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The Ten “Uglies” of Projects
Kerry R. Wills, PMP
Director of Portfolio Management
Project Summit – New England
October 27, 2005
1
Introduction
• Many PM methodologies, books, and classes
• Adequate at explaining techniques
• Experience is what distinguishes Project
Managers
• Several areas that consistently cause problems
• They make projects turn “ugly”
Approach
• Review uglies
• Review proposals to address
2
#1: Lack of Maintained
Documentation
• First thing that goes when crunched
Symptoms
• Requirements don’t match what was produced
• Cant use documentation for maintenance
• No history on decisions
• No audit trail of changes
He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it
3
#2: The Pile Phenomenon
• “We’ll get to it later”
Symptoms
• Work pushed off until later (but not on a plan)
• Documentation
• Training
• Implementation planning
• Growing logs (issues, risks, etc.)
• Working on “the easy stuff” first
4
There is no “later” on the plan
#3: No Quality at the Source
• Don’t have a culture of ownership
Symptoms
• Handing off work before reviewing it
• Developing code without testing it
• Sloppy presentation of work
Impact of poor quality has a multiplier effect
5
#4: Wrong People on the Job
• Not have right match of skillset to job need
Symptoms
• Consistent missing dates
• Consistent poor quality
• Unmotivated team members
As PMs, all we have is our resources.
6
#5: Not Involving the Right
People
• Not having the right people enabled to be
successful
Symptoms
• Having to make changes after work is done
• Lack of team buy-in for estimates
• Lack of ownership of decisions
We need to enable team members to take
ownership by involving them
7
#6: Not Having Proper
Sponsorship
• Sponsorship is critical for success
Symptoms
• Inadequate support from stakeholders
• Issues taking too long to be resolved
• Decisions not being made effectively
Without sponsorship, projects “spin their wheels”
8
#7: No Rigor Around Process
• Often, process is not adhered to
Symptoms
• Incomplete deliverables
• Inconsistencies between projects
• Lack of understanding big picture
• Lack of repeatable processes
You don’t want to “re-create the wheel” each time
9
#8: No Community Plan
• No shared plan that everyone is aware of
Symptoms
• Lack of knowing what is due
• Missed dates
• Lack of ownership of deliverables
Get everyone on the same page
10
#9: No Plan for Rework
• There is always rework
Symptoms
• Missed dates
• Poor quality
Don’t assume that everything is done right the
first time
11
#10: Dates Are Just Numbers
• Lack of commitment to dates
Symptoms
• Consistently missed dates
• Items left open for a long time
• Lack of sense of urgency
Dates are not suggestions
12
Interrelationships
Lack of maintained Not plan for rework
documentation
Wrong people on project
No rigor around process
Poor Quality
Not involve right people
No community plan Piles
Dates don’t matter
13
Not have proper sponsorship
Proposed Solution: Proactive
Management
• Spending appropriate time up-front
Activities
• Create detailed plan
• Look at plan to see what is coming up
• Replan as items arise to understand impacts
• Walk the floor
You have to invest the time up-front. Think of the
project as a marathon and your job as the person
making sure that the road is cleared for the team
14
to run
Proposed Solution: Proactive
Management
• Example: My commute to work
15
Proposed Solution: Proactive
Management
Benefits
• Can prepare for upcoming activities
• Can prepare the correct resources
• Continuously replan and assess
• Time to focus on quality
• Are better prepared for unplanned activities
• What else?
16
Proposed Solution: “Do It
While You Do It”
• Maintain work as you go
Activities
• Document work as it is being done
• Consider implications as things change
• Check work before passing it on
• Use process as a guideline for work
The result will be minimal spikes in work
17
Proposed Solution: “Do It
While You Do It”
Benefits
• Work doesn’t grow out of control
• Level out work flow
• Minimal surprises at end since nothing is left for
later
• What else?
18
Proposed Solution: Empower The
Team
• The project is an inverse pyramid
Activities
• Involve team members in planning
• Ask team members how they are going and then
follow up on items
• Celebrate successes
• Be honest
19
Proposed Solution: Empower The
Team
Benefits
• Motivated team members
• Higher quality
• Higher probability of meeting dates
• What else?
20
Results
# Ugly Attractive State Characteristics
Proactive Do It While You Do Empower
Management It
1 Maintained - Updated - Done during the project - Team members own
Documentation documentation - No spike at end documentation
- Plan for
documentation
- Understand
decisions
2 Piles - Manageable work - Should not grow out of - Minimized because
- Scheduled in plan control people will take
ownership
3 Quality at the - Spend appropriate - People do their work - People take ownership
Source time up-front rather than assumed at a of work
later time
4 People Fit - Recognize - Mange work so - Other team members
resource issues and resource issues are may take on work for
resolve early identified early failing colleagues
- Proper staffing
5 People - Avoid rework later - Involve people during - Team members take
Involvement work rather than have ownership for work
21
them react to it later
Results
# Ugly Attractive State Characteristics
Proactive Do It While You Do Empower
Management It
6 Sponsorship - Enable support when - Rapid and effective - May be improved due
you really need it decisions as needed to better understanding
of issues
7 Process Rigor - Repeatable processes - Team members follow - Ownership of work
- Ensure proper the process will enable better rigor
attention to process - Steps not missed around process
8 Community Plan - Ability to share a plan - Everyone is working - Everyone is informed -
and goals with the team to the same plan and shared goals
knows where they are - Please can manage
going their work
9 Rework - Anticipating areas - Rework will be - Minimized due to
where may be rework or accounted for as the motivation and
scope creep, and team members work ownership of work
working with key - Aware of magnitude
stakeholders early to of rework
address those.
10 Dates - Dates (and impacts of - Will matter and items - Team members take
missing them) are will be closed when ownership of dates
22
clearly communicated they are due
Conclusion
• Nothing new here
• Focus on proactive management
• Keep up with work
• Empower teams
• Still keep seeing “uglies”
• The application of the techniques must be the
challenge
• This means that there is a fourth proposed
solution – “be conscious”
23
Questions?
KerryWills@aol.com
860-985-9235
24
Proposed Solution: Empower The
Team
W. Edwards Deming pioneered manufacturing
Deming Point Observation
8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work This means that the “iron first” technique of Project
effectively for the company. Management is not such a great idea. People will be
averse to giving their opinions and doing a quality
job.
10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and I take this to mean that PMs shouldn’t just throw out
targets for the workforce asking for zero targets, but rather involve the team members in
defects and new levels of productivity. Such decisions. It also means that PMs should look at the
exhortations only create adversarial process for failure and not the team members.
relationships, as the bulk of the causes of
low quality and low productivity belong to
the system and thus lie beyond the power of
the work force.
12. Remove barriers that stand between the This is my marathon metaphor - where PMs need to
hourly worker and his [or her] right to pride remove obstacles and let the team members do their
of workmanship. work.
13. Institute a vigorous program of Allow the team members to constantly build their
25 education and self-improvement. skillsets.
