My Project Management Zen Moment

The view from Magic Island on the island of Oahu.

Project Managers need to get out of the office and find a place to refresh and have their zen moment to find the elusive pieces of the puzzle that their project is missing. The Pacific Ocean is my favorite place to have my zen moments when I need to find a solution for a project. 

Find your favorite zen moment place where you live. Just clear your mind and relax.

My Kanban Board

Sample Kanban Board

The Daily Kanban Board

Capture daily project activities of all your projects on a spreadsheet. Use the Kanban Board spreadsheet to make important project notes. The Kanban Board notes will be used to update your MS Project plans or other project tracking software. Keep it very simple with three columns consisting of To Do, In Progress, and Done. Create a daily tab on the spreadsheet carrying forward outstanding activities on the new Kanban Board spreadsheet tab. The tabs come in real handy as a source of historical activities on the projects.

Kanban Board at a Glance

Having a visual view of all your projects on a spreadsheet Kanban Board style is very useful to help keep you on top of everything.

Updating Project Plans

Review the daily Kanban Board at the end of the day. Update your projects plans with the final project activity notes for the day. Updating your project plans throughout day to keep it fresh is good, but there are days that it's better left untouched till the dust settles at the end of the day.

Sample Kanban Board Spreadsheet

This is an actual snapshot of my Kanban Board spreadsheet that I use. You need to enlarge it to see it better. 

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in May 2018)

Project Management the Kaizen way

Today's Project Manager is faced with many challenges to deliver projects on time within the budget. They need to work smart with so much responsibility on their shoulders. Do they have time to get involved in continuous improvement? Yes.

The open minded Project Manager can use Kaizen to bring additional value to Project Management. What is Kaizen? It is a Japanese word. KAI = CHANGE and ZEN = GOOD, so Kaizen =  continuous improvement. Never be satisfied with a process or procedure. Always be on the lookout for opportunities to make improvements, whether it's a suggestions for the organization or the way you manage your projects. Make changes with an incremental approach to gradually yield results immediately rather than going for it all at one time. Just keep your goals on the radar and be patient while you work towards the goals. Quality outcomes is the reward.

Goals have been achieved, but we are never done with continuous improvement. There is always opportunities to make something better. Never be satisfied, always be hungry to make something better one day at a time. Project Managers get a good view of what is going on in the organization, so they need to speak up when they see something that could be improved and they also need to keep tuning their tools of the trade to operate efficiently.

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in June 2018)

Waterfall or Agile, that is the Question

The dilemma of Waterfall or Agile.

Organizations should never declare that they are leaving Waterfall to be a full Agile organization. In defense of Agile you can't remain only on Waterfall. The problem is the lack of education and false perception. Education will help to get everyone on the same page. It's all about having clarity in the perception of Waterfall and Agile.

I can't make up my mind so let's flip a coin.

Waterfall is here to stay and it needs to play nicely with Agile. Opposites attract. Agile and Waterfall make a nice hybrid. The rule of thumb is to use what will work best to deliver project results. Did a stakeholder or sponsor ever ask you what approach did you use on the project? I don't think so. The stakeholder or sponsor could care less. It's all about guiding the team efficiently through the project to make happy stakeholders and sponsors with a project delivered on-time.

The Waterfall-Agile hybrid marriage.

The ship needs to raise the anchor and leave the harbor to make it to it's port of call on time. Many projects still follow a linear path to the finish line, but they have requirements not fully designed or approved. With tight deadlines you can't wait till the requirements dust settles to start the project. Use the approved requirements that you have to create a project plan timeline. Mark the the areas in the project plan timeline that are still waiting for the requirements dust to settle with a "Under Construction - Come Back Later" notation, hint hint, that is an example of Agile in the plan. The Project Manager is the Captain of the ship that will use his/her discretion to direct the team aka the crew on what needs to be done. The project plan timeline is the map to the destination.

They love colors, stats, and no budget variance.

The Project Sponsor is not interested in a dog and pony show. Using Waterfall in the plan will help give the sponsors that warm and fuzzy simple report card. What is the color of the project via Stoplight reporting along with the current project completion percentage. Hey look Mom no budget variance to report.

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in May 2018)

Do we need a Project Management Office aka The PMO

The main reason PMO's are not setup is the time and investment it takes to set it up right. The current focus is get the project done now. With that type of approach you are exposed to potential problems as soon as you start the project. The PMO might be looked at like a guardian watching over us and slowing us down with red tape. 

A PMO is a big investment that takes time to evolve into the right tailored fit that meets the companies needs. A PMO will alway's be a work in progress that needs to be continually tuned to maintain it's value. The company will achieve a ROI by delivering projects on-time and controlling the project budget and scope. Management buy in and patience is required to setup your PMO. Be willing to suffer growing pains along the way it will be worth it in the end. Management will have a "Stop Light Report" showing the status of all the projects being worked on in the company using green, yellow and red to indicate the health of the project with a brief summary of the progress being made.

Start slow using the "Project Management Body of Knowledge aka PMBOK" the book of standards to guide you on managing projects. Review all your current processes and standards. Get together with all the Project Managers to agree upon a standard to be followed by everyone. Just think if you have no PMO and three Project Managers you will have three methods on running a project. It might work now, but as your projects get more complex you need to have all your project managers following a standard guideline allowing them some deviations. 

The goal is tracking your projects to deliver them on-time within the budget. Project Management is an Art and Science don't make it so complicated to implement in your company. Keep it simple and evolve with time so everyone can get onboard and not be frightened of it. 

What I look for in a Project Manager:

- Continually improving processes

- Willing to jump in and help

- Cool under pressure

- Keeping your word

- The Quarterback

- Never give up

- Approachable

- Dragon Slayer

- Learner for life

- Good listener

- Leadership

- Thick skin

- Charisma

- Follow up 

- Tenacity

- Teacher

- No Fear

- Humble

- Friend

I can add more, but I will stop here. You get the point I'm making.

Project Management in Real Life

The Project Manager

Having project management certifications and taking classes will help you prepare for the adventure that you will go on when you accept a Project Manager position. Now for reality. Do think you can serve PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) or Agile Project Management on a platter to your team to deliver a project on schedule. Well wake up or go back to sleep and keep on dreaming. PMBOK is a must to know but know how to make it work to your advantage.

Being a good PM means that you should be staying on top of trends in the profession. Read blogs from project managers that have real life experience walking the walk to help you gain knowledge that might be helpful for future projects someday. Approaches and techniques are a hit and miss. Just keep on trying to you hit pay dirt. You will. Being a good PM means that you have genuine desire to take on a role to have people trust in you to follow your roadmap to achievement. 

Chicks Assembled 

The Team

Every team you come across in your PM role will be different. You need to get into their heads to understand where they are coming from. You want to bring out their best and not go to battle with them. Not an easy task but who said being a PM is a cakewalk. Groom your team one day at a time. You must gain the trust in your team to be successful or it will be a bumpy ride following your roadmap to success. Everyone on the team plays an important role no matter how small it is.

Getting Your Chicks Assembled

The ultimate reward is when the team is on the same page. You might not have ducks to get in a row. You might have chicks to corral. The main objective is that everyone knows their role on the team.

The Orchestra Conductor of Projects

The Symphony Orchestra Conductor interprets a composer's score to set the tempo for the Orchestra. The conductor stands most of the time on a raised podium with a baton, but also uses hand gestures and body language to convey the emotions of the musical score to the orchestra.

Will an orchestra function without a conductor?  Yes, the show will go on with some inconsistent interpretations of the score. Will there be a good review of that Symphony? Highly unlikely unless they get lucky.

Being a Conductor is an art. Just because you can play beautiful music does not mean you can conduct. The Symphony Orchestra needs a Conductor to be successful on their delivery of music.

The Project Manager is that point person that guides a team to complete tasks on time. The tasks can be completed independently of each other or they need to be completed in a defined order of dependencies to accomplish a deliverable. All the tasks make up a project with a defined scope to deliver results.

Being a Project Manager requires the ability to have a vision on how you will deliver a project on schedule by guiding your team members to stay focused on their part in the project. Every team member plays an important role no matter how small they think their part is. No room for slackers or weak links that will comprise the teams rhythm.  

Will a team function without a project manager? Yes, it's done all the time. Will the project be on time within a budget? I don't recommend taking chances without a project manager because you might be lucky to have some good team members that can guide the team to successful delivery of a project. That might not be the case all the time.

Being a Project Manager is an art too. The delivery of projects on schedule within a budget is like a Symphony Orchestra Conductor that delivers a beautiful Symphony with a standing ovation at the end. That's why the Project Manager is the Symphony Orchestra Conductor of Projects. They deliver results. No standing ovation, only pure satisfaction for the team delivering a successful project.

The Project Manager's Attitude

Project Management Attitude 

Project Managers are a special breed of professionals. It's a calling to lead people on the right path to achieve results. Having the right attitude in Project Management is so important. Relying on education and certifications alone is not going to make you a good Project Manager. It's all about heart and soul for the role.

A person can know the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) inside out. Will that guarantee that you are a competent Project Manager. If you know how to recite the alphabets and have a good vocabulary does that make you a writer of novels. The point I'm making is just because you have an aptitude in a profession does not mean you belong in that profession. Project Management is special and not everyone should be in that role. I don't care how many certifications you have.

The Project Manager that knows how to read people to bring out their best and guide them to success is what Project Management is all about. Your role as a Project Manager means that you are the focus of attention. Your attitude will play an important part in your role to be a good leader that is followed and respected.

The Project Manager that makes it happen

Six key important areas that will deliver project results

This is just some tips to insert into your project. Keep them in mind on your next project. Be known as The Project Manager that makes it happen.

1. Define Key Performance Indicators at project milestones.

• You have reached that milestone so make sure it really is achieving it's purpose.
• Give your project a good review that you really earned that milestone.

2. What type of Service Level Agreements will the project produce.

• Give your stakeholders great expectations.
• The project must be improving a process so highlight it.

3. The Command Center Project Dashboard on a large screen.

• Real time status.
• The Project Team will be directed to update their status daily to feed the dashboard.
• Track budget.
• Monitor the Project Team's progress.
• Get a big picture of the project on a large screen.
• Accountability for a transparent project.
• Project Health will be monitored closely to address potential issues before they become a problem.

4. Change Control process to monitor Scope / Budget Creep.

• Document the justification and cost to insert change into a project.
• Analyze the impact on the project to insert a change order into it.
• Will a new go-live date result from the proposed change order?
• Present change order to management for approval.

5. Identify Potential Risks in the project.

• Monitor risks to address them early to find best remediation.

6. Special Meetings.

• Have a One on One 15 minute meeting with key team members before the project kickoff and biweekly thereafter.

   

Keep Stakeholders Happy with Transparent Project Management

Project Management should be transparent for Stakeholders to have a good insight on the progress. That will put some pressure on the Project Manager. Project Managers do provide periodic reporting, but is that enough? Go a step further and provide Stakeholders with the ability to have access to real time status that they can get on their smartphones or laptops. Select a Project Management Software that will provide mobile access. 

A Project Manager should welcome transparency. Transparency will demonstrate a confident Project Manager that is leading a team that will deliver results to their Stakeholders.

Transparency will get your Stakeholders engaged in the project by having real time updates on the progress. Good and bad news will be known now and not on a periodic status report.

How to Win and Lose like a Team

Leadership through difficult times 

A good lesson was illustrated in a Sunday Night NFL Football game on 10-23-2016 between the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals that ended in an overtime tie of 6 - 6. The lowest overtime score in NFL history.

Arizona was the first to strike with a winning field goal. The ball hit the left goal post. The Arizona coach slammed his playboard to the ground from his head with an angry face when he realized the kick was bad. Seattle received a big gift from Arizona. 

Seattle was able to get in position with a game winning field goal with time running out. The kick went wide missing the inside of the left goal post. The Seattle coach reacted with anticipation for the kick and then showed disappointment in his face with the bad kick.

The Seahawks coach Carroll:

“I love him and he’s our guy,’’ Carroll said of Hauschka.

The Cardinals coach Arians:

Arians said of Catanzaro “Make it. He’s a professional. This ain’t high school. You get paid to make it.”

Two different reactions and comments towards players that could have been a game hero. 

The Cardinals coach is not a leader. Slamming a player is poor leadership. Develop and work with the player.

The Seahawks coach is a real leader. He knows he will need that kicker in the future and he stands by him.

In the business world we should lose as a team and win as a team. No finger pointing. Learn from failure and regroup. Move on with synergy. It's all about a cohesive team.

Project Management Gone Wild

Project Management Methodologies  

So many methodologies to choose from you can't go wrong. Right? We have Critical Path Method (CPM), Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and Prince2. There are many more out there. The point I'm stressing is that you select the right methodology. Go wild with a hybrid if you feel constrained. Remember that you have a budget to track and a delivery date to meet. 

Flexibility might look good, but too much flexibility will come at a cost if you are not careful. Keeping within the scope of the project is key when you deviate from traditional methodologies. Keeping the stakeholders in the loop is imperative so they are fully aware of where you are at in the project. 

   
Tracking The Project

No matter what methodology you use, you better track your approved budget all the time or you will have some explaining to do later if you happen to go over it. It's better to explain along the way and justify that you need more money for unforeseen bumps in the road. 

Update your project plan to make sure your target dates will be met. If the dates are sliding you need to meet with the stakeholders to present options to them. Time for you to work some magic now. Throw some bones to those stakeholders to keep them happy.

I suggest you track your budget on a weekly project status report. Include key tasks that have been completed and tasks planned for the next week. Always have weekly targets, don't just wing it because you see some flexibility in your schedule. Always keep your eye on the finish line.

The Project Management Horse Blanket Report

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) - Reporting

Having the ability to capture valuable metrics from your project management software and report on it is the key to successful project management. Delivering projects on time within the budget is what all Project Managers work for. 

Reporting via The Horse Blanket 

What is a Horse Blanket? It's a large sheet of continuous paper that is used in plotter printers. You can drape the paper over a horse. The plotter printer will produce quality graphic prints from the large paper that lets you create a masterpiece of any size. Create a collage of various reports and screenshots to tell the story. A visual picture of various reports and screenshots that are all displayed at the same time will open eyes. All the dots should connect. The key is selecting the right reports and screenshots that tell the story. This is a continuous work in progress to keep evolving the reporting. Keep designing reports and screens with valuable information.

Wrike Screenshot 

Wrike Screenshot

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) - Software

To accomplish your reporting you will need a robust project management software that supports PPM. Monitoring the progress of projects is very critical to spot deficiencies so that they may be addressed with the appropriate remediation to get the project back on track. 

Budget Creep a Project Manager's Nightmare

Going over budget within the scope of a project can happen. You think you covered all the possibilities that could occur in the project. You submitted a budget with padding so you can avoid a budget overrun. You are now at the one third milestone in the project and your funds are being depleted faster than anticipated. How did I not see this happening?

Reporting any budget variances on a monthly Project Stop Light Report will expose your budget creep. You will see how your monthly expenditures keep going up for the project. That is your cue to stop the project and revisit the budget. Are the projected estimates accurate or grossly underestimated? The faith of the project is in jeopardy now. Will the project be shutdown or will additional funds be allocated for it? A big decision needs to be made based on an accurate big picture on what the new realistic funding will be to keep the project moving.  

Project Managers need to always keep an eye on the budget and raise the red flag when the project funds are depleting ahead of time. Avoid what I call Budget Creep.

The Project Management Office Dashboard

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) - Reporting

Having the ability to have real time status reporting of all the projects in the organization is a goal that the Project Management Office (PMO) should undertake. The reporting will be dashboards displayed in the PMO on a large LCD monitor. Project teams will be directed to update their tasks throughout the day to give the PMO the ability to have fresh data on their dashboards. There might be resistance if the teams update their status weekly. Just give it time and it will become part of the team's daily routine. To accomplish your reporting you will need a robust project management software that supports PPM.

The Live Dashboard

Hang a large LCD monitor in the PMO in a good location to be viewed. The dashboard will give you a glance at how all the projects are doing. Why wait for weekly, on request and monthly reports to find out good or bad news. Daily monitoring of a dashboard will ensure that projects are on track within the budget. Define various dashboard views of your project metrics to display throughout the day. A large visual view with the colors of Green, Yellow and Red to highlight important information will make an impact on how you monitor your project portfolio. Call it the Project Command Center Dashboard.

Sample Dashboard 

Big Brother is Watching

The main objectives for the PMO dashboards is budgets and project timelines. It's all about being proactive to address potential problems in the early stages. If a budget keeps increasing the project could go way over the approved budget. Missing milestones could be a resource issue. Just naming a few issues that you can detect on a well designed dashboard. Your dashboard is a work in progress. You should always look for ways to keep improving your dashboards with valuable metrics. 

Have a Meet and Greet 

Invite stakeholders, executive management, managers, project managers and project teams to see your dashboards in action on the big screen. Ask for feedback on how you can improve your dashboards reporting. Give it a try and drop me a note how it worked out for your organization. 

The Problem Solver

A good Project Manger is the problem solver that needs to know how to respond fast to get a resolution with acceptable outcomes to keep a project moving. Don't just be a delegator. Jump in and work with the team to a find solution.

Having the ability to sense trouble is an asset for a Project Manager. Staying cool and taking ownership of the issue avoids any confusion on who is the point person to get a resolution delivered. You will work with subject matter experts or become one on your quest for a resolution. 

Bring in the Project Manager

The Point Person

A Project Manager is your architect to formulate and execute a plan to deliver a project on-time within the approved budget. Project Managers are involved from the inception of a project or they need to jump in on a project in progress and take it over. 

The Buck Stops Here

Project Managers should assume full responsibility of the project they are entrusted with. Any risks or concerns need to be flushed out. A good Project Manager is transparent. 

Interpersonal Skills

Project Managers need to be approachable. It's a balancing act of authority and treating people with respect. Don't create an atmosphere of fear. Let your team know that you are there for them anytime. You want a team to be open by reporting issues immediately rather than finding out latter when they can no longer cover it up. 

The Project Milestone

Reaching a milestone in a project is an accomplishment. Placing KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) in your Gantt chart after major tasks are completed is your insurance to reach that milestone everyone is working hard to get too. Defining KPI's will provide the needed validation that you are achieving the project goals as you complete critical tasks. Find out early that you are really on track to hit your milestone.

Controlling Scope Creep 

The scope definition of the project should be crystal clear to avoid additional requirements later in the project. Introducing changes and addtional requirements in a project in progress will happen. You need to readjust your Gantt chart to accommodate the new tasks. Be sure to document the justiication for the changes that were inserted in the project. When you start to get many requests for changes that are out of scope that is a red flag. You need to suspend the project and meet with your stakeholders and go over the project requirements again to uncover any additional requirements that might have been missed. New requirements will affect your delivery date and budget. If you just allow changes to keep going through you will miss your delivery date and be over budget with a different deliverable. 

Managing the Vendor 

When you work with vendors they give you a SOW (Statement of Work). You need to build your Gannt chart from the SOW to validate the timeline and the deliverable promised. Some vendors assign their own Project Manager to ensure an implementation is on track. Request a copy of their project plan so you can monitor their progress. You will have your own project plan with high level tasks of the vendors project plan. Reconciling the two project plans will ensure that everyone is on the same page to deliver an on-time project.

The Project is Done

Go over lessons learned to note adjustments for any future projects. Have a celebration to reflect on all the hard work that made the project a sucess. 

Project Management Tips by Drake - #3

Multidimensional 

Project Managers and Quarterbacks have a lot in common when they support their team. 

Quarterbacks need to:   
(1)  Execute plays from their coach.

(2)  Make play decisions on the fly in crunch time.

(3)  Run the ball and take a hit when an opportunity exists to gain needed yardage.

(4)  Make tackles for interceptions and fumbles. 

(5)  Be humble, confident and accountable.

Project Managers need to:   

(1)  Execute the project plan for stakeholders. 

(2)  Make key decisions to keep the project on track when roadblocks are encountered.

(3)  Jump in and help the team to keep the project going. 

(4)  Be able to stop scope creep when changes are requested that have no merit to the project.

(5)  Be humble, confident, and accountable.

The Passion for Project Management

I have a passion for Project Management because it's a profession that keeps challenging you to do your best. You are constantly learning new subjects or technology. Never a dull moment being a problem solver and negotiator. The challenge to lead a team to produce a deliverable is a satisfying experience. It's like a symphony conductor leading the orchestra to play beautiful music for their audience. The quarterback running plays with his team to score a touchdown.

Project Management Consultant

Specialties:

• Hardware 
• Database
• Operating Systems
• Applications
• Virtual Teams
• Upgrades 

Finding solutions that enable the organization to meet their goals.

Contact me to achieve your goals: dsettsu@techie.com