Tag Archives: project management

Are your objectives SMART ? ………….

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smartteamIt is essential, when starting a project, that the team fully understands what the Objective is. This might sound obvious but is also something which is often overlooked. Sometimes the team is formed and the project kicked off without any clear statement about the Objective of the project. Consequently different Team members have different views on what the Objective is and this inevitably leads to unnecessary conflict and wasted effort.

The time to set Objectives is during the Storming phase of Team formation. During this period the Objective may be “kicked around” and debated until a consensus is found. This will happen at the beginning of the Norming phase. The team leader provides a pivotal role in agreeing objectives by setting the scene and putting things in context.

Objectives should be S.M.A.R.T:-

Specific.

Objectives need to be specific. They need to stipulate what is required, why it is required, when is it required & by whom.
The more Specific you can be about the Objective the greater your chance of success.

Measurable.

Objectives have to be measurable so you can track progress towards your goal. Establish suitable charts which track progress in a clear way.

Aggresive

Objectives MUST be Aggresive; not in a violent way (of course) but in a challenging way. They should be set such that they stretch the capabilities of the team in terms of performance and timescales.

Realistic.

Objectives MUST be Realistic. The setting of Objectives beyond the technical competence of the team or outside of its political remit will only lead to disappointment & poor morale. Also Objectives should not be too lax otherwise the Team will not be motivated and the outcome may not be favourable with external competitors.

Targets

Performance Objectives should be published & measured against targets.

SMART Objectives lead to SMART Performance !

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

www.projectsguru.co.uk

So what’s the plan..?………….

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project-management-team

Once the Project Objectives are defined the next stage is Project Planning.

The effort which is put into the project planning stage will determine how smoothly and effectively the project runs and the better the chance of the Objectives being delivered on time.

The project manager normally uses a tool such as Microsoft Project Manager and the most common form of layout is the Gannt chart. Take a look at this for a detailed explanation:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gannt_Chart

The project is broken down into a Work Breakdown Structure which lists the main elements of the project. Each element is then broken down into a number of tasks and sub-tasks. Some of these are interdependent and need to be linked i.e one task cannot be started until the other is completed.

Any tasks which can be done in parallel to others are arranged as such and the idea is that the overall project timescale is minimized taking into account the resource available. This takes a lot of effort and it is likely that a number of iterations will be required. It is vital that each person responsible for a particular task is aware of the plan and has “bought in to it” i.e they agree with the timescales and with their responsibility to deliver a particular task. All of this relies on the PM’s negotiating skills. The plan should be reviewed by peers and management to ensure that it is as representative as possible. It should also have a sponsor who is a senior manager in the organization in case of any resource conflicts.

The overall length of the project is determined by the CRITICAL PATH – the tasks which have to follow on from each other from the start of the project to the end. If any one of these interdependent tasks takes longer than planned the project will overrun. If any can be shortened the overall project timescales may be shortened or another parallel task may then become part of the CRITICAL PATH. This will be easier understood by using a tool such as Microsoft Project and altering the duration of some of the key tasks on the critical path.

Some Common mistakes when constructing project plans:-

• In an effort to get the project moving not enough effort is put into planning – proper planning will save a lot of wasted effort later on.

• Resource is allocated without agreement of the nominee or their manager – people need to “buy in” to the project timescales.

• Under commercial pressure timescales are agreed which are not viable – the project manager needs to be resilient and highlight the risks, escalating to senior management if necessary.

• Tasks are poorly defined and ambiguous – they need to be broken down into manageable chunks and to be specific.

• The project progresses but the plan is not updated on a regular basis leading to unpleasant shocks when delays are highlighted – the project plan must be updated regularly (at least weekly) and published widely.

A well defined and structured project plan will identify resource and timescales enabling tasks to be completed on time and the project objectives delivered to expectations.

Best laid plans of mice and men aft gan agley – Robert Burns.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

www.projectsguru.co.uk

Its a risky business…..

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transparentOnce the plan is in place & agreed the project then moves into the execution phase. This is when things really start happening and, if the planning has been done properly, things should proceed according to plan – right ?……Wrong !!

No matter how good the planning, in reality, things rarely proceed to plan. This is where the skills of the Project Manager come into play.

Each stage of the plan will have obstacles, some minor and some major, which need to be overcome in order for the plan to proceed. These obstacles may be referred to as RISKS and it is part of the Project Managers role to identify those risks, quantify them and mitigate against them.

It is useful to create a Risk Management log (normally in spreadsheet form) which should have the following headers as minimum:-

RISK , MITIGATION,  EXPIRY DATE,  SEVERITY,  TREND

Other factors may also be tracked but the principal is to log all the risks in severity order so that they may be prioritised and addressed accordingly. This should be done by the team and the results published to the wider business so that everyone is aware of the situation. The Risk log should be reviewed periodically and any new risks added. Any which are deemed closed will be marked as such.

So, by addressing the project risks in a structured way their impact may be minimized and the project kept on track.

If the Critical path is extended at any point the whole project delivery will be impacted so the structure of the plan should be reviewed to see if any tasks may be shortened to pull in the overall timescale.

If this is not possible then the end customer (external or internal) must be informed of the change to delivery date so that their expectations are not adverse to reality. This may cause some short term pain but it is always better to get the bad news out early if the alternatives have been exhausted.
Remember:-

all projects have risks, its how you manage them which counts.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

www.projectsguru.co.uk

Want performing ?…… you need storming…..

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argumentEver noticed that, in teams, there are always arguments & some individuals always seem to disagree with everyone else ?
This is perfectly normal and studies have shown that Teams go through a number of key phases. In fact, in order to operate effectively, successful teams MUST go through these key phases before they can function effectively. Bruce Tuckman described this phenomenon in 1965.

Forming – this is where the team is chosen and first comes together, there is little consensus and the Leader must set direction.

Storming – this phase may be very disconcerting to the leader if she is not aware of the Psychology at play. During this stage team members vie for positions, opinions will be strongly expressed, leadership may be challenged – expect a rocky ride. It is however ESSENTIAL that this phase of the process is negotiated and all views aired. The Team Leader MUST seek the opinion of less vocal members of the group who may have important points to raise but may find it less easy to come forward and express their view. This is when all the dirty linen is washed in public.

Norming – this phase is a successor to the first two. This is where a consensus is agreed. Everyone has had their say, got it off their chest and at this point OBJECTIVES should be set for the whole team. I will devote a separate topic to objective setting but they must be clearly expressed, written down and concise. The objectives will be born from the Storming process.

Performing – with a clear set of objectives in place around which the whole team agrees then real progress can be made. This is the performing stage for the team. This doesn’t mean that no one should disagree with anyone else but the whole team should have bought into the agreed objectives and should be heading in the same direction.

If the Storming phase is not allowed to run its course and all views aired then discontent will rumble on into the following phases & factions will form affecting the overall performance of the team.

Recognition of the Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing stages of Team performance allows the leader to control and direct the final outcome leading to a successful and productive team.

If you want Performing you’ve got to have Storming !!!!

chris@projectsguru.co.uk
www.projectsguru.co.uk

Fancy a change ?……….

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managingchange

If your Organization is embarking on a major change program the methods you adopt to bring about the change will determine the level of success achieved.

The change management process is well defined and comprises the following key stages:-

• Identify the key thing which needs changing – the change object.

• Identify the key reasons for change.

• Communicate the change.

• Force Field Analysis, identifying the forces for and against change.

• The change process.

• Freeze the change.

Chris@projectsguru.co.uk

www.projectsguru.co.uk

Effective Project Management

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Effective Project Management.

What is a Project ?

A project may be large or small, simple or complex but all projects share three common attributes:-

• Specific Outcomes – the project is set up to deliver some specific results or outputs.

• Defined Start & End dates – The project starts and finishes on pre-defined dates.

• Budget – the project has a pre-defined budget which it should not exceed

What is the Project Management process.

There are a multitude of definitions of the project management process but all of them share the attributes shown below:-

PMprocess

The Role of the Project Manager.

The role of the project manager is a challenging one. Often he or she will be coordinating the activities of technical highly skilled people and liaising with internal and external parties all critical to project delivery. Project Management is a highly skilled professional role and the Project Manager will normally need several years experience in order to be successful.

The role involves the key tasks of planning, organizing and controlling. In complex projects planning project tasks often involves the use of software programs such as Microsoft Project which enables the Project Manager to schedule hundreds of tasks and manipulate their interdependencies in order to reduce the overall timescale of the project.

Organizing involves dealing with people within the immediate project team as well as third parties internal and external to the wider organization.

Controlling involves monitoring and measuring outputs and exerting influence to achieve the desired outcomes.

In order to be effective the Project Manager needs information, communication and commitment.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

www.projectsguru.co.uk

Dad, why don’t we make anything anymore…

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ManufIts common knowledge in the U.K that manufacturing has declined over several years but the attached graphic illustrates just how serious that decline is compared to other leading nations. The situation after the credit crunch is likely to paint an even grimmer picture.

But why should anyone care ?   Does it reallly matter if we are making things or providing services instead ?

The fact that Japan, Germany, France and most leading nations are emerging from recession before the U.K may give some indication of that importance.

Manufacturing provides highly skilled jobs which are well paid. This leads to more purchasing power for the economy as a whole.

Also, for every job in manufacturing another 10 may be created in support functions and in the supply chain.

But, can we still afford to manufacture in the U.K ?

Anyone who has done a Business Plan for an engineering project should have realised that, when considering modern manufacturing equipment, direct labour cost is virually insignificant. What has a massive effect is the COST OF CAPITAL and therein lies the biggest clue to our problems.

If we want to prosper in the U.K with a fare distribution of wealth and an effective social care structure we need a vibrant, mixed economy of which manufacturing is a major key component.

This can only happen if Goverment has an effective manufacturing strategy with a good supply of reasonably priced Capital investment.

That is the challenge for Government of whatever persuassion.

chris@amberhill.biz

Outsourcing is not an easy answer…

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SPA032

There is little doubt that outsourcing, when done correctly, can save money and inprove service but there are a number of things you need to be aware of when considering outsourcing:-

1) Product Quality – there are many in-house practices which are not documented which contribute to product quality. If  Product manufacture is outsourced these checks and balances will no longer be present and product quality will be adversely affected. It simply isn’t possible to document everything.

2) Hidden Cost – whereas unit cost will be cheaper (otherwise why do it) the overhead cost of managing and monitoring the Outsource supplier may be greater than anticipated, this needs to be closely monitored and managed.

3) Loss of I.P.R – It doesn’t matter what legal documents you sign some of your Intellectual property will be lost to the Outsource supplier and even end up in the hands of your competitors. You need to be aware of this.

4) Project Timescales –  Early Projects will suffer unplanned delays, this is an inevitable part of the learning curve.

5) Cultural Differences – these should not be underestimated and, if not clearly understood, will lead to confusion and misunderstanding.

Managing Ousource Projects requires experience and skill. You should seriously consider engaging an Outsourcing expert particularly in the early stages of the Project.

chris@amberhill.biz

A light at the end of the tunnel….

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…but it turns out to be a trains headlight !!!

projectsTodays U.K  GDP figures for July to September turned out to be grim news, with growth of 0.2% widely expected the actual figure was MINUS 0.4% !!! and now we are officially in the longest recession since records began.

So what can your company do to ensure survival:-

1) Review your costs on a regular basis – regular monitoring keeps everyone on their toes.

2) Introduce a regime whereby ALL purchase requisitions have to be approved by a Director. –  Its amazing how this can reduce unnecessary expenditure.

3) Get your costs scrutinized by an extenal body, its surprising what a fresh pair of eyes can see and the savings can far outweigh any consultancy fee.

4) If you are not already doing so consider outsourcing some of your key activities – but make sure you get professional outsourcing advice. The savings can be tremendous and preserve jobs in the long term.

5) If you need extra resource consider hiring interims or contractors, their contribution can have a massive impact for relatively litle cost.

Hopefully the Q4 data will be positive and we can all look forward to several years growth and prosperity.

Cost cutting is not enough…….

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AMBERHILL-LOGO-THUMBThe response of most companies to the current recession has been a round of savage cost cutting in the form of job loses, wage freezes, caps on pay etc etc

Of course this is understandable given the size of the slump following the global financial crisis but any company which believes that cost cutting alone will enable them to survive in the long term is sadly misguided.

The only way to grow is by introducing innovative products and services with real customer demand that beat the competition.

Companies that rely on cost cutting alone and who hope to deliver the same old same old will whither and die. The insolvency graveyard is full of companies which lacked the vision to change and, like a dinosaur which could not adapt to changing times, ultimately ceased to exist.

Some of the best examples of innovation can be seen in the Great Depression of the 1930’s. DuPont invested heavily in Research & Development. By the late 1930’s 40% of its sales were from products that were less than a decade old, including Nylon & synthetic rubber.

Procter & Gamble invested so heavily in Radio advertising it invented a new art form – The Soap Opera.

In the current resession Asda is building 14 new stores & hiring 7000 new workers. PepsiCo has taken direct control of two of its bottling plants at a cost of $6 billion.

Despite seeing it’s revenues fall by 23% in Q4 2008 compared to Q4 2007 p4Intel is continuing to invest heavily in innovation.

Cisco is buying up start-ups left right and centre.

P&G is undergoing its biggest expansion is 170 years opening 19 new factories world wide.

Innovation is the only answer for long term growth.

chris@amberhill.biz