How to Successfully Manage Projects
by: Carol Ornstein
Imagine you are scheduled for plastic surgery. You and your doctor have already had several consultations, and the doctor “designed” the new you. Now all that is left is the implementation of that design.
You’ve been prepped and are now under anesthesia. Your doctor starts the surgery and the procedure is going well. However, partway through the process, your doctor is called away, and he is replaced with a new doctor, one whom you’ve never met. He doesn’t know your history and he’s unfamiliar with the original doctor’s “design” for the new you. Yet, you’re under, and he starts to carve away. What exactly is he carving, anyway? Let’s say, for the sake of this story that you originally went to the plastic surgeon for an eyelift. The new doctor doesn’t know any of this, and he starts to give you a nose job. What the heck happened? How could this go so terribly awry? Welcome to the world of mis-managed Information Technology (IT) projects.
Quite often, large companies kick-off well-conceived projects with improved business processes, better customer relations, more efficient systems, and Return On Investment (ROI) in mind. The original team of individuals is assembled, ranging from the program manager, the project manager, team leads, technical and business resources. The energy is electric; everyone’s excited to embark on this new, amazing journey, where they can new learn skills and be part of perhaps something that’s never been technically implemented.
Everything is going great on this exciting new project: buy-in from the stakeholders, including the CEO of the company, and cash flow is guaranteed based on the initial draft of the business proposal. So when does it all start to crumble? Here are some scenarios that detail what, unfortunately, often happens in the real world.
Scenario 1 – “Good-Bye to the Old CEO”
The conceptual “vision” for this project starts off in a certain way. Shortly thereafter, the CEO who championed the project might resign (or be ousted). Bang! The biggest supporter is now gone and now the project will be: (a) placed on hold, (b) cut altogether, or (c) restructured.
Scenario 2 – “What are You Building?”
Now that the original CEO is gone, everything starts to look different. The new CEO may choose to continue moving forward with the project, but with a different scope. This is dangerous, because the original scope had been meticulously planned out, and changing scope could distort the original “vision”. In fact, the project might not even be doable with the modified scope. This is especially dangerous, because companies often want to proceed with the project under the altered scope, and frequently with disastrous results. The end result is usually far from the original concept, with no one benefiting from it – not the business, not IT, not the team members, and not the company’s checkbook.
Scenario 3 – “Who are these People?!”
Several months into the project, cheaper resources to save on costs replace key team members. The original team members had spent the past number of months becoming Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and building relationships with the business users. A huge mistake is when management thinks solely of cost and assumes that they can simply replace these higher-paid consultants with low-end versions. What makes matters worse on top of that, is these low-end versions are sometimes brought into the project while the higher-paid resources are still onsite and have jobs. It’s very clear to everyone what’s going on, however, management says nothing about it. And just for kicks, whom do you suppose is expected to cross-train the cheaper resources? Yes, of course – the existing higher-paid folks. This destroys morale to the nth degree and makes for a miserable, unproductive environment all-around.
Resolution 1 – “Hello to the New CEO”
Fortunately, there are solutions to the above scenarios. Of course, losing an old CEO and gaining a new one is out of our hands. However, a recommended solution for the incoming CEO is to (a) temporarily put on hold all projects over $1MM and (b) help him or her get up-to-speed with these projects in order to make appropriate choices for each project’s future. Once the CEO has all of the facts, realistic and sensible decisions can be made. It’s good to note, however, that an incoming CEO’s first task is often to save the company money, and to prove it on paper. This means that the program manager might need to get creative and consider how the large project might be done in phases or even prototype mode, rather than “big-bang”, which brings us to project scope.
Resolution 2 – “Know What You’re Building”
When the scope of the project starts to change for any reason, it’s critical to always remember the original scope, and to try to stay as true to that as possible. Otherwise, remember, you could end up with a nose job instead of an eyelift! This, of course, doesn’t mean that you have to be rigid and unwavering. There’s always room for optimization, efficiency and more solid design and architecture, especially when it comes the need to cut costs. It’s always a good idea to utilize your key team members in the project’s scope modification. Also, whenever possible, small pilot projects are an excellent way to test your concepts along the way. You can supply these pilot results to senior management and stakeholders to keep them informed, get their feedback, and receive continued buy-in. Metrics are a huge win with executives; if they can see and compare numbers, even play around with them via reporting or spreadsheet tools, great benefit is provided.
Resolution 3 – “These are Great People!”
A project absolutely cannot be successful without a team of intelligent, talented and dedicated resources. These people are the heartbeat, the life and soul of the project. Team resources should be treated extremely well, and in return, they will give their all to the project. The more you give, the more they are inclined to give, as well. Is it really worth getting rid of a seasoned consultant who has built up a knowledge base both in the company and on the project, and replace him or her with a less-experienced, more junior resource (and all for a few bucks’ difference)? This often times does not work out favorably for the company. The ramp-up time to cross-train the junior resource ends up eating time from the other resources’ day, causing deadlines to be missed, or overtime to be paid for catch-up work, not to mention the morale nose-dive that occurs. Handholding low-end resources is not the answer when building large-scale, new technology projects.
The bottom line when working on any project, whether it is large or small, is communication with all team members, stakeholders, and senior management through the lifecycle of the project. There should be no surprises – ever! Regular (and meaningful) status should be provided, highlighting the accomplishments, issues (complete with action items, responsible parties and due dates), and upcoming goals. Managing projects is not rocket science; it’s a matter of communication, coordination, creativity, good planning, great resources, and a sense of humor!