New Beginnings

Today is New Years Eve, as everyone is getting ready for the new year it is always a good practice to look at the past year take measure of the tasks we accomplished and where we fell short of our goals.  Another good practice is to look ahead and map out a course for the new year.  This could mean setting long term and short term goals.  As a project manager, I am used to doing this kind of hot wash for my projects, but I also find it useful for for my personal and professional development as well.

Some people call these goals "New Year Resolutions."  This is sort of a joke, since we all know that New Years Resolutions are frequently abandon after a few weeks.  This is why well thought out and developed goals are different.  Well developed goals include the end state, the method to achieve the end state, and how we are to measure progress of the goal.

So as I work over the next few days, I will be thinking of goals.  I have goals for this blog.  I have goals for my personal and professional development. I have goals for my work.  All these goals will come together and I will prioritize them for the coming year.

I will have to say that I am pleased by the way 2017 turned out.  I completed some very difficult projects as work.  I completed some important personal goals.  All these things pave the way for the completion for some related and some new goals for 2018.  I will be blogging more consistently, hopefully people will like my work and find it useful.  I have some new projects to start and some to finish for 2018.  I feel that 2018 will be a great year.

The Power of Certifications

I am a big believer in the power of certifications.  In this belief, I have pursued certification and drive to maintain my certifications.  Most certifications are for niche skills.  I have a PMP which I find is useful for project management.  The PMBOK is a good framework for planning, controlling, and closing projects. It has been very valuable for me as a program, project, and product manager.  I still use the tools that I developed from the preparation it took to achieve the certification.

I am also want to talk about the CM certification.  The CM or Certified Manager is a certification that I value.  It is not designate niche skills, it helps to identify me as skilled in general management.  One area that I think that IT, PMP, and other specialized certifications fall short is in the area of general management.  In order to be effective as a technical person, you have to know how your project or function affects the business of the organization.

I have used these skills more and more often as I moved up the later.  A project manager manages the project, but also the people doing the work and the people who can influence the project.  A project manager must be able to read financial statements.  A project manager has to recognize the business environment.  These are all skills that I demonstrated through earning the CM.

The CM is administered through the Institute of Certified Professional Managers or ICPM.  It is a business center of James Madison University.  I value this certification so much, I decided to become a member of the Board of Regents for ICPM.

Check them out.

How To Find Requirements

Lately I have been working on getting the requirements for a product from the customer.  I find that gathering those requirements is a critical piece of the puzzle for project success.  Many a project goes bad because of either a lack of requirements or the wrong requirements.

Gathering requirements is not easy, the customer is busy and the customer may not even be the end user.  There are a couple methods that I use to get those requirements.

The user survey is one method.  This method is a little hands off, but it can provide very good insight especially if the questions asked are open ended.  Additionally, there has to be followup sometimes and that might pose difficulties if the end users are at distant locations or if they are otherwise not available.

The other method that I use is extensive interviews.  These interviews are used to drill down to the essence of those requirements.  Sometimes you have to ask the question "why" to make sure you get the real reason for the requirement.  It is not enough to take those requirements at face value, because this is usually only focused on the pain of the moment and not the root cause of the issue the product or project is intended to solve.

Requirements gathering can be difficult and confusing.  Bad requirements is one of the reasons that projects fail.  This stage is critical for project managers and the project manager should devote the time to truly understand the requirements.

Things Program/Project Managers Do!

Summer has always been a busy time.  I find that during these days, I have more energy and the to do list grows both at work and at home.  I always feel a little accomplishment when I cross things off my to do list and deliver those products to the customer.  This month, I completed the Requirements Breakdown Structure that I have been working on.  It is a little satisfying when the stakeholders like an innovative product.  During this month, I also conducted a Risk Analysis for an organizational change that is being contemplated.  I hope that my input is helpful for the decision makers when it comes to redesigning the organization. Another product that I delivered was a redesign of part and the Statement of Work for the manufacture of this part.  I also conducted a Schedule Variance on one of my projects for a high level briefing.  All of this is what a day as a Program Manager could look like.

The purpose of this post is not to brag about all the great things that I have done.  They are great things, but nothing in comparison with the great things done by the people who protect us everyday. The purpose of this post is to talk about the variety of things that a program/project manager might be called to do in the course of the project.  I always find that being a program manager allows me to use my creativity to get the products out the door and to tell the story of the products to stakeholders. It is one of the things I find I enjoy about my job.

One Way To Get Things Done

One of the things about project management that you have to keep in mind is that stuff just needs to get done.  It does no use to plan a project, get the perfect team, get everyone on board, and make tons of charts and graphs if nothing ever gets done.  Project management is essentially about getting things done!

One of the most important tools that I use to get things done is the all important to-do list.  I do not keep the to-do list on a computer or on my phone.  I keep the to-do list in a plain old notebook.  My to-do notebook has notes from projects, meetings, or things that I might be researching. That notebook is a peek into my daily life.  I look back on my daily notes to ascertain what I did the month before for any number of status reports that I complete at the end of the month.

What made me think about the humble to-do list was an article I read today.  This article talks about the Getting Things Done productivity system or the "GTD."  I found it interesting. Here is the link:

Getting Things Done, Ten Years In

My Thoughts on Universal Basic Income

Recently,  I have read quite a bit about Universal Basic Income (UBI).  Philosophically, I am opposed to giving people money for merely existing, but I am intrigued with the idea of UBI.  I think that there are plenty of things swirling around that is causing UBI to continue to be in the discussion/

The first thing is the discussion about robots taking over jobs that human do right now.  I discuss this concept briefly in the post Future Proof Yourself. This topic seems to be gaining steam and it is an interesting concept.

I think that it is still a little premature to be worried a robot taking over your job.  That being said, it is important to realize that Project Managers and other workers need to consider that aspects of their jobs can be automated and which must be done with a human.  There are things that a machine simply cannot do, which includes dealing with other human beings.  Human relations is not a straight logical operation that can be boiled into a math problem.  The same with the Earth and our environment, just look at all the incorrect weather predictions as evidence.

One argument for UBI is the unleashing of all the human capital that would be unrestrained by something so menial as a job.  This argument forgets that the greatest things built in human history are not produced by comfort, but are produced in struggle.

Struggle is where human greatness is exposed.  I can not think of anything great created by someone who was not forced to out of the comfort zone.  The comfort zone is the enemy of greatness.

If we are truly on the road to UBI, then lets craft it in a way that builds incentives for people to actually work and contribute to our society.

Leadership Is Hard!

Leadership is hard.  I think that is a bit of an understatement.  Leadership is damn hard!  I have been in leadership positions and have not been in leadership positions.  It makes no difference if you are an appointed leader or not.  If you are a leader, you will lead where you are.

I used to tell people if leadership is too easy, you are probably not doing it right.  This is so true. A leader will be tested on a daily basis by those that you are leading.  I probably have has many sleepless nights wondering if I had made the right decision.  This is important to know that it is commonly not known the results of decisions, there is no instant gratification in most decisions. Leaders don't always know what the right or best decision is, but decisions do need to be made.

Leading people is frustrating some days, but I wouldn't change it for the world some days.  A former boss of mine told me that employees will never fail to disappoint you.  Yes, they will never fail to disappoint, but they will never fail to surprise you as well.

The secret is to get your employees all rowing in the same direction.  How is this done?  A leader needs to create a culture where employees know what to do, even in the absence of other orders.  A leader need to create an environment that nurtures budding leaders.  A leader needs to put other before themselves.  A leader just needs to lead. Period!

My Advice to Graduates

Since it is the season for graduation, I wanted to say a couple words of advice about being a Project Manager and starting a new career.  Graduation marks a new beginning.  This marks not the end to school, but the beginning of a new adventure.  This new adventure may take you places which you never thought you would go and do things that you never thought you would do.

My first piece of advice to new graduates is to take a course of action.  If there is no clear answer to the problem or dilemma, a bias for action is almost always better than inaction.  As a new manager, you might make a mistake or you might fail.  Making a mistake and failing is forgivable, if a lesson is learned, but inaction is not excusable.  These lessons learned will be far more valuable to your life as a manager or person than living a cold and timid life where nothing is ventured and nothing is gained.

I also think that things that come too easy are not appreciated as fully as things that have to be earned. This is an important lesson as life is going to be hard. Leadership and management are hard. I sometimes as know to say that if leadership or your job is too easy, you probably aren't doing it right. Do not shy away from the hard path, take it with gusto and remember those days as the good days.

Do not think that this first job as the only job you will ever have. You need to figure out what you can learn from the job and what the next step in your career will be.  This might mean learning a new skill by going to a course or taking a job that expands your experience.  Never stop learning and never stop growing.

Graduation is an accomplishment.  Take a moment to reflect on this accomplishment and then get to work.  Time is the only resource that you can't make more of, so don't waste it.

Requirements?

Recently I took on a project that needed help.  In my position, I commonly get brought into projects that have issues and need help.  This particular project is the acquisition of a piece of equipment. From the beginning of the project, there were no requirements.  The organization wanted this particular piece of equipment, but they did not have the requirements to use it.  I guess they were in a "buy it and we will figure it out" situation. This situation is not really what you want before an organization makes an expensive capital purchase.

The purchase is on hold.

We are now going back to the beginning and gathering the requirements and specifications for this piece of equipment.  I am building a Requirements/Specification Breakdown Structure to help visualize those requirements/specifications. Additionally, I am building the Requirements/Specification Breakdown Structure to show management the business case for the purchase of this machinery from this point of view.  The danger is that the data will not bear out the case for the purchase of the equipment and the previous work will be wasted, but that is why we have the process.

One lesson learned from this situation is to start with the actual requirements before falling in love with a piece of equipment.  Requirements need to be validated through the organization and provide an answer through a real business case.  So many organizations do not do this and end up wasting time and money on actions that do not provide value to the organization.

Brainstorming Techniques

Brainstorming is not a new technique to discover new ideas.  Brainstorming has been used as long as I have been involved in management to generate new ideas and to get the whole team involved.  The bigger problem with brainstorming is that it isn't done right and then there is no followup.

One reason that brainstorming isn't done right is that there is a tendency in groups for one person or one group of people to dominate the discussion.  This creates a dynamic where not everyone participates.  Sometimes that person or group of people is the management team.  Whenever there is not max participation, then something has to change.  One technique that I use when this happens is to break the group up into teams.  This smaller group dynamic should help to generate more ideas with greater participation.

An important thing about brainstorming is for there to be some followup.  Recently, I received an email with a list of half-baked notions, with the words still misspelled.  I actually did not know what this list was about.  After some investigations, I found out that this was a brainstormed list of actions. This list needed context and some fleshing out, or at least spell check.  Follow-up is very important. Without followup and context, that meeting of some very busy people ended up being a waste of their time and a waste of my time.

Brainstorming is a great technique for idea generation if there is maximum participation and followup on the ideas to provide context or better yet recommendations.

They Might Be Leaders II

Have you ever noticed that some people are natural leaders?  These people influence more people from there place in the organization than the appointed leaders.  These people can be a force for good or a force for bad.  As a leader in an organization, especially a leader of a project, you have to recognize these people and make sure they use their power for good.

How do you recognize these natural leaders?  They may not be evident.  They may be hiding in the shadow, instigating others.  I like to say they are on the edge of everything, influencing events.  I have had my share of run in with these type of people and it can be a challenge to use their powers for the good of the project and the organization.

The first step in getting them on your side is to simply talk to them and create a common ground. Many times this is harder than it sounds and it might be time consuming, but it is well worth it.  You have to be careful not to create a trans-actual relationship.  This is the type of relationship where there is a tit for tat.

The next step is to include them in the process.  This will help in bringing the rest of the project team into the process as well. This is important to solidify the participation to the end for the project team.

The last part of this process is to make sure that the team is recognize for the success of the project. This also includes a little mentoring to make sure that the natural leaders on the project team recognize their potential and hopefully move up into the project manager ranks.

The Value of Data

There is value to data.  I am commonly called in to a project or program to make sense of the data that they currently have.  This data comes from a variety of sources, sometimes it is good and sometimes it is not that good. But even data that is not so good has value.

Some organizations are very diligent in collecting data, but maybe the data they are collecting is not the right data to make the decision.  On of my recent projects involved the analysis to by a machine. The organization created a report that they hoped would prove that purchasing the machine would decrease the labor necessary to construct buildings.  The report was fraught with obvious issues.

Unfortunately, the organization did not see what was already in front of them because they became focused on proving the labor savings.  The real efficiency came from transporting equipment and materials.  I created a break-even analysis model showing transportation in the form of trucks and compared multiple construction methods.  The break-even analysis showed a real savings and provided information for decision makers to make the decision.

Fortunately for the organization, they had collected the transportation data.  Unfortunately they chose not to analyze the transportation data.

The lesson learned is that organizations need to collect the data that is needed by decision makers.  I think that the secret is in the analysis of that data and not to be focused on the outcome that you think you want.

Scrum vs Waterfall

The other day there was a comment on LinkedIn regarding the death of project management in favor of agile.  I could not disagree more.  I am both Scrum Master Certified and a Project Management Professional.  There are some elements of agile that I use in my current projects, even though I do not do software development.  But even as agile is popular today, the principles in the project management framework work.

I believe that project managers should use the tools that they need to get the project done.  There might be areas of a waterfall project that needs to have sprints or to develop an minimal viable product (MVP) or there may be elements within an agile development that need to use the planning tools of a waterfall style project.  The project management framework is something that actually works.

Project managers should add agile to their toolbox.  There are many ways to do it and it is a handy thing to know.  As I am working on my projects, I am looking for areas to make the project and the end project better.  After all a project is iterative, just like the MVP.

Schedule Variance

I have been thinking too much about schedule variance lately.  I would like to say that it has all been good thoughts, but alas it hasn't.  I am assisting a co-worker on creating some schedule variance reports for his project and it doesn't look good.

Schedule variance is an important metric if you believe that projects should be delivered on time. Since time is the most valuable resource, the one that you can't get back or buy, project executors must consider time when figuring the earned value of the project.

Very few project managers work in an environment where mandays burned equal mandays earned. Most of us have to enforce schedule discipline on our project teams.

Anyways, schedule variance in important in figuring out the earned value of the project.  To be able to see if a project can get back on track and to figure out what the root cause of the variance is so it can be fixed.  Many a good project manager has been laid to waste by not managing this aspect of the project, which will ultimately cause budget overruns and cause the project to fail.

This is one reason that the project schedule must be realistic and be complete with resources assigned.  When a schedule is realistic or without resources assigned, it is easy to see the project slip because activities take longer or resources aren't available.

So this is a metric that the project manager must pay attention to and remedy before the situation gets out of hand.

Lead From Where You Are

Project managers and leaders have a lot in common.  I would argue that being a project manager is a tough leadership challenge, even for seasoned leaders.  Many times the project manager must influence stakeholders in the organization or they may not have direct reports assigned to the project and have to work with the managers of other departments.

Another area that the project manager may face is when they are not in charge and have to manage the project through a subordinate role.  I have found myself in the situation several times in my career and it does make getting things done hard. I do know how to handle it though.

Leaders lead from where they are. Leaders know that where ever their position there is an opportunity to lead.  A simple definition of leadership is the art of influencing people to complete a mission.  A leader or project manager in a subordinate role must use their influence to get the job done.  This sometimes creates obstacles.  Sure it is easy to get things done when you are in charge, but it is a real art to get things done when you are not in charge.

I view these roles as a chance to spread my leadership wings and to learn a new skill.  It is tough, but it is a lesson in dealing with people that is not soon forgotten.

They Might Be Leaders

From my experience, everyone can be a leader.  There are leaders all over an organization.  They lead by influence or by position.  Some of them do great things and some do not so good things with their influence within the organization.

Organizations need to look to these leaders that are doing good things by trying to figure out how to replicate those good things across the organization.  Replicating the best practices across the organization seems to be an easy task, but generally it is not that easy.

At the same time, the organization needs to find these leaders who are not doing those great things or even doing things that are counter to the needs of the organization and stop those practices.  Many of this practices may actually be obstacles to getting work done or serve the customer.

One thing that organizational leaders and managers need to do is to get all the employees on the same page and thinking like a leader.  In theory, this should put all employees pulling in the same direction that the management in pushing.

What does this have to do with project management?  Well two things.  The first is that those same employee leaders will be members of the project team.  Some will do good things and some will not. They will use their leadership powers for good or evil.  So project managers need to identify this dynamic and get everyone moving toward the project completion. Second, this dynamic across the organization creates multiple projects for the project manager to pursue.  Identifying these areas to create efficiency will assist the project manager in showing the business impact of their projects.

One thing that project managers need to always understand is that a project must solve a business problem and have an impact to the organization.

A Problem with Scheduling

I am commonly called to audit projects as part of job as a program manager.  In my capacity, I manage several projects within the portfolio.  These project audits prove one thing to me over and over; people have a problem with scheduling.

Scheduling is an art and a science.  It takes effort to create a realistic schedule.  A realistic schedule is based on some basis of estimate.  The project manager or the schedule must create the basis of estimate, prior to creating the schedule.  One trick that I use is to use subject matter experts in creating this basis of estimate.  As part of this basis of estimate, the scheduler must outline the assumptions that are made by the planner for the project.

Scheduling is not an easy task.  But it is essential for the proper control of the project.  To maintain this control, the schedule must be updated with the work completed.  This work completed is assigned to the tasks in order to the determine a percentage complete per task.  In my experience when the project is not updated in a timely manner and project managers do not know the percentage complete of each task, that is when projects start to go off-track.

Project Managers Communicate

Communication is very important for the project manager.  A project manager must master the art of communication in order to ensure project success.  Being able to communicate in person, verbally and in written form is imperative.  Successful project managers are constantly communicating. There is really no such thing as over communication.

One type of communication that often doe not live up to the hype is email.  In my experience, most project communication via email is not effective.  I have received hastily compiled email status reports that have obvious mistakes or are a rehash of a previous status report.  I would have rather gotten a text or a tweet than this disaster of an email.  Another area is when people become too casual in the use of email and forget important details. Commonly I find that people report of subjects that they believe the reader already knows and leave out crucial details.

One practice that I commonly do is to call first and have a conversation.  I will follow-up with a email detailing the discussion.

Another issue is that email communication does not provide feedback to the sender.  Feedback is important so that the sender knows that the receiver understands the message. Lastly, there is too much noise. I commonly receive a couple hundred emails a day, there is no way I can possibly answer every one. My project managers know to mark the emails so I will pay attention to them.

Communication is important for project managers.  It is just as important to know the method of communication to ensure the message is received and understood.  In my opinion, email is not the preferred method for communication unless it is to clarify or document previous discussions.

Why Most Meetings are a Waste of Time

Most meetings are a waste of time because they are unproductive.  I have sat in meetings and heard all kinds of conversation, none of which pertain to the topic on hand.  I have the unique perspective to have been a participant in many productive meetings.  Most of the time meetings become the a waste of time when the participants are unprepared, the topic is not relevant, and the meeting leader just simply loses control.

Don't get me wrong, I find meetings a useful tool in communicating with project team members and stakeholders.  I also find that many meetings spiral out of control because the participants are unprepared.  A good practice is for the meeting leader to send out an agenda with the topics of the meeting so that participants can get there thoughts together before the meeting.  Nothing stops a project meeting like having to explain the purpose of the project to someone again.  Apparently this person didn't read the agenda or even the read-ahead materials.

Meeting are sometimes held because they have always been held.  The topic is not relevant to the participants and the conversation starts to wonder to sports scores or weekend plan.  My take is that there should not have been a meeting on the topic and if there was maybe less people.  I believe that this type of meeting waste time, many standing meetings should be evaluated to determine if they are relevant to the participants.

When the meeting leader loses control.  It is time to just stop the meeting and regroup.  No reason to keep everyone together for an hour, because that is how long the room is reserved.  If the meeting leader cannot regain control and steer the meeting to a productive end, then it should be stopped, have the leader regroup and reschedule the meeting for another time.

Meeting should not be a waste of time.  They can be productive, but it is imperative that the meeting leader provide participants with material including at least an agenda, make sure the topic is relevant to the group, and maintain some control.

When Projects Fail

Most organizations do not take on projects unless there is a business imperative that makes the success of the project critical.  Unfortunately most projects fail.  They fail for a variety of reasons.

One of the reasons that projects fail is that the project does not really have the support of senior management. Anther reason is that the organization does not have the skills to actually do the project or that the organization will not dedicate the resources to project success.

Regardless of the reason, when projects start to go bad, the project manager will ultimately take the blame.  When they go bad, then the organization brings in a new project manager, but if the root cause isn't addressed then the project will continue in the downward spiral.

I have taken over many a failing projects over the years. It isn't a pleasant thing to take over a failing project.  Sometimes you have to let people go, fire a sub-contractor, convince management to properly resource a project, or anything or everything to get the project done.  It isn't pleasant to sit in a project status meeting getting beat up because the project is over budget, behind schedule, or looks like no product will be delivered. As they say, "success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan." I just know that by making this project a success, people are going to be mad or upset or feel threatened. I will forge ahead, people are destined to feel the way they feel.

Some projects can't be saved due to the structural issues outlined above or nobody wanted the project in the first place. It is gratifying when the project succeeds in the end. It takes a fighter to fight through all the opposition and pull that project out of the jaws of failure.

The To Do List Two

If you haven't figured out by now, I really think the to-do list is a powerful tool for project managers. Today, I was looking at my to-do list and thinking about how many of these lists that I have made over the last thirty years. I have tried to modify the to-do list based on the advice of some self help guru, but I always go back to the tried and true to-do list.

Today, these to-do lists came in handy.  I looked back to the beginning of the month, as I am compiling my end of the month report.  This report, for my client, recounts all deliverables that I delivered and all the products that I worked on over the last month.  My to-do list shows the deliverable and how it was QC checked and when it was delivered.  It is a good thing that I have those to-do lists with details, because last month I was audited.

Another time that the to-do list came in handy was as evidence during an audit.  Commonly, especially if the project team is off site, there will be questions about timekeeping for the the project team.  The to-do list will help to alleviate those questions by showing what the project team accomplished and when.

I commonly use the to-do list as a historical record and review them at the end of the year.  Generally, the end of the year is when I want to develop my personal development plan. I will see what I am working on and where the gaps in my skills might be or areas that I feel that I might need to know more about.  I will design my individual development plan (IDP) to address those or to address a new technology that I want to know more about.

Yes, I find the to-do list very handy.  It is a powerful tool for the project manager and the rest of the project team.

The To Do List

I think the bad wrap that the to-do list is kind of funny.  The theory is that the to do list becomes a list of things that have to be done on a daily basis  and long term strategic tasks get lost in the daily.  I think that people who believe this probably aren't doing their to-do list correctly.

For me, the to-do list is an important time management tool.  I still use a little book to put my daily to-do list into and to take notes.  I use it to record my daily work and to mark off those things that are complete.  I just do not put the daily tasks, but I also record those big long term strategic tasks into the book as well.  A task might span several weeks as I work on it.  It reminds me that I have to work on it and to make progress.

Because I work on several projects and products at the same time, the to-do list is helpful.  I prefer to actually use a pen and paper for my list and notes.  People say I am old fashioned, but I do what works for me.  I have hundreds of little books full of notes and to-do lists.  I can look back over the years and see what I worked on and the lessons learned from those projects. Many newer project managers who grew up in the digital age use a computer program I am sure.  I do too, but only to document when work is complete.

So despite the proclamation that the to-do list is dead, at least one successful project manager uses them.  

The Power of the Checklist

One of the most powerful tools that a project manager can use is the checklist.  The simple checklist has been around in various forms forever.  I use a checklist daily to keep my project deliverables in check and to make sure I followed the process and framework.  The checklist is important, even if the process has been done a hundred times.

I find that people get into problems with process when they skip the steps in the checklist.  Most processes and procedures can be boiled down into a checklist for the project.  No project is done in a vacuum and that is why the project manager needs to have checklists regarding the processes of the overarching organization. The product of the project will have to be integrated at some point.

Checklists are even important for the internal workings of the project.  One of the most useful tools that I use is the battle rhythm.  The battle rhythm is a checklist with all the standard project deliverables and the due dates.  It is something that I adopted from my time in the Navy and still use it to make sure program deliverables are delivered timely and complete. This is useful for communicating with the project team the deliverables and due dates

For me, making a checklist is a continuous process.  The first pass at a checklist will most likely not be complete and there will be tasks or process nodes that are skipped.  One this first draft is developed, it needs to be shared with subject matter experts for opinion and refinement.  One the checklist is ready for prime time it should be shared with the project team and used.  One way to ensure the checklist is used is to require the checklist as part of the products from the product team. The checklist will continue to be refined as processes change due to technological or organizational change.

Developing Project Team Members

One of the duties of a project manager is to develop those project team members assigned to the project.  Sometimes the this means enhancing the skills of those project team members involved in the project or it means to ensure that project team members get stretch assignments to teach them new skills for future projects.

Everyone wants to have the best employees assigned to their projects.  Those employees that are the best for the project, are those employees with the skills need to complete the project.  Sometimes there employees assigned to the project do not have the skills and as part of the planning for the project, the employees need to be trained to do the project.

The project manager needs to perform a skill gap analysis.  To perform a skills gap analysis the project manager needs to identify the skills that are required to perform the tasks required to complete the project and compare those skills to those current skills in which the employee already has.  The gap identified is where the project manager needs to focus training.

The skills in the gap are the skills that are placed on the individual development plan (IDP).  This IDP is the plan developed by the project manager and the employee on gaining the skills needed to complete the project.  The employee can gain those skills by on the job training (OJT), a stretch assignment, or classroom training.  This is one way that a project manager can not only ensure project success, but can also take care of the employees that do the job and set them up for success.

How Do You Eat An Elephant?

One day I was in a Navy course and the instructor asked a question.  This question was "how do you eat an elephant?" We scratched our heads, what do elephants have to do with construction projects? Well, the answer is something that all successful project managers know; "one bite at a time."

I was reminded on this simple concept today when I received this graphic from Dave Ramsey in my email.

It is true that many great things are started by small steps.  Projects need to be divided into manageable chunks, this allows two things.  The first thing that smaller chunks allows the project team to earn work complete on a more regular basis.  This is important because it allows the project manager to accurately estimate when the project might be completed and it will show upper management where the budget went.  The other thing that small chunks allows the project manager to keep the team motivated.  By seeing the project tasks getting done, the project team keeps motivated.  Keeping the team motivated to project end is very important.

One word of caution is not to make the chunks too small.  This will prove to me too time consuming for the team as they are constantly finishing tasks and going through gate reviews and other acceptance criteria.  I prefer something around the 2 week or 80 hour time frame.

This concept of eating an elephant one bite at a time has helped me to control and manage projects.  It allows me to explain to upper management the project status and to keep the project team motivated.

Continuously Improve Yourself

Project managers need to have a plan to continuously improve themselves.  Technology is changing at a rapid pace.  This rapid pace means the projects we work on change, the means and tools which we use to get work done change, and the people and organizations we serve become more technologically advanced.  Project managers need to have the skills to keep up with this fast pace change.

We all know those people and organizations who have refused to change and update their technical skills and those people and organizations have found themselves left out of the new economy.  I have learned that learning new skills opens up many more opportunities for me as a project manager.  This is important if the project manager is contemplating a job change or industry change.

The good news about this is that many organizations require a certain number of PDUs (Professional Development Units) for a person to maintain their certifications.  I have several certifications (PMP, CM, and SMC) and I am continually on the look out for PDUs that I can use to not only continue my certification, but to upgrade my skills.  Even after multiple decades and hundreds of projects, my skills still need to be upgraded and refreshed.  Anyone who thinks they are done learning, I will tell them they are wrong.

Being a project manager means continually learning and continually upgrading the skills that a project manager needs to face the challenges of the future.

Project Managers Need Soft Skills

Being able to manage a project is not always about technical ability.  A project manager must be able to have what are often called soft skills.  I would rather call them human relations skills.  Projects are staffed by humans and so a project manager needs to be able to deal with humans.  Probably the first of those skills is communication.

Project managers need to have strong communication skills.  There communication skills include both oral and written communication.  Project managers need to be able to talk to technical personnel and the to non technical personnel.  They need to be able to explain the project to executives and to other stakeholders.  Communication is a skill that will serve a project manager well throughout their career.

Human resources management is another area of human relations skills that a project manager needs to learn.  There are many pitfalls that a project manager will find when navigating the maze that is employment law.  There are the FLSA, ADA, EEO, FMLA, etc. All these laws might effect your project.

And there is human relations training that helps project managers and employees deal with each other.  By recognizing the signs of workplace bullying, harassment, professional standards or other relationship issues, a project manager can help to nip these issues in the bud before they become lawsuits.  This is an important thing to learn, because the project manager might have to give this type of training during a meeting or other gathering.

Lastly, there is performance and disciplinary counseling that has to be done, There is hiring and firing and knowing how these are done to limit the liability of yourself and the company.  I can tell from experience, you always remember the first person you fire and it never gets easy...nor should it.

A project manager's human relations training never stops.  These topics are always evolving, so these courses change every time they are taken.  I suggest that project managers plan this training and make learning more a habit.

Future Proof Yourself

The last couple weeks I have been seeing a few stories about tech leaders, most notably Bill Gates and Elon Musk, talking about how robots are going to take the jobs of most Americans.  This is probably going to happen and those Americans are going to have to learn new skills to survive and thrive in a new economy.

How do you future proof yourself as a project manager in the new economy?  That is a good question.  I always find that it is important for human beings to be in a continual state of reinvention. This reinvention may include learning new skills or rearranging those skills into a new configuration. It could mean bringing those skills into a new industry or into a new endeavor.  I find that as a project manager, I have many skills and have many more skills to learn.

Additionally, there is an area in which project manager skills absolutely have a place and that area is in the creative field and innovation.  Humans are made for creative endeavors and creating new things, this is the kind of stuff that project managers already do.

Anyways, here is an interesting podcast by Mike Dillard's "Self Made Man" about the rise of robots...sounds scary, but with the right skills and learning mindset project managers will survive,

 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/self-made-man/id982006298?mt=2&i=1000382378517

So I suggest you find a new skill to learn today and start to future proof yourself.  If robots don't take your job, somebody else with skills will.

Identifying Stakeholders

One important task that a project manager must do is the identify stakeholders. Stakeholders are those people or groups that have some interest in the project.  Some stakeholders are easy to identify and some are not so easy to identify.  As a project manager, it is important to find all the stakeholders. Once those stakeholders are identified then it important to discover their issues or where they have stake in the project.

There is a group of stakeholders that are relatively easy to identify.  For a project, these stakeholders might include end users, customers, management, or shareholders.  These groups are easy to identify because they are not only the most obvious, but they do have an immediate stake in the success of the project.

The other group of stakeholders is those that are not so obvious. These groups might only have a small interest in the project or may not be directly influenced by the success of the project.  This might include suppliers, outside industry groups, or other partners.

From my experience I once managed a program with  a subcontractor.  This subcontractor changed their timekeeping software program without notifying their partners.  This transition did not go smoothly and caused their timekeeping reports and invoices to be late.  This effected my ability to complete program schedules and invoice the customer. Although this was a small blip in the continuation of the program, it effected me.  I was a stakeholder in the success of that timekeeping software project and I didn't even know it.

Once stakeholders are identified, it is important to record them, there interest in the project, and issues that might be encountered in a stakeholder register.  Once this is done, then a communication strategy should be developed for each stakeholder and then put into the plan.

Project Managers Deal with Adversity

Project Managers always have to deal with adversity.  Adversity is present in many of the things that a project manager has to do.

Projects are disruptive to the normal operation of a business.  Hopefully, the project is initiated to improve the business or to take advantage of an opportunity.  This type of action is disruptive to the employees in the business that do the same thing the same way since the beginning of time. They will be passive aggressive.  Change is never easy and it is harder when people believe the that change will do away with their jobs.

Sometimes project managers need to depend on others that are not their employees and they can not influence in any way, such as in a matrix type organization.  This odd relationship does not mean that the project manager is off the hook, it means the the project manager has to deal with that adversity.  This type of arrangement is hard and the project manager must communicate and build a relationship with these employees.

Another area where a project manager must face adversity is when there are somewhat hostile stake holders.  This is another area where the project manager must communicate and build a relationship with the stakeholders.  Stakeholders provide a bigger challenge in someways because they have their own agenda.

Project managers must deal with adversity, I certainly have.  To me, adversity is an opportunity to improve my communication and relationship building skills.  Sometimes this is hard, but it also makes success all the much sweeter!

Tools Tuesday: Requirements Tracker

The requirements tracker is an important tool that you can use to log and track requirements.  I use this tool to log, categorize and to track the requirements that I elicit from the customer.  Of course, this helps as you start to work the project and start to complete the requirements and as new requirements are discovered.  It also helps to keep the track of those requirements that are in the contract and those that are not.

This document was made in excel and is updated as needed.  This is a handy tool to communicate with project team members and stakeholders.

Another way to elicit requirements is through a survey.  I have in the past had mixed results with the survey.  In my recent experience, the survey was not sent to the subject matter experts and the survey data was not very helpful.  As a matter of fact, the group/panel discussion provided much better data.  It was a step backwards from where I wanted to go, but at least I found this out early in the project and did not attempt to provide a product that did not meet the requirements.

This is why requirements are important for the successful project manager.

It's All About Requirements

Before a project is started and maybe even while the project is going on, there needs to be good requirements.  For many projects this is a difficult enterprise.  This is because there may or may not be time to elicit the requirements.  But successful project managers know that this is absolute an imperative action to ensure project management success.

Requirement elicitation is important.  It is important to know exactly what the customer feels the features of a done project look like.  There are  techniques that a project manager use to elicit these requirements.

One technique is to interview the customer about the requirements and what done looks like. This type of information might be in the Statement of Work (SOW) or the Performance Work Statement (PWS), but that is not always the case.  The interview should use probing questions and should refrain from yes and no answers.

Another technique is to hold a panel or focus group of the customer's subject matter experts.  This type of technique can draw out many responses, but it can also get out of hand quickly and requires a steady hand to guide the discussion.

Once the requirements are discovered they need to be categorized as critical, must haves, and like to haves.  This categorization allows the project manager and project personnel to understand the prioritization of work.

Then the project manager needs negotiate all the requirements into the the SOW or PWS and included into the contract. 

All the critical and must-have requirements are tracked in the requirements tracker throughout the project.

Project Managers Need Grit

Project managers need grit.  Yes, there is a certain amount of mental toughness that gets a project manager through the doldrums of most projects.  There are times when the project stalls, loses support, looks like it will never be done, and may even fail.  Successful project managers know that this is the time to refocus on the project and push through.  They got to have a certain amount of stick-to-it-itiveness to see the project to completion.

Grit is an interesting concept.  There has been much talk about the concept of grit lately.  Recently, I heard an interview with Angela Duckworth about grit.

Check out this Ted talk from Angela Duckworth:

https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance

Grit is an important trait for successful project managers.

Tools Tuesday: The POAM

Today is Tools Tuesday.  I will try to show tools that I talk about on the previous posts on Tuesday.

This week I talked about the importance of planning (really pre-planning).  The tool that I talked about is the POAM (Plan of Actions and Milestones).  The POAM can be simple or it can be uber-complicated. In the pre-planning phase, I prefer a simple POAM.

This document is was created in excel and can help a project manager to focus his/her planning throughout the process.

Importance of Planning

Planning can mean a lot of things to different people, but for me this starts long before the actual start of work on the project.  I know that it doesn't make sense, but it is what happens.

When I am assigned a project or a program, the planning starts.  Sometimes that planning is done is an environment with limited information.  That is OK, the planning process is where the data and information that is really need is revealed.  There is value to continue the planning and to follow the process even if you know the plan will be modified over the course of this phase of the project.

In this case the project plan will not be detailed, but it will be important just the same.  Where I work currently, I was asked to provide a POAM (Plan of Objectives and Milestones) last week. This document is a very rough schedule that shows the milestones of a project, but little else in detail.  There was a timeline, but again this was a rough estimate before a more detailed WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) has been developed.

This POAM allows my customer to determine if the project can be pursued with the resources currently on hand or if there are other priorities that take place.  As a program manager, it is imperative to be able to estimate this type of information with relative accuracy. For the POAM, I just use a simple excel spreadsheet to create a visual graphic.

Of course, every organization and project is different. Some projects have been done before and there is a lot of organizational information. So it is assumed that estimates will be more accurate. This is where a depository of project information comes in handy.

The bottom line is that the longer you plan the project, the more information will be discovered and the plan will be refined; making a better product.

Welcome to PM Tips, Tools and Techniques

As a Project Manager , I have found that there are many tips, tools, and techniques that can be used to increase effectiveness and efficiency.  My hope is that this blog will help Project, Program, Product and Portfolio Managers.

One reason, I decided to start this blog is to provide an avenue to discuss what works and what doesn't work within these pages. I want to share my experience on working on the good, bad and ugly projects over the years and to advocate for these techniques to manage, innovate, and generally make organizations better.