From the Editor

Wouldn't it be great if our projects were like all those car ads where all those snazzy cars zip and zoom on treacherous roads with nary a bump in sight? Instead, our usual landscape is punctuated by monster speed bumps and crater-sized potholes. But what makes the work interesting—and what makes us valued in the eyes of the execs—is knowing how to cope with the unexpected twists and turns. The ability to drive makes us good. The ability to steer a team clinging to an out-of-control go-cart flying through a busy intersection makes us superstars.

This week, our new Premium course guides project managers who are Planning a Project When Things Are Uncertain (1 PDU), and columnist Geof Lory helps us pave the way by reminding us that teams have to be Ready for Speed before we hit the gas. Plus, our bloggers dish out great advice on process with a purpose, the value and dangers of project assumptions, and on handling unexpected project successes (which can be just as crazy as the challenges). Speed on!

Featured Article

Are You Ready for Speed?
by Geof Lory

On projects and in my role as a project manager, my impatience and sense of urgency can be an energizing factor for the team. It can also increase the risks and consequences. Understanding the requirements for putting the team's collective pedal to the metal can help you leverage valuable energy while avoiding the potential risks and negative consequences of pushing a team that is not yet ready for speed. Maintaining this fine balance requires continuous testing to assess speed readiness. But with a little forewarning of the factors needed before you up the RPMs, you may avoid the inadvertent and undesirable crash and burn.

Speed accentuates imperfections. It will put the mechanics of your team under the microscope. Every rough edge or bad seam has the potential to cause friction and instability that can be detrimental. Speed will naturally apply increased pressure and reveal weaknesses. Additionally, sudden speed can be a jolt to the system as it works overcome the natural inertia of the status quo. Just expecting or wishing for speed will not affect this inertia. A steady increase in velocity (acceleration) with continual examination of the impact to the team will be more effective and less risky, especially if you know what to look for as you accelerate. Read more »

Monthly Premium How-To Course

Your team has to get moving on the project, but it's still riddled with unknowns and uncertainties. Management is demanding a schedule commitment, and the team is still trying to figure out how long it will take to design everything, let alone build it. How can you possibly plan and manage a project when you don't know how long it will take to finish?

If you haven't managed such an unwieldy, unpredictable effort yet, odds are extremely high that you will face one at some point in your career. When you do, "I don't know yet" will only get you so far. Eventually, you'll need an appropriate way to plan and manage the work despite all the uncertainties—a flexible way to manage an uncertain project and still keep management happy. Iterative development methods can help your team close in on the project's end point even when it's lost in the fog of risk and uncertainty. This session, presented by Michael Aucoin, President of Leading Edge Management explores these iterative tools like spiral development and time-boxing, so you and your team can face uncertainty with confidence. PDU credit available for paid Premium subscribers (exercise required).

Which course would you like to see next month? - PREMIUM
We plan to release a new course every month, so we're asking our subscribers which one they'd like to see next. Log in to cast your vote:

• Which Project Leadership Hat Should I Wear This Week? - 1 PDU
• Deciding How to Respond to Project Risks - 1 PDU
• Getting More Adaptable with Your Project Processes - 1.25 PDUs

Project Practitioners

Managing Project Successes

Randy Englund reminds us that being a successful negotiator doesn't mean you win every time; the goal is "to consistently achieve better outcomes for both parties. His most recent blog provides excellent, real-world examples of the 10 rules of negotiation in action using this win-win mindset.

Retrospectives during, rather than after, a project are a key tenet of Agile methodologies. But Kent McDonald, inspired by the study of presidential legacies, acknowledges that we can still learn important lessons by studying projects (and presidents) that have long since left the building. A project that seemed like a success in the glow of release may lose some sparkle months or years later. How should we handle that new perspective? Learn from it!

What would you do if someone handed you two developers and a pile of unmarked bills? Sometimes success isn't getting everything you dreamed of. We tend to spend a lot of time thinking about how to learn from bad situations, but DeAnna Burghart points out that there's just as much to be learned from our success stories. This one, relayed recently by a colleague, illustrates just how important it is not to take anything for granted, and to apply the tools we've been taught no matter what!

Watch for the first ProjectConnections webinar! Be sure to check the next newsletter and watch your email to sign up for a special webinar in June: It's So NOT About Authority—Critical Influence Skills That Get Project Managers Their Rightful Seat at the Table. Our usual practical project know-how brought to you in a live online venue—and earn Category A (formerly Category 3) PDUs too!

Process With a Purpose

Regulation is sometimes spoken of as the ultimate project management stranglehold, but by imposing a strong process, it can actually be a blessing. Matt Glei explains what a quality management system actually is. It's not about telling PMs how to do their job. It's about helping them do it well. This is what it's like to work under a defined quality system, from someone who's actually been there.

Assumptions at Their Best and Worst

"A project lawsuit? That couldn't happen to us; our clients love us." That may be true, but as Morley Selver points out in his blog this week, you can't predict the future, and luck favors the prepared. In addition to some examples from his own project past, he provides practical, proactive advice for protecting yourself, the team, and the company if things should turn completely upside down, and for avoiding such problems in the first place.

What are you assuming with regard to your current project? Brian Irwin has learned that even though assumptions are inevitable in project management, they can be hazardous if left unvalidated. You don't need to check your assumptions at the door, but you should check them—early and often.

What happens when nothing happens? Unacknowledged messages can frustrate the critical collaboration and support provided by a project sponsor. Rather than assuming disinterest or disconnection, Lisa DiTullio suggests a couple of proactive options for dealing with this situation, and she's looking for your ideas, too. What has worked for you?

Where's ProjectConnections?

Randy Englund and Alfonso Bucero are headed to Milan, Italy May 13-14 to facilitate a seminar on "Achieving Management Commitment for Project Success" in conjunction with the PMI Global Congress EMEA. Participants will receive a copy of their book on Project Sponsorship. Randy and Alfonso will also be presenting papers during the Congress, so it's a great chance to hear from them if you're on the Continent. The following week, on Saturday May 22, Randy caps off the PMI Wine Country Chapter Professional Development Day with a presentation on "The Complete Project Manager."

Carl Pritchard is heading to sea in August for his 2010 PDUs Seminar @ Sea. "Managing Multiple Projects: Coping with the Challenges of Competing Priorities" will set sail from Orlando on August 19 for a 3-day cruise in the Bahamas, racking up PDUs the whole way. Preliminary registration is due June 15. For more details, check out the cruise website at http://www.traveling4fun.com/events.htm.

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