Category: Project Management

Guest Post by Danielle Garza

We’ve all been there before. When it has to happen it can be a frustrating process to go through, but it happens to all of us at some point: a highly visible or mission critical project in midstream needs to have one or more key project resources added or replaced. And we all know that how we handle this process on our project and with the client can mean the difference between success and failure on the engagement.

Company resources need to be replaced for a number of reasons. Maybe a key project resource was needed quickly on a new project. Perhaps an employee left the company to accept a job with a competitor. Or it may be a case where an employee was let go from either the company or possibly just the current project due to performance issues. Whatever the reason may be, leadership is now faced with the critical task of onboarding a replacement, earning client acceptance, and getting the new resource up to speed and productive as quickly as possible so the progress on the project isn’t hindered and so the project customer continued to see seamless delivery.

To ensure that this happens, some key steps should be followed. Let’s assess these in detail:

1. Find the replacement.

When it comes to identifying a viable candidate, usually there isn’t a shortage of talent – the key is to find the right talent and ensure they can be available to fill the project role for the duration of the engagement. The last thing you want is to make yet another change farther down the road.

The hope is that you’ve already informed the client that a change is in the works at this point. If not, this happens to be an appropriate time to do a quick introduction of the new project team member to the client. Give the client a summary of the new team member’s experience and background, as well as identify the key experience that makes them a qualified member of this team for this project. The goal is to instill as much confidence in the client as possible.

2. Transfer knowledge.

Secondarily, perform as much knowledge transfer as you possibly can to the new team member. The best source of information for the onboarding resource is obviously the outgoing team member, however a call on the entire project team to bring the resource up to speed during an internal team meeting will suffice. And supply the new resource with the latest project info including the latest project status report, the latest project schedule, the current issues list, and the statement of work and kickoff materials from the start of the project. They need to know the status of projects, what they will be held responsible for, and what the overall goals and objectives and high-level requirements are.

3. Educate and shadow the new resource.

The next steps should include a ‘shadowing’ period of 1-2 weeks where the new resource remains in the background on status calls with the client while they are being brought fully up to speed. This makes the transition as seamless as possible for the project client while also setting up the new resource to be as knowledgeable and productive as possible when they take over the role.

4. Move to full productivity.

Finally, what must take place is the move to full responsibility client facing. At this point they are fully independent in the new role and are representing the team during key client conversations and participating as expected during the regular weekly project status calls with the client.

Summary

The bottom line is that if leadership and the project manager follow a carefully planned path similar to what we’ve discussed here, then the transition from the old to the new should end up being handled efficiently and effectively. The goal is to keep customer confidence and satisfaction high during a transition like this, and by following a planned process that includes the steps described above rather than rushing a replacement in too fast with poor preparation, the project manager is much more likely to achieve that goal.

Danielle Garza writes articles for Tenrox cloud-based project management software.

Have you ever worked on a project where you asked “what’s the point”, or felt that you shouldn’t be wasting any more effort on it? I have, and it makes you wonder who is really in control and whether they really understand why a Business Case is essential. I’ll give you an example.

Some time ago, I was asked to take over the management of a project 4 months in because the previous project manager was moving on. The project would deliver an I.T. system which would interface with a data feed containing financial trade data, do some calculations and then dump out the results into some reports and files.

Pretty simple really, although for reasons I won’t go into the developers had chosen a solution which was way over-engineered. The end result was that the system was beset by quality problems. This was coupled with the fact that the data feed which was being developed by another project wouldn’t be ready for another 6 months.

I raised this with my boss who was in overall charge of the development and he said it didn’t matter if it didn’t work – in fact it had failed all tests until that point – but what was important was that it was delivered into the data centre on time. So, I dutifully obliged, and ensured the server was delivered on time, even though it was just a useless box sitting there doing nothing because there was no data to process, and no ability to process it anyway.

So why had my boss insisted on wasting time and effort installing a useless box with unusable software? Simply because his bonus depended upon him showing he had met his targets. The project was for a very large and very successful international business which just goes to show even in huge successful organizations there can be an alarming lack of understanding about project governance and business justification.

On this particular project there wasn’t a Business Case which described why we were doing it, or quantifying the benefits which would result from it. In other words, there was no justification for the investment of time and money which would be required. As it turned out, after a year the project was eventually cancelled, primarily because of the ongoing quality problems associated with an overly complex technological solution.

In retrospect the organization could have saved itself a whole load of money by not proceeding in the first place. This decision would have been made easier had a Business Case containing a thorough cost benefit analysis been developed by the organization at the start.

Can any lessons be learned? Yes, firstly never start a project without a Business Case and secondly, educate more senior decision-makers in the necessity of project governance. Whilst the first is much easier than the second, both are essential to ensure your organization doesn’t waste even more time and money.

Have you worked on projects which were a waste of time and/or money? Do your projects always have a Business Case?

An interesting development has been taking place in my international projects, regarding the allocation of time. Many of us in the business of implementing projects have heard of that very useful device, the “triple constraint”, right? Simply put, it is a framework to help us balance the competing demands of the project by having customers and performers agree on the Scope, Time and Cost components. It is good guidance in our efforts to organize and subsequently deploy the project work, and can be used iteratively at many points in the project lifecycle.

Once the scope and durations for activities have been agreed, I notice that colleagues from some countries will work linearly, sticking closely to an order of events and to a critical path, while colleagues from other countries will work on two or three activities at the same time. This latter approach makes progress reporting a bit trickier, as parts of the project will start before their immediate predecessor has been completely finished. It also means that more of my tasks remain open at 75%, or 90%, taking longer to reach the full 100% completion.

This reminds me of buying cheese in Europe. At the cheese shop in Germany, little numbers were issued on entering the shop, and customers were served in the order of these numbers. As many cheeses as the customer wanted would get duly taken out of the refrigerator, unwrapped, sliced, and wrapped again once the customer got to the front of the line.

In Spain, while customers did queue, when the one at the front asked for a pound of Gruyere, the shopkeeper would shout: “Anybody else need some Gruyere?” He might then serve two customers at a time: the one at the front of the queue and another one from the middle of the line. I cannot imagine being successful in the German cheese shop if, from the back of the queue, I were to shout: “Hey, can you slice me a pound of the Gouda while it is out?” I am sure customers and staff would have been horrified at the mere suggestion.

The perception of time and how to fill it vary greatly by culture. Some countries value planning and organized execution tremendously. In some other countries, staying flexible, re-prioritizing at the last minute, and working on two things at once seems like a better system (By the way, I do think the Spanish shopkeeper sold cheese to more customers by the end of the day).

In our international projects then, what type of project manager will we be? The one that demands work be done in the exact order we have specified? Or a flexible one that allows for the different perceptions of time that different cultures bring, as long as the work gets done…. and all the customers get their cheese?

Guest post by Ian Needs, Marketing Manager for KeyedIn Solutions

If your project management has no formalised frameworks, your business may well be losing money.

Standardisation and consistent application of project management methods, processes and technologies is a key factor in business success.

Project portfolio management (PPM) software provides a centralised dashboard for the meta-management and analysis of multiple projects, so that your project management team works within clear guidelines that design projects to succeed.

Issues Faced by Businesses
If your business manages multiple projects and resources, you may find PPM software helps you to align and streamline your projects.

When project staff work independently without any formal PPM structure, their unstandardized approaches will directly influence the progress and success of individual projects. In some organisations that might be a benefit, but in others it leads to unpredictable performance and non-comparable measurements of key performance indicators.

If you’ve found yourself:

• struggling to analyse performance across projects due to a lack of comparable data
• being forced to make project management decisions without complete information
• suffering the ignorance of stakeholders due to a lack of consistent, engaging communication
• worrying about the practicality of your pipeline management decisions
• wishing for more integrated information on overall portfolio viability

…then it may be time to explore PPM software.

What PPM Software Can do for Your Business
Most professional PPM solutions support the management of project scope, time, cost, procurement, integration, resources, communications, quality and risk.

A good PPM application lets you track and manage projects seamlessly, applying time-saving templates, scenario models and workflows. You’ll be able to take a long-term overview of all projects –past, current and future—to ensure that everyone’s efforts and resources are aligned toward your organisation’s strategic goals.

Some PPM software provides a real-time view, while other options are dependent on scheduled data refreshment. Real-time data is invaluable to its end users: your project managers, resource managers and executives will all benefit from timely insights into resource demand, capability and project delivery.

Who Doesn’t Need This?
If you’re running a very limited number of projects, PPM software is perhaps not an essential for your business. However, it’s a nice-to-have that may become increasingly useful as your project portfolio evolves.

Similarly, if your budget is limited then you may debate the value of PPM software. In a down economy, many businesses do without an automated PPM solution, but this often leads to inefficiency and a reduced ROI. Different organisations have different project portfolio management requirements, but most can benefit from clearer oversight of programmes and projects.

Rather than buying a licence for software that will only be partially rolled-out, it makes more sense for businesses with lower budgets to use easily scalable Software-as-a-Service project portfolio management solutions. PPM in the cloud offers a great deal of flexibility as well as location-independent access to information.

If you think it might be time you got project portfolio management software for your business, consider the numbers, types, and hierarchies of the projects you currently manage. What you’re looking for is a solution that suits your current portfolio and management requirements, so that you can improve your business efficiency without a long and complex implementation phase.

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For more resources, see the Library topic Project Management.

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Ian Needs is Marketing Manager for KeyedIn Solutions, provider of the KeyedIn projects project portfolio management software package.

As a freelance project manager, many of the projects that come my way are troubled projects. They run the whole gamut: from projects that only require a straightforward readjustment in scope to complex projects that require protracted negotiations on scope, time, costs and constraints.

Interestingly, it is not easy to arrive at generalities or ‘rules of thumb’ to get a troubled project back on track. Each one has to be studied. I have seen very large projects which at first look to be in an insurmountable amount of trouble get back on track fairly easily. For example, after both the clients and the performers agree to change the technical approach, or maybe by re-prioritizing some scope elements.

At the other end, I have seen small projects remain troubled due to the complete inability of important decision-makers to move from their position. Even in the face of evidence that, as structured, that project cannot be successful anymore. The decision-maker perceives –perhaps correctly so- that there would be dire consequences (political, monetary) in admitting the current project will not be successful.

When the troubled project continues under an original design which is no longer viable, project teams must plow ahead and try to muscle through the implementation under very difficult conditions. Personnel will work long hours and be stressed the majority of the time. Some of them will leave the project. You can be sure the staff with the best skill set will be the first to leave, not the weak performers.

Clients will probably micro-manage and be demanding, especially since they harbor serious doubts about project outcome. The sad part is that continuing under these conditions very often results in a much more costly project –in monetary and human terms- than if we had had the courage to stop the project; renegotiate new scope/ time /cost; and restore the project to good standing. If you don’t see how to get the project back on track, it may be time to re-size it. It may cost you less in the end.

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For more resources, see the Library topic Project Management.

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If you’re an American reader of this blog and you’re involved in, or interested in, project management, then you’re probably familiar, or at least heard of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). In this article I want to introduce you to a complimentary approach to project management which was developed in the UK and is known as PRINCE2.

PRINCE2 originated from a project management method called PROMPT in the 1970’s and was adapted by the UK government as a standard which could be used on all government I.T. projects. It’s has now been adopted by thousands of organizations worldwide including both the UK and Australian governments, the United Nations, NATO, DHL, Barclays Bank and Visa to name just a few. It was also used successfully by the London Olympic Authority on all of the 2012 London Olympics projects.

So, what’s PRINCE2 all about? Well, firstly it’s a generic principles-based approach to project management, so it can be applied to any type of project. When the latest version of the PRINCE2 manual was developed, hundreds of project managers were consulted in order to develop a method embodying modern best practices in project management.

The 7 principles form the bedrock upon which everything else in the method is based and form one of 4 integrated elements. The 2^nd of these elements is the 7 themes, which are aspects of project management which need to be continuously addressed within a project. The 3^rd element is the 7 processes which describe who is responsible, what they are responsible for, and when they perform the various activities within the project lifecycle. The last element describes how it is important to adapt the processes and themes to suit the needs of the project. On large, complex or risky projects, the processes and themes will need to be applied more rigorously than on a simpler, less risky project.

I think this flexibility is one of the main strengths of PRINCE2. It can be used on small projects without incurring a lot of overhead, but can equally be used to good effect on massive, international projects which require a high level of project governance. Another benefit is that because it’s generic, the method can be used on any type of project and if adopted by an organization can offer a common project management language across all projects. This helps to promote better communications both within and between projects.

I think another major benefit is that responsibilities for all the project management team roles are clearly defined. Whereas the PMBOK Guide really only focuses on the responsibilities of the project manager, PRINCE2 describes responsibilities in total for 9 different project management ream roles. Included in these are the Project Board (Steering Committee) and the Executive (Project Sponsor) roles. These are the most important on any project because they are responsible for taking all the major decisions about the project i.e. committing the money and taking decisions about starting/continuing with the project. By clearly defining each project management team role, each role understands what is expected of them and what authority they have for taking decisions.

One other thing about PRINCE2 which I think is really great is how it describes the different levels of plan. The Project Board requires a high level plan covering the whole project (project plan), the Project Manager requires a more detailed plan covering each stage of the project (stage plan) and Team Managers require their own team plan covering a work package which is a short-term and detailed plan. By having these different levels of plan focusing on the needs of each level of the project management team, both communication and control can be improved.

When I first came across PRINCE2 about a decade ago, one thing which surprised me was its insistence that there is no need for regular progress meetings on a project. This went counter to everything I had experienced myself on software projects over the previous 15 years. Managers needed meetings, or so I thought.

Well, in PRINCE2 meetings are only really necessary at the end of each stage and when important decisions need to be taken e.g. to continue or close the project. A more efficient use of management time however is for the Project Board to “manage by exception” which means that they require a meeting at the end of a stage but at the same time they delegate the day to day management of the project to the project manager via the setting of “tolerances”. These tolerances can be set for time, cost, scope, quality, risks and benefits and are a way of delegating authority. For example, cost tolerance could be +/-£10k, or for time +/-8 weeks. If these tolerances are forecast to be exceeded, then the project manager does not have authority to continue and must escalate the “exception” upwards to the Project Board who can then take a decision. In between the end of stage decisions, the project manager keeps the Project Board informed of progress via regular progress reports. I think this can lead to a huge saving of senior management time.

PRINCE2 also focuses on products which helps the stakeholders better understand what the project will deliver, why, when, by whom and for whom.

In addition to the above benefits, I think that perhaps the most important benefit of PRINCE2 is that it is business-focused. Having a viable business case informs all the decisions taken by the Project Board and also forms one of the principles of PRINCE2 – that a project must have “continued business justification”. This helps to ensure that a project delivers a return on investment and does not get side-tracked into managing the project as an end in itself.

So, I hope I have whetted your appetite to find out more about PRINCE2. PRINCE2 has really helped me become a better project manager and I think it can complement any of the existing tools within the project managers’ toolkit. If you would like to find out more about PRINCE2, but do not fancy reading the 300+ pages of the PRINCE2 manual, then I have put together a free resource (What is PRINCE2?) which covers all the basics of PRINCE2 which I hope you will find useful.

What do you think about PRINCE2?

PRINCE2® is a registered trade mark of the Cabinet Office

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For more resources, see the Library topic Project Management.

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