Overcoming Common Project Issues – Part 1
Posted by Brad Egeland
Even when you organize and lead your projects well, there are still some common problems in the project management world that you may continue to run into on your engagements. Learning how to effectively deal with these recurring issues will both improve yourself as an effective project manager and also increase your chances for project success.
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we’ll examine the first five of ten problems commonly experienced on projects.
#1 – The team doesn’t work well together
When you struggle to create a team but don’t succeed, first examine your own management style. Do you truly offer team members an opportunity to participate? Or do you discourage them from speaking out, offering ideas, or suggesting changes? Teams work only when you encourage participation and then follow up on it.
The problem may also be caused by excessive diversity in the team. If you have the chance to pick your own team, try to limit as much as you can the involvement of a large number of other departments. Projects often demand help from people other than those you supervise directly, but it is not always necessary to strive for participation beyond those resources you absolutely need.
#2 – Other managers resist having their employees recruited to your team
You face a formidable task just in getting cooperation from other department managers – no matter how diplomatically you approach them or how well you define and explain the project. To solve this problem, you will need to convince the other managers that their priorities will be respected.
#3 – Management skills that work in the department don’t seem to work on the project
Be aware of the important differences between departmental and project management. They often require different levels of supervision and leadership. In fact, skills that work for you as a department manager may interfere with team participation, so you will probably need to develop a completely different approach to supervising the project team.
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.
The Risks of Doing a Lot with a Little
Posted by Brad Egeland
In this economy we see it every day. Either a company is shaving workers off their workforce and continuing to operate as if nothing has happened or their not hiring new workers to handle increases in work. Either way, this concept of doing a lot more work with fewer workers – which is what both scenarios play out to be – is dangerous and needs to be looked at in further detail.
When I first came to Las Vegas as the Corporate IT Application Development Manager for one of the largest gaming organizations in the world I was surprised by the size and composition of their IT department. Small development staff, no real project management structure in place, and a wildcat IT director who decided he needed to tell me on my first day who he wanted to fire before I had a chance to even assess the team. I know, I should have taken off right there and headed back the Midwest, but I do like challenges.
To make a long story short, I could see the imminent merger with another casino and left prior to that actually happening. And the IT director got his just desserts when most of the IT staff of the purchased organization (my former company) was let go. He liked to brag about doing more with less, but what we had was an IT department that was beleaguered, overworked, beaten down, and scared for their jobs most of the time. It wasn’t something to be proud of, yet he was. It’s not the type of organization I like to run – that’s for sure.
When you try to do too much with too little in the name of cost savings or personal glory, you often risk the following:
- A frustrated, overworked staff.
- High staff turnover.
- Adding additional risks into your project that must be identified, analyzed, and mitigated or avoided.
- Decreased costs initially followed by increased costs and decreased profitability.
- Poor or incomplete output.
- An unusable final solution.
What If You’re Wrong?
Posted by Brad Egeland
You know the old saying… “never let them see you sweat.” It’s a classic line. It goes right along with “show no fear.” Or you could even say it’s close to the quote from Mythbuster’s Adam Savage who likes to regularly state, “I reject your reality and substitute my own.”
We’re taught by society that as a leader you must stay tough, stay on top, and always remain in control. We think that means to never appear weak or vulnerable. And that, in turn, translates into a perceived need to cover up mistakes, not admit to failures, and appear invincible. That’s what leadership is all about, right? Wrong.
I have to admit – I’m loosely borrowing the overall premise for this article from an article I just read in the June 15, 2010 edition of CIO magazine. The idea is that business leaders should embrace their mistakes. After reading it, I’m convinced that this translates well to the project management leader tasked with leading project resources and customers along the path to project success.
We’ve seen so many recent examples in the press of failed attempts to cover up bad information such as bank failures, product defects, and oil spills. Even though the cover-up can be bad, baring it all is not an easy thing to do. Three fears usually overtake us when faced with coming clean on failures: fear of losing a job, fear of being embarrassed, and fear of feeling inferior.
That last one is the one that grips us the most. As the project manager and prime decision maker on the engagement, admitting to mistakes may make us weak and cause team members and customers to second-guess us, right. Not likely. Don’t confuse vulnerability with weakness. Admitting a failure can immediately take the sting out of it and turn it into a powerful leadership tool for the project leader. By admitting failures and vulnerabilities, we can actually become more trusted partners sharing the project risks and tasks as we work toward shared end goals.
