Managing Project Progress
1.1 Success Guidelines 2: Managing Project Progress
This book is concerned with managing projects at the higher level, so we focus on techniques for program managers and project portfolio managers.
1.1.1 Develop strong project management skills
If you are running a project team, the importance of having standards and methods around managing the different projects will be no surprise to you. It only takes a few days of trying to consolidate reports in different formats to realize the value of good, consistent reports that can be aggregated to give an overall view. This applies equally whether you are a program manager bringing together the subprojects into an integrated picture or a project portfolio manager required to manage diverse projects.
Chapter 7 gives some guidelines of two leading project methodologies: PRINCE2 and PMI's project processes. The thoughts in this chapter assume you have a good project methodology in place and are constantly striving to get the most out of it.
First, project managers must be trained in the project method used by your organization. When we poll senior managers, the vast majority are using some project methodology in their organizations. Interestingly, almost all of these organizations have adapted a standard framework to suit. If you have modified PRINCE2, for example, and you recruit a qualified PRINCE2 project manager, you may still need to give them a grounding in your particular methods, the report formats, frequency, how you manage risks, and so on.
Second, recognize that fully qualified project managers are no guarantee of successful project delivery. Project management is analogous to driving a car. Just because you have a driver's license does not make you a good driver. It takes experience as well. Figure 2 below shows our model of the key management skills for managing projects. These skills are represented in different forms in the different project methodologies, and many of the key disciplines of project management require advanced people management and analytical skills. As the leader of a project team, you will have a permanent responsibility for identifying problems and developing the skills of your team.
There is so much for a project manager to learn about project management techniques that it is difficult to know where to start. The following table has been put together by senior managers who have attended our leadership courses as a guide for what project managers should focus on.
Make a good plan. A good plan that everyone understands and agrees with is probably the most important advice. The plan must address the real priorities of what you are trying to achieve and have the necessary resources. There should be enough planning detail for it to be clear what is to be done but not so much that the planning needs to be recast every week. Don't assume that more tasks are better. Anyone can use the copy function in Microsoft Project!
Stay informed. Keep all of your communication routes open, and keep listening to the advice of others. In particular your champions will give you frequent feedback from the field as to how things are going, current issues, and potential future problems. Actively seek the advice of others, and adjust your plans accordingly. Keep everyone updated on progress and milestones that have been achieved.
Stay flexible. There is a helpful phrase used as a watchword in the military: "Indecision is the key to flexibility." It means don't rush to make decisions that you don't need to. A good example is procurement approvals. Your vendors will want you to buy early and in large quantity. Resist this pressure, and buy only what you need when you need it. Staying flexible may mean changing targets or reviewing project deadlines.
Keep to time. Don't delay deadlines unless you have to. It sends the wrong message, and people will use it as an easy way out of project difficulties. I remember interviewing a promising project manager who said he always delivered his projects on time. In reality it turned out that he kept all his project plans on his computer and restricted access to them. And any time things looked like they might slip, he just moved the end dates out. Simple!
Focus on benefits. Stay focused on what you are trying to achieve. Don't get distracted trying to achieve too many things at once. It is like carrying suitcases. It is easy to carry one or two at once. As soon as you try to carry four or five, it becomes impossible. Keep checking that the results are the right ones. When results have been achieved, make sure that they are recognized by senior management and that the team is properly congratulated and rewarded.
Look after your team all the time, and be on the lookout for how everyone is performing. Keep them all motivated, busy, and working together. Set up regular opportunities to share information, and keep celebrating success. Where possible, be on the lookout for good people who may want to join the project. Good teams attract good people, and good people make good teams.
Don't do everything yourself. To use a musical analogy, it is not possible for one person to play a symphony, however talented they are. Substantial projects need the combined efforts of many players. In any business project, many team members with different skills are needed to create the finished product. Your role is that of the conductor, recognizing and empathizing with what everyone needs to do. Doing the work of your team members (even if you think you are good at it) is highly counterproductive.
Handle conflicts early. As the metaphorical conductor, your job is to ensure that everything works in harmony. As the project progresses and the pressure increases, problems are increasingly likely to appear. Be on a constant lookout for problems, and catch them as early as possible. If there are personal disputes, speak to both parties individually before you bring them together. Telling people to "sort it out" or "just stop it" is an ineffective management approach in today's business world. It is important to identify whether a dispute has arisen out of personal differences or project differences. Seek to understand the basis of the real problem, and take steps to resolve the root cause.
1.1.2 Make them sweat the small stuff
Project managers are paid to sweat the small stuff. Their project plan needs to contain all the necessary tasks so there are no surprises along the way. Project managers should know where the critical path is and what the key dependencies are.
The most common way to present a list of tasks is the Gantt chart (as opposed to a network diagram or what used to be known as a PERT chart). The Gantt chart has the advantage of listing all the tasks. The duration of the task can be easily seen by the length of the task bar it represents on the Gantt chart.
Gantt charts are not so good at showing dependencies as often the dependency lines merge and overlap. In this case it helps to show a summary of the project in the network format too. The network format can be time-consuming to create but has immense advantages in showing the "shape" of the project and can identify problems that Gantt charts can't. It is highly recommended for project review meetings as it allows managers to quickly see at a high level what is going on with the project.
When it comes to detail, work breakdown structures may also help. The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tree structure that shows a subdivision of effort required to achieve an objective—for example, a program, project, and contract. The WBS may be hardware-, product-, service-, or process-oriented.[i]
A WBS can be developed by starting with the end objective and successively subdividing it into manageable components in terms of size, duration, and responsibility (e.g., systems, subsystems, components, tasks, subtasks, and work packages), which include all steps necessary to achieve the objective.
The work breakdown structure provides a common framework for the natural development of the overall planning and control of a project or program and is the basis for dividing work into definable increments from which the statement of work can be developed and technical, schedule, cost, and labor hour reporting can be established.
1.1.3 Keep a high-level overview for yourself
Rule number one: project reports must be useful and to the point. If you are running a team of project managers, you will be delighted that they are taking care of the detail. Even though the project managers deal with a lot of information, don't let them put the "monkey on your back"[ii] by involving you in their detail.
To avoid micromanaging it is all the more important that they provide the right information to assess progress. Have a standard format for project status reports. If you find yourself reading a lot of irrelevant (i.e., not interesting) information, then revise the format. Keep in mind that one size may not fit all. More complex projects require different reporting structures.
When it comes to reviewing project reports, take a look at the risk register that is presented. Good project managers should be able to identify and report just the top five to eight risks from the full risk register. Conversely, a project that is not being managed well can often be spotted by the fact that the project manager either reports all the risks, suggesting that he or she has no understanding of the relative importance of each one, or none at all.
1.1.4 Tips for managing costs, contracts, and suppliers
Project managers need to keep a tight rein on budgets. This usually means keeping a tight rein on suppliers, be they contractors or technology specialists, systems integrators, equipment suppliers, or developers.
One of the key lessons from our research and delegate feedback is to get the timing of purchasing right. It is better to approve purchases for delivery slightly ahead of when they are needed and avoid buying in large quantities until absolutely necessary. Set up project costs codes for each project, and manage supplier approvals carefully. Strike a good balance between putting the right checks in place to keep costs under control and slowing down project progress.
Give yourself as much time as possible when signing up vendor services to agree on contract terms. Include clauses that protect you from vendor problems with implementation and subsequent support. If a vendor senses that time is not on your side, they may use it to their advantage, persuading you to take on services before the contracts are fully signed. While there may be times when this is the only course of action, the recommendation is to start work on contracts at the earliest opportunity, make sure there is a team dedicated to the task, and keep competitive tension in the deal as long as possible.
High-quality suppliers can often help enormously with expertise, insights, and guidance on what is working and what isn't. Resist the temptation to confine them to the basement. Like any high-quality professional, they will work much better with a good working environment. Provide them with access to office facilities where they need it, but, at the same time, don't feel obliged to set aside free office space if they are not working full-time on the p
[i] For more information on Work Breakdown Structures, see the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK), published by the PMI.
[ii] "Who's got the monkey," Onckon and Wass, Harvard Business Review reprint 99609