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Is Project Management an Everyday Job?

Written by Andrew Miller on . Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on Is Project Management an Everyday Job?

Why is there such a focus on project managers being on site all day, everyday? Am I the only one that has noticed that? Whenever I talk with clients or colleagues about PM positions whether full-time or on contract, the focus seems to always be on being on site all of the time. In today’s world of global projects and excellent technology, I would submit that being on site could sometimes be a hindrance.
I understand, of course, that on projects where the team is there everyday working on tasks and deliverables, etc., someone needs to be there to answer questions, provide leadership and ensure things are moving as planned. I have been on many projects where this is the case and I have found that sometimes it is detrimental to the team to have the PM around all the time. Teams can use the PM as a crutch where, instead of researching the answer to a question or sharing the information with each other, everything needs to funnel through the PM. This leads to a dangerous level of dependence on the PM and does not evoke a very trusting environment. If I cannot trust my team to work on their tasks and deliverables just because I am not there watching over their shoulders, then maybe I have the wrong team.

If a PM’s job is to provide leadership, manage team members, communicate to leadership, work with suppliers and ensure goals and objectives are bring met, then why does being there every day mean all of this will be done? Are Presidents and CEOs present everyday at their workplace? Absolutely not, yet amazingly work seems to get done. My fear is that the world of project management has become one of controlling, not of providing skills and expertise to successfully implement strategic initiatives. It has become a question of how often can you be here, not what value is the organization going to get as a result of this project.

With today’s technology, I am reachable wherever I may be, whether on the beach, at a conference or in my office. Through phone or email, I can almost always be reached (except on planes, but that is outside of my control) If there are issues on a project, I can be reached, even if I am not on site. My MO is to check in with my project teams on a regular basis through face to face meetings, phone and email, but not to be on site all day everyday for the life of a project. I have found that this works effectively because it builds independence within the team, but also provides a safety net of communication when issues do arise. I encourage my teams to call me whenever they need to and I like to create open dialogue. If we see the results, then there is no relevance whether I am on site or not. You can call me the Virtual Project Manager!

Where Risk Management Trumps Quality Principles

Written by Mike Lecky on . Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on Where Risk Management Trumps Quality Principles

For those of you who haven’t already completely forgotten about the Maple Leaf Foods tainted meat disaster, there is a lesson to be taken away about managing risk.
I find it incredibly interesting that the policy followed regarding testing of meat was to test swabs from the machines. If these were okay then the meat could be shipped. Even more amazing is that, if a machine test swab failed, all that had to be done, by way of accepted industry best practice, was to keep cleaning and retesting the machine until a pass was achieved. The meat wasn’t tested.
It seems like the traditional quality principle failed us this time. That is the principle that says control the process (in this case the process machinery) and you’ll be successful controlling the outcome of the process.

While I can appreciate where some quality gurus might weigh in on this when it comes to processed food, as a consumer and meat-eater, I’d like to see testing done on the end product before it gets to my table.

So what’s to take away from Maple Leaf Foods for project managers?

Let’s start with the definition of quality. There are several definitions but for the PMP exam it’s sufficient to know that quality is ‘every characteristic that influences satisfaction’. Not meaning to be glib I’d say that dying because of your salami sandwich would be most unsatisfying.

When you’re managing a project the quality plan describes how the quality policy will be implemented on the project. And this is where we need to be careful because, if the policy is poor, the project will be a failure.

If the business objective is at risk, for any reason, then as project managers we’re obliged to register the risk and address it. Escalate it if necessary. In the case of Maple Leaf Foods it seems the quality policy on this matter was insufficient to cover a business objective of providing safe-to-eat food.

If your project was to set up a process for making meat you’d want to identify the risk event of shipping bad meat. Clearly in this case sampling the output of the process would have mitigated the impact of the risk event. But this was not in line with the quality policy at Maple Leaf.

The take away for project managers is that, if there is a risk that business objectives will not be met, then those risks must be fully explored, regardless of company policies.

Risk management in projects is not limited to identifying project risks alone (i.e. risk events that may result in cost or schedule overruns). Risk identification should include risks the solution delivered by the project to the business will fail to meet the objectives. No pun intended.

What Can Be Done To Ensure Projects Are Successful?

Written by Cynthia Low on . Posted in Articles. 5 Comments on What Can Be Done To Ensure Projects Are Successful?

  • Projects Run into Trouble and Does Anyone Care? Leroy Ward takes a close look at the failed project situation. He reviews the findings of various research projects and offers his thoughts on what can be done.
  • Leveraging Project Portfolio Management to Implement an Effective IT Governance Strategy. With a focus on IT Keith Carlson reminds us that governance is not just about compliance but also ensuring that it has the best possible impact on business. It’s about producing value and managing risk.
  • A Second Look under the Hood of the BA/PM Position Family. In this episode of Bob Wysocki’s series of articles about the relationship between the Business Analyst and Project Manager, he takes a closer look at where they overlap.
  • The Rules of Lean Project Management; Part III. Claude Emond, just back from a trip to the Far East gets back to the blog subject he was discussing before his travels. In this issue: The Expanded Management Team.
  • Now Stop Wasting People’s Time! Wasting no time, Ilya Bogorad races to the point of his blog. In very quick order he gives us five tips to help get the job done and “stop wasting time!”
  • Managing Expectations; the Key to Your Success. In his blog, David Barrett talks about the importance of setting objectives, communicating them, and keeping an eye on the target.
  • Leadership Skills for the Technical Professional. “Over 70% of all technical professionals have to be leaders,” says Richard Lannon in his Webinar.

Along with these articles and blogs and the first of our Webinar series, you’ll find many other features in this Project Times. We hope you’ll check them out and let us know what you think. Contact us at [email protected].

A Second Look under the Hood of the BA/PM Position Family

Written by Cynthia Low on . Posted in Articles. 6 Comments on A Second Look under the Hood of the BA/PM Position Family

This is the sixth article in the series. In the previous article (A First Look under the Hood of the BA/PM Position Family) I defined the BA/PM position family and the career path sequence. Then I wrote the generic position descriptions of the six-position family. The structure and ordering of the six positions in the BA/PM landscape is now defined at the generic level. Each of the 36 cells in the BA/PM landscape has now been generically defined with respect to the BA/PM position family.

Depending on the extent to which project management and business analysis exists in your organization, there may be empty cells or cells with more than one position title in them. If your organization has more than one specific position title in a cell, then there will probably be some ordering of those position titles with respect to their skill and competency profile. So the career path may contain advancements to positions within a single cell. The minimum skill and competency profile required to enter a cell at the lowest position is work that still remains to be done. That will require a significant effort and help from both the PM and the BA side. That discussion is left for a future article.

A Deeper Look into the BA/PM Landscape

Since we now have a BA/PM generic position family defined and a career path for that family, Figure 1 takes on more meaning. An example will help. Figure 1 shows an individual whose current position is in the BA/pm Associate Manager cell. This person is a professional project manager with basic business analysis skills and competencies. This is a very common position. Recognizing the importance and value of having stronger business, their short-term goal is to have a position in the BA/PM Associate Manager cell. To do this, they will build a plan in their Professional Development Program (PDP) to accomplish their short-term career goal. Their PDP will focus on improving their business analysis skill and competency profile from that of a PM/ba Associate Manager to that of a PM/BA Associate Manager. The PDP for this person might contain the following strategies:

Experience Acquisition

  • Seek out project assignments that have more of a business analysis focus than they are accustomed to.
  • Support professionals who are more senior to you and have a business analysis skill that you need to improve to better meet current position requirements.

On-the-job Training

  • Look for opportunities to observe and support the business analysis work of BA/PM professionals
  • Take courses (on or off site) to enhance the business analysis skills required of your current position

Off-the-job Training

  • Take courses (on or off site) to add business analysis skills that will be required by your targeted position in the PM/BA Associate Manager cell
  • Look for opportunities to observe and support a professional practicing the business analysis skills you will need in your targeted position.

Professional Activities

  • Read books and journal articles on topics relevant to your targeted position in the PM/BA Associate Manager cell
  • Attend meetings and conferences offering seminars and workshops relevant to your targeted position in the PM/BA Associate Manager cell

SecondLook1.png
Figure 1: Using the BA/PM Landscape for a Short-Term Professional Goal in the same Position

In my experience with PDPs they tend to cover an annual planning horizon with at least semi-annual status meetings with a mentor, or as needed meetings that you will request.

Figure 2 illustrates an example that is a little more complex. Here the short-term PDP is targeting a change from a position in the PM/ba Associate Manager cell to a position in the PM/ba Senior Manager cell. As you can see the Core, PM and ba skills profiles will be affected. The ba skills profile will be minimally affected only by the change of position level.

SecondLook2.png
Figure 2: Using the BA/PM Landscape for a Short-Term Professional Goal at a Higher Level Position

Figure 3 is a combination of the situations depicted in Figures 1 and 2. It illustrates yet another example of a more complex situation than is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Here the change is not only to a higher level position (Associate Manager to Senior Manager) as was the case in Figure 2 but also to a position requiring a broader and deeper business analysis skills profile (ba to BA) as was the case in Figure 1. A career change like this may take some time to accomplish. Not only will the person need to acquire additional experience to qualify for the higher level position, they will also need to increase their business analysis experience, and skill and competency profile, to qualify for the higher level position’s business analysis requirements. A better professional development plan might be to follow one of the two-step strategies below:

PM/ba Associate Manager -> PM/BA Associate Manager -> PM/BA Senior Manager

or

PM/ba Associate Manager -> PM/ba Senior Manager -> PM/BA Senior Manager

The likely promotion opportunities may help you choose the better of the two strategies.

SecondLook3.png
Figure 3: Using the BA/PM Landscape for a Longer-Term Professional Goal at a Higher Level Position

Career Planning Using the BA/PM Landscape

A section of the PDP should be devoted to long range career planning. The BA/PM landscape is a tool that can aid in the planning process. Figure 4 illustrates a career path leading from a position in the BA Team Member cell to a position in the BA/PM Senior Manager cell. The CareerAgent System that I mentioned in an earlier article (A First Pass at Defining the BA/PM Position Family) included a decision support system that helped the individual plan their career path down to the position title level within the cells. It mapped out a training and development sequence leading from position to position across the BA/PM landscape until the final career goal had been reached.

SecondLook4.png
Figure 4: A Career Path from a Position in the BA Team Member Cell to a Position in the BA/PM Senior Manager Cell

As the plan is executed it will most likely change. Even the targeted position might change. There are several factors that will influence the plan and suggest revisions more compatible with the changing business environment and that offer more career growth and professional development opportunities.

A Call to Action

In the previous article (A First Look Under the Hood of the BA/PM Positin Family) I stated that this is a work in progress. I have participated in the development of similar structures for the IT professional but not for the BA/PM professional (or PM/BA if you prefer). Much remains to be done. I welcome a partner from the BA side to work with me in this challenging and valuable pursuit. It is my hope that I have launched this effort in a direction that ultimately will make sense across the entire BA and PM professional landscape. If you are interested in discussing a possible collaboration, you may reach me directly at [email protected].

Putting It All Together

In this article I have shown by example how the BA/PM landscape and BA/PM position family would be used in professional development and career planning.

The responses to the first five articles have been overwhelming. They have been both positive and negative. Being a change management advocate I am thankful for your interest but not surprised with your reactions. My hope is that we can continue the exchange. As always I welcome opposing positions and the opportunity to engage in public discussions. Your substantive comments are valuable. Criticism is fine and is expected but, in the spirit of agile project management, so are suggestions for improvement. Also in the spirit of agile project management, I am trying to find a solution to the career and professional development of the BA, BA/pm, BA/PM, PM/BA, PM/ba and PM.

I realize that I have taken a controversial position and in so doing have stepped out of my comfort zone and perhaps put myself in harm’s way. I do so intentionally. Through all of the earlier articles I hoped to get your attention and that has happened. In this and subsequent articles I hope to get you to start thinking about the care and feeding of a single BA/PM professional – one who is fully skilled in both disciplines. I have a very strong belief that there is a crying need for the BA/PM professional. As you dig deeper into the BA/PM through this series I ask that you approach my suggestions with an open mind and offer your ideas in this public forum.

Robert K. Wysocki, Ph.D., has over 40 years experience as a project management consultant and trainer, information systems manager, systems and management consultant, author, training developer and provider. He has written fourteen books on project management and information systems management. One of his books, Effective Project Management: Traditional, Adaptive, Extreme,3rd Edition, has been a best seller and is recommended by the Project Management Institute for the library of every project manager. He has over 30 publications in professional and trade journals and has made more than 100 presentations at professional and trade conferences and meetings. He has developed more than 20 project management courses and trained over 10,000 project managers.

Why Do So Many Projects Run into Trouble and Does Anyone Care?

Written by Cynthia Low on . Posted in Articles. 4 Comments on Why Do So Many Projects Run into Trouble and Does Anyone Care?

It has become the norm for organizations to experience projects with higher costs than originally expected, slipped schedules and unfulfilled requirements. Numerous studies detail dismal project results. Also, government reports and company case studies provide countless specifics of projects with unsatisfied stakeholders. While the studies, reports and case studies outline causes of project failure, they do not show the relationship between properly applied project management practices and project outcomes. Unfortunately, this type of research has yet to come to fruition in the project management world—until now.

There is a strong argument for applying proactive project management through an increase in project management competencies and by instituting better project management practices. By exploring the implications of project performance, we can gain a solid understanding of the relationship between an individual’s knowledge and skills and the application of project management practice areas. This examination can help to identify the drivers of successful projects.

The research discussed in this article involved analyzing data from databases maintained by two distinct organizations. The PMAppraise® database contains knowledge and skill assessments of IT project management professionals working for large and mid-sized companies across all industry sectors located throughout the world. The online assessment, maintained by ESI International, a project management learning company, consists of 120 multiple-choice questions covering the nine areas of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

Independent Project Analysis, Inc. (IPA), a project benchmarking company, operates the Project Evaluation System® (PES®) that maintains data and “scores” of projects they’ve analyzed. IPA’s benchmarking methodology measures the effectiveness of a client company’s practices and procedures in planning, defining, engineering, constructing, and initiating projects.

U.S. Project Failure.

High rates of project failure—particularly among IT projects—have made headlines in recent years. The most widely quoted study comes from The Standish Group. Their 2003 CHAOS Chronicles revealed:

  • Project success rates represent about 34 percent of all projects. 
  • Project failures account for 15 percent of all projects. 
  • Challenged projects (cost or schedule overruns) account for 51 percent of all projects. 
  • The lost dollar value for U.S. projects in 2002 is estimated at $38 billion, with another $17 billion in cost overruns, for a total project waste of $55 billion against $255 billion in project spending (The Standish Group 2003).

The CHAOS Chronicles are just one data point among numerous studies and reports on project failure. By looking at other studies, we can gain an appreciation of the depth and breadth of the problem. A summary of some of the more prominent publicized studies and reports is presented in the chart below.

Organization-specific studies bring the problem into even greater focus. An audit of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) revealed that the department did not effectively manage its IT investments and spent hundreds of millions of dollars on projects with little assurance they would deliver their intended benefits (U.S. Department of Justice Audit Report 2002). The GAO studied 226 IT projects, totaling $6.4 billion, from 24 federal agencies. The projects were deemed critical, as a delay or failure would impact the essential business functions of the agency. The GAO revealed about 35 percent (79) of the projects had a performance shortfall where they did not meet one or more of the following criteria: 

  • establishing clear baselines, 
  • maintaining cost and schedule variances within 10 percent, 
  • assigning a qualified project manager, 
  • avoiding duplication with other projects (2006).

Problems with IT projects also have been detailed at the state level. An audit by the State of Virginia of 15 major IT projects revealed that at least $75 million has been wasted on failed development efforts, with an additional $28 million incurred in cost overruns (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission of the Virginia General Assembly 2003). The State of Texas also reported similar problems. Of 48 large-scale projects reviewed, project delivery delays averaged 14 months, with cost overruns exceeding $352 million. Contributing factors included: 

  • a general lack of project-level quality control, 
  • poor project management, 
  • high project complexity (Texas State Auditor’s Office 2003).

The State of Wisconsin reviewed 184 IT projects totaling around $292 million that have been started or completed since 2004, and found troubled projects have cost the state over $122 million. The report cited a lack of project management and oversight as the main cause of troubled projects (2007)

A high IT project failure rate even led one state legislature to take a highly unusual measure. In 2006, the Colorado State Legislature passed a law requiring the state government to develop policies on best practices and the verification of project managers and analysts. The requirement affects major automation system development projects (Digest of Bills 2006).

International Project Failure

Project failure is not limited to the United States. The United Kingdom’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) reported the cost of over-budget government IT projects exceeded £1.5 billion over a six-year period (Computing 2003). More recently, a study specifically examining IT project management indicated that one in 10 IT projects were abandoned, 75 percent were challenged (projects completed and operational, but over budget, time and/or lacking critical features), and only around 15 percent were successfully completed on time, within budget, and with all features and functions performing as specified. The study, commissioned by Computer Weekly, is based on data from 1,500 practicing IT project managers across the UK public and private sectors (The Fire Brigades Union, January 21, 2005).

KPMG Information Risk Management found that in 2002, 59 percent of the organizations in the Asia-Pacific region experienced at least one project failure at an average cost of $8.9 million. This percentage corresponds to other regions (Europe, the Americas and Africa) where 56 percent of the organizations experienced at least one project failure at an average cost of $11.6 million (KPMG International 2003).

In mid 2007, the Economist Intelligence Unit published the results of their survey of 145 senior global executives from different industries on their current and planned IT projects. The results revealed 20 percent of the executives reported that over half of their IT projects started in the past two years were late or over budget. In addition, only 13 percent of the executives felt their IT projects had delivered the promised features and functions. Poor project management was attributed as the primary cause for IT project problems.

Studies on the Cost of Project Failure

Study
Year
Cost
U.S. Dept. of Justice (FBI)
2002
“Hundreds of millions of dollars” (total)
KPMG (Pacific – Asia)
2002
$8.9 million (average per project)
State of Virginia
2003
$103 million (total)
State of Texas
2003
$352 million (total)
Office of Government Commerce (U.K.)
2003
£1.5 billion (total)
Standish (CHAOS)
2003
$55 billion (total)
KPMG (Europe, Asia, Americas)
2003
$11.6 million (average per project)
Computer Weekly (U.K.)
2005
Not Available
U.S. General Accounting Office
2006
Not Available
State of Wisconsin
2007
$122 million (total)
Economist Intelligence Unit
2007
Not Available

What Can be Done?

As we’ve noted, numerous studies reveal the unacceptable high rates of project failure among IT projects worldwide. Project failure can be expensive, cause significant delays, and deliver results less than the stakeholders’ stated expectations. In addition, it can have very negative consequences for the reputation of the company and the project manager in charge.

It is no surprise that companies and government entities are looking for ways to respond to the problem. Remedial actions include: 

  • increasing oversight of IT projects, 
  • instituting professional requirements for project managers, 
  • placing a greater emphasis on complying with established project management procedures and techniques, 
  • purchasing and implementing software tools.

Are these the right actions to take? In some cases they probably are and in other cases they might not be. Also, which corrective action is most appropriate for your organization? In other words, when is it best to institute greater oversight and when is purchasing a software tool right? There are costs associated with each remedial action, so implementing all of them at once can be very difficult and would probably be overkill.

The Value of Training and Following Best Practices

Fortunately, the research from the PMAppraise® and PES® databases suggests a compelling solution organizations should consider to increase the probability of project success: training in project management best practices.

Remember the previously cited research by the Economist Intelligence Unit? It revealed the lack of project management skills among the IT staff to be the primary obstacle to improving IT project management performance.

Training is one of the chief methods for improving a project manager’s ability to implement a successful project. It should be viewed as an investment, not an expense
Research implies that companies providing training to their project managers appear to increase an organization’s chance of project success. As with any investment, if the returns outweigh the costs, there is a positive return on the investment.

The PES database reveals that not applying proper project management techniques can result in very serious outcomes in terms of significantly higher costs and substantial schedule delays. The PES data reveals, for example, that projects with a well-defined Project Execution Plan (PEP) shorten the project duration by 14 percent while decreasing cost growth by 17 percent, compared to a project with a less well-defined PEP.

Technology selection is another practice adding value. When the practice is used, cost growth decreases by 15 percent. Also, when projects had definitive risk plans, schedule slip improved by 12 percent compared to those projects with less than definitive plans.

The PMAppraise results show a substandard average score for each of the assessment areas. Therefore, it is no surprise to learn that project practices and techniques are not being applied and that project failure rates are so high. It follows that increasing a project manager’s knowledge and skills base will empower him or her to apply proven project management procedures and techniques. Taking such a proactive approach should result in improved project outcomes.

J. LeRoy Ward, PgMP, PMP, Executive Vice President, ESI International, is responsible for ESI’s worldwide product offerings and international partnerships. Ward has authored several articles and publications including Project Management Terms: A Working Glossary and PMP® Exam Challenge! He speaks frequently on project management and related topics at professional association meetings and conferences around the world. He is a member of numerous professional associations including the International Project Management Association and the Project Management Institute. www.esi-intl.com