Change management

Experienced project managers know that change is inevitable and there are many consequences of failing to manage project changes. Some of the critical consequences are;     

• Scope creep
• Cost and budget overruns
• Project delays
• Poor quality of the project deliverable
• Often the project team performs incomplete work for the project deliverables
• Stakeholders express concerns about the project manager’s ability to manage the project

So the problem is not the change itself but how the change is managed. There are many benefits of managing changes properly such as increased stakeholders’ satisfaction, improved quality of the project deliverables, opportunities for the additional project work etc. There are basically three types of changes that need to be addressed in order to ensure a project success. These are; 

Technical changes: These are the internal modifications in scope of the work of the project. 

Market changes: These are changes that are inevitable due to external market conditions such as competitors’ product or service enhancements or regulatory changes. 

Contractual changes: Changes that are made on the contract with the stakeholder or supplier. These changes include but not limited to the terms & conditions, scope of work, requirements, schedule, costs etc. 

The most important function of a project manager is to prevent uncontrollable changes. Uncontrolled and unexpected changes in user /stakeholder expectations and requirements as a project progress always negatively impact a project. This is known as scope creep. Many times new features are added to the project with a wrong assumption that one small feature will add nothing to cost or schedule. This unplanned addition is called feature creep. 

A change in the one of the  triple constraints of a project has an impact on the other two. The key is to find balance between the need to manage the scope of the project against the agreed requirements, cost & schedule. 

Impact Analysis for Change Request

Changes may negatively or positively impact a project. When a change request is made, you as a project manager need to analyze the same in order to evaluate whether it is within or outside the scope of the original project requirements as well as how it is going to impact the three constraints of your project namely scope, schedule and cost.  Impact analysis is the most important step to effective change management procedure.  Your impact analysis should not only reveal the impacts of changes on the above three project constrains but also it should provide you the essential information related to the effects of changes on people, processes, quality of the project and on the operation of your company.  By implementing proper impact analysis procedure you should also be able to evaluate the overall project risks, how the change is going to alter the existing risks, whether or not the project is going to face new risks and the cost associated in managing those risks.    

Every organization has its own way of doing things and in most cases structured processes are available.  You need these organization process assets that may or may not have formal procedure for impact analysis. However, the following guidelines will always help you understand essentials of impact analysis procedure and how you can diligently implement such procedure. 

Step one: Do you have the money? 

Every work involves some cost and the impact analysis of change requests also requires some budget especially when it is a large change request.  Do you have the contingency budget to cover the cost or do you need to request the project sponsor / customer to pay for the added cost? 

Discuss this with the project sponsor and always come up with adequate numbers so that you can properly make formal presentation to the project sponsor and request the extra fund that you need for the impact analysis. 

Step two: Determine the reason for the change. 

Why the change request is made in the first place? Can you avoid it / defer it or is it inevitable? Determine the business need for this change and how the change is going to benefit the project, the process, the work product, the quality, the stakeholders and the organization.  Also review the Change Log to determine if the amount of change is excessive on the project. If change is certain, determine what is the priority of this change in comparison to other changes, such as current requests and requests being implemented? 

Step three: Analyze the impact on triple constraints. 

Scope: Determine the impact on the overall scope of the project, Work Breakdown structure (WBS), Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) and Resource Breakdown structure (RBS). You need to find out information in details by identifying the product features that would need to be added, changed, or deleted and any sections of the PBS, components of the WBS that would also need to be added, changed, or deleted and also the resources that would be required to implement changes and how it is going to alter the RBS. 

Also you need to identify any changes that need to be made to the agreement with the customer or any vendor or subcontractor.  

Cost: Identify any changes that need to be made to the cost management plan and the overall financial plan. Who is going to pay for the added cost? Find out whether the change will be paid for by an external sponsor. Similarly like scope, you also need to identify any changes that need to be made to the agreement with the customer or any vendor or subcontractor.  If subcontractors are involved, determine whether the change is going to impact the subcontracting cost. Refer to your organizational process assets and guidelines to ask for the additional cost or price for the change from the procurement department. Your impact analysis report also should highlight the financial benefit to the project and the financial benefit to your organization. You should also document other benefits such as improved schedule, better performance, lower risk, future opportunities, stakeholder satisfaction, enhancements to the organization’s intellectual capital, and technological advancement. 

Schedule: Your project needs to be completed within time otherwise you are invariably going to incur cost overruns because the project schedule is linked to scope and cost. Estimate the time required to define and plan the proposed solution and the time required to implement the proposed changes. Evaluate the changes to the milestones and to the critical path.  Also identify the changes that would need to be made to the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), the project management schedules and the milestone lists. Determine changes to the contractual schedule with the subcontractors. Also determine the impact of the change outside the delivery organization by identifying any changes that would need to be made to the Agreement with the sponsor and with any subcontractors. 

Step four: Identify dependencies 

Your various project activities are interwoven by complex successor relationships.  Identify other tasks that are dependent on this change being approved. Also determine the predecessor relationship and prioritize the tasks that must be completed before this change is implemented. Also it is equally important to determine the resource dependencies and how you are going to use resources for this change.  And finally, you also need to identify other dependencies such as market conditions, government regulations etc. 

Step five: Analyze the risks 

Analyze the risks that are associated with this change. Identify all the risks qualitatively and quantitatively the project is facing or will face in the future due to this change. Also identify threats that are associated with this change. Threats would include changes that have possible negative impacts or risk. Even a small change might include a high amount of risk. 

Step six:  Determine the impact on the Project management system 

Identify and list all the changes that would need to be made to the project procedures description or to the project decision structure. Identify changes that would need to be made to the communications management plan, the project quality plan, the risk management plan, the technical environment plan and overall the project management plan.  Also determine the costs to update the project management system.  

Step seven: Document your findings  

Properly document all the results of your impact analysis. Prepare a detail report for the change control board to approve changes. Follow your organizational process assets and procedural guidelines to document reports of the impact analysis. When the change request is approved by the change control board, the change order is created. Identify the project documentation, including the project management system documents, which must be changed or updated to reflect the approved change. Update the financial management plan when a change has a financial impact. In order to show the changes to work items or completion dates, update the project management schedule, operational schedule, and the work breakdown structure. Most of the change request is associated with changes to the scope and in such scenario update the project definition, deliverable definition, or other documents that control the project scope.  Also update the technical specifications, the test plans, the quality management plans.  A great deal of a project manger’s time is spent on communication.  With every approved change request, you need to prepare new reports or arrange new meetings and that is why it is imperative that you also update the communications management plan.  Most important document update is the updates on the risk register. Document all the qualitative and quantitative risks and also include updated risk definitions due to this change.  

If the change control board approves a change request then you need to create change management work product that will consist of change request templates, instructions for the changes or the change order and a log to record changes.  

Implementation of change management also equally important and things may go wrong if a project manager fails to properly implement change management. That is why it is important that the project manager work cohesively with the team as well as with the change control board.  

Also another important factor to remember is that the impact analysis for multiple change requests may not reveal hidden costs. In such scenario, it is always recommended to rely on expert judgment.  

These areas of expertise may be in any area but are most likely to develop in the critical, central areas of the company where the most value is added to its products. For example, for Software Company the key skills may be in the overall simplicity and innovation of the program for users or in the high quality of software code writing.
Core competencies are not considered as being fixed.

Core competencies may change or abandoned in response to changes in the business environment. Sometimes companies are forced to make such changes due to economic environment. One of the software companies I worked for strived for innovation and customer satisfaction. Due to downturn in company business, company dissolved entire software test automation group. You can imagine the impact on quality of products and in turn impact on customer satisfaction.

Many times management of company inadvertently change or choose core competency one over the other. As business reforms and adapts to new circumstances and opportunities, so its core competencies may have to adapt and change. However, companies have to be very careful in doing so. Take an example of Toyota which is considered one of the most efficiently run companies in the world.

Toyota’s global competitive advantage is based on a corporate philosophy known as the Toyota Production System which consists of concepts such as JIT and Kaizen. According to Jeffrey Liker, the author of “The Toyota Way”, the mission of Toyota is to build trust and confidence with customers by delivering outstanding quality products and services which add real value to their businesses.

However, in recent years there has been a number of recalls of multiple models of Toyota including Corolla and Camry which are considered amazingly reliable. How could this possibly happen to the car company that was the undisputed leader in quality? The answer is becoming quite obvious. Toyota seems to have abandoned one of its core competencies – quality. Toyota is suffering from trying to get too big, too fast. Toyota sensed weakness from its auto rivals in the American market, and also noted opportunity in emerging markets such as China and India. So, it started enormous expansion around the world. In doing so, Toyota abandoned one of its core values which is to never build a new product in a new factory with a new workforce.

This is exactly what Toyota ended up doing with its first full-size pickup truck in San Antonio, Texas. The pickup truck was recalled due to a number of problems. The recent recalls expanded with other models as well as in other countries. Toyota’s quality problem has gone global. With abandoning one of its core competencies – quality, Toyota may have won the rights to brag as the world’s biggest car company, however, that appears to have come at a heavy cost to its reputation for quality and in turn customer dissatisfaction.

How could this relate to project management? Project managers need to make sure that their projects and their goals are aligned with organizational values and core competencies. Understanding the importance of competencies and core values, and how they need to work in conjunction, is profoundly important for project manager’s success. Project manager should give thought and efforts towards developing both of these sets of attributes and remain focused on business goals.

Roles & Responsibilities:  Understand the different roles and responsibilities of all involved in project management

• Who is the Executive Leader for the PMO and the project management approach?
• Who are the Executive Champions for each project?
• Who are the Project Leaders for each project?
• Who are the Project Managers for each project?
• Who resides in the central PMO?
• Are there business and operating liaisons connected to the PMO?

Tools:  Provide both Executive reporting tools and tools/methods to manage the projects

• Focus on the priority projects only
• Provide Executive Reporting tools that provide accountability, visibility, and rapid decision-making.  Make sure they tie-in to the project reporting tools
• Provide Project Reporting tools that help manage the project, provide simple roll-up reporting, and identify critical risks and dependencies.  They must all be simple and not time-consuming
• Build the overall Project Management approach from the lessons learned as you assess your environment and business needs

Project Start-up

• Be clear about requirements for priority projects and why practices are necessary
• Be sure to have Executive Owners, Project Managers and Core Team members named, as well as project goal, start/end date, and a clear description of proposed results for successful launch of individual projects
• Provide training and support to project managers and teams
• Provide opportunities to raise and resolve issues quickly
• Provide an “Honest Broker” role for Executives and project teams
• Provide facilitation, consultant and other services, as needed
• Be prepared to provide “project rescue” services

Priorities:  Require Executive decision-making to prioritize the project agenda

• Executive leadership must develop and approve the total priority project agenda
• A start-up PMO can successfully about 20-30 initiatives (depending upon project size)
• Create a Gatekeeper process on determining what is a priority project

Post-launch Activities:  Provide post-PMO launch services and activities that add value

• Provide regular Project Management meetings
• Provide regular project tracking and reporting to Executives
• Launch periodic emails news from the central PMO
• Provide key milestone and deliverable tracking:  Show progress, celebrate wins!
• Offer ongoing Project Management training (to all stakeholders)
• Promote project success stories; highlight key savings, process improvements, customer satisfaction, etc. to EVERYONE

 Lisa DiTullio, Principal, Lisa DiTullio & Associates, LLC, www.lisaditullio.com

Power:  Understand the power/organization/decision-making ways and means

• Understand the business decision-making structure(s),  i.e., committees, departments, individuals
• Understand the organizational power centers
• Understand the key program/business drivers
• Understand the key operating drivers
• Understand where project management is happening today and how it is going (or not)

Problem Solving:  Be clear about the problems(s) to be tackled through project management

• Do you need to speed up decision-making?
• Improve accountability?
• Build a better understanding of interdependencies?
• Achieve cost savings?
• Improve common knowledge of priority efforts across departments and constituencies?
• Achieve better use of staff, operating and capital resources?
• Achieve better, faster implementation and closure on projects?
• Provider a method for prioritizing the project agenda?

Launch:  Take advantage of the power of a new approach and new organizational structure of the PMO

• Top-down leadership:  Have  a clear strategy to gain Executive Support
• Cross-organizational understanding:  Have a clear approach to getting out and working with the key operating and business units
• Clear and constant communication:  About the PMO, about project management, about the priority agenda, about progress, about everything project related!
• Understand that everyone learns in different ways at their own pace; decision-makers, cultural influence makers, skeptics and stars
• Be clear about the expectations of Executives, Operating Unit Leaders, Project Managers, PMO Liaisons, and the central PMO
• The PMO kick-off must be lead by the most senior person possible and all that will be involved should be invited

Infrastructure:  Build the basic PMO infrastructure

• Executive Champions – Identify those individuals that  provide ready access, direction and support to the PMO
• Director –The PMO Leader must be someone with credibility and a strong record of getting things done 
• Staff – Select All-Stars for the PMO.  Some staff characteristics may include:  ability to listen well, speed and performance, can do attitude, do whatever it takes, great communicators, teachers and doers
• Structure:  Think about the PMO as something to be marbled into the organization; a central body with connectors to vital business and operating units
• War Room – Or a place that represents the physical vitality of the PMO and the new approach
• Tools – Keep it simple to be successful; and always start with reporting tools

 Tune in tomorrow for more—

 Lisa DiTullio, Principal, Lisa DiTullio & Associates, LLC, www.lisaditullio.com

Here’s a list of things to consider when starting a PMO:

Power:  Understand the power/organizational structure/decision-making ways and means.  Why?  To understand who the PMO is serving and to develop an infrastructure that works.

Problem Solving:  Be clear about the problem(s) to be tackled through project management; be clear about what it is not.  Why?  To develop the appropriate tools and methods and to understand the PMO’s focus and deliverables.

Launch:  Take advantage of the power of a new approach and the new organizational structure of the PMO.  Why?  To make it clear that it really matters and to creates “magic star dust” of Executive support for the PMO.

Infrastructure:  Build the basic PMO infrastructure.  Why?  It’s all about smart infrastructure.  Clear executive support, great staff, sensible approach and the mountains will move…

Roles & Responsibilities:  Understand the different roles and responsibilities of all involved in project management.  Why?  While individual stars can pull off a project, it takes a village to move an entire project agenda.

Tools:  Provide both Executive reporting tools and tools/methods to manage projects.  Why?  Simple, effective reporting and meaningful review of the report almost by itself creates the incentive for behavioral/cultural change to move the entire agenda.

Project Start-up:  Provide direction, support, education, and tools on successful project start-up.  Why?  This is one of the base core value-adds of a PMO.

Priorities:  Require Executive decision-making to prioritize the project agenda.  Why?  Less is more.  Focus means success.  Moving a few key projects hard and fast will create momentum and results.

Post-Launch:  Provide post-PMO launch services and activities that add value.  Why?  Be creative with building the common understanding of the project agenda and the work involved.  Communicate, communicate, communicate – you just can’t do it enough.

I’ll talk about a few of these in more detail over the next few days.  In the meantime, keep your goals focused, your requirements simple and your activities methodical.  Shout out each and every accomplishment – with volume and pride. 

Lisa DiTullio, Principal, Lisa DiTullio & Associates, LLC, www.lisaditullio.com

Tracking Gantt

Project Conference 2009 continues through this week in Phoenix, AZ.  As Microsoft prepares for the release of Project 2010, it’s a good time to reflect on some additional best practices that project managers should keep in mind when using their current version of Microsoft Project.

Know the Limitations of Critical Path Methodology – CPM was developed by the DuPont Corporation over 50 years ago as an effective method to identify activities with no tolerance for delay.  You can use the Gantt Chart Wizard function to display the critical path in Microsoft Project.  One significant limitation with the Critical Path Method is that it does not account for resource constraints, only task dependencies.  Project managers who are dealing with limited resources often find that not all projects can be managed to the critical path schedule.  Incorporating the Resource Leveling feature can help a project manager identify resource bottlenecks in addition to the critical path.  Using the Leveling Delay column and the critical path helps to pinpoint which resources and tasks are the ones to focus on first when optimizing the schedule.

Learn to Compress Schedules Effectively – Project managers are always trying to save time and often utilize many schedule compression techniques.  It’s important to practice each technique in Microsoft Project in order to become as efficient as possible when optimizing the timeline.  One of the best places to start optimizing is in resource reassignment.  When working in a resource constrained environment, reassigning a leveled critical task to an available resource is a great way to save time.  Other compression techniques include applying concurrency (negative lag in Microsoft Project) and shortening duration.  Both of these methods should include documentation (I always recommend on Task Notes) to identify the assumption(s) made in order to fast track or crash the activities.

Achieving Consensus and Understanding Baselines – This is always an interesting topic.  Saving a baseline in Microsoft Project is a simple mouse click – a 5 minute feature review to go over the menu command and which fields are affected.  But it represents a fundamentally important point – the consensus achieved between project sponsor and the team over what will be delivered, who will do the work and what is the agreed upon schedule and budget.  The project manager is responsible for reaching this agreement as a result of the project planning process.  Setting a baseline essentially takes a snapshot of the planning data and saves it for future reference in the tracking and control phase of the project.  The importance of this step within the process of using the tool cannot be understated.

Controlling Projects by Variance Analysis –Here’s where Microsoft Project shines.  Once an effective planning process is completed and a good baseline is set, the Tracking Gantt View and Tracking Table can be utilized to collect actual status and provide quality decision making data for corrective actions.  Fields like Actual Start, Actual Duration and Remaining Duration are far more effective than % Complete.  Team members are much more accountable to task updates when asked for remaining duration or work as opposed to % complete.  Good project managers will go around and gather actual status from team members prior to any status meetings and then use the team meetings for more important activities like problem solving, risk management, scope change control and additional planning.

Supporting Multiple Project Managers –Whether it’s a large well established PMO or a single project manager who wants to improve the way projects are managed in the organization, there are many best practices in supporting a group of project managers.  The easiest place to start is by standardizing many of the useful objects within Project and replicating them to other plans or templates with the Organizer feature.  These objects usually include tables, filters, views and calendars (e.g. to establish working time for various countries).  Organizing a regular company user’s group meeting can be an effective way to share lessons learned and keep everyone on the same page.  Other useful techniques that support project management in the enterprise include Shared Resources, usage of master and subprojects, project-to-project dependencies and portfolio resource management.

For a more in-depth look at Microsoft Project Best Practices at UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley check out the Elective Course link in the left menu for Managing Projects with Microsoft Project.    *** NOTE: Space is still available for the next class starting  Sat 9/19 ***

Coming up next time, a closer look at…  PMI and the PMP credential – why it’s finally time for many project managers to consider certification.

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are always welcome!

- Jim Park, PMP
Instructor, Project and Program Management certificate program
UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley

Technorati Tags: best-practices, Planning, PMO, Professional-Development, project-management-tools, resources, Tracking & control

With the kick-off of Project Conference 2009 in Phoenix, AZ this week Microsoft has invited some customers and partners to get a sneak peek at Microsoft Project 2010.  I have been managing projects and teaching classes on this tool for quite a long time and have had a chance to read about some of the latest ‘improvements.’  Unfortunately, this new release still does not address some basic needs for project managers as they approach the tool.  Here are some practical suggestions when using (any version of) Microsoft Project.

Understand the Challenges to Using MS Project – There’s a reason that spreadsheets are the most commonly used software tools to manage projects.  Spreadsheets are more intuitive and predictable than MS Project.  MS Project is relatively easy to use when starting to coordinate tasks but it can quickly become cumbersome and unmanageable when attempting to optimize resources and control your schedule or budget.  A streamlined approach to using the most appropriate features is highly recommended.  I have generally found that a project manager can effectively plan and control their projects with far less than half of the tool’s functionality.  One way to streamline your approach to the tool is to minimize data entry to certain key fields (e.g. Task Name, Predecessor, Duration, Actual Start, Actual Duration and Remaining Duration to name a few).

Know the Planning Limitations - Microsoft Project is not a project management tool.  Let me repeat that last sentence: Microsoft Project is not a project management tool.   It was developed as a schedule tracking application but has become accepted over the years as a comprehensive project management tool.  It is not the most effective tool when it comes to brainstorming activities like project planning.  Many project managers get challenged when they drag their teams through a planning session with nothing but a Gantt Chart.  Gantt Charts are not very conducive to team interaction during the planning process.  Teams often respond better and produce higher quality planning information when using affinity diagramming tools like mind maps and work breakdown structures.  That brings up another good suggestion…

Integrate a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – For all the years that Microsoft Project has been in use, there has never been a built-in WBS feature.  This has always amazed me.  Previous versions have attempted to integrate with Microsoft Visio to create WBS diagrams but this was never an effective feature.  Project managers will often utilize summary tasks and subtasks (i.e. indenting tasks) in order to create a hierarchy of work within a Gantt Chart.  This is a good start but I would go a step further and utilize an add-on tool such as WBS Chart Pro (criticaltools.com) which integrates the Work Breakdown Structure into MS Project for reporting as well as front-end planning functionality.

Improve Estimation Techniques – Often times the weakest link in the planning process is the quality of work and cost estimates for project activities.  There are several things to keep in mind as you enter Duration, Work or Cost estimates into MS Project.  First, it is your responsibility as the project manager to challenge and validate estimates you receive from various sources.  If you have gone through enough projects, you know that you cannot assume every estimate will be accurate.  Refer to historical data, break down components to smaller work packages and push back on those Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) until you are more confident in the quality of the estimates.  In addition, you can use various techniques such as Delphi to gain consensus on estimates or Stochastic Modeling to leverage three-point estimates and improve the confidence in your overall schedule or budget.  There are built-in PERT Analysis features, add-on tools (e.g. Risk+ from Deltek) and even macros for Monte Carlo simulation available to integrate three-point estimation and risk management into Microsoft Project plans.

Standardize, Share, and Optimize Your Resources – Entering resources in Microsoft Project is quite easy.  Defining them properly is not.  What I mean is that coming up with a standard naming convention for resources can be challenging.  This is especially true when there are many different stakeholders for project data – resource managers, executives, portfolio/program management and, of course, team members.   Defining a common set of resources to meet all major reporting needs is often the job for a Project Management Office (PMO).  The PMO may also be charged with setting up a Resource Pool which can be shared across multiple projects and maintained centrally.  Ultimately, a key project management responsibility during the planning and control portions of a project is to optimize the usage of resources such that those resources can effectively achieve the work and thereby commit to the plan.  A good understanding of the Resource Leveling feature in MS Project allows a project manager to identify key resource bottlenecks and optimize assignments proactively to reduce schedule risk.

Know Your Limitations in Sharing Information – It’s much easier to share information with spreadsheets than with MS Project since almost everyone has a spreadsheet application on their computer.  Unfortunately, licensing costs make MS Project a limited deployment for most organizations.  For the individual project manager there is a rarely leveraged discount available through academic licensing.  Taking a professional development course or having a child in school allows for up to 90% off of the list pricing.  It is well worth taking advantage of this discount.  Check out online academic software resellers for more information on eligibility and pricing.

For a more in-depth look at Microsoft Project Best Practices at UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley check out the Elective Course link in the left menu for Managing Projects with Microsoft Project.

Coming up next time, a closer look at… Limitations in Critical Path Methodology, Compressing Schedules Effectively, Achieving Consensus and Understanding Baselines, Controlling Projects by Variance Analysis and Supporting Multiple Project Managers.

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are always welcome!

- Jim Park, PMP
Instructor, Project and Program Management certificate program
UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley

Technorati Tags: best-practices, estimation, Planning, Professional-Development, project-management-tools, resources, wbs

Blaming is an assertive, aggressive and often acrimonious assignment of blame for project failure.

During project execution blaming is a reflexive, speed of light response. It is part of our human nature. We are rational. We want answers. The sound byte nature of guilt assignment is beguiling. Quick and witty assessments resonate with us. The issue is decided; maybe only in our mind. So we blame, dump on others and move on to the other 50 action items that we need to accomplish . . . before noon. But is blame that simple. No.

Rigidity is being stiff or unyielding; not pliant or flexible; hard.

In projects it is indifferently or defiantly clinging to policies, practices and behaviors not tailored to the unique project characteristics.

Satisficing is a decision-making strategy which attempts to meet criteria for adequacy, rather than to identify an optimal solution.

Project managers may make an intellectual or emotional choice to not fully examine all stakeholders, requirements or needs. The project then fall shorts on full business requirements or solution identification due to time or team pressures when operating in an uncertain environment.

Do these behaviors occur on your projects? If so, check out solutions to these three project management sins at 77 Sins.

Reprinted [adapted] with permission from The 77 Deadly Sins of Project Management, © 2009 by Management Concepts, Inc. All rights reserved. www.managementconcepts.com

Table of contents for OPM

1. How Do Project Portfolio Managers Identify and Manage Benefits?
2. OPM: A project perspective
3. How Do PMO’s Identify and Manage Benefits?
4. The Changing Definition of Project Manager Success
5. Organizational Project Management Definition
6. How Do Projects Help Organizations?

Project management portfolio offices have a tough job of figuring out how to create a portfolio of projects that provide the most value to an organization. There are bunches of obstacles to creating and maintaining a set of projects that can deliver the most benefits to the enterprise.

Project Management Portfolio Office Challenges:

-         Chaos in the external environment

-         Clashes in the executive suite

-         Competency in the portfolio office

Portfolio offices are staffed by senior project management professionals assisting business leaders in steering the funding of the organization to respond to the chaos in the external environment, politics and personalities in the C-suite, and they may not be prepared to understand the details of the content of the projects or the mechanics of portfolio data analysis. Whew.

We can help by understanding business needs, ensuring those needs are included in the business case for portfolio selection, and creating forums for portfolio alignment. Yup – I’ve done these things.

But what is really the answer to surviving a job in a project management portfolio office? I believe that in large part it is a focus on outcome management. This is a phrase coined by my peer in the industry, Russ McDowell. We need to help an organization identify the key measurements that drive the health of the organization. Next, we identify how projects support improvement of those metrics.

What are the key outcomes your organization needs to manage? Click here to take the poll.

Copyright 2009 PM Perspectives LLC  Rosemary Hossenlopp PMP

Table of contents for OPM

1. How Do Project Portfolio Managers Identify and Manage Benefits?
2. OPM: A project perspective
3. How Do PMO’s Identify and Manage Benefits?
4. The Changing Definition of Project Manager Success
5. Organizational Project Management Definition
6. How Do Projects Help Organizations?

PMO’s have a tough job of figuring out how to identify and manage benefits on programs and projects.  A program is a set of related projects, managed in a coordinated fashion. The added cost of the program or project management office (PMO) is expected to be offset by the benefits of someone coordinating all the day-to-day project information flying around; cost, schedules and risks. In addition, the PMO has a more strategic reason for its existence; keeping a discussion of benefits alive.

OK, let’s define benefits? Simply put, why does the project exist? How does it help the organization?

Identifying and managing those benefits is a primary role of a PMO!

Benefits can be either:

* Quantitative; Examples include revenue gains, cost reductions or market share increases or metrics related to mission or business objectives
* Qualitative; Examples include customer satisfaction, market perceptions.

So what is quick ways to do quantitative alignment where business objectives are clear? I was working a new contract and needed to write some business cases. The business cases were due yesterday.  Without a lot of time to research, I quickly found the division strategic goals and mapped the features of the projects to those strategic goals. It helped me visually frame whether these projects should be important. How? I checked for density; lots of check marks meant they were aligned with divisional goals.  This quick and easy method allowed me to ensure that as a contractor, I wasn’t just following orders but I was allowing an organization to move towards improving their business.

What’s another quick way to do qualitative alignment with the business? Getting stakeholder support. In other cases where strategic goals don’t exist or there is stakeholder conflict, it is more important to align the projects with stakeholder buy-in. I was thrown in as a software release manager last year and was provided a messy, incomplete feature release; each of these would become a project. I cleaned it up and asked for input on what was important. Since the stakeholders were a wee bit hostile, I did this all face-to-face and quickly assessed what was important, sold it to management. The users were smart and experienced. Therefore I knew that their intuitive, gut-level support of the projects was intuitively the best way they knew to improve their organizational efficiency.

Which way is best; neither. You work with what you got when under severe timelines. But we always seek to deliver the right set of project and product solutions that allow organizations to best meet their needs. Another words, this is how projects delivery real benefits to the business.

Copyright 2009 PM Perspectives LLC