When your project starts, the whole world is at your fingertips. Everything is new and fresh…even your team of talented resources believe everything you say and accept all the tasks thrown their way. Because it’s a new project, full of optimism and hope. Fluffy…fluffy.
Now, fast-forward 6 months and look around. What happened? Your 6-lane interstate that you were driving on has become a 2-lane blacktop. You’re running dangerously close to the edge with every turn and every bump. You’re just one wrong move from completely losing control and you’re trying to figure out what happened to the slack time, the confidence, the enthusiasm and the teamwork.
Optimism Reigns Supreme
When you first start out on a new project that is new and fresh and all yours to either succeed with or sink like a rock, optimism reigns supreme. You can do anything with it – your thumbprint is all over it and it is your baby. The customer hangs on your every word. Your team is genuinely interested in everything you have to say. And the project budget….it’s wide open…there is so much money remaining…it’s virtually untouched, except all that money that was chewed up in the past two weeks first getting ready for and then flying to and conducting the kickoff meeting at the customer site. But other than that, it’s all there and ready to be gobbled up by resources anxiously waiting to work with you on a successful project and maximize their billable time.
The Honeymoon Is Over
Soon, though, reality sets in. It’s like when you’re newly married and you have all those wedding presents and money gifts and a good paycheck that was definitely enough for you and should be enough for the two of you. Eventually it hits you that what you thought was a surplus is really barely enough to get by…so you darn well better pay attention and manage it closely.
The same holds true with the projects we manage. Early on the project schedule is laid out before us mapping out every task showing how we’re going to complete the project on time eight months from now. The project buck of money is full to the brim and ready for resources and travel expenses to get charged to it. But remember, just because you have checks left in the checkbook doesn’t mean you still have money in the bank. That project money bucket can empty fast if you don’t manage it well. And the same holds true with the project schedule. First one task runs over its allotted timeframe. Then another one. Then a major one slides and suddenly you find yourself dialing the customer’s number to explain your eight-month project will now be a ten-month project and you’re not sure why.
Summary
As project managers, we have to be in control. Nothing can be left to chance. Those first few months – the honeymoon on a long-term project – are exciting and full of progress and successes. It’s the period near the end where issues arise, risks are realized, and glitches and scheduling conflicts happen that can derail what appeared to be a successful project so fast it will make your head spin.
How can we avoid this? The answer is we can never full avoid it. But aggressive preparation and planning can take us a long way in trying to avoid a negative outcome. Identify the issues, manage for the risks…and discuss them often, truly manage the budget as if it were your own money, and revise that project schedule with realistic information at every turn. Monitor it daily and manage it weekly. Success doesn’t happen by luck. The true road to project success is not paved in gold…there is a lot of carnage on that road. And it is narrow…not wide as it appears at the beginning of a project. Plan well and understand how things can impact your project’s chances for success and act accordingly.