Project Management Blog

In my post printed here on the 21st of January I referred to the 7 Keys to Successful Improvement Projects. The first key is to have an uncompromising focus on the Customer. We hear it a lot don’t we? Companies promising in their advertising that that they consider the customer their first priority, stressing that they are always listening to the customers needs. Sadly, this is not always our customer experience.

The challenge is to turn that experience around in our own companies, and project improvements.
Recognise that one of most important keys to sustaining successful change is valuing your customer. You can change the way you do things, you can change your structure, but if it doesn’t change how you support your customer then it probably isn’t a change worth making. When improving operations, organisations tend to look for four opportunities:
Eliminate waste
Reduce variation
Grow the customer base
Improve the value provided to the customer.
Whilst a good list, it fails to recognize that improving value to the customer is the first priority; the other improvements can follow.
Practical tips on improving value to the customer are discussed in my newsletter, Silver Bullet. Follow the link to http://www.7sim.com.au/uploads/Files/silver-bullet/Silver%20Bullet%208.pdf. Refer particularly to my article titled "Striving toward having the best business culture in the world".

I’d be interested on hearing your views.
In my next post, I’ll discuss the 2nd key to successful improvement projects: Senior Sponsor Support.

Dan Jackson Head Coach at 7SIM
Head Coach at 7SIM
www.7SIM.com.au

This blog is intended to invite discussion on why some improvement projects succeed while most fail to realise the benefits expected.

I have conducted significant research in this area and have found the reasons most improvement projects fail is not because of the methodology underpinning the improvement process, but the failure to recognise and foster the cultural implications of change.

Equipped with this knowledge, I developed 7 keys to successful improvement projects:
1. An uncompromising focus on the Customer
2. Senior Sponsor Support
3. A crystal clear vision
4. Plain spoken and extensive consultation
5. The best people on the Improvement Team
6. Actively manage change
7. Recognise that people transition differently through change

I have loaded a new video describing these keys at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb2QpsesYPc

In future posts, I’ll go into more detail on each of these keys. I would like to hear from other project managers involved in business transformation or process improvement to hear your views and any advice you have.

I hope this has been helpful.

Dan Jackson
Head Coach 7SIM Leadership Training
www.7sim.com.au

PS. Email me if you would like a link to the Research Points aforementioned at Enquiries@7SIM.com.au

A few of the most common questions we get at Pranagy Unlimited LLC are:
* Is a virtual project management office right for my organization?
* What does my firm need to start a PMO?
* What are the benefits of a PMO?
* How does my company start building a project management organization?

Here are a few answers...

Where the virtual PMO works

Collaborative corporate cultures are well suited to the virtual project management organization. In mid-2000, The New York Times Co. launched a virtual project management organization (PMO) with a decidedly different approach than the centralized model. The first PMO was "centralized with an iron fist," says Vice President and CIO Michael Williams. " Every task was reported, which was fine for that exercise, but it really wouldn't work in our culture. After Y2K, we adapted a new PMO to our collaborative culture." The current virtual PMO offers project management guidelines via an intranet.

What you need to start a virtual PMO

The virtual PMO starts with :
1. A Project Management methodology - this is often a collection of documents to fill out and who to send them to, and it should be supported by...

2. A Project Management Office, which contains the following:
• Guiding standards
• Business-led Enterprise Architecture preferences
• Methodologies (workflows, best practices, understandings)
• Process designs (functions, processes and procedures)
• Enterprise-wide quality and process initiatives (Balanced Scorecard, CMM, 6Sigma, ITIL, PMBOK, etc)

Communication in a virtual PMO

The matrix below is based on a table from Mastering Virtual Teams (Duarte and Snyder, 2001), can assist in choosing the appropriate technology based upon the purpose of the communication needed. As Figure 1 shows, synchronous multi-media communication is most effective. The firm's staff may need to increase the use of electronic meeting system with audio/video and text and graphics to improve communication. One example of such a tool is WebEx. The firm may also want to consider expanding its use of instant message technology both internally, as well as externally.

Care should be taken when embracing an instant messaging communication tool. Workers that utilize instant messaging need to learn how to manage their time between their existing, familiar media, and this technology. One pitfall of instant messaging, if not addressed, is the potential for disruption. Instant message software often has settings to allow or disallow “pop-ups”, as well as setting the availability of status. Workers must learn how to set their status appropriately in order to effectively limit disruptions at times when their individual productivity would be negatively affected.

Figure 1: Communication Technology Effectiveness Matrix
Source: Duarte, Deborah L. and Snyder, Nancy Tennant (2001)

Benefits of a virtual PMO

Enterprise Level Benefits - The collaborative PMO offers benefits at the enterprise level, some of which include :
• Portfolio, Program and Project alignment
• Clear alignment of all project initiatives to business benefits
• Management processes for effectively identifying, assessing, selecting, and managing programs
• A ‘centralized’ view (a single view of activity, resource allocation, etc.) of all projects across all programs
• Operational visibility which makes it easier for management to see how resources are being deployed and utilized
• Pre-selecting which programs to target so the portfolio best matches the enterprise-resource-mix for maximum on-going yield to the business

System Level Benefits - A collaborative environment for programs and projects provides:
• Rationalized IS and IT architecture support costs
• Visibility of all projects across the business
• Consistent application of best-practice project management approach and techniques across the business
• An agile environment that continually captures information
• Effective resource utilization and skills visibility
• Reduced mail-server load
• Project activity, information and communications coordinated

Moving toward a virtual PMO

The objective would be to move to a fully collaborative environment so that there is a single source of project information across the enterprise.

Implementation steps

To implement a collaborative PMO a staged approach must be taken. The first stage has two objectives. The first objective is to conduct an analysis of the current state in order to assess project operation and methodologies.

This is combined with a secondary objective of communicating the business framework that the new environment will operate within.

The objectives are:

1. Analysis of your current methodology and its delivery mechanisms to understand and clarify potential impact

2. Communicating a business environment for collaboration framework
This is followed by a requirements analysis and a situational report that includes:
• Development of ROI
• Securing high-level management support and funding based on ROI
• Establishment of a stakeholder-led Project Review Committee

The virtual PMO framework is established within the context of portfolio, program and project management operations. When the virtual PMO framework is established and supported by collaboration it becomes an automated framework for the governance and operations management of programs and project management. An electronic ‘wrapper’ that delivers end user project services across the enterprise.

The collaborative business environment of the virtual PMO framework wrapper focuses on electronically delivering information, the workflows associated with program and project management and at a later stage, possibly automating the product/solution configuration processes. A collaborative business environment decreases politics, organizational resistance, and business silos.

Using a collaborative approach will also enable HR management services to be integrated into the process and indicate the operational, management and control mechanisms managing and delivering the outcomes of programs and projects which may be lacking, or are inconsistent across a number of areas of business operation.

The virtual PMO framework provides the organizational structure and technical enablers required to capture information effectively, continuously leverage knowledge in order to support increased economies of scale of operation and effectively manage business complexity.

Learn more about the virtual project management office at www.pranagy.com

References:

http://www.pmolink.com/articles/540.5106WhyYouNeedaPMO.pdf
Megan Santosus, Why You Need a Project Management Office; Jul. 1, 2003 Issue of CIO Magazine

BvW Global Pty Ltd and its Associated Partners Page 2 of 10; White Paper: Collaborative Project Management Office (PMO) New Ways of Thinking…

The project initiation phase is the critical phase within the project lifecycle. It is also called the project pre-planning phase and about stating the basic characteristics of the project. To successfully initiate a project, you need to which basics steps are required to carry out to develop a business case, undertake a feasibility study, develop a project charter and others.

Here are the basics steps of the project initiation phase:

Step #1 - Create Business Case - A business case document is the formal start of the project when the project sponsor (or the project initiator) gives a description of the business problem/opportunity. The project is to be initiated to address the problem or provide alternative solutions. The business case document will include the business problem and potential costs associated with the project implementation. 

Step #2 - Make Feasibility Study - A feasibility study is a research conducted to determine whether the project can be accomplished and to identify the likelihood of the alternative solutions. The feasibility study investigates whether the benefits stated in the business case can be delivered. It also depicts relationship of business costs with the project solutions.

Step 3 - Develop Project Charter - Once the business problem/opportunity and possible solutions have been identified, your next step is to develop a project charter which is the critical document of the initiation phase. The project charter essentially describes what your project sets out to solve the business problem and what the boundaries of the project will be. It specifies the project vision, goals & objectives, scope & boundaries, deliverables & expectations, project organization and an implementation plan.

Step 4 - Assign Project Management Team - The project charter is developed so you can proceed with identifying human resources required for delivering the project and achieving its goals. You will need to appoint the management team which will take the primary responsibility for the planning and implementation of your project. The Project Committee should be established and the project manager should be assigned. Then the project manager will work on recruiting the project team and making project assignments. Once the team is recruited and assignments are made, the project initiation phase is almost finished; only one step is ahead.

Step 5 - Perform Review - Your last step to take through the project initiation phase is about reviewing your project. A review stage should be conducted to ensure that the project is successfully initiated – this means all of the initiation activities are completed. Once the project is reviewed, the project planning will be.

1. The ultimate long-term relationship: Secure and maintain executive management support:
To gain and sustain project momentum, executives must support the automation of project and portfolio management processes that span multiple business units.

• Enterprise projects cross organizational boundaries and touch multiple levels within each business unit. To keep support from end users, it is critical to understand the value of working with the project and portfolio management (PPM) system. Executive support and reliance on data from PPM systems quickly and clearly communicates business value.
• The most successful customers invariably have had strong C-Level support and engagement. Conversely, those that do not have such support often experience implementations that tend to falter or take longer time to deliver value.

2. See the forest and the trees: Gain visibility into the entire corporate project portfolio
Real-time visibility helps you understand how project investments are aligned with corporate goals.
• Knowing which projects will add value to the business -- and which will not -- is a quick way to achieve rapid return on investment. The Gantry Group 2008 Benchmark Study of PPM users demonstrated that in just one year, firms that canceled non-strategic projects saved nearly eight percent of their annual IT budget.
• Visibility into the entire portfolio helps show project dependencies and adapts projects and resources when business conditions change. This ultimately keeps projects on time and on budget.

3. Standards are your friend: Implement and automate standard project methodologies
If your organization is going to rely on the information gathered by a PPM system, then likewise, you need to ensure that the data is reliable and credible.
• Implementing standard project methodologies will provide much needed consistency to data capture, aggregation and reporting.
• You can greatly increase project manager productivity by implementing standard project management practices across the organization. Doing so eliminates the need to manually aggregate information from multiple, disparate sources. The Gantry Group 2008 Benchmark Study of PPM users revealed that automating standard project and portfolio management practices decreased time spent generating status reports by more than 30 percent after just one year.

4. Keep it simple
Don’t over engineer your processes!
• Focus on automating process areas that will deliver the greatest initial value. Stay committed to process simplicity – because this focus will make it easier to implement and adopt a PPM system.
• You need early wins. If you over engineer your processes or try to push the organization past its maturity level, users will abandon. Again, stick to automating a process that will fix a known organizational pain point – in as few steps as possible.

5. Rise and shine: Measure and communicate (early and often)
Set benchmarks that will show your business executives that the solution is delivering benefits. Remember: you cannot over-communicate success in the early adoption stages.
• Determine a metric you’d like to improve. For example, pick improved project timeliness or increased project manager productivity – and make a point of capturing information so that you can report on it to management at intervals that make sense for you.
• Establish regular communications with your management team, using real-time reports and dashboards. Use the information as the basis for decision-making. Doing so will help build your credibility, while keeping people informed and discussions more focused on facts and less on emotion.

Over the weekend, I was discussing a couple projects with the highly esteemed Nola who happens to work with me over at CaseySoftware and a regular contributor to CodeSnipers. She was putting together an estimate for a company on a complete site redesign and functionality upgrade and was having problems putting together a solid estimate. In the meantime, I was in the thick of putting together a pair of RFP responses, so I thought I'd share my tactic for getting solid estimates:

Break everything down to the smallest steps/pieces you can.