if they are friendly, personable, and trustworthy. Don't be arrogant, rigid, or unreasonable. The project probably won't be successful if your team members distrust and dislike you.
Look for the Warning Signs - Is your team's morale low? Is your schedule off course? Are your team members fighting all the time? Is the team working excessive amounts of overtime? You better regroup now before the situation gets out of hand. Bring the sponsor in to your next meeting and let them assess the project by asking then team for a collective status report. Have the sponsor interview team members one-on-one to look for hidden agendas and unspoken fears.
Most of all, Have Fun.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
Condemed to Repeat the Past?
Have you ever heard the old quote by the philosopher and poet George Santayana that states, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"? In project management, we need to remember that historical data is our best friend when planning new projects. Do not forget when doing your planning to use empirical data from past projects. This data can help you to reduce negative risk and increase your odds for project success.
Other information to review when planning new projects:
Review your companies past project files for information regarding past resource estimates, lessons learned, budget data, risks, assumptions, etc...
Conduct interviews with select project team members from past projects to understand what went right and what went wrong.
Interview customers and other project managers for lessons learned from their past projects.
Do searches on the Internet about similar projects to gather information which might assist in planning your project.
Most importantly, use Risk Management during the planning cycle to identify issues that could cost you big later on.
Finally, do not fall victim to the project manager's curse of not learning from the past. Remember the old saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
Other information to review when planning new projects:
Review your companies past project files for information regarding past resource estimates, lessons learned, budget data, risks, assumptions, etc...
Conduct interviews with select project team members from past projects to understand what went right and what went wrong.
Interview customers and other project managers for lessons learned from their past projects.
Do searches on the Internet about similar projects to gather information which might assist in planning your project.
Most importantly, use Risk Management during the planning cycle to identify issues that could cost you big later on.
Finally, do not fall victim to the project manager's curse of not learning from the past. Remember the old saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
The Perfect Project Manager
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.
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.