Archive for the ‘Monitoring & Controlling Process’ Category
Tip of the Month – February 2011 – Ask good, probing questions.
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
Most people who know me know that I try to ask very good questions…probing questions…questions that try and drive out a good understanding of an issue and its root cause so that it can be solved. So you can imagine my surprise when a manager at one of my client organizations said to me, “Don’t ask questions in meetings.” I was devastated. This manager’s rationale was that asking questions would cause meetings to run longer. I remember when I was doing undergrad internships at a prestigious medical center, the philosophy was “dumb questions are easier to address than dumb mistakes.” I have always tried to heed this advice, except I always try to ask good questions, not dumb ones.
Needless to say, this manager and I disagree, but the client is the client. You must adapt to the client’s culture. I believe as a program and/or project leader you need to ask many good and probing questions. If you do not ask questions, I find that you often find out too late about an issue (or the root cause of an issue) to “fix it,” so the issue does not negatively impact your program (i.e., cost, schedule, or quality).
If you find yourself in a similar situation, sit down with the manager and try to understand his or her rationale for taking a particular position. In some cases, it may be valid. In other cases, the manager may understand your perspective or offer another approach to get the information needed to address the issue(s).
You need to be a leader. You need to lead your program to a successful outcome. You need to understand the issues and get the issues solved quickly. You need to solve the issues so your programs can be successful. Good probing questions will simplify your life as a program/project leader. I know it has for me.
Posted in Communications Management, Human Resource Management, Issue Management, Leadership, Monitoring & Controlling Process, Portfolio Leadership, Program Leadership, Project Leadership, Tip of the Month | No Comments »
Monitoring and Controlling Process – Is Scope Control one of your allies?
Monday, December 14th, 2009
Background
Project Management Institute’s (PMI) A Guide to The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Third Addition describes the Monitoring and Controlling Process Group as those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project”(p. 59).
Challenge
As mentioned in the Scope Management blog (July 9, 2007), a common challenge is “scope creep”. One of the key Monitoring and Control processes to manage “scope creep” is “Scope Control”. If you have a “scope creep” problem, chances are you have a scope control process problem.
Helpful Hints
One way to fix your Scope Control problem is to focus on the fundamentals. One of those fundamentals is ask a lot of good questions. Some questions that should be able to help you are:
1. Why is a change being requested?
2. Does the change have a direct impact on whether the program/project goals and objectives, as stated in the Program/Project Charter, are met?
3. Can the change be implemented in a subsequent project and/or phase?
4. What impact will the change have on cost, schedule and/or quality of the currently defined scope?
5. For support projects (in particular), is the change an enhancement or, a true break fix item? If an enhancement, ask the ‘requester’ if they are willing to treat the additional functionality as a subsequent phase (or project)?
Remember, for bringing work efforts within budget and/or schedule, Scope Control is one of the core allies for the Program/Project Leader…
Ira M. Hendon, PMP®
President and CEO
Hendon Group, Inc.
References
Project Management Institute (2004). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (3rd ed). Newtown Square: Project Management Institute.
– © Copyright 2006 – 2009 Hendon Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Posted in Monitoring & Controlling Process | Comments Off
Hendon Group Blog RSS Feed
HG Poll
Loading ...Follow Me
