Archive for the ‘Troubled Projects’ Category
Teams needs to be clear about the desired program outcome and expected results
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
I will contend that many programs and projects struggle because program and/or project teams do not have a clear picture of the intended program outcome and their role in delivering the desired outcome. This is especially true with IT projects utilizing new and emerging technologies.
This phenomenon has many early warning symptoms. For example,
1. Early on in the program, each member of the project team cannot articulate the intended program outcome, why it is important to the organization or the value they will contribute to the program’s and/or project’s success.
2. Team members cannot articulate what needs to be done. Team view is, “We will figure it out as we go along.”
3. New technology has never been implemented in a large complex environment and, therefore, technology vendor assists with defining WBS/WBS Dictionary definition or risk event identification – often this definition is what the vendor can (or wants to) do and not what is needed by the program
You may have observed other symptoms, but I think you get the picture.
So the question becomes, why is this important? It is important because when program/project teams are not clear on the outcomes and their roles, projects stall. When programs/projects stall, the budget is over-run and key milestones are missed. Very often the program/project scope is narrowed to deliver the project with some benefit earlier than the newly projected delayed end date. In all cases, the program/project does not meet the approved business case.
As the program and/or project leader, you need to be clear and you MUST make sure the program/project team is clear on all aspects of the work effort. Specifically, you need to be clear on the outcome(s) and expected results, the purpose of the outcome, the skills required to achieve the outcome, and how the outcome/results are going to be achieved.
With respect to your team(s), you need to make sure your team is clear on the outcome and why the outcome is important. Each team member also needs to be clear on the deliverables expected from them and their due dates. You also need to ask each team member what dependencies they have on other team members’ deliverables and/or intermediate work products.
Short of your program/project team(s) having this clear picture, you are putting your program/project at risk (e.g., cost, schedule, quality, etc.) of not achieving the approved business case. This communication should be communicated to the team during the initial kick-off meeting and reinforced at least monthly during regularly scheduled team meetings.
Two recommendations:
First, to address existing stalled projects, take the time to make sure your team has a clear vision of the intended outcome and its role in achieving that outcome. Your team should be refocused on the intended outcome and will offer up ideas on how to get “unstuck.”
Second, to help prevent stalls on new programs/projects, communicate the desired outcomes, program/project purpose, and expectations during the kick-off meeting. In addition, as you bring aboard new team members, make sure each team member is clear on the program/project intended outcome(s) and their role in the achievement of those outcomes. You will be glad you did.
Posted in Initiating Process, Leadership, Planning Process, Portfolio Leadership, Program Leadership, Project Leadership, Risk Management, Troubled Projects | No Comments »
Focus on the Problem; Focus on the Solution; Don’t kick your client / business partner when they are down
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Many years ago, when I was a new First Line Manager, a client had a very nasty technical infrastructure problem that required a team of subject matter experts to resolve. During that same time, our company was going through the transition of trying to take the letter “R” out of “Free” with respect to support services.
The new corporate direction…support services are no longer free. The client contacted us and told one of my team members about their problem. Before the 1.5 hour one way drive to tackle the problem, the client was told the support services assistance would be billable. Before we understood the problem, we had already communicated to the client they were going to pay for the support…In other words, we kicked them while they were down (literally).
Needless to say, the client’s leadership team was not happy about our conversation. The technical team went out to work the client’s technical issue and after a few days, the problem was resolved. The client was happy the problem was resolved but, they were extremely irritated about the “fee support services” discussion before the root cause of the problem and more importantly, effort to resolve the problem was understood. Our business relationship was strained for quite some time afterwards.
Shortly after we solved the problem, I had a one-on-one, face to face meeting with the client and he gave me some very sage advice. His guidance was this…“we don’t have a problem paying for help – our problem was your organization appeared more focused on telling us we had to pay for your help than you were fixing our problem”. He also told me, “If you want to be a true partner, when we are in trouble, focus on getting our problem fixed and then let’s have the conversation on who should pay and for what”. His comments echoed an old saying, “your client does not care how much you know until they know how much you care”.
I have always remembered the conversation and my client’s advice could not be more relevant with respect to the April 2010 British Petroleum (BP) Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP is a business partner of the United States of America. BP Oil provides fuel and lubricants that propel America. BP also provides jobs and community service projects in the geographies they serve around the globe.
The Program Leader who will lead BP and the U.S.A. out of the oil spill challenge will do so if they:
- Understand each of the core issues and the key parties competing interests on each of the core issues
- Resolve each major issue as a project
- Identify and align the right skilled resources where they can deliver the greatest value to drive success
- Manage / Lead the effort as a integrated Program
So the next time you have a large client or, business partner, with a very large complex problem, focus on the problem; focus on the solution; and don’t kick your client when they are down by making a big deal about who pays until you understand the problem, its root cause and how the problem is going to be resolved.
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Posted in Communications Management, Leadership, Risk Management, Troubled Projects | No Comments »
Troubled Projects and Initiatives – They don’t have to be that way
Monday, December 14th, 2009
Challenge
Unfortunately, in almost every industry and in almost every type of organizational initiative, troubled projects exist. Why? Interestingly enough, with respect to technology related projects, (from my 30+ years of experience and observations) technology is rarely the root cause. In today’s day and age, most technology problems can be solved with technology, or at least the creative use of technology. The fact is, most troubled projects are in trouble because of the project leader’s and/or project team’s less than optimal “soft skills”. For example, a project that is suddenly declared $1+ Million over budget or 1 year late (I am always fascinated by the use of the term “suddenly”) is rarely the result of technology issues. The existence of troubled projects is perhaps best described by the “boiling frog” experiment. Place the frog in a pot of boiling water and the frog will jump out (as would I). Place the frog in a pot of cold water and slowly heat to a boil, you cook the frog. Troubled projects gestate over time. Examples of less than optimal “soft skills” include:
* not reviewing lessons learned from previous initiatives so history repeats itself within an organization; * having invalid assumptions and not recognizing the assumptions are invalid until it is too late; * the project team not having the “straight talk” with their peers or the project leader about project related issues; * an incomplete initiative/project Recovery Plan; * the Project Leader is not having the “straight talk” with the senior leadership team; * dysfunctional project teams and many more.
Early Warning Signs you may have a Troubled Project
Some early warning signs that a project may need corrective action are:
* Instead of providing the “straight talk”, Project Leaders tell the senior leadership team, what the project leader believes they want to hear * Key Earned Value indices, such as the Cost Performance Index and/or Schedule Performance Index are declining 2 – 5 percentage points per month. Earned Value will be discussed in the Cost Management blog * Project sub-team leads are not discussing their key dependency concerns with their sub-team counterparts * Project Leaders are telling the senior leadership team (or, project sub-team leaders are telling the project leader) they do not need “outside help” on an initiative (when in fact they do) – Team afraid they will be viewed as “weak”
These are all symptoms that an organization’s project leadership capabilities are not optimal and increase the odds of the initiative / project requiring corrective action downstream.
Suggestions you may find useful
Although there is never a single, silver bullet that can solve all troubled projects, Project Leaders can minimize their risk of having a troubled project by doing the following:
* Develop an initiative Recovery Plan that takes corrective action to improve cost, schedule, quality and/or other key issue(s); * Ensure there is a two way feedback loop between the Recovery Plan effort and the organization’s Lesson’s Learned Repository/Process so, within the organization, history does not repeat itself; * Determine, test and update assumptions early and often. Project assumptions can give you clues on where to look for potential trouble areas; * Having the straight talk with the senior leadership team. If a project needs key resources or, is stuck, do not be afraid to disclose “bad news”. My perspective is “bad news” is like Accounts Receivable, it gets worst with age; * Make sure your project sub-team members are in close communication so they can quickly discuss, and resolve dependency issues, that affect their team’s ability to deliver their respective work packages
There are other activities Project Leaders can do to minimize corrective action on their initiatives but, they will not be covered during this blog. So, stay tuned to this website…
How we may be able to assist
Hendon Group, Inc. may be able to assist your organization with:
* Initiative/Project Recovery Plan Development/Review – Understanding Project Leaders and teams have a lot of pride (human nature), work with the initiative Project Leader in either developing the recovery plan and critiquing the recovery plan * Assumptions Framework Development / Review – Assist with the development of an organization (or initiative) specific framework to test the completeness of your initiative’s key assumptions * “Straight Talk” / “Bad News” Coaching – Coaching the Project Leadership team on having the “straight talk” with the Senior Leadership Team and Coaching the Senior Leadership Team on listening to “bad news”; * High Performance Project Team Performance – Help your organization build individualized and specific project leadership development plans
If you would like to discuss how Hendon Group, Inc. may be able to assist your organization, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Ira M. Hendon, PMP® President and CEO Hendon Group, Inc.
– © Copyright 2006 – 2009 Hendon Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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