| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Project Managment: Land the Plane Stop Doing and Start Succeeding
We all spend time on planning vacations. If it's not you then it's probably your significant other or travel agent. Think of the time we spend choosing the destination, getting the best airlines fares, the right clothes and the best sightseeing adventures for a great trip. I know for my trip to Hawaii I wanted to make sure that I did not want to miss anything so I talked with people who had been to Hawaii for their suggestions and read up on the islands we were going to visit. And many of my clients do the same thing. But yet when it comes to project management people live in what I call a "doing" mode. Given a project a team or an individual just jump in and do with little or no planning. Here are ten tips on how to get out of the "doing" mode and into the succeeding mode of project management. Tip One: Destination Establish a destination for the project is the same as establishing a charter at the beginning of the project. What is a charter? Think of it as the compass that guides your project. It is the information you need to know to be successful. Who's accountable and who's responsible for the project (they are different), what are the resources available, what are the present constraints, support available, visibility or access for project? Tip Two: Establish a pace; two cites in ten days or five cities in seven days Set realistic expectations for the project. In our fast paced world when the mantra is "yesterday" I agree this can be hard to accomplish. But if you don't set realistic expectations are you not setting your project and team up for failure? If getting a permit from the city now takes five weeks instead of three weeks why is that not plugged into the project plan instead of plugging in the "old" three weeks? It's not realistic. You're behind already without any unexpected hiccups in the project schedule. Tip Three: Who's Flying the Plane? For a project to succeed it needs sponsorship from senior management. And that sponsorship needs to be visible to management and the project team. I remember working on a project where the senior manager stood up and told us in no uncertain terms that: "I don't care if you install this new system in one store or 500 stores by Oct. 1. It will be done right and every store will be operational the morning after conversion. There will no impact on the stores". His leadership, sponsorship and ownership of this project were clear to all. Tip Four: Project language and customs Set aside time before the project begins for the team to set groundrules or guidelines. How will you communicate with each other? How will the team make decisions, resolve conflict and work together? Tip Five: Be an Air Traffic Controller How and to whom do you communicate the project's progress outside the project team is critical. This needs to done in a formal fashion in writing and maybe even by presentation. In addition what is said to people in the corridors or lunchrooms will build or destroy the confidence that management has in the project. Tip Six: Setting an Itinerary Just like the vacation up front detailed planning needs to be done for a project to succeed. The project plan can be a one-page sheet for a one-time event or 50 pages depending upon the complexity of the project. The key is to spend the time doing the detailed planning not rushing in "to do" the project. That's when things are uncovered in the middle of a project that seriously impacts the results or outcome. Tip Seven: What if it Rains? Things are going to go wrong, so you might as well plan for it. Making a Plan B helps the project team members to know how to react immediately without having to make on the spot decisions during a potential crisis. The decisions have already been made and the whole team is confident in their ability to execute both Plan A and Plan B if necessary. I worked on one project that we had Plans A, B and C. These plans covered what we thought would be the most challenging scenarios. Tip Eight: Let's Do that on the Next Trip This is a tough one but that is how the words enhancements and phases help a project come to reality. I bet you can think of a project or two that because of the change in requirements or adding of scope either doomed a project or made the project over budget and a year or more behind schedule. Avoid changing requirements or scope if at all possible. Tip Nine: Utilize Early Warning Lights Monitoring the project where issues or problems are surfaced early is a key ingredient to successful projects. The ability to be up front about issues and problems lies with the project leader and to a certain extent the project sponsor. Do they want to hear bad news? Are they open to changes based on facts? One project leader rode people so hard that they stopped giving information. In another instance several members of the project team went to the project leader and pointed out the impact of his behavior on the team and the project by being unyielding and not open to hearing people voice their concerns. If the guidelines are set in Tip Four then hopefully this will not be a problem. Tip Ten: What Did We Learn on This Trip? How many of us are guilty of not debriefing after a project? Or is we do not sharing the knowledge and making it part of the company's knowledge system? Sure, it takes time and after all, the project is over and we are on to something else. This I feel is the most valuable leaning lab. Not only for future projects by the team but also for each project individual who will be on other projects and will some day lead their own project. So whether you are planning a vacation or working on a project use these tips to ensure your success. It just makes good sense, project management sense that is. © 2001-2005 Barbara Callan-Bogia All rights reserved. You Are Welcome To Reprint This Article Please include the following text on your reprint: Copied with permission of the author, Barbara Callan-Bogia. Source: www.CallanConsulting.com Barbara Callan-Bogia, Leadership Catalyst is the founder and principal of Callan Consulting. She works with companies to bring out the best in their leaders and helps professionals bring out the best in themselves so people are contributing 110% of their talents with outstanding results. Contact Barbara at 508-788-9056 or http://CallanConsulting.com Check out her blog at http://www.leadershiplady.blogspot.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Delegate for Fun and Profit Ah, the wretched pain of delegation. It comes easy to some people. Can Your Business Run Without You? If you are a business owner or a business owner to be, let's examine this scenario.Like other people, you are so excited when you first started your own business. Performance Appraisal - Ten Stupid Things Managers Do To Screw It Up Performance appraisals aren't fun. But a lot of the time they are agonizing because managers do really dumb things, ending up destroying a process that is important to everyone (or should be). Quality Standards with ISO 9001 Standardizing Quality SystemsThe ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, was established in 1947 to develop international standards for everything from electronics to management systems. Having over 13,000 standards currently in place, ISO has created the auditing and certification process known as ISO 9001. Bar Charts Brought to Life: Index of Interactive Information for HTML and PDF Bar Charts and the Information ChallengeWhether one is an unknown entrepreneur or Donald Trump, an elementary school teacher or a university president, a 6th grader researching other countries or a government leader visiting them, each person in any capacity has at least one thing in common: information.Let me explain why I use bar charts as an example. Agendas Make Meetings Productive Having an agenda template that works well for you, week in, week out, creates a consistency which gets your people bought into the process.Delivering an efficiency and effectiveness which makes the most of the valuable time you have together. The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Competitive, Not Complementary Action A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.Competitive, Not Complementary ActionJames Carville and Mary Matlin are public relations spokespeople for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively. Recruitment - Do You Know What Youre Looking For? The time will come when you'll need to interview someone to join your business or your existing team. If you work in a large organisation then this could be someone from inside the company. Is Your Employee Newsletter Management Propaganda? It should not be. If it is an effective newsletter, it will serve the needs of readers (employees) as much as it serves the needs of the publisher (management). Contract Management Software: the Solution to the Problem of Coordination Charles Petrie, from Stanford, released a short article entitled "The Problem of Coordination," which highlights 4 categories in which businesses find it difficult to connect:InteroperabilityAgent Communication Semantic Unification CoordinationThough this article refers to a specific type of business, its principles are just as applicable to any business, especially when collaborating on a contract. Contract collaboration and management is difficult in any business, and the negotiations can go on for weeks, months, or even years. Managing Creativity Creativity Starts Here!The ability of an organisation to create new products/services and innovate new processes is an essential skill providing a sustainable form of competitive advantage.Given that organisations need to be creative, why are only a few really good at it and why are only a few individuals perceved as creative?In this article we will examine the theories that underpin creative organisations and the attributes of the managers and individuals who work within them. Employers - Protect Yourself from Custody Battles that Hold Your Company Hostage Child custody? How'd that get to be an employer's concern?When an employee faces child custody litigation, it will effect their ability to do their job. And it often causes legal consequences for their employers as well. Comparing Ancient Programs from the East to Modern Programs like Stephen Covey. Comparing Corporate and Personal goal attainment programs that have developed over thousands of years with those of modern day legends such as Covey - "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"In the 1990s Stephen Covey's name became famous through the publication of the "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". As many know the "7 habits" are not a group of new concepts but age-old approaches to success represented in a way that can be clearly applied to modern day personal and corporate development. ISO 9001 2000, Getting Started on The Route To Registration ISO 9001 2000, Getting startedBefore starting the ISO 9001 2000 route to registration you will need to have the top management on board. This can be achieved by highlighting to top management the cost benefits to the business of ISO 9001 2000 registration. Overcoming Perfectionism Perfectionism can get in the way of building or marketing a successful business. It can prevent us from moving ahead quickly or from taking advantage of business opportunities. Be a Change Agent ( Part 1) Aligning business organizations to be successful in the present and keep on doing this in the future means to develop a new style of Leadership. To celebrate success in our days a leader most is able to craft a strategic vision, define objectives, design, implement and monitor the execution of a strategy and be a change leader in those same organizations. The Truth About Performance Reviews Now that it is January, many of you are putting together, or have just finished putting together your annual Performance Appraisals for your staff. Feedback on performance is certainly one of the most critical aspects of personnel development and one that deserves to be taken very seriously. Out of Control? There are papers on the floor, across the desk and resting on the keyboard. Piles of files are all around. Hiring Great People And How to Be One Yourself: Five Secrets Bad news.Your senior vice-president, your marketing director or your accounting department head has decided to retire, move to Okinawa or start his own business--and you're left staring, horrified, at a polite letter of resignation. Transparency: A Key To Your Effectiveness Last month I talked about the Skilled Facilitator principle of being curious. This month I want to talk about the complementary principle transparency.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |
