Mary Poppendieck has published two new articles: Breaking the Quality–Speed Compromise and Managing the Pipeline. Mary is the co-author of the book Lean Software Development with her husband Tom Poppendieck. Mary has a great outlook on software development that comes from many years in the profession.

In Breaking the Quality-Speed Compromise, Mary explores the everyday understanding to increase the quality of design activity one must increase the time available for design. There are firms who break the time-quality trade-off and by doing so position themselves to take business away from others. Mary develops the case that high-quality software product development doesn't have to take time. She proposes:

"The most important thing we can do to break the compromises we impose on customers is to move testing forward and put it in-line with (or prior to) coding. In other words, find and fix the defects before they even count as defects."

This approach can apply to all design activity. The general principle is this: Establish the criteria for acceptance prior to doing the design work.

In Managing the Pipeline Mary proposes 6 Rules for reducing cycle time — guiding your projects based on queuing theory:

1. Limit work to capacity
2. Even out the arrival of work
3. Minimize the number of things-in-process
4. Minimize the size of things-in-process
5. Establish a regular cadence
6. Use pull scheduling

While Mary attributes these rules to queuing theory (from the field of Operations Research), we can find these rules in operation in the Toyota Production System. I don't argue with attribution. Rather, I suggest that all we need do is look to the world's most successful approach to product development and production for validation of Mary's proposals.

As usual, Mary writes well and persuasively. Have a look.

On Wednesday April 20, 2005, Business Week joined the blogosphere with Blogspotting. The weblog is authored by Stephen Baker and Heather Green. It joins four other BW weblogs. The launch of Blogspotting coincides with BW's cover story hitting the stands this week, Blogs Will Change Your Business, by the same authors. The cover story is a clever piece done in the style of a weblog.

So you're asking, "So what that BW launched Blogspotting?" Is it good news? bad news? great news? sad news? I don't know. But I know something about BW. I've been reading BW since I was in college. (Don't ask how long ) BW has fine journalists. These are people who year after year win journalism acclaim from readers and their peers. I plan to read Blogspotting. And I'll give them some time to get into the swing of blogging. I don't expect to be disappointed.

Johanna is doing a great job with the series at Managing Product Development. We've all seen these schedule games. We may even recognize the names. Her posts so far:

• Schedule Game #1: Schedule Chicken
• Schedule Game #2: 90% Done
• Schedule Game #3: Bring Me a Rock
• Schedule Game #4: Hope is Our Most Important Strategy

Have a look. And let's hope she keeps the series going.

A project team has a chance to succeed when team members feel free to fully express how they are doing, what help they need, and what help they can offer. Unfortunately, all too often project teams are engaged in another practice. Johanna Rothman, author of Managing Product Development, calls it Schedule Game #1: Schedule Chicken. Johanna describes the game this way:

(E)veryone claims they're on time. But the reality is that each person is waiting for another person to explain why he or she is not ready. In that case, each person graciously says, "Oh, that's fine with me if you take an extra week or two or three. No problem."

Johanna explains how it's possible to play the game:

Schedule Chicken occurs when PMs only measure the milestones (the date), and not the stuff that's created (the feature set) and the progress towards creating that stuff (velocity) and how good that stuff is (the defect levels) all throughout the project.

Based on Johanna's posting title I'm guessing she'll be treating us to a series on schedule games teams play. Let's help her out. What games have you seen team members playing?

Are you working on a construction project? Who do you look for help? There's a new weblog that is focused exclusively on you situation. It's called The Construction Contractor's Blog. It's written by Matt Stevens of Stevens Construction Institute. You'll find more than 6o articles on your business.

The May 1, 2005 Industry Week editorial Wanted: Inspired Leaders, Engaged Employees, by editor-in chief Patricia Panchak, calls attention to the poor job manager-leaders are doing bringing the good and bad news to our organizations.

We must find a way to deliver this news — the good and the bad — in a way that inspires employees.

Ms. Panchak cites the low level of unemployment and reveals those unemployed are taking longer to find new jobs. She goes on to say job satisfaction continues to fall citing these recent findings:
The Conference Board Reports, Many Are Simply 'Showing Up For A Paycheck'.

• 40% of workers feel disconnected from their employers.
• Two out of every three workers do not identify with or feel motivated to drive their employer's business goals and objectives.
• 25% of employees are just "showing up to collect a paycheck."

Ms. Panchak says we can't provide leadership without looking at the above list from the employees' perspective: "problems of persistent unemployment, flagging job growth and general economic uncertainty."

We live in challenging times. The times are challenging for our company. The times are challenging on our projects. We know from our own experience that we don't want our leaders to be motivating us. We need something different. Speaking only for myself, I want to be inspired by the work I do, the people I work with, and the opportunities that come my way. While I won't leave that solely up to someone else — I recognize that I have a big role in inspiring myself — I want to be around leaders that inspire me.

It's that time of year again. Baseball is on our minds. Only this year the NY Yankees are in the basement. Perhaps they need a little of Lou Pinealla's wisdom. My friend and co-blogger Joe Ely (also a baseball enthusiast) writes Learning about Lean. His latest posting Making Change Happen references the work of Jeff Angus.

Jeff has a marvelous weblog Management by Baseball where he offers an interpretation of management and leadership inspired by his years writing about baseball and consulting to business. Last week he offered this posting on leading change in organizations, Slipstream the Cosmic Wisdom of Lou Piniella. Jeff's wisdom comes through even for those of us who are not wrapped up in the game. Here's Jeff's wrap-up of the Lou Piniella approach to change:

BEYOND BASEBALL
The Piniella Solution then, is

• Start at the bottom of the org chart and solicit suggestions in the "What needs changing/improving around here" line.
• Act quickly and publicize the change.
• Follow up with more right away so you can accustom staff and adjacent departments that change is an on-going thing, and that it has payoffs.

The approach is not effortless or without its own potential pitfalls. Many times, line workers "don't get it", "it" being strategy or marketing fine points or subtle initiatives. Some suggestions will be entirely dysfunctional and not based in any reality. Okay, both are frequently true, but line staff know things others don't, those things are usually not valued, and there's much more to be mined there.

Taiichi Ohno had similar advice: Go to the workplace. I wonder what else baseball and Toyota have in common?

I could us a little help getting the word out on my new location. Please pass this along to your friends and colleagues. Thanks!

A number of project managers have asked me, "What does it take to be a leader on my project?" One of the best formulations of leadership that I've found comes from an unusual source — a rabbi, a psychologist, and author:

"Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future."

Edwin H. Friedman, Friedman's Fables

What is the practical application of Friedman's leadership description? Start with the questions,

"What is the possibility that I am committed to?"

Are you committed to a collaborative project approach? Speak about it.
Are you committed to the possibility of completing your project early? Tell everyone.
Do you see that the team can accomplish more than what they've promised? Encourage them.

Leaders speak about what they see as possible. And they do so in a way that engages others in that possibility. Speak. Take a stand. Lead with your passion and invite your team to do the same.

The Project Reformer's e-Tip of the Week

041: Be Patient, Rather than Press for Drastic Change

Shorten the project schedule. Eliminate the delays on the project. Get people working in all available areas. Do it right the first time. Cut the budget! Does any of this sound familiar? It should, we hear it all the time on projects. But just calling for change doesn't work. Projects and project teams require care and attention, and on top of that change takes time. People do what they do because they've been doing it for quite some time. The more we repeat our actions the more we limit our view of what is possible. You want to implement the Last Planner System®? Good luck! People have been trained to rely on a WBS, the CPM, and calculations of float to manage their projects. You can't replace what they know with what they don't know. They won't let you. Succeeding with organization change takes persistence and patience, with an emphasis on patience. Being patient is not passive. Stay actively engaged with those people who must change. Encourage them. Acknowledge them. Appreciate their efforts. And…stay with them so you don't miss their moment(s) of breakthrough. Inspired by Taiichi Ohno as recounted by Jeffrey K. Liker in The Toyota Way, p. 98. The Project Leaders' Studio The Last Planner System is a registered trademark of the Lean Construction Institute.

©2005 Hal Macomber | RPM | e-Tip Archive | PDFs | Submit Tip

What tips do you have for running projects more successfully?

Bart Bolton offers Smart Advice in Information Week on succeeding as a manager, 10 Tips for Becoming a Successful Manager.

The emphasis has to be on leadership and interpersonal skills.

Bart starts with leadership and ends with producing results. That seems about right. He offers a good list. I've added resource for each of his tips.

1. Leadership
   The Leadership Challenge, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, one of the best of over 22,151 leadership books on the shelves at Amazon
2. Relationship building
   Building Trust: In Business, Politics, Relationships, and Life, Robert Solomon and Fernando Flores, no better book on relationship-building
3. Learning
   Mastery, George Leonard, when mere competence is not enough
4. Business acumen
   What the CEO Wants You to Know, Ram Charan
5. International cultures
   I lived and worked in Europe for two years working with divisions in 22 countries. I have no idea what to recommend. Anyone have insight? Please leave a comment.
6. Listening
   Developing the Master Skill of the Leader, Hal Macomber
7. Mentoring
   Equipping 101, by John C. Maxwell
8. Project management
   Ten Rules for Project Managers, Hal Macomber
9. Change management
   Five Necessary Actions for Change (Special Report), Hal Macomber and Gregory Howell, a practical introduction
10. Producing results
    Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, Charles Burck

Of course we can't go to work on all ten areas at once. I suggest you start with something you are already good at. Build on that competence. Then, pick another area of competence. Do this a few times before moving on to a more challenging skill area.

There are warning signs that commitments might be missed. Learn to focus your listening on a speaker's doubt.

The Project Reformer's e-Tip of the Week

040:Hope Is Not a Project Strategy

I've been having some fun lately attending clients' project meetings. It's great seeing project teams plan collaboratively and make commitments to accomplish work. But, I'm worried. I don't recall attending a meeting where someone hasn't said, "I hope to get this done by…" and then the meeting just moves along to the next item. I'll repeat here what I say every time I hear "I hope…" Hope is not a project strategy. When we say, "I hope…" we are announcing some doubt we have about what we are setting out to do. Don't just continue in the conversation. Explore the doubt. What is it that is beyond our control? What are we missing to carry out our promise? Who are we depending on for wherewithal? Answering these questions (and others) can shift mere hope towards confidence — one way or the other — of fulfilling our promise. Replace the positive attitude of hope with positive actions for results. Our team is expecting nothing less from us. This e-Tip was inspired by a participant comment at a workshop and the book Hope Is Not a Strategy: The Six Keys to Winning the Complex Sale, by Rick Page. href="http://www.complexsale.com/HopeIsNotAStrategyreview.pdf">Read the 10-page book summary. The Project Leaders' Studio™

©2005 Hal Macomber | RPM | e-Tip Archive | PDFs | Submit Tip

I have four more e-Tips in queue. How about some suggestions from readers?

Just a short note letting you know that the Reforming Project Management weblog has moved from http://weblog.halmacomber.com to http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com. Why? I'm more ambitious now than I was before. I've adopted WordPress, a content management system, as my blogging tool to give me more control over the environment. I'm aiming to make it more of a magazine format. The change in URL is to make it more of a home for anyone who wants to author articles for the site. Contact me if you want to publish.

There will be more changes coming. And there are a few housekeeping matters that will take some time to address. The other site still works (for now). Thanks to Kim Black for making this all possible, particularly the spectacular work she did in keeping all the reader comments alive on the new site. If you ever need help with a weblog or a website, Kim is a whiz!

I've been re-thinking the Daily Coordination Meeting. I've been watching daily meetings. Often, the project participants are taking care of basic coordination — doing last-minute planning — rather than managing their commitments. The name of the meeting Daily Coordination is part of the problem, but only part. Coordinating one group with another is a small part of the the daily meeting. The most important part is taking the time to let each other know that you and your group have done what you said you would do for that day. This builds trust and it creates a basis for the performing groups to take the hedging out of their promising. When one group doesn't have confidence in what another group will do for them, then we understandably get hedging. Hedging leads to work areas being ready but no one working. The aim is for the project work to flow unimpeded from one performing group to another.

Even the most reliable performers have to deal with the unexpected.

A second key aspect of a meeting for managing commitments is to make timely declarations of completion. Read the rest of this entry ¶

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