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"
Monday, May 23, 2005
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.
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.