Bill Raymond at ProjectNation.net has created a wonderful 20-minute video on the History of Project Management. His site has several other videos on Microsoft Project and SharePoint. Enjoy and learn 
Archive for the 'Project' Category
You’re a consultant. Your job is to help build organizational / technical / managerial bridges. You have a client who brings you a proposal that looks like this:
“We have this need for a bridge. We don’t know what materials the bridge needs to be made of. We don’t know how high the bridge needs to be. We don’t know what chasm the bridge will be stretched over. We aren’t sure how long the bridge needs to be, and we definitely don’t know the environmental conditions at the spot where the bridge needs to be built. We’d like you to build the bridge….and we need it done by next month.”
What do you do?
First, attempt to educate the client. If you have a pragmatic client with whom you can communicate based on a shared common goal – a successful project – this may be worth the trouble. You can point them to statistical information on the high percentage of failed projects, the advantage of project management cycles, process diagnostics, etc.
Second, some projects are not made to succeed. That is not your decision. You have to try to make it succeed if at all possible and part of that is documenting problems, offering solutions, and making sure that those involved are aware of both at all times. They can choose to not act on your advice, that is their choice to make. Suck it up and get over it. Sometimes you get paid to do a great job, sometimes they pay you to follow their stupid orders. As long as they are the ones paying you, they choose what they pay you for.
Third, documentation will be king. Develop an iron-clad communication plan and stick to it. Document all changes and problems daily and summarize weekly. Keep reviewing with the client.
Finally, bill by the hour. There is just no way to come up with a value-based price on something like this.
Yeah, I know, it’s taken quite a while, but I finally got the blog working again. Changing the design and layout…it will eventually permeate throughout. It may even change again when I get proficient with WordPress. I’ll be working on it and eventually get back to a consistent writing schedule. Thanks for your patience.
Speaking of templates, check out Method 123. They provide templates for Project Managers to help you Initiate, Plan, Execute and Close projects while managing staff, customers, suppliers, change, risk and quality issues. Their Project Management Kit includes more than 50 Word and Excel documents with over 300 pages of helpful hints, real-life examples, charts and tables. The Kit is suitable for Project and Business Managers, Consultants, Trainers, Students and anyone else interested in managing projects successfully. Check ‘em out!!
Well if you don’t use MM for project management, you should. And the Project Management JetPack has multiple templates to improve your teams delivery of projects. Check out Mindjet.com.
MindManager software has evolved over time to be a must-have application within 85 of the Fortune 100 companies to help boost individual and team productivity. Its ability to visually capture ideas and information, organize priorities and tasks, manage simple and complex projects and develop and communicate strategies and concepts helps to streamline and convey vast amounts of information.
Do you, as a project manager, add value to your project? Do you add value to your company? If you’re a PM, I’m sure the answer is a resounding “YES!” Okay, now prove it.
So you say, “My last project came in on time and under budget.” How do you know it would not have been the same without you? Or maybe even more under budget since your salary would not have been there. How do you know the project would not have been completed sooner without all those meetings? So, unless you can undertake identical projects with and without a PM, you cannot come up with quantitative financial data defining a PM’s value….after the fact.
Here’s a report on the Value of PM from the Center of Business Practices. The only comment I’d make is that the survey is based on 100 responses from PM practitioners, of which 59% were project managers. That’s like asking Congress if politics is a good thing.
If you are in a company without project management initiatives, you may want to measure your financial, productivity, customer, and process metrics for a period of time before implementing PM procedures and processes. Then you may have some comparative data. Otherwise you may only have those “touchy-feely” kind of data, such as personal testimonials, anecdotes and “I just know it’s good.”
Thanks all for your thoughts and comments about this subject. If you would like a printable version, here is a PDF of 10 Reasons You’re Not Ready.
Let’s finish this up. . . . .
7. You’re the “Quiet One”
If you can’t step up in front of a large group and speak about your project’s finances, schedules and goals, you won’t make a good PM. Eloquence may not be essential, but you’ve got to be good on your feet. Regardless of deft negotiating and public speaking skills, a PM should have the confidence and expertise to weather any crowd. Join Toastmasters to learn some of these skills.
8. You’re Not a Leader
Without the intangible ability to lead – the mortar that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts – an aspiring PM will fall short of the mark. On a strategic level, PM’s excel in the areas you might expect, skillful negotiator, competent communicator, talent assessor, leader, team builder, and planner. I look for PM candidates who are results-driven, not process-driven. PM’s who are too inflexible about their procedures and reporting structures often allow those processes to turn into an end in themselves. That inflexibility not only stunts the project, but also shuts the door on the manager’s ability to rise to the next level. Successful PM’s see beyond the processes to prevent tomorrow’s problems.
9. You Don’t Know When to Stop
You can’t be afraid to stop a project if the original reasons for the project are no longer sound. What if you lose your sponsor or other important stakeholders? What if the ROI no longer merits this work? It is far better to terminate a project early than to push through to the end with a product that satisfies no one and has exceeded budgets dearly. If it is not going to work, stop it.
10. You’ve Stopped Learning
Although you may have a great deal of “book-learning,” project managers are forced to learn the hard way what causes project failure. Project managers need to be able to admit their errors, correct them, and avoid repeating them. Your education does not stop with your degree or certification – it’s only the beginning.
Achieving project success is more than simply enacting a methodology standard or carrying out a set of template-driven exercises. Success is achieved through the intelligent application of sound principles guided by experience. If this sounds like common sense, it is.
Knowing the rules won’t guarantee that you’ll rise to the top, but at least you won’t set up roadblocks for yourself along the way. Corporate politics is a game, first and foremost. Failure to play by the rules will almost always result in your being sidelined, no matter how good you are at your work. Prospective PM’s who don’t see it that way may simply not be ready.
Let’s continue on our trek. . . . .
3. You’ve got a Swelled Head
Dealing with stakeholders and corporate management requires self-assurance, but all too often, bright managers are cocky, strong-willed, and overconfident. Project managers with big egos tend to overlook little things, or things they deem insignificant. Swelled heads can lead to missed opportunities, when information about those “little things” ceases to flow through the project team.
Even well-intentioned managers can be hurt by their egos. The worst kind of arrogance is the type that covers up insecurities. Why? Managers with this particular failing, squirrel away information as a power play, releasing only half-truths or partial facts so they remain in control of their team – but again, leading to missed opportunities for the project and the company. And even worse, they have a hard time accepting blame or admitting errors.
4. You’ve got No “Heart”
Cowardly lions need not apply. Most executives have their fair share of basic integrity, but a project manager needs enough “heart” to stay the course under pressure.
To some extent, a PM’s job is to reign in their star performers. This fortitude to expose potential problems takes “managerial courage”; in other words, having the mettle to “do the right thing.” It’s more than just speaking up; it’s having the confidence to fix things, too.
5. You’re Too Content with the Status Quo
Letting things brew and dealing with them later is an approach best confined to a Starbuck’s Mocha Latte; it’s certainly not the mark of a successful project manager. Sometimes taking the initiative with a problem means stepping out of the manager’s role to become, for example, an estimator, a scheduler or WBS creator.
6. You Don’t Care Enough about Company Operations
Project managers have to understand what’s behind the numbers. They need to become counselors and advisors. Worthy PM candidates don’t view management as an isolated function, they see past the numbers to explore how a project can help usher in business improvements.
A prospective PM needs to dig into the lessons-learned from previous projects. If the manager is still learning about business, the learning curve is already too long. A PM candidate hoping to join the club should be more of a teacher than a student.
(I’ll finish up in a day or two)
Wondering whether you have what it takes to be a project manager? Here are ten signs that you’re never going to make it to the top of the project hill.
I see it everyday — talented programmers, system technicians and project engineers being promoted to project manager. You may very well be a skillful, seasoned engineer, but parlaying that talent to project management is hard to do. And your first project is how you’ll be judged.
The most important step you can take toward becoming a project manager is to get your name on the list – or, more to the point, not to get your name crossed off the list. Speak to your boss, peers, and managers so the word gets out that you want to be a project manager. Besides my own experience, I’ve spoken with CEOs, executive recruiters, and other consultants, who consider the merits of prospective PM’s. You need to heed their advice and follow their tips in getting yourself ready for that first project.
Now to be honest, one black mark from this list – or even more – won’t necessarily ban you from the project manager position for life; all of these “ten sure signs” can be addressed, in time, if you’re willing to invest the effort. You might also argue that a number of my signs conflict with each other. Should you stand up to the boss, or should you tone down the ego? Should you get more involved with operations, or should you lighten up on the tech certifications? Finding the right mix of skills for your career is a lifelong pursuit; here’s a good milepost to see where you stand.
1. You Really are Still a Technician
There’s more to being a PM than getting the code right, configuring an operating system or designing a data center. IT technicians, however skillful, can’t rise to the top without practical management experience. Good project managers have always been strategists and goal-seekers, no matter the size of the project. Only a technician would fixate on the latest hardware and software while ignoring day-to-day PM issues like schedule, costs and team resources. Remember, from a business point of view, a technician is a necessary expense, not a vital asset.
2. You Can’t Handle Project Politics
When a company has many capable techies, one of the things that allow one to rise to the PM spot is the ability to manage the politics of the business and the project. A winning PM possesses the “executive presence” to juggle the concerns of project constituents – the stakeholders, company management, accounting departments, programming managers, infrastructure engineers, clients, vendors, subcontractors, and employees – without being skewed one way or another.
Executive management has to trust the numbers and the project manager. That means more than simply managing the project downward, a PM must also “manage upward,” presenting facts and ideas to company executives and boards of directors. On occasion this might mean standing up to a CEO. A project manager who decides to play it on the safe side, or is outmaneuvered because of a lack of political savvy, will likely find himself or herself in a weaker position the next time around. Too many managers pay homage to their bosses rather than engaging them. The PM needs to be able to argue a point with the stakeholders or executive management and not shrink away the next time they meet. They form a team bonded partly by respect and trust, and partly by chemistry and other intangibles.
(To be continued in a day or two)
