Forward Momentum: Delivering Results

By Kathy Martucci, PMP

Editor’s note: This is the second post in a series about implementing PeopleSoft projects. The first post on whether PeopleSoft is right for your organization can be found here.

Your organization just purchased over $1 million worth of PeopleSoft software licenses and, even if it’s never implemented, contractually owes Oracle for hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance fees annually. 

NOW WHAT?

As we discussed in the previous blog, any single suite of PeopleSoft (two examples are Supplier Chain Management or Human Capital Management) is a monstrous challenge to implement. And implementing more than one is the definition of an extremely complex project. Talk about replacing all your current systems with PeopleSoft is just crazy talk. 

There are important decisions to ponder and determine before cracking the shrink wrap on the software and diving in: 

1. Hardware infrastructure and software architecture

• How many servers of what size(s) does the organization require to offer the type of performance necessary?
• How many end-users will there be, how many batch processes, how many and what type of transactions? 
• What about redundancy? Need 100% uptime? Automatic failover?  Disaster recovery plans?

Fortunately, Oracle has an entire department dedicated to assisting organizations in sizing their hardware systems for optimum performance. Take advantage of them. Do not underestimate the need for an extremely large and robust infrastructure. 

2. Project model

What type of resources and how many are required for the project? It’s a safe bet that, even if your organization has several competent Oracle database administrators and an overabundance of programmers (yeah, right), the organization doesn’t already employ experienced PeopleSoft implementers. That means a competitive bid for outside systems integrators if you’re in the public sector and some heavy duty due diligence about who to hire even if you’re not. Some of the categories of resources necessary are: 

• Systems engineers
• PeopleSoft functional implementers
• PeopleSoft programmers
• PeopleSoft security experts
• PeopleSoft integrators
• Business analysts
• Organizational subject matter experts for each functional area to be implemented
• Testing experts
• Project managers
• Training and communication staff

And that is just the beginning.

3. Project Methodology

All the PeopleSoft implementers use basically the same project life cycle methodology – they just give it their own special brand name in order to differentiate them from their competitors.  The organization should thoroughly understand the project life cycle and the inputs, strategies and outputs of each and every step along the way. Then and only then will the organization and not the contractor be in charge of the project and its processes. If the project management maturity of the organization is relatively low, the very best strategy is to hire a seasoned project manager early in the process.

Conclusion

These are only three out of dozens of potential challenges and questions to be considered. 

What will be your organization’s first steps now?

By Vicki Wrona, PMP

I recently read two articles by Roger Connors regarding how to increase accountability on our teams. (1-Accountability Leads To Greater Influence and 2-Uncontrollables?) While he is working with large organizations on complex projects, the principles offered apply to small teams as well. One of the complaints I hear from senior management is lack of proactive action by their employees or project teams. What I hear them talking about is accountability. In classes, I will often ask if participants have noticed that there are those managers or project managers who are able to get the better resources, more budget when needed, better management support and who tend to deliver more successfully? What do they do differently?

They act accountable for delivering results rather than sitting back and letting things happen to them. They are more proactive in a way that Connors offers as a simple thing to do. When working with a team, they often ask, “What else can I do?” This question posed to the team brings out new ideas, gets the team used to hearing the question and possibly thinking in these terms themselves. It is what allows teams to deliver more quickly by fixing inefficiencies or finding more creative solutions. It is what allows teams to deliver on budget when it seems that is not possible. It is what allows teams to discover new uses for either existing products or new products being created. It is what allows teams to educate the end user so the new process or the new product being developed is accepted, used or followed.

The other point made in these articles is that there is more in our control than most people initially believe. I often bring this point up when discussing risk with teams, and discussing steps that can be taken to prevent a threat or enhance an opportunity. We may not have final say in many matters (FDA approval, economic conditions, management priorities, etc.) but we can influence them to some extent, and often to a greater extent than we initially believe. Many people do not want to believe this, but again I will ask if you have seen someone who is able to influence more things than the average worker. Often, these people are not those high up in the org chart, but instead those who are proactive and willing to take accountability. To support this idea, Connors provides an example of a team who increased the speed of government approval tremendously, a process that many believe is out of their control.

What do you think? Do you believe we can influence accountability for ourselves and our teams? How have you done it?

By Vicki Wrona, PMP;  Rob Zell

While listening to podcasts and reading articles that I enjoy, I thought that if we all share our favorite business blogs and podcasts, we might find a few gems to brighten our weeks. Below are some suggestions. What are your favorite podcasts?

From Vicki:

The podcasts I enjoy listening to are:

• Get it Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More podcast by Stever Robbins provides good tips for professionals.

• TED Talks – available in hi-def video or audio only, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a non-profit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Topics include business, environment, technology, engineering, science.  The podcast can be found at http://feeds.feedburner.com/tedtalks_video.

• To The Best of Our Knowledge (TTBOOK) by PRI and Wisconsin Public Radio. I have subscribed to this podcast for years, both through audible.com as well as directly from their site. I am a fan of this show, its wide (huge) variety of topics, and its excellent interviewers. I have enjoyed shows on topics I would never have thought about or taken the time to look into.

From Rob :

I admit to not listening to many podcasts as I tend to be more of a visual learner. I enjoy a series by RSA called RSAnimate.  You can find them on YouTube for free here:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rsa+animate&aq=0&oq=rsa

RSA creates videos from audio tracks of famous authors talking about their works and matches it up to video of an artist sketching the concepts. Fun and educational for the auditory and visual learner. It includes summaries from Daniel Pink (Drive), Sir Ken Robinson (on education), and many other thought leaders. It’s fascinating to listen to the summaries while the artist expresses the content visually.

by Craig Covello, PMP

If you have taken the time to stop and read this article, then it’s probably safe to assume that you might be a project manager.  But to narrow the readership further proves difficult, because project managers come from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds.  Some have technical expertise.  Others may have experience in sales or marketing.  Still others may have backgrounds in finance.  So when you’re speaking of project managers as an aggregate, it can be a rather eclectic mix of varied skills and personalities, which then translate into projects that may be run quite differently depending upon who is assigned the responsibility. 

The “PM” title, however, also has a set of consistent expectations.  Project management is defined around a core set of principles, tools and techniques that transcend organizations and objectives.  For example, most projects have some type of scheduling and budget constraints.  All projects require some form of communication among stakeholders.  And many projects, hopefully, have some type of deliverables, objectives and/or accountabilities.  So when thinking along those lines, project managers may tend to view life in terms of definitions, agreements and expectations.  We move along a path that might be considered a straight line, from the point of origin to the point of destination.  We find ways around obstacles and try to keep our eyes focused upon one or more objectives.  Of course, there are times when some flexibility is required, but a project’s success depends upon a reasonably thorough definition and vision of what is to be accomplished followed by managing the expectations of stakeholders.

It’s probably not surprising, then, that many of us can fall into a “project oriented” pattern of thinking when managing our own personal lives.  So allow me a moment to offer my perspective, one based more on feeling than fact.  It is a perspective that is certainly not meant to paint every PM with the same brush, because as mentioned, we are all unique as individuals, even if we share project management as an occupation. Still, I suspect that some of us tend to think of our lives as “projects”.  We look to the future and try to plan accordingly along a perceived path or “straight line”.  That is the mind set of many PMs. There’s just one problem.  Life really doesn’t work that way.  None of us knows with any certainty what the future holds next week, let alone next year.  And it can be a future full of promise that may go unrecognized if our focus is too restricted.  Because real opportunities continually present themselves without much fanfare or notice.  Look straight ahead and you may miss them.

There was an article published by Reader’s Digest a few years back expressing a very profound concept that underscores my assertion regarding limitations of “project oriented” thinking in our personal lives.  The author tried to determine the attributes of perceived “lucky” people versus “unlucky” people.  As you may have already guessed, the “unlucky” people were the ones who limited their goals and aspiratiosn along a single line.  In striking contrast, the “lucky” people were the ones who headed in the general direction, but were able to recognize opportunity, even if it appeared only in their peripheral vision.  And once opportunities were identified, they were actively pursued, often requiring a change in direction, a departure from the stright line.  So it could be argued that looking at life along a perceived straight line path may not be the best strategy for personal growth and fulfillment.  It limits our ability to recognize and take advantage of the best opportunities that life has to offer.  It can also color our perspective, causing us to view certain events and circumstances as a negative, impeding progress on our straight line, when in fact, the same circumstances and events may actually be a positive if we choose to modify our trajectory.  So lately I’ve chosen to scan  the horizon in order to take advantage of the opportunities that may appear in the periphery.  In some cases, these opportunities may be much better than what I can envision on the line straight ahead.

Remember that life is not a project.  It is a journey.