Enews

Scan the top news websites and it will not take long to find news about our “volatile global market.” While the overall tone of these economic editorials is typically negative, we tend to take a different approach. In times of volatility, there lies great opportunity for success through project management. Over the coming weeks, we will share some of our thoughts on navigating the sea change that can come with market volatility inside and outside the workplace. The most important: Focus on you.
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As a project manager, you understand the importance of scope in your project management process. Too many organizations forego any formal project classification in favor of straight project prioritization. In small- to medium-sized project organizations, this can be appropriate. But as your project organization grows in both size and complexity, and the number of projects the organization takes on increases, having a sound classification system can help project managers and sponsors find common ground around project scope, funding, and staffing.
Here are a few things to consider when helping your organization define a project classification system.
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As a project manager, you have very little explicit authority over your team members. That is why, in an otherwise hierarchical organization structure, it is important to remember that the best work is accomplished not by authoritarian schemes of power, but by the more subtle art of persuasion. In the context of project management, this is a critical skill.

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If you are a student of the Cadence Project Management methodology, you know that a core goal is to help our attendees learn and apply techniques, concepts, and approaches for accomplishing projects with less frustration. There are some important implications carried within that goal.

First, project management is a process. There is no one best implementation structure, and as such, it must be flexible and adaptable to the organization it serves. There is no way to completely eliminate frustration on projects. Instead, we strive to make the project process more efficient, and the results more powerful and satisfying to achieve.

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c = N (N-1) / 2

It is a connections problem. If you are an engineer, you have seen this many times, calculating the possible number of angles with any given number of rays. The real world power of this formula is far more interesting.

If you don’t remember your PMP study materials, this is also the equation which represents the number of possible communications paths in a group or team. If I am on a team with one other person, for example, where N represents the number of team members, my simple algebra tells me that there is only one possible communication path between us. If I am on a team of six members, however, suddenly there are 15 possible communication channels in action. Twelve team members? Sixty-six channels.

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“Good to Great.” “Built to Last.” “Execution.” “First, Break All The Rules.” Each of these hit business books carry in large part the same message: If you are going to get things done right, you simply must have the right people, in the right roles, equipped with the right skills.

And yet, the speed of business continues to increase. Organizations, constantly seeking new opportunities in the market, are overrun with projects that devour resources and expertise. As a project manager, your role is to execute the projects deemed appropriate by your leadership. You are put in a challenging position when you attempt to deliver and you discover you’ve been handed a team ill-equipped to get the job done. What can you do to bring your challenges to light in a proactive and effective manner?
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Building exceptional project support inside your organization will help you deliver more projects, more quickly. However, as project manager, you will be busy executing project deliverables in the heat of project work, and will need an advocate to promote your success to the organization. We hear all too often of illness in the sponsorship role. Here are three tips to help identifiy what you need from your sponsor to be successful, ensuring your sponsor works with you to build exceptional project support.

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Like so many, we have made our New Year’s Resolutions and started processing tasks and available hours in which to accomplish them. Happy New Year!It is this time of planning and house cleaning that we offer five quick thoughts on getting yourself — and your projects — ready for 2008: your Project Management Resolutions.

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In Ask Cadence this week, a question came in from a project manager asking what to do when you discover that project scope is ill defined after project launch. In the course of the discussion with the team, the resolution was a recommendation to return to planning and sponsorship, and ensure the organization understands the role of the project in operations.

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If you work in project management, you work in a world of problems. Your problems have short-term impact on your work, your relationships on your team, and your potential outcomes on your projects. Your problems are also opportunities, if you know how to address them. This week: three key learnings to help you improve your project management problem solving.

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