project manager skill

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What’s Happened to Project Planning?

By Louise Worsley

Appropriate planning of a project is the hallmark of a professional project manager—good planning is what sets apart great projects from failed initiatives. It is what ensures that the executive actions undertaken remain connected to the goals and outcomes expected by the stakeholders. A project plan is a framework for decision making throughout the life of the project. It is hardly surprising then that the significance of planning in projects is much greater than in any other management discipline. 

Is planning still an important skill?

adaptive planning in Agile

Today if you ask a project manager what the most important skill they require for their job is, they are likely to refer to areas such as stakeholder management, communications, leadership, or behavioral competencies. Is this because it is assumed that planning is obviously important and does not need to be mentioned or is it that project managers believe that with the right leadership style, communications and engagement they don’t need planning? Do approaches such as Agile, which expound people over process, deliberately or inadvertently promote the obsolescence of planning? 

After more than 70 years of experience in project management, and working with hundreds of professional, high-performance project managers, we know planning in projects is essential, but have also found the planning discipline to be both underused and misunderstood. Three factors we believe are responsible:

  • Planning is tricky to teach and to learn. Methods and frameworks such as PMI and PRINCE2 discuss processes involved in planning, but neither gives real insights into what a good plan is and what proper planning feels like. The purpose of the planning process is to structure the controllable factors to make the project achievable within the set of success conditions (constraints and critical success factors).
  • Planning is confused with scheduling. We do sometimes wonder if this is deliberate! We note the frequent and common substituting of the one word for the other, and the way sponsors accept Gantt charts when they ask for the project plan. Microsoft Project may or may not be a useful scheduling tool. What it most certainly is not, is a planning tool. What is so saddening is that while every project benefits from having a plan, it is less evident that all need a schedule, and many that have one don’t follow it. 
  • Templates are introduced to standardize and simplify planning. Possibly, in a well-intentioned effort to ease the learning curve for junior project managers and inexperienced sponsors, project management offices provide, promulgate, and sometimes mandate the use of a planning template. While without a doubt there is a single idea behind the need for a project plan, the impact of the differing contexts of projects frustrates the ambition for a single ‘silver bullet’ template. 

There is no single approach to planning

In our research into what makes project managers successful, planning, along with monitoring and control, are the two areas where high-performance project managers spend most of their time. What is also clear from the findings is that the most distinctive characteristic is their ability to use their experience and know-how to adapt their planning approach to meet the specific challenges of the project they were managing.

There is no single approach to planning a project, but neither is project planning a free-for-all. One consistent finding is that the context— the environment within which planning takes place—determines the approach that is most appropriate to use; which techniques and tools are most suitable; and what factors to consider. 

About the Author:

Louise Worsley, with her husband, Christopher Worsley, are the authors of Adaptive Project Planning, published in February 2019.  This book prepares you for many of the common project planning situations you will meet. It addresses how planning and planning decisions alter, depending on the constraint hierarchy: how resource-constrained planning differs from end-date schedule planning, what is different between cost-constrained plans and time-boxing. It also discusses the challenges of integrating different product development life cycles, for example, Agile and waterfall, into a coherent and appropriate plan.

Adaptive Project Planning

Readers of Virtual Project Consulting who buy the book now, will receive a discount of 15% – use buying code WOR2019. Click on the image!

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Project Success Story: Mix and Match Innovation

Mix and match innovationThis is the story of an IT Project Manager, Shaun Oppel, who was responsible for a project to implement an innovative new concept called “Mix & Match” in Retail. It basically meant that customers could buy any 3 products on this promotion and then receive the cheapest product for free. Since the company was the first Retailer to bring this concept to South Africa, it was hugely exciting with high risk and high reward. Above all, it was envisaged that it would give them an edge on competitors.

The project complexity lied in the fact that it required cross-functional teams as well as impacting different systems across IT and Business. In this instance, Marketing was the main stakeholder and owner of the project. It consisted of a National roll-out to approximately 220 stores; of which 100 stores had Pharmacies.

Challenges

A large number of projects were running simultaneously thereby making it very difficult to assign the most senior and best resources available for the duration of the project. This led to resource conflicts and constraints as multiple projects pursued team members with significant expertise of various systems as well as that of the business.

Dedicated resources

Initially a Shared Resource Model was used, but it wasn’t working very efficiently. The Project Manager had to take corrective action by requesting dedicated resources. A recommendation was made to “ring-fence” the project team from BAU support resources so as to circumvent resource constraints. Some business as usual (BAU) work was then outsourced.

Language differences

Since some work was outsourced to India, it created difficulty among team members to understand one another due to different accents. People had trouble understanding what was being said especially due to the fact that the Meetings were being facilitated via conference call. In order to address this issue, a Manager responsible for that Account who was based on-site, would be present on conference calls and would help translate and minute what was being said.

What worked well

Due to the very strategic nature of the project, and it being managed as the highest priority in the overall portfolio, the resources had to be dedicated which helped to create a strong project team.

Good project governance was applied through-out and the mature PM methodology was followed consistently. Risk Management worked well; through keeping a detailed Risk Log and consistently reviewing it. All risks were validated with the respective Systems Managers. Risks categorised as high Impact were raised at Steercom and addressed appropriately.

Members of the Audit Team were assigned to various projects as team members in order to provide steer, guidance, and adherence to standard practices and good governance. The project was well supported by Business and IT from a Steercom and Management perspective. As a strategic project it had a strong Business Case with good ROI and clearly defined Metrics in order to track benefits.

A RACI matrix was produced at the start of the project which ensured that roles and responsibilities clearly defined. It was agreed upon, clarified with resources involved and it remained a living document.

Change Management well executed

The project required a good Change Management strategy and delivery, because of the touch point in Stores. It followed an approach of Train the Trainers. The Trainers had an exam to pass; then they would be allowed to train their own staff and subsequently they would be required to pass the assessment as well. The staff had to be familiar with what the changes were and they had to be enabled to answer any questions posed during the National roll-out.

Testing and Quality Assurance

Key to the successful delivery was to have an experienced Test Manager assigned. The Test Cases were clearly defined, well understood, and well executed.  There were separate Development, Test and Production Environments which were refreshed quarterly so as to ensure Data Alignment.

Handover to Operations

After implementation a 6-week period was allowed for handover to the support function. The longer period helps to build up history of typical issues and how to address them.

Key learnings

Governance: One team member cannot make decisions without the others. Apply good governance and facilitate regular Steercoms whilst encouraging and ensuring good attendance.  It helps significantly to keep and maintain the focus.

Stakeholder Management: Have consideration for all stakeholders that are impacted by the project. The RACI matrix produced and the exercise of work shopping the details thereof was key in getting people to understand what was expected of them. Regular communications to all business stakeholders, eliminated “corridor talk” and the scenario of “broken telephone” syndrome as people were informed about the progress and the go live details. It’s important to keep Management (Business and IT) on the same page; as it takes much more effort and time to get everyone re- aligned.

Team management and performance: Alignment with the whole Project Team around all Deliverables, Milestones and dependencies is very important and will ensure that team members are kept accountable. A Project Manager needs to escalate if a person is struggling or not performing and also let the Systems Managers understand this. Don’t hesitate to request and obtain help from Leadership to support the team if and when required.

Emotional Intelligence:  Give greater attention to Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Make time to understand the people, what makes them tick and work with each person as an individual. Appreciate the culture, the dynamics at play and how to get the very best out of them.

Team motivation: Keep team members as motivated as possible. It will uplift their spirits and the team as a whole if you bring a positive attitude to meetings. Don’t bash individuals but rather see what can be done at all times to lend a hand and how best to move forward and resolve the issue being encountered. Ask if there are obstructions that would prevent them to deliver. As a Project Manager stay positive, remain optimistic and keep a similar approach of having a good attitude. Do take the time as a Team to celebrate successes and major milestones on the project. It motivates the team and makes them look forward to meetings.

Have regular conversations and verbalise frequently with regards to yourself as the Project Manager being approachable. Let team members know that they won’t be in trouble if they fall behind. Keep supporting the team members to be better at what they do. Encourage your team to have conversations with one another; don’t wait for meetings to raise problems. Be pro-active.  The PM is there to help, support, but you don’t want to micro-manage the team.

Cost management: Build in Budget contingency for example, you have to make provision for Exchange Rate fluctuations. It can blow the Budget if you don’t mitigate the risk.

Over time and with experience, a Project Manager will rely more and more on soft skills like leadership and emotional Intelligence (EQ); as in the end, that is what helps to be successful at project delivery.

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About the Project Manager:

Shaun Oppel has been in Project Management for more than 20 years. He started his career in Project Management at an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and continued to build skills in Project Management at different Blue-chip Companies. He’s Education includes an Electrical Engineering Degree, a Master in Science (MSc) Degree, an MBA Degree, a PMP Certified and Prince II Certificate.

He may be contacted on Shaun.Oppel@gmail.com or on his Mobile: 083-5055983.

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The Simple Trick To Improving Your Workflow

By Benjamin Brandall

Workflow improvementWhether you’re managing a schedule or organizing your time, there is one simple trick to improve your workflow for any and all tasks.

While working remotely I’ve tested more methods than I can count for boosting productivity. From software to diets to exercise and beyond, there’s one simple trick which has stood the test of time and I would like to share that with you.

You need to be following a process. What are the benefits?

Processes remove uncertainty

First and foremost, when you document workflows in a process you’re removing any uncertainty for the person working through it. As long as you provide ample instructions to go with your back checklist template (enough to tell them what to do and how to do it), there’s next to no reason for them to slow down mid-task in an attempt to remember the next step.

Put it this way; if you’re working through a process from memory you’re largely leaving success to chance. If you want to manage the project effectively, you need to have a reliable way to make sure that no steps are being skipped to maintain a consistent high quality.

Speaking of consistency…

You’ll have a consistent, measurable method

Again, rather than leaving the consistency of your team to chance you’re providing them with explicit instructions which they can easily follow. That means that rather than letting human error into your work and relying on memory, you have a consistent, documented process which is followed every single time you need to complete a particular task.

This same consistency is the only way that you’ll be able to effectively track and compare the results of various projects. If you’re running with a vague, half-solid method then the steps taken will likely vary in some way from one project to the next, making it incredibly difficult to pin down why a particular project succeeded or failed.

In turn, this will make it much harder to replicate your successes and avoid previous failures. Without knowing exactly what method was followed, there’s every possibility that you won’t even know what’s being done wrong.

Documented processes can be optimized

Being able to track your projects as they progress with a consistent method also means that when things go wrong you should be able to trace the fault back to your process. If a deadline is missed or a task not completed satisfactorily, it’ll be because of either a fault in the process or because the person working didn’t follow it.

Once you’ve documented your workflow and created a consistent approach, it’s easy to improve and to avoid disaster in the future.

Optimizing a process is a cinch. All you have to do is sit down with the people who worked through it, talk through their experience with the process, compare that to your results, and then you should be able to identify the section which needs improving.

For example, a particular step in the process could need more detailed instructions, a piece of software may need replacing, and responsibilities may need making clearer to increase accountability.

Documenting your workflows is the best way to improve your productivity and effectively manage your team’s projects efficiently. Whether you documenting processes using a special app or jotting them down in a pen-and-paper file, try it and see for yourself how easy it to improve your workflow.

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About the Author:

Benjamin Brandall is a content marketer at Process Street, where he writes on startups, SaaS, and workflows. In his spare time, he runs Secret Cave, a blog about obscure entertainment and internet culture.

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Why Goal Setting is Important to Project Success

Through the power of goal setting, project managers can set objectives for their teams and watch them accomplish their mission. Goals need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

There are several benefits to SMART goals, like when project managers outline their expectations by keeping them out in the open. In so doing, they increase the probability of employees and team members being successful by up to 70%, thanks to regular check-ins, updates and group accountability. This statistic is supported by the recent research of Dr. Gail Matthews.

SMART goals help project managers effectively create the focus and drive that employees and organizations need to constantly operate as high performers. High-performing organizations successfully complete an average of over 80% of their projects.

Through SMART goal setting, priorities become clear. There is a clear and specific focus that employees of all levels are committed to. Along with clarity and focus, the motivation of being able to measure progress in light of milestones achieved, further bolsters the positive effects and total results of SMART goal setting.

For more on the power of GOAL setting see the Infographic from Brandeis University.

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Soft Skills for Project Managers

By Linky van der Merwe

Often in Project Management courses there is a big emphasis on the technical skills, also called ‘hard skills’ which are the occupational requirements that project managers need to do their jobs effectively. This would include the creation of tangible deliverables like a project schedule, project budget, status reports etc.

Soft skills for PM'sSoft skills complement hard skills.  Soft skills are the important interpersonal skills you need as a project manager to accomplish work through other people.  Soft skills are essentially people skills – the non-technical, intangible, personality-specific skills that determine your strengths as a leader, listener, negotiator and conflict mediator.

Developing your soft skills is equally important, but is often left to project managers to find suitable courses that would equip them with adequate soft skills like Leadership, Conflict Management and Emotional Intelligence.

Soft skills development

Why would you ask, are soft skills that important? Soft skills refer to behavioural skills – a sociological term relating to the cluster of personality traits and behavioural competencies that characterize relationships with other people.

Since projects are delivered or executed through people, your soft skills are like the glue that will hold the project team together when the going gets tough, for example when projects fall behind, or immovable deadlines are looming, or the normal stress coming from project delivery and dealing with issues.

At the end of the day a project manager wants a balance of hard and soft skills. Hard skills are more technical in nature where as soft skills are intangible and less visible. Soft skills are typically employed without the use of tools and templates. Soft skills can be taught, but they are typically honed by years of experience.

How to improve soft skills

When you set out to improve your soft skills as a project manager, there are 3 key things you need to remember.

  1. Make the commitment to learn and improve
  2. Put yourself in situations where you can practice various soft skills
  3. Evaluate your progress and adjust as needed

At this point you may be wondering if there is a finite list of soft skills to focus on as a project manager. According to my research there are at least 11 soft skills that should be part of your make-up as a professional project manager. They are:

  1. Leadership
  2. Team building
  3. Motivation
  4. Communication including active listening
  5. Influencing
  6. Decision making
  7. Political and cultural awareness
  8. Negotiation
  9. Conflict management
  10. Emotional intelligence
  11. Problem solving

Over the years I’ve published many articles on various soft skills. For more interesting articles with practical advice on developing your soft skills, continue reading about Leadership, Team build, Communication, Decision making and Emotional Intelligence.

If you are new to project management and you are serious about developing yourself as a professional project manager, please look at the Fast-track Growth Program which was especially developed for people like you in mind. It’s an online, self-paced training program for busy professionals which will give you the essential elements for project delivery. It’s the fastest way to grow critical Project Management competencies like technical and interpersonal skills, and becoming a confident project manager!

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Book Review: Project Management for SME’s

By Linky van der Merwe

A Book for SME’s

PM for SME'sWhat you’d expect from a book that is written with small businesses in mind, is very practical advice and insight with regards to the application of project management as a discipline in the Small Business sector. The author, Gren Gale, is stating that a badly run project can significantly impact a business’s bottom line, in the case of a small business, this can be fatal. He also believes that a professional approach to project management will give a small business a competitive advantage over its rivals.

The aim of the book is described as a guideline for how to control and manage projects effectively. It is meant to support staff of small to medium-sized companies who are charged with coordinating one or multiple projects. It concentrates on projects where the spend isn’t massive, but the stakes are high.

The book is divided in 5 chapters and in chapter 2 it covers all aspects of project delivery from the Business Case, to analysis, design, build, test, implement and closure. Chapter 3 goes a bit deeper into project governance in terms of covering governance, risk and issue management, change control, quality and portfolio management.

Chapter 4 covers important soft skills that Gren believes are required for managing projects in small businesses, namely communication skills, people management and crisis management skills. In addition, Gren explains the Agile approach thoroughly and also how it is different from the well-known Agile methodologies.

Project Management experience

The in-depth knowledge and experience of Gren Gale comes through in the clear language and well defined concepts. I believe it is a good source of information for your typical small business managers who are also responsible for project execution. It provides a glossary and a set of required documents at the end, with the option of procuring templates at a discount.

After reading the book, the reader will know how to do projects the right way and which pitfalls to avoid. It can also convince the reader that proper training is required to do project management effectively and that it should not be done using ad hoc ways without the discipline of a consistent methodology.

Conclusion

My initial impression was that the process around project management should be simplified, and that the details in the book can leave a person feeling overwhelmed and perhaps not up to the task of managing projects without proper training.

Regardless, I can recommend the book to managers in small to medium-sized companies who are responsible for running projects. If they follow the principles, process and advice laid out, they will have a much better chance of being successful with project delivery and giving their businesses the competitive edge that well implemented strategies can bring.

To get your copy of the book, please visit Project Management for SME’s.