Forward Momentum: Delivering Results

By Bruce Beer, PMP

Have you ever thought of a great improvement to content, process, design, product etc., and respectfully suggested this to your manager? What was his or her response? It could well have been something like “Great idea, I love it. I will see if I can introduce it into the next release”. You wait with baited breath, then a new release comes out, and guess what, none of your ideas have been included. How does this make you feel – motivated? Enthusiastic about making more suggestions for improvement? Happy that your contribution has been ignored? Probably not!

OK, so let us flip this around – you are now the manager. You have released a product (say a new software tool) that will be used by several Team Leads and their staff. Following introduction of this new product one of your experienced Team Leads sends you an email containing suggestions from him and his team for improvements and/or corrections. What do you do?

Scenario 1 – You recognize the efforts of the Team Lead and thank him and his team for their time and interest. However, you don’t really want to update your product. You have been working on its development for some time now and you don’t think there is much (if any) room for improvement. You  don’t think there is much that can improve what you have already done. You file the suggestions in the round filing cabinet and move on to other things.

Result – The Team Lead hears a deafening silence after the initial recognition of his suggestions. He waits expectantly for the next release of the product, then eagerly looks to see which of his suggestions have been incorporated. He sees that nothing he and his team suggested has been used. They all feel pretty de-motivated, and although they continue to use the product, neither he nor his team bother to try any further efforts at improvement. They are frustrated because they can see potential improvements that would make the product better, but the product stays static.

Scenario 2 – You recognize the efforts of the Team Lead and his team and realize that they have taken their time, effort and experience to create suggestions for improvement. You realize that as much as you feel you are as close to perfect as you can get, it is worth considering all suggestions for improvement – some of them may actually be valid! So you compare the Team Lead’s suggestions with the existing product and realize that some of the suggestions do, in fact, enhance the product and may introduce improvements. You keep an open mind, and although you do not consider that every suggestion should be incorporated in the product, you do incorporate those with merit. You then write to the Team Lead thanking him and his team, saying which suggestions have been used and which ones have not, with an explanation, and thank them for helping to make a better product.

Result – Team Lead and his team are proud that some of their suggestions have been incorporated and feel a sense of “ownership” in the updated and improved product. They feel motivated to help with future continuous improvement efforts on this and other products, recognizing that not everything will be used but at least they are contributing to better products by continuous improvement.

What sort of manager do you think is eventually going to be more successful with better products? The one who ignores suggestions from his team or the one that uses suggestion as continuous improvement and lessons learned as useful tools? Who do you think has the better motivated and more innovative teams? Which type of manager do you think will have better prospects for advancement? Ummmm, let me think about this!

Which manager are you?

By Darrell G. Stiffler, PMP

When battling through a project, the Project Manager’s (PM’s) closest ally should be the Project Sponsor (PS).  However, there is confusion when talking to different people in exactly what the responsibilities are for the PS. When the PM turns to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), the confusion just gets worse. We forget that the PMBOK is a GUIDE to Project Management. It is neither an all-encompassing document nor an instruction manual. It is, at best, a suggestion on how to manage a project. However, since many PMs have to pass the Project Management Professional (PMP) examination and the PMBOK is the source for MOST of the answers, we tend to assume that the PMBOK is more of a cookbook than what it turns out to be. For example, when looking for the answer on what the PS is responsible for in the PMBOK 4^th edition, go to page 25, and you find:

“Sponsor. A sponsor is the person or group that provides the financial resources, in cash or in kind, for the project. When a project is first conceived, the sponsor champions the project. This includes serving as spokesperson to higher levels of management to gather support throughout the organization and promote the benefits that the project will bring. The sponsor leads the project through the engagement or selection process until formally authorized, and plays a significant role in the development of the initial scope and charter.

For issues that are beyond the control of the project manager, the sponsor serves as an escalation path. The sponsor may also be involved in other important issues such as authorizing changes in scope, phase-end reviews, and go/no-go decisions when risks are particularly high.”

1) My first surprise is that the sponsor can be a group as well as a person. OK, I can understand that a little.

2)  Next is “provides the financial resources, in cash or in kind”.  Now I’m not sure what “kind” is. I don’t think it means “being nice and generous”. One of the dictionary definitions is “a: goods or commodities as distinguished from money <payment in kind> b: the equivalent of what has been offered or received”. I’m getting confused now. Does that mean the PS is wheeling and dealing, like “ I’ll trade you two wooden desks for a DBA service for two weeks” or “I’ll trade you my executive parking spot for a month for use of a server of a month”? J This all sounds too much like bartering.

3) Serving as a spokesperson to the higher levels of management to gather support sounds reasonable. So does the PS lead the group in spiritual séances when it gets into trouble as well?

4) I have always interpreted the statement “For issues that are beyond the control of the project manager, the sponsor serves as an escalation path” to mean that when the PM is having difficulty getting cooperation from Functional Managers that the PS steps in and gets the Functional Manager in line. However, I have seen test questions that state that if the PM is having difficulty getting resources from Functional Managers that the PM goes to Senior Management. Therefore, this leaves me confused.

Another quote from the PMBOK confuses me on page 74, which reads:

“Projects are authorized by someone external to the project such as a sponsor, PMO, or portfolio steering committee. The project initiator or sponsor should be at a level that is appropriate to funding the project. They will either create the project charter or delegate that duty to the project manager. The initiator’s signature on the charter authorizes the project. “

1) The line “sponsor should be at a level that is appropriate to funding the project”, confuses me. Does that mean if this is a major project and requires approval by the CEO or CFO of the organization that they will be the PS? If this is true then on a small project that requires little funding that a junior programmer could be the sponsor.

Another quote from the PMBOK on page 75 states:

• “The statement of work (SOW) is a narrative description of products or services to be delivered by the project. For internal projects, the project initiator or sponsor provides the statement of work based on business needs,……….
• Name and authority of the sponsor or other person(s) authorizing the project charter.”

1) The statement “authority of the sponsor or other person(s) authorizing the project” would allude that there are others authorized to initiate a project and sign the Project Charter. 

On page 125 the PMPOK states:

“Deliverables that meet the acceptance criteria are formally signed off and approved by the customer or sponsor. Formal documentation received from the customer or sponsor acknowledging formal stakeholder acceptance of the project’s deliverables is forwarded to the Close Project or Phase process.”

1) The PS signs off on approval of the deliverables.

Page 215 of the PMBOK states:

“The project management team is a subset of the project team and is responsible for the project management and leadership activities such as initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing the various project phases. This group can also be referred to as the core, executive, or leadership team. For smaller projects, the project management responsibilities can be shared by the entire team or administered solely by the project manager. The project sponsor works with the project management team, typically assisting with matters such as project funding, clarifying scope, monitoring progress, and influencing others in order to benefit the project.”

1) I like this statement, it let’s me know that the PS is the go-to-person when you need guidance.

The wording in the PMBOK on what the PS is really supposed to do still confuses me. One thing I know for sure; if you have any question what the PS is responsible for, ask them and they can clear up exactly what they think their responsibilities are.

By Vicki Wrona, PMP

There are several good examples of large and medium company leadership recognizing the value of learning from their mistakes, including Domino’s and Goodman Networks. If it works for the leaders of companies, why not a Project Manager of a project or a Functional Manager within an organization? Or even a parent?

First, let’s look at Domino’s. It’s hard to miss the advertising blitz that Domino’s is now putting forth. After much market research and soul-searching, Domino’s management realizes what consumers knew for years – that their pizzas were not that good. Because of that, they re-addressed and revised everything – the recipe, the crust, the sauce and the toppings. I applaud Domino’s for coming out so strongly and admitting that they veered off track. I wish them the best in their comeback. I haven’t ordered a Domino’s pizza in many years, but I will try them again now.

I found another, lesser known, example in an interview in Smart Business about how Danny Wade, President and COO of Goodman Networks, Inc., a $200+M firm, drives growth in his organization by using self-evaluation and feedback…in other words, lessons learned.

Let’s see how this can work. Wade says that, “analyzing our failures and determining where we went wrong is how we truly improve in our personal lives or our professional lives.” He constantly thinks introspectively and puts himself in other people’s shoes to imagine how they would see a situation. He analyzes failures to learn from them, openly sharing that he learns more from failures than successes. This attitude creates an environment that can evolve and where employees know this is not just talk.

The way that Wade performs this is to encourage feedback, allowing anyone to talk to him about anything as long it is presented and discussed in a “professional, nonattacking, nonthreatening manner.” He believes that when people are allowed to have their say and they feel heard, it cuts down on rumors and distractions. This allows employees to focus on their jobs and better serving the customer rather than on unfair internal policies or how they were treated. He believes in learning from criticism.

He also believes that leaders have to stay close to those performing the tactical work. Firsthand feedback may be difficult given the layers of management or organizations involved (see Undercover Boss: Are You Aware?), but it is critical in truly understanding what is going on. Too many leaders get away from that and don’t really see or hear this crucial information. How often is the functional manager or project manager taken by surprise by something that many others on the team easily see?

Lastly, a leader has to be willing to adjust. Are things going as you hoped? As planned? Are the right people in the right roles? Have you created an environment for them to be successful? If not, you need to be willing to admit what isn’t working and adjust.

I thought these were great lessons for all managers and leaders, and wanted to share them with you.

By Kathy Martucci, PMP

What is the role of the Project Management Office (PMO)?  Is its sole purpose to provide an organizational home for project managers or is it an independent group charged with developing and communicating project standards, methodologies and learning experiences?

Point: The PMO is the nucleus of all project management activities in the organization.  The management of strategic projects small and large is shifted from the business area whose interest is represented by the project sponsor and other stakeholders.  Only experienced, certified project managers with proven track records manage functional and technical resources using a matrix approach. 

Advantages of this approach include:

• Allows the project manager to be 100% dedicated to the project effort
• Provides a single business unit with organization-wide knowledge of complete project portfolio
• Assists in resource allocation across projects

Counterpoint: The PMO assists everyone in becoming a good project manager. Its intent is not to disempower others, but rather to empower others with advice, training, methods, tools and services that make everyone successful at delivering their projects. Its job is to serve business owners, not replace them, sharing its in-depth knowledge of project management without actually being the project manager.

Advantages of this approach include:

• Establishment of repeatable processes
• Management structure of projects more real less than implied
• May be more suitable to the corporate culture

Regardless of the goal, it is essential for the success of a Project Management Office that there is clear understanding and expectations of the Office before its implementation. Both the role of the office and the interaction between the Office and the individual projects should be clearly established and communicated. 

What is your definition of the Project Management Office and how it can best add value to the organization?