Triple Constrained

Fool Me Once..........

2009-07-31T15:20:00.005-05:00

Do you keep a lessons learned repository?
Do you reference it when the opportunity presents itself?

OR..... do you close your project hoping you never have to work with that group again?

My first shot at trying to review lessons learned for a new project went drastically different than I had envisioned before hand. The project team was pretty much uninteresting in the past and what had been done before (right or wrong). They wanted to know, "when do we start?" It was then that I realized that lessons learned documents are for the project manager. Most of the time, he/she is one of the very few that have a holistic view of the situation. He/she is probably the only one wants the project to go better than before vs "gettin er done".

Don't get me wrong, I do think that lessons learned should be reviewed with the project team in efforts to educate and stimulate thought. But it is the responsibility of the project manager to constantly refer to the repository during the duration of the project.

You are selling! Are they buying?

2009-07-29T19:30:00.007-05:00

Like it or not, much of a project manager's role is about selling. Selling more realistic deadlines to the sponsor, selling the benefits of the project to the stakeholders, selling the importance of their work to the project team.

We try our best every day to be very detailed and fact oriented. This makes for good clean schedules and great change management processes. But lost in the facts and figures, lost in the templates and status updates, there is one of the most important keys to project success........ user perception.

Are the stakeholders sold on the fact that the "shiny new solution" is better than what they have now?

Is the project sponsor sold on the fact that when you say you need more time, you really need more time?

Is your project team MOTIVATED? Are they sold on the fact that they have an important part to play in the project?

Like it or not, you are selling. The only question is, are they buying?

Controlled Chaos

2009-07-29T14:05:00.006-05:00

What separates chaos from order?

As I was riding in a cab in NYC, I was amazed at all of the traffic. Since it was during lunch, it was extremely congested. Hundreds of motorists, walkers, bikes, and joggers. All with their various agendas. Naturally, the sounds of horns and sirens echoed in the background signifying when one agenda was in conflict with another.

As I eagerly watched to witness an agenda collision, something caught my eye. A construction team was diligently working on a building on one of the busiest streets in sight. Having possibly the most complex agenda, they were the most calm.

What separates them from the others? They are working under the same conditions (environmental factors). They have the same amount of daylight to complete their job.

They had a plan. Every action was planned months, possibly years, in advance. Not trying to control the chaos, they understood it and worked within it. Projects that are well planned and take into account environment factors stand out in chaos.