EPM, Microsoft Project and You

BY:  Bruce Lofland

All tasks are being completed when planned and within budget.  There are no issues, risks have all been mitigated, and the project team members love each other and work perfectly together.  How would you like to give that status for your projects every week?  If you did, would anyone believe it?

Real projects don’t go perfectly most of the time.  They have a few warts and sometimes are downright ugly.  Our job as Project Managers is to report the truth, whatever that is, to the world.  Getting that truth from the project team is sometimes difficult though.  What follows are some tips that will help you get to that truth.

1. Don’t shoot the messenger – During the Operation Desert Storm (the first Gulf War), there were stories being reported by the media that Saddam Hussein would shoot his Generals if they didn’t perform well.  As a result he was often not told the truth about what was really going on.  This caused him to make a lot of bad decisions.  Verbally attacking project team members that do not tell us what we want to hear has the same effect on our projects.  If you have a customer, project sponsor, or boss that is like that you may be tempted to be less than candid in your status reporting.  Don’t go over to the dark side!
2. Document issues – When a task does not go as planned it should be documented as an issue in an issues log.  The task could be late or over budget for a lot of different reasons.  It is important to document these in an objective way that identifies the problem and what is being done about it; but does not blame team members.   This issues log should be public to build or maintain a culture of transparency.
3. Probe estimates – The estimates of time or cost that seem too good to be true probably are.  People are often very optimistic and do not account for risks when giving estimates.  Making mistakes and having to do rework is a daily reality in the workplace that is not always taken into account.  Reminding resources about this and asking them for more detail about the task being estimated and what they need to do it usually yields more realistic estimates.
4. Ask for clarification until you get it – Sometimes people create confusion deliberately to hide their own failures.  This can be done with technical gibberish or just disorganized rambling.  When someone you are collecting status from does this, take the time to organize what they are saying and ask them to explain until you have enough information.  This requires some patience, but stick with it until you know the truth.  There is probably something there that you need to know

Bruce Lofland writes his PM Technix blog at http://blog.pmtechnix.com/ .   PM Technix is a blog about practical techniques to manage projects that can be used by most project managers.  Bruce Lofland has been a Project Manager in the Kansas City area since 1999 and a certified PMP since 2007.  He was a software developer for many years before that on a wide variety of platforms.

By: Collin Quiring

As a Project Manager, I tend to instinctively relate most events in life back to that profession.  I have been thinking about the situation with Shirley Sherrod (Georgia’s Agriculture Department Director).  This is an ongoing story at the time of this writing and this blog is not a political or news blog so I am not writing about this from that viewpoint nor am I indicating if what is happening is right or wrong.  However, here is a very brief summary of the current situation as I understand it:  a video was posted of Ms. Sherrod talking about a situation where she discriminated against somebody she was supposed to help.  She was fired forthwith.  Now, more of that speech is being shown where Ms. Sherrod explains that she was wrong, that she corrected it, did end up helping the individual and she made a much larger point about her role in her organization and the role of race relations.

In Project Management, we are always being asked to do more with less, do it faster, stay on top of everything and numerous other clichés meant to encourage (force?) us to act and react as quickly as humanly possible.  Well, that often means that we react to the facts as presented to us and not necessarily to all the facts or an objective view of the facts.  And, while we may be presented a set of facts with a certain “spin” from another team member, lets not forget that we have our own internal “spin” of how we are understanding those same facts.  My thoughts about getting all the information and this current situation made me think about projects I have been on where I have reacted first and then later learned more facts.  More than once I have had to go back to individuals and apologize.  And, unfortunately, a time or two the damage was already done and apologies didn’t matter (to the person or the project).

My point is that as a Project Manager, I need to try and obtain as many of the facts before I react.  I know that isn’t always easy and there is a line between “analysis paralysis”, discovering facts and being over-reactive to a few bits of information.  One great way to discover more of a story is to ask those involved rather than assume the worst or assume the bits of information that I have are the complete story. 

Perhaps a Risk Management plan would help with some things that occur during the course of a Project.  But, in the case when something new pops up and it “demands immediate attention” and a course of action, perhaps I need to take a deep breath, determine if I have all the information that I can reasonably be expected to obtain and then make a decision.  There are legitimate times when immediate action might be required but I think that if we react to everything like it requires an immediate reaction we may be creating extra pain for ourselves for when we learn more information.

Clients often ask us if there is an easy-to-use and easy-to-understand method of trying to explain and justify the use of Project Management and the use of Microsoft Project.  We have some information about that on other blog entries and on some of our other webpages on our site.  However, Tanya Foster has put together a simple summary the gives a high level overview of some of the reasons to implement Project Management and to use Microsoft Project.

 This is a downloadable PowerPoint that you are free to download and use.  It can be found on our “White Papers” page (http://pmpspecialists.com/WhitePapers.html) under the heading “The Value of Project Management” and the description “This PowerPoint document is for you to use as a guide for explaining the purpose of Project Management and Microsoft Project.  As the title slide states, this is for “Making a Case for Implementing Microsoft Project, Project Server and Project Management Concepts””

 This PowerPoint presentation has the following topic headlines:

Why Project Management?

Why Microsoft Project?

Is it Worth it?

What are some Actual Numbers?

Some of the slides have more explanation in the notes section about the topics presented on that slide.

We think that these slides are great conversation starters and are an easy-to-use tool that might help you demonstrate some of the value of Project Management and Microsoft Project.

BY: Collin Quiring

 Microsoft announced new competency requirements – 22 of them were just launched.  From our perspective at PMP Specialists, as a Microsoft Partner, we welcome these new competencies and their requirements. 

 But, why should you, the end customer care at all?  Well, how many times has a consultant (for any product or service) told you how they could do whatever it was that you wanted?  Or, that they have on their business card and brochures that they are experts in everything?  This is particularly true of the really big consulting firms.  There is a natural tendency for them to claim, and for customers to believe, that they are “Jacks-of-all-trades” and can install, configure, setup, train and otherwise help you with any IT or business need that you have.  But, sadly, as most of us have experienced, this isn’t always true.

 I know of one large IT consulting firm that routinely claims they can help customers with various software and then when they sell the consulting to the customer, they get somebody that knows software “similar” to it.  Or, they use the philosophy of “that software can’t be too different from the stuff we know”.  And, I know of and heard about bad experiences from both the consultant and customer side and sometimes those situations even result in lawsuits.

 I am a believer in “you get what you pay for” and in paying for the right expertise (see the three part series of blog entries called “Microsoft Project Certifications – are they worth it?”).  Just like you get a painter to paint your house and electrician to wire it and not just some guy that says he knows wiring or knows painting; you should strongly consider hiring the appropriately certified consultant to help with your business needs.

 When you determine what your Microsoft needs are, I strongly recommend that you review the competency level of the Microsoft Partner and the certifications of the individuals they are sending to you.  You are paying for the services and products and you should have a level of comfort that the Partner is capable of producing the results that they claim.

 And, I think this applies to the business side of the equation as well.  A Supply Chain expert, a Project Manager and a Business Analyst may have some overlapping duties, but they aren’t necessarily experts at all three.  Each industry has a certification path and I think that a customer should “get what they pay for” and have a level of comfort with the ability of the individual.

By:  Collin Quiring

Just a quick muse.

The saying “Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery” has been around a long time and I have been thinking about it the last few days quite a bit.  I am getting ready to do a massive SharePoint Server 2010 installation and a Project Server 2010 installation.  In so doing, I have been doing quite a bit of research lately to make sure that I have an understanding of how these tools are installed and the steps for setting them up and then maintaining them for the users.

In my research, I do some generic Google and Bing searches for SharePoint and Project to see what has been done by others already.  And, I keep running into tools that claim to be “as good as” Microsoft Project or Project Server.  But when I look at these tools that claim they are “as good as” Project or Project Server I have found that they mean that their tool does one thing and one thing only – and they think it is the same as Project.  I have found this to be quite disappointing.

One tool that claimed to be great at Resource Management had a very efficient interface and did one or two things really well but as soon as I tried to do something that I normally can do in Project, I found that “as good as” didn’t mean “as comprehensive as” the Project tool.  There are also add-on tools that are available for Project - some of those are great and some are useless, but at least they claim to be “add-on” and NOT a replacement that works “as good as” like these other tools claim to be. 

Project might not be perfect, but it amuses me about how many tools want to be “as good as” Project and are doing their best to imitate it.  In fact, some tools even give the same look and feel of Microsoft Project.  It just makes me think that Project must be doing some things right if so many other companies want to imitate it!

BY: Collin Quiring

I know that I haven’t blogged as much lately.  The reason is simple – I have been busy getting ready for a few different large presetnations.  One of them is for Microsoft Project User Group – MPUG – that is a public event on April 28.  Just go to www.mpug.com and look for the “Upcoming MPUG WebNLearns” section on the right hand side.  Here are the details about the upcoming presentation.

BY: Collin Quiring

I see life through the prism of Project Management.  And, depending on the situation, how Project Management affects or is affected by customer service.  I am in the middle of having a very bad experience with the TSA – the Transportation Security Administration.  On a trip some six months ago now, they broke some of the items in my luggage.  I know it was them, and not the airline, for a number of reasons – the most obvious being that my contents were not in the same places in the suitcase that they were in when I turned the suitcase over to their care. 

Here is the part about customer service and Project Management that bothers me.  First, the TSA sets the rules under which I file a claim.  Then, they determine if the claim is valid or not, AND, they do it in their own time frame.  They decide if they did the damage or not.  They decide if they will pay or not.  They also make up the rules for you to follow if you want to appeal their other rulings.

While the overall situation is frustrating, it does make me think about how the Project Managers, or Project Management Office, is judged.  When a project is completed, who decides if it was successful or not?  And, from what criteria?  During a project, who decides if it is going well or not?  And, again, using what criteria?  I know that there are some quick and easy answers – time, budget, and quality – but are those the only criteria for if a project is going well or completed well?  And, how do the stakeholders view it? 

I have worked with some stakeholders that don’t care at all about Project Management or the “normal” criteria that Project Managers like to use for measurements.  To them, all the Project Management did was get in the way.

Which leads me back to the TSA – they use their own criteria to decide if something went well or not, and from their perspective.  As a Project Manager, on your projects, are you being your own judge and jury?  If so, perhaps it would be good to see how the stakeholders are viewing your processes, rules and measurements.

By: Collin Quiring

Two interesting articles that I have recently read have me thinking about how the best plans by a Project Manager can be controlled by the unexpected reaction of stakeholders to live events – that have nothing to do with your project.  A Project Manager may be good at Risk Analysis but it is impossible to analyze the risk of a specific real-time event occurring during your project.   I am referring to events such as news or of general interest that are happening somewhere in the world.

My only point is that despite the best efforts of a Project Manager, current events can overtake the best plans – and you have to adjust to it!

For example, take the case of Air Canada, which experienced a flight delay due to a hockey game.

VANCOUVER (Reuters) – Canada’s largest airline has learned it sometimes has to take a back seat to the country’s biggest sporting passion, ice hockey, the head of Air Canada said on Tuesday.

The airline was forced to delay a flight from Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games because passengers watching the end of gold medal final on airport televisions ignored repeated calls to board.

“We incurred a flight delay for a reason Air Canada had not yet encountered in over 72 years of existence,” chief executive Calin Rovinescu told a business gathering.

Or, from the city of Edmonton, Alberta, the water utility, comes this report:

The water utility in Edmonton, EPCOR, published the most incredible graph of water consumption last week. By now you’ve probably heard that up to 80% of Canadians were watching last Sunday’s gold medal Olympic hockey game. So I guess it stands to reason that they’d all go pee between periods.

But still—the degree to which the water consumption matches with the key breaks in the hockey game is stunning.

BY: Tim Gryder

This accountability thing…such an important term yet subject to so much variance in opinion as to what it really means. In today’s world, accountability is constantly being redefined to us by a political and culture flag that shifts with every change in the direction of the wind. While terms and opinions vary, it’s good to know that some things never change…for example: gravity.

While gravity isn’t a social topic it is definitely a physical force which keeps us accountable to something…such as the ground. It is well defined and absolute and not up for debate as to what it means. In dealing with gravity we apply many points of physics and as a result, we are able to achieve flight but always within the boundaries of rules and physics of gravity.

So what does this have to do with Project Management you might ask? Well in my mind, Project Management is simply like the rules and physics of the absolute of time. If we apply the right business rules, sequences and events, we can manage time and ultimately cost. I recently heard an associate claim the being a Project Manager is like being a glorified note taker and task chaser. I also heard another associate claim that we never get anything done on time and on budget. These perspectives are symptomatic of not understanding the absolutes of time and its best and most profitable use.

Today, we have proven techniques, logic and technology that allow us to manage time. Never before in the history of humanity have we been able to define, plan, schedule, analyze, resource, cost, track, report etc, etc. The access to these tools are great, the use and understanding is maybe not so much.

Look at the resources at our disposal; we have tools like Microsoft Project that allow us to manage the absolutes of time. These tools are way underutilized. What is the biggest reason for not using these tools? I have come to this conclusion: Its accountability! Yes there can be other reasons but I truly believe that accountability is the culprit that deters us from unfettered time management.

Project Management tools and techniques are extremely oriented towards absolutes and holding us accountable to a “Due Date”. There….I said it…yes, time is an absolute.

Does this sound familiar?

•       “The reality is if we don’t ship our product by this date the customer will reject it”.

•       “The buyout transition must happen by a certain date or we will lose our tax advantage”.

•       “Yes, the interest will accumulate on the mortgage note if the construction is not completed on
time”.

These are simple realities that have real implications when not met. Yet I see where it is still often easier to avoid accountability than to manage these processes with business rules, techniques and tools that drive us to deliver. Human nature hates to be run like a machine, but the bottom line sure likes it.

The reality is… we all need accountability. Project Management gives us techniques and processes by which to manage time. Tools such as Microsoft Project and Project Server enable us to acknowledge the absolutes and manage them as fact. Dealing with the truth is well worth the investment of using these techniques and tools….as opposed to the cost of not being on time.

When a schedule is built and changes are made over time (whether with Resources or other areas) and the dates move.  Sometimes unexpectedly.  There are a number of items that could affect this such as Calendars, Predecessors/Successors, Deadlines, Constraints and so on.  One of the fundamental drivers for how the task changes is based upon the task type and how Microsoft Project re-calculates the task.  These task types are duration, work and units.  Even without Microsoft Project, it is good to understand the differences between these task types.

A new White Paper explaining how this works is now on our White Paper section at www.PMPSpecialists.com/WhitePapers.html  Look for the document titled “Task Types – Fixed Duration, Fixed Work, Fixed Units“