Archive for the 'PM practice' Category

I still meet many project managers who just state that sharing a project vision (if ever there is one) is a waste of time and that the project team should just concentrate on what they are asked (told ?) to do. This always reminds me of my first project management courses, more than 30 years ago (dinosaurs were still alive), when I was told that: "The more information people have about a project, the more veto power we are giving them…so, it is important to keep information sharing to the strict minimum, using as a strict yardstick of information distribution direct-task-oriented need-to-know information."

I am appalled to see that this primitive belief still endures today, since it shows so little understanding of how human minds and hearts really work. I am also appalled that, each time I ask about Vroom's Expectancy Theory of Motivation (dating back from the early 1960s) and it's significance to project management audiences (including many PMPs), I find out that it is still mostly unheard of or, when it is known of, it rings no bell about the relationship between sharing a project vision and mobilizing project teams to ensure project success. This is very unfortunate since Vroom's simple theory:

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Hi. I’m Alan Mossman, a consultant based in the UK. Hal has invited me to contribute occasional posts to RPM in the areas of design, safety and collaboration.

One of my profs at Uni, Stafford Beer, asserted "A system is what a system does". So why would anyone create a system that in Hal’s words “turns strangers into enemies”.
Will Lichtig addressed this issue in an article for the Fall 07 American Institute of Architects Practice Management Digest. In Projects as Patients, Will suggests a scoring system for project health — should we call it the Lichtig Score? Four of the categories - Collaborative Planning, Reliable Promising, Unaccounted-for Constraints, Safety - have clear criteria.

The questions for the equally important fifth category, Mood, are not so straight-forward to answer:

• To what extent is the team positive?
• To what extent is honesty and trust evident?
• To what extent is the team learning and improving?
• Is morale improving, steady or declining?
• To what extent are team members being open and honest with each other?
• Are there barriers between trades and professions and if so How high are the silo walls?
• How long or short are tempers?
• To what extent are team members collaborating?

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"Project Quality Management must address the management of the project and the product of the project"

(p.180, PMBoK, 3rd edition)

In an earlier blog entry, I presented the Nine Wastes of Mismanaged Projects, according to Lean Project Management gurus (Howell, Macomber, Koskela, Bodek). I said then that I saw a 10th waste adversely affecting project success: Not Managing Perceptions. Today, I will briefly explain why I believe that not managing perceptions is a major project waste, and why it has to be taken care of for our projects to be successful.

The sentence from the PMBoK quoted above is one of the most important messages on successful project management. It means that project quality, a strong indicator of project success, does not only depend on the physical characteristics of project deliverables, it also depends on HOW they were delivered. It means that a project is not only a destination, it is also a journey. It means that in matters of quality, BOTH the journey and the destination are important.

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Don't you just love Industry Week? Whether you work in manufacturing or you do projects for manufacturers you gotta pay attention to IW stories. In the December 2007 issue there was a sidebar on careers. IW quoted from John M. McKee's book, Career Wisdom: 101 Proven Strategies to Ensure Workplace Success. McKee offered these 10 ways to get yourself fired:

1. Don't have a clear life plan.
2. Don't keep your skill set current.
3. Never deliver results.
4. Confuse efficiency with effectiveness.

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LPSThe Last Planner System® is a lean approach to planning and delivering projects. It is based on a hierarchy of planning: should, can, will, and did. LPS is not a computer system. It is a set of protocols corresponding with the four above items: pull planning, look-ahead planning, task planning, and daily coordination. The Last Planner System is a registered trademark of the Lean Construction Institute. Last Planner SystemThe Last Planner System® is a lean approach to planning and delivering projects. It is based on a hierarchy of planning: should, can, will, and did. LPS is not a computer system. It is a set of protocols corresponding with the four above items: pull planning, look-ahead planning, task planning, and daily coordination. The Last Planner System is a registered trademark of the Lean Construction Institute.

Facts are in. Not speaking on projects is a key contributor to project failure. Worse, it's also leads to failed careers. Three years ago Greg Howell and I authored a paper Two Great Wastes™ which we presented at IGLC-12. The paper was somewhat speculative. We had observed teams that just weren't making the progress that knew was possible. After studying a number of teams we noticed a pattern. Many of the poor performing teams were composed of people who didn't speak up and/or leaders who weren't listening. We coupled those observations with some research into some big disasters. We concluded that project deterioration was a function of not listening and not speaking. We named those behaviors the Two Great Wastes.

Teams that can't or don't speak up are doomed to fail.

The Concours Group validated our conclusions with their study. Read the rest of this entry ¶

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Some things just don't go out of style. Four years ago, PM Forum published an essay on succeeding on projects. Many people have referenced the essay. It's now my turn.

Mark Lilly and Tim Rahschulte¹ introduce their unbreakable project rules this way:

"Why do so few projects succeed? Despite the decades of increasingly complex attempts to manage projects, far too many managers overlook the 10 Unbreakable Rules for Project Success. As outlined below, these common sense guidelines hold the key to increasing your success rate and delivering greater consistency across your project's lifecycle."

Recognize the limitations of a me-first orientation. Projects require cooperation, collaboration, and coordination.

Their advice is directed at individuals on project teams. Here are their 10 unbreakable rules: Read the rest of this entry ¶

1. "Lilly and Rahschulte, a university professor, collaborate on enterprise projects through Tin Orb, LLC, a knowledge services company in Portland, Ore" as reported in the PM Forum article [ ⇑ back ]

Seth Godin has a knack for making new distinctions for every-day occurrences in life. His latest is "sheepwalking". Seth defines sheepwalking as, "…hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them a braindead job and enough fear to keep them in line." Some might say that is cynical. Others might see themselves in the description. Seth goes on to say, "…sheepwalking is actually on the rise."

Could sheepwalking lead to malicious compliance?

Seth has me wondering. Where are sheepwalkers working? How might they find their way to our projects? What might happen? Is sheepwalking reversible? Is there really such a thing as sheepwalking? Read the rest of this entry ¶

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?

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.

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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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 ¶

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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Ralph Bernstein writing at Lean Insider for Productivity Press posted his proposal for 10 Lean Resolutions for the New Year. I've not been able to keep more than two resolutions. So, here are my two favorites from his list of ten (but do visit Bob's list.):

1. (For managers:) I will step back and not try to substitute my judgment for the team’s.
2. I will try to learn about lean from other industries, not just my own.

Step out from your usual project setting to learn from others.I like the challenge in these two resolutions, particularly for the highly successful manager. The successful manager knows what contributed to success. Just do more of the same and one will be more successful. Right? Maybe not!

The lean approach celebrates the wisdom of the team. Read the rest of this entry ¶

Jeffrey Pfeffer is one of my favorite business writers. He makes the audacious claim,

"All the brains and connections in the world won't matter unless you also have the bullheaded determination it takes to get things done."

But is it audacious? As the year ends I'm taking stock, cleaning up loose ends, and considering how 2007 might be more prosperous and more rewarding my clients, my colleagues, and for me. Professor Pfeffer writes about people who are learning from what doesn't work and what was earlier abandoned. What's not working for you? He suggests that we should take another look at what hasn't worked before moving on to something new.

I don't know that I'd say you have to be a bulldog to survive, but it just might be the bulldogs that thrive.

Ford might come to mind. Not only have they paid people to leave, so many have left that they now have to make new hires. Training will cost. Quality may suffer. But Ford is not the auto maker I'm writing about. It's Toyota.

No Satisfaction at Toyota is a story about Toyota's relentless attack on complacency. Charles Fishman writes,

"Improvements aren't "projects" or "initiatives." They are the work, (the employees') work, every day, every week. That's one of the subtle but distinctive characteristics of a Toyota factory. The supervisors and managers aren't "bosses" in any traditional American sense. Their job is to find ways to do the work better: more efficiently, more effectively."

In short, the work of everyone is kaizen. And then some…

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Progressive Project Delivery is the name of ENR's special report in the November 13, 2006 issue. They highlight a number of "leading practices" including an innovative approach to contracting for the 2012 London Olympics. But sandwiched between the story on the Olympics and another on a program to build or remodel 70 Greenville schools is the announcement of a service for "setting up and managing critical path method schedules and updating them monthly." The service is offered by Quality Planning Solutions, Inc. (QPS), a subsidiary of the construction powerhouse Turner Construction.

I don't know anyone who would say, "Thankfully we had a CPM schedule that we always kept up to date." Rather, the not-so-secret dirty little secret is that project teams ignore the CPM schedule. I've written extensively on CPM scheduling. Here's one of my favorites CPM: What Do You Prefer?

Good luck QPS and their clients. Let's hope they find real value.

Ken Howard spoke to the group as a "learning practitioner". He is the owner's representative/project manager. His project is a $100 million renovation of a 24/7 functioning medical center, performed by Herrero Contractors. Ken opened with, "This hasn't been easy for me."

Ken noted the challenges of incorporating new behaviors while getting the project done. He was appreciative of his mentors, his partners, and particularly the specialty contractor foremen who have made the efforts to adopt lean construction.

David Long described Sutter's process using Jeffrey Liker's 4P approach.¹ Used the Five Big Ideas as the basis for the philosophical foundation of the lean approach. He claims the Five Big Ideas and the associated emergent outcomes have been the most important thing they have.

Starting with the idea of an elevator speech, Sutter developed a one slide statement of what lean is in a project setting. It finishes with

"The Right people talk about the Right things at the Right level of detail at the Right time."

The process currently includes:

• Target Value Design (TVD)
• Last Planner System® (LPS)
• Integrated Form of Agreement — tri-party agreement between owner, architect, and contractor that other performers join as they are contracted
• Network of Commitments
• Continuous Learning, e.g. Plus-Delta

To those five items David added that it works when people are speaking (and listening) about the right things at the right times. He claims this five item approach allows them to spend all of the budget to deliver the most value to the project while still getting it done on time.

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1. philosophy, process, people and partners, problem-solving, from The Toyota Way [ ⇑ back ]