PROJECT MANAGEMENT: STAIRWAY TO COMPETENCE

"Although I'm not sure about what the scope of the project would be, but I'm sure I want the project to be completed within 1 month for less than $2 million (when actually it would take at least 6 months and not less than $10 million)". Ever come across a project sponsor with such project deadline/requirement?? Bet most of you must be saying "That’s Business as Usual".

In today's competitive world, most of the project professionals are faced with the challenge of working in and/or with organizations that, although, do not understand even the basics of Project Management, expect its projects to progress without any time delays and cost overruns as per an infinite wish list that sponsors claim to be the project scope. Ask these sponsors for ideas of how to achieve the impossible, and they'll throw the "Nothing is Impossible" optimism on your face. Although some may agree with it, but Mathew would like to add to it and say, "Nothing is Impossible; especially for the person who doesn't have to do it". Don’t get Mathew wrong, he believes "Where there is a Will, there is a Way", but ask your sponsor to lead the way and bang comes the response, "Don’t ask me. I’m supposed to make my demands and you’re supposed to have the Will to figure out the Way”.

Challenges exist in all professions; however, the ones faced in the profession of Project Management can drive you off the cliff. But who said Project Management was for the feeble-hearted? As Project Management Professionals, our outlook should be to overcome all such challenges and yet achieve the agreed project targets. Thus, it becomes crucial for us to analyze the Project Management Competence of the organization in which we would be managing a project and then apply the ‘Horses For Courses’ rule to it. It’s like they say, "If you want to get somewhere, start by realizing where you are" and this forms the very foundation of what Mathew calls the “PROJECT MANAGEMENT: STAIRWAY TO COMPETENCE”.

According to Tom Hopkins (world-famous sales trainer), the 4 levels of competence (originated from Maslow's work) are as follows:

1. UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE (Don’t Know That We Don’t Know)

2. CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE (Know That We Don’t Know)

3. CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE (Know That We Know)

4. UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE (Don’t Know That We Know)

STAGE 1 - UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE: At this stage, the organizations understanding of Project Management is like Mathew's understanding of driving was, when he was a kid. Riding at the backseat of a car; with the wind on his face; enjoying the view; when all the while not realizing his inability/incompetence to drive a car. The phrase 'Ignorance is Bliss' should be the official punch line for this 1st stage. Organizations in this stage are UNCONSCIOUS (or ignorant) about its Project Management INCOMPETENCE. At this level organizations think Project Management is nothing but secretarial work and 'Project Manager' is a title given to glorified secretaries. Being absolutely LOST and UNAWARE of the subject matter, to a level of not even appreciating Project Management, are signs of organizations being in this 1st stage of Project Management Competence.

STAGE 2 - CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE: At this stage, organizations are like Mathew used to be when he hit his teenage, where his urge to impress girls (come on…we have all been there, done that) made him realize his incompetence in driving a car and thus started his eagerness to learn to drive a car. The 1st step to knowledge is the realization that 'we don’t know everything' (refer to Mathew’s post titled 3-STEP CIRCLE OF KNOWLEDGE). As they say, "the 1st step is always the hardest step to take". The willingness of the organization to take that hardest 1st step proves that they are in this 2nd stage because they become CONSCIOUS about their Project Management INCOMPETENCE. A sudden urge to become AWARE (for whatever reason) and a willingness to start SEARCHING for ways to gain Project Management Competence are signs of organizations being in this 2nd stage of Project Management Competence.

STAGE 3 - CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE: At this stage, organizations are like how Mathew's mother is while driving. Seated on the edge of the driving seat; head almost popping out of the windscreen; always conscious and extremely careful to ensure safe & competent driving. Although the 1st step to knowledge starts at the 2nd stage of competence, majority of time in achieving Project Management Mastery is spent in this 3rd stage. Project Management, like Quality Management, is a Culture. It’s not a kitchen appliance that can be heard-off one fine day; bought off-the-shelf from the market the other day and be expected to immediately work effectively in any situation. Organizations in this 3rd stage CONSCIOUSly start applying Project Management Practices to achieve the desired project objectives and as a result start to gain Project Management COMPETENCE. The LEARNING & application process being in full-throttle and the organization's increasing AWAREness about Project Management Practices are signs of organizations being in this 3rd stage of Project Management Competence.

STAGE 4 - UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE: At this stage, organizations are like Mathew is while driving nowadays. Having breakfast; speaking on the phone; sipping coffee; chatting with the fellow passenger; sometimes even getting ready for work and yet, unconsciously, able to steer the car safely to its destination (Warning: do not multi-task while driving. It could lead to fatal accidents). 'Only Practice Makes Perfect'. The practice that comes from the conscious application in the 3rd stage leads to perfection (Mastery) in Project Management in this 4th stage of 'Unconscious Competence'. At this stage, organizations have practiced Project Management for so long that they become UNCONSCIOUS about the COMPETENCE they have built in the field of Project Management. In other words, Project Management becomes second nature as a result of the dominant Project Management culture prevailing within the organization. Although the learning process never stops, the organization shows signs of being in this 4th stage of Project Management Competence when they have LEARNED all about Project Management and are totally AWARE about the subject matter even though it’s at an unconscious level.

As they say, excess of everything is bad. Once Project Management becomes second nature, it becomes a vicious circle that you can find hard to get out off. If you realize that in your personal life you are…

• imposing a time schedule to the time your wife spends at the beauty parlor (assuming you have enough 'wife management' skills to do that) and/or
• holding your son's pocket money to a cost baseline (because you know there's no way you can impose that restriction to your wife's expenses) and/or
• expecting the dinner table to be served with the agreed scope each meal, (assuming you're lucky enough to have a wife who can cook and does cook)

…then it’s time to take a break from Project Management and go on a vacation. The only irony being; to plan the vacation well, you'll have to fall back on your second nature i.e. Project Management Competence.

[Mathew@PM4K]

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PM4K DISCUSSION 003: TOP #1 CHALLENGE FACED DURING TEMENOS T24 IMPLEMENTATION

For all of us who have managed Temenos T24 implementation projects, we know about the challenges we've faced during implementation. Implementation challenges are not specific to T24 only; but all projects face minor/major challenge(s). The objective of this discussion is to focus on T24 implementation projects and understand, what in your opinion is the most recurring and fatal challenge that you've faced during your T24 implementation? Most importantly, how did you (your team) manage to overcome it? Let's continue Sharing & Learning.

 

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT CIRCLE OF KNOWLEDGE (VIDEO)

MATHEW CONGRATULATING THE OVERSEES FILIPINO CIVIL ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION (OFCEA) AT THEIR 10TH ANNUAL MEET IN ABU DHABI, UAE.

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PM BASICS 007: DECUPLE CONSTRAINTS

(: This PM4K post is dedicated to my beautiful girlfriend who celebrates her birthday today :)

Here's hoping that the PM BASICS series at PM4K is helping you acquaint yourself to the basic concepts of Project Management.

In the last PM BASICS post, we discussed the evolution of a project’s Triple Constraints to what PM4K called the Sextuple Constraints. In trying to keep up pace with the advancement in the profession of project management, it is only obvious to be on the look out for more advanced ways to manage projects. Continuing with the PM BASICS series, in this post we take a step further in this direction and discuss the advancement of the Sextuple Constraints to what PM4K refers to as the Decuple Constraints of a project.

* Scope/Quality: Refer to the PM4K post titled PM BASICS 006: SEXTUPLE CONSTRAINTS

* Time/Schedule: Refer to the PM4K post titled PM BASICS 006: SEXTUPLE CONSTRAINTS

* Cost/Resource: Refer to the PM4K post titled PM BASICS 006: SEXTUPLE CONSTRAINTS

* Communication: Communication is the lifeline of a project. The ability to manage it is the most important quality that the Project Manager should have, because almost 90% of a Project Managers time in a project should go in managing communications related to the project.

* Risk Management: Any uncertain event is a Risk. These could be Negative (Threats) or Positive (Opportunities) in nature. In simple words, as a Project Manager, it is your job to constantly be on the lookout for Threats & Opportunities in order to 'Minimize' the Threats & 'Maximize' the Opportunities.   

* Leadership: The most important resource to any project is its Human Resources. Thus, the capacity to lead a team to achieve the desired end result calls for Leadership capabilities.

* Tactical Thinking: The art and skill of employing the available means to accomplish an end result keeping in mind the environment around is Tactical Thinking. This is an indispensable quality that should be used by the Project Manager to steer his/her project through the various obstacles that it is bound to face on its way to successful implementation.

Hopefully as Project Managers we realize that, gone are the days when Project Management was only about managing the Triple Constraints. We are at a stage where the profession of project management demands continuous advancement to the way how projects are managed. This is where we hope that the Decuple Constraints gets you thinking and helps you keep focused on some of the critical aspects of project management.

 

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PM BASICS 006: SEXTUPLE CONSTRAINTS

Here's hoping that the PM BASICS series at PM4K is helping you acquaint yourself to the basic concepts of Project Management.

In the last PM BASICS post, we discussed the most basic version of the Project Triple Constraints i.e. Scope-Time-Cost. With the increase in project implementation complexities, even the Triple Constraints have evolved. Gone are the days when Project Management was only about managing the Triple Constraints. Continuing with the PM BASICS series, in this post we will take a look at the evolution of a project's Triple Constraints to what PM4K calls the Sextuple Constraints.

 

The Sextuple Constraints consists of:   

* Scope / Quality: Although monitoring 'what' will be done as part of the project scope is important; equally important is the quality of the output of the project. Delivering poor quality project scope is as unacceptable as not completing the project scope (if not worse).

* Time / Schedule: Although monitoring 'when' the project will start & finish is important; equally important is monitoring the schedule of how the project tasks will progress through the various stages. This enables the project managers to take corrective actions in case any critical task (that can delay the entire project) is delayed.

* Cost / Resource: Although monitoring 'how much' will be spent on the project is important; equally important is monitoring to ensure that the right resources are being used in the right manner to achieve the project objective.

Considering that the stakeholders have become more demanding and feel the need to be more involved in their respective projects, it will be true to say that the Triple Constraints of the project have evolved to become what PM4K refers to as the Sextuple Constraints. This means, more balls in the air for the project manager to juggle ;)

 

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PM BASICS 005: PROJECT TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS

Here's hoping that the PM BASICS series at PM4K is helping you acquaint yourself to the basic concepts of Project Management. Continuing with the PM BASICS series, in this post lets look at the most debated topic in the profession of Project Management; Project Triple Constraints.

These Triple Constraints are also commonly referred to as ‘The Iron Triangle’, ‘The Triple Triangle’ or ‘The Triple Trap’.

Every project is constrained in different ways. In its most basic form (which is what we will be covering in this post), it consists of Scope-Time-Cost which is commonly referred to as a project's Triple Constraints:

• Scope: What work will be done as part of the project? What unique product, service, or result does the customer or sponsor expect from the project?

• Time: How long will it take to complete the project? When will it start? When will it finish?

• Cost: What will it cost to complete the project? What is the project’s budget?

A change to any of the triple constraint, inadvertently has the potential to alter the other constraints. To balance out these, often competing, constraints throughout the project is one of the most challenging duties of a Project Manager. Which one of the 3 constraints, do you think is the most important of them? Although a typical answer to this question would be, "All are equally important"; this is definitely something we should discuss in detail in a PM4K Discussion soon.

 

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UN PROJECT MANAGER UN Superhéroe

“A PROJECT MANAGER IS A SUPER HERO!!!”

in SPANISH on

THINK LIKE A PROJECT MANAGER

Hace un par de semanas, nuestro colaborador y PMP Joaquim Ibáñez publicó un texto muy divertido sobre las semejanzas entre los directores de proyecto y los superhéroes. No es el único director de proyectos que ha visto esta relación. Anish Mathai, más conocido como Mathew (PM 4 Kids), también es autor de un post sobre el tema. Se trata de una simple coincidencia: como veréis, son artículos muy distintos. Pero ambos tienen en común la percepción de que, a veces, al Project Manager se le exigen muchas más competencias de las que cualquier ser humano puede ofrecer:

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING….

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TRAITS OF A ‘HALO EFFECT’ PROJECT MANAGER (006)

Here’s more from the ‘Halo Effect PM’ series at PM4K.

DISCLAIMER: The characters (aka Project Managers) in this post are fictitious & any resemblance to persons living or dead is pure coincidental.

Here’s 5 more ways to identify Project Managers that know squat (nothing) about Project Management:

26. when they simply decide to change the baseline every time before submitting a progress report to Senior Management.

27.  when they feel 'Planning' is equivalent to 'Blasphemy', because by planning one tries to foresee the future and take actions accordingly; which in their opinion is like playing God.

28. when the only strategy he/she thinks off is the strategy to CYA (Cover Your Ass).

29. when he/she delegates Stakeholder Management to others, just like Scope Definition or any other project task.

30.  when he/she thinks he/she does not need to work if his/her Business Analyst is managing Scope effectively, Cost Consultant is managing Cost effectively & Scheduling Professional is managing Time effectively.

Keep your eyes open. You'll spot one (Halo Effect Project Manager), when you see one ;)

 

[Mathew@PM4K]

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TRAITS OF A ‘HALO EFFECT’ PROJECT MANAGER (005)

Thanks for the many comments on the ‘Halo Effect PM’ series. We’ve received requests from many of the regular PM4K readers to post more to the  ‘Halo Effect PM’ series @ PM4K. So here goes. 

DISCLAIMER: The characters (aka Project Managers) in this post are fictitious & any resemblance to persons living or dead is pure coincidental.

Here’s 5 more ways to identify Project Managers that know squat (nothing) about Project Management:

21. when 'Progressive Elaboration' is a concept that is totally unheard off.

22.  when they're oblivious to the concept of 'Padding' and yet all that they ever end up do is Padding.

23. when 'Gold Plating' is their strategy for customer satisfaction (assuming they've heard the term 'Gold Plating').

24. when they are from the school of thought that believes, BAD NEWS should be held onto until it transforms itself into GOOD NEWS.

25.  when they believe that the only body part that the Senior Management have are 'Feet' because they're so used to kissing it.

Keep your eyes open. You'll spot one (Halo Effect Project Manager), when you see one ;)

 

[Mathew@PM4K]

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TRAITS OF A 'HALO EFFECT' PROJECT MANAGER (004)

Continuing with the ‘Halo Effect PM’ series @ PM4K, here’s 5 more ways to identify Project Managers that know squat (nothing) about Project Management:

16. 'BRUSH IT UNDER THE CARPET' seems to be his/her approach to finding and eliminating root causes of problems.

17. the only corrective action accordingly to him/her is to ask the management for more money/time.

18. the only stakeholder he/she knows should be kept happy is himself/herself.

19. majority of his/her attention and time goes in honing his/her 'BLAME GAME' skill. 

20. the only quality he/she expects a Project Manager to have is SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE.

Keep your eyes open. You'll spot one (Halo Effect Project Manager), when you see one ;)

[Mathew@PM4K]

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TRAITS OF A 'HALO EFFECT' PROJECT MANAGER (003)

Continuing with the ‘Halo Effect PM’ series @ PM4K, here’s 5 more ways to identify Project Managers that know squat (nothing) about Project Management:

11. he/she spends most of his/her time babysitting team members by constantly checking on them.

12. he/she blindly orders a 10% cut off any estimates provided.

13. he/she feels that the only human resource responsibility a Project Manager has is to give orders.

14. the only reward he/she can think off is for himself/herself.

15. according to him/her, Quality Management is only needed for manufacturing industries.

Keep your eyes open. You'll spot one (Halo Effect Project Manager), when you see one ;)

[Mathew@PM4K]

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SWEET DREAMS BUSINESS ANALYSTS

Ever come across business users who don't know what they are doing? Ever come across business users who don't know what they want? Ever wondered how someone copes up with all these knowledge gaps and yet manages one of the most important constraints/aspects of a Project i.e. SCOPE? Well maybe as a Project Manager you've never bothered (beyond ensuring you're Business Analyst is doing his/her job), but ask a Business Analyst and he/she would tell you about the nightmares they get thinking about the trauma they face while managing Project Scope. Here @ PM4K, Mathew would like to share with you the 'BUSINESS ANALYSIS MAGIC QUADRANT' that would surely make your Business Analyst's nights more DREAMY & less NIGHTMARISH ;) 

As you can see, the BUSINESS ANALYSIS MAGIC QUADRANT has 4 blocks across the 2 axis. On the ‘Y’ axis is the Current Situation (As-Is Situation) & on the ‘X’ axis is the Future Situation (To-Be Situation).

 

As the saying goes, ‘A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words’, so Mathew’s going to let the self-explanatory picture of the Magic Quadrant do all the talking on this post. Below is just the gyst of it all:

1. Result of ENTERPRISE ANALAYSIS = Awareness of CURRENT SITUATION (As-Is Situation)

• 1.1. HAVE (We have these features/functions in the existing system)
• 1.2. DON'T HAVE (We do NOT have these features/functions in the existing system)

2. Result of REQUIREMENTS GATHERING = Understanding of FUTURE SITUATION (To-Be Situation)

• 2.1. WANT (We want these features/functions in the new system)
• 2.2. DON'T WANT (We do NOT want these features/functions in the new system)

You can never consider your requirements complete until you answer the 4 A's of Business Analysis i.e. What to Affirm? What to Acquire? What to Abolish? What to Avoid? 

• If you HAVE it + You still WANT it = You AFFIRM such requirements
• If you DON’T HAVE + You WANT it = You ACQUIRE such requirements
• If you HAVE it + You DON'T WANT it = You ABOLISH such requirements
• If you DON’T HAVE + You DON'T WANT it = You AVOID such requirements

Mathew would like to conclude this post with 2 words to all the Business Analyst's out there; SWEET DREAMSSSSSSSS :)

 

[Mathew@PM4K]

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TRAITS OF A 'HALO EFFECT' PROJECT MANAGER (002)

Continuing with the ‘Halo Effect PM’ series @ PM4K, here’s 5 more ways to identify Project Managers that know squat (nothing) about Project Management:

6. when the only schedule tracking he/she does is tracking the time to go home.

7. when the approach followed by him/her in the event of a schedule/cost overrun is 'IGNORANCE IS BLISS'.

8. when the only question he has for the project team is "What is the percent complete of the task/project?"

9. when he/she believes that Management Plans are only created by Project Managers who have nothing better to do.

10. when the only meeting he knows to conduct is the 'GO AROUND THE ROOM' type status meetings.

Keep your eyes open. You'll spot one (Halo Effect Project Manager), when you see one ;)

[Mathew@PM4K]

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TRAITS OF A 'HALO EFFECT' PROJECT MANAGER (001)

Thanks to the unavoidable 'Halo Effect', more often than not, projects ends up getting assigned to a Project Manager incompetent enough to even plan a personal vacation successfully. Taking a break from the PM BASICS series at PM4K, Mathew presents to you TRAITS OF A 'HALO EFFECT' PROJECT MANAGER (001).

You know the Project Manager knows squat (nothing) about Project Management:

1. when he/she looks at 'Change' philosophically and says, "Lets not fight change. It’s the only thing constant".

2. when he/she sees a bar (Gantt) chart and thinks, "Ahhh my Project Management Plan is in place!!!".

3. when the only feedback he/she has about a WBS to his/her business analyst is, "Interesting!!! I didn't know you like drawing".

4. when he/she finds 'MOVING TARGETS' (unclear project scope) enjoyable enough to do anything to avoid it.

5. when the only cost tracking he/she does is tracking to ensure that his/her salary makes its way to the bank account.

Apologies for not sugar coating this post and letting it be direct and smack in the middle of the eye.

Keep your eyes open. You'll spot one (Halo Effect Project Manager), when you see one ;)

[Mathew@PM4K]

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PM BASICS 004: WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

Mathew would like to start this post hoping that the PM BASICS series at PM4K is helping you acquaint yourself to the concepts of Project Management. Continuing with the PM BASICS series at PM4K, in this post lets look at WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

Before we try to understand what Project Management is, lets be clear of what PROJECT MANAGEMENT is NOT. Project Management is NOT:

* a Rocket Science. In simple layman's language, Project Management is nothing but the application of common sense.

* a Freedom Struggle. Managing a project is not a do-or-die freedom struggle that needs to be won (successfully implemented) at all cost (Read more about it on Mathew's post titled PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS NOT A FREEDOM STRUGGLE).

* for the Feeble Hearted. Having said that, expecting a Project Manager to be a Super Hero is also not a valid expectation (Read more about it on Mathew's post titled A PROJECT MANAGER IS A SUPER-HERO!!!).

As per PMBoK, "Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools & techniques to project activities to meet the desired project requirements." The responsibility to achieve the desired project objectives is entrusted on the Project Manager. The Project Manager should be able to apply his and his team's talents, skills, knowledge, tools & techniques to those planned activities that he knows will help:

• Achieve the predefined project objectives.
• Balance the demands of the Triple Constraints (Scope, Cost & Time).
• Ensure a Satisfied Customer.

Similar to the effort of trying to keep the women in your life happy, Project Management also is a HIT-N-TRIAL process (Read more about the Secrets of Project Management on Mathew's post titled SECRET RECIPE FOR SUCCESSFUL PROJECT MANAGEMENT).

To sum it up; Project Management as a Profession is an Area of Specialization in itself and irrespective of the nature of the project, an organization’s requirement of a project manager should be for someone who understands and specializes in the profession of Project Management.

[Mathew@PM4K]

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PM BASICS 003: WHY DO PROJECTS?

If you're following the PM BASICS series at PM4K, by now you understand 'What is a Project?'. Hopefully by now you also know what is the difference between 'Project vs Operations' and how it fits in the overall organization? With this post lets try to answer a very important question; WHY DO PROJECTS?

There seems to be a myth that the sole objective of a project (no matter how concealed it may be) is to 'Make Money'. Lets be clear and clarify that THAT'S NOT TRUE. Money may be the by-product of a project, but should not be the sole objective of a project.

Organizations perform work to achieve a set of objectives. In this ever-evolving world, Projects have become an option of choice for going about achieving the set strategic objectives of the organization. The following are the list of strategic objectives that should be the fundamental objective(s) to initiate a project:

1. A Market Demand (e.g. A demand in the market for fuel efficient cars may encourage car manufacturers to kick off a project to design a new fuel efficient car. Such a project could be considered as an example of a project initiated due to a 'Market Demand'.)

2. An Organizational Need (e.g. A change in business strategy may lead a bank to change its core banking system. This change of software/system could be considered as an example of a project initiated due to an 'Organization Need'.)

3. A Customer Request (e.g. A customer/company may request an IT firm to develop a customized software that fulfils their unique business needs. Such a project could be considered as an example of a project initiated due to a 'Customer Request'.)

4. A Technological Advancement (Advancement in the web technology made it possible for banks to offer Online Banking services to its customers. Banks initiating projects to develop their own Online Banking Site could be considered an example of a project initiated due to a 'Technological Advancement'.)

5. A Legal Requirement (e.g. A mandate by the government to archive bank customer records for a minimum of 8 years could lead financial institutions to start a 'Document Archival System' project. Such a project could be considered as an example of a project initiated due to a 'Legal Requirement'.)

6. A Social Cause (e.g. A campaign kicked off to 'Spread AIDS Awareness', could be considered as an example of a project initiated for a 'Social Cause'.)

7. An Environmental Need (e.g. A 'Green City, Healthy City' project to make the city greener & healthier, could be considered as an example of a project initiated due to an 'Environmental Need'.)

 

A project is not limited to any one of the above mentioned objectives. Its acceptable for a project to have all of the above as its objectives, however, its not fine for a project to have none of the above objectives as its objective.

In short; no matter who, no matter which, no matter where, no matter when; if a project is undertaken then it has to be due to one of the above mentioned strategic organization objectives and that is what should be described & justified in the Project Charter (Business Case). Whether or not the Project Charter (Business Case) is prepared correctly is a topic that will be discussed altogether in a different PM4K post.

[Mathew@PM4K]

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PM4K DISCUSSION 002: TOP #1 CAUSE OF PROJECT FAILURE

From experience, the following are the TOP10 causes of Project failure that Mathew can think of (they are not in any kind of order):
#1. Lacking Sponsor's Involvement/Ownership
#2. Halo Effect (Wrong Man for the Job)
#3. Poor HR Management
#4. Poor/Inadequate Project Communications
#5. Ignoring Project Stakeholders
#6. Absence of Risk Management
#7. Scope Creep/Unrealistic Expectations
#8. Lack of Monitoring of Plan
#9. Absence of a Project Management Methodology
#10. Simply BAD LUCK :)

You may feel free to chose any of the above and/or add a cause from your own experience that you think is the most recurring reason for project failure.

Looking forward to sharing & learning.

[Mathew@PM4K]

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PM BASICS 002: PROJECT vs OPERATIONS

Now that we've been acquainted with what a project is (hopefully), lets look at its relationship with Operations. 1st of all, lets answer the question that many (those who are new to project management) may have. Is there a difference between Projects and Operations? YES. There is a big difference between them.

Before trying to understand the difference; lets understand what is 'Operations' & recap what is 'Project'.

• Operations: “An organizational function performing the Ongoing execution of activities that provide a Repetitive service and/or produce the same product."
• Project: “A Temporary endeavour undertaken to create a Unique result, service or product."

As you would notice, the definition of Operations is in stark difference with the definition of Project (as we discussed in Mathew's post titled  "PM BASICS: WHAT IS A PROJECT?"). Projects & Operations mainly differ in its characteristics because Operations are Ongoing & Repetitive whereas Projects are Temporary & Unique.

As per PMBoK; "The objectives of Projects & Operations are fundamentally different. The purpose of a Project is to attain its objective and then terminate. Conversely, the objective of an ongoing Operation is to sustain the business. Projects are different because it concludes when its specific objectives have been attained, whereas Operations adopt a new set of objectives and the work continues."

Having highlighted the difference, its very important to highlight the most important similarity between Operations & Projects. Both of them are (should be) undertaken keeping the best interest of the organization (that it falls under) in mind.  To simplify the relationship between Organization-Operations-Projects, imagine them as a big family where:

* Organization is the Parent

* Operations is the Responsible Elder Brother

* Project is the Flamboyant Younger Brother ;)

 

As long as all 3 of them live & work together in harmony, the family is bound to be successful in all its endeavours.

[Mathew@PM4K]

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PM BASICS 001: WHAT IS A PROJECT?

As a result of feedback received by PM4K followers across the growing PM4K online communities, Mathew will be starting a series of posts discussing the basics of Project Management (PM BASICS). Hope it'll be of help to all those looking to acquaint themselves to the world of Project Management.

The 1st post on the PM Basics series looks at the most basic question for all those new to Project Management. What is a Project?

As per PMBoK; "A Project is a Temporary endeavour undertaken to create a Unique product, service or result". The keywords here (as you would notice) are Temporary & Unique:

* Temporary because every project (to be classified as a project) needs to have a 'definitive start' & a 'definitive end'. These start & end dates may change (and in real life DO change), however, its presence is mandatory for a project. In other words, a Project cannot be an operational task with an open ended timeline.

* Unique because each project is expected to deliver a one-of-a-kind result. This result could be a service or product or anything else as long as its not repetitive in nature. Having said that, we must keep in mind that the presence of repetitive elements in the tasks carried out in the project does not change the fundamental uniqueness of the project.

Another fundamental characteristic of a project (apart from 'Temporary' & 'Unique') is Progressive Elaboration. As per PMBoK, "Progressive Elaboration means developing in steps, and continuing by increments". In simpler words, a project by definition does not expect everything to be 100% cast-in-stone & crystal clear right at the onset of the project. It is expected & acceptable for the project to have grey areas, however the project team is expected to be clear of exactly what needs to be done, before it is started to be done. This means plans & requirements can be gradually (progressively) enhanced (elaborated). Beware; Progressive Elaboration must not be confused with Scope Creep (see Mathew's post titled 'ARREST THAT SCOPE CREEP' to understand what is Scope Creep).

To sum it up; A project is a temporary endeavour (as long as it is legal) undertaken to create a unique result, that can be progressively elaborated to achieve its final objective.

Hope this short post acquaints you all to a phrase that is being used more often that ever before (PROJECT).

[Mathew@PM4K]

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PM4K DISCUSSION 001: TOP #1 QUALITY OF A PROJECT MANAGER

If you’ve read the posts on PM4K, you would know by now that the world expects an awful lot from a Project Manager. The worrying fact is that, organizations that do not understand and appreciate the value of the profession of Project Management, expect its Project Managers to be SUPER HEROS!!!!!!! (feel free to read the post titled "A PROJECT MANAGER IS A SUPER HERO!!!")

Agreed there are many things a Project Manager is expected to be good at, however, what is the ONE quality that should be made the 'BARE MINIMUM' eligibility requirement/quality for any Project Manager?

Mind you, this question may have no ONE correct answer. Each of us may have our own version of the correct answer based on our experience. Here at PM4K we would like to hear from you.

[Mathew@PM4K]

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