RNC Global Projects

PROJECT MANAGEMENT VERSUS PROJECT GOVERNANCE

Tweet

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending an excellent presentation at the Sydney Chapter of the Project Management Institute.  Michael Knapp, an IT professional and PM specialist, presented an inspiring paper discussing the difference between management and governance of projects.*

This crystallised my thinking about how we might excel at delivering projects for our customers.  To me, it’s all about focus rather than activity.  Knapp went into much empirical data, research backed and supported information that demonstrated how doing the “right project” will always deliver greater results than doing “projects right”.

As I listened, my mind began to process the impact of Knapp’s research and how we, as project professionals, could do better.  Resource agencies will usually provide project managers to broadly fill a manpower need;  project managers who can complete time sheets and “tick boxes” on project gantt charts.

For many organisations, this is a desired outcome that delivers a pay cheque, some accolades and possibly some expected results, but key benefits of a successful or important strategic imperative are often missed.

You’ve won the battle, but unfortunately lost the war.

Governance rather than management poses key questions that should be considered and answered when scoping project or program resources including:

• What does project success look like?
• Is the project outcome strategically aligned with the company’s vision? and
• Will the business case metrics that originally funded the project actually be met?

Knapp also explored an often ignored aspect of “company maturity”, an interesting take on an organisation’s capability to deal with an experienced, long range perspective on projects and programs.  He ventured that the more mature an organisation is, the better able they are to realise long term goals, aspirations and also display the flexibility and intelligence to deal with project adversity and unforeseen circumstances.

So, are we doing the right projects as well as doing projects right??  Let’s talk some more.

 Author:  Ray Trevisan, Client Services, RNC Global Projects

*  Acknowledgement to Michael Knapp, Presentation “Optimising Project Success: The Missing Piece” – 17 August 2011, PMI Sydney www.pmisydney.org

 Portfolios Programs Projects – simply making them happen

SCRAPPY PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Tweet

I’ve been reading a book that I simply must recommend to you. Written by Kimberly Wiefling, ’Scrappy Project Management’  is one of the top ten PM books in the US, and it’s quite honestly the best book on the subject of PM that I’ve read in ages – and I read heaps of them!  

Wiefling specialises in breakthrough leadership and project management excellence on a global scale, and in ‘Scrappy Project Management’ we are taken on a fascinating journey through ‘the 12 predictable and avoidable pitfalls every project faces’. 

This book is for people who manage projects in the real world.  According to Wiefling, “Projects are messy, and if you want to succeed you need the tools to do it!”  Well, ‘Scrappy Project Management’  is filled with reminders of what we PMs do, why we do it and how it can all go wrong so easily.  There are literally hundreds of insightful gems and quotes that really challenge your thinking. 

Here are just a few of my favourite quotes to interest you to further reading…

“Running a project (or program) without first defining success is the equivalent of trying to steer a large boat by paddling with your hands; you’ll end up wherever the current takes you.”

“The major problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred” – George Bernard Shaw

“I’ve had it with PMs who think their entire job can be done from a keyboard.”

“You can con a sucker into committing to an impossible deadline; but you can’t con him into delivering it.”

“If you are absolutely dependent on your pay check to survive, then do yourself a favour and don’t be a project manager.”

“There is only one boss; the customer and he can fire everybody in the company form the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else” – Sam Walton

“When we see someone else fail, it’s easy to assume they are just stupid; but when we fail, it’s simply an honest mistake or sheer bad luck. They should have seen it coming, but we were understandably taken by surprise, an innocent victim of circumstance outside our control”.

I could go on and on, but I’d end up reproducing the entire book! My own copy is highlighted, underlined and totally dog eared!  It’s one of those books you can pick up again and again and each time you discover a completely new idea to ponder.

   Click here to get your copy. 

My favourite quote so far is, “No executive ever let their own rules stop them from doing what was in their own best interest.”

‘Scrappy Project Management is fun and worth the read… and I highly recommend it.

Happy reading!

Diane

IT PROJECT SUCCESS – THE IT LEADER’S PERSPECTIVE

Tweet

‘IT Project Success’ is a panel presentation and discussion forum to be held next month in Sydney. I’m delighted to be one of the presenters and invite you to register to attend this FREE event. Other speakers include Dr Alan Thorogood, Senior Visiting Fellow at the School of Strategy and Entrepreneurship; and Peter Grant from Intelligent Business Research Services.
The event is sponsored by Telstra and hosted by the University of South Australia’s Doctor of IT Management Program. It should be a lively evening, so don’t forget to register!

Please email moira.lawler@unisa.edu.auto register your attendance

Hope to see you there…

Diane

CHANGE – WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT AND HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

Hi,

Change. Yes, it’s time to discuss this frequently used term that can cause grown PMs to run for cover.   I prepared a presentation for a client to use with their management team (and yes, I slipped a couple of slides in there about RNC) to help explain and support the need to do things differently.  Their challenge is that they continue with group training, team building exercises, culture surveys, etc, and yet projects and business, as usual, struggle…  and change is stymied.  

The presentation clarified why the old approach doesn’t work and that you can’t cause change unless the individual feels okay about it.  It was a resounding success and we are now all focussing on the key building block of the organisation – the individual.

  View my CHANGE presentation here.

The A to Z of Q&As for PMOs

Program and Portfolio Management Offices (PMOs) arose in response to a problem with systemic project and program failure.

To the question “How do we improve project and program outcomes”?, we answered, “Improve governance, dictate the procedure of methodology and increase the frequency, content and nature of reporting”. Clearly this was logical, but……

Have we succeeded?  Many people argue that in fact the ‘overhead’ hasn’t helped at all.  The PMO in many cases is seen as a reporting overhead staffed by ‘police’ who care more about the reports and the paperwork than outcomes.

Executives feel good about all the information, safe in the knowledge that there is sufficient overview of their projects and programs. PMOs have become a safety blanket…until it all goes wrong.

Why are projects and programs still failing? Have we in fact asked and answered the right question?  Have we lost sight of the real reason we are here and the real opportunity to add and realise value?

Unless we are perceived to add value we will become a passing fad – and we have too much to offer to let that happen.

It’s not too late. In fact, there is a simple question we can ask that will refocus our thinking and our approach and help PMOs be seen as really adding value.

PMOs can achieve relevance, respect and acknowledged contribution. Who wants to be consigned to history like the quality guys? And who remembers knowledge management?  Let’s fight for relevance through contribution – you don’t have to fail.

Rise Of The Sponsor & Fall Of The PM

One of the things that has baffled me of late is the increasing demand PM’s are placing on sponsors. Yes, we’ve always needed sponsors and word travels really quickly when we find a good one.  read more

Multiple Suppliers – A Common Culture

A few years ago the conversation around cultures associated with multisourcing would not have arisen. Instead the conversation would have revolved around the policy of the day and its supporting reasons/rationalisations such as; cost saving; moving cost from the spreadsheet; increasing scalability; transfer of refresh responsibility; risk management; and, very occasionally, as a vehicle for changing culture.

But today, we’ve learnt that the very best intentions came come unstuck, or at best consume too much management time and effort. The only way to make it work is to get people from all parties to do things you want them to do, how, and when you want them done.

And that brings us to the culture. The question is – why do we look at culture? read more

Rocky Flats – A Lesson in Excellent Execution – Working in the ‘Abundance Gap’

Some Clearing / Cleansing Emotions

I just have to have a bleat about people who espouse project management approaches when in fact they ‘know nothing’ (said with Hogan’s Heroes accent).  I have decided once and for all that there is a massive difference project management and project execution.  Once upon a time, management could expect that a PM would deliver an outcome; now it seems all too often that PMs are simply mystified when, having done everything by the book, the project is a mess. Perhaps there’s something wrong with the book?

read more

Earned Value And Other Project Myths

A funny thing has happened to project management in the past few years.

What was once the province of people who were determined to deliver (and resulted in about 50% success) has become the province of people committed to algorithms and formulas (resulting in about 15 –25% success). 

read more

How To Choose A Project Manager…

People often ask me ‘how can I be sure a project manager will be good?”

Firstly I say there is no surety, we are dealing with people.  What I can tell you is how to get the very best chance that the project manager you choose will be successful. 

read more