Are you really managing stakeholders?

Published
by
Ron
on September 3, 2008
in project management, project management training and training
. 0 Comments

 I was talking with a project manager who was complaining about the interference from stakeholders. He suggested that the stakeholders were getting in the way of managing the project!

After brief questioning he soon realised that it was his management of them that was the problem:

  • he had not fully identified who the stakeholders were. If he had, he would have known that there was one key person in the organisation who he must contact and discuss the project. He did not and the stakeholder contacted him very angry he had not been informed of the decision to go ahead with the project. Not a good start for the project as it meant a series of meetings to deal with the issue
  • he kept a list of key people in his head (fairly common according to those who come on our project management training events) and failed to review this list to check where each stakeholder or group were. He did say writing them down onto a template I gave him “would be really useful”
  • he had no communication plan to include any of the stakeholders. He simply expected the communications to happen but without a plan, how?
  • he had not realised the importance of one department; finance. They needed to approve the overall budget spend and be involved with the initial calculations before the business case could be submitted for approval. He failed to involves them and the business case should have been approved some 4 weeks before it was and this put an in-built delay into the project and he was always playing catch up

Effective management of stakeholders is essential for project management success. According to Standish who published the well documents Chaos Report, user involvement contributed 19% to project success (the other two in the top 3 are executive management support 16% and a clear statement of requirements 15%) - click here for the full report

So the next time stakeholders get in the way, think about how you are managing them.

It’s not always doom and gloom - project success rules!

Published
by
Ron
on August 27, 2008
in project management, project success and projects
. 0 Comments

Do you remember the bridge that collapsed across the Mississippi? That was August 2 2007. It unfortunately killed 7 people when it collapsed.

I was delighted to read that this bridge will be rebuilt by the end of the year and possibly earlier. The selected contractor submitted a bid of $234 million with a timetable of 437 days. The bid was the most expensive and lengthiest of the four submitted, but scored higher than the others on factors such as quality and aesthetics.

The builder has been incentivised and can earn even more depending on how soon the project is finished: an additional $7 million for finishing by the final deadline of Dec. 24, and an additional $2 million for every 10-day period prior to the final deadline, up to 100 days.

If the bridge is ready for vehicles to drive across it by September 15, the contractors earn the full $27 million bonus — a goal assistant project manager Bob Edwards said is achievable.

This great news for the 121,000 people who used to use the bridge every day.

Another project success can be found in Marion County, Florida. The Lucas Oil Stadium in Indiana will open on 24 August. They did have 1200 workers on site and some working second shifts to ensure delivery on time. One of the more interesting tests came about when 200 or so workers flushed the toilets and turned on the water taps virtually at the same time to make sure that when Colts fans head to the bathrooms at halftime, they will have enough water pressure!

Great news!

I hear so many stories where projects will not deliver on time nor to budget and when they do they do not meet client needs so I am delighted to bring you two examples here.

When all hell breaks loose in your project

Published
by
Ron
on August 20, 2008
in courses in project management, project governance, project sponsor, risk log and stakeholder
. 1 Comment
I received the following in my email recently:I want to know your thoughts when a project manager fails to raise the flag in cases of scope creeps, estimations, budgets etc. In short, in not so ideal world what are recommended techniques (if there is any) when all hell breaks loose

Important stuff and very real. It reflects a lot of comments we receive on many of our courses in project management

Before I responded to this I had an image of a huge wall with large gate in the middle. The imagery was powerful because reading the email I felt that the gate was open and should be shut. Allow me to explain

Project management is about delivering something. We all know that a project can be fraught with problems and issues. That is why we develop risk logs alongside various useful templates. In order for us to deliver effectively we need to stop ‘things’ from interfering and allow us to deliver on time, to budget with the right results. If not, all hell does break loose.

So what is needed?

I suggested in my reply that practicing prevention is essential. That there is a need for a robust project governance process:

  • having a process in place to monitor the project so there if there is project creep it can be stopped or built into the overall delivery plan and budget
  • regular budget meetings or reports that indicate progress against the budget. There is little point in having a budget if you do not know how you are doing against it. So have a mechanism in place for monitoring it
  • ensure the project manager is clear about the authority they hold. Can they vary the budget and if so by how much? What does the project manager do about scope creep? Have they any authority here?
  • have a project sponsor with clout. Someone who has the authority to support the project manager and push through what is needed
  • develop and use the risk and stakeholder logs

In short, do anything to practice prevention.

One of our clients suggested project managers have to raise their head above the parapet. If you are a project manager reading this make sure you do. If you do not, you can be sure your head will suffer as a consequence. If you do, your head may suffer but maybe not as much!

 

Using project management as a change agent!!

Published
by
Ron
on August 14, 2008
in benefits of project management, discovery projects, project management training and project sponsor
. 0 Comments

“If you look around any organisation you will see their strategy is divided into a series of projects….”

I wrote that in 1999!! It was true then and is certainly true today.

But, what does this mean for companies today?

  •  It means the strategy of the business needs breaking down into projects, portfolios or programmes.
  •  All active projects should have a direct link to the strategy. If they do not fit then they should be abandoned or placed in the low priority queue (effectively abandoning them in some companies!). See discovery project below
  • Run discovery projects (my thanks to Geoff Reiss, Hon Fellow of Association for Project Management) which analyses each project in an independent manner, formally evaluating the idea or proposal and if it fits the strategy and will deliver real business benefits then ‘run with it’. If not abandon.
  • Ensure all those involved in key identified projects are trained in project management techniques and other important areas:
  • influencing and negotiating
    finance for non financial managers
    communications skills
    leadership skills

To name a few

  • Communicate within the organisation and key stakeholders the top priority projects. Keep repeating this as often as you can; ensure everyone knows what they are and they communicate to others in the business
  • Have someone very senior sponsor project management within the business. This person is someone who will ensure the project management strategy is being delivered; someone who can tackle serious project management issues from the board downwards

Too many projects, too many projects not linked to the overall strategy, few discovery projects, training ill focussed (not targeted at those involved in key projects) know one senior sponsoring project management; NOT all from one company but it is what we see and what is reported to us.

Project management (and portfolio management) are valuable tools in the delivery of the overall strategy. Careful management and honing is needed to ensure they support delivery of your agenda and get the real benefits of project management.

Without careful management …..

I love it when a (project) plan comes together

Published
by
Ron
on August 6, 2008
in project management, risk and risk management
. 0 Comments

I went out with my wife for dinner at a local restaurant. We went with some long standing friends for a quiet and relaxed evening.

The service was really poor. My meal arrived first and our friends arrived around 3 minutes after mine and despite many requests from us all, my wife’s meal eventually arrived around 10 minutes later. Our friends steak was sent back because it was too rare.

It was a spoilt evening. We paid the reduced bill and left. The owners of the restaurant apologised saying they were new however we pointed out that it was obvious that they were not yet ready to serve meals effectively; we were not the only ones complaining.

After a few days I started to think about the meal. It reminded me of many projects we have seen where only part of the project is delivered….the other part (meal) is still being cooked!

  • It reminded me of the project which was late because, “a supplier delivered late” but when I asked them about the company they pointed out that they had a reputation of delivering late. Yet the risk log did not show this and the project plan had no preventative measures on it.
  • It reminded me of the project manager who said that the project did not pass a simple acceptance test. When questioned, the project manager said he had not asked the client what standards they wanted and simply delivered the project! My friend clearly asked for a “well done, steak”, he received one which was rare and it went back.
  • It reminded me of the project team who carried out a simulation of the process they were working on. The simulation showed errors which they corrected before the go live date for the actual project. The end result was a project delivered on time, to budget and to the client’s standards. The local restaurant should have carried out trial runs to ensure they had their timings correct and the team were co-ordinated effectively.

So, next time you are out eating think about your projects. Are you making sure everything is sequenced correctly? Have you built into your plan a ‘simulation’ - a mock up of the process you working on? Are you checking on the customer’s quality standards and what risks are there?

Bon appetite, oh and by the way, we have not been back to that restaurant!