Can Project Management Save the World?

Can the framework and procedures of project management by used to tackle the hard problems facing the humanity today?  I think so.  Many of the problems facing the world today are complex with many facets. 

The project management framework provides many tools, techniques and procedures to manage complexity.  One area that I think can be used with some success is a stakeholder matrix.  As with many projects, stakeholders are important and many stakeholders are not readily apparent during the course of planning.  A stakeholder matrix can help to identify stakeholders, their interest in the project, and how the project management team will communicate the project plan to them.

This tool is just one that can be used and if this was used for many of the hard issues, there may be less opposition to the project.

I think that people who are tackling these issues could benefit from some project management training or to have a project management mindset.

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.

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.