In This Issue:
From the Editor
Carl Pritchard shares A Project Manager's Facebook Feed
Brian Irwin on Proactive Risk Management Prevents a Lot of Fan Cleaning
Site Highlights:
No, Timing Isn't Everything
Tell Me Something I Don't Know
Is There a Doctor in the House?
Give Me a Y! Give Me an E! OK, Good Enough
You Say Tomato, I Say Hide Under the Desk with the Canned Goods
Line Them Up, This One's Gonna Be a Three-fer
Well, That's What We Said, but Not What We Meant
Making Better Software, One Risk at a Time
Project Practitioner Blog
Four Rules to Live By
Four Key Traits of Successful Project Leaders
Leading for Results
…and more!
Where's ProjectConnections?
This month: California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania
Next month: Florida, Texas & Barcelona, Spain
From the Editor
One of the risks of developing theme-based newsletters for you is that we might hit on a topic that's not on your mind this week. We talk about that a lot, actually. But we feel pretty safe at the moment, because the fact is that your project risks should always be on your mind. Too often we develop the risk list and stick it in a drawer, never to be reviewed again until the lessons learned meeting. (That's when we pull it out and check off all the stuff that actually happened, "just like we said it would.") If you're not thinking about your risks—by which we mean actively managing that risk list—then it's a pretty sure bet you're about to get bit by one. Don't look so surprised. You knew it was coming; it's on your risk list, after all. The processes and templates in this issue are all about taking control of your project's environment, from customer requirements to final review and approval. So who's in charge: you, or the risk list?Featured Article
A Project Manager's Facebook Feed, by Carl Pritchard
Featured Article
Proactive Risk Management Prevents a Lot of Fan Cleaning, by Brian Irwin
While I'm passionate about many topics, risk management is at, or near, the top. This is because I've seen it work and, more importantly, I've seen and lived the results of poor risk management. On one instance, I was leading a project that experienced a $250,000 cost impact as a direct result of a completely avoidable risk. These are lessons you want to learn through someone else, not through experiencing them yourself.
Standard risk lists are filled with items like "not enough resources" or "aggressive timeline." Are these actually risks? NOW HEAR THIS...More than likely, you're never going to have enough resources and timelines will always be aggressive. Get used to it. These are certainties, not risks. This is, in general, the nature of the modern project environment.
But beyond their obviousness, risks like these fail to provide the project manager or the team any useful direction. As an example, consider the statement "not enough resources." What does that mean in the context of the project? Is it the cause of something else? Is it a statement of what your project is experiencing at this moment? There is simply no way to know from the description provided. Read More »
Site Highlights
No, Timing Isn't Everything – Case Study: Spiraling In – MEMBERAs project managers, we often focus in on scheduling; after all, it's the most visible, obvious portion of our work. This case study of a failed medical device project illustrates how easy it is to lose a project that's on schedule. The project team did everything by the book, followed their procedures, even solved the critical design problems without sacrificing the schedule. Find out what went wrong, and use their lessons learned to avoid the same critical oversights on your projects. Read the case study »
Tell Me Something I Don't Know – Managing Projects Under Uncertainty – MEMBER
It's gone from cliché to downright trite to discuss how uncertain the project environment is. But do you know what kind of uncertainty is stalking your particular project, and how that should change your management approach? That question is at the core of this presentation, delivered at the IEEE International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology in Singapore. It addresses several types of uncertainty on projects, suggests the project management style best suited to each, and summarizes strategies for managing tasks and people on the project. A great thought-provoker for anyone launching a new project or rescuing one that's struggling. Read the presentation »
Is There a Doctor in the House? – Medical Product Risk Management Process – PREMIUM
For a real lesson in risk aversion, turn to safety critical fields like medical products and air travel. Few things motivate more careful consideration than the knowledge that lives are on the line. This template provides some good insights even if you're not in the biotech industry. Based on ISO 14971:2007 requirements, it provides a model for medical product risk management processes, and an overview of what scrupulous risk management looks like in safety-critical environments, including risk-scoring systems and rationales, checklists, and more. It's a good look inside risk management for when the risks really, really matter. Get the template »
Give Me a Y! Give Me an E! OK, Good Enough – Review Meeting Planning Worksheet – MEMBER
Scheduling your review meeting is only the first step. If you want to be sure you walk out with the decisions and approvals you need, you've got some groundwork to take care of before you walk through the conference room door. This worksheet will help you plan your review methodically (just like your project!) and find all the prep work you need to finish in order to really be ready. Sample information is included so you can see what the template will look like when you've developed your own project-specific meeting plan. It's either that, or spend twice as long as you wanted and get half the desired results. And half of an approval won't get you where you want to go. Get the worksheet »
You Say Tomato, I Say Hide Under the Desk with the Canned Goods – Risk Management Process – SPECIAL
This Premium resource is free to registered Members until September 30, 2009
Chances are, everyone in your organization has a different approach to managing risks and deciding when and how to act on them when things get exciting. The risk management process is guidance on the steps that will and will not be included in the process as a whole, and ensuring all the appropriate steps are implemented. This process outline from Carl Pritchard provides a roadmap to help your project managers get from risk-unaware to risk-aware and risk-ready. Get the template »
Line Them Up, This One's Gonna Be a Three-fer – Risk Strategy Selection Matrix – PREMIUM
If you're tackling risks in scattershot fashion, like pop-up targets at the fair, you're probably getting pretty worn out. Even worse, at some point you may pick a strategy that makes one risk better while making another worse. This template recommends a more holistic approach; line them up and take them out two and three at a time. Another contribution by risk expert Carl Pritchard, it helps stakeholders—management, project leader, and project team—take a clear look at the most pervasive risks and identify the strategies with the best chance of resolving multiple risks at once.
NEW – Well, That's What We Said, but Not What We Meant – Requirements Measurement Plan – PREMIUM
Sure you have a list of requirements, but what's going to stop your customer from changing them next month… or next week? Your best strategy is to be sure that the requirements you're documenting meet the right standards for quality as well as content. Are they testable? Traceable? Comprehensible? Since what gets measured gets done, Sinikka Waugh of Your Clear Next Step proposes creating a plan to measure the project requirements, in addition to the project work. A simple table and approval process like this one could go a long way to reassuring your team that you aren't handing off muddy requirements that will cause confusion and rework later in the project. Get the template »
Making Better Software, One Risk at a Time – Spiral/Iterative Project Phase Approach – SPECIAL
This Premium resource is free to registered Members until September 30, 2009
Unlike the traditional waterfall approach, spiral development breaks software products up into mini-projects, each focusing on a different risk area. While it shares similarity with Agile approaches, the spiral model still demands significant up-front planning, and may not result in working software at the end of every iteration. It's a unique approach that's appropriate in different situations, and one valuable way to attack risk in large development ventures. This template illustrates how one development team tackled a demanding project using iterations to achieve aggressive, customer-driven deadlines. Get the template »
Project Practitioners Blog
Margaret de Haan explains how parenting twin six-year-old boys has prepared her for a career in project management in "Four Rules to Live By."
Alfonso Bucero outlines four key traits of successful project leaders, and advice for developing those traits. Randy Englund shares similar thoughts in "Leading for Results."
Project management in our own lives was a popular theme this week, as seen in these posts by Matt Glei and Josh Nankivel.
Where's ProjectConnections?
Kimberly Wiefling is still taking reservations for her next workshop on Creating a Vision For Your Future, September 19 in Redwood City, California.
Lisa DiTullio appears at this week's Massachusetts Hospital Association's conference, "The Leaders Behind the Leadership," to provide an introduction to project management, and at the PMI Michigan Capital Area Chapter to review "A Decade in Project Management."
Carl Pritchard will be teaching Project Management Essentials in Pittsburgh, PA September 16-17. More details and registration information are available on Carl's website.
Randy Englund travels to Orlando, Florida in October to present a paper at the PMI Global Congress North America on "Leading for Results." The following week he presents "Facilitating Risk Management into a Corporate Culture" at the PMI Austin, Texas Professional Development Day. Then he's off to Barcelona, Spain to work with Alfonso Bucero on the second annual Project Portfolio Day.
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