That hardly sounds like a title for one of my light summertime columns, but I'm afraid it's all too appropriate for vacations. For high school graduation, we've taken my son, James, on the trip of his dreams. As I write this, we're heading for Oban, Scotland.
In planning the trip, like any good project, we assessed options, evaluated possibilities, and determined that when we got to Scotland, we would ultimately rent a car and drive into the Highlands. It would be my first time driving on the left side of the road.
When I picked up the car, I quickly realized a few things. For one, the driver's side is on the right-hand side. I had been braced for that and the implications of that risk. Second, it was a manual shift. While I learned to drive on a stick, it had been over twenty years since I had experienced that joy. Third, it was a diesel. That didn't seem like a risk consideration, until we hit the road.
For the first ten minutes, I didn't have any major problems, although the on-board navigation left something to be desired. It had a wee bit of a Scottish accent, which did nothing to make me more comfortable. Then, at a light, I slipped the clutch, stalling the car.
Note to non-diesel stick-shift drivers: You can't just pop the clutch for a restart on a diesel. You have to stop. Shut down the key. Restart. Listen to the cacophony of the honking behind you.
When we set out from Glasgow Airport, I had every confidence that I could do the "drive on the left side" thing. And when a couple of small curves were thrown my way on top of that, I really didn't doubt myself. Sure, I could drive a stick! Who cares if it's diesel? I really hadn't thought through the combined effect of all three at once.
On projects, we need to be realistic about the challenges we're facing. All too often, we are given projects that are daunting to begin with, and the customers introduce just one more set of challenges or one more set of considerations that weren't part of the original planning and/or pricing.
If I had it to do all over again, I'd go back to the rental counter and ask for an automatic, or a petrol-powered vehicle.
The PMBOK Guide 4th Edition makes the distinction from the previous edition that there are a host of constraints, not just the triple constraint of old. And as of this week, I'm a believer. We need to re-examine the prospects of our projects thoroughly before we "hit the road." How?
Document the Reality You Believe You'll Be Dealing With
It gets down to assumptions. These are not the assumptions like I assume the sun will come up tomorrow. These are assumptions like: I believe there will be a customer response within a week when I ask questions.
Obviously, we can't predict each and every one of the assumptions that will impact our projects, but we can recognize them when they come to pass, like my diesel, standard-transmission, right-handed car. Assumptions drive risk. So we need to stop, pause, go back to the customer and explain the implications, and then get affirmation that the environment will be as we thought, OR that we will get some special dispensation to deal with it.
Our problems don't surface when just one of those little things occurs during our projects, but when they're compounded. And if we can simply remember to be willing to acknowledge the "little things" one by one, we can preclude them from collectively turning into big things.
Of course, I still have to drive out of Glasgow today. I'll let you know how THAT goes.
Author's note: Made it to Oban alive and in one piece, despite the narrow roads along Loch Lomond. One more stretch (back to the airport), and all of my paranoia will have been in vain—God willing.
[Editor's note: At the time of publication, we had received word that Carl and family arrived at Heathrow in one piece. We hope they remembered which side of the road to use after landing.]