The first, and often hardest, step to starting with project management is creating a task list. Many people try to think of everything that goes into a project or job, write that down, then want to capture the changes between one job and the other by tracking which were the specific tasks that were different.
The idea behind this is that people want to better visualize their process so they can track how different reality is from the plan, where delay’s happen and where they can improve things. The problem with this approach is that no two jobs are ever the same. No two, super-detailed lists are ever going to be the same. You’ll spend more time changing the plan then recording data.
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Many IT departments I’ve spoken with lately are challenged by having too much on their plate. They need to support current applications, make modifications, keep the servers running, etc.. All the while, they are being asked to develop new apps that can advance corporate goals. For an IT deptartment that has been barely keeping on top of everything (and likely can’t hire anyone right now), this can be a real problem. How to make room for more than just keeping the lights on?
The first step to solving it, is to get a clearer look at it.
On the one side, there are different people making requests: management, department heads, existing users. This is IT’s client.
On the other side, there is the IT department: the implementors.
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In Why Decisions Fail (Berrett-Koehler, 2002), Paul C. Nutt makes the astonishing statement that “failure is four times more likely when decision makers embrace the first idea they come across…” What can cause the manager to make these kinds of choices? What are some ways to prevent these mistakes?
One major contributing factor is familiarity. Most decision makers have substantial experience in both the industry and company culture in which they work. This experience, while very helpful in most regards, tends to create a paradigm within which potential solutions are often limited. The reasons for making familiar choices are often obscure, if not forgotten.
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Washington gave us an interesting example today of a flexible management style with the President’s decision to be flexible on the proposed $900 billion legislative package making its way in the legislature. I’m not commenting on the pros and cons of the bill or of the President’s action. I just find it interesting that he is opting to change the initial package, his original “project plan” as it were, in order to achieve a different goal. For him, it seems that the true goal of the package (the purpose of the project) is to get something done fast and that has joint input for both parties. Again, whether that’s right or wrong is not the point of this post.
The point is that this is an example of a management style that is focused on a business goal, as it were, of the project rather than the specific deliverables originally defined in the project plan. In this case, the business goal seems to be: the process. The President wants Congress (the team) to work together in a specific way -and with speed. There is flexibility on the deliverables themselves. The focus is on process, on how the team works together. Depending on how its done, it can be either very frustrating for the team or empowering. Frustrating, since the role of every team member is generally to facilitate accomplishing a specific deliverable. Empowering, if team members find that the new process allows them to accomplish deliverables faster or more efficiently. Let’s see what happens.
I heard a commentator today talking about the new deadline for the move to digital TV. As a broadcast insider he thought the February 17 date was etched in stone. Companies had been planning for it for years. There were investments in new equipment, reducing the maintenance on older, analog equipment, time spent education local audiences, etc. All in all, the broadcasters are ready. And, according to this commentator, since the broadcasters were ready, they assumed there audience would be ready and that everything would go as planned.
Well, it didn’t quite work that way. Most of the audience is ready. But some, still aren’t. So Washington moved the deadline. And what had apparently been set in stone, the baseline assumption upon which huge amounts of money had spent, changed. No amount of planning, risk management or forecasting that I’ve seen could have predicted this. Managers at broadcasting companies are left with two options, be frustrated by the new reality or be flexible. Either way, it won’t change the new deadline. But my guess is that managers that opt for flexibility are going to find better ways of capitalizing on the new reality -and turn it into an opportunity.
A friend once commented that there are only two things we do our whole life: What we must do, and what we choose to do. The truth of this becomes even more significant when one takes an honest look at just how little of our daily activities fall into the first category. Our choices about what we do and how we do it determine nearly everything in our lives.
Time management and project management are similar in many ways, not the least of which is directly related to choices. In project management, the manager makes choices about the use of their own time, and also the use of time by the other members of the team.
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Have you ever had to manage a team that has a decent amount of disrespect and suspicion in it?
While the level of productivity may be acceptable -they are doing their job, the level of friction within the team is unhealthy and hinders further productivity.
This can happen in teams made up of diverse groups (such as a subject matter expert, two salespeople, a few administrative support staff and an engineer) or even within a single department (such as a set of developers with different skill levels and different approaches to testing or application architecture). The friction is rarely due to a diversity of skills or function, but rather to a failure to communicate respectfully.
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I’m happy to announce that Vertabase 4.5 launched today (official press release).
This is the biggest launch of our project management software to date. It includes a totally new interface and tons of great new features.
It was built entirely with a rich internet application approach powered by ColdFusion. To me this means:
- An intuitive, immersive user experience
- Enabling quick visibility and access to information
- Facilitating sharing, data portability and data visualization
- Integration with the user’s eco-system.
You can see how Vertabase 4.5 adheres to these principles in the 2 minute Quick Tour. To read about specific new features check out the Vertabase 4.5 Release Notes.
Along with the version, there’s a new, searchable video learning center and we added customer support via instant message using Skype (search for Vertabase Support).
Here is pdf of the presentation I gave at Adobe MAX CF Unconference on Project Management and Time Management.
The main theme is that having great information before, during and after a project are the keys to a successful project. That information gives you a basis for good communications and good management (of your team and client expectations). The presentation then discusses how time tracking can be an easy habit and powerful tool for generating great information.
Its been a whirlwind week and I haven’t had a chance to blog about three other events that took place this week in the world of Vertabase. Here is a summary.
1. Vertabase Project Management Software -we publicly launched the pre-release version of Vertabase 4.5. Clients are already using it and raving. Here is a link to the full release notes (on the pre-release). Some significant changes are:
- New interface, new look and feel
- Resource Calendar view of projects, tasks, resources, etc. across calendar days and weeks
- Change request system with change logs
- Faster timesheet entry
- Enhanced MS Excel import for even faster template and schedule creation.
We launched the next version of the Vertabase site to go with it and a new Vertabase Video Learning Center.
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