Act on Ideas

Projects and product enhancements at Google start as ideas and gather momentum through actions that influence and garner support. ...

... "Many products and product improvements at Google start with one person having an idea, sketching it out, showing a prototype to others, getting feedback, and soliciting support from others. " ...

Via Poyner: Google projects

Improvement Plan

Is continuous improvement better than one decisive action? Too many companies are waiting until external threats become reality before they commit to an improvement plan. ...

... "Now that its independence is at stake, it is taking decisive actions. It may not work because the plan probably comes too late. " ...

Via BloggingStocks: Anheuser-Busch

Project Management Delays Are Sometimes Good

There's an interesting article on Computerworld about the need to procrastinate more in project management.

Huh? No, really. In reality, it's about slowing down the early stages of a project in order to get the true client needs and requirements understood and prioritized. It also suggests procrastinating by moving some complex items later in the plan to accomplish some quick wins early.

Maybe good things really do come to those who wait.

How to Manage by Procrastination

Who Should Manage IT Projects?

Who should manage the big projects? Professional project managers and management methods are a step in the right direction. We need to make this happen and embrace this specialization. ...

... "IT professionals should not be allowed to manage these projects. Traditionally, the IT professionals have come up through the ranks ... Leave the task of running one of these huge projects to specialists, just like everything else we do these days. " ...

Via Computerworld: Action

Innovate: Monday Morning Plan

Here's some ideas to jump-start your innovation tommorrow (Monday). Make some time for brainstorming. Don't penalize mistakes. Get folks interacting. Read on. ...

... "Creative or alternative thinking does not mean playing with brightly coloured balls all day long. It means selecting appropriate techniques and methods from as wide a variety as possible and matching them to the task in hand to get the best results possible. " ...

Via Derek Cheshire's Creativity and Innovation: Monday's Plan of Action

Project-Lessons-Learned From Walter Reed

There are more lessons to be learned from the experience at Walter Reed, but here's a good one ... sustaining quality (of service and infrastructure) in the face of closure. If you haven't already, you may be faced with a project to dismantle, decommission, or divest part of your organization. Be ready for this situation. ...

... "When we plan to shut down an operation, the longer the lead time between decision and action, the more discipline we have to apply to making sure that that operation is not victimized, directly or indirectly, by our natural instincts. " ...

Via Snohomish County Business Journal: Lessons

Project Visibility and Transparency

Don't let doomed projects proceed in secrecy. Make the truth transparent and visible. Identify an action list to deal with the issues or prepare recommendation for cancellation. ...

... "The sad part is that often the people working on these projects know that they will fail, and yet, they are afraid to voice their opinion to the people in charge. " ...

Via Tom Peters: Doomed Projects

Stay Visible and Relevant

Raise expectations, market your capabilities, and educate the organization to stay visible and relevant to your enterprise. ...

... "The limited expectations CEOs have of IT leadership threaten to stunt IT's contributions, resulting in an IT organization that may be averse to taking risks or even rising to the level of visibility. " ...

Via Computerworld: Expectations of IT

Create Innovation Culture: Understand Where to Begin

Here's a diagnostic tool to understand where your innovation culture gaps are and how to approach them. ...

... "Based on the Innovation DNA, it gives you a way to begin conversations and create action plans based on solid information. " ...

Via Innovation Network: Where to Begin

MS/Project is Dead: Long Live MS/Project

As reported in Computerworld and discussed here, Microsoft has announced MS/Project 2007, a new version that offers some usability and performance enhancements.

Perhaps the bigger news is that Project Portfolio Server 2007 has been announced, leveraging UMT's technology (which Microsoft acquired last year). It has the requisite bubble charts, strategy alignment tools, and what-if simulations. It even includes governance workflow, something long missing from the Microsoft suite. This should give the other big EPM tools a run for their money.

One thing worth noting about the Computerworld article (below) is the 20 million user base for MS/Project. Considering that the most frequently used project management tool is still MS/Excel, and that there are plenty of other project managers using non-Microsoft products, it gives a sense of how many project managers there are in the world. The last estimate I had heard several years ago was 16 million. That number is most likely quite a bit higher now, perhaps double.

Microsoft Looks to Boost Project Software’s Appeal

Technology Investment: Time Is Ripe

Implementation of IT strategy requires fresh approach: New standards of performance and greater accountability for achievement. C Davis Fogg discusses actions needed to emphasize a bias for action and points out the potential of IT to innovate. ...

... "IT is such an underutilised power in the marketplace, I would expect right now is a very good time to be thinking about powerful investments to improve market position and efficiency. Particularly if you have cash and your competitors don't. " ...

Via CIO Australia: Implementation of IT Strategy

Tom Peters on Action

There's an interesting new site called Slideshare, where people can upload and share powerpoint presentations (we just KNOW everyone loves Powerpoint presentations!).

I always enjoy Tom Peters' presentations, and lo and behold his presentation on Action is there.

My favorite slide is a quote from Peter Drucker:

"Ninety percent of what we call "management" consists of making it difficult for people to get things done."

Oh, and check out slide #64. It contains a nice Napoleon quote on simplicity from a book by yours truly.

http://www.slideshare.net/ddebowczyk/tom-peters-on-action

Managing Small Projects: A Playbook

Wherever I go, I hear the same thing: Project Management methodologies are overkill for small projects or work requests (the threshold for which I've heard defined anywhere from 80 hours to 500 hours---I tend to lean toward the larger number).

Even with that, I still believe that the same "thinking steps" and phases should apply no matter how large or small the initiative. With that in mind, I typically like to have the same high level framework for any size initiative, and let the details scale up or down based on the size (with more or less formality accordingly).

Let's face it, you still need to understand what the goals and objectives are, you still need to provide an estimate, and you still need communicate well and deliver in an organized fashion.

When challenged that the same steps aren't applicable across projects and work requests, I typically respond with, "Which of the steps do you believe aren't necessary and why?" Often, it turns out that most of the steps are still needed, they just need to be scaled back or made less formal for smaller efforts.

Tom Barnett has a nice writeup in Computerworld about a "playbook" approach he uses for the smaller projects (which he defines as 120 hours or less). It's basically a spreadsheet with tasks, owners, issues, and deliverables----in essence combining a task list, issues list, and RAM (responsibility assignment matrix) in one document.

It's not a bad approach for keeping the smaller projects under control, and is an effective way of keeping track of things. I'd still use it within the context of a high level framework, but overall it's a good idea. Check it out...

A Small-Project Playbook

Yogi Berra on Project Management

There's a cute article in Computerworld called Yogi Berra, PMP. The article uses the baseball great's famous quips to make some compelling points about managing projects.

Of course, it didn't include one of my favorites as it applies to project management. When someone said to Yogi, "Hey Yogi, I think we're lost," he replied, "Yeah, but we're making great time!"

Unfortunately, this happens all the time in project management. Many methodologies focus on schedule, budget, and execution----and fall short when it comes to defining the problem and goals (and aligning them with the organization's needs). As a result, we end up getting to the wrong place fast.

Here are some other fun Yogi quotations, and here's the Computerworld article...

Yogi Berra, PMP

Strategic Portfolio: High Value Differentiated ...

Chevron has created a governance framework for actively managing its high-value enterprise-level projects, differentiating from its volume of small projects. The high-value portfolio is also where most of the investment is aligned. ...

... "it's a strategic framework for the company's biggest and most important IT projects. It's intended to ensure that the projects with the biggest benefit to the company as a whole get the right funding at the right time, and that they get special management attention. " ...

Via Computerworld: Chevron: Where Size Is Opportunity

Process and Standards Complement Sourcing Models

GM uses multi-sourcing model to procure solutions / services and created standards and processes to drive consistency. The company has lowered costs by transitioning to the new supplier agreements and should see improved quality. ...

... "So GM has worked with its suppliers to develop 44 process standards, 29 of which affect suppliers. " ...

Via Computerworld: GM Drives Economies of Scale in IT

IT Project Managers: On Board?

We need IT project managers to be on-board with project management tools. What works? Compliance or coaching? ...

... "We get more buy-in on using the new tools from IT's customers than from the IT project managers. How do I help get them on board? " ...

Via ComputerWorld: Read

The Ten Commandments of Project Management

And James Kerr issued a list of the Ten Commandments of Project Management in Computerworld. And it was good.

I Thou Shalt Narrow Project Scope
II Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Fat Team
III Thou Shalt Require Full-Time Business Participation
IV Thou Shalt Establish Project Review Panels
V Thou Shalt Not Provoke Burnout
VI Thou Shalt Seek Outside Assistance as Needed
VII Thou Shalt Empower Project Teams
VIII Thou Shalt Use Project Management Tools
IX Thou Shalt Reward Success
X Thou Shalt Not Tolerate Quick-and-Dirty Work Efforts

So it is written. So it shall be done. Thou canst revieweth the full list below...

The Ten Commandments of Project Management

Project Gates: Are Kill Points Really Considered?

Since capital is usually constrained in most organizations, are we really making the best use of our project stage-gates as potential kill-points? Are we fully considering the cost-to-completion, the probability of realizing the original benefits documented in the business case, or a declining ROI if costs escalate? We will be doing a service to our organization if we take some time to develop exit criteria and consider alternatives at the project stage-gates. There's always another project in the portfolio. ...

... "The Project Plan should have included a schedule for steering committee meetings and other key points to ensure regular tracking of project progress and release of status reports. Additionally, the plan should have identified milestones and project kill points, that is, go/no go decision points for the action of senior management, the steering committee or other authority. " ...

Queensland University: Controlling phase

Technology Evolution: Call to Green Action ...

As computing density increases, power consumption is spiraling out of control. It is time for the Information Technology industry to do its part in energy conservation and management. ...

... "Chief information officers need to wake up to the issues of spiralling energy consumption and environmental legislation, and develop greener approaches to IT, according to Gartner. " ...

Via ITNews Australia: Gartner urges IT to go green ...

A green strategy can include server virtualization which increases asset utilization and lowers the energy footprint of the datacenter ...

IBM VIRTUALIZATION SERVES UP COOLER SYSTEMS FOR US OPEN TENNIS EVENT: "Virtualization technology, which IBM has been providing to clients since before Arthur Ashe won his first US Open title in 1968, allows many computing resources to act as one and, more commonly, one computer, storage device or server to divide its own workload and act as many different resources. By reducing the number of computers and servers in use, virtualization helps minimize the often strenuous and expensive power and cooling demands of datacenters and eliminate unnecessary maintenance expenses. "

Change Management Project: HP Values Transplant ...

HP values in need of transplantation. Anyone up for that change management project? ...

... "HP needs a values transplant. Hard as it is to believe, the company that once was the epitome of wise management in the IT business has become a corrupt, dysfunctional travesty of itself. " ...

Via Computerworld: HP: No Surprise

Major Project Failure: Lessons Learned

There's a good article in Computerworld from Michael Hugos about lessons learned from a major failure.

Three key takeaways from the article (which happen to ring true with what I've been preaching for years) are:

1) Have clearly defined goals and measurable objectives
2) Be sure to have one single leader driving the project
3) Implement in fixed iterations to assure quick wins, earlier benefits, and reduced risks

Here's the full article...

Lessons learned from a major failure

IT Purchasing Standard: A New Tool for Project Managers

As reported in Computerworld, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) issued a preliminary report on IT best practices on acquiring hardware, software and services, covering the entire procurement process.

This will extend SEI's Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) as a new global standard for IT acquisition. The effort is being backed by GM and the U.S. Department of Defense, who will be piloting the standard.

The Computerworld article (link below) includes a link to the SEI preliminary report. It'll be interesting to see how this integrates with project management methodologies and PMI processes. It should be a welcome addition to the project management toolset.

GM backs IT purchasing standards

Project Management Lessons From the Other Napoleon (Hill)

I've written plenty about project management lessons from Napoleon Bonaparte. But there's another Napoleon with equally valuable lessons---Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich.

For those not familiar with Napoleon Hill (who, ironically, also found inspiration from Napoleon Bonaparte), he wrote Think and Grow Rich in 1937 after spending years of research on the habits of rich and successful men at the request of Andrew Carnegie. For his book, Hill interviewed some of the most famous achievers in history, such as Thomas Edison, John Wanamaker, Charles Schwab, Henry Ford, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, and others.

From the book, here's how Napoleon Hill describes the way to go from desire to riches (by substituting the word "money" with "objectives," we can apply the same lessons to successful project management). My comments are in brackets.

1. Fix in your mind the exact amount of money [exact objectives] you desire. It is not sufficient merely to say, "I want plenty of money." Be definite as to the amount [Same with objectives. Be specific].
2. Determine exactly what you intend to give [committments] in return for the money [objectives] you desire.
3. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money [objectives] you desire.
4. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put the plan into action.
5. Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money [scope and objectives] you intend to acquire. Name the time limit for its acquisition. State what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.
6. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after rising in the morning. As you read, see and feel and believe yourself already in possession of the money [objectives].

Hill once said, "A goal is a dream with a deadline." He knew the importance of setting target dates and looking at a concise statement of your goals and committments daily. This can be likened to a scope statement and milestones list, which should be read regularly and not stuffed in a folder.

He also discovered the power of positive thinking, what one might refer to as "thinking the future into existence" (hence the title THINK and Grow Rich). He found that, just by thinking of your goal regularly, you attract that which you need to achieve it.

In all, the book offers 13 steps to achieving your desire, be it money or anything else. It should be noted that the book is not just about acheiving money and gets into metaphysics, etc. as well. There's a reason why it has sold 15 million copies to date (the best selling self-help book of all time).

I highly recommend the book to anyone who is trying to achieve a goal, which should be everyone, and CERTAINLY should be every project manager.

The Distributed PMO: Lessons From Strange Places

I've read two pieces of information lately that couldn't be more different, and yet they both got me thinking about the benefits of what I call a "distributed PMO."

First, as I mentioned last week, I had read about Ken Kizer's magnificent transformation of the formerly abysmal Veteran's Health Administration (a poorly run group of hospitals mired in government hierarchy and bureaucracy). He established an network of regional "hubs" (what he called Virtual Integrated Services Networks, or VISNs - pronounced "visions"). Each VISN was itself a network of partnerships, associations, alliances, hospitals, etc. that worked together for the good of the customer.

The VISNs had the benefits of standardized quality with local presence. Decision-making was moved from Washington HQ to the VISNs, who were closer to the action than Washington HQ could ever be.

The role of headquarters became one of support, guiding principles, consulting advise, information services, and change leadership. Headquarters drives behaviors that benefit the overall structure.

Forms and approvals were reduced to a bare minimum. A relentless focus on the customer/patient (one of my battle cries, as most of you know) now guides all decisions and research.

If this isn't a good model for a PMO, I don't know what is. If project managers and functional experts (each who rely on one another for success) operated in various "regions" and/or functions (close to the action), and the PMO's role were to provide (and I repeat from above) support, guiding principles, consulting advise, information services, and change leadership, more PMOs would become a valued and integrated part of their organization.

And if the focus were on reducing forms and bureaucracy, helping project teams be successful, and improving the customer experience (as opposed to an internal focus on merely schedule and budget metrics), PMOs might find themselves more popular as well.

Incidentally, this also happens to mirror the Toyota organizational model.

The idea of a distributed, integrated network isn't unique to business. It even happens in nature (here's where the strange part comes in). I was reading about a giant sea creature, larger than a blue whale, called a Giant Siphonophore (Praya sp.). The creature (yes, this is true, folks) runs 130 feet long and is actually made up of many other life forms, each having its own specialized role that works to service the whole entity, yet is unable to exist on its own. In other words, the Giant Siphonophore is a "colonial life form." As I read this, I was again reminded of the concept of a virtual, yet integrated network.

Yes, I actually make these odd connections, but ideas can come from anywhere. By the way, the creature can be seen in the IMAX film, The Living Sea (available on DVD). Here's more info on the colonial nature of the Giant Siphonophore and it mutually dependent parts. Food for thought.

Strange Project Risks: Mystery Woodpecker Halts $320 Million Project

Here's one that probably won't turn up on anyone's project risk template. The $320 Million Grand Prairie Irrigation Project, being led by the Army Corps of Engineers in Arkansas, has just been put to a halt by a federal judge because a rare, thought-to-be-extinct (and maybe still extinct) woodpecker was allegedly sighted two years ago.

The ivory-billed woodpecker was apparently spotted by a kayaker in 2004, which triggered a series of petitions and lawsuits by environmentalists to stop the project. The bird hasn't been seen since. Of course, I'm sure there are environmental issues beyond just the woodpecker, but the woodpecker seems to be the driver behind the decision.

According to the Houston Chronicle, about $80 Million has been spent so far, with a goal of delivering water to farmers by 2010 or 2011.

Here's the story...

Woodpecker Halts Ark. Irrigation Project - NEWS - US NATIONAL - Comcast.net

ITIL Implementation: Cultural Change ...

IT manager laments the cultural challenges associated with implementing ITIL in an IT organization. This is a classical situation. Can a burning platform for action be created? Is there a baseline of performance data that compares unfavorably to industry benchmarks? Do competitive forces exist in the marketplace that indicate ITIL will help differentiate the organization? If the ITIL implementation cannot be aligned to the business strategy, why do it? ...

... "About a year ago I launched a serious attempt to institute ITIL throughout the IT organization I lead ... The short version: We've had a very hard time making it stick. Employees give it lip service, but that's about it, and our front-line managers haven't been much better. " ...

ITIL Implementation: Cultural Change: Via Advice Line by Bob Lewis: InfoWorld: Making ITIL happen ...

Requirements Gathering Critical To Success

Well, I'm back from a wonderful vacation in the Bahamas only to return to torrential downpours in Philadelphia. But I digress.

A project that ends well must begin well. So says an insightful article in Computerworld on the importance of effective requirements analysis.

Some key points raised in the article:

• Ask. Then ask again (think Peter Senge's "five why's" where you ask why five times until you get to the root of the problem).
• Interview all levels of staff and management to get different perspectives
• Interview them via multiple vehicles to get different types of answers (i.e. surveys, one-on-one interviews, and facilitated workshops).
• Do user walkthroughs to uncover the real and/or unspoken needs (or as Toyota's slogan goes, "Go and see for yourself")

Of course, I'm also reminded of Henry Ford's statement, "If I asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse."

Here's the article...

What Do Users Want?

One-Page Project Status Report; Keeping it Brief

There's a great writeup in Projects@Work about project status reports, including tips on meeting format and frequency as well as a format for a one-page status report.

According to the article, there are 5 Project Status Best Practices:

1. Consistency — The status process should be basically the same for large and small projects, and consistent with their measures of success
2. Escalation — The status process provides a mechanism for escalation of key issues.
3. Simple — One page with the ability to drill down for details when necessary
4. Public — Status is available to all (as appropriate) in order to communicate issues, risks and corrective action measures
5. Inclusive — All projects are required to provide status on a consistent set of metrics

For busy managers who see loads of project status reports, it's much easier to have a consistent, brief summary of what's really happening on each project. They don't need a dissertation on all the details, nor will they get a clear picture just looking at performance metrics. Much like on a business case, most just want the executive summary. Simpler is better. Less is more.

For those looking to improve their status reports (and their credibility with management), read on...

http://www.projectsatwork.com/content/Articles/231704.cfm

IT Governance: Immediate Action Necessary ...

Effective IT governance is necessary to restore credibility to the VA information technology organization. ...

... "The department could pay a high price for its failure to establish effective IT governance in a timely fashion. It faces two class-action lawsuits over the data theft and a request for the Department of Health and Human Services to review its compliance with health data privacy guidelines. " ...

IT Governance: Immediate Action Necessary: Via Government Health IT: McFarland confident about VA changes

Silence of the Project Managers

Have your stakeholders stopped screaming, Clarese?


As reported in Computerworld, a study by a Utah-based training firm found that the biggest cause of project failure is the inability of project managers to effectively confront management and key stakeholders on five major sensitive areas.

Here's an excerpt:

According to David Maxfield, director of research at Vital Smarts, the five
situations include the following:

• Setting arbitrary deadlines and inadequate resources that "set up a project to fail."
• Failing to provide the necessary leadership, political clout or energy for a project.
• Skirting or manipulating the project priority-setting process.
• An unwillingness by team members to support projects as required.
• Failing to acknowledge project problems until it's too late for remedial action.

These findings were based on interviews with more than 800 project managers and over 150 hours of observation. The article stresses the importance of standing up to management, which may seem intimidating, but no worse than what'll happen if you don't stand up and the project fails.

This one's well worth reading, folks. Speaking up early is a key lesson that can avoid many problems later. Here's the article...

Want to kill a project? Keep quiet about problems, study finds

Software Glitch Fells Medieval Monster

Miss us? Even PMThinkers need to take a few days off for the holidays now and then!

We return with news of a software glitch that has caused the delay of Grendel, a $2.8 million opera about a medieval monster (as reported in Computerworld). I think I've worked with some computer systems that were like medieval monsters, but that's another story.

The LA world premiere was supposed to occur May 27, but has now been delayed until June 8, with the opening performances reclassified as "preview performances."

Apparently, the computer system was supposed to operate a huge, elaborate moving stage.

This sounds like the "perfect storm" of project risk---an extremely complicated software endeavor with high uncertainty, a firm "go-live" date most likely booked well in advance, and no contingency plan (since "the built-in stages and moving props are too heavy to be operated manually").

Here's the full article...

Computer glitch delays opera opening

FBI Launches New Case File System Project; For the Second Time

As reported in Computerworld, the FBI has hired Lockheed Martin to lead an effort to create a $425 million case management system called "Sentinel." Their current case management processes are antiquated and mostly manual.

The catch is that they tried this before and failed. The prior attempt was abandoned last year after four years of effort and $170 million spent. The problem? High turnover of key managers and inadequate staffing of the project.

Here's a quote from the article...

"According to a 91-page report released last week by the U.S. Department of Justice's inspector general, the Virtual Case File effort failed partly because the FBI's IT project management office seemed to have a revolving door. Virtual Case File had "15 different key IT managers over the course of its life," the report said. "

Apparently, some of the hardware and networking from the prior attempt will be used, so it wasn't a total loss. And with this new attempt, they'll be using a more open architecture. However, they still haven't fully staffed their PMO (a concern raised in the inspector general's report). Hopefully history won't repeat itself.

Here's the full article...

FBI Shifts Into High Gear on $425M Case File System

SOPM; A New Project Management Methodology

Service Oriented Project Management (SOPM) is taking shape as a methodology that fills the gaps in traditional project management, namely a RELENTLESS customer focus and the all-important analysis and benefits evaluation after the project has "completed."

As I fine tune the model, I'll post the iterations here, as a methodology in progress.

The four high-level steps in SOPM are as follows:

1) UNDERSTAND ... Develop an understanding of the problem being addressed, the goals, constraints, the internal environment, the external market, benchmarks, the people and subject matter involved, potential solutions, risks, benefits/justification, and any other knowledge necessary for success. Most of all, understand the customer.

2) ENABLE ... After helping the customer obtain approvals, prepare the project organization (resources, roles & responsibilities), operating principles, the infrastructure and tools needed to run the project, organizational alignment, preliminary training needed, communication, and anything else needed for a smooth road ahead.

3) ITERATE... Plan, design, build, test and pilot the solution before attempting a full scale implementation. Implement in phases to achieve quick wins, earlier benefits, and greater customer satisfaction. Consider iterative prototypes during the design phase. Don't forget additional training needed.

4) EVALUATE... After each project phase and at the end of the project, evaluate and document lessons learned, customer satisfaction, and benefits achieved (vs expected). This includes evaluating how the customer can achieve maximum results with the product of the project, and laying the groundwork for their continued success.

By using an UNDERSTAND, ENABLE, ITERATE, and EVALUATE process, with COMMUNICATE as an overarching activity that extends across all four steps, we adopt a much more holistic and customer-centered approach to project management.

A few key points... Customer satisfaction should be measured at milestones throughout the project, not just at the end. It's as important as monitoring cost and schedule (i.e. Earned Value performance).

Imagine seeing an S-Curve showing Planned Value, Earned Value, Actual Cost, and Customer Satisfaction. Maybe your project is on schedule and on budget, but the customer isn't satisfied with the results (or with the project communication, or a whole host of other issues).

A narrow focus on cost and schedule takes too much of an inward view. Besides, measuring customer satisfaction throughout a project allows for corrective action instead of managing in the rear view mirror.

More to come.

NOTE: I have since revised this model. See my updated entry.

Innovation and Project Management - Part 3 of 3

This is a continuation of Part 2, and shows how Tom Kelley's The Ten Faces of Innovation is living proof that innovation and project management are not mutually-exclusive, and in fact, must coexist for true success.

In Part 1, we talked about the Learning Personas described in Kelley's book (the Anthropologist, the Experimenter, and the Cross-Pollinator). In Part 2, we discussed the Organizing Personas (the Hurdler, the Collaborator, and the Director). Now we'll examine the final batch of personas, The Building Personas. Again, these are all adapted from Tom Kelley's book, which offers much more details and many real-life stories to illustrate these personas in action (and no, I don't get commission).

The Building Personas

7) The Experience Architect – Designs the customer experience, beyond just the functionality of a product. Comes up with new and creative ways to awe the customer, yet with the same basic product functionality. An example is Cold Stone Creamery, which creates an entertaining experience where the server mixes ice cream with any number of desired toppings on a slab of cold stone. The servers even put on shows. [my added comment is that The Experience Architect can learn from observing others, even in other genres, and as such can gain from the “Cross-Pollinator” and “Anthropologist” personas.]

8) The Set Designer – Creates a fun and vibrant physical working environment that can spark creativity and collaboration. Allows employees great latitude in their personal work spaces. Avoids dull, repetitive spaces. Creates formal and informal public spaces where people can collaborate and brainstorm, with all the appropriate supplies and accommodations.

9) The Caregiver – Anticipates customer needs before, during, and after the engagement, and goes above and beyond normal expectations. Makes it easy for the customer to select the right services, provides useful and quick information when needed, insures easy accessibility by the customer, and builds lasting relationships with the customer.

10) The Storyteller – Builds internal morale and external awareness through compelling stories and case studies that reinforce key values or traits. Builds “corporate legends” that get passed around. Not “spin doctors,” the storytellers get their stories from first-hand accounts from customers or employees. Storytelling builds credibility, unleashes people’s emotions, helps teams bond, and generates lessons learned.

Well, that concludes my summary of Tom Kelley's The Ten Faces of Innovation, and its applicability to project management. As you can hopefully see, what project manager wouldn't benefit from these learning, organizing, and building personas that can lead to a better customer experience, a more satisfied team, and a memorable result?

Sure, we can (and should) still define the scope of the project, manage changes to the agreed-upon scope, and use project scheduling and budgeting techniques (we don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater). But we can take our projects to the next level with a strong dose of innovation, and these personas are as good a way to do that as any.

Bulding a Team? Make Weaknesses Irrelevant

We've been blogging recently about the importance of praise and positive reinforcement. When building a project team or organization, the ideal is to make weaknesses completely irrelevant and focus instead on people's strengths. So says Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive in Action.

Here's an example, according to Drucker:

"A good tax accountant accountant in private practice might be greatly hampered by his inability to get along with people. But in an organization, such a man can be set up in an office of his own and shielded from direct contact with other people. There are others who can get along with people. First-rate tax accountants are a good deal rarer."

Food for thought.

IT Strategy Dream Job ...

Finally found my dream job ... SAP IT Strategy, Beer ... Only problem, it's complete. ... Andrea Stercken writes about the ERP modernization program at Krombacher Brewery, where the SAP suite was implemented to centralize systems and serve a broad set of standard business processes with transaction processing and business intelligence. ...

... "The brewers from Germany’s Siegerland have taken an important step along the way to their IT strategy with the new applications. At the end of 2005, Krombacher completed the conversion from SAP R/3 to mySAP ERP. " ...

IT Strategy Dream Job: Via SAPInfo: SAP in the Brewery ...

Project Blogs; A New Way of Communicating

Since communication is 90% of a project managers job, and one-way email blasts and static web-sites have proven to have limited benefit, there must be a more effective way of communicating in today's rapid-fire environment. And you're looking at it.

Blogging is fast becoming a standard tool in project management. It can be used for sharing information during requirements analysis, communicating globally, offering podcast updates, daily tips, or any number of areas where fast and daily communication is needed---which is most of the time.

The best thing is, unlike email, it stays up on the web, where people can see comments posted against the blog, and can search for specific keywords or topics. It's also a good way of encouraging crosstalk among project stakeholders. And with tools like Audioblog, you can even integrate audio and video if needed.

The brief below shows two specific examples of project blogs in action. I'd love to hear from others who are using blogs for their projects, and how they're working out.

Using Blogs for Project Management

Earned Value: Government EVMS Progress, Targets Raised ...

OMB provides status update for agency progress against electronic government targets. Metrics show modest progress in adoption of earned value management system, EVMS. 2006 targets raise the bar to drive further adoption. ...

... "As of September 30, 2005, 28% of agencies have fully implemented EVMS (7 out of 25) and on average are achieving at least 90% of their cost, schedule, and performance goals. Another 52% of agencies are using some level of EVMS (13 out of 25) to track the cost and schedule status of their major investments and do not have cost overruns or schedule delays exceeding 30%. Those agencies are taking the appropriate actions, including developing comprehensive agency policies and incorporating requirements into contracts for using EVMS, to bring the management of all of their major IT development efforts into full compliance with the industry standard for EVMS. Together these two groups of agencies account for over 75% of Federal agencies being able to measure progress toward milestones in an independently verifiable basis, in terms of cost, capability of the investment to meet specified requirements, timeliness, and quality. The remaining six agencies have a plan of action and milestones to incorporate the use of earned value management into their Capital Planning and Investment Control Process.

For FY 06, the goal is for at least 50% of the agencies managing their IT portfolio in accordance with the standard and averaging 10% of cost, schedule and performance. " ...

Earned Value: Government EVMS Progress, Targets Raised: Via OMB: Expanding E-Government: Improved Service Delivery for the American People Using Information Technology ...

Troubled Project Dilemma: Fix or Kill?

We've all been faced with projects that run into unexpected problems. It happens to the best of us. Sometimes, despite the best of planning, things can begin to go south. The situation may be that the project now risks running overbudget or being delivered late, or it may be that unanticipated quality problems were discovered.

Our first action should be to not overreact and to try to fix what's wrong, working out alternatives if needed. But if all else fails, then we may be faced with a tough decision. Do we continue to fix it, accept the situation and manage expectations, negotiate a change in schedule, budget, or scope---or do we kill the project?

Similar to going bankrupt, killing a project late in the game should only be a last resort. Even then, there's a right way and a wrong way to go about doing it. The article below from High Context Consulting offers some good tips, most of all that an alternate solution must be proposed.

Specifically, it says:

• Build a case including alternate options to meet original needs.
• Gain support of stakeholders and a champion.
• Present recommendations to leadership.
• Do not play the blame game.
• Learn!
  
  Here's the full article...
  
  High Context Consulting � Blog Archive � On Killing Projects

VOIP Project: Voice-Over-IP ...

The VOIP transformation project is relatively high-risk: newer technology, questionable scalability, increased cultural change, and impact to a critical business function: communications. J. Nicholas Hoover discusses the pitfalls of a voice-over-IP phone project

... "Anyone thinking a switch to a voice-over-IP phone system will be smooth and easy should remember Ruth Harenchar's ruby-red nail polish. At the Hobart West Group, where Harenchar is CIO, the company's VoIP project required tough decisions, like whether to spend money training existing IT staff or hire expensive consultants. It meant learning to live without certain common telecom features in order to get the savings the company wanted. And it involved helping employees through the culture shock of replacing the familiar ... " ...

Via InformationWeek | Voice-Over-IP | VoIP Gotchas ...



Here are some relevant references on VOIP implementations:

Via NetworkWorld: The ROI of VoIP: "When it comes to VoIP, most network managers are satisfied that the technology works. The challenge is developing cost analyses: What will the new technology cost to roll out and support, and what benefits can companies expect to reap? "

Via NetIQ: VoIP in Action: "OK, you've moved beyond the deployment stage of your VoIP project. Your first group of VoIP phone users are happy and you've got high levels of availability and call quality. Now what? In the management stage, you need to keep those users happy with consistent availability and high call quality. "

Managing VoIP Implementations Effectively: "Voice over IP (VoIP) is the hottest telephony technology. Consumers and corporations are looking to reduce costs by deploying VoIP systems. The challenge, however, is that the technology is so new that few project managers have expertise in managing VoIP implementation. If you are interested in or responsible for implementing VoIP at your organization, this is the course for you. "

Project Management Useful Analogies (or Jokes)?

Some of these you may have heard, some perhaps are new. Sometimes helping people to understand requires an analogy or "funny" anecdote. Let us know if any of these work for you! My comments are embedded here for you also in brackets [].

1. It takes one woman nine months to have a baby. It cannot be done in one month by impregnating nine women. [my favorite - throwing bodies at the problem is usually not the right answer]

2. Nothing is impossible for the person who doesn't have to do it.
[watch it when someone says that someone "JUST" has to do X]

3. You can con a sucker into committing to an impossible deadline, but you cannot con him/her into meeting it.
[when they squirm about a date, figure out how to help them and note the risk]

4. At the heart of every large project is a small project trying to get out.
[break the work into "bite-sized chunks"]

5. A user will tell you anything you ask, but nothing more.
[requirements gathering - yeah, good luck with that. better to observe them in action, and show them prototypes and let them react.]

6. Of several possible interpretations of a communication, the least convenient is the correct one.
[true!]

7. What you don't know hurts you
[also known as "the devil is in the details"]

8. The bitterness of poor quality lasts long after the sweetness of making a date is forgotten.
[read that one again]

9. Everyone asks for a strong project manger - when they get one, they don't want one.
[amen!]

10. Fast - cheap - good - you can have any two.
[see other posts on the triple constraint]

Thanks to www.funny-haha.co.uk for these! See that site for many more!

Project Management Heresy; Is Gold-Plating Really that Bad?

PMI has drilled it into our heads for years about the perils of gold-plating, and how we need to focus on just meeting requirements, yada yada yada.

Yet, when I think back to the most exciting work that I had done (years ago), it was when I had met with a client (a customer service specialist) to look into a simple request to develop a few reports. She needed this so she could have more information readily available to solve customers' problems. I watched this person work for a while and felt immediate pain at what she had to go through to resolve customer problems and take orders over the phone.

She had to make a zillion phone calls and run back and forth to the plant flooor to see the status of an order, most of the time calling the customer back hours or days later. I went back to my team, and we decided it would be just as easy to give her an online "dashboard" right from her primary order inquiry screen (this was before dashboards were popular).

From there, she could see inventory allocation, and at what point material would be in stock to complete the finished products for the order, as well as other related info. She could track the customer's products from order through manufacturing. This saved her daily walks to the plant floor. Not only that, she could now address her customers' problems while they were on the phone!

Upon seeing the impact this made, we then asked if she'd also like to be able to look up shipping information, delivery tracking, and accounts receivable as well, and of course she was overjoyed. The system revolutionized customer service for this company.

One might call this gold-plating, but I call it excitement. We were excited about making a huge difference in the ability of the client to solve problems, and the client was excited to offer this benefit to her customers. Of course, I first watched the client in action so I could easily tell what was needed, so this was still a pragmatic approach.

As long as innovations have a practical use, then it's not really gold-plating. It's gold.

In our relentless pursuit of "meeting requirements" and "attaining better efficiency", let's not forget that passion and excitement can energize teams and customers, and often leads to further innovations. Above all, it leads to action and movement! Ironically, this critical mass can increase throughput even better than traditional efficiency and scheduling methods. Bottom Line: We need to bring passion and creativity back into the workforce!

EVMS Earned Value Management: Federal Agencies Lag Behind

Primavera studies the adoption and implementation of earned value management processes and systems (EVMS) in federal information technology organizations. Current assessment shows that agencies lag behind on implementation versus their EVMS targets. ...

EVMS Earned Value Management: Federal Agencies Lag Behind: Via Primavera: Study Reveals Disconnect Between Perceived Merits of Earned Value Management and Federal Agencies Readiness to Implement ...

... "Specifically, the study indicates that the federal IT community agrees with OMB that EVM delivers improved project outcomes, with 60.6 percent of respondents reporting that EVM is very or somewhat important to achieving their capital investment goals. Despite this value perception, results do not demonstrate agencies movement from belief to action, with only 37 percent currently utilizing EVM and even fewer prepared to train or hire personnel skilled in EVM within the next 12 months. Respondents cited their top challenges to EVM implementation as unfamiliarity with EVM and lack of trained personnel. These findings indicate that agencies will not only have difficulty developing EVM implementation plans in time for the December 31 OMB deadline, but also will face challenges implementing documented plans. EVM processes, systems, and software enable the continuous assessment of project performance and status - providing a methodology that can help agencies effectively measure project alignment with resources and goals by comparing status to original plans and end goals. EVM can help agencies achieve green marks on the President's Management Agenda scorecard. To achieve and maintain this high score, agency projects must stay within a 10 percent variance from their cost, schedule, and performance goals. Further, OMB issued a memorandum in August 2005 requiring agencies to utilize EVM Systems (EVMS) on all new major IT projects. The memorandum requires development of written policies outlining agency-specific plans for EVM implementation by December 31, 2005. Agencies must also evaluate exiting, cost, schedule, and performance of ongoing IT projects and take any necessary corrective actions by March 31, 2006 and before devoting any FY06 funds to associated projects. In support of this effort, OMB is working with the Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council to develop a model agency EVMS policy for IT projects ... " ...

ITIL Incident Management PostMortem ...

Continuous improvement in ITIL service management can be enabled through a strong post-mortem process. Brian Corrington, Codesic, explores the importance of using post-mortems to improve IT service levels. ...

ITIL Incident Management PostMortem: Via CIOUpdate: Anatomy of a Major Incident Postmortem

... "A well designed postmortem process can be used to develop comprehensive IT action plans and serve as a powerful building block in launching an overall service improvement program, which may also involve implementation of a best practice framework such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library). " ...

IT Balanced Scorecard BSC: On IT Governance Roadmap ...

Measuring the performance of IT governance, the project management office (PMO), and individual projects is critical to understanding your current capability and to chart a future course of action. Shashwat Singhal explores the IT governance roadmap and the use of an IT balanced scorecard (BSC) to ensure that decisions are made in the interests of shareholders. ...

IT Balanced Scorecard BSC: On IT Governance Roadmap: Via Express Computer: Implementing IT governance ...

... "The IT balanced scorecard is an important mechanism for managing and aligning IT. Therefore, step 11 of the implementation road map refers to the establishment of an IT balanced scorecard. " ...

Innovation Seminar Upcoming: Disruptive Problem

Innovation Seminar Upcoming: Disruptive Problem: Via Innoblog: Innosight Innovation Seminar Announcement ...

... "Innosight is holding a one-day, cross-company workshop that will go over the basic disruptive innovation principles and how to put the principles into action. This seminar is a cost-effective way to train you or your team in the principles and can be a vehicle for a team that is struggling with a disruptive problem to learn a new way to problem solve. " ...

Project Management: Time-Based Performance Criteria

Timing constraint set in large state-wide wireless network project. Ethan Butterfield reports on the challenging project performance criteria being used on NY network project. Contractor will be only be paid upon delivering each phase. ...

Project Management: Time-Based Performance Criteria: Via Washington Technology: New York dares to dream

... "It is crucial that the project management team make certain the timing of these deliverables don't slip, either because of vendor action or inaction by the state, Kost said. Time is money to all parties, and state decision-makers must bring the same sense of urgency to decision-making that the vendor will bring. " ...

Project Management - Don't do that, Dear.

We've all heard about Best Practices - those techniques and behaviours that are good examples to follow. The other side of the coin gives us Worst Practices - techniques and behaviours to avoid. These are seldom documented as carefully or comprehensively.
But think back to childhood and how children learn to be good, effective and balanced people. The kindly admonition from a caring parent telling the child that some action is 'not nice'.
In the adult world these admonitions can be more extreme so it's a good idea to get an idea for oneself before someone else tells you. This article includes a few Worst Practices about managing a project that really highlight some recognisable behaviours.
Motivation in Project Management

ITIL IT Service Management Differentiators

ITIL IT Service Management Differentiators: Via Axios Systems: Axios on the right side of the law in Ohio ...

Law firm selects Axios service management solution based on differentiators, such as event management, action processing, real-time visualization, SLA alarm management, reporting and analytics. Solution will be used to support ITIL implementation ...

... "We selected assyst on a mixture of benefits and value, he commented. What differentiated assyst was how it handles action types and the way the event monitor works. The approach was the best of the products we saw. It's very important for us to be able to obtain quick snapshots of where we are with certain types of event such as how close we were to breaching Service Level Agreements, how many calls came in via email, and how many events were not closed. Assyst looked like a very flexible tool. It also helps us compile useful management reports on key trends and statistics. " ...

Enterprise Architecture PMO: Common Framework For Investments

Enterprise Architecture PMO: Common Framework For Investments: Via OMB: Enabling Citizen Centered Government: 2005-2006 FEA PMO Action Plan ...

Feds leverage an enterprise architecture program management office (PMO) to provide visibility across IT investments ...

... "The FEA Program Management Office (FEA PMO), located in OMB’s Office of E-Gov and IT, equips OMB and Federal agencies with a common language and framework to describe and analyze IT investments, enhance collaboration and ultimately transform the Federal government into a citizen-centered, results-oriented, and market-based organization as set forth in the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). The FEA consists of a set of interrelated reference models designed to facilitate crossagency analysis and the identification of duplicative investments, gaps and opportunities for collaboration within and across agencies. " ...