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Beyond Just Do It: The Project Manager’s Guide to Getting it Done
Nike’s famous slogan “Just
Do It” speaks to the project manager in us all, but as we all know, “Just Do It” is easier said than
done. In a world where everything
keeps moving faster, how can you keep your projects cruising in the fast lane
and avoid the inevitable traffic jams along the way?
Once a project is in motion,
there are many things that can slow it down. Here are the most common project clogs to watch for:
“Feature creep”
This is the disease of “we
can make it better.” There comes a time in every project when it’s time to
silence the engineer in your head and finish the project. To make decisions
about suggested feature changes, we use what is called a change impact
matrix. We also freeze the
design of the product or service, including the set of features, at a specified
time in the project. The earlier this is done, the faster your project will
move. Save your future feature
ideas as upgrade possibilities for later versions of the product or service.
Project Agreement changes
Let’s face it, things
happen. Customers change their minds about what they thought they wanted,
market forces change, new threats and opportunities arise that make the goals
of the project obsolete, and new priorities surface. All of these changes pull money and resources away from a
project.
When a project is directed
by the project agreement, project changes often mean a re-launch of the
project. In my experience, it’s
better to spend half a day re-launching the project based on the new project
agreement then to create a final deliverable that no one wants, or to attempt
to complete a project with inadequate resources and lack of support from the
project sponsor.
When you’re developing a new
project plan from the new project agreement, you may also be able to use the
interim deliverables you’ve already created for the new project, ultimately
shortening the project cycle time for the new project.
Poor team dynamics
An inability to work
together towards a common goal comes from lack of commitment, lack of
interaction, and a lack of interest in constructively resolving conflict. Many
projects also lose and gain people during the execution of the project. When
this happens, it is important that the team spend a half hour together
developing their new team guidelines and meeting protocols. With any new people
joining the team, it becomes a new team. Re-developing your guidelines and
protocols is done for the same reason it is done initially – to facilitate
working relationships, to create a way to positively interact, and to prevent
destructive conflict.
Multi-tasking
When team members have to
work on multiple projects or multiple tasks within the same project, there is a
tendency to multi-task. People work quickly and efficiently when they work on
one task to its completion, and don’t juggle multiple tasks simultaneously. If
people are working on multiple projects, it’s best if they set aside blocks of
time to focus on one task at a time.
Over-scheduling people’s
time
Sure, people are capable of
doing the occasional marathon week to complete a project. If this becomes
routine, however, they will find ways to get out of work responsibilities
during the workday. We all need to take care of our basic living needs, such as
dentist appointments, grocery shopping, and so on. We also have a need for
socialization, connection with family, and time to relax and unwind.
If people are too
over-scheduled because of project work, they will create ways to take care of
their responsibilities while they are doing their project work. The next thing that will happen is they
will get further behind, necessitating more over-scheduling. The best to
prevent way to prevent this from happening is letting the team members create a
schedule that they can do in a normal workweek. If things get in a crunch, do
not require people to work more than one extended workweek at a time. This
keeps the project moving along. If extended hours do become necessary, it’s
better if team members take turns during the crunch.
Inefficient business
processes
It’s the job of the project
sponsor to knock down barriers so that the project team can work fast and
efficiently. If the team gets stuck “mucking through the bureaucratic maze” to
complete their interim deliverables, it will slow down the project and cause
frustration due to their wasted time and effort. When the project sponsor
identifies bureaucratic time wasters and gets rid of them, the entire team will
operate more effectively.
Chaotic Work Environments
How long does it take you to
find the information you need to get your job done? Office clutter, on your desk and on your computer, slows
down project work. It is also distracting and causes multi-tasking.
To keep your work productive
it is a good idea to have a “5 S” event with the team, both at the beginning of
the project and as part of the project status reports. A “5 S” event is a
technique adopted from the Japanese quality movement and it has been used
effectively around the world to increase productivity.
The “5 S” approach stands
for:
Sort - Only have items in your work area that you use on
a daily basis. Everything else gets put away in its place. Create filing
systems for quick retrieval – for both paper and electronic based information.
Straighten – Have a designated place for all moveable items,
such as desktop organizers.
Everything is labeled in macro-work areas, and there is a logical
workflow for shared office machines, such as copiers and printers.
Shine – Everything in the area looks like “new” condition
and operates perfectly. Recycle
bins and waste baskets are emptied nightly.
Standardize – This includes visual controls for common areas,
such as how to use the copier, and wall planning calendars.
Sustain – Have a daily and weekly system to keep up with the
improvements that you have made.
All of these S’s together
lead to speed. Put your project
pedal to the medal and make your projects faster and more effective and get
beyond “Just Do It” to “Done!”
About the Author
Michelle LaBrosse is the founder and Chief Cheetah of Cheetah Learning. An international expert on accelerated learning and Project Management, she has grown Cheetah Learning into the market leader for Project Management training and professional development. In 2006, The Project Management Institute, www.pmi.org, selected Michelle as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management in the world, and only one of two women selected from the training and education industry. Michelle is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Owner & President Management program for entrepreneurs, and is the author of Cheetah Project Management and Cheetah Negotiations