"The five basic steps you must do on a project" - Part 6

step 1 - Carefully define the outcome from the project.

step 2 - Defining and documenting requirements

step 3 - Creating a "doable" plan

step 4 - Manage Risks and Issues

step 5 - Track, Validate,  and Update

Over the past 5 weeks I have shared with you the five basic steps for managing a project. In this final part of the series, we will look at one very critical item that occurs throughout a project, Communication. All to often I have been asked to assess the health of a project and found that it was in trouble. Very often, communication issues were one of the root causes.

Communication is a core discipline of project management. From communicating status and schedule to escalating issues, you must be able to communicate well. More importantly you must communicate frequently and consistently. If you need a vendor to deliver your new commercial pizza oven before the shelving vendor installs the stainless steel storage racks, make sure that you communicate that to both vendors and your team. This way when the shelving shows up early and you are not there, somebody can tell them to wait or contact you directly. If you are keeping the project tasks on a checklist, send copies out to all of the team and vendors on a regular basis. One vendor may see where something is ahead of schedule and call you and say that they can also do their tasks earlier. This can save you time and money. Kind of  like that huh?

 One last point, if you communicate by e-mail, make sure you follow up with a phone call on critical items to make sure the recipient not only got the e-mail but understood it. Double checking once in a while is one of the best communication tools I know.

The following is a compilation of a series of tweets I did the week before Christmas and things you can do to get ready for a project that will start right after the holidays.

Yep, Xmas is this Sat. and people are taking off. During the holidays it is difficult to get a lot done with many people away so the goal is to get things lined up for a quick start in Jan.

• The first step is to set some mini milestones for the first two weeks after the holidays. Set dates for tasks such as the first draft plan.
• Review the project charter and make notes on it such as what scope items need more definition or which appear to be difficult.
• If you will need to meet with key SMEs or sponsors in early January try to schedule the meetings now so people know what to expect.
• Put together a list of people that will need to be interviewed or involved in the requirements phase.
• Another thing to do to be ready to start the project is put together a 2 week task plan so that you know what needs to get going right away
• If possible, go ahead and set up the project repository for documents now. This way it is out of the way and ready.
• Before everybody leaves schedule the project kickoff meeting and first two team meetings. This lets others plan their first 2 weeks also.
• Get the templates for the risk plan, issues log, communications plan etc into the repository and set up for the project.
• Look at the project charter and start to determine what resource roles you will need. This gives you a starting point when you return.
 

By doing the above before you take off for a well deserved holiday break you are giving yourself the peace of mind of knowing what you have to do when you get back. Enjoy!

Thanks for following me. I want to wish all of you a happy holiday season and very prosperous new year.

"Yes Virginia, even Santa has a project plan"

I was getting ready to leave for the day when I saw one of the PMs, Virginia getting ready to leave. I asked if her project plan was ready for review. She looked at me and replied, "I don't need a plan".

Obviously this was not the answer I wanted. But before I told her she had to do one I decided to play along a bit and asked some questions. "Okay, so what happens if the vendor is late with the software?" "How are you going to test the solution?" "What types of communication have to be done?"

Virginia stared at me and said "The team will figure it out as we go.  If everything goes right we shouldn't have any issues."

I then asked, "But what if everything doesn't go right?. How will you handle those unexpected items?"

Virginia snapped back, "If they are unexpected, we can't plan for them anyway. For Pete's sake Terry it's not like Santa Claus has a plan."

"Virginia", I said, " I can guarantee you that Santa has a superb project plan."

Virginia rolled her eyes and scoffed, "No way!"

My reply was simple. "Yes  Virginia, Santa has a project plan. To prove it, consider the following:" 

 "Santa has a project plan that details all of the steps needed to get ready for Christmas. It covers the number of toys he needs, getting the sleigh set up, setting up his route for the night, notifying the various countries of his flight path,  and where he will take rest stops. Have you ever seen Reindeer droppings on a roof? Of course not because he plans where to stop."

"Santa has a project schedule. It sets out when the toys will be done, what time he wants to take off, what time he arrives in each country, and what time he will return to the North Pole."

 "Santa has a resource plan. How else can you control hundreds of elves without roles and responsibilities defined?"

 "Santa has a communications plan. The naughty and nice list tells him information he needs. The FAA and local authorities know when he is coming through their area."

"Santa has a contingency plan. He has alternate plans and routes to deal with last minute changes, bad weather, broken sleigh runners etc."

Virginia stared at me in disbelief.

"But Virginia, he has to have a plan. He does his work in one night and has never missed a Christmas. Can you tell me that you always deliver on time and have never had a failed project?"

 Virginia answered. "No unfortunately I have had a failed project and yes sometimes I miss schedules." With that answer all Virginia could say now was, "Is it ok if I give you the plan Tuesday?"

And I replied, "It is Christmas, you can have till Wednesday."

Happy Holidays!

"The five basic steps you must do on a project" - Part 5

step 1 - Carefully define the outcome from the project.

step 2 - Defining and documenting requirements

step 3 - Creating a "doable" plan

step 4 - Manage Risks and Issues

step 5 - Track, Validate,  and Update

This is where the Management in project management occurs.  Throughout the project, you need to track the tasks, validate that they are being done, and update the plan and schedule as changes occur. Don't just rely on verbal updates from employees and vendors. Whenever possible, visually check status of major tasks. Either go to the location where the work is being done or ask for visual feedback. For example in a building move, request copies of subcontractor receipts, delivery invoices, and digital photographs. On a marketing project, ask for proofs to review especially if the vendor says that they aren't ready or happy with it yet. These mid-course reviews can actually help you solve potential issues early.

As tasks are completed, check them off of the plan and schedule. If rework is needed then update the plan with the rework tasks. For example a vendor delivered new desks for a new office but they were missing the locks. The vendor said they would install them next week. Add that task and track it. If tasks are ahead or behind schedule update the schedule and share that with everybody so others can make changes to their schedule as needed. If the plumbers were scheduled for Monday but the rough in carpentry work was not ready, you want to let the plumber know so you aren't stuck with paying for the plumber to sit there.

This is another compilation of my tweets that look at how to put a project on hold for the holidays and how to build a restart plan.

During the holidays projects that are underway may be put on hold due to people taking time off. This can be good if you plan for it

• The first step is to identify tasks that must be done before the project goes into holiday mode.
• Once the tasks that must get done are known then you can set the date that the project will go into hold mode. This gives you a target date
• The next thing to do is meet with the project team to make sure there are no open risks or issues that must be addressed before the holidays
• The next task is to build a restart plan for the project. Don't assume that you can just jump in and pick up where you left off.
• The start up plan needs to take into account which tasks need to be restarted first and when the needed team members are back at work.
• When you create the restart plan add a task for a restart meeting with the team and a plan review to make sure something hasn't changed.
• The project restart plan should cover the first 2-3 weeks of the project after the holidays and designed to dovetail into the project plan
• During the first week of the restart plan make sure that people aren't over utilized. There could be other items that will take there time.

Once the restart plan is done communicate it to the team and get feedback and buy in. This will help ensure a successful restart

 

"The five basic steps you must do on a project" - Part 4

step 1 - Carefully define the outcome from the project.

step 2 - Defining and documenting requirements

step 3 - Creating a "doable" plan

step 4 - Manage Risks and Issues

Any project, regardless of size will have risks and issues. Risks are items that could occur and issues are items that have occurred. Knowing up front the potential issues , risks, helps you be prepared for dealing with them if and when they occur. 

 When you are planning the project you need to identify the "bad" things that could happen to your project and determine how likely they are to occur. For those that have a higher likelihood, determine what actions could be taken to prevent the risk or what actions could be taken to mitigate the risk if it happens, i.e. becomes an issue.

Let's look at an example. Let's say you have a small independent insurance brokerage and you are upgrading your office computer system with new servers and network components. The old server is on lease and the new equipment will be on a new lease with a new vendor. A risk might be that the new vendor fails to deliver the new hardware on time. Your contingencies could be:1) Arrange an extension of your lease with the old vendor 2) Have the new vendor host your applications offsite temporarily. By identifying these actions up front you can ask both vendors what it would cost and what actions would be needed to execute the contingency plan. By doing this you have a plan ready to go so if the risk becomes an issue, you don't have to scramble.

The following is a compilation of a series of tweets I did on keeping a project moving forward during the holiday period when a lot of team members may be away.

It's Holiday time. Do you have an active project & are prepared to keep it going during the holidays? Here are some tips on keeping the project moving forward.

• The first thing to do to plan for the holidays is to get everybody's schedule. Include the project team, SMEs, sponsors, and support staff.
• The next step in planning for the holidays is to create a punch list of everything that needs to be covered or done between now and mid Jan.
• When putting together the punch list include project tsaks from the plan, issue resolution, hardware and software purchases etc.
• When putting together the punch list only include those items that must be done. Anything that can wait till after Jan 15th can be omitted.
• Now that you have everybody's schedule and the punch list you can start assigning people to cover the tasks based on availability & role.
• Some special assignments to look at are who to escalate critical issues to if the sponsor or senior management is out? Designate this role!
• If you as the PM are going to be off who is covering for you? Desiginate somebody and communicate that to everybody.
• Once the punch list and schedule are done get everybody together to review and make any changes. The more you communicate the better

Make sure to thank everybody who is covering tasks and working during this period. Let them know you appreciate their efforts!

Here are some some tips on pushing your project over the finish line to meet end of year deadlines.

The first step in the big push is to do a project self assessment to determine eexactly where the project is and what is left.

Once you know exactly what is left to do go through each deliverable and task and eliminate any that are not absolutely needed.

Now that you have the list of tasks that must be done, re-estimate the work and duration for each task

Using the new estimates build the critical path plan first to determine how long that will take.

If the critical path items will finish before the end of the year then you are probably ok. Go ahead and complete the plan.

If the critical path takes longer than the end of the year the next step is to identify those tasks that are causing the schedule to stretch

Once the tasks that are causing teh schedule to stretch are identified, the next step is to figure out how to shorten the these tasks

 

There are 3 ways to shorten time on these tasks 1) reduce complexity 2) assign to senior resources 3) assign to multiple resources

Once the tasks have been addressed complete the plan and review with team and sponsors

Now that you have a plan you can start identifying risks and contigencies for the plan. Focus on risks to schedule and quality.

If delivering the project requires overtime and / or weekends you need to communicate that and get buy in from the company and the team

"The five basic steps you must do on a project" - Part 3

step 1 - Carefully define the outcome from the project.

step 2 - Defining and documenting requirements

step 3 - Creating a "doable" plan

Planning is an essential part of all project work. It is also more than a schedule or list of tasks. Planning needs to include the schedule, risk management, communication plans, contingency planning and other items depending on project size. There are many sources of information on how to create a plan including PMI. The important thing is that no matter what the size of the project, take the time to plan it out.

Project plans do not have to be onerous and if done right can help you achieve your project goals. At the minimum you should determine and document the following:

·Major deliverables
·Tasks needed to complete deliverables
·How long tasks should take
·Which tasks are linked or dependant on other tasks
·Who is doing which task
·What risks you need to watch out for
·Who do you need to communicate to and what do you communicate

Once you have documented the plan, make sure everybody has a copy. Review it daily and check off items as they occur or are completed. Don't worry if the plan changes, that is normal. Just document the change and make sure you know what else can be impacted by the change