The Criticality of Common, Concrete Language

I have recently joined a company that is in its Project Management infancy, and I have come on board to assist in creating a PMO with all of the bells and whistles that will work for the organization. The company works in providing online software programs, and has been experiencing explosive growth over the last few years, which has opened up the need for structured Project Management within the organization. Putting in this structure offers a huge opportunity for improvement, but realistically is an uphill battle climbing a very steep mountain. I am always glad to see when an organization... Read More»

"Manage That Pipeline!"

OK, so for those of you that manage the Project pipeline, I'm sure that many if not most of you have experienced those Charters that don't get approved, or die. The documentation gets completed, it goes to the powers that be, but somehow even though it doesn't get an OK2GO, it doesn't die either. It seems to perpetually stay on hold, but it keeps on getting brought up during the Steering Committee meetings, and six months or a year after its initial pitch, it is decided that the documentation should be reviewed, updated and reviewed again by the team for... Read More»

Lessons from Literature

As I was putting together materials about creating the project office, I was reminded of some powerful lessons that are universally applicable to most all work. An effective technique during implementation of any change initiative is to use metaphors or literary references that help people understand concepts. Metaphors also help in reframing attitudes. At the same time they help to tame the chaos that may be surrounding the project. A first step is to name it-to name the chaos or name the problem or name the person. This lesson comes across from the fox in Antoine de Saint Exupery's infamous... Read More»

Portfolio Management: Is Modern Management Practice Compatible?

I sat anxiously in the PMO Director's office waiting to present my proposal for an organizational portfolio management process implementation. I had spent the previous several months drafting the process and holding reviews with several key company stakeholders. My homework was done and I knew I would hit this one out of the park. The presentation spanned the next thirty minutes. What seemed like an eternity of silence had passed, but in reality was probably only 10 seconds, the PMO Director finally spoke his verdict. "Am I the only one that has major heartburn with this process," he stated. My... Read More»

Why Not Link Projects to Strategy?

Barriers to Implementation It is relatively easy to develop models for selecting portfolios of projects that are thorough and integrate objective and subjective data. When all is said and done, however, people may throw out the results and make a different decision. Sometimes the reason is a hunch, an instinct, or simply a desire to try something different. Sometimes people have a pet project and use the process to justify its existence, or a hidden agenda may be at play—perhaps the need to maneuver among colleagues, trading projects for favors. Politics at this stage cannot be ignored, nor are they... Read More»

It's a Small, Small World

I have conducted a significant amount of international business this year. While spanning the globe, I realize it is a small, small world. Countries, cultures and landscapes may differ, but project management challenges in business today seem eerily similar. Here are some common trends I observe: PMO's continue to get a bad rap. Project managers like to collect tools and templates with little thought to their value in supporting project needs or improve project practices. Project teams are difficult to manage. Project managers don't receive the respect they deserve. Executives still don't get it. Beginning today and throughout future blog... Read More»

Do I Have To?

As I child, how many times were you told to clean your room, pick up your toys, or empty the trash? I typically responded to parental requests with a whiny, "Do I have to?" I rebelled frequently; quick to resist the request than obediently comply. Introducing standardized project management practices can sometimes illicit a similar reaction. For many project managers, being asked to follow a common project management approach can produce a level of opposition eerily similar to our younger years; project managers can morph into mavericks before our very eyes when asked to comply with new project management requirements.... Read More»

How can one size fit all?

I've been discussing a lot of development philosophies lately, and I find it amazing how many people think that one methodology (theirs) is superior to all others in all situations. I agree that in the interest of efficiency and effectiveness there needs to be known structure throughout an organization, but is there really a methodology that is a "one size fits all"? I don't think there is. So, if we take a look at a number of Project methodologies (of which we have a quite few to choose from), let's consider Waterfall, Agile & RAD, Six Sigma, and JAD to... Read More»

The Amazing World of E-Mails

Isn't technology wonderful? I have a friend who works in Papua New Guinea and through the wonders of e-mail we have instant communication. I just type out a few words and hit send and within seconds he receives my musings. That is truly amazing. However, as you are well aware, there is a good side and a bad side to everything and e-mail is no different. We have all had times when 2 seconds after hitting the send button we have second thoughts about what we have sent and at the speed of light there is no getting it back.... Read More»

Five Fundamentals to Avoid Project Failure: Part 1 - Project Charter

In my last blog, I initiated a discussion about the fundamentals of project management that are most important for managing projects. To start off this week's discussion, here they are: 1) Project Charter 2) WBS 3) Critical Path 4) Control and Governance 5) Risk management It's important to also recognize and highlight that these are NOT the only fundamentals of project management. There are in fact numerous fundamentals. However, I want to look at some of the fundamentals in more detail, examine their importance in overall project management. In each of the following blogs, I will discuss one of these... Read More»