6 Email Productivity Tips

Time management tips for emailAs project managers, we are all inundated with emails daily. Therefore, I want to share the 6 Time Management tips to manage your email from BrightWork to help us become more productive as professional project managers.

Tip #1

Set special time aside for emails and turn off all email notifications.

Tip #2

Clear your Inbox once a day or at least weekly. This one I struggle with, but I do manage to read and action all my emails daily.

Tip #3

Eliminate multiple folders for different type of emails. Create one ARCHIVE folder for emails you want to keep and use the Search function to find them. With my ‘blue’ analytical personality, I still prefer folders, hence, it takes longer to clear my Inbox.

Tip #4

If you get the same questions again and again or you need to share the same information weekly, create an email in drafts answering the common questions.

Tip #5

Don’t reply to an email when you are angry. I believe anyway that it’s better to deal with conflict in person and keep emails for information sharing that is unemotional; that is more professional.

Tip #6

Have a systematic, simple email management process in place.

Click here for the Infographic: 6 Time Management Tips to manage your email

Let us know in the comments sections what other email tips you have!
Please click below to subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss any future updates!

Virtual Project Consulting

Challenges faced by new Project Managers and how to overcome them

By Liz Dewing

Looking back at being a “new” Project Manager (about 27 years ago!!), what I’m most conscious of, is that back then there was very little available to me in the way of established wisdom about how to BE a Project Manager. It was something I needed to work out as I went along.

In some respects that was useful: it certainly meant I learned an awful lot the hard way – by getting it wrong – and believe me, that kind of learning sticks!! On the other hand, it was a very inefficient way of operating because it took me longer than necessary to acquire a well-rounded toolkit.

Guides and Best Practices

Nowadays we are almost at the opposite extreme – where there is very little opportunity for the school of hard knocks, and almost every aspect has an associated operating manual or set of best practices. The challenge now is to filter, out of the plethora of guides and documented frameworks, that which is most relevant to your situation.

The reality is that having too much at your disposal is almost as bad as having too little!

One of the worst mistakes a new Project Manager can make in my opinion is to fall in love with theory and to try to impose the “ideal model” on real world projects without the filter of pragmatism and context.  There is nothing guaranteed to create frustration and animosity between PM and Stakeholders faster than a situation where the PM is trying to impose an inappropriate level of control or making excessive demands for governance.

Governance

If there is no Project Office in place, providing a rational set of guidelines about governance relative to the project, then the next best way to tackle this as a new PM, is to make sure that you take the time to sit down with your Sponsor / Key Stakeholders. You need to negotiate and agree on the project approach, including which processes will be applied to what level of detail, and what management documentation is to be produced. Raise your concerns and express your wishes – but let them determine the level of governance that they believe is best suited to what is, after all, their delivery.

I have found that creating a Sign-off Matrix (click for sample) which details who will be required to approve what artefact or deliverable, in what capacity, is a really useful way of sensitizing people to what is coming, helping them ensure that they:

  1. Understand the process to create artefacts
  2. Make time for the necessary reading and reviews
  3. Understand what their signature actually means when they are asked to approve something (i.e. correctness of content / correctness of process / ownership etc.

I also find that getting the main decisions forums established quickly, with clarity about mandate, frequency and agenda, really helps a new PM because it creates an “advisory panel” that is intrinsically balanced by the presence of both high-control stakeholders and those who are comfortable with higher levels of risk.  Taking governance decisions to these panels can help a new PM navigate and acquire an understanding as to the organisation’s culture and appetite for controls.

***************************************************

Liz Dewing-Magnetic NorthAbout the Author: Liz Dewing has an extensive career in IT, Project and Project Office Management with various organisations, including 13 years with Old Mutual South Africa. After 8 years running a Strategy Delivery Project Office, Liz left to focus on Magnetic North – a Consultancy through which she helps people to use their powers of speech more effectively in business and career.

Tips on how to remain insanely productive at work

Productivity tips from industry experts

An article originally published by Proofhub, an online project management and collaboration tool designed to make teams more productive at whatever they do. And, being part of an industry where everything revolves around productivity, we are always on the lookout for productivity hacks, tips, tricks and other stuff that can make people more productive than they are right now.

We got in touch with some of the brainiacs of the project management industry to get an answer to the question What keeps their productivity levels high? We asked them about their secrets; the ones they follow to keep on being productive every single day. Do they have any magic potion that they sip-in daily or productivity is just a habit?

Project managers who shared their tips

  • Susanne Madsen, Project leadership coach. Author of ‘The Project Management Coaching Workbook’ and ‘The Power of Project Leadership’.
  • Elizabeth Harrin, Author of Social Media for Project Managers & Customer-Centric Project Management, Director of @otobosgroup.
  • Linky Van Der Merwe, Project Manager, Blogger, Adviser of recommended PM resources
  • Bert Heymans, Senior Project Manager
  • Peter Taylor, Project Management Speaker and Author
  • Tor, brain behind the award winning blog http://www.timemanagementchef.com/

Productivity Tips

As successful project managers, these professionals have quite a lot on their platter to share with people who are looking to make it big by being productive at their jobs. And, this is what they had to say –

Susanne Madsen @SusanneMadsen
Project leadership coach. Author of ‘The Project Management Coaching Workbook’ and ‘The Power of Project Leadership’.
  • Focus on your most important tasks single-minded
  • The best tip is to start the day with a clear intention on what you must absolutely complete and then focus on those tasks single-minded. Identify the activities that tend to disrupt your work, and find a way around them. You can for instance avoid checking emails and answering the phone when you’re in the middle of something important.
  • Discipline yourself to work on a task until it’s complete, as once you’ve broken your flow, it can be difficult to reestablish it.
  • Many of us multi-task and believe we’re effective when we do so; but evidence suggests that 96% of the population can’t effectively focus on more than one thing at a time. In order to stop multi-tasking, set specific time aside for meetings, returning calls and for doing detailed planning and analysis work at your desk. Whenever you find yourself multitasking, stop and sit quietly for a minute.
Elizabeth Harrin @girlsguidetopm
Author of Social Media for Project Managers & Customer-Centric Project Management, Director of @otobosgroup.

Block meetings with yourself to do actual work. Otherwise you’ll end up in other people’s meetings all day and with no time to pick up your actions. Having time booked in your diary gives you the focus you need to sit down and complete a task, such as updating your risk log or reviewing your annual objectives.

Linky Van Der Merwe @virtualpm
Project Manager, Blogger, Adviser of recommended PM resource

Being a bit of an old-school project manager, I have two productivity tools that I use on a daily basis, because they work.

  • I use a hard-cover A-4 book to write down my planning for the week. This helps me to keep a certain work rhythm and not to miss anything important. Urgent and Important tasks are transferred to my calendar, like an appointment with myself. I can relax once it’s written down, because I know my week is not finished unless my weekly tasks are complete.
  • The other tool I cannot live without, is Microsoft’s OneNote. It’s part of the Office suite of applications, free on every PC/laptop when using MS Office. It’s like an electronic filing cabinet where I keep all my notes from various meetings, whether progress meetings, ad hoc meetings, discussion or workshops. It saves and syncs automatically with your windows live account; and is easy to share via email.
Bert Heymans @bertheymans
Senior Project Manager

These are the things that I found make a particular difference in my productivity:

  • Habits are everything.
  • Do the hardest thing first. (read the “Eat That Frog” book by Brian Tracy)
  • Work out! You can find numerous sources online where Richard Branson mentions this is his most significant productivity booster, and if it’s good for Richard Branson it’s good for me.
  • Recognize that procrastination is a symptom, not a cause.
  • Think positive, because thoughts become words and words become actions.
  • Recognize that we overestimate what we can do in one year, but underestimate what we can do in 5 years.
  • Talk to yourself in the present tense if you want to start doing something, say it out loud if you can (example: “I am cleaning out the garage”) Apparently this tricks your brain.
Peter Taylor @thelazypm
Project Management Speaker and Author

Always ask yourself three questions before taking action:

  • Do I want to do it?
    Don’t do something just because everyone else is or because it’s the ‘usual thing to do’. Just running with the pack is never going to allow you to take control of your own time and will only lead you into over-commitments.
  • Is the result worth my effort?
    Only do the things with the most impact. It is all about applying the good old 80/20 rule. What are the most critical things that you need to get involved in? What is the 20% that will deliver the 80% of value?
  • Do I have to do this myself?
    Ask yourself if you really are the best person to do whatever it is that needs to be done or is there someone else who is better qualified than you to do this thing? At every opportunity you must think your actions through to the end and aim to optimize the return on your personal investment.
Tor @TorRefsland
Brain behind the award winning blog http://www.timemanagementchef.com/
  1. Plan your day the night before
    The experts say that every minute spent in planning saves you 10 minutes in execution. In order to become super productive you should know EXACTLY which tasks you should be working on at any given time. How can this be achieved? To plan in advance. I would strongly recommend you to plan one week ahead. This will save you a ton of time. In addition, instead of just responding to other people’s requests, you will have control over your schedule and week.
  2. Use a master to do list
    You should only have ONE to do list, and it should be your master to do list. Why do I call it a master to do list? Because it will contain ALL the activities that you need to do. If the activities aren’t included in your master to do list, they won’t get done.
  3. Apply the ABCDE method and the 80/20 rule
    A tasks — are tasks that you must do today, if not they will give you serious consequences
    B tasks — are tasks that you should do today, if not they will give you mild consequences
    C tasks — are tasks that you could do today, if not they will give no consequences
    D tasks — are tasks you delegate to other people
    E tasks — are tasks you eliminate, you never do them

Use the 80/20 rule to identify your most important tasks, which will be your A tasks. Pareto’s law says that 20% of your tasks will result in 80% of the total production value. This means that if you have 10 tasks on your to do list today, and you ONLY complete the 2 most important tasks, they will give you 80% of the total result.

Studies have shown that most people are the most productive the first 2 hours after they get up from bed. That is why THAT time should be spent on your most important tasks. This may of course vary from individual to individual. Some people are the most productive during the evening, while others are night owls. The key is to find out WHEN you are the most productive, and then block that time out for your most important tasks.


Originally published at blog.proofhub.com on February 8, 2016.

Virtual Project Consulting Please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss future future articles, tips and success stories!

Book Review: Leadership Toolbox for Project Managers

By Linky van der Merwe

Leadership Toolbox for PMThe aim of the book, Leadership Toolbox for Project Managers, written by Michel Dion, is to help equip project managers to manage projects in a dynamic, complex and unpredictable environment. The book is focused on Leadership including self-awareness, vision, strategic thinking, decision making and interaction with others.

Career Advancement

Many project managers were experts in other fields before they learned the skills of Project Management. As project managers are assigned to more complex, strategic projects they need to add leadership skills to their Toolbox of Technical Project Management skills.

Michel emphasizes Continuous Learning as part of the Foundation you need before focusing on Leadership skills. What I liked about his book, is that he starts with looking at the leader as a Person, and looking after your own well-being first, instead of putting it as an after-thought at the end of the book. He gives guidance on modifying your behaviour with the key qualities of a leader and to develop a high level of self-awareness. He puts much focus on values and ethics that influence leadership actions and decisions.

I like his opinion that people is the critical asset to the project’s success, including the team, the project sponsor, users and any other stakeholders. And I agree that the value contribution of a project will be measured by all these people.

Leadership skills

Another important Leadership skill is Delegation for which Michel provides the questions to ask when delegating tasks. He explains how to create a learning environment and how to keep adding value while delegating.

Towards the end of the book Michel publishes interesting Leadership survey results about project challenges, strengths and weaknesses in being effective leaders.

Michel laid out strategic thinking and decision making in the project context very well, convincing the reader that learning leadership is a journey and not a specific formula that can be applied the same way on every project.

Recommendation

In my opinion, the only improvement that can be made to the book, is to provide some exercises or perhaps actions steps that the reader can take to help them along on their leadership growth journey.

I will recommend this book to all aspiring project managers as well as existing project managers who seek to develop their leadership capabilities to help them cope in the increasingly dynamic and complex project environments that we are having to manage projects today!

The book is available on Amazon: Leadership Toolbox for Project Managers: Achieve better results in a dynamic world by Michel A. Dion (22-Apr-2015) Paperback, as well as on Michel Dion’s website, Project-Aria.

3 Benefits of Training with Activia and What Business Problems It Will Address

Gone are the days where employees stayed at their jobs their entire life; now staying for three to five years is considered normal. But replacing staff should be as easy as placing an ad in the papers, right?

Wrong.

According to Oxford Economics, it can cost up to £30,614 (and seven months) for a company to replace a departing employee. This cost is from:

  • the lost output the company experiences while the new worker is trained up to speed, usually around 28 weeks.
  • the cost of replacing that employee, including advertising costs, agency fees, time spent on interviews, etc.

With these figures, it’s no wonder why many small and medium-sized businesses are reluctant to invest in employee training. Training them, only to lose them later, simply doesn’t seem to be worth it.

But is this attitude helpful or self-serving? Should the possibility of staff leaving determine whether you train them or not? What happens if they don’t leave and you’ve missed the chance to improve your business? Taking this view is narrow-minded and can potentially be dangerous to business longevity.

 

staff-trainingBenefits of Staff Training

Training employees should be an essential activity for all organisations. Apart from avoiding recruitment expenses, here are some more benefits of staff training:

  • It empowers employees with the knowledge and skills they need to increase their contribution to the business.
  • It improves business performance and productivity.
  • It improves staff morale, loyalty and staff retention – by investing in them, you’re showing them how much you value them.
  • It leads to a reduction in wasted time and materials.
  • It leads to a reduction in staff turnover and absenteeism.

It’s also important to mention here that, on average, companies that invest at least £ 1,000 per annum on staff training earn higher profit margins than those who don’t.

 

Selecting a Training Provider

However, for those companies that do want to upgrade their staff’s skills, choosing a training provider can be difficult. There are around 12,300 private training providers in the UK alone, all with different areas of expertise and delivery methods. So what should you pay attention to when looking for a vendor?

The following are key questions to ask any prospective training provider. The answers to these questions can help you narrow down your options so you can find the right fit for your staff.

  • Where can you deliver training?
  • How will your training improve my staff’s performance?
  • How many clients do you work with?
  • How many trainers do you work with?
  • Can you develop a training programme for both large and small businesses?
  • How do you measure participants’ progress?

 

TrainingThe Benefits of Training with Activia

For interactive and learner-focused training, look no further than Activia. Our trainers use a wide range of models, case studies, and skills practice to engage delegates. We ensure all delegates leave their sessions with knowledge, information, and the tools required to excel in their field. Some of our other unique features include:

  • Our Online Tools
  • Skills Appraisal: For a tailored learning experience, we ask delegates to take our Skills Appraisal test. This is to assess their proficiency and advise them on the best courses to take.
  • Course Creator: Looking to brush up on specific topics? Our Course Creator tool allows you pick and choose individual modules and create a bespoke training course. This allows you focus on getting the exact training you need with no fluff.
  • The Dashboard: The dashboard provides a one-click access to your entire Activia account. From here, you can change your account settings, view your booking history, your invoices, certificates, and so on.
  • Free eLearning: Using our eLearning revision platform, delegates can revisit and review the topics they covered in the course.
  • The Quality of our Courses: We’ve been in the training business for over twenty years, keeping abreast of every change in the business and the training industry. At Activia, we’re constantly refining our training methods so we can deliver actionable world-class training, every single time. At our training centres, we always keep class sizes between two and a maximum of 12. In our experience, this class size ensures that all delegates get adequate attention from the instructor.
  • Our Competitive Pricing –With 12 training centres in major cities across the UK, we can easily deliver group or one-on-one training, but if you’d prefer we train your staff at your office, that can also be arranged. All our prices are highly competitive due to our trading volumes, which means that we can offer delegates increased training quality at lower costs. We also offer discounts for early booking, low occupancy, and various special promotions.

 

To find out more about the best options for your training, then Activia’s staff are ready to help you with friendly, knowledgeable advice. If you’d like to talk to someone about your training needs and our offering, just fill in our contact form with your message and we’ll be back in touch very soon.

Mindset of a Successful Project Leader

When comparing the qualities needed to be a successful manager (as shown in the Infographic below) with the characteristics of a successful project leader, and research analysis, there is much overlap.

Good managers tend to be natural leaders with a genuine interest in helping others. Not all project managers are natural leaders, but fortunately that is a skill that can be honed, especially when coupled with the desire to serve others.

Effective leadership is built on respect and trust. Leadership is critical during the beginning phases of a project when emphasis is on communicating the vision and motivating and inspiring the project team to achieve high performance. In a project context leadership is about focusing the efforts of a group of people toward a common goal and enabling them to work as a team. It’s also the ability to get things done through others.

Guidance to the project team is given in the form of influencing, mentoring and monitoring, as well as evaluating the performance of the team and the project. Open communication is essential together with listening to your team’s needs.

It’s always in the best interest of project leaders to keep investing in their own development and growth. For professionals who are new to project management, check out the Growth Program for new Project Managers that will put you on a fast-track for learning how to become a successful project leader.

*********************************************************************

Inside the Mind of a Successful Manager

Online Masters in Business Administration

Attention Aspiring Project Management Professionals

Important announcement for project managers who plan to do the PMP exam in 2016.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) has changed the PMP Exam on January 11th. Cornelius Fichtner has published information in this regard on his PM Prepcast website and explains what it means for you.  This is to share it with you and to help answer any questions you may have while preparing for this important exam.

Click here to read more

Remember that there’s a 10% discount on the PM Prepcast in January, which means $18 off if you use coupon code Jan16

10 Reasons Why There Is Always Need Of Project Management

By Shikha Menwal 

10 Reasons Why There Is Always Need Of Project ManagementAt some point you might have wondered: “Do I really need a project management for my company?” Well, project management is to business what food is to the body. The former is integral to the survival of the latter. So, there goes your answer! But what really makes project management such a crucial tool for thriving in the industry? The reasons are plenty, but here are some major points that make project management such a critical ingredient in the recipe for entrepreneurial success.

#1 To avoid the likelihood of reworking!

Who doesn’t like to get things done in the very first go? We all want to avoid reworking the same thing. According to a survey conducted by Carnegie Mellon, 70% – 85% of the total rework cost in projects occur due to the failure to specify all the requirements during the analysis phase. Also, 25%-40% of money gets wasted as a result of having to redo a major chunk of work.

Project management encourages collaboration. Collaboration helps enlist all the requirements right in the beginning when details are discussed. You can avoid do-overs altogether and get it right the very first time.

#2 Getting off on the right foot!

No one likes to hear things such as ‘could have’, ‘would have’, ‘should have’. With a strong work foundation, you won’t have to hear such statements. Project scope definition, statement of purpose, identifying business risks and limitations, and defining the objective of project; all this is part project management and will ensure that you get off on the right foot. Business analysis and project management let you make necessary adjustments in the plan and see if the scope of a project sounds feasible or not.

#3 Exercising control over change!

When running projects, get ready to deal with many changes in requirements because things are never as simple as they seem. This is where change management philosophy comes in. It allows managers to find an exhibit through various conflicting priorities. They are able to seamlessly integrate new changes into ongoing activities without disrupting the flow of work.

#4 Improved communication at all levels

According to one of the studies conducted by PMI, it has been observed that around 90% of problems in most projects arise due to lack of communication. With right project management, teams get to know their responsibilities, priorities, and what is expected from them. It would lay down simple and effective channels of communication. It helps to align everyone’s understanding of overall work.

#5 Documenting successes and failures

Learning never stops! This is the prime focus of project management. Project reviews documents the highlights where teams have excelled and the areas where they could have performed better. As the project reaches completion, both positives and negatives can be documented for future reference. A project manager would know which mistakes to avoid and what practices should be implemented that proved successful in the past. It’s like implementing learnings from one project for future endeavours.

#6 Selecting the optimal course of activities

There can be multiple ways to achieve the same output! But, a project manager needs to know which way is the most optimal one. A project is about implementing a series of activities in succession. But, which course of action is likely to have least possible constraints and challenges? Project management answers such questions and enables you to select the most optimal series of activities in the right sequence.

#7 For maintaining focus

Focus is the essence that makes the impossible possible. Someone who knows the art of project management inside out will keep everyone focused by helping them see the bigger picture. Project management leads the team towards the end goal. It wards off unnecessary distractions that team members might face. It’s the way to making sure that each and every thing in the process is properly planned, documented, and completed on schedule.

#8 Time and budget limit

Any project execution is challenging, because it needs to be done within certain constraints. Project managers define the deadlines and decide how much cost is likely to be incurred. Project management is about achieving goals while staying within the said timelines and budget.

#9 Keeps everyone posted!

We know that projects happen to be multi-dimensional. Several departments work collectively for the attainment of common goals. Lack of coordination brings chaos, which is the last thing a project needs. Project managers coordinate work across all the departments and ensure everyone is aware of the progress. When everyone is on the same page, communicating changes and discussing further details becomes easier.

#10 Prepares everyone for the unforeseen events

Projects are bound to come across multiple challenges and risks. Project management prepares everyone to handle most unexpected happenings in the most natural way. Being prepared for anything will keep you going in the right direction.

In conclusion, by inculcating project management principles and theories, project managers can streamline all the tasks and guide teams to work collectively towards a single goal.

**********************************************************************************

About the Author: Shikha Menwal is a writer at ProofHub. Her academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in computer sciences. From lifestyle, to technology, and management, etc. she has written about myriad of industries in her writing career during the last three years.

2016 – A New Year like a Chapter in a Book

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” Melody Beattie

A New Year like a Chapter in a BookAt the beginning of the year, most people are motivated for new beginnings. That’s why people have New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately, most resolutions don’t last and people forget what they were motivated about at the beginning of the year.

I have done away with New Year’s resolutions a long time ago. Instead, I do what has always worked for me that is to identify my top 5 Goals for the year, then break it down to smaller goals that are SMART (Specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, time-bound). This keeps me focused on the things I would like to do and helps me to finish one thing at a time.

After a refreshing holiday away from home, spent in beautiful surroundings, I can honestly say that I’m looking forward to what 2016 holds. At work I’m working on an exciting Programme with multiple projects and there are many initiatives planned for Virtual Project Consulting this year.

My eldest son is in Matric, his final school year, and I’m astonished at how quickly his school career is going by. The other two children have their own interests, sports and activities that will keep my husband and me on our toes this year.

At Virtual Project Consulting we are working full swing on making new things a reality. We want to continue adding value to our existing and aspiring project management community. You can expect to see the following themes covered this year on our Blog from our own articles as well as from contributing guest authors.

  • Leadership
  • Social media in project management
  • Project management software, tools, recommended Podcasts
  • Project management as a career
  • Project management soft skills and more on personality profiling
  • Project management methodologies and processes
  • Change Management
  • Project Governance

There will be a special focus on project managers who are new to the profession and who are often called “accidental project managers”.

We will continue to bring you the most recommended resources on project management software, training, products, books and events. Also look out for more Success Stories being published from experienced project managers. Don’t forget about the Podcasts as well as free resources being shared.

I’m also excited to send you more details about the book: “Strategic Integration of Social Media into Project Management Practice” for which I’m a contributing author. The projected release date is March 2016.

I would like to wish each one of our readers a very successful, fruitful and fulfilling 2016! Please share in the comments what your goals are for the New Year.

Virtual Project Consulting Please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss future future articles, tips and success stories!

Working smarter with Project Management Technology

By Josh Benhamou

Given that three quarters of IT Executives believe that their projects are “doomed from the start”, it’s fair to say that Project Managers have to deal with a range of problems on a daily basis. But does it have to be this way? Increasingly, smart use of technology is helping embattled Project Managers everywhere run their projects more efficiently by taking the heavy lifting out of everyday tasks. Whether you need to communicate smarter, tighten up your documentation or simply save time – there’s an app for that. But in the bewildering array of technology solutions available today, it’s not always easy to see which is going to provide the greatest benefit for you and your business.

For a simple example, allow us to introduce Alex and John, two Project Managers struggling with common issues that were resolved with a bit of technological know-how.

#1 Requirements Management

Alex worked as an IT Project Manager in a financial services company for 3 years and was in the scoping and planning stages of a 2-year long project. Like many project managers out there, Alex had found that, on previous projects, requirements management was poorly achieved through lengthy, unmanageable spreadsheets. Alex did not want this to be repeated on such a large scale project. At a project team meeting, she suggested using a requirements management application that would allow the central management of requirements. They decided to try it out and, within three weeks, all requirements were being managed through the online application.

Fast-forwarding a few months takes us to the implementation stage of the project and the results were extremely positive.

  • The project was a few weeks ahead of schedule due to reduced workload which saved almost $120,000 of Alex’s budget.
  • The project team had collaborated on each requirement meaning that stakeholders were not surprised by any requirement.
  • The executive stakeholders were delighted and encouraged with the project thus far giving Alex more flexibility on the project.

#2 Documentation

John is an experienced project manager in a top-tier consultancy. John was in the middle of the Requirements Gathering and Analysis stage of a project for a high-priority client and was getting exasperated with the number of out-dated Requirements documents being sent to key stakeholders. John decided to take action by subscribing to a requirements management and document generation application. He immediately imported all the project requirements to the application and created a customised template to exactly match the clients document branding and structure. The project team began to manage the requirements through the application which allowed them to generate a new up-to-date Requirements Document whenever necessary.

In just 3 weeks, the results were overwhelmingly powerful.

  • The application reduced the project team’s workload by 20% saving a significant amount of money each week.
  • Requirements Documents were always up to date and took seconds to generate even with all the system architecture images and customised fields.
  • The application managed the project documentation which allowed the team to find any required documentation instantly.
  • Requirements were manged centrally through the application meaning that John benefited from the same results as Alex’s project.

VindocBoth Alex and John’s projects completed on schedule and budget beating 93% of the other projects out there. They both achieved this through VINDOC, a requirements management and document generation application.

To find out more about recommended project management resources, tips and tools, please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting.

Virtual Project Consulting

10 Principles for Effective Steercom Meetings

By Liz Dewing

Steering Committee effectiveness is achieved by keeping things: Sufficient, Objective, and Succinct (SOS)!

An Executive Sponsor’s worst nightmare is to be surprised by a development on a project….. particularly if that surprise occurs in a public forum when they haven’t had the opportunity to prepare themselves. One way to avoid surprises is to maximize the effectiveness of Steering Committees.

What are the needs

Executive needs are relatively straightforward:

  • To be kept up-to-speed on progress in general and security of benefits in particular.
  • To be informed about specific issues or obstacles that are hindering progress (and any significant risks threatening to materialize.)
  • Opportunity to collectively discuss and determine what actions can be taken to address these – with the RIGHT people at the RIGHT time.
  • To inform the project about anything forthcoming that may affect the work / require changes.
  • To achieve this in the least possible time.

On the other hand Project Teams need:

  • Decisions and Actions and commitment to doing it.
  • Information – to help move things along.
  • Guidance – about things they may not know with their limited organizational view.

Regular one-on-ones between the Sponsor and Project Manager can address the bulk of these needs. Where Steering Committee Meetings add real value is when robust collaborative discussion is needed amongst invested leaders who may have differing perspectives and agendas but who must arrive at mutually acceptable decisions in order for work to progress.

Ten Key Principles

Here are 10 key principles to support really effective Steercoms.

#1 Keep the attendee as limited as possible

Only those people who have designated authority to make things happen should attend Steercoms… they are NOT a place for people who simply need to be kept informed.

#2 Avoid repetition

Finalise Minutes and address and resolve actions from previous meetings BEFORE the next Steering Committee. Anything that remains unresolved can be discussed as an Issue.

#3 Avoid revisiting things

If a topic is coming up at Steercom over and over again it is an indication that there is an underlying issue that is NOT being adequately addressed. Identify it. Express it clearly, and escalate it.

#4 Keep an action focus

Make it easy for the Steercom members to make decisions by providing sufficient relevant information in the right formats and be very explicit about what is expected.

NOTE : Make sure the group understand the difference between discussion and decision. Many Steering Committees discuss things at length but fail to ever actually formalize a clear decision as a result.

#5 Keep the ‘routine’ consistent and predictable

Following a consistent process and format using a consistent process, format and tools, allows members to focus on content with full attention.

#6 Make sure mechanisms that are used are understood

For Example – Red / Amber / Green statuses are often interpreted very differently by different people.

#7 Celebrate achievement

This is so that successes become part of the routine as well as challenges – Steercoms that focus purely on problem-solving are very draining!

#8 Always be fully prepared

Minutes circulated and approved, progress on actions up-to-date and distributed for review, a detailed agenda and any pre-reading required sent out in advance, and an up-to-date dashboard available for review. Being prepared also means the Sponsor has had a briefing ahead of time and knows what to expect in terms of content AND potential for conflict.

Build a culture of preparedness and lead by example.

#9 Insist on Ownership from the Steering Committee members

A Project Manager is a Facilitator of outcomes, not an Owner. The Executive and Business Owners are the ones who need to live with, derive benefit from and continue to operate the outcomes of a project, so they must take responsibility for ensuring what is delivered WILL meet their needs.

#10 Steercom SOS

Remember that Steering Committee effectiveness is achieved by keeping things: Sufficient, Objective, and Succinct!

*****************************************************************************************

Liz Dewing-Magnetic NorthAbout the Author: Liz Dewing has an extensive career in IT, Project and Project Office Management with various organisations, including 13 years with Old Mutual South Africa. Through consulting she helps people to use their powers of speech more effectively in business and career.

Chaos to Chaos: The age of agile incrementalism

By Sakhile Malinga

Agile - changeAs globalisation snowballs, organisations continue to enter the exciting age of complexity, a chaotic business landscape which is different from the two prior eras in strategy development.

The Eras in Strategy Development

#1 Era of grand design and systematic planning

The desire to over-elaborate the planning was made redundant by constant strategic drift. IBM and the mainframe was the king of the castle. Management approaches included detailed strategic plans with limited support from a changing internal and external environment. The analysis of SWOT (Strength Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) created historical context with a strong sense of hubris if the previous period was successful. Remediation if challenged.

#2 Era of Strategic Positioning

The era gave us value chain analysis, which created the technology giants such as Microsoft, IBM and Cisco. This era capitalised on large enterprise solutions that were meant to facilitate delivery in a Porter Value chain, looking at the 5 forces as a key driver of value (threat of substitute, new entrance, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, intensity of rivalry), with clear distinct variations of stratagem, which was focus, differentiate and cost leadership.

#3 Era of Complexity (Chaos)

The new era of a connected business world, with organic rather than hierarchic tendencies has led to the rise of social architectures that gave rise to the Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype and cloud computing. This era is where agile incrementalism raises to the fore. A complex construct with too many unknowns, where change is welcomed and not feared and ownership is shared not assigned.

Leadership in Agile Incrementalism

Agile quoteThe main change is primarily from transactional to transformational leadership. 1

Transaction emphasises contingent rewards, and managing by exception. Transformation exhibits charisma, developing a vision, engendering pride, respect and trust, inspires and pays attention to the followers needs.

Agile incrementalism is transformational and it is incremental and not iterative, the fundamental difference is it does not predict what you want, just builds it better and quicker.

The key principle is the fact that individuals and interactions are preferred over process and tools. Chaos if not thought through. Customer collaboration is preferred over contract negotiations. Responding to change is preferred over following a plan. Working product is preferred over comprehensive documentation. Chaos if underestimated.

Agile affects strategy

  1. Capital Planning – The financial returns on investment of software projects becomes more about “fixing of the problem” rather than finding a solution package.
  2. Productivity – A general prediction of 25% boost in productivity 2 in software delivery.
  3. Minimum Viable Product (MVP) vs Scope, you deliver what matters first and might not deliver the entire scope. The focus is working software.
  4. Resources – Agile has people and not resources. The approach is more about predictable change and less stress in introducing change.
  5. It’s about the Customer5– The time to respond to competition is swift and exciting as this becomes the focus of the team.

Agile

Software is a massive contributor to competitive advantage and any organisation that links it to an emerging strategy3 will dominate its market.

The challenges of Agile

  1. You will lose a sense of control, trusting the judgement of the teams to deliver. Allocated capital to solve a problem rather than to deliver a predefined thing will require maturity.
  2. Executive support and buy-in, for the existence of teams not business or IT. The concept of IT and business becomes archaic. The lines cannot be drawn, this becomes objective driven teams.
  3. Requirement will not be required. This translates to business needs; the business will need to have specific needs to be solved.
  4. Scope is variable; hence the power lies not with “completion”, but completing enough to enable the business.
  5. Change will not be welcomed; agile environmental changes will lead to resistance. Chaos does that to people. Training will be necessary for the teams.
  6. Different language, different delivery. The key to delivery will be a common language, whatever you call a thing, let it be a thing.
  7. Embracing Failure – accepting this faster than later in the process is what makes it acceptable.

The age of chaos is exciting, it’s every day that you wake up and expect Apple, or Facebook, Snapchat, Google and Twitter to release a new feature. They use agile, one day we will all use it.

Conclusion

Using any method to achieve an outcome is a good reaction to environmental changes, however locating the reason why a particular method is the right method; helps clarify why the procedures and techniques are vital. Software Agile approaches are methods designed bring a logical approach to a chaotic world.

***************************************************************************

About the Author:

Sakhile Malinga is a leader with a strong affinity to all things involving strategy, projects and digital. His purpose is to build stuff and people.

Sources:

  1. Bass, B. (1990). ‘From transactional to transformational leadership: learning to share the vision.’ Organizational Dynamics, (Winter), 19–31.
  2. http://www.deltamatrix.com/why-are-agile-teams-25-more-productive
  3. Johnson G. Managing strategic change—strategy culture and action. Long Range Plan 1992; 25(1):28-36.
  4. Ghobadian, A and O’Regan, N. “ John Lewis Partnership lessons in logical incrementalism and organic growth: A case study and interview with the Chairman, Mr Charlie Mayfield’ Journal of Strategy and management (2008).
  5. Anderson JC, Kumar N, Narus JA. Value Merchants: Demonstrating and Documenting Superior Value in Business Markets. Harvard Business School Press.