Back from Red - How to assess the health of your project

PMI Global Congress 2011May 2011, Dublin

Back from RedHow to assess the health of your project

Torsten J. Koertingwww.TORSTENKOERTING.com

@TorstenKoerting

www.TORSTENKOERTING.com (2011)

T H A N KY O U















Back from RedHow to assess the health of your project

Torsten J. Koertingwww.TORSTENKOERTING.com

@TorstenKoerting






This presentation is ment to be for

Y O U !


and

Y O U !

and

Y O U !


and

Y O U !


Our

Situation


Projects are

becoming more

complex


Complexity (Definition – Warren Weaver)

The complexity of a particular system is the degree of difficulty in predicting the properties of the system, if the properties of the system's parts are given


The ‘Lord’s Prayer’has 56 words,

the ‚Ten Commandments‘have 279 words,

the American ‚Delcaration of Independence‘has 300 words.

The EU Import Regulation for Caramelhas 25.911 words.

You would need to suck 3.000 caramel’s until you have read that regulation


The Worldis flat

InconvenientTruth

The Worldis changing


The Fall of the Berlin Wall …

www.TORSTENKOERTING.com (2011)… ended the cold war …


… and grantedaccess to new markets for

products, labor and material.


The Internet …

… created easy global competition and increased the ability to share information


The Microsoft Office Suite …


… and theHTML and HTTP

protocols …


… enabled computers totalk to one another and allowed work to be done remotely.


Open – Sourcing …


… enables writing software so that it can be easily shared, improved and given access to.


Outsourcing …


… is moving lower value functions to other firms,

in other countriesfor a lower cost.


Off shoring …


… is moving the production ofgoods into other countries.


Supply Chaining …


… by partnering withother companies to

receive goodswhen needed.


In sourcing …


… by sourcing whole processes to other

companies


Informing …


… by getting answers to almost any question

within seconds


July 2006, 213 Million search requests performed daily on the Internet … !

Whom did you ask these questions 15 years ago?


Information Steroids …


… by having all this informationavailable atyour fingertips


The Worldis flat

1.The Fall of the Berlin Wall2.The Internet3.Work-Flow Software4.Open-Sourcing5.Outsourcing6.Off-Shoring7.Supply-Chaining8.In-Sourcing9.In-Forming10.Information Steroids


The Worldis flat

InconvenientTruth



With Increased Complexity …


… there are more thingsto think about …


… there are more time zonesto overcome …


… there are more people to deal with …


… and with more people there are more cultures do deal with …


… more things can ( will ) fail !


The

Problem



… you do not see the

forest because of all

the trees



A small little test



… sometimes it’s hardto understand

what’s going onbehind the scenes …


… transition from one

project manager to

another might become

hard …


… by reporting against and

focusing on milestones

you might miss your

target …


… at the end, your project

is ‘green’ but this has

happened …


The Problem

1. To much informationNo forest because of all the trees

2. Misperceptionyou want to see what you want to see

3. Limited visibilitycan’t look behind the scenes

4. Complex Transitionfrom one to the other PM

5. Milestone focused reportingyou might miss the real goal


The

Option


…a supporting

tool…


…a structured

approach…


…be

proactive…


…complete

…


…embedded inyour overallgovernance

…


Options

1. Supporting Toolfacilitates the process

2. Structured Approachtiming, questions asked etc.

3. ProactiveDo it when project is still in shape

4. CompleteProject Management, SDLC, Q-Gates

5. Embeddedin your Governance


The

Details


Summary… Project Name and other data… Project Management… Deviations and Mitigation Actions


Sections… Project Hand Over… Project Organisation & Stakeholder… Project Monitoring & Control… Requirements Phase… Test Phaseetc.


One Section in Detail… Area… Question… Answer Options… Reason for deviation… Killer Question… Check Againetc.


Report… Result in a nutshell… Report… Deviations and Mitigation Actionsetc.


There are many options to choose from

There is no ‘one size fits all’


SMALL… Quick Assessment… 15 questions… 10 minutes… self assessed


MEDIUM… Regular Assessment… 40 to 60 questions… 1-2 hours

… self assessedor moderated


LARGE… Complex Assessment… up to 150 questionsor more

… 4 hours… moderated


When ?There is no right or wrong answer… you should start early and reapply in a 6-8 week cycle


Participation ?… Project Manager

… Stream leads that can add value

… PMO (Project Management Office)

… may be others because of specific

sections to look at


Moderation ?Yes, if… Project is unexperienced about how to apply assessment… if there is conflict potential… if measurement is unclearNo, if

… project feels competent and honest enough to apply




Report… Result in a nutshell… Report… Deviations and Mitigation Actionsetc.


Details1. Tool

Structure, Reporting, Questions

2. Focussmall, medium, large

3. TimingWhen to apply

4. Moderationyes / no

5. Participantsthe ones that add value

6. Duration and Repetitionat initiation and then every 6 weeks

7. Questionsto adress the relevant areas

8. Reportingfit to your needs (Q-Gates, SDLC, PM etc.)


DemoMicrosoft Office

Excel 97-2003 Worksheet


The

Challenges


ADAPTIONHow to adapt the assessment to your PM Method used in your company / environment ?

…


INTEGRATION

How to integrate

into your existing

project governance ?


Misunderstood

How to not make it

perceived as being an

audit?


Just do it !

How to make it work and

used by the projects

without being forced to ?


Challenges

1. Adaptionto your method used

2. Embedment into governancepart of the overall process

3. Potential misunderstandingsAudit or Support ?

4. Just do it !dTo use it is the biggest challenge


The

Benefits


IdentificationTo identify‘Areas of Improvement’and

‘Best Practices’.


MeasurableThe result is measurable and traceable !


Progress

To measure the progress

along the way and feeling of

improvement !


Catalyst

… to receive support from

and address topics to

Senior Management !


Common View

Same Terminology and

common approach used !


Transition

Makes a transition

structured and possible !


Success… once you seethe progress made!


Benefits1. Identification

areas of improvements, best practices, identify measures to apply

2. Confirmation of progressduring the project and after earlier assessments

3. Measurable and traceablestructured, questions asked

4. Catalystto receive support from Senior Stakeholders

5. Common viewterminology used and sense about project

6. Lessons Learnedfacilitator and input

7. Successyou see your progress

8. Structured transitionto another PM, to Daily operations etc.


Recap


The Worldis flat

InconvenientTruth




…a supporting

tool…


…a structured

approach…


When ?There is no right or wrong answer… you should start early and reapply in a 6-8 week cycle


IdentificationTo identify‘Areas of Improvement’and

‘Best Practices’.


Success… once you seethe progress made!



T H A N KY O U


T You would like to receive the templates shown

C You want me to call you


If you do haveany questions


Question

… and I do not havean answer …



The ‘Answer’ is always …


T H A N KY O U

Picture Credits ( 1 / 2 )Earth Pictures – Google EarthProject Manager - http://www.flickr.com/photos/floongle/Contruction Manager - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mission/Project Management Plan - http://www.flickr.com/photos/perhapstoopink/Obama change - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsevis/Fall of Berlin Wall - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinandrewstewart/Microsoft Office Candy - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sunfox/HTML - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/Latop Beach - http://www.flickr.com/photos/zzathras777/Open Sourcing - http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinbekkelund/Big Crowd - http://www.flickr.com/photos/richevenhouse/cold war one - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pingnews/New Markets - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pnp/Outsourcing 1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/danzden/Outsourcing 3 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kafkan/Offshoring 1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/photohome_uk/Offshoring 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/trotzenberg/Offshoring 1b - http://www.flickr.com/photos/taylar/Supply Chaining 1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/nimrodbar/Supply Chaining 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/drewesque/Insourcing 1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/zyphbear/Insourcing 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/liveu4/Informing 1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ask-for-peace/Informing 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/julianbleecker/Infroming 3 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gedankenstuecke/

Picture Credits ( 2 / 2 )Info Steroids 1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/listelys/Info Steroids 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/chanc/time zone - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mickyates/more people 1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/inyucho/more people 3 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/msjacoby/cultures - http://www.flickr.com/photos/untitlism/longer - http://www.flickr.com/photos/swamibu/break 1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jnsabino/Rain Forest - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jadeb/Stage Curtain - http://www.flickr.com/photos/87166482@N00/Relay Baton - http://www.flickr.com/photos/susan_d_p/Dart Board - http://www.flickr.com/photos/caroscuro/Process Swimlane - http://www.flickr.com/photos/katiekills/Firefighters - http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonepix/Radar Governance - http://www.flickr.com/photos/divemasterking2000/Boat in bottle - http://www.flickr.com/photos/invinciblegirl/Flightplan 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/24397180@N08misunderstood - http://www.flickr.com/photos/amy_jane/Just do it 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/supremevision89Area of improvement - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobishi/Long Jump - http://www.flickr.com/photos/hermitianta/Measure - http://www.flickr.com/photos/chandramarsono/Senior Mgmt - http://www.flickr.com/photos/csis_er/Binoculars - http://www.flickr.com/photos/21561428@N03/Mountaineer happy - http://www.flickr.com/photos/68129526@N00/

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Back from Red - How to assess the health of your project