Helping Project Teams Succeed
Projects
will be successful when the right environmental conditions exist. It
is important to ensure that project estimating and project selection
are working well and done carefully. Just as important is finding the
right team and providing the necessary resources.
Always encourage good practice in planning. Plans are used to manage
a project and must be kept up to date. If you create plans at the beginning
of a project, put them in a draw and forget them, why bother creating
them in the first place.
Focus on implementation control, not just reporting. Use exception
reporting on well-planned projects and assume if you hear nothing it
is running according to plan.
If your project teams succeed despite your organization rather than
because of it, read on.
Creating the Right Environment
Creating an environment that supports success is a major step towards
helping your project teams succeed. Everybody needs to work together
and support each other; this includes customers and suppliers.
Project Estimating
Good estimating means allocating the right amount of time and effort
to projects. Link estimation to categorization and risk. It is also
important to link estimation to project definition. Do not estimate
a project before its definition has been established. It also helps
if you involve the project manager in the estimation and selection process.
Project Selection
A good practice approach for selecting projects with the highest value
is the stage-and-gate process. This process tests for important projects
by considering fit with the organizations strategy, whether the cost
and benefits are still valid and by considering any risks emerging at
each gate.
Project Team Selection
The team that will estimate the project is usually different from the
implementation team. You won't know what the team make up is until the
project is understood.
Project Planning
Good project planning means linking planning to requirements, estimates
and selection. Base plans on normal working practice. Do not start with
an end date and work back reducing the estimate. It is better to increase
the amount of resources, reduce scope or change the plan. Remember,
a lot of time-pressure causes inefficiency with meetings to discuss
why things are going wrong.
Control Rather Than Reporting
Creating project plans at the beginning of a project and putting them
in a draw never to look at them again, is a waste of time. Shocking
news to some people, I am sure. If your project team does this, then
stop, it has no value.
Encourage plans to be updated and used as a reference point for project
assessment. Facilitate an "earned value" approach where you
monitor the plan, actual and work completed value.
Do not leave your project teams to succeed despite the organization
rather than because of it. Take steps to create an environment that
supports success. After all, it's not brain surgery!
Source: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/helping_project_teams_succeed.html
Archives
