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Author: Mike Morton

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Time to Kick Back, Take It Easy

Written by Mike Morton on . Posted in Articles. 3 Comments on Time to Kick Back, Take It Easy

The summer is finally here! This is the time of the year that I try to relax – but I do find it difficult.

This is the time of the year that I plan, meet and regroup. I schedule all my team meetings for the summer months (working around everyone’s holidays) and review the past, look at the current status of work in progress and plan or re-plan the next few months.

I must admit that I do not punch a clock like many of our readers, so I am able to take a few liberties but regardless, for many this is a quiet time and thus a perfect time to regroup.

The team meetings …what did we say a year ago and what really happened? We spend time looking ahead: the business plans, the schedules and the work that is giving us trouble. And we have some fun so there is some team building in there as well.

The planning… where are we going? Is the plan realistic? Are we equipped? Do we have enough time? There is no doubt that we see this as a luxury that we will not have available in the fall – so we appreciate the opportunity.

The re-group …this is where I air some dirty laundry – get the junk out and over with. Do we need to re-jig the team slightly? Are there some weak points? Are we vulnerable in any way? This is the time to go over it all.

And …I take the time to build my forecasts and start my budget process. This may not be the right time of the year for this for some of you, but it may be a good time to look over the plan you set months earlier.

This is a great time of the year for me. I come out of the summer rejuvenated, prepared and re-scheduled. I have a team that thinks I get it. I have a to-do list longer than ever, but that’s alright. I panic when I am out of control. No more panic. I am in total control by the end of the summer.

By the way, I said I took liberties. All of August on my island in Georgian Bay. The wonders of High Speed Internet via satellite!

Taking a Risk

Written by Mike Morton on . Posted in Articles. 3 Comments on Taking a Risk

When people in the project management business talk about risk, we think about the traditional role of risk management within a project

But this week I thought of risk within our lives in a slightly different manner. Stephen Lewis, the world renowned Canadian fighting for recognition of the plight of Africans, was the guest speaker at my daughter

Keynote Speakers with a Message

Written by Mike Morton on . Posted in Articles. 3 Comments on Keynote Speakers with a Message

It’s April 28 and I am sitting in a breakout room at ProjectSummit * BusinessAnalystWorld in Philadelphia, PA – our first event in this beautiful city – and thinking about the keynote we just heard as well as the keynotes at our Toronto event two weeks ago.

There are some very strong messages in all of them.

Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons opened the Toronto event. I would have to say that in the 12 years I have been running these events, he was the most powerful, exciting speaker of all! The messages – there were many – focused on the TEAM. Working with people is the key to our success, he suggested. Treat your ‘peeps’ well (my terminology, not his) and you will be rewarded. Say thank you – say you are sorry, admitting a mistake when necessary. Show some vulnerability. We are all human and the sooner some of us realize this, the better off we will all be. Pinball challenged us all to think about the TEAM around us. We cannot do it alone.

Simon Cotter opened day two in Toronto and talked about humour – making it work for us in the workplace. He was funny himself but his message was clear – humour can work for you. However – his warning was very clear as well – don’t blow it – because a weak attempt at being funny can be very dangerous.

This morning in Philly, Susan Miller opened with a speech called “I’m Working in the Positive Zone”. It was a very lively and amusing look at how to stay positive and work in a zone that encourages a kinder, gentler approach to our projects that will benefit everyone around us.

I liked an acronym she threw out – AIA. All human beings want to feel Appreciated, want to feel Important and want to be Admired. If I look at my fellow workers with this in mind, she suggests, my world will change.

She also threw up the acronym – START.

Smile – first thing every day – before you even get out of bed – like a daily exercise.
Thank someone or something every day for what you have and what you might be able to do out there
Anticipate – expect the best – work your plan – have a plan
Remove any doubts – believe you can do anything
Team – you can’t do it alone – respect the potential contribution of anyone and everyone around you.

Three speakers – three different messages but some great advice for all.

Why Go for Certification?

Written by Mike Morton on . Posted in Articles. 3 Comments on Why Go for Certification?

I got a very typical call today from someone who wanted my opinion on certification – was it worth it or not? My first reaction was THANKS! I had to write my blog today and I was struggling for a topic. Now I had one.

My answer …it depends. Sorry.

First of all it really depends on the value your industry and some specific organizations place on certification. I can tell you right now that any technology-based project environment places a very high value on certification – specifically the PMP – the Project Management Institute’s designation. I also know there are some large institutions, specifically the systems divisions, that are now making PMP a requirement for all PM applicants.

I think the reason for this is that there are so many people applying for these jobs that this designation provides an initial filter on the applicants. So, on the job application front, the PMP give you a leg up. No doubt about it. But once you make the first round, you are on your own. To very clear…the PMP does tell the reader something to be sure – a level of understanding of a Body of Knowledge, a guaranteed quantity of experience. But honestly, that’s it. It certainly does not indicate the level of quality of a PM.

If you look at other industries, this may not be the case. The fewer the project management positions and applicants, the less important the designation is. Reasoning …these people have the time to go through resumes and the interview process to find the right qualifications. Now, if a PMP designation pops up in that process, it’s a good thing. But I would suggest not necessary. Construction, engineering, the more traditional project management industries are placing less and less value on the PMP designation. They are now looking at other designations and professional education.

Is the PMP designation transferable across different types of projects? No! You cannot be a project manager in an IT environment and work in the construction industry. You cannot move from marketing projects to software development projects as a project manager, regardless of your certification. You need the experience within each type of project, from the ground floor up, before you can manage those projects.

Having said all of this, I will often tell people that if it is easy – do it – you cannot loose. In other words, if you have the knowledge, educations and credentials to write the exam and pass – go for it. If all of this is a struggle for you be careful before you go to all the trouble. It may not be worth it.

My advice to anyone is to look at your industry and evaluate the importance of the PMP designation, and other certifications, before going forward.

Project Management for the Masses

Written by Mike Morton on . Posted in Articles. 7 Comments on Project Management for the Masses

This is a rant of mine from a year ago, but I think it’s well worth repeating.

Many industries, organizations, departments, divisions and people find our professional world of project management intimidating, confusing and all too much to be able to apply to their projects.

Their projects are not big enough to apply most of our processes. But more importantly, the people managing these projects are not full time project managers and they will never be full time project managers. Typically, these people are part time project managers with MANY small projects on the go at once. They are office administrators, operations people, managers and directors of departments. To all of them, there is no time or energy for PMBOK, PMI, Gantt charts, pert charts, risk assessment plans nor a quality plan.

But what is there time for? What can our big bad world of project management offer these people and their projects to help them deliver on time, on budget and within scope?

If I had to pick the key ingredients to small project success I would group them into three areas:

  • A solid foundation
  • A stake in the ground
  • A plan and a process

A Solid Foundation
Every project, regardless of its size must be built on a solid foundation. A well-defined objective answering the question: what are we building? You should create some sort of scope definition document or project charter. Force every initiative into a brief, simple series of questions: who, what, why, when, where.

But there’s more. You also need a key stakeholder – someone who is ultimately responsible, who you can count on for support, funding and receipt of the final product.

The right team – making sure you have the right people in place before you start. This could include suppliers, vendors and, of course, anyone internal or external who you need to complete the project.

Enough time – you need to take time out to outline the schedule of work – no detailed scheduling tool required, no task dependencies – just a simple, to-the-point schedule.

Enough money – do a budget! No matter how small the project. Be sure your stakeholder understands ALL the costs.

A Stake in the Ground
By this I mean a solid start date, end date and all major milestones defined. And a name! Give your projects a name. All of this will give the initiative some sort of form – and form is important when it comes to communicating to the outside world. It is also crucial to the declaration at the end that the project was a success or failure it terms of delivery.
A kick-off meeting is difficult if there is just one of you. But more than one? You should be sitting down at least over coffee to shoot off the start pistol. This is great opportunity to confirm you are all on the same page.

A Plan and a Process
Here is where all full time project managers fail when we are asked for help on small projects. You do not need a detailed plan. But you do need a simple, high-level list of work to be done, who will be doing it and when it should be complete. You should establish a series of regular meetings with stakeholders and a regular reporting method. Communication within every project is the key to success – but it is one of the hardest things to do – because we all want to ‘over report’. Do a simple communication plan – who will get what information, when, how and WHY? Go through this exercise and you will start to wonder why you have been sending detailed 100 page reports to people who don’t care, shouldn’t care or never read it because it is too long.

And finally – after the project. You should take a moment to close out – record lessons learned, say thank you to all involved and make a graceful exit.

Simple? Sure. Be there are lots of risks to every project:

People are the toughest part of any project. They must be managed as much as you are managing the work they are doing. Technology will kill you at the 11th hour – we all know that one. And beware of change – the change in corporate direction in the middle of your project, the change in personnel, change in technology, to name a few.

All projects, regardless of size deserve to be managed properly. For those people out there who are not full time project managers, we need to help them with some simple, basic guidelines from our professional world of project management.