This morning I was having a conversation with Greg Howell about measuring various aspects of project and program performance. Greg mentioned the universally accepted wisdom of Peter Drucker, "What gets measured gets done." He said it missed the point. Greg commented, "What matters more is understanding. Professor Clark Oglesby always said,"

'You can't manage (or improve) what you don't understand.'

That makes sense to me.

So here I am working my way through today's RSS feeds and I see this item, You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure, by John Reh. I read John's article a few times. After listening to Greg, I admit I was reading with skepticism. John did a good job presenting Drucker's wisdom. Is that good enough? or should we be paying more attention to Oglesby?

I won't argue for no measures. I'm now more interested in how we can bring understanding to our projects and business along side of measures. One clear way I know of doing that is with Five Whys. Anyone have other ideas?

Project constituents always have two big questions:

1. How is the project going?
2. When will we finish?

While the Gantt chart doesn't answer those two questions, it is a great conversation starter. The Gantt chart sets the context for engaging others to shape assessments about the project. A Gantt view quickly conveys a whole perspective — high level — of the work required and the work accomplished. Speaking with a Gantt helps you collect the attention of the people in the room. It is a prop for bringing focus to the project while aiding the participants to put aside their coming-in concerns. By the way, people expect to see a Gantt chart. Starting a project review or planning update without one might distract your participants.

The purpose of planning is getting that work done that should be done.

But you'll need more than the conversation starter if you intend to answer the two big questions. You'll also want to know how good your planning is. There are three easy-to-calculate measures of planning effectiveness (reliability). They are

Read the rest of this entry ¶

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The vast majority of projects involve a few people and take a few months. PMI and Prince seem to ignore that majority…but not Ron Rosenhead. Ron offers project management consulting and advice for accountants, attorney, librarians, and other professionals. He offers an approach based on a stripped-down version of Prince. Still, it may be more than these people need.

"Soft" is what makes projects successful.

Ron makes it easy for the motivated service professional to be successful with projects. He offers introductory material, a course-by-email, and an eBook, Deliver that Project. I've just finished reviewing the eBook. Attorneys and accountants will find it to be comprehensive. Most projects don't need more than Ron is advising.

I found one thing missing. Projects of all sizes and complexity depend on successful conversations for coordination. We act like conversations are the soft stuff of projects. For some reason "soft" is not important. Too bad. In my experience, "soft" is what makes projects successful. For those of you who are open to exploring the "soft" side of projects, have a look at these project meeting protocols. And, subscribe to Ron's email course while you're at it.

Begin taking delay out of your projects, Use Rough Numbers to Begin Improving Actions. Start with the Last Planner System®.

Then conduct stand-up meetings, How to Conduct Your Meetings. Research shows decisions are no less effective but the meeting goes much faster.

Project leadership can be the make-or-break factor for project success. The 6σ folk have some good advice for anyone with a leadership role. "(T)he high failure rate of many promising leaders is largely due to an over-reliance on a limited set of capabilities." Six Sigma Leadership.

What project techniques make the biggest contribution to project success? Gantt charts? No. Earned Value? No. Critical Path? No. The biggest contributor just might be "all that jazz." Read what these authors have to say, Playing the Live Jazz of Project Management.

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I advise clients to start their lean initiatives with 5S to make visible the movement through production steps and to identify opportunities for improvement (OFIs). Mark Graban writes, Why Clean Your Desk? Is This 5S? He asks the question should we do 5S for 5S sake? He answers, "No." His readers share a different perspective.

Project success often depends on the ability of the team to respond to what comes their way. Improvisation is the key skill. USA Today ran an interview today with Wynton Marsalis, Hot Corporations Know How to Swing. Harvard's Kennedy School of Government named Marsalis one of America's Best Leaders in 2006.

The interview is full of great insights on leadership and management. Marsalis defined the essence of swing,

"It's the feeling that our way is more important than my way. It is the core that makes us all want to work together."

Embrace opposites. They are, in fact, the same.Marsalis goes on to say,

"The perception of jazz is that we all get along. In actuality, we're always trying to get along, and it is the integrity of that process that determines the quality of the swing. A business that swings will definitely be successful."

Wynton Marsalis offers these five tips for putting swing into your organization: Read the rest of this entry ¶

Toyota has recently adopted proprietary software for their operations, What’s Driving Toyota? as reported by Baseline. Apparently, they aren't the only ones. Lean Insider reports the lean IT business is picking up for Plexus Online who sells Scanban and other lean software. I wonder what Toyota is doing to support their projects?

I often gush over Toyota's lean design and manufacturing. BW writes Even Toyota Isn't Perfect calling attention to the increase in quality recalls in Japan and US. But read closely. Toyota saw this as a crisis and has just about turned it around.

Mary Poppendieck offers a nice summary of Matthew Mays' book on Toyota's approach to innovation and competitiveness, How does Toyota Do It? Have a look.

The readers' comments on my last two day's postings on Gantt charts have helped me get my thoughts together for a longer up-coming project tip. In the meantime, I'll share these thoughts.

Gantt charts are snapshots of the state of a project. They leave open to interpretation the basic question everyone has about projects, "How is the project going?" The question requires an opinion. A snapshot is a poor basis for an opinion. We want to look across time to provide grounding for an assessment.

People can read a Gantt chart without training.

Progress updates on Gantt charts are misleading. The second question everyone asks is, "When will the project finish?" While done might mean "done", 60% complete doesn't tell you anything about how much time is required to finish the other 40%. If it were just one activity that was 60% complete we might have some idea about the impacts to other activities. As soon as there are more than one activity in a state of Read the rest of this entry ¶

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It's not easy being lean if you can't manage the change project. "I don’t see organizations having a structured way to manage the daily activities of their change process and waste elimination. I don’t see organizations having a way to monitor and measure the influence or impact of their projects," Michael Kuta, in an iterview for Lean Deployment is Coming Into Its Own.

Readers of this weblog are somewhat unusual…they read. But what might a small change in reading make? Embrace the kaizen way. Make a Small Change: Read a Few More Pages.

Who is Rover? In the 1960s they were one of the leading automotive manufacturers in the world. After a few bankruptcies they're now an also-ran. In You Are Better than Toyota, J P Spencer suggests that all firms need a burning platform to stay competitive.

I'm preparing to write another e-Tip on Gantt charts. (I know, it's been quite some time since my last e-Tip.) The Agilists and the Leanies don't use Gantt charts for planning, managing, or controlling their projects. Yesterday, I asked, What Has the Gantt Chart Done for You Lately? Chet and Jerry both left comments saying they see value in using Gantt charts for communicating overall project status, particularly up the organization. I'd also like to know,

"How are Gantt charts being used to brief the project team?"

A Gantt chart can provide a contextual view of the project.

I have the sense that a Gantt chart can provide a contextual view of the project. At the same time, I've been working on some big projects — power station construction — where the only briefing of the project team is done verbally. How do you see Gantt charts could be used to keep a team focused on the project?

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Almost every project has a Gantt chart, but what is it doing for you? I ask the question with a sincere interest in how projects are better managed with Gantt charts. Is it a visual thing? Does it help you to steer the project? How does it aid you to stay in control? Alternatively, are their other tools that you rely on to manage your projects? Please leave your comments.

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I've been working hard posting everyday. While it's not my new year's resulotion, it is a small change that I want to make. The following is a list of anagrams for the same word or phrase. What is it?

LLAMAS PEN NESTS TRY
NAPALM STERN SET SLY
PLASMAS LENT SENTRY
TRANSPLANTS ELM YES
RAMPANT LENS STYLES
SPARTAN SMELLY NETS
SNARLY SPANS METTLE
MAN TARP YELLS NESTS

Have some fun making your own anagrams at the Internet anagram Server.

kaizen is practiced across industries. Project kaizen can — maybe will — result in higher safety. Batesville Casket is enjoying imrpoved safety from their kaizen efforts, If kaizen Works for a Casket Manufacturer What Might it Do for You? Maybe your project will too.