whose job is it anyway? once were 4 people named: –everybody, somebody, nobody and anybody. there...
TRANSCRIPT
Whose job is it anyway?
• Once were 4 people named:– Everybody, Somebody, Nobody and Anybody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.
Whose job is it anyway?Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.
Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job
Everybody thought Nobody could do it but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn’t do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done!
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Establishing a project’s success and failure criteria
Accepting a limited amount of failure
“A man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.”
EDWARD JOHN PHELPS, 12 January 1899
Definition of success
• A unique set of coordinated activities
• With definite starting and finishing points,
• Undertaken by an individual or organization
To meet specific objectives within defined time, cost and performance parameters
Why Project Management
• The purpose of modern project management is to conduct a successful project
• Historically, project management responded to the need to create civil and building works of some complexity
• In the 1950s project management achieved greater prominence when the planning and control concepts were applied to much more complex projects such as those of the US navy and, subsequently, NASA space projects
Why Project Management
• In the last couple of decades, project management has emerged as a business process tool with broad application in the corporate world.
• It is seen as the management approach of choice for dealing with an ever-shifting business environment, rapid technological change
• In days gone by, the old axiom "On time, on budget" was deemed the mark of success.
• Yet the literature is rife with examples of projects that were either completed late or finished over budget, and were still considered successful. Less well documented are all those projects that were completed on time and within budget
Success or failure
• The Concorde aircraft programme was budgeted at £175m and came in at £800m;
• The Channel Tunnel costs more than doubled from £4.8bn to £10.9bn
• The Scottish Parliament building costs rose from £40m to £374m.
Success or failure
• A review of 1,000 projects by the UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC) found that technology was one of the least likely reasons for a project to fail.
• Programmes fail for management reasons, not technical reasons.
Success or failure• The OGC found the main reasons for failure to be:
– Lack of leadership
– Lack of knowledge at the top of the organization about what the technologists are trying to explain - and lack of knowledge among technologists about what business users want.
– Poor risk management - not in terms of whether program code is accurate but rather in terms of whether, for example, unions will accept the proposed changes
– Underestimation of the complexity of business process change and human change
Success Factors
• So what is needed to make change projects successful?
• In complex projects the management must come from the very top, because such programmes threaten the entire organization.
• So those involved must have the attention of the chief executive, or the government minister.
Success Factors
• Clear leadership from the top is especially important if some of the stakeholders are less than enthusiastic. Stakeholders must be kept engaged throughout, especially the customers or business users.
• The need for hybrid managers who can build communication bridges between technologists and top management was articulated many years ago and is still best advice.
• The stakeholders who are going to benefit financially must be committed, and there must be a contract of some sort with them, otherwise it will just be seen as an IT project - and you should forget it.
Success or failure criteria
• Success means (gaining) advantage, superiority, victory, accomplishment, achievement, added value.
• But all of these are perceptions, so how can they be related to project work?.
• If a project is to be perceived as successful, then its stakeholders must be satisfied
• Since this encompasses a wide range of people, they may not all be equally satisfied but at least they should be satisfied in some degree, or in the majority.
Success or failure criteria There are three main elements to
consider regarding a project’s success or failure criteria:
• Is it well managed from a “Project management” view point– How successful was the project team in
meeting its schedule objectives? – How successful was the project team in
meeting its budget objectives? – How successful was the project team in
managing any other resource constraints
Success or failure criteria• Are the “Specialist products” being
delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality– Did the product meet its specified
requirements of functional performance What
– Does the customer actually use the product, and are they satisfied with it?
– Does the project's product fulfill the customer's needs, and/or solve the problem?
Success or failure criteria• Will the “Specialist Products” provide
the expected “Business or organisational” benefits
Success or failure criteria• Projects are launched for a variety of reasons: to
construct buildings or infra-structure, to establish manufacturing processes, to upgrade existing products, or to build defence related systems for example.
• No matter what the motivation for the project, the question of project success is strongly linked to the organization’s effectiveness and its well-being in the long run.
• Yet, there is still no generally agreed framework with which project success is being measured and assessed.
Start with the business case
• The initial “Business case” is a good starting point for establishing if a project is a success or failure.
• The business case will go through many updates during the life of the project.
• THE REASON FOR THESE CHANGES, SUPPORTED BY A CHANGE CONTROL MECHANISM, MUST BE DOCUMENTED TO PROVIDE AN AUDIT TRAIL.
When to review success or failure• The analysing of the success or failure of a
project must be an ongoing process throughout the project “Life cycle”.
• A lot of time, effort, resources, and money can be wasted if a detailed analysis of the project’s success or failure criteria is only undertaken during the “Project Closure” phase.
• The use of “Project Management” stages is one method for formalising the ongoing monitoring of a project’s “Success/failure” criteria
When to review success or failure• Projects are best managed as a series of structured
phases.• “Phase” management provides a logical flow for project
execution, providing for periodic review and reflection. • To take full advantage of these potential benefits, each
phase must include checkpoints for management control, also known as stage gates or exits.
• Checkpoints provide a basis for analysis and evaluation, to determine whether the project is proceeding as planned, and to take corrective action as needed.
When to review success or failure
• Does the project have a control system?
• Do we check planned time and cost against actual duration and expenditure?
• Are checks carried out early enough to detect problems and correct them?
• Do we feedback progress to the team?
• Do we check that action on feedback is effective?
When to review success or failure
• You will need progress reports from project team members.
• You should record variations between the actual and planned cost, schedule and scope.
• You can adjust the plan in many ways to get the project back on track but you will always end up juggling cost, scope and schedule.
When to review success or failure
• If the project manager changes one of these, then one or both of the other elements will inevitably need changing. It is juggling these three elements - known as the project triangle
• This typically causes a project manager the most headaches!
Success/failure criteriaIs the project: • Meeting the required timescales• Within budget• Going to meet the operational/business
objectives• Meeting the quality requirements• Still needed by the customer
Success/failure criteriaIs the project: • Avoiding ill-defined “Scope creep”
– The inching forward of scope to introduce more requirements that are not included in the initial planning of the project
– whilst maintaining the same time frame for project delivery
– This can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled
Scope creep
• Typically, the scope increase consists of either new products or new features of already approved products. Hence, the project team drifts away from its original purpose.
• Scope creep can also result in a project team overrunning its original budget and schedule
• Scope creep is a risk in most projects.
Change management
• Stakeholders often change their mind about what must be delivered.
• Sometimes the business environment changes after the project starts, so assumptions made at the beginning of the project may no longer be valid.
• This often means the scope or deliverables of the project need changing. If a project manager accepted all changes into the project, the project would inevitably go over budget, be late and might never be completed
Change management
• By managing changes, the project manager can make decisions about whether or not to incorporate the changes immediately or in the future, or to reject them.
• This increases the chances of project success because the project manager controls how the changes are incorporated, can allocate resources accordingly and can plan when and how the changes are made. Not managing changes effectively is often a reason why projects fail.
Success/failure criteriaIs the project: • Management “Proactive” concerning the
management of risk rather then “Reactive”
• Estimates for cost, time and resources realistic or should they start “Once upon a time”
• Change control mechanism providing a true reflection of events
Project Triangle
Is there the correct balance between:
“The definitive guide to project management” Nokes and Greenwood
time
Moneyscope
Project Triangle
• If time, money, or what your project accomplished were unlimited, you wouldn't need to do project management. Unfortunately, most projects have a specific time limit & budget and risk
• We refer to this as the project triangle and It is a combination of these elements
• If you adjust any one element (side of the triangle), the other two sides are affected.
Project Triangle• For example, if you decide to adjust the project plan to Bring forward the scheduled
finish date you might end up with increased costs and decreased scope.
“The definitive guide to project management” Nokes and Greenwood
time
Money
scope
Project Triangle• Or Increase scope, your project might take more time and cost more money in the
form of
“The definitive guide to project management” Nokes and Greenwood
time
Money
scope
Success/failure criteria Team performance
• Commitment to team work• Individual participation and leadership• Oral and written communication, within
and on behalf of the team• Collaboration
Success/failure criteria Team performance
• Conflict resolution• Willing to change and take risks• Individual and team learning• Planning and goal setting• Decision making
Success/failure criteria
Team performance
• Problem solving• Credibility and trust• Adherence to agreed procedures• Building and sustaining interpersonal
relationships
Success/failure criteria
• It is especially important today that organizations have formal processes in place to select team members.
• Project teams are often thrown together in a disorganized fashion,
• Organizations need to put some thought and planning into the
selection process because the success of project teams and their ability to work well together can improve an organization’s bottom line.
Success/failure criteria
• Factors enhancing communication, relationships and control – Authority and responsibility matched by reliability
and accountability – Consistent sense of purpose and direction – Open cross-functional communications – Open access to process information – Group decision-making by consent – Visibility and recognition of accomplishments
Success/failure criteria
• Major influences on team performance include – Stimulating and interesting work – Opportunity for experience and growth – Solid team leadership and technical direction – Good communication and interpersonal
relationships – Qualified and high-energy team colleagues – Recognition of accomplishments
Success/failure criteria
• Major influences on team performance include – Convincing and committed project goals – Shared team objectives, values, and ownership – Distributed leadership based on expertise and respect – Open information sharing – Participation in project development, definition and
planning – Self-managed team and work effort – Flexible working conditions – Minimal "ceremony" and "politics
Success/failure criteria
• Use of performance metrics – Measured goals and objectives – Measured performance and recording of results – Acceptance of innovative and creative solutions – Emphasis on quality of performance – Emphasis on quality in the product – Tracking and containment of cost and schedule
Success/failure criteria Is being involved with the project very similar to
working in a mushroom farm?
Everyone is constantly kept in the dark and fed a load of Rubbish
This could be a very good indication that the project has not followed the “Project’s Communication Plan” or such a plan never existed
Success/failure criteriaCorrect selection of the “Project approach”• Bought off the shelf• Made to measure• Developed “In House”• Contracted to a third party• Based on existing products• “Built from scratch”• Based on a specific technology
Success/failure criteriaCorrect selection of the “Project approach”Common failure causes being; • The “Not invented here” syndrome
– What matters is who makes a decent product that does what it claims to do
• Not getting independent verification of supplier’s products or services
• Projects driven by a “technology interest” not a business requirement• Being too tied to a limited number of suppliers
"Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.“
'gen george patton'
Continued next week