How to Help Management Make a Better IT Decision

January 26, 2012 — Bruce McGraw

Decisions that directly affect Information Technology (IT) projects or IT services within an organization are not always made in the IT (or Engineering) department. That is not bad thing; it is just the way things are and how business runs.
Like what?

  • Management decides it is in the company’s strategic interest to form a partnership with another company that includes exchanging selected IT services
  • A desirable client requires all documents to be in Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point
  • Planning which IT functions to centralize and which ones to operate independently or with greater flexibility
  • Figuring out how to balance data security and personal privacy
  • Allocating the internal IT budget to the needs of the organization

The good news is
Almost all companies and organizations ask for consultative help from IT or Technology professionals and project managers as they deliberate strategic decisions that involve IT related tasks.  Of course senior management needs to realize that the options under consideration involve IT, either directly or indirectly. If they don’t get it, you – the project manager – may need to be proactive (subtly and with political sensitivity). For example, if you hear via the grapevine — oh, yes your organization has one so get plugged in! – that the company is considering purchasing XYZ’s CRM system, you might remind your boss that XYZ’s system requires upgrading your server or that it does not work with the database that you currently have.
In asking for a professional opinion from IT, I have found that decision makers treat these expert professionals in one of three ways – hint: the first two are bad.

  • The IT professional is viewed as a deity with magical understanding and powers.
  • The IT professional is viewed as someone who does not understand the reality of managing a for-profit business. So, their opinions or recommendations are viewed with skepticism as to motivation and possible empire building fantasies.
  • The IT professional is viewed as an essential and knowledgeable team member who can provide insight into options and consequences in order to make sound business decisions.

Effectively assisting management decision making

  • Prepare yourself with facts and the opinions of unbiased outsiders – especially if, based on your previous dealings with these managers, you know that “expert” opinion is given higher value than general opinions. (see: Fear No Project post on Cognitive Science Insights into Decision Making).
  • Remember that cost is a big decision driver for senior managers. Include short term costs and long term cost implications, such as maintenance and training in answering questions and presenting information — especially critical when the initial cost may be lower for a poor decision.
  • Prepare to discuss risks and the impact of the decision on existing and planned projects and organizational strategy.
  • Do NOT become emotional, remain calm and objective.
  • Do NOT talk down to the decision makers because they are less knowledgeable about technology. It is your job to explain options, costs and risks in layman’s terms. Consider using analogies and metaphors that will resonate with the shared experience of decision makers.(See the post on Communicating to a non-technical Audience)
  • Listen closely to questions and clarify concerns before giving an answer or recommendation. Offer to collect more information if they seem to want it before making a decision. Just remember that senior managers don’t like to postpone decisions.
  • When you have done the best you can, remain quiet and allow the deliberations to take their course.  One more time, be quiet and listen.

If you have additional ideas or have been successful in helping managers make better decisions, please share your insights.

Posted in Communication, General Project Management, management. Tags: , , , . 1 Comment »

Project Manager Travel Guidance

January 19, 2012 — Bruce McGraw

I am sure there are people who enjoy traveling as part of their job, although I have not met any of them recently! Travel to current or potential customer sites, subcontractors, giving a conference presentation or receiving training is sometimes necessary for the project and the organization. Who knows, sometime you might even get a vacation. So, who minds the store while the project manager is away?

Here are a few guidelines to help you prepare for your absence and minimize problems, especially if you will be gone more than a few days:

  1. Check the project schedule to see what is supposed to be happening while you are away. If anything tweaks your antenna as a potential problem, talk with the lead and develop an action plan. Tell them your concern or thoughts and get their feedback. This is a real-world opportunity to mentor project leads who may become project managers.
  2. Note any paperwork due during your absence — status reports, personnel forms — do it before you leave or assign someone.
  3. Check your calendar for any meetings you are required or promised to attend — assign someone to go in your place or let the organizer know you will be absent. If it is your meeting, contact attendees to cancel.
  4. Pull up or pull out your risk management indicators — anything that needs tracking should be assigned to someone while you are gone.
  5. Select a person to be in charge in your absence. Then, inform project personnel, your supervisor and department heads with whom you interact frequently — in writing — with contact information. You may also want to change for voicemail message and out-of-office email message. If your company’s policies allow, give the temporary PM signature authority, either total or specific.
  6. Make sure you have contact information for team members, the organization and your project customers on your cell, iPad or notebook computer. Redundancy is good here since bad or stupid things can happen. I have forgotten chargers and had liquid spilled on devices when we hit an air pocket.
  7. If you will not be reachable by email, phone or text message, assign someone to check your messages daily and follow up.
  8. Meet with your acting manager and review tasks and concerns. Use this meeting as an opportunity for training.
  9. Update your shared project or organization calendar to indicate you are out-of-office. If you use Microsoft server for project document management, be sure to check-in working documents.
  10. Contact your backup PM daily to see how are things are going. Let them know that you value their taking responsibility. Do not undermine their authority or confidence by criticizing decisions made in your absence. Ask questions that help them identify potential problems and think through possible solutions.

I probably left out some tasks that would be important to do before you leave. Project managers; please add your suggestions via comments.

 

Posted in General Project Management, management, Project Management. Tags: , , , . 2 Comments »

Asking for Help

January 6, 2012 — Bruce McGraw

Do you ever ask for help or assistance?  I don’t know why so many people (And organizations!) feel like they cannot go get help when they need to.  Perhaps because people see asking for help as a sign of personal failure, they are reluctant to do it. Instead, they continue to struggle and hope for a miracle or stick their heads in the sand and deny reality. Project managers can be as guilty of this as anyone. However, good project managers know when and how to ask for help.  Trust me on this one – I have to do it more than I like to admit!

When to Ask for Help

Situations that lead to eventual project problems or outright failure come in two flavors—project specific and systemic. As part of effective project management, before beginning work you created a project schedule and a risk management plan, which included indicators of potential problems. Missing milestones or falling behind on interdependent tasks are yellow flags to project managers that may signal the need to ask for help. (see: Spotting a failing project and How to create and use predictive project scheduling)

I purposely recommend considering schedule slips as caution flags rather than red flags. Although project managers need to be alert to missed deadlines, they should not over-react. Consider the circumstances. Did the team learn something during execution that changed task order and priority? Should the schedule be revised to reflect this new knowledge? Did customers change requirements and agree to the schedule impact? Judgment is required to discriminate between manageable schedule slips and problems requiring help. On the other hand, be careful not to cheat at solitaire here by telling yourself that the problem is manageable without help when it is not.

Potential risks that become reality should be analyzed for their impact on cost and schedule. When a project manager creates the risk management plan, they consider what could happen. (see: PMBOK: Project Risk Management and  Is Project Management a Risky Business?) The manifestation of a risk indicator should lead to detailed analysis and perhaps management review. Based on analysis by the project manager and lead technical personnel, you may need to seek help to achieve original project goals or significantly modify expectations.

Systemic problems cannot be fixed by the project manager. Poor communication with senior management, shifting priorities, restructuring and frequent resource reallocation reflect an organization’s culture. Although the project manager has limited ability to change a culture, they must be aware of its potential effect on project success and do the best they can to accommodate the resulting problems.

Do not wait until senior management or the customer notices a problem, be proactive.

How to Ask for Help

One of those annoying management phrases is, “bring me solutions, not problems.” Unfortunately, this attitude is present in many corporate managers. So, the project manager is well-advised to bring not only details and implications of the project’s problem status, but also suggestions on how senior management can help. Here is my advice on how to ask for help (and get it):

  • Focus on facts of the problem and the short and long term implications. Do NOT blame anyone or any circumstance.
  • Explain technical challenges or roadblocks in layman’s terms not technical jargon. It may be obvious to you and the team that integrating a legacy database presents unforeseeable challenges, however you will need to explain why and give examples to help non-technical managers understand.
  • Develop at least two optional approaches to dealing with the current situation. For each option specify:
    • State what needs to be done
    • Delineate new resources or processes are required to implement the approach
    • Propose a revised schedule and risk management plan
    • Quantify methods to assess progress and success
    • Remember that senior managers consider solutions (and all decisions) as a trade-off between cost and benefits. Give them the information they need to make a strategically and tactically correct decision
  • Summarize any actions that result from the meeting and follow up through email or personal visits with key decision makers.

If you have succeeded or failed to gain help in solving project problems, share your strategies and recommendations.

Posted in Best Practice, General Project Management, management. Tags: , , , . 2 Comments »

Defending the Project Management Profession

December 21, 2011 — Bruce McGraw

Project management is not just something you do when you cannot get a real job. Project management is a profession and project managers are professionals. I am probably preaching to the choir here, but having recently seen ads for fast, cheap and simple project management training and tools, I felt the need to state firmly my position on this matter.

Project managers must possess a wide range of skills that include technical knowledge, organizational ability, seeing the big picture and most importantly, they must communicate effectively. A project manager achieves job satisfaction through directing others. Project managers must lead, motivate and provide an effective work environment. Behind the scenes, the manager plans, observes, assesses and solves problems both technical and people-related. It is a not a job for the faint of heart.

Becoming a Project Manager
If you aspire to be a project manager, preparation is essential. Most of your project management education will happen outside of an academic classroom. However, in addition to technical classes, a future manager benefits from formal instruction in communication, systems thinking and business intelligence. And, a couple general business classes won’t hurt.

Once employed, pay attention to the behavior of managers you respect and those you do not. Try to find commonalities in skills and personality traits. Compare the skills you admire with your own abilities and seek to enhance areas that are weak.

Learn from practitioners. This can include joining local project management groups, taking PMI or vendor sponsored classes, and reading articles and blog posts by project managers. Beside Fear No Project, I think you will find useful information from the bloggers I have listed on my Blogroll. (also see My favorite project management links and websites)

Because effective communication is essential to project managers, look for opportunities to practice including writing articles and proposals and giving presentations. Ask for feedback and work to improve your communication skills.

Learn to use PM tools including planning, scheduling, costing, tracking and report writing.

Seek out opportunities to practice managing. You can volunteer to lead a special project, assist the lead engineer or PM or even manage projects outside of your work environment. You need to develop the mindset of “thinking like a manager” instead of thinking like a contributor.
Preparing for becoming a professional project manager takes time and seasoning. Most small project managers have 3 – 5 years experience and those managing complex programs often have more than 10 years in the field, at least half of which involved project management of smaller projects.

Whether you pursue a PMP certification or not, be aware and appreciate the skills that define the field. In addition to formal academic and experience requirements, PMPs pass an examination of knowledge on all aspects of project management including initiating, planning executing, monitoring and control and closing a project. In addition, each PMP meets the requirements for continuing education hours in the field.

So whether you want to be a project manager or you are seeking to hire one, do not be mislead by false claims that becoming a project manager is fast, cheap or easy; it is not.

Posted in General Project Management, Personal Thoughts, Professional Development. Tags: , , , . 3 Comments »
« Older posts
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 354 other followers