Forward Momentum: Delivering Results

By Craig Covello, PMP

In part one of this two-part series, we looked at cross footing to find spreadsheet errors. This month, we look at a possible early warning sign of overspending.

Run Rate Exhaustion

Every project has two primary appetites.  One involves purchases of equipment.  The other consumes money in the form of labor.  If this labor is defined as “time and materials” without any capitation, the project is vulnerable to budget overruns.  One way to mitigate the problem is to make a prediction using something I like to call “run rate exhaustion”.  The technique is simple.  Team members provide the project manager with an estimate of hours required, before the project starts, as part of the budget process.  Once the project is underway, the actual hours expended by each team member are recorded, averaged and used to extrapolate hours for the remainder of the project.

Note – Click on graphic for better resolution.

Run Rate Example

If the extrapolated figure exceeds the original staff estimate, then there is a chance of exhausting your labor budget before the project completes.  Of course, this extrapolation technique is more art than science because it assumes that the hourly burn rate is somewhat linear.  You might need to incorporate some refinement by adjusting a specific team member’s end date relative to the project completion date.  But even with its limitations, extrapolating run rates can be a very effective tool.  It allows you to identify potential labor cost overruns and take corrective action, hopefully before the situation becomes a threat to your project budget.

Drop me a line if you decide to use either of these techniques and later discover that they saved you from falling off the budgetary cliff.  Then share your story with the United States Congress, since it appears that they struggle with some of these budget-oversight concepts. The Senate may have miscalculated by about $13.7 trillion.  It was probably a spreadsheet error.  ;-)  http://www.usdebtclock.org/

By Rob Zell

Recently, Darrell Glen Stiffler posted his blog on Vroom’s theory of motivation and it’s a solid account of how to keep people engaged in the work at hand. I would like to add that you should also strive to put people into positions in which they can do whatever it is they do best. In other words, help them take advantage of their strengths.

Managing to strengths seems pretty common sense. As managers of people we should strive to align the team to the work based on the strengths of each individual. When people work to their strengths they are energized and are more willing to give up some of that discretionary effort. When we don’t have the opportunity to work to our strengths it actually serves to drain our energy: we procrastinate, ignore the details, and generally dread the assignment. The reality is that we don’t always get to do what we’re best at. Sometimes we have to speak in public, or make cold calls, or file TPS reports. When we do, we should strive to find ways to incorporate our strengths into the process.

Unfortunately the work doesn’t always align perfectly to the strengths of the team. We don’t always get to show off what we’re best at doing. Regardless the work has to get done or, as one of my favorite management gurus likes to say, “You still have to get the wash out.”  To do that, you have the opportunity to shine as a manager. In my experience, the best managers do a couple of things in this situation.

• They empower the team to solve problems. By turning tough problems over to the team and setting clear expectation for results, managers allow their teams to plan and organize the work in a manner that best fits their strengths.
• They help the team overcome some of their own hang ups. Everyone has a bias that they bring into workplace and interpersonal interactions. The bias develops from their own experience, their perceptions from culture and media, and interactions with others. Managers need to shine a light on these issues and remove the biases that interfere with productive work.

When people work to their strengths they are most engaged and most successful. When your teams get to use their strengths they feel better about themselves and feel like they are acting to their full potential, i.e., self-actualization.  You probably recall that term, as defined by Abraham Maslow, which means that we are all driven to use our strengths to the fullest potential. Using our strengths makes us feel good; it makes us feel like better, stronger people.

A great example of someone driven to be “all he can be” is Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman. In the book Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice and the Socratic Way, Mark Waid discusses that Clark Kent must use his powers to fight crime and protect Earth. He is driven by a need to live to his full potential, and what could be better than being a hero to so many?

How can you help your team to be supermen and superwomen, accomplishing great things on minimal resources, tight timelines and despite obstacles? Leave your comments below on how you’ve been successful at helping people work to their strengths to accomplish goals.

by Bruce Beer, PMP

In Part 1, we introduced the difficulty of trying to create a quality plan on complex projects without historicals. Here, we complete the series by discussing the objectives and components of a quality plan.

What is the overall objective of a Quality Plan? I would say it is a plan of how we intend to meet the project quality objectives (quality plan), identify variances (quality control), and act on those variances (quality assurance) to implement any corrective measures required.  So the plan would normally have a “general” section that describes the quality methodology, the company’s overview on quality, i.e. their quality policy, maybe quality requirements in the specific marketplace in which the project will operate, and possibly how to ensure quality during subsequent operation, if applicable.

Some of the basic elements might include quality metrics, success criteria, quality checklists, and tools to be used across the organization. For example, if you are creating the quality plan for a program, you may want to specify what tools should be used, such as MS Office version xxxx. We have probably all experienced the frustration of having a Word document sent to us from someone who is using a later version – we can’t read it! Similarly, using MS Project across a program should have everyone using the same release to ensure data can be communicated and read by all on the program. Where you have many servers around the globe, it might be quite a good idea to have them all on the same OS, with the same version or release number, and patch level etc.

In conclusion, I would say that a quality plan should be considered for every project. The size and complexity of the plan would depend on the size and complexity of the project. But in minimal terms it should identify the deliverables to be produced, metrics to be measured for each deliverable, the overall quality policy, the tools to be used, and how to report and handle variances. This should be a good baseline for attaining the best quality on your project.

What have you included in your quality plan? Were you able to start from templates or historical plans, or did you have to start from scratch?

By Vicki Wrona, PMP

I have trained thousands of professionals over the past 11 years and have observed a direct correlation between the different types of students and their success rate. My personal observation and the help of some past students have allowed me to label these different types.

• Vacationer: This person sees training as an opportunity to take a break from work. They tend to mentally check out once they leave the office prior to training, and are present physically but not mentally in the class. They are there for a mental break and a good time. If traveling, these people often stay out late and are therefore very tired in class. Most do not receive the organization’s intended benefit of the training, which is the application of new knowledge and skills, but often do receive their intended benefit of a vacation.

• Explorer: These students are lifelong learners and are attending class to broaden their horizons. They are interested in new learning opportunities and will listen and participate in class, absorbing any new knowledge they can get.

• Hostage: These people are in training because they are told they need it or because they have to be. They often start the class defensively and may not be open to the ideas presented. Sometimes they turn around and see the benefit of the information offered. Sometimes they do not. It is very rewarding for me when a former hostage begins to engage in the class.

• Distracted: These people physically show up to class but are not really mentally present. They are constantly checking their mobile devices, getting called out of class to settle fires, and tend to not return from breaks in a timely manner. Often, they miss more class than they attend. Sometimes this is out of their control. I understand that unavoidable issues arise at times. Sometimes those can be delegated but are not (which may be why they are in the class to begin with). However, I find that most people miss so much that they don’t receive benefit from the training and because they are haphazardly trying to address issues at work, they are not doing their best work there, either. Both the training and job performance suffer and all sides lose. 

• Applier: These students actively participate and are engaged in class and work to apply the knowledge after class. I know they do this because these are the ones who follow up with me, either to let me know they passed the exam or to tell me how they applied something we discussed and practiced in class or to give me new examples or analogies to use in future classes. They demonstrate to me that they have internalized the information in some way.

The students I find most gratifying are the appliers, explorers and transformed hostages. I love the “aha” or lightbulb moments when they connect information presented to what they are experiencing and figure out a way, either individually or with others, to resolve their situation. This is the reason I teach. This is what motivates me to keep sharing what I have seen and learned.

Please let us know if anything we have shared here has helped you…and how. Thank you for your interest in our articles!