12 Crucial Steps for Successful Project Delivery
Vital techniques every Project Manager must master
A project managerโs, first time experience could be daunting. Project management organizations usually seek to alleviate this challenge by assigning their new project managers to work under the mentorship of more experienced project managersย (PMs).
What is a project?
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product service or result.
Project Management Institute's enhanced model definition of a successful project is as follows;
A successful project is one that delivers on the six project constraints in addition to adding value to both the customer and the project management organization.
Project constraints are best remembered with the acronym CRaB QueST:
Cost
Risk
Benefits
Quality
Scope
Time
Background issues in any project
For both new and experiencedย PMs, it is vital to know what the project is all about.
What are the issues that must be addressed so as to deliver a successful project within acceptable constraints?
Often times the PM has to work in organizations that are not managed or structured in project styles.
As an experienced PM, you may be required to take over an ongoing or stalled project.
As a PM or consultant, you may be asked to rescue a troubled or failing project.
Your previous experience may be insufficient when transitioning to a new project. This is because no two projects are ever the same, not even when they are similar.
Every experienced PM was once a rookie. Yours is not the first experience of its kind.
What are the first steps?
Hearing Aliceโs chat with the Cheshire Cat (in Lewis Carrollโs Alice in Wonderland) underscores the importance of the PM having a good understanding of what his project is all about.
Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I donโt much care where.
The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesnโt much matter which way you go.
Alice: โฆSo long as I get somewhere.
The Cheshire Cat: Oh, youโre sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.
Project Management Processes
First, a good grasp of the 5 project management processes is a must for theย PM. These are as follows;
Initiating โ Kicking off the project
Planning โ all the work involved in the project
Execution โ Getting the work done
Monitoring and Control of all activities done to keep the project on track from starting to closure.
ClosingโโโComplete the project, handle it over, and adjourn and disband the team.
Each of these processes has their stage by stage inputs. These, used along with their specific tools and techniques result in desired results.
The results from these 5 processes will give the PM a firm grasp of what his assigned project is all about.
No Battle Plan Survives Contact With the Enemy
Field Marshall Helmuth von Moltke. (1800โ1891)
Vital questions to ask while in every process
What is this project all about? Define it.
What is the business case and what are the benefits? A project may be perfectly executed and still fail to meet the business case.
What pains is the customer trying to ease?
Are there clear documentation of the customerโs needs?
Have we established unambiguous communication links and created effective project relationships? Listen and listen again, ask questions, and listen more.
What is this project all about? Know the sponsor and all the interest groups. Build trust relationships with the sponsor and your team members. Manage key interest groups that have influence on your project.
What are the risks involved? How risk-averse is your sponsor? What alternative plans do you have for mitigating the risks?
What was done yesterday, what tasks are on the ground for today? What may be holding you back from achieving todayโs goals?
How do you motivate and boost the morale and engagement of the team members and the stakeholders?
12 steps to Project Management mastery
Project scopeโโโDefine it. What is the project team trying to create or achieve on this project? Clarify what needs to be in and what is to be out. Wrong answers will lead to scope creep. Do not work on assumptions. Get proper clarifications and confirmation (in writing). Always be on the same page with the sponsor and other key stakeholders.
Project ResourcesโโโAre they sufficient? Who has control over these resources? Is the management structure projectized or matrix?
The ScheduleโโโThe project timeline: Start time, End Time. Always build in flexibility so as to meet deadlines. Also, consider how your flexibility will impact your budget.
Assemble the project team. As the PM, your team members are often assigned to you. Determine who stays and who goes depending on whether they have what it takes to do the job.
What work do you need to do? What major work needs to be done to complete the execution of this project? Since the project work is not monolithic, how do the various aspects fit together and what will it take to complete each task and subtasks?
Understand how the various aspects of your project fit together. How do the various steps fit into one another? Understand the network diagram and find out the critical path.
Create your baseline plan. The project management baseline plan is a clearly defined starting point of the project plan. It is the fixed reference point against which the project is measured or compared as it makes progress. This is what enables you to measure the performance of your project over time.
Make project adjustments.
Be flexible in working on your plan. Risk mitigation involves identifying all likely risks and making allowances for them.
Monitor progress in your teams. That way you will catch unexpected issues before they get out of hand.
Project documentation. This must be done throughout the project duration.
Communication โ Keep everyone informed.
โPlans are useless, but planning is indispensable.โ
General Dwight Eisenhower (1890โ1969)
If all plans are always โdead-on-arrivalโ, why then do we plan? We plan because Time spent in planning helps to ensure rapid progress when the project finally kicks off.
I dream of men who take the next step instead of worrying about the next thousand steps.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858โ1919)
These aforementioned steps are nonnegotiable if the project is to be delivered successfully.
Oftentimes, the business needs of the Project management organization may come between sound project management decisions.
Jettisoning sound project management practices lures both the PM and his clients into undeliverable projects. This usually happens because all the issues surrounding the new or โto be rescuedโ project were not adequately addressed at the onset.
Case in point
The following case illustrates how a potential project failure was averted. In this scenario, a clientโs laboratory needed to resolve issues on a vital equipment within a limited time frame.
Case description: A laboratory liquid extraction system (mini Process Plant) need to be restored under tight time schedules.
The goal: To restore the outdated hydrocarbon liquids extraction plant into operation. The customer had expected a piecemeal replacement of obsolete parts in the plant.
The customerโs goals were to rectify the unit for operations and also to meet scheduled statutory accreditation and certification requirements.
The PM findings: The process units and their accessories were obsolete. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) no longer builds or supports this product or its spare parts.
Recommendations: Upgrade the entire plant or buy an alternative system from other manufacturers.
The best decision the project management consultant had to take in the above scenario was to just walk away from this project since the customer was not ready to bulge.
Had the PM jumped on this project without the background understanding, he certainly wouldnโt have been able to deliver on the expected goal. The results would have been a dissatisfied customer and a damaged reputation to the PM and his organization.
Key Takeaways
A project manager taking over a new project must first seek to understand the goals of the project.
He must also take cognizance of the business objectives the customer is trying toย achieve.
In both new and old projects, customers are oftentimes not very clear on these goals or the needs and the means for successfully delivering them on the project.
It is the responsibility of the PM to clarify what these issues are before proceeding with the project.
Sources
Copyright 2017 by ยฉProject Management Institute, Project Management Body of Knowledge โ PMBOKยฎ Guide 6th Edition
Six (yes six!) Constraints: An Enhanced Model for Project Control
Copyright by ยฉLewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Copyright 2010 by ยฉMonte Montoya, What are the First Steps When You Take Over as a Project Manager of a New Project?
Copyright 2017 by ยฉF. John Reh, How to Successfully Manage Your First Project
Copyright 2012 by ยฉCornelius Fichtner, Rescue the Problem Project
NOTE: ยฉProject Management Institute (PMI), regularly updates its Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOKยฎ. Do well to consult and use the latest version for your Project Management Professional (PMP) practice.
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