IT Leaders also manages a vibrant network of IT managers, available to former delegates and all other IT managers for a small annual subscription. There is also a LinkedIn IT Leaders network open to IT managers from all disciplines.
Choose good projects (be careful what you ask for)
Choose the right time to start
It turned out that a gunman had entered one of our outlets and put a gun to the head of one of the employees. However, an outlet seemed an odd place to choose, as we didn't have much cash in the premises.
Choose a good team
Beware of 'part-timers', people who have other responsibilities besides the project itself. It is then vital that the key project members are committed to the project - and that probably means they have to work on it full time.
Be clear on what is being delivered
Key to the successful transition of support services was the transfer of knowledge to new staff before redundancies occurred. The scope constraint refers to what needs to be done to produce the end result of the project.
Create a high level architecture
Second, the high-level composition of the architecture gives the project team insight into how much work is required. First, it was important for the project team to be able to understand what the technologists were trying to produce.
Develop strong project management skills
Stay Flexible - There is a useful phrase used as a watchword in the military, "Indecision is the key to flexibility." This means don't rush into making decisions that aren't necessary. Don't do everything yourself - To use a musical analogy, it is not possible for one person to play a symphony, no matter how talented they are.
Make them sweat the small stuff
Your role is the conductor who recognizes and empathizes with what everyone needs to do. The duration of the task can be easily seen by the length of the task line it represents on the Gantt chart.
Keep a high level overview for yourself
The work breakdown structure provides a common framework for the natural development of the overall planning and control of a project or program and forms the basis for dividing work into definable steps from which the work description can be developed and technical, planning, cost and and working hour reports can be drawn up.
Tips for managing costs, contracts and suppliers
The project was launched, and all project team employees signed a project charter that had obligations regarding project management and communication. This allowed the project team, including external staff, to monitor the progress of all tasks as well as collaborate and share information. The project sponsorship was strong, supportive and trusting and expected any problems to be reported as and when they arose.
Although the project was a success, we learned a number of good and bad lessons from this project.
Set up good project governance
But they also show the abilities of the project teams and in particular the project manager. Together, the project sponsor and the project manager must put together a Mission Statement that encapsulates the project's goals and success criteria. Without the two talking to each other regularly, the project sponsor and project manager are likely to make assumptions that can pose a significant risk to the successful delivery of the project.
If something has gone wrong, the project team leader should work with the project manager upfront.
Communicate clearly to all parties
Similarly, if a particularly difficult stakeholder is expected at the meeting, the project manager should meet with them ahead of time (with their team leader if necessary) so that any disagreements do not hold the meeting. As the case study above describes, communication is not just about talking to those people who will come to status meetings anyway. It's about telling everyone who will be affected and making sure they are well prepared in advance for the change.
There should be a plan for how the project will in turn interact with each of these stakeholder groups.
Keep measuring value (SPRINT)
It saves the project manager from having to deliver everything at once, analogous to taking a huge leap from one river bank to the other. The project can then be assessed at various points along the path and change course if necessary. One of the options may be to change the project deliverables, and one may be to delay the project.
The management team was reminded of the importance of achieving small successes along the way.
The art of managing project portfolios
The useful life of the project changes (its sustainability) as new technologies are announced that replace the existing ones. The readout of the project should also be short and concise, so that the head of IT projects has time to ask some more probing questions. Usually the project manager talks about something else and if you listen carefully you will find out what he is concerned about.
And the time they are most needed is often when the project is nearing completion.
Get ready early for the “go-live”
Gradually, when the operational division came to see the benefits of the new module, they requested that the implementation of the other modules be accelerated. The project was completed in 24 months, about the same time it would have taken if they had tried to do everything at once. It was important for head office to continue the momentum of the overall change project.
The step-by-step approach did give the operating unit time to adapt to the change, and once the project started, there was no going back.
Make the change “irreversible”
I personally remember spending a lot of time with our CFO trying to convince him of the benefits. In turn, his team also began to revert to the paper-based system as the CFO annotated his notes on the paper copies. And he had grown tired of doing this - hence his return to the paper copies.
Having archived the old files in the basement, he was now forced to use the system occasionally.
The Risk Register
Often there is a mistaken assumption that the project or program manager is the risk owner for all risks. Risks must be "owned" at a level where there is sufficient authority to manage the risk, meaning that some risks can be delegated and some must be escalated. Actions to reduce the likelihood of the risk occurring and mitigate the impact of the risk.
If you oversee several projects, beware of project managers using the risk register to evade accountability.
Assumption based risk analysis
At the most basic level, ABCD works because it is an intuitive process that takes a positive view of the project (i.e. what assumptions you rely on to achieve your goals) rather than a negative one (i.e. what do you expect to get wrong go - your risks). Naturally forces people to look to the future (i.e. their assumptions) thus ensuring true risk management. Therefore, the capture, analysis and communication of assumptions is critical to the success of the project or program, and forms the basis of the ABCD process.
This also guides mitigation plans by indicating how best to attack the risk (ie stabilize the underlying assumption or reduce the project's sensitivity to the effects of the assumption).
A smart way of visualizing risk profiles
The second aspect of risk that this diagram shows is how well it is under control (this is represented by the diameter of the bubble). A risk is therefore controllable if risk plans are in place and there is confidence that they will deliver the intended risk mitigation. The x-axis shows the timeline of the project, where the origin of the graph represents the critical goal of the project being achieved.
So referring to Figure 5 above, the left diagram shows many large red risks near the origin of the chart, which means there is a high imminent probability of severe impact risks with no plan to manage them those.
Quality based costing and Monte Carlo
The first step is to build the "Brick Wall" and when complete, all Bricks together will represent the total strategic cost structure of the project (with no estimates at this stage). Even today, SKF's innovative know-how is crucial for running a large proportion of the world's wind turbines. The 50% certainty cost means there is a 50-50 chance that the project will cost less or more than this value.
What you notice in practice is that limiting some activities to ensure they are guaranteed to be delivered sooner makes absolutely little or no difference to the 'cost profile' of the project.
The special role that IT managers play in business change
Success guidelines for business change
Many of his lessons for change leadership are included in our list compiled in the previous table. It is not acceptable for senior management to join the kick-off meeting with promises of commitment and statements about how important the project is, only to never be heard from again. Managers must be constant supporters of change and they must be responsible for its success.
Employees must clearly understand the vision - it must be consistent with the company's strategy, which must be consistent with the day-to-day activities.
The emotional side of (business) change (DREC)
Leadership and vision are essential ingredients in successful change projects - both from the program team and the senior managers in the organization. In the context of business, vision is about describing what the end will look like. It also suggests, given the reward mechanism for insights, that those affected by the change should be empowered to work through the implications of new change.
As change leaders, we need to acknowledge the emotional journey and help others work through it.
The importance of a good team
To get to her office I had to leave my side of the building, walk to the other reception, sign in and then be escorted to her office. Referring to Jane's story on the previous page, people on her side of the office behaved as Victims and on the CFO's side they behaved as Spectators until Jane took proactive steps to break down the barriers. This is easier said than done because not only will you have to recruit the right people, you may also have to move others out of the way.
Many of the reasons a project fails cannot be described in a process manual, just as following a recipe in a cookbook will not guarantee that your cakes will turn out perfectly.
International standards
For many years, the IT profession was concerned about the high proportion of project errors. Two of them, namely PRINCE2 from OGC and PMP from the Project Management Institute are described in the next two sections. GAPPS, Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards – an open source standard that describes competencies for project and program managers.
To learn more, the following two references will help - "PRINCE2 - What You Need To Know" and "The Project Management Book of Knowledge" and I recommend both of them for those interested in learning more about these methods.
PRINCE2
Project Management Institute
Agile Development
Most promote development, teamwork, collaboration, and process customization throughout the project lifecycle. Projects, Programs and Business Changes Overview of key project frameworks, etc.) whose unique characteristics are determined by various factors such as team size, system criticality and project priorities. Lean Software Development focuses the team on delivering value to the customer and on the efficiency of the "value stream," the mechanisms that deliver that value.
Decision as late as possible 4. Delivery as soon as possible 5. Projects, programs and business change Outline the main project frameworks.
Take time to reflect
Staying ahead
