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• Turnaround: Leading a Project Recovery

  It’s true! Most every failed project had an earlier phase as a troubled project. I will look at techniques a Project Manager can use to gain control of a troubled project and lead a turnaround. Does this sound familiar?

  • The volume of identified defects has swamped testing or development or change control.
  • No-one on the project team has a firm view of when the project will be finished.
  • The budget is red and no-one knows how much additional work is still required.
  • The customer is losing confidence and showing signs of buyer’s remorse.
  • Team members are working excessive hours of overtime, email wars are breaking out, and personal relationships are unraveling.
  • The Executive is no longer on the same page as to the status and outlook for the project.
  • Vendor contractual misunderstandings are emerging and creating additional challenges.

  If you have a troubled project, crisis is imminent and your world needs to change. Sooner rather than later management will request increased and more detailed updates. Customers, team members, and other internal stakeholders, such as audit, will soon be checking old project emails and asking additional questions. Now is not the time to become defensive. You are the Project Manager, and now more than ever, the stakeholders need you to lead them through the turnaround steps to project recovery. Step 1 – Initiate Recovery

  1. Seek guidance from the project team, business owner, and corporate methodology on an appropriate approach to initiate recovery planning. This step shouldn’t bog you down. Equally important as the guidance gained, is the communication you share with the stakeholders. That is, “You are leading the team into project turnaround and recovery mode.”
  2. In order to understand the status of the project and the nature of the recovery required, interview key stakeholders and analyze key project documentation such as project org chart, Charter, Work breakdown Structure, Issue log, Schedule (planned and actual Activities, resources, assignments, timing, and costs), and Change Log.
  3. Ensure the Project Team and executive reflect on the status of the project as measured against the business case benefit. Many events have occurred since original assumptions and it is possible that changes in market needs, technology, and enterprise risk, et cetera, render the existing project as unviable.

  A very common mistake is to rationalize the continuation of a project due to the vast money and effort expended to date. Never use the amount of time and effort spent to date as a reason to continue a project with a broken business case – the money that has been spent can’t be recovered, however, it is possible that additional money about to be spent could be re-allocated to bring relatively more benefit to the organization. If the business case is broken, recovery is not possible, and your job as Project Manager is to ensure an updated business case is approved or the project is stopped. Step 2 – Planning Recovery Assuming that the Executive, Sponsor, and Project Team are in agreement with implementing a project recovery, it is time to gather the stakeholders in a series of planning sessions. It is crucial that all stakeholders are represented in the re-planning exercise and that they are representing their relevant departments in committing to the new estimates in the plan. The Project Manager has several levers available to make change over the original project plan. I recommend working each of the three levers below.

  1. Reduce Scope Facilitate review of the incomplete scope elements by the team. Identify and validate dependencies, resource requirements, and alignment to the business case. Request or impose a haircut to the scope of the project.
  2. Increase Schedule Seek deep clarity on the reasons and alternatives to any “drop-dead” dates articulated by stakeholders. Review duration estimates and resource leveling for the remaining work. It is common for team members to underestimate overall time required and to spread individuals too thin across numerous tasks. Unless the customer is willing to accept reduced deliverables, avoid planning backwards from a “drop-dead’ date as this is likely one of the factors that sent the project schedule into trouble in the first place.
  3. Increase Productivity Tailor the approach to meetings, documentation, bug tracking, task assignments, and overall communication for ways to make it easier to get the work done. A caveat – if the team is working on the wrong things or running into problems that impact others, now more than ever, it is up to the PM to surface these things and help to resolve. Now is not the time to tailor your approach by skipping status meetings or decreasing PM follow-up activities.

  As an output of the re-planning exercise a new plan must be built. To ensure the new plan will not fail, it must have buy in/commitment from all appropriate stakeholders; and it must be maintained and updated rigorously by the Project Manager. Step 3 – Execute the Plan Over and above the tremendous efforts from those doing the work, the success of the recovery depends on the persistent monitoring and tracking of the agreed recovery schedule and issue log. Avoid the noise - a good PM must repeatedly step-up and exert pressure to steer the team away from the many potholes that seem significant but in actuality, are not really blocking the path of the project. Conversely, the PM must be prepared to step outside their own comfort zone to influence stakeholders for the sake of the project when tasks are slipping or issues aren’t being resolved in a timely fashion. The essence of project recovery turnaround is to demonstrate leadership and renew the team with a refreshed analysis of the situation, a re-invigorated sense of purpose and shared commitment, and a clear and detailed plan to reach the end of the project. Finally, I note that I have not addressed reporting and metrics unique to project recovery. This will be covered at a later date. Stephen Wise Integration Professionals http://www.IntegrationProfessionals.com/ http://www.IntegrationProfessionals.com/Twitter/
• The most powerful leadership skill an expert Project Manager needs for success

  No one can be an expert in all fields. A Project Manager is a skilled expert on leading teams to initiate, plan, execute and close projects. These are among the most important skills, but not the most powerful. If you aren’t feeling well you go to see your General Practitioner (GP). Your GP understands the big picture and upon identifying a specific issue or risk with your health may refer you to a specialist. In this analogy the GP is like a Project Manager – they do not need to be an expert in every field and one difference between okay GP’s and excellent GP’s is the speed and quality and follow-up related to the referral. All Project Managers will tell you that the most commonly used skill on a project is communication. However, neither communication nor planning are the most powerful skills in the arsenal. The true multiplier, the most powerful skill, is the ability to learn from others. The ability to learn from others enables the PM to absorb the nuances of the culture, mitigate the hidden risks of the processes, and allow for the complexity of the technology. When a diverse project team gets together it doesn’t matter who is the smartest or most senior in the room. What matters is learning from everyone’s skills and experience and channeling that back to the team so the whole is greater than the sum. The most powerful leadership skill is the ability to apply the greater whole in order to reach the objectives of the project quicker and with less risk of failure.

  Stephen Wise

  https://www.IntegrationProfessionals.com 

• Team Building - Environmental Factors

  Fourth in a series on Team Building.

  Along with personnel factors, there are also a number of business environment factors affecting firms' ability to hire and develop quality team members. Just as the world population is evolving, so too is the world work environment, and the speed of change is leaving many firms breathless.

  Businesses must increasingly compete on a global scale and deal with staff just as mobile as their corporate leaders. Virtual teams are rising, freeing workers from the confines of the office, which in turn makes it more difficult to control and train talent pools. With lower loyalty levels to organizational leaders, the global, mobile, and virtual workplace can mean a staff free-for-all when competing for talent.

  GLOBALIZATION 

  The blending of talent pools from around the world brings diversity of ideas, cultures, and practices to the business environment. For some firms, this is a wholly positive experience. For other firms, this is disruptive and difficult to adapt to in daily practice. Yet the shifting demographics of the world mean that globalization forces are more likely to increase than decrease, requiring staffing managers and business planners to adapt or lose at the global talent game. 

  RISE OF THE VIRTUAL WORKPLACE 

  In the United States, 58 percent of companies consider themselves to be virtual workspaces, according to the Insight Research Corporation.[1] This rise of virtual work and virtual office environments presents a challenge to hiring and developing quality team members. Culture and fit to culture is a prime driver of employee success, but how can this be assessed if the employee will never spend time in the office? What is the role of workplace learning culture over Twitter or via Skype conferencing? How can team member development be instigated and monitored remotely to ensure training and development investments are paying off? These questions and many more are becoming larger and larger issues for recruiters and managers worldwide.

  DECREASED LOYALTY/INCREASED MOBILITY 

  Adding to the challenge of managing virtual work teams is the challenge of managing less loyal and more mobile workforces. While previous generations of workers were bound to one company for the effective duration of their careers, some 80 percent of modern workers are ready to go work for another firm if it appears more attractive according to research firm Right Management.[2] Over the course of their working lives, the average American worker will have 8 – 11 jobs, and up to five different careers. While this represents greater mobility than other parts of the world, it is not unusual for top talent in developing nations to switch jobs annually in pursuit of pay increases or promotions. Brazil, facing a 7.5 percent annual growth rate, can't keep up talent wise, while India and China face broad-based skill shortages as workers routinely jump ship to pick up the double-digit wage increases that are expected even in a down market.[3] Firms can no longer expect that workers will stay with them throughout their working life. On one hand, this makes organizations reluctant to invest in talent that may head for the door at the first opportunity. Yet on the other hand, firms who can grow talent become less dependent on individual workers and better able to pass knowledge between team members to reduce the impact of a highly mobile workforce.

  Adapting rather than complaining about the turnover rates is going to provide smart firms with real talent advantages.

  Stephen Wise

  www.IntegrationProfessionals.com

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  [1]  Insight Research Corporation.  “The Mobile Workforce and Enterprise Applications 2007-2012.”  Retrieved August 5^th, 2011 from:  http://www.insight-corp.com/reports/mwf.asp

  [2]  Harnish, Tom.  “Be Flexible To Modern Staffing Challenges.”  Open Forum March 25^th, 2011.  Retrieved August 4^th, 2011 from:  http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/managing/article/be-flexible-to-modern-staffing-challenges-1

  [3]  Kazmin, Amy, Robinson, Gwen, and Weitzman, Hal.  “Talent Shortage Adds To Growth Strains.”  Financial Times, published May 19^th, 2011.  Retrieved August 4^th, 2011 from:  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5d288c4-816a-11e0-9c83-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1UNIic5IA
• Get me a good Project Manager

  We all hear it. "We need someone who gets it." What is it? How do I get some? Do I read and follow the  Project Management Institute's recently published fourth update to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK)? What about Agile, ITIL (Information Technology Information Library), PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) and all the other approaches to managing change? For what it's worth, I think they all work. And I don't have any concerns that someone from PMI headquarters is going to trot out and rescind my PMP designation if I make that claim. In fact, as a Project Manager, I learn from PMBOK that it is my responsibility to apply the appropriate methodology and tools given the needs of the project. Let's face it - greater folks than I have observed "there is nothing new under the sun". All methodologies are trying to facilitate a change from current state to future state. If we choose our tools and methodologies appropriately and according to the circumstances, it is really much more important that we agree on the approach, rather then which model we have chosen. So what are the non-negotiables for a Project Manager to be considered succesful and prove that they get it? I have five must-haves that I just can't live without. Will review them next post.
• Team Building - Competency Development

  Standards for hiring and competency models for roles benefits the firm when it is time to develop competency building systems. With clearly defined deliverables and expectations for team members, developing skills and training for skill gaps becomes a more scientific and precise process, preventing waste in training expenditures and misunderstandings about the purpose and potential of training programs. Competency models and standards help employees and employers alike with developing meaningful career plans and career paths. Building proficiencies for success in current and aspirational roles provides workers with direction and motivation for continuing the employment relationship, a key incentive when companies are competing to maintain their talent pools.[1] With quantifiable performance standards, companies can also separate truly high performers from other staff members, allocating development and training dollars where there is the greatest potential for long-term returns on the development investment. These competency models need not be static entities. Instead, once standards have been put in place, it lays the foundation for a continuous improvement model. Both organizational and individual performance standards can be upgraded and enhanced with time, ensuring that the organization remains on a path to growth, market leadership, and competitiveness.[2]

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  [1]  Federal Acquisition Institute.  “FAC-P/PM Competency Model”.  Retrieved August 5^th, 2011 from:  http://www.fai.gov/pdfs/FAC-PPM%20Competency%20Model.pdf

  [2]  PMI.  “Project Manager Competency Development Framework – Second Edition.”  PMI, 2007.
• Team Building - Power of Standards

  Addressing the modern staffing challenges and business environment challenges to hiring and developing quality team members begins by identifying the true needs of the organization. In this way, the power of standards and competency development tools can be harnessed on behalf of the organization.

  Standards and competency development tools help organizations navigate the challenges of modern staffing with clear goals. They have a clear picture of the elements that most influence talent performance at their organization, and a solid program for developing the talent that exists within their corporation. With standardized metrics for evaluating potential and incoming hires, effective on-boarding practices, and ongoing competency development program, firms can discover and develop performers that have the potential to be top performers. 

  ESTABLISHING CLEAR HIRING METRICS 

  Clear hiring metrics begin long before the talent search with the establishment of competency models for all key roles. These models should be developed as a joint initiative between line staff and recruitment teams so that they accurately reflect the current expectations for each role. Once defined, these competency models offer a number of benefits to the organization when approaching staffing challenges. Competency models for each role to be filled establish clear hiring metrics and remove gray space from candidate evaluation, benefiting the organization both in the present and in the future.  Competency models:

  1. Ensure a match between the current workforce needs and available talent pools
  2. Guide recruiters toward the skills and proficiencies needed for current talent gaps and anticipated talent needs
  3. Save firms money by helping to avoid hires that are a poor fit for the organization's needs[1]

  By removing the mystery and hire costs from the talent selection process, firms will be able to pull better-quality candidates from their available talent pools. No longer chasing talent which will not ultimately meet their needs, firms can focus on the right candidates to secure more critical team members for open positions.

  Stephen Wise

  www.IntegrationProfessionals.com

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  [1]  Federal Acquisition Institute.  “FAC-P/PM Competency Model”.  Retrieved August 5^th, 2011 from:  http://www.fai.gov/pdfs/FAC-PPM%20Competency%20Model.pdf