Project Management For Dummies, Part II: Being an Extremist

"If it takes one woman nine months to have a baby, it does not follow that it can also be done in one month by impregnating nine women."

~ Dr. J. Ornstein on the fallacies sometimes committed in strategy planning.


 "I know that you believe that you understand what you think George said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what he meant."
~ My colleague's email to our Training Manager concerning my instructions during a new store opening

 "A little risk management saves a lot of fan cleaning"

~ Anonymous

"Fast, cheap or good.  Pick any two"~ Advise to a franchisee while overseeing the construction of his new unit.

In my last posting, I outlined the general steps one needs to take in planning out a project and in managing it.  This traditional project management style was the go-to approach when creating and managing a project. But technology advancements now (should) get ideas to market faster than ever. Because of this, newly created project management approaches take more risk, quicker changes, and a lightening speed timeline into consideration.  I consider this to be something I call Extreme Project Management.

In his book Effective Project Management Robert K. Wysocki defines this as “projects that include characteristics of high speed, high change and high uncertainty.” Consider the differences between the traditional and extreme styles prior to creating your project plan. You should commit to the extreme approach if your project fits the bill.

Traditional vs. Extreme

Traditional project management follows a straightforward approach to planning and managing a project along the lines I outlined in my last posting. It utilizes what’s called the waterfall method. This method basically plans project activities one after the other, in a direct line. When change happens, the project resets itself at a previous point in the project timeline and starts over again with the same waterfall method.

The waterfall approach is very linear. Once a schedule is reset because of a change, the entire schedule and final deadline shifts accordingly. If you are working in a fast paced environment with let's say strict market launch deadlines, this approach most likely won’t work. You’d likely be knocked off schedule and miss your deadline. The traditional approach is most successful when a project does not include a lot of change and most details of the project are realized at the beginning.

The extreme approach differs from the traditional project management style because it actually allows you to plan for change and uncertainties. Timing is also a big difference between the traditional and extreme approach. Whereas traditional projects tend to take months and in some cases even years by their very nature, the extreme approach breaks activities down into a smaller timeline like weeks or days (or even hours, if necessary).

Analogously, the traditional style of managing a project is the running of a marathon whereas the extreme style is the 100m dash.

Extreme project management is dominated by a constant cycle of change and resetting. It allows for teams to work in a shorter timeline with more regular and consistent cycles of reviews, approvals and agreement on the path forward.

Should Your Project Take the Extreme Approach?

Whether you are looking to assign a new project or you’re the project manager yourself, you’ll want to consider a few factors when deciding if the extreme approach is right for a specific project. If timing is fast and uncertainties remain or are likely to remain, taking the extreme approach might be best for you due to the ability to rapidly and nimbly change vectors.

Consider what you currently know about the project. Ask yourself: Do I know what the exact outcome of this project will be? Do I have all the answers to create a successful project plan? Can I expect there will not be (many or sudden) changes during the process?

If you answered no to any of these questions, the extreme approach might be the right choice for your project.

You’ll also want to consider stakeholder expectations. Are they realistic if the traditional approach is taken? Many times a senior leader will be excited about a project and will then throw it into the lap of their most successful project manager. The leader won’t provide a lot of direction but will expect the project to happen very quickly. Suggesting an extreme approach to the project will show you are nimble and willing to work on a project that might not be clearly defined.

Setting Up Your Extreme Project

Now that you’ve decided to take the extreme approach, you’ll want to consider the project team. The extreme project management approach is fast paced so the project team must be nimble and energetic.

Request or select a group that will be welcoming of change and can adjust quickly.  Request input from each team member as you build your plan. This last part should not be optional.  Confirm that all aspects of the project can happen as quickly as is necessary, and have them outline what obstacles (if any) they foresee arising during the course of their assigned tasks and what their plan of action is should that happen.  This allows for everyone to know what the next steps to take are should something arise that threatens the timeline, and, at the very least, forces your group to begin to adopt an agile mindset.

Lay out your project plan with the extreme approach in mind. Begin with a kick-off, and schedule multiple rounds of quick work time followed by team reviews, check-ins and alignment on how to move forward. I would suggest at least three round tables for a medium sized project with a short timeline, but there can be as many rounds as you like, so long as these don't impact the time the team must devote to the project.

Discovery and research will be needed during the entire process so as to constantly feed the projects outstanding questions.  You should have the resources for this made available to you, a "go to" person or department.  If not, assign two members of your group the responsibility of getting the team the answers or the information they require and support them should they run into any obstacles or delays. 

You can manage your project accordingly now that the project plan is in place. There will be a lot of change to track and manage so communication is critical. Project managers taking this extreme approach should plan to be in constant contact with all key team members. The probability of change will cause questions to arise constantly, so being available for answers is imperative.

Once you become comfortable with the idea of taking the extreme approach, you’ll probably find it suites you well and applies to many projects. The great thing about extreme project management is that its flexibility allows you to create the plan that best meets your goals and objectives.

If you have any suggestions or topics you'd like to see covered, or if you'd like help with an issue you're currently experiencing, please drop me a line at gbossinakis@live.com. 
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Project Management for Dummies, Part I

"Project managers function as bandleaders who pull together their players each a specialist with individual score and internal rhythm. Under the leader's direction, they all respond to the same beat."

~L.R. Sayles

   
"Plans A through Q have this deal going through"

~Michael Sabia, CEO of BCE., when questioned if there was a plan B should his proposal not go through.  It didn't and there wasn't.

"Plans are nothing; planning is everything"
~  Dwight D. Eisenhower

Congratulations! You've just been appointed to manage a project.  Now what? How do you get started? What steps do you do next? How do you maximize your chances for success?

Whenever we examine any project before us, we usually identify what the obstacles are exactly, and identify that they need to be overcome.  But that's only the most basic step.  What is missing is a detailed analysis of not only what needs to be done, but how, why and when. 

In this first part, I have written down these basic project management steps below as a guide through the process of managing any project that should help you set up the markers you will need to start.

Here's How:
 

     1. Define the Scope
The first, and most important, step in any project is defining the scope of the project. What is it you are supposed to accomplish by managing this project? What is the project objective?

Equally important is defining what is not included in the scope of your project. This is an often overlooked definition.  If you don't get enough definition from your boss, clarify the scope yourself and send it back upstairs for confirmation.

     2.  Determine Available Resources
What people, equipment, and funds will you have available to you to achieve the project objectives? As a project manager, you usually will not have direct control of these resources, but will have to manage them through matrix managing (where there are 2 different superiors you report to; one is operational in nature and the other is functional). Find out how easy or difficult that will be to do.

     3. Check the Timeline
When does the project have to be completed? As you develop your project plan you may have some flexibility in how you use time during the project, but deadlines usually are fixed. If you decide to use overtime hours to meet the schedule, you must weigh that against the limitations of your budget.

     4. Assemble Your Project Team
Get the people on your team together and start a dialog. They are the experts. That's why their functional supervisor assigned them to the project. If you don't have any experts you can rely on, request the right people be assigned to you, or request permission to go and get them.  Your job isn't to be the expert.  Your job is to manage the experts.

     5. List the Big Steps
What are the major pieces of the project? If you don't know, start by asking your team. It is a good idea to list the steps in chronological order but don't obsess about it; you can always change the order later.

     6. List the Smaller Steps
List the smaller steps in each of the larger steps. Again, it usually helps you remember all the steps if you list them in chronological order. How many levels deep you go of more and more detailed steps depends on the size and complexity of your project.

     7. Develop a Preliminary Plan
Assemble all your steps into a plan. What happens first? What is the next step? Which steps can go on at the same time with different resources? Who is going to do each step? How long will it take? There are many excellent software packages available that can automate a lot of this detail for you. Ask others in similar positions what they use.

     8. Create Your Baseline Plan
Get feedback on your preliminary plan from your team and from any other stakeholders. Adjust your timeline and work schedules to fit the project into the available time. Make any necessary adjustments to the preliminary plan to produce a baseline plan.

     9.   Hope is not a Plan.  Hope is not a Strategy
I have often asked my direct reports to memorize this mantra and to teach their teams the same.  I can't tell you how many times I have heard the most detailed and exhaustive plans rely on uncontrollable variables that are assumed to be, wondrously enough, all in their favor.  Analyze your plan impartially.  Are there any variables that are beyond your direct control or influence?  And if so, have you accounted for all the possible outcomes?  If not, you need to keep these back up plans as viable alternatives to your primary plans, and allocate for the possibility that you may have to bring them from the background to the foreground at any time as the project progresses.

     9. Request Project Adjustments
There is almost never enough time, money or talent assigned to a project. Your job is to do more with the limited resources than people expect. However, there are sometimes limits placed on a project that are simply unrealistic. You need to make your case and present it to your boss and request these unrealistic limits be changed. Ask for the changes at the beginning of the project. Don't wait until it's in trouble to ask for the changes you need.

     10. Work Your Plan, But Don't Die For It
Robert Burns wrote about "The best laid schemes of mice and men....", but whereas he was apologizing to the mouse who's nest he upturned, the meaning of his poem was poignant to Project Managers: The most carefully prepared plans may (some say will) go wrong.

Making the plan is important, but the plan can be changed. You have a plan for driving to work every morning. If one intersection is blocked by an accident, you change your plan and go a different way. Do the same with your project plans. Change them as needed, but always keep the scope and resources in mind

     11. Monitor Your Team's Progress
Never confuse effort with results.  You will make little progress at the beginning of the project, but you should have started by then to monitor what everyone is doing anyway. That will make it easier to catch issues or failures before they become problems and threaten to derail the results.

     12. Document Everything
Keep records. Every time you change from your baseline plan, write down what the change was and why it was necessary. Every time a new requirement is added to the project write down where the requirement came from and how the timeline or budget was adjusted because of it. You can't remember everything, so write them down so you'll be able to look them up at the end-of-project review and learn from them.

     13. Keep Everyone Informed
Keep all the project stakeholders informed of progress all along. Let them know of your success as you complete each milestone, but also inform them of problems as soon as they come up. Also keep you team informed. If changes are being considered, tell the team about them as far ahead as you can. Make sure everyone on the team is aware of what everyone else is doing.

In part 2, we will examine different Project Management styles, and what situations are appropriate for them.  You can link directly to it  here.
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If you have any suggestions or topics you'd like to see covered, or if you'd like help with an issue you're currently experiencing, please drop me a line at gbossinakis@live.com. 
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