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.

   

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 Vendor Statement of Work

The statement of work (SOW) that a vendor provides for a project that they are contracted to perform needs to be evaluated with a fine tooth comb. A tedious process, but you need to make sure it covers everything that you are expecting to be delivered. Once you are satisfied with the SOW you need to translate it into a project plan so you can generate a Gantt chart to get a better feel of the scheduled timeline that the vendor is proposing. 

Having a Gantt Chart can help you track the vendor progress to make sure they stay on schedule. You will need to diligently update the project tasks by getting periodic progress status from the vendor to update your Gantt chart. You have to keep the vendor on schedule or you will have some explaining to do latter why the project is late. If you encounter any delays you need to document the reason and inform your management so they are not caught by surprise latter.

Be nice to your vendor, but be clear with them that you have a deadline to meet.

It's the 11th Hour the Curtain is Going Up

The day has arrived after months of hard work building and testing the new system. You are in the go-live phase of the project. You should have an implementation timeline tasks in your project plan. The timeline will summarize all the required steps to implement the new system.

The timeline should contain:

• The timeline is like the program for a play that lists the cast and acts. The audience wants to know ahead of time what to expect. Your stakeholders want to know the estimated time of completing the go-live.
• List all key contacts with cell number so you can confer with them should issues arise.
• Give a brief summary of all the steps in the implementation and list who is performing the step.
• Estimate the time in each step and include some padding in it. Estimate time in quarter hour, half hour and one hour increments. 
• Make sure you have a back out plan should a situation occur that impedes a successful implementation. You need to give a good estimate on how long you will need to back out the implementation at the designated point of no return.
• Highlight a key step in the implementation that means you are at the point of no return. You can only go forward now at this point. Any issues encountered will have to be addressed on the fly and resolved to keep moving along in the implementation. Evaluate with your team at this point that you all are confident that you can continue the implementation. If you are not comfortable contact your key decision maker to ask for extended time to address the areas of concern or back out the implementation.
• Send an update that the system is up and ready to use.
• Take a bow the curtain is coming down now after your successful implementation.

Project Management Key Performance Indicators (KPI's)

It's a good idea to complement your project by defining KPI's to present to your stakeholders. KPI's will demonstrate that the project is on track by meeting it's goals. Assemble your team to come up with ideas on what to measure and how you will achieve the measurement.

Project milestones are important, but they just mean that you reached a given point in the project. Stage your KPI's at milestones to get a thorough health check on the condition of the project then celebrate the milestone.

It's all about ensuring that you deliver the right results when you get to the finish line.