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.