When Leadership is Lacking
Posted by Brad Egeland
Leadership, not just project management, is critical on all projects. Whether it comes just from the project manager – where it must be prevalent – or from others on the project team … leadership is very important. The problem is, it is often lacking on some of the projects that need it the most.
The reasons for this are many, and are worth noting…. please read on…
There is a tendency to select people solely for their technical expertise. While expertise is important, it is a mistake to assume that expertise is equivalent to leadership. Leadership goes beyond technical prowess, increasingly recognized as subordinate to other qualities. Often, a person selected for his or her technical expertise relies on that quality at the expense of the project.
There is a failure to distinguish between project leadership and project management. Project management deals with the mechanics of managing a project, such as building a schedule; project leadership deals with much bigger issues—for example, ensuring that people focus on the vision.
There is a tendency to wear blinders. In a complex, constantly changing environment, many project managers seek security by grabbing on to a small piece rather than looking at the big picture. They may focus, for example, solely on technical issues or on the schedule at the expense of more important areas.
There is a tendency to be heroic. That is, they try to do everything themselves and be all things to all people. They eventually start to over control and in the end, as many experienced project managers know, control very little, even themselves. They fail, for example, to delegate.
Defining the Cloud for Our Projects
Posted by Brad Egeland
I was trying to wrap my head around this the other day. The cloud. THE cloud. The Cloud. What does that mean? And more importantly, what does it mean for our projects? Anything in the cloud is basically a software or service being used remotely meaning you’re not running that application or storing that data at your site. You’re using a free or paid service via the internet and you’re saving yourself potentially storage space, cost, energy usage, staff, etc.
There are concerns – yes, there are concerns. Main concern – security. Any time you let your data go to outer space there has to be that concern of who can access it and if I have a disaster how fast can I recover? Really, both of these questions have to be directed at whatever service you’re utilizing as part of your cloud service provider. And that needs to be spelled out up front. Ask the tough questions – because no one cares about your needs or your data more than you. If your third party cloud provider doesn’t have a good plan documented for your data’s security or how to get you back up and running quickly in the event of a disaster – run fast the other way and find another one. Don’t wait for the disaster to happen.
But back to my original question – what does the cloud mean right now for our projects? What do we – as project managers – need to know? What do we need to be offering in terms of cloud services to our clients? We’re all interested, right?
Here’s the thing. I sat at an Interop session a couple of months ago and listened to five executives from five different companies talk about their lessons learned and difficulties moving software and services to the cloud and a funny thing happened. I realized that not one of them really had the same interpretation of what the cloud meant. And they all had issues with their implementations – some issues that they were still reeling from and having issues with now months later.
Four Principles to Guide Project Managers – Part 2
Posted by Brad Egeland
In Part 2 of this topic we’ll look at the final two of four principles that I’ve selected to discuss for guiding project managers on their engagements. Again, it’s not an end-all list – there are tens if not hundreds of other principles that could be addressed. I would gladly welcome your feedback and input through comments on this article.
Anticipate the Problems that Will Inevitably Arise
Problems will arise on your projects. In the history of all projects, I doubt there has ever been a problem-free one – there are always at least minor issues that come to light requiring some change or action to keep the engagement on course.
The tighter your budget and time frames, or the more intricate the involvement of the project team, the greater the probability that problems will arise. While the uniqueness of your project may foreshadow the emergence of unforeseen problems, inevitably many of the problems that you will experience are somewhat predictable. These include, but are not limited to:
- Missing interim milestones
- Having resources taken away in mid-project
- Having one or more project team members who are not up to the tasks assigned
- Having the project objectives altered at some point
- Having phases of the schedule moved around resulting in changes to project resource requirements
- Falling behind schedule
- Running over budget
- Learning about a hidden project agenda halfway into the project
- Losing steam, motivation, or momentum
Be as Flexible as Possible
Dig deeply to find the facts in situations. If your project involves something that requires direct interaction with your company’s clients, and you erroneously believe that you know exactly what the clients want, you may be headed for major problems. Change is inevitable on the project – whether it’s a major change in direction or a small change in schedule or a minor requirement.
Four Principles to Guide Project Managers – Part 1
Posted by Brad Egeland
This Part 1 of a two-part article outlines the first two of four principles to guide you on your project management endeavors. It is not all encompassing, by any stretch of the imagination. And I would gladly welcome your feedback and input through comments on this article.
Be Conscious of What You are Doing
Luck should never be the plan for success as a project manager. Project success should not be accidental – at least not as an ongoing plan. It may work on short-term efforts or when you’re working alone. But it’s not a good plan for long-term undertakings or when you’re leading a project team.
A project, by definition, is something that has a unique aspect to it. Even if you are performing your tenth software implementation of something that is nearly identical to the previous nine, there are still going to be variables that make it different. The environment and IT infrastructure will mean performance variations that will need to be understood and handled, etc. Projects are difficult enough, leaving things to luck makes success that much more difficult to achieve. Plan well, create an effective plan, and utilize repeatable processes and reusable templates.
Invest Heavily in Front End Work
Do it right from the beginning. If you’re like me, you get a new piece of software or a new gadget of any type and the first thing you do is start to use it. Directions? Who needs ‘em?
When we kickoff projects, we need to have a different mindset. We need to get it right from the start. Invest in the upfront work. Don’t jump from handoff right into the project. Plan well up front.
Caution: Jumping in too quickly in project management is going to get you into big trouble in a hurry.
So You’re a New Project Manager – Here’s What to Expect
Posted by Brad Egeland
The common denominator among all successful project managers everywhere is the ability to develop a “whatever it takes” attitude. Here are some scenarios that can rise up to bite you in the … well … you know where. You’re the PM, you’ll have to deal with it, right? For example:
- Several of your project team members get pulled off the project to work for someone else in your organization. You will make do.
- You learn that an essential piece of equipment that was promised to you is two weeks late. You will improvise.
- You discover that several key assumptions you made during the project planning and early implementation phases turned out to be wildly off the mark. You will adjust.
- One-third of the way into the project a mini-crisis develops in your domestic life. You will get by.
- The customer has requested a major schedule adjustment affecting timing, resources assigned, and milestones because they want to re-arrange the delivery phases of the project. You adjust.
Caution: Chances are that you’re going to be wearing many hats, several of which you cannot anticipate at the start of a project.
Although the role and responsibility of a project manager may vary somewhat from project to project and from organization to organization, you may be called upon to perform one of these recurring duties and responsibilities:
- Draw up the project plan, possibly present and “sell” the project to those in authority.
- Interact with top management, line managers, project team members, supporting staff, and administrative staff.
- Procure project resources, allocate them to project staff, coordinate their use, ensure that they are being maintained in good working order, and surrender them upon project completion.
- Interact with outside vendors, clients, and other project managers and project staff within your organization. Read more »
