Archive for the ‘Project Mgmt’ Category

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5x Project Manager Productivity

April 5, 2008

I recently read an interesting blog post by Steve McConnell on the question of whether the Chief Programmer Team model makes sense if your Chief Programmer isn’t 10x more productive than the average programmer. In the comments, someone suggested you’re better off putting the best programmers in a lead and coaching role for the good programmers. I think the same is true for project managers.

You can achieve greater overall results if you put your best project managers in a lead and coaching role for the good project managers. A typical great project manager may be able to successfully manage 2-3 challenging projects simultaneously. If you put that same great project manager in a lead and coaching role for 5-10 good project managers, they can spread their time, expertise, and experience across 2x-5x more projects.

My experience has been that the best managers of project managers were previously great project managers themselves. They are able to achieve greater results with a team of good project managers than a manager who was previously a poor to good project manager or not a project manager at all.

This helps to make the case for pooling all project managers in a Project Management Office or Center of Excellence and matrix them out to the Business Unit IT groups. The key is to promote the best project managers into manager roles within the PMO/CoE organizations. 

Bottom Line: All too often, the great project managers don’t get promoted into manager roles as they are too valuable managing projects. The reality is that they would be 2x-5x more valuable leading and coaching 5-10 good project managers.

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One-Page Executive Presentations

March 31, 2008

The pursuit of simplicity is something I try to incorporate into all aspects of my life, especially in business. Here’s one of my favorite quotes on the topic:

“Insecure managers create complexity. Frightened, nervous managers use thick, convoluted planning books and busy slides filled with everything they’ve known since childhood. Real leaders don’t need clutter. People must have the self-confidence to be clear, precise, to be sure that every person in their organization – highest to lowest – understands what the business is trying to achieve. But it’s not easy. You can’t believe how hard it is for people to be simple, how much they fear being simple. They worry that if they’re simple, people will think they’re simple-minded. In reality, of course, it’s just the reverse. Clear, tough-minded people are the most simple.” – Jack Welch, interviewed by Harvard Business Journal

Throughout my business career, I’ve had numerous opportunities to present a deal summary or program update to a steering committee or executive sponsor. While most of my peers would present 20-40 PowerPoint slides with impressive graphics and loads of information, I set myself apart by bringing one sheet of paper in memo format. No graphics, no unnecessary information. Just the relevant information.

I was lucky enough to have a boss early in my career who said “first, don’t come into my office unless you can tell me 1) what are the facts, 2) what do they mean, and 3) what do we do. Second, if you can’t fit it on 1-2 pages, you haven’t thought about it enough.” I took this to heart and have applied it since.

Here’s what I have found. Initially, executives would challenge facts and assumptions on my one sheet of paper. I would always have additional information with me to back up my claims and recommendations. Over time, they realized I had my act together and stopped challenging the content and started focusing on the decision at hand and my recommendation. Additionally, executives don’t have time to read 20-40 page presentations. They want you to get to the point and keep the conversation focused on the important items to be discussed and decisions to be made. They will appreciate it when you value their time and focus the time on the high value topics.

If you haven’t taken this approach, give it a shot and see if you get similar results. If anything, it will set you apart from the crowd of paper-pushers.

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Why PMO’s Fail

March 28, 2008

There is a way of doing things and a way of getting things done and they’re not always the same. Most organizations of size have a Project Management Office (PMO) charged with defining processes and best practices (the way of doing things). These organizations typically sell the processes to a CIO to get executive-level support and then use that support as their stick to make sure the processes are followed. These people are often referred to as the PMO Cops by project managers.

So what’s wrong with this picture? The problem is that PMO’s are often staffed with process types who don’t have significant experience delivering projects. If they did, they wouldn’t be in a PMO role. Organizations can’t afford to have their best project managers doing process work. They need them delivering results to the business. Since the PMO team often lacks experience, they don’t receive the respect of the experienced project managers. This causes the experienced project managers to resent the PMO (”who are they to tell me how to manage a project”). This arrangement is common and is doomed to fail from the outset.

Some PMO’s try to overcome their lack of experience by hiring consultants to provide expertise and industry best practices. The problem with this approach is that every organization has a different culture and political climate. Consultants will not have the experience delivering projects within the organization so the industry best practice may not be the best practice for the organization. Once again, the experienced project managers will recognize this and resent the PMO for having consultant “tell them how to manage a project”.

Other PMO’s try to pull their experienced project managers into an advisory committee to review the PMO-generated processes and provide feedback. This often fails because the experienced project managers get frustrated having to keep explaining things over and over to the process types. They don’t typically have time to waste on this. So they start skipping the meetings. The other challenge is that what works for one project manager may not work for another project manager. Project managers have different styles and typically find a way to become successful with their own unique approach(es).

What’s the solution? My recommendation is to refocus the PMO’s role on the following:

  • Target Inexperienced Project Managers: Provide processes, coaching, and mentoring services to the inexperienced project managers. They’re the ones who need help. Experienced project managers don’t need a prescribed process. Leave them alone and let them do what they do best. They know from experience what needs to be done and to what extent (the way of getting things done). They also know where they can cut corners. This can only be determined based on experience. So for an inexperience project manager, it’s a good idea to have them go through the whole process without cutting corners. Over time, they will develop a sense of what’s critical and what’s overkill for a given project.
  • Apprenticeships: Place inexperienced project managers in a Project Office under an experienced project manager. Let them do the busy work for the experience project manager (example: manage the project schedule, change management process, etc…). This will be a win-win for both project managers. The experienced project manager will free up time to focus on high-value activities. The inexperience project manager will learn by watching the experienced project manager in action.
  • Project Audits: Setup a peer review process whereby the experienced project managers conduct project audits on the inexperienced project managers. Most experienced project managers would be happy to mentor the rookies. This will work even better if developing other project managers is part of the senior project manager’s annual review. Developing people is a requirement for moving up the leadership ladder and this can be a great way for a project manager to demonstrate that skill set.
  • Training: Bring project management experts in-house to provide training to the project managers. Or, encourage the experienced project managers to conduct the training programs.
  • PMIS: Implement Project Management Information Systems (PMIS). The key here is to get the experienced project managers involved in selecting the systems. Also, focus on tools that will help project managers become more efficient and not ones that will make their jobs more difficult. The premium is often placed on controls by management. Controls slow a project down so it’s important to prioritize the key metrics and milestones that need to be tracked and reported on.

Focusing your PMO on these five activities will provide value where it is needed most: developing the inexperienced project managers. Additionally, it will leverage the experienced project manager’s experience instead of trying to change the way they manage projects.

Bottom line: focus the PMO on developing the inexperienced project managers and let the experienced project managers continue to do what they do best: deliver results to the business.

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PM Evaluation

January 15, 2008

Over the past 16 years, I’ve had the opportunity to interview for project manager roles, be evaluated as a project manager, hire project managers, evaluate project managers, and coach and mentor project managers. Through this experience, I’ve learned that it is very difficult to identify a great project manager without first seeing them in action. I’ve read hundreds of resumes that had all the right titles, big name companies, and marketable projects only to be let down during the interview. I would find out that the candidate wasn’t the lead PM, didn’t manage the project end-to-end, or wasn’t really in charge of driving the project and making it a success.

So how does one size up a project manager? I’ve found it helpful to focus on a project manager who is balanced in experience, knowledge, and soft skills. It takes knowledge to have the right tools to manage a project, it takes experience to know which tools to use, when to use them, and to what extent, and it takes soft skills to navigate a project through a corporate bureaucracy. Here’s the list I like to use when evaluating or coaching a project manager:

PM Experience

Some people just focus on the project manager title and number of years with that title. I don’t find either to be relevant without knowing more about the projects. Here is a list of things to consider when evaluating project manager experience:

  • Extent of Experience: Number of years in a PM role, number of projects managed, size of company, and status of PM (employee or consultant).
  • Scope of Experience: Experience in the lead PM role of a project. Experience managing projects through the full project life-cycle.
  • Size of Projects: Size of project in terms of budget, team members, and vendors.
  • Complexity of Projects: Complexity of a project can be in the form of environmental or organizational complexity, complexity of the product or product integration, or complexity due to project dependencies, risks, or issues.
  • Types of Projects: Types of projects (ex: software development, systems integration, vendor selection, process improvement, technology deployment, etc…).

PM Knowledge

I have met some really great project managers in my career who didn’t know very much about project management. They were successful based solely on their personality and soft skills. With that said, having a large toolbox of skills and techniques can be very valuable to a project manager, especially as the size, complexity, and number of projects being managed increases. Here are some categories for evaluating project manager knowledge:

  • PMO: Knowledge of the concepts, processes, and tools commonly used to improve an organization’s project management capability via a PMO.
  • Portfolio Management: Knowledge of the concepts, processes, and tools commonly used to align programs and projects with business strategy and objectives via portfolio management.
  • Program Management: Knowledge of the concepts, processes, and tools commonly used to manage a collection of projects as a program.
  • Project Management: Knowledge of the concepts, processes, and tools commonly used to initiate, plan, execute, control, and close a project.
  • Formal Education: Project management training programs or college courses.
  • Certifications: PMP or other project management certifications.

PM Character

And finally, it is very rare for a project manager to become successful without developing outstanding soft skills. How many successful project managers do you know who have zero communications skills or confidence? I’m betting not many. Here are some categories of soft skills that are important for success in project management:

  • Ethics & Integrity: Gains the trust of leadership, stakeholders, peers, and team members.
  • Composure: Able to maintain composure and perspective while leading teams through tough situations. When a project is in a state of chaos, the PM keeps the team focused and moving forward.
  • Dealing with Ambiguity: Able to successfully function during times of uncertainty and changing priorities. Able to lead innovative projects that don’t have a clear roadmap to rely on for guidance.
  • Relationships: Able to build strong relationships with key individuals/allies throughout the organization.
  • Political Savvy: Able to recognize, understand, and maneuver a project through corporate bureaucracy and individual politics.
  • Results Orientation: Able to drive a team to overcome obstacles and achieve results. This is especially important during the last 5% of a project.
  • Communication: Adapts communication style as appropriate for the audience. Able to speak confidently in front of large groups. Good listening skills.
  • Confidence: Doesn’t need to sell anything. Able to make decisions and move forward without having to ask for permission. Has a sense for when it’s time to escalate a decision.

How do you rate in these categories as a project manager? This list should help you identify your strengths and weaknesses so that you can develop a game plan for becoming a more balanced project manager. If you manage project managers, how does your team rate using these categories? How can you use this list as a tool to develop more balanced project managers?

Copyright © Allen Eskelin, All Rights Reserved

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