accelerating project management success
TRANSCRIPT
Accelerating Project
Management Success
Michael Stanleigh; CMC, CSP, CSM
CEO of Business Improvement Architects
PMBOK – PM Body of Knowledge
ISO 10006:2003 – Guidelines for
Quality Management in Projects
ISO 21500:2012 –
Guidance on PM
ISO 31000: 2009 Risk
Management
International
Standards
“If you can’t describe what you are doing
as a process, you don’t know what you’re
doing.”W. Edwards Deming, Ph.D. Quality
Management theorist, consultant and
author
Project Management
Process or Framework
Not a Methodology
Project Sponsor
▪ Senior Manager, PM’s Manager, Steering Committee, PMO
▪ Ultimately accountable for project success/ benefit realization
▪ Executive Sponsor
▪ Ensures understanding of project award opportunity
▪ Identifies PM & team
▪ Clarifies critical issues
Determine Project Culture
▪ Identifies sources of trouble in project
▪ Clarifies why projects are all managed
differently
Defining a PM Culture
“Organizations that have reached high level of excellence in creating project management culture demonstrate:
Ability to drive their business planning processes into identification of projects that use consistent processes, tools and templates focused on:
Delivery of quality
Meeting customer requirements
Resulting in improved organizational performance.” Business Improvement Architects
Project Management Culture
Problem Today
▪ Organizations implement tools, templates, methodologies –performance hasn’t changed
▪ Missing element - culture where projects are
▪ “Just part of what everyone does.”
The Bottom Line
▪ Most organizations operate with diversity
of project cultures
▪ Best practices must be embedded into
very fabric & support systems of
organization
The Project Kick-Off Meeting
Review Project Award
Requirements
Form Project Team
▪Roles & responsibilities
▪ Team norms
▪ Project team self-evaluation
Develop Project Scope Document
Team Self-Evaluation/Assessment
Continue
Team Members & Stakeholders
Project Team Member
▪ On “core” project team
▪ Develops scope & plan
▪ Assigned specific project tasks
▪ Helps manage plan
▪ Makes team decisions
Project Stakeholders
Individuals, departments, groups directly affected or impacted
Positively or negatively
Key Stakeholders
Project Manager
Customer
Performing organization
Sponsor
Project Stakeholders &
Customer FocusPMBOK
“Stakeholders must be identified, needs determined & managed to ensure successful project.”
ISO 10006
“Organization and its suppliers are interdependent and mutually beneficial relationship enhances ability of both to create value.”
Identify the Project’s Structure
Incorrect structure
with clear reporting
relationships
can be
contributing factor to
project challenges
One Person Managing Project
Project Manager
Subject Matter Expert
Subject Matter Expert
Subject Matter Expert
Project Team
Program Management
Program Manager
Project Leader A
Team Member A
Team Member A
Project Leader B
Team Member B
Team Member B
Portfolio Management
Project Portfolio
Project A
Team Member
A
Team Member
A
Project Leader
B
Program B Project C
Project Leader
B
Project Leader
B
Communication Process
Sender
Filter
Message
Filter
Receiver
☺Feedback
Difficulties in Communication
▪ Words mean different things to different
people
▪ Sender - difficulty putting thoughts into words
▪ People not had common experiences
▪ Communication takes many forms
▪ Make assumptions and inferences
▪ Difficult to get attention of listener
▪ Not trained to listen effectively
Managing Conflict
▪ Conflict neither good nor bad
▪ Not issue of win/lose
▪ Negotiate to get win/win
▪ Can be highly constructive
▪ Though must be skillfully managed
▪ Know your conflict style
▪ Understand how it influences behavior
▪ Change to situational-based
Understanding & Managing
Conflicts
▪ Don’t take responsibility for solving other’s
conflicts
▪ Take responsibility for helping them
resolve conflicts
The Scope Document
“Documented basis for making future project
decisions & for confirming or developing
common understanding of project scope
among stakeholders.” (PMBOK)
▪ Developed by Project Manager & team
▪ Reiterates understanding of project’s
mandate
▪ Start Project Planning after sign-off
Project Planning Process
1. Develop work breakdown structure
2. Resources
3. Duration
4. Dependencies and Milestones
5. Analyze the Critical Path
6. Project management software
7. Budget
Review Project Plan
▪ Level of detail?
▪ Vendor plan
integrated?
▪ External resources
(suppliers, consultants,
contractors) on track?
Integrated Project
Plan
▪ Includes project
schedule, vendor
plan, etc.
Level of Detail
Required
▪ No project ever
suffered because
too much detail
▪ Many projects
suffer from lack of
detail
Task Identification
Harold Kerzner, Ph.D., Project Management
▪ “What you don’t know hurts you.”
▪ “Same work under same conditions will be estimated differently by ten different estimators or by one estimator at ten different times.”
Duration
▪ Resource uninterrupted time
▪ Floats, lags - added to manage situations
where not possible
Example – Ordering & waiting for delivery
▪ Ordering - resource task with duration
▪ Waiting - task with duration – no resource
Work Breakdown Structure
Numbers
Understand WBS#
system & relationship
back to Scope
Document
▪ Unique number for
each task/activity
▪ Indicates grouping –
not sequencing
Goal
Deliverables
Plan
What & Why
→Level 0
High-level
How to reach goal
→Level 1
Detailed - How to reach
each deliverable
→Level 2, 3, 4
WBS Levels
Milestones
▪ “Significant” events in project
• Deliverable completion, Approval obtained, Materials received, etc.
▪ “Show stoppers”
▪ Zero duration
▪ Predecessor & successor
▪ On critical path
Note –no more than twice number milestones to deliverables
Milestones
Task
3.6.4 Order parts
Duration- 0.25 + 3 (wait for parts to arrive)
Milestone3.6.5 Parts received
Duration - 0
Analyze Critical Path
▪ Tasks linked together by dependencies to Milestones
▪ Longest duration of project tasks
▪ All lower level tasks must have dependency
▪Otherwise won’t be on Critical Path
Note
▪ Shorten total project duration by examining critical path tasks
Review Plan in Software
▪Durations correct
▪No “frozen” dates
▪Dependencies on all tasks
▪Resources identified
▪Critical path apparent
▪No re-baselining without approved change
request
Review Construction Lifecycle
Planning DesignPre-
constructionConstruction
Close-
out
Gate 0
Gate 4
Gate 3Gate 2
Gate 1
Gate 5
Stage 2
Stage 1
Stage 3
Stage 4Stage 5
Managing Change
▪Everyone manages project change
differently
▪Must work as team to identify best
approach to managing project change
▪Realize - not matter of “if”
▪Only matter of “when”
Change inevitable – scope and plan are
baseline for change
Project Change Management
Scope Changes
Modification to project scope
May impact
▪ Schedule & Budget
▪ Resources
▪ Quality
▪ Risk
▪ Project Deliverables
Project Change Control
Influence - ensuring changes beneficial
Has change occurred?
Prevent incorrect, inappropriate,
unauthorized changes
Manage changes ASAP
Project Change Control Requires
▪ Maintain integrity of
performance
baselines
▪ Add changes to
scope document
▪ Adjust project plan
Project Change Requests/Orders
Project Change Requests/Orders result from
External event
Project Scope error/omission
Project Plan error/omission
Value-added change
Preparing Project Change
Request/Order
1. Define and describe change(s)
2. Identify impact on project of each option
3. Define project impact if approved
4. Describe project impact if not approved (risks)
5. Provide options
6. Gain Sponsor’s/client’s approval to implement
If you don’t actively attack risks, they will actively attack you!!
Risk is continuous
process
Crisis Management vs.
Risk Management
▪ Risk occurs – not included in risk plan
▪ No contingencies in place
Managing a crisis
▪ Risk occurs – included in risk plan
▪ Contingencies in place
This is managing a risk
Identify Risks
Evaluate Risks
Assess Risks
Develop Responses to Risks
The Project Risk Management Process
Risk Mitigation Plans
▪ Review Mitigation Tasks
▪ Break into actions
▪ Include in project plan - work
breakdown structure
▪ Estimate time & add
resource for each task
▪ Rarely impacts critical path
Risk Contingency Plans▪ Tasks to manage a risk, should it occur
▪ Contingency Plan tasks include;
▪ Actions to be taken
▪Duration
▪ Budget
▪Resource (if other than Risk Owner)
▪ Plans held by Project Manager
Contingency Plan Triggers
▪ Symptoms/warning signs that risk occurred
or near-certain event
▪ If very likely to occur – execute
contingency plan
▪ Contingency Plans - include Risk Triggers
and Trigger date
On-going Risk Management
Traditional Risk Management
▪ Risk Register/Checklist
▪ High priority risks – Red category
Current Approach
▪ Complete risk assessment
▪ High priority risk categories identified &
analyzed
▪ Mitigation & Contingency plans developed
On-going Risk Review
▪ Complete Risk Assessment every 2 months
▪ Identify new Risk Categories
▪ Add to Risk Evaluation/Prioritization Record
▪ Evaluate new risk categories
▪ Re-evaluate previous risk categories
▪ Finalize your new risk category priority
Project Closure Team Reviews
Questions can include:
▪ Completed their tasks as assigned?
▪ Managed project changes?
▪ Contributed to overall project team
effectiveness?
▪ Contributed to overall outcome of project?
▪ Greatest challenges they had to work through?
▪ How did they manage these challenges?
Project Close-out Meeting
When?
Purpose?
Who to attend?
Meeting process?
After meeting?
Project Close-Out Evaluation
Questions Include:
▪ Major successes & failures?
▪ Extent project on schedule?
▪ Extent project on budget?
▪ Extent project met customer expectations?
▪ How change managed?
▪ How risk managed?
▪ How resources managed?
Project Knowledge Retention &
TransferContributes to continuous learning
Avoids repeated mistakes
Process
▪ Capture project lessons learned (page 138)
▪ Record conclusions from close-out meeting
▪ Retain all project documentation
▪ Archive so that others can easily retrieve
Archive Project Documentation
▪ Scope Document
▪ Team structure
▪ Project Plan
▪ Change Logs
▪ Risk Management Reports
▪ Close-out Evaluations
▪ Final Reports/ Recommendations
Thank You
Michael Stanleigh; CMC, CSP, CSM
CEO of Business Improvement Architects
1-416-444-8225 x301
www.bia.ca
www.michaelstanleigh.com
https://twitter.com/mstanleigh
Profile for Michael Stanleigh; CSP, CMC, CSM
CEO, Business Improvement ArchitectsMichael Stanleigh has a reputation for helping organizations define their strategic
direction, manage change, become more innovative, improve the performance of their
leadership and successfully execute their projects. He has been fortunate to consult
and advise some of the most admired organizations in the world. As a Certified Management
Consultant (CMC) and CEO of Business Improvement Architects, Michael shares his consulting
wisdom and secrets for operational success with organizations around the world to help them
succeed.
One of Michael’s core competencies is project management. As a Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
Michael provides consulting, coaching and customized training for Project Management Offices,
Project Leaders and Project Teams on managing projects, creating project plans, conducting
project audits and undertaking project risk assessments. As a Scrum Master he uses his expertise
to create Hybrid processes to create unique approaches to continued project success.
As a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) Michael loves to share his business secrets for
operational success with business audiences around the world. Michael involves audiences in
understanding and managing change and business leaders in getting to the root cause of their
business problems and generating effective solutions. He has a tremendous way, during corporate
events, of engaging leaders and employees in a creative process of idea generation for the front-
end of innovation. His content rich presentations are delivered with the same passion, spark,
energy and creativity that he gives to his business clients.