Tag: BPM

Process and Project management joining forces

Written by Yasar Ajlouni on October 10, 2017. Posted in Articles. 4 Comments on Process and Project management joining forces

One can debate if project management was practiced before process management or vice versa, building the Pyramids was a historical project, unique and definitely with a start and an end.

Additionally and in ancient times; the Egyptian economy was a barter system where people paid the Government interest, crops and precious stones, and in return the Government kept the peace, and saved the food. This is perhaps one of the oldest processes from ancient history.

Regardless if process or project management came first, now a days, both contribute strategically to the success of any modern organization. As a matter of fact, project management is a process itself; PMI for example defines (Initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & Controlling, and closing) as process groups.

Stated differently, projects better succeed when the current processes are rightly managed. Moreover project deliverables are usually products, services or results, the latter can sometimes be in the form of new processes, as an example if we pilot an introductory Lean six sigma project , to introduce and test the practice ; we can after delivering satisfactory results , standardize the piloted process in conducting supplementary Lean six sigma projects .

Having shed some light of some of the possible interaction between processes and projects, one is now more aware of how interrelated both management disciplines are. The key difference between both practices is that any project is done once, while processes are executed on a continuous basis, other differences relate to optimization, processes are optimized for efficiency and consistency, while projects are optimized once the project is completed.

The real impact of process management and project management is challenged as the work gets done across departments. As organizations grow bigger in size, a process can cut across several departments horizontally, for example the supply chain process in an industrial organization links the sales process with the manufacturing process. Implementing an ERP System across an enterprise is an example of a cross functional project, looking at ERP implementation provides some illustration of process and project management joining forces. After selecting the vendor, the consultants start capturing the as is processes, the “to be” processes are “best practice processes” that giant ERP providers excelled in designing. Implementation is mainly migration to the new processes. An organization intending to implement an ERP solution is at greater advantage, if it already had its processes modeled by the BPM team, thus saving implementation time and costs. Additionally the BPM teams would take the process oriented approach, enhancing the ERP implementation success rate. Concurrently the presence of a project management capability in such organization intending to implement an ERP solution can strongly enhance the project success. It is not rare to find organizations with PMOs and BPM centers of excellence joining forces for automation and Artificial Intelligence projects. What are rare to find is organizations that have project and process management specialists working in one department.

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The ERP implementation example, can also be looked into to demonstrate how project and process management teams can work together in functional organizations; It is worth mentioning that the introduction of ERP systems in the 1990’s obligated organizations to consider their positioning to process, as the ERP solutions offered an alternative to the functional processes used commonly at that time. Since ERP modules are predesigned, organizations started focusing horizontally, this led to creating new process roles like process owners and process stewards, and in some cases process designers, architects, analysts and process mangers.

In essence combined process and project management practices are ideal management philosophies to overcome functional barriers , end to end process management is sometimes managed though contracts between the supplier process and the customer process , this concept creates an additional internal customer, whereby the supplier process must meet its obligations to the customer process . Other organizations use SLA’s between business units or divisions and align the SLA interaction with the concerned process. This alignment keeps expectations and maintains governance. Project management on the other hand created the matrix organization for project coordination, what the matrix organization provided over the functional one; was literally the right balance between authority and responsibility. Projectized organizations completely work in project teams.

Capability Maturity Model Integration CMMI is a process improvement approach consisting of a collection of best practices where its value has been established over time. CMMI for Development contains practices that cover process management, project management, engineering, and other supporting processes used in development. If we explore the constituent process areas under project and process management categories, we shall come across process areas like integrated project management and Organizational process performance, these process areas themselves are in a sense integration processes, joining the forces of these integrated processes adds value as a cumulative integrative force, Noticeably it is then not rare to find process and project management functioning together in a process improvement model.

Whatever benefits are realized through joining the forces of process and project management, the final judge is the customer. In their premise to achieve successful customer outcomes, organizations can build and design their businesses outside in, starting from the customer perspective , in doing so they opt to join forces of process and project management to design and execute processes that produce products or services that meets and exceeds customer’ s needs and wants .

The Evolution of Six Sigma: Continuous Improvement Using Network Analysis

Written by Erich Kreidler on June 21, 2017. Posted in Articles. 3 Comments on The Evolution of Six Sigma: Continuous Improvement Using Network Analysis

Traditional process improvement techniques like Six Sigma, Lean and Kaizen have enabled the successful transformation of innumerable companies over the last few decades.

Even though they are based on a scientific approach to improve processes and increase the quality of the output, their relevance has decreased considerably. In fact, as effective as they were in the past, they are critically flawed for delivering the same impactful change moving forward without additional, new solutions.

The Need for Faster and More Integrated

Our world has changed radically since the beginning of the century. All elements of the modern enterprise are highly dynamic, complex and require high speed. Companies nowadays rely on elaborate processes, driven by global networks that provide resources, skills, and inputs to satisfy the demand of audiences dispersed around the globe. Take for instance, bringing to market a smartphone. For a smartphone to meet minimum consumer standards, the solution must have a tight integration between its operating system, hardware, software, user communities, etc. Each of these components is created by distributed networks, who must find a way to integrate seamlessly in the eyes of the customer. It is no longer feasible to consider each area independently and expect a major improvement in overall performance if changed.

In contrast, conventional process improvement techniques typically work well when things are relatively stable and are localized (say a manufacturing plant), but react very slowly in more dynamic environments (say integrating Uber Eats’ supply chain). Each technique – control charts, process mappings, etc. – was designed to analyze a specific, localized area and maximize its efficiency. So, if you have a product that interfaces with the market, the implementation of concurrent, independent process improvements may not converge.

An Emerging Science: What is Network-Based Process Analytics?

Network analytics arose from the perspective that organizations work around issues, tasks, and activities – not processes or organizational charts. Thus, the basic building blocks of an organization’s effectiveness are individual, day-to-day interactions between people. These interactions happen within networks of decision and influence, large and small, operating within teams, between departments, and across the entire company, even across partner companies. These networks tend to take on a life of their own – and often they have little to do with the formal organizational structure and, in many cases even the documented processes.

An easy way to understand network analysis is to realize that organizations work just like the human brain. If neurons do not connect effectively, then your brain will spend more effort to perform a given task. Similarly, if people (the organization’s neurons) are not integrated properly, the result is inefficient processes and lower than optimal organizational performance.

A solid Network Analysis methodology provides a structured approach for achieving performance uplift. It should give management visibility to understand fundamental elements in an organization to make meaningful changes:

Communication networks: Examines the flow of information across the organization in the processes under study
Influence networks: How individuals influence decisions and activities within the organization. It provides visibility of the influence level of each stakeholder in the process
Decision networks: Studies the networks that drive core decisions. This proves the misconception that it is the CEO or the Big Boss have the final word in day to day decisions

Rethinking Process Engineering

Process improvement methodologies identify waste (or non-value add) and value add activities. The idea is to stop activities that are a waste and redeploy those resources toward activities that produce value. Thus, to be effective, tools must quickly identify, diagnose, design and synthesize processes in situations with a high order of complexity.

The traditional way to look at a company is through the lens of the organizational chart, with its hierarchies, “dotted lines” and other forms of structure but is this the way people perform their work?

According to Dr. Michael Mann, “An organization that is thought to operate in accordance with its formal org chart – DOESN’T.” This is because enterprises are dynamic and organize around tasks, not charts. Also, when performing tasks people will gravitate toward the path of least resistance, not what is most efficient and productive for the company. Therefore, if we are going to make enterprise-wide improvements, we must recognize that processes, tasks, and people are highly dynamic.

Network Analytics are Organizational MRIs

Network analytics is the equivalent of taking an MRI inside the organization: you need accurate instruments and the ability to interpret their results. Let’s explore a few scenarios to understand how processes can be improved drastically through the aid of such tools. The processes below are examples captured using Argonaut™, a leading organizational network analytics tool. In these examples, the 3D diagrams, lines show actual interactions between people in an organization, their frequency (thickness) and the perceived importance associated with such interactions (color). You will also notice that in several instances, a line leaves a node with a specific thickness and a color, but connects to a different node in a different thickness or color. This is a documented disagreement between stakeholders and therefore a sign of process pathology.

All Interactions	Enterprise processes can be very complex. Interactions between consequential stakeholders vary in frequency, importance and agreement levels. There is organizational noise; deeper analysis is required to understand the opportunities for improvement.
High-Frequency, High-Importance – Disagreed	High Frequency, High Importance disagreements display areas that require attention. High Frequency and Importance typically means that at least one party is spending significant effort to push a task forward. When this is not reciprocated, it yields waste.
High-Frequency, High-Importance – Agreed	High Frequency, High Importance agreements are the tasks that everybody agrees makes the organization move forward. In a restructuring, these are the key areas that must remain undisturbed.
High-Frequency Low-Importance – Agreed	Agreed Low Important interactions are in brief, misallocated efforts. Everybody agrees that such tasks do not add significant value, but are done following an empty process ritual. Stop doing them, especially the ones with High Frequency.
Emergence View™: Identifying influencers and decisions makers	In a network Emergence View, what “emerges” at higher levels are the real decision makers and their degree of influence, regardless of organizational rank. These are the people who get the job done (or not!) as nominated by their peers.

As-Is, Should-Be, As-Of

The application of network analysis should not be a one-time shot. An “As-Is” study performed at the beginning and allows management to understand the current state and therefore gain an order of magnitude estimate for required changes. This should be complemented with a “Should-be” assessment by stakeholders based on their unique perspective in the organization. The target state is a negotiated agreement that takes the As-Is and the Should-Be.

“As-of” analyses provide an objective state of the processes under study as of a given date and allows you to objectively measure progress. As-of’s are performed throughout the life of change process to ensure that the organization is making progress as planned. In addition to being a very effective tool to monitor the pace of change, it allows management to correlate improvements in company processes with the desired outcomes.

Key Benefits of Using Network Analysis in Process Improvement

In a fast-changing business environment, we need to look for new tools to make process improvement effective. Network analysis is becoming a key component of organizational process management in the 21st century as it blends processes, people, and their interrelations. Understanding and addressing such complexities can improve speed to market, innovation and turn monolithic processes into major organizational weapons. As important, it helps to ensure that any network analysis goes beyond the superficial “social network” and connects the true interactions that result in actions taken by company personnel and other decisions regarding resource allocation.

Process improvements will result in the following three areas:

Alignment to the Business. Are processes typically aligned to where the largest payoffs would be? The reality is that most process improvements methods do not even think about creating a repeatable link to creating business value. Network analysis can provide management with continuous visibility to identify where the largest payoffs will be – and monitor their progress. As shown above, management can perform an “MRI” of consequential organizational processes and visually identify the areas that need the most attention. As important, a broader study would also point out if the support systems are performing their function aligned to the key business drivers.
Recognize invisible connections with external processes. Enterprise processes are highly interactive and connected. They are dynamic and have interdependent interfaces. This is, if you make changes to a process, it will have a cascading effect on other processes, typically causing disruptions. Network analysis allows you to look at the system holistically: identify the process you are planning to improve, and it will tell you what the areas in the company that you need change at the same time are. You will get this information FAST without weeks of endless classic process mapping and stakeholder interviews.
Anticipate outcome before all changes are implemented. Network analysis gives you a simple tool to monitor the process of change, and therefore you can make near-time interventions. By identifying the links that need to be created, changed or decommissioned, you can create a specific change plan and monitor how each change affects the outcome. This is a fundamental departure from classic process improvement initiatives. By employing techniques such as As-is, Should-be, and As-of, you monitor the process change, not the end state of change, thereby giving management ample opportunities to make tactical course corrections as needed.

About the Authors

Dr. Mann is the Chairman of Creso Global, an international consulting practice applying the latest insights from neuroscience, behavioral economics, and best-practice project management. He has served as an advisor to corporations and government agencies around the globe, including the United Nations; as the CEO of a diversified high technology company with industrial, commercial, service, and aerospace business units; as the founder of successful engineering, manufacturing, and service arms; as an outside director of both public and closely held high technology and health services companies; as a member of the Board of Examiners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award; and on the Army Science Board, where he chaired the Directed Energy and Ballistic Missile Defense panels. Email: [email protected]

Erich Kreidler, Managing Partner of KRE Consulting, has more than two decades of organizational consulting, management, and leadership experience. Erich, who heads KRE’s Project Management and Operations practice, is recognized for his expertise and experience in integrating complex organizations to generate optimal results; helping organizations scale for rapid growth; and the development of responsible and responsive crisis management processes. Kreidler lectures at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering at the graduate level and has also served as a panelist, moderator and keynote speaker for several industry conferences and summits. Erich is also a founding member and president-emeritus of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, Orange County, California Chapter. Email: [email protected]

Resilience – Thriving in Change

Written by George Pitagorsky on April 27, 2017. Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on Resilience – Thriving in Change

Everything is subject to change. Nothing stays the same. To expect that it will is a delusion that leads to much suffering.

The ability to thrive in the face of change, particularly organizational change, and the uncertainty that comes with it, is critical to success in project management.

Managing Change

There are many types of projects across many organizations. The example here is one slice. The more you bring to mind your own situation, the more you will be able to see how you can improve the way you manage change.

Marv is the manager of a large process improvement program. Its goal is to improve the performance of an organization. He works with Jane, the senior executive responsible for the “target” organization. As the program began, Marv and Jane understood that they were going off into unchartered territory. No organization-wide major process change had been attempted for decades. They also understood that the current operation must continue uninterrupted and that substantial changes in policy, regulations, economic conditions, budgets can arise at any time to cause changes to their project’s goals and constraints.

They recognized the need to manage the change in business units and the need to manage changes at the program and project level.

Marv and Jane assessed the capacity of the people who would be implementing the process change and those who will be living with the results – several thousand people in line operations, middle management, project management and at executive levels. They concluded that a few key people were open to change and rational in their expectations. Many were “uncertainty averse.” They liked or needed things to be stable, definitive and predictable. Some had expectations of Nirvana by the target date of the program.

Change Management Strategy

A change management strategy was formulated:

Stakeholders would be eased into an acceptance of uncertainty and an understanding of their responsibility to adapt
Incremental planning and control would minimize the probability and impact of the disruptive change in operations using risk management, project control, pilot projects, focus groups, and incremental implementation. It would also set rational expectations about the outcome
Training, procedures development, and regular communication would give stakeholders a sense of what they can expect and what is expected of them
There would be transparency regarding changes and their impact
There would be recognition that the change, to be truly effective, would have to become institutionalized after several years of effort

The leadership team budgeted and planned for putting their change strategy into action. They made it an integral part of the program. Jasmine was assigned as Organizational Change Management Lead. Her role was to work with project managers, training, QA, communications, IT and others to create communication channels and content, discussion forums, training programs, procedures management, and the other components of a change management process.

Degree and Frequency of Change

Marv and Jane were wise to give change management the attention it deserves.

There are varying degrees and frequency of change in a project. Some changes are small or have been anticipated and have little impact. For example, a simple change in requirements. A few of these every so often are easy to manage. When allot of them come quickly, one after another, then things become more challenging. Other changes are more profound. They may cause you to radically change your plan or cancel the project. For example, major loss of budget, policy changes, changed key stakeholders, etc. When these are frequent, you are pretty much rudderless in the rapids of a fast-moving river.

In addition to changes that impact the project or program, there is organizational change, the change that impacts people when their roles, processes, values and environment change. Individuals have varying degrees of ability to accept and work with change.

As project managers, you are responsible for both keeping your boat, the project, afloat and minimizing undesirable change and disruption. To do this, you need resilience coupled with the leadership abilities required to keep all the stakeholders (including yourself) calm and able to respond rather than react.

How Do You Do That?

There is no simple answer, no off-the-shelf methodology or magical 10 step program you can follow. Though, there are capabilities, understandings, and guidelines that you can apply.

These begin with cognitive readiness and resilience.

“Cognitive readiness is the mental preparation (including skills, knowledge, abilities, motivations, and personal dispositions) an individual needs to establish and sustain competent performance in the complex and unpredictable environment of modern military [project/business] operations.” John E. Morrison J. D. Fletcher, INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES (IDA), Paper P-3735 Cognitive Readiness, p ES-1]

Competent performance in the midst of change is resilience – able to adapt gracefully to change. It is a quality needed by any person or group “who must adapt quickly to rapidly emerging, unforeseen challenges.”

Researchers have identified the capabilities that enable cognitive readiness and resilience. They boil down to:

a systems and process perspective to promote objectivity and awareness of the big picture and the details
the ability to manage emotions and work well with others
an open mind
the intention and capability to facilitate collaborative problem solving and decision making to drive appropriate situation action.

These capabilities are founded on mindful awareness.

As I point out in my new book, Managing Expectations, there is the possibility to set rational expectations in a planning process that includes the acceptance of uncertainty and change.

Putting these elements together we have guidelines for resiliently managing change:

Set rational expectations (especially the expectation that everything is subject to change) and manage them as the project unfolds.
Acknowledge that an effective plan with its tasks, schedules, resource assignments and budget, is subject to change
Manage the plan as the project unfolds – refine estimates based on a review of assumptions and actual results.
Continuously manage risk to identify, assess, plan for and control the change events that can be predicted and to remember that there are risks that will not be identified until they appear, usually at the most inconvenient time.
Communicate frequently to inform stakeholders about the organizational changes they can expect and how those changes will be facilitated.
Take a step back regularly to assess and report on how the project “looks and feels” – where you are, where you are likely to be going, the health of relationships, budget, etc.
Cultivate cognitive readiness and resilience in the entire organization through training and regular dialog that addresses process and systems thinking, attitudes, mindfulness, emotional issues, change management, problem-solving and decision-making process.
Have the courage to ‘let go’ of fear when you are faced with disruptive change so you can apply your skills, experience, and intelligence most effectively.

2016: The Year of the Process

Written by Ivan Seselj on March 28, 2016. Posted in Articles. 6 Comments on 2016: The Year of the Process

At some point every business needs to take a step back in order to get a more holistic view of its operations. Which business processes are really working and which aren’t?

To get critical business processes back on track, start by recognizing that documentation alone is not going to fix things. Instead, teams within your business need to find ways to truly collaborate so that continual process improvement becomes a fundamental part of your company’s culture.

Seeing the need to change versus being told to change

To ensure that this happens across the organization, begin by instilling a sense of urgency. It’s essential for teams to understand and be committed to the need to change, rather than just being told to change. They must also understand that work on reaching this goal must begin now, not at some distant date in the future.

A great example of this is often cited by change management expert JP Kotter. He tells the story of a senior purchasing executive who was concerned that his organization was wasting money because of its decentralized purchasing process. When he reviewed the purchasing process, he learned that his company was purchasing 424 different types of gloves for staff working in its 14 factories.

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The executive immediately saw that changing this situation would result in significant savings. To instil that needed sense of urgency, though, he waited until the next meeting of the company’s senior managers, then piled all 424 gloves onto the boardroom table. The executives, of course, were shocked at how much money was being wasted on such a simple item, motivating them to take immediate action.

Once that sense of urgency has been established, identify the most important processes that exist within your business, and then work through each of them in turn. First and foremost, make certain that process documentation is easily accessible. No matter how good your information is, it will be of little value if no one knows where it is located and – as a result – your staff never bother to look at it.

Deliver and communicate benefits fast

As changes in processes are identified, they should be introduced immediately, rather than at the conclusion of the entire review. As the resulting benefits become apparent, it will be far easier to achieve positive buy-in from everyone in your organization.

Just as important, recognize that process information can become outdated easily. Because of this, you should never consider your data to be static. All information must keep pace with changes that occur in the organization as a whole. Regular updates mean that users will have ready access to current information, and also ensures that they develop a level of trust in the validity of the information you’re providing. Bottom line, if they don’t trust the information, they won’t use it.

Complexity creates confusion and lack of engagement

Beyond regular updates, one of the biggest inhibitors for business improvement is complexity. A complex and confusing workplace leads to people feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, and unproductive.

To avoid this, key business processes should be assigned “owners.” These owners must be given the authority to change processes that are inefficient or unnecessarily complex. Working together, process owners and their teams can ensure complexity is removed and processes become as simple as possible.

Admittedly, ease of use will vary by user group. While one group of users may require very detailed, step-by-step instructions, a high-level process overview may be sufficient for another group. Given these differences, it is important to present information in a format and at a level of detail that is required for specific user groups.

Establish governance to maintain momentum

Finally, business process improvement is something that requires sustained momentum. Processes must be put in place that will ensure teams continue to collaborate and find ways to boost productivity and effectiveness. Over time, this has to become an integral part of your organization’s culture.

Here there is an important role to be played by the executive team, which must communicate the importance of the process management activity. To help achieve this, some companies are appointing Chief Process Officers to lead activity across the business.

Above all, regular communication with all business teams is vital. It’s important to explain the reasons for the changes you’re making and highlight the benefits that those changes will deliver. Having a positive feedback loop in place will ensure buy-in from all involved.

Following these steps will ensure that business process management and improvement becomes an element of everyone’s job. Rather than putting up with (or ignoring) inefficient and ineffective processes, staff will feel they can contribute to real change.

Why not make 2016 the “year of the process”? The result of this effort will be improvements across your business that will deliver benefits for years to come.

From the Archives: 4 Things to Prepare for Before Kicking Off a Project

Written by Simon Horton on February 23, 2016. Posted in Articles. 5 Comments on From the Archives: 4 Things to Prepare for Before Kicking Off a Project

If you have a project-based business, you already know that many things can go wrong between you and the successful completion of a project. From budget to bureaucracy, anything can suddenly become a viable threat to your project. However, the most detrimental of them all is not knowing when you will finally finish the project successfully.

Project management is a complex process and involves a lot of risks. It calls for an extensive as well as collective attention to various budgetary, human and technical variables. Besides, a project often includes specialized factors that are critical to its success and need to be addressed for proper implementation. Now the question is: How do you define success?

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Is it when you accomplish the scope of work? Or when your client pays for the project?

In most cases, businesses have no pre-defined success criteria to kick off a project. Worst still, many have a wrong set of criteria to begin with. There are instances where every person involved in a project had a different notion of what success is and this is the reason many projects fail.

Here are 4 things you need to prepare before kicking off a project.

1. Define Objectives

The first thing is to understand what you need out of the project. Read the “Statement of Work” and decipher each item listed there. This document spells out the objectives, timeframe, scope, assumptions, high-level requirements, resources and everything else about the project. So read it thoroughly.

Most projects go wrong here. Managers fail to fully understand the objectives and scope, which in turn, affect the project’s cost estimation, timeline, and resources. Understanding of the objectives and scope of the project is one of the core requirements.

Now it is also important to understand that a project has more than one objective. It is therefore important to understand relative importance of each objective and define scope for them. For example, if the Statement of Work is to create an eCommerce website for a retail brand, the objective is more than creating a platform that allows online transactions. You need to first define the business model, based on which the eCommerce design will be decided.

In addition, you need to define other scopes such as shopping cart, log-in features, payment option and shipping, etc. In fact, scopes can be anything ranging from ideas to features that your client would like to incorporate.

Listing your objectives and scope will also help you to understand the various constraints that you are likely to meet on the way. Let’s go back to the eCommerce website example once again. Do you want to create a new site or merge it with your existing website? What are the major challenges there and how you can overcome each of them?

In addition, you need to define the timeframe. Defining the scope along with the timeline is what brings you, the team, and your client together. In its essence, scope is the driving force of a project.

2. Research and Due Diligence

Once you’ve defined the objectives and scope and had them approved by all parties involved, it’s time to determine where you stand, in terms of the project. Your research team needs to create a detailed report including the market opportunities and challenges. A few model questions you need to answer include:

What are the current market trends?
Who is the target audience?
What does the target audience need?
Who are the competitors?
What is the competition up to?
How can you help your client to be different than the competition?
Is there any challenge the market is facing? If yes, list each of them
How can you address the challenges?
What are the problems (if any) your team is likely to face to complete the project?
What are the best alternatives to solve the problem at hand?

Now, these are just some examples and there are more such questions. The goal is to get a clear perception so that you can go to the next step with due diligence.

3. Plan of Action

Your plan of action begins with defining roles and responsibilities. Some of the key players in a project are:

Client/Project sponsor. They are the ones who fund and own the entire project and all aspects of the plan must be reviewed and approved by them.
Business experts who will define the scope and approve the related documents.
Project manager responsible for creating, executing and controlling the project plan.
Project team to build the end product and is responsible to identify risks, design issues and quality.

In addition, there are others who actively participate in a project such as auditors, procurement specialists, and quality and risk analysts.

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During this step you also need to give a definite timeline for each activity. In other words, you need to estimate how much time is required to complete each task. Set relatively frequent milestones and deadlines to ensure that your project is on track.

Similarly, you need to prepare budgets and resource allocation. Budget is a crucial factor. Your aim should be to stick to your budget until the end or come in under budget. In terms of money spent, it is necessary for your team to know where they stand. Same goes for resources, which are the life-blood of a project. Also, make sure that the project team has the right skills and attitude for the successful completion of the project.

Finally, get the plan of action and each item mentioned above approved by your stakeholders.

4. Contingency Plan

What if your Plan A fails?

Developing a good “Plan B” is important. As discussed, there can be times, despite good planning, when things go wrong. This is why you need to invest your time and effort in contingency planning. This again includes risk assessment and determining what could go wrong.

You will need to create a backup strategy after identifying and prioritizing risks. The goal here is to address all business-critical operations, keeping everyone’s needs in mind. Also, keep the plan simple.

In addition, your Plan B should address outsourced resources and emergency funds, should you happen to need them.

Conclusion

A lot of what we’ve discussed here revolves around understanding the objectives and scope of a project. From your client and stakeholders to your project team everyone should be aligned to the objectives and scope. Communication also plays an important role in successful project management.

Finally, understand and accept that there will be situations where you need to deviate from the specifications. This is why we recommend you to invest in contingency planning and have extra time for such changes and requests to both save time and avoid pain points.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.