Project Management

Though everyone connected with the project has a role to play in bringing it to fruition, it is you, as project manager, who is ultimately responsible for its success. You are uniquely placed to see how the different elements fit together, and to drive your team forward towards completion.

Good project management rests on three fundamentals. It’s about having the right systems in place, inspiring high performance through good leadership, and exercising sound judgement when required. These are some of the key things you need:

• Process selection. It’s important to use the right tools to cover all the areas of managing a project. Before you begin the project, you will need to decide how you are going to approach planning and scheduling, budgeting and resource planning, risk management, progress monitoring and communication, and evaluation. If this sounds like a long list, don’t worry! All these aspects of project management are covered in this book.

• Approaches and methods. You can choose from a number of different approaches to managing projects (Secret 1.6).

“Project managers function as bandleaders who pull together their players, each a specialist with an individual score” L.R. Sayles, business writer

• Software to help you manage your project. Software shouldn’t be too cumbersome: ensure it is appropriate to the size of the project, otherwise you may find yourself working late every evening preparing plans and monitoring reports that nobody reads!

• Leadership skills. In modern project management, leadership involves more than just managing your project team (essential though this is). It’s about communicating effectively with all your stakeholders, to build and gain support for your project. In Project Leadership, Wendy Briner and colleagues describe how project leaders must manage the team, stakeholders and processes in order to be successful. (Project leadership is covered in Chapter 5.)

• Accurate, up-to-date information. Juggling these priorities requires the ability to ‘see the big picture’, so that you can zoom in to where action is required. You’ll need to ensure you have reliable information about the status of your project, so that you can use your judgement to make an informed decision – sometimes quickly. (There’s more on this in Chapter 6.)

• Overview of the stakeholders. From your ‘control tower’, take a little time to reflect on what other stakeholders are doing to help deliver your project, and what they expect from the project. How well do these expectations fit together? If there is a mismatch, these may need resolving – either by discussion (to agree priorities) or by amending the plan.

Juggling priorities requires the ability to see the big picture.

Aspire to succeed (#ulink_975e1c0c-aa43-58f1-9343-cde8eb688e90)

Many an ‘old master’ painting started with an initial rough drawing; colours were then added and lines redrawn to produce the final picture. In the same way, every project has to start somewhere – whether as a flash of inspiration in the bath tub, or a more structured solution to a strategic problem. It’s important to know how to develop a project from these initial – and often rather vague – ideas into something more concrete.

2.1 Every masterpiece starts with a sketch (#ulink_0b5f0fda-a890-5836-a40b-1f8a400d31cc)

Projects don’t grow on trees, nor emerge out of thin air. As more companies adopt a project approach, they are recognizing early on when a work area should become a project: a peak in business activity with defined beginning and end points, requiring a multi-disciplinary team to carry it out.

Recognizing, initiating and developing a project idea are essential skills for any aspiring project manager.

1 Like trees, projects need strong roots. Make sure your project idea is grounded in the needs of your business, or it will be unlikely to command much support. Similarly, make sure it plays to your organization’s strengths – in other words, that it is practical and makes good use of your capabilities (as well as those of your suppliers).

2 Ideally, your project should be the solution to a business challenge. For example: how can we launch this new product succesfully? How can we cut costs and maximize opportunities

one minute wonder Before developing a project idea, ask three key questions:

• What does research show our customers or end users need? How will they make use of it?

• Why is this the right project (and is it at the right time) for our organization? How does it fit with our strategy, and with currently available resources?

• How are we (and our suppliers) going to deliver what customers need? What particular skills do we have that make this project the right choice?

for collaboration between teams? How can we improve e-communications with our customer base? All these challenges can be the inspiration for a project, such as a marketing plan, a team merger, or a new website.

3 Make sure you have the necessary support in place to get started. Try to view any criticism of your project proposal as constructive – it will help you identify potential risks and pitfalls, and to work out how to reduce the likelihood of these affecting your project.

4 If your project idea doesn’t get off the ground, don’t be discouraged. The cost of ‘closing’ your project at this stage is probably very small; this is rarely the case later on, so, by testing your idea before starting, you are likey to have saved a significant amount of money. Treat it is a learning experience and move on. Besides, without creative ideas, there would be no innovation!

Make sure your project idea is absolutely right for your business.

2.2 Get creative! (#ulink_a23d48a8-3188-5528-be31-0931a4a6ad1e)

Sometimes turning an initial idea into something more coherent requires a little creative effort. In the process-driven world of projects, this can seem difficult. However, that needn’t be the case. There are a number of tools you can use to turn a bright idea into a well-defined outline of your project.

Visual planning

‘Mind maps’ – diagrams representing ideas and tasks – can be very useful for brainstorming initial project ideas. They can range in complexity from simple spider diagrams to lavishly illustrated versions. They work by engaging both sides of the brain in ordering and prioritizing ideas. They are easy to produce on a sheet of paper or company whiteboard; there are also a number of mind-mapping software packages available (some are even free).

To create a mind map, identify a starting idea or goal, say ‘plan a launch party’ for your company’s new clothing store. Write this in the middle of a sheet of paper. Then identify the ‘basic ordering ideas’ (perhaps catering, invitations and publicity), around which individual activities can be clustered on the paper. Then identify individual tasks or smaller work areas coming off different lines of activities.

Non-visual planning

Not everyone thinks visually. Some people have an auditory preference (they like to think in words and sounds), while others prefer kinaesthetic communication (they respond best to concrete ideas).

When discussing your project proposal, try listening to the metaphors people use (‘it sounds like’, ‘it feels like’ and so on) to determine their preferences. This will help you structure your communications accordingly: for example, people with an auditory preference may find it easy to use a mnemonic to recall the key features of your project. (In Secret 1.3, the phrase A Project Is Managed is an example of a mnemonic). Those with a kinaesthetic preference may find it easier to be given a ‘walk-through’ of your main ideas.

Allowing all ideas during planning

Sometimes an initial project scoping meeting can become adversarial, with several points of view being made. Often it is the most skilfully (or forcefully!) argued approach that is adopted, which may or may not be the best one. You can resist this by using your role as Chair to ensure everyone has their say, and by using a structured questioning approach.

For example, you could invite participants to analyse a proposal from three perspectives:

• Dreamer. What are the possibilities here? What new things can we create?

• Critic. Is this idea really workable? What about the risks and downsides?

• Realist. What steps need to be taken to turn these ideas into reality?

This is known as the ‘Disney model’, after Walt Disney, who often used this approach. It will give you a measured view of the proposal, and help prevent a planning meeting from descending into adversarial arguments.

Use mind maps and other tools to stimulate creativity.

2.3 SOC it to them! (#ulink_6cae46f0-a0b8-529f-becf-1d209489c9f5)

Once you’ve sketched an outline of your project, the next step is to document the key points of your project. You will need this in order to get the necessary approval to proceed.

This needn’t be a detailed plan of how you’re going to achieve everything connected with the project, but should be designed to give your stakeholders (especially those concerned with approving the necessary budget and resources) an idea of what’s in store. This document is known as a project brief, scope document or strategic outline case (SOC). Even if you have already been given approval to go ahead (sometimes called a project mandate), there are several reasons why putting together a SOC is important. These include:

1 Information. Ahead of a more detailed plan, it gives you a chance to inform your colleagues of what’s coming up (though this is no reason not to consider more informal means of communication, such as a staff newsletter).

2 Approval. If you haven’t yet received a mandate to carry out your project, presenting a ‘business case’ for your project is a necessary first step. This gives those responsible for approving the necessary expenditure the information they need in one compact document. Your SOC can be circulated in advance of a meeting, where you will have the chance to present your ideas and answer any questions.

3 Reassurance. By outlining what your project will and won’t deliver, and the resources required, a SOC may help allay fears or concerns that others have about your project. Of course, there is a chance that it may confirm them, so there is no guarantee it will avoid the need to answer awkward questions! But as a more reliable source of information than the ‘rumour mill’, it will at least ensure that these questions are relevant.

Your SOC doesn’t need to be a long essay, but should set out the main points. Include a paragraph or so on each of the following: