Archive for the 'project management training' Category

What project benefits really mean for the project manager

Published
by
admin
on September 2, 2010
in Uncategorized, benefits management, benefits of project management, project benefits, project management training and project managment
. 3 Comments

I had a long and protracted email ‘conversation’ with a project manager based in Europe. He was adamant that the prime reason that anyone ran with a project was to deliver benefits. Our email ‘conversation’ went on for some time and we both agreed that there was not enough emphasis put on benefits management and benefits realisation in projects. 

Our emails covered many aspects including what benefits realisation means to the project manager. We finally agreed that at its simplest, it means ensuring project benefits are clearly identified and articulated and realised in projects. 

So, what does this all mean for the project manager? 

  1. Establishing clear project benefits early in the life of the project: these need to be clear and realistic and need to take account of “delusional optimism.” This is over-emphasising projects’ potential benefits and underestimating likely costs, spinning success scenarios while ignoring the likelihood of possible mistakes. (See Defeating ‘Benefits Fraud - Stephen Jenner) 
  2. Asking questions: easy questions, difficult questions and dumb question of your stakeholders. The project manager needs to tease out the real business benefits. and to do this you need answers to questions; answers your stakeholders will often find difficult to answer. On our project management training courses we talk a lot about developing questioning skills and you may find this  helpful   
  3. Developing clear measurement criteria: too often I hear project managers talking about project benefits they have identified. When challenged there are no measurement criteria against them and no process in place to check that the benefits have been achieved post project. Do remember ‘delusional optimism ‘in point 1 above 
  4. Marketing the benefits: we have had many comments from people on our project management courses  that say something like “we cannot get finance on board” or “HR do not want to buy into this project”. If the benefits were packaged and sold to them effectively then maybe, just maybe they would come on board or buy into the project  
  5. Ensuring benefit management is integrated into your project: is the focus on delivering the project or the project benefits? You may argue they are the same however we have seen people drive delivery without the inclusion of project benefits! Project management benefits are integral to project management, not an ‘add on’ 
  6. Recognising that benefit realisation can be a staged process: if the project is to say save money or improve quality then the project to deliver these may have ended before the savings or the quality improvement are realised. An analysis of project benefits may need to be picked up some months after project closure, maybe it is a project in its own right 
  7. Making recommendations; project managers often complain of not enough resources (time, money, and people). There is pressure to deliver more with less however sometimes the project manager must be able to suggest or recommend to their sponsor that certain projects take priority over others. Rather Why not use clearly identified and measured benefits to help you do this. Compare and contrast one set of benefits against another. Of course, the priority decisions need to be made by classifying project benefits it can help

 There is a clear trend for more emphasis on benefits management. This will mean project managers developing realistic benefits that add real value to projects. Project managers will need to sell benefits to stakeholders including project sponsors and ensure effective monitoring takes place. Don’t forget, a benefit may take some time to be realised so you need to have a process that follows up; often some time later. 

Let’s bring back the real meaning of “deadline” in projects…

Published
by
Ron
on August 12, 2010
in milestones, project management training and project reporting
. 1 Comment

Do you know the real meaning of the word deadline? Its origins go back a long way. Dictionary.com suggests it is:

“a boundary around a military prison beyond which a prisoner could not venture without risk of being shot by the guards.”

I have spoken to many people who complain that the person “did not deliver against the deadline”. Issues such as the “figures did not arrive before the deadline,” or “the report missed the deadline.”

It is the main responsibility of the project manager to check that whatever is due actually gets delivered. From evidence given to me and Project Agency (www.projectagency.co.uk) colleagues it seems that more rigorous systems are needed to ensure delivery takes place on the correct date it should and that the quality of the product is what is required by the client.

What could be included in such a process? Here are some possible examples:

• a variation form  - this is a simple form that shows which activity will not be delivered by the due date or budget. However, before everyone starts developing a variation form see next few points
• hold review meetings. At the start of every project the project manager should engender the honest reporting code. It is exactly that, honestly reporting where an activity is, against the plan at the meeting. You may want to use some of the project management templates we have

• ensure people adopt the Margaret Thatcher approach when she said of Lord Young “He brings me solutions, not problems”.
• I had a boss who held what we called ‘production meetings.’ These were every 2 weeks and we had to bring along proof of where we were against the plan. He explained that he simply wanted to ensure that we were on course and wanted proof of it!
• ensure project team members receive project management training - this includes project sponsor training
• leadership - you could adopt the situational leadership approach - this is an excellent tool where the project manager uses a range of styles to bring about project success:

 directing
 supporting
 coaching
 delegating

This approach suggests that the project manager uses different style for different people against different tasks

So, let’s go back to the definition of the word deadline. When someone says that they have not delivered, suggest you are bringing back the real meaning of the word deadline (”a boundary around a military prison beyond which a prisoner could not venture without risk of being shot by the guards.”) That should ensure delivery on time, on budget and with the right results.

Reduce optimistic planning bias in your projects

Published
by
Ron
on June 14, 2010
in Uncategorized, estimating, project management course, project management planning and project management training
. 2 Comments

So, according to all the news reports, the previous Labour government here in the UK got it wrong! They forecast that economic growth would be 3.25%. The new Office for Budget Responsibility has downgraded this estimate to 2.6%.

News reports suggest that the previous Labour Government were overoptimistic in their planning estimates.

Cut now to projects. I hear all the time that senior managers demand delivery of a project by a certain date. But, the issue for those involved is that the date is usually widely optimistic.

So, what can be done? During a recent project management training course we discussed this in some detail and came up with a number of possible options.

• plan the project and then present this to your senior manager showing the problems of delivery
• use the quality, time cost triangle to show the impact of delivery to the date required with the resources (people and money) available
• show the plan without risks and then with risks highlighting the impact of trying to deliver the project by the due date
• reduce quality of the overall project saving valuable time (clearly not an option for some, a possibility for others)
• the tongue in cheek suggestion of asking for more resources and showing the impact of no resources on the project

Of course, these suggestions are based on the people involved, the project and the company!! However, I also suggested that project managers sometimes need to raise their heads above the parapet. In other words, challenge the demand to deliver when it is clear that you cannot. I did however preface this comment that project managers, like all managers need to develop their influencing skills. This is just the opportunity.

So, what suggestions do you have for dealing with the demand for delivery by a date that is overoptimistic? I would be interested to hear!

Do you keep records of project estimates?

Published
by
Ron
on June 3, 2010
in project, project closure, project estimates, project management and project management training
. 4 Comments

People attending a recent project management workshop suggested that they needed some help estimating. I probed just that bit deeper and discovered that many people were working on what I would call ‘repeat projects.’ They are repeating a project that was done say last year or an element of a project.

This led me to ask (knowing the answer) whether the organisation kept a list or directory of times that tasks take. The body language of those on our project management courses was very interesting….it screamed “of course we don’t.”

I also asked whether at project closure estimates of times within the project plan are reviewed for accuracy. I got the same reaction

If companies want to deliver projects effectively then they need to be able to take as many short cuts as possible. By this I mean having to hand a list of agreed estimates (or ranges of estimates) that will help those who have little or no project management experience or even the experienced project manager.

Now I am not suggesting that these become the minimum times more a range that can be used in putting the plan together. As someone suggested, “project management is like a game of golf - be realistic and reconsider your plan after every shot.” Estimates are no different.

Finally, yes we do include how to estimate on our project management training courses however a lot of anxieties could be allayed if companies kept records of times for projects or stages or activities.

“Train them, and train them fast!”

Published
by
Ron
on February 10, 2010
in project management, project management training and project management workshops
. 2 Comments

My company, Project Agency walked away from the contract that was on the table. Train several groups of project managers to ensure that a large number of departmental projects would be delivered.

I met some of the senior managers who were concerned that little or no progress was being made by the project managers. Delivery is too slow; “train them and train them fast” was the message they gave me.

Warning bells rang and I asked a number of questions. I established:

• the project managers reported into the Departmental Management Team of around 8 people
• there were 10 projects each with a project manager however there were no project sponsors
• there was a dotted line relationship with a small departmental group to the Management Team. Upon further questioning, no one could tell me the exact role of this group or the link with the projects underway
• the Director would in the words of people present go ‘walk about’ - he would go to a project manager and change the scope - on the move

I found it hardly surprising that projects made little or no progress.

I suggested they rethink what was needed and structures and governance issues need to be addressed and quickly before any progress could be made with the project managers. More embarrassed silence. I asked how they felt about this. “We want you to train our project managers,” was the response.

Sometimes, you have to be up front and tell people how it is. I said that the training would make a difference however the real focus should be on what we had ‘discovered’ in the meeting.

You could feel the meeting go downhill from there.

I said that I would not be prepared to train the project managers first. There was some interesting tension in the room and I even suggested holding a two hour session with SMT but this was a lost cause….

I never heard from this potential client again. The lessons of that meeting some 8 years ago have remained with me and I have used them many times since then:

• the structure for delivering projects should be as simple as possible. Management of projects by committee as in this case does not work
• project management roles need to be clear and this includes levels of authority
• training of senior managers is as important as training project managers and project team members and in some cases (such as the one quoted) more important
• you can have all the project management methodologies in the world however nothing beats straight forward common sense!

Why not take a look at your project management structures. How effective are they to supporting delivery of projects? If they do not support project management then its action time!