Prepare Your Team for Uncertainty, the Project Reformer’s e-Tip
December 14th, 2004 by Hal
Keep your team ready to respond and adjust to the changing circumstances of the project by including them in regular planning conversations.
 The Project Reformer's e-Tip of the Week |
| 039: Prepare Your Team for Uncertainty |
Project managers spend way too much time tweaking their plans — without guidance from the team — only to be faced with the inevitable oops!!
Fundamentals of Project Management, James P. Lewis Planning is preparation for those who will be in action. We waste our time when we plan by ourselves. Have planning conversations. Engage your team — the project performers — in those conversations. Review the overall plan on a regular basis. Add details to later phases of your project as you go taking into consideration what really happened, what you've learned, changing client conditions of satisfaction, and the innovations that you've put in place. When you plan with your team they will be prepared to adjust to the inevitable uncertainty. Thanks go out to Dr. Gerry for reminding me of the quote. The Project Leaders' Studio™ |
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December 14th, 2004 at 11:36 pm
This made me think of project management as a metaphor for war. What’s the Powell Doctrine for construction? What kind of Project Manager is Don Rumsfeld? Do you just go and build a project with the team you’ve got, or with the team you want? And most importantly: What defines victory; how do you know you’ve won?
Think Iraq War and go back and reread the tip.
December 15th, 2004 at 7:41 pm
Just last night, I was talking with a new project manager who has had a career in sales.
He was wondering if he should buy this fancy software package for project management.
My advice was: PM sets business goals. Developers set estimates. Make the developers breakup tasks when their estimates are more than a half-day’s work. And, most importantly, check in with everyone once a day.
It’s a social problem, not a tech problem.
I suggested he use index cards for keeping track of status. (It’s a tiny project, though with too many developers.)
My question is, what’s a good structure for having team planning conversations?
December 16th, 2004 at 5:29 am
Funny you should ask. There are a series of different team planning conversations. Have a look at today’s posting on ‘Look-Ahead Planning’ meeting protocol.