Project Management Three methods I learnt in Denmark

Sub-projects are smaller projects typically built into large projects eg. a Process Validation of a specific production equipment. Built on successfully implementing several sub-projects in Pharmaceutical, Medical Devices and Biopharmaceutical sectors I consistently apply three methods to all the projects I initiate. These are Know your stakeholders, Follow up and Writing minutes. I know that they optimize all my Validation projects regardless of the magnitude of the project or who the stakeholders are. If you adapt these methods you will see the systematic approach can improve the momentum of the tasks, and implementation time can be shorter than planned. Where did I learn this ? By attending several certified Project Manager courses, NO! but by working many years in Denmark.

A picture of a classic Danish work place surrounded with bicycles. 

I asked a clever highly successful Dane once what Project Management (PM) course one should take and this was his reply :-

“I do not know any course that has made a great Project Manager only the disciplines maintained before, during and after the projects.” This I pondered a long time and since then I have not taken any specific PM certified courses. I have researched, read and after several launched projects came to realize there are three repetitive methods worked for me - time and time again- and if not for me why not you? 

It′s quite normal in Denmark to have a drink in the afternoon sun in the summer after work. Many Danish companies sponsor a "Friday beer " as the last thing an employee can enjoy before the long anticipated weekend.

1. Know your stakeholders ♀? 

The most important thing about any project is who is involved. Without the people involved (until automation takes over one day…) no project runs. Know who is involved, where they work, who they refer to and their role in the project. Roles and responsibilities are paramount to have defined from the start otherwise you can run into all sorts of challenges. Keep track of it systematically. The scale of the project or number of stakeholders decides how I manage this. I would like to give two examples The 1st for less demanding resources I maintain an excel sheet with names, titles, role in project, contact detail and their manager (if relevant) to keep track. The 2nd and more resource demanding project I need to use other methods of knowing who is who and use tools like RACI, where one pencils out the Responsibles, the Accountable (s), the Contributors and those to be Informed. The most important thing is that YOU can use whatever "list" or "tool" after defining roles and responsibilities. This enables to smoothen communication efficiently to the right people at the right time. Plenty "tools" are available with a quick search in your friendly search engine.

Women all over the world can be challenging, but I must give credit to Danish women for not being pushovers and as a result gender equality in my opinion in Denmark is more advanced than other locations globally.  

2. Follow up ? 

Always follow up on all events. Keep a low-level detail of known tasks you know need to be done and assign task owners. They may all have your name on it - then it is much easier to follow up... The one time one does not follow up the challenges arise that can be roadblocks for most validation runs or other projects not even validation related. Recently I did not follow up all personnel to be involved in a Validation that it was communicated via a third party. The result being one validation participant changed his shift to allow for working the following evening. The only challenge was he did it a day too early !!! Conflicts arise as well under project executions and sometimes not following up adequately makes them grow and creates a hostile project environment. if actions are deterred due to a single person in a project the team must resolve this without focusing too much on the individual. Individual pointing the finger can be more damaging than giving value. Immediate intervention is necessary. Following up, identifying the reason behind why a single person is deterred and finding a common solution to be able to move forward can be difficult, but must be tackled today and not postponed to tommorrow if possible.

3.  Write minutes – Project Tracker ? ?

Minutes Of Meetings (MOM) should be recorded. Old pieces of paper (similar to this antique clock ) for registering meetings should not be used; rather archive MOM in an accessible electronic folder and mail file with link to folder to all relevant stakeholders as soon as possible after the meetings are hosted.

Minutes are more than likely the last thing on most Project Manager′s minds, but I see great value in them. Depending on the scale of the project, appropriate meetings should be hosted to maintain momentum and increase or decrease cadence of these meetings when appropriate. My approach as an example; when running Validation tests the cadence increases. Minutes Of Meeting should be recorded this I will cover in more detail below.

A meeting′s agenda should be forwarded prior to the meeting ( if possible and appropriate). This enables the participants to prepare with potential input and queries. I nearly always receive these from motivated stakeholders. Agenda should always be clear from the start of the meeting and if it is not clear ONE stakeholder (grumpy, and sometimes perceived as "pain in the butt") always will put up their hand and ask why am I here, what is the purpose? This can be negative for the host but confirms the point one needs to be clear with the agenda and what one hopes to come out of the meeting with. Agenda should make a throughway that initiates input to the meeting. It also should create actions to be taken, deals with roadblocks for the project and ensures escalation of any issues to the accountable (s). The output should be aligned with the agenda and a verbal summary can be good to ensure all are on the same page leaving the meeting. All these should be recorded in a summary Minutes Of Meeting.

Shortly after the meeting the MOM must be relayed to all the relevant stakeholders. The following meetings should start with the preceding meeting’s actions and their status. This is project tracking with minimum effort and great impact.

I have written this article based as mentioned on what I learnt in Denmark thanks to multiple projects I engaged in. I have been fortunate to spend the last 4 months in Italy and can see several different approaches. This I may describe in another article, but requires more insight and time. Furthermore I have discussed this practical approach and the certified PM approach with some certified Project Managers. No certification can be equal with experience, but the tools and network one gains from a PM certification are of course like all knowledge earned never a waste of time or investment.

This is my input to Project Management built on empirical projects where I have fallen into all the classical pit falls when not following these three methods. This can lead to forgetting or mixing peoples’ names, missing out on key project details due to not following up adequately and not having any documentation for planned tasks – therefore forgotten or neglected. I hope you can use it for any sub-project you are about to initiate or finish !!! Best of luck or “Held og lykke” as they say in Denmark

A must have at Copenhagen airport ... kaffe + kanelsnegle (Coffee & Danish pastry)

Little about me

I am an Irishman, qualified Chemical Engineer and emigrated to Denmark with my wife (a Dane, who I met beforehand) 15 years ago. I am passionate about Process Validation since 2006 which commenced when working on my internship where I was introduced to a Validation plan and what it entails. This ignited my interest in Validation and has been my specialism ever since – My life has had many challenges and milestones and I have met numerous people along this journey. I intend to share my passion and specialism and continue learning, follow industry trends and share my knowledge based on years of working and learning in this field.