10 steps to a project disaster
TRANSCRIPT
Ten Steps1010To A
Project Disaster
Resource your
projects with only
your favorite people.
Resource your
projects with only
your favorite people.
1“Shiny, happy people…”
Unqualified
Overbooked
First-Timer
Yakky
OddlyRound
Resource your
projects with only
your favorite people.
Resource your
projects with only
your favorite people.
1“Shiny, happy people…”
Unqualified
Overbooked
First-Timer
Yakky
OddlyRound
Keep that sales
pipeline well-
hidden.
Keep that sales
pipeline well-
hidden.
2
Where
there’s
smoke…
Keep that sales
pipeline well-
hidden.
Keep that sales
pipeline well-
hidden.
2
Where
there’s
smoke…
“Time keeps on slippin’ slippin’…
The Steve Miller Band had it right: Collect hours if & when the team feels like
posting them…
The Steve Miller Band had it right: Collect hours if & when the team feels like
posting them…
3
…Into the future.”
“Time keeps on slippin’ slippin’…
The Steve Miller Band had it right: Collect hours if & when the team feels like
posting them…
The Steve Miller Band had it right: Collect hours if & when the team feels like
posting them…
3
…Into the future.”
Post time. Anywhere.
Someone will pay.
Post time. Anywhere.
Someone will pay.
4Who cares if it’s posted to
the wrong client, task or
project?
Post time. Anywhere.
Someone will pay.
Post time. Anywhere.
Someone will pay.
4Who cares if it’s posted to
the wrong client, task or
project?
So lump everything on that invoice, and don’t bother breaking
it out.
So lump everything on that invoice, and don’t bother breaking
it out.
5
Clients trust YOU more
than anyone else.
So lump everything on that invoice, and don’t bother breaking
it out.
So lump everything on that invoice, and don’t bother breaking
it out.
5
Clients trust YOU more
than anyone else.
Never seek or review
any periodic status
reports– wait until the
project ends, and the
books close.
Never seek or review
any periodic status
reports– wait until the
project ends, and the
books close.
6Don’t know.
And pretend you never knew. (Hey, it works in Congress.)
?
Never seek or review
any periodic status
reports– wait until the
project ends, and the
books close.
Never seek or review
any periodic status
reports– wait until the
project ends, and the
books close.
6Don’t know.
And pretend you never knew. (Hey, it works in Congress.)
?
So always act like it’s
your first project–
ignore any history
that guides scope, best
practices, or lessons
learned from past work.
So always act like it’s
your first project–
ignore any history
that guides scope, best
practices, or lessons
learned from past work.
7
You always remember your first.
So always act like it’s
your first project–
ignore any history
that guides scope, best
practices, or lessons
learned from past work.
So always act like it’s
your first project–
ignore any history
that guides scope, best
practices, or lessons
learned from past work.
7
You always remember your first.
You can’t get arrested for
speeding...
On a road with no posted
speed limit.
You can’t get arrested for
speeding...
On a road with no posted
speed limit.
So hide
expectations like
utilization, margin or
billable rate.
So hide
expectations like
utilization, margin or
billable rate.
8
You can’t get arrested for
speeding...
On a road with no posted
speed limit.
So hide
expectations like
utilization, margin or
billable rate.
So hide
expectations like
utilization, margin or
billable rate.
8
Ignore any means to
calculate current
workload or future
capacity.
Ignore any means to
calculate current
workload or future
capacity.
9 only so many
hours in aday…
There are
Ignore any means to
calculate current
workload or future
capacity.
Ignore any means to
calculate current
workload or future
capacity.
9 only so many
hours in aday…
There are
work your people endlessly.
…So many, in fact, that you can
Pull him on the Allan Parsons project!
Pull him on the Allan Parsons project!
Ignore any means to
calculate current
workload or future
capacity.
Ignore any means to
calculate current
workload or future
capacity.
9 only so many
hours in aday…
There are
work your people endlessly.
…So many, in fact, that you can
Pull him on the Allan Parsons project!
Pull him on the Allan Parsons project!
So spend lots of time
on it– at the expense
of “real work”– and
then bill them.
So spend lots of time
on it– at the expense
of “real work”– and
then bill them.
10“Valueless admin work”– like planning, staffing, or
invoicing…
–is work that clients
value less.
Useful
Work
Scope
Bill
Plan
LostTime
Sta
ff
So spend lots of time
on it– at the expense
of “real work”– and
then bill them.
So spend lots of time
on it– at the expense
of “real work”– and
then bill them.
10“Valueless admin work”– like planning, staffing, or
invoicing…
–is work that clients
value less.
Useful
Work
Scope
Bill
Plan
LostTime
Sta
ff
InConclusion
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.1
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.
Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.
1
2
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.
Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.
Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.
1
2
3
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.
Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.
Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.
Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.
Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.
1
2
3
4
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.
Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.
Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.
Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.
Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.
1
2
3
4
5
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.
Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.
Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.
Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.
Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.
Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Ignore history when scoping new work.Ignore history when scoping new work.
Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.
Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.
Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.
Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.
Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.
Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.
Put access to past client work & the
results at everyone’s fingertips.Put access to past client work & the
results at everyone’s fingertips.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Ignore history when scoping new work.Ignore history when scoping new work.
Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.
Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.
Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.
Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.
Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.
Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.
Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.
Put access to past client work & the
results at everyone’s fingertips.Put access to past client work & the
results at everyone’s fingertips.
Publish firm-wide, job-specific, or
individual targets accessible to all.Publish firm-wide, job-specific, or
individual targets accessible to all.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Ignore history when scoping new work.Ignore history when scoping new work.
Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.
Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.
Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.
Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.
Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.
Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.
Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.
Put access to past client work & the
results at everyone’s fingertips.Put access to past client work & the
results at everyone’s fingertips.
Publish firm-wide, job-specific, or
individual targets accessible to all.Publish firm-wide, job-specific, or
individual targets accessible to all.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Not This!! This Instead
View resources interchangeably and
don’t forecast future capacity.View resources interchangeably and
don’t forecast future capacity.See current capacity in real time
against WIP & future “soft” bookingsSee current capacity in real time
against WIP & future “soft” bookings
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Ignore history when scoping new work.Ignore history when scoping new work.
Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.
Spend costly administrative time at
the expense of billable work.Spend costly administrative time at
the expense of billable work.
Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.Disciplined resource planning brings
balance and fairness.
Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.Offer a wide view of the current
forecast through a shared CRM tool.
Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.Enforce disciplined time-capture with
prompts, alerts, & mobile access.
Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.Ensure time can be posted only to the
proper client, job, and task.
Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.Offer numerous billing options &
formats per client preferences.
Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.Consider dashboards and scheduled
reports with current project status.
Put access to past client work & the
results at everyone’s fingertips.Put access to past client work & the
results at everyone’s fingertips.
Publish firm-wide, job-specific, or
individual targets accessible to all.Publish firm-wide, job-specific, or
individual targets accessible to all.
Streamline administrative process with
modern, automated workflow.Streamline administrative process with
modern, automated workflow.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
9
Not This!! This Instead
View resources interchangeably and
don’t forecast future capacity.View resources interchangeably and
don’t forecast future capacity.See current capacity in real time
against WIP & future “soft” bookingsSee current capacity in real time
against WIP & future “soft” bookings
Seeing any of these in
your organization?
Why not call on us at
Proven solutions.
Years of experience.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
9
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Ignore history when scoping new work.Ignore history when scoping new work.
Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.
Spend costly administrative time at
the expense of billable work.Spend costly administrative time at
the expense of billable work.
View resources interchangeably and
don’t forecast future capacity.View resources interchangeably and
don’t forecast future capacity.
Seeing any of these in
your organization?
Why not call on us at
Proven solutions.
Years of experience.
Helping professional
services organizations
get better results from
their people, their work,
and their time.
www.deltek.com
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
9
Not This!! This Instead
Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.Ignore skills- staff projects with your
favorite people.
Don’t share the sales pipeline.Don’t share the sales pipeline.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t regularly (or promptly) capture time.
Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.Don’t have a structured process for
time registration.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Offer lump-sum invoices- no task-level detail.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Don’t seek or review any status reports.
Ignore history when scoping new work.Ignore history when scoping new work.
Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.Keep performance targets unknown &
current status unclear.
Spend costly administrative time at
the expense of billable work.Spend costly administrative time at
the expense of billable work.
View resources interchangeably and
don’t forecast future capacity.View resources interchangeably and
don’t forecast future capacity.