You Project Managers are Tools Crazy
I see a common theme in the email and comments I receive, and in forums where people who are new to project management are active.
A good chunk of you are asking about tools.
project manager tools - by Svadilfari via Flickr
Tools, tools, tools. MS Project. Primavera. Wrike. Basecamp. So many others big and small. There’s a lot of money and attention in the “project manager tools” market. I am contacted nearly once a week by some company who wants me to do a review of their new wiz-bang software that slices, dices, and makes julienne fries. You’ll notice however that I do not normally take them up on their offers.
It’s not that I think their products are crap. I’m sure they are probably very good. Here’s the thing…
Project Managers Focus Too Much On Tools
This is especially true for new project managers. If you’ve never drawn a network diagram on a sheet of paper and done a forwards and backwards pass to determine your critical path and slack, STOP EVERYTHING! Go do it for a small sample project. I can personally recommend the text I learned it from, “Project Management – The Managerial Process“. See Chapter 6 in particular.
Tools Don’t Manage Projects. You Do.
Don’t get me wrong. I love tools too. They can be very helpful and allow analysis or rigor that just would not be feasible otherwise. In fact it is very common for me to create my own tools that are customized to my own projects. I’m a big believer in solid up-front effort to realize ongoing gains in productivity going forward.
I can only do this because I took the time and put in the effort to understand the concepts first.
So, as I always do in email and in forums where the topic is brought up, I urge you who are starting out in project management to seek an understanding of the concepts for formal project management first.
Then you can become a tool head.
Jul 15th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Well stated, Josh!!
Your explanation brings to mind a maxim frequently quoted by my old high school trade school teacher…..
He used to say “A fool with a tool is still a fool- only a more dangerous one.” He would not allow freshmen and sophomores to even touch a power tool until they could first demonstrate a mastery using hand tools.
And his words of wisdom ring true to me in today’s world of project management. We have become so reliant on “software solutions” that we have forgotten that software is NOT a solution. Only people can be solutions……
Software is only a tool, and as we know, a fool with a tool…….
BR,
Dr. PDG, Singapore
http://www.getpmcertified.com
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Glen B. Alleman Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Paul,
It might be that after 40 or so years since your high school days, things may have changed.
One of primary clients (a $44B aerospace firm) includes tools skills side by side with the principles and procsses of PP&C. Without the in depth understanding of how the corporate tools work (cost, schedule, contractor, risk) on day one, the understanding of how to “manage” is a two step procecss not a one step process.
The integrated “process, people, and tools” approach to training of PP&C, Control Account Managers, Program Managers, and Technical Leads has been shown to produce superior results. The students gain understanding of both “why” and “how” to manage.
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Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I don’t know, Glen……. I see a lot of our clients PMO people who can create very pretty wallpaper using Microsoft Project, but have no clue about how to go about using the tool.
To draw an analogy, just becuase you are trained and qualified on how to use MS word, does not make you a Pulitzer Prize winning author.
We need to separate out being able to RUN the tool from being able to USE the tool to produce something of value.
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
http://www.getpmcertified.com
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Josh Nankivel Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I think Glen, Dr. Paul, and I agree on this stuff, we’re just coming at it from different angles.
Glen is saying that proficiency with the process and tools is necessary, and I think Dr. Paul agrees. I think Glen would agree that just because someone can make an MS Project schedule doesn’t necessarily mean they know what they are doing. If you can’t use the tools though, you are also stuck.
You need both.
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Glen B. Alleman Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Paul,
I’m not talking about Word, and your analogies. I’m taking about specific actionable outcomes of cost and schedule tools that implement work processes of doing cost and schedule. It is a waste of time to teach folks at our A&D client the principles of IMS change control if we also don’t show them how to make these changes in Cost View and MSFT Project Server during the class.
This is our experience. Yours is likely different. Given a 1 week class for CAM training, the two-step approach does not result in a CAM capable of managing her Control Account. Tools and process – simultaneously trained on to use the tool – is called success. The one week CAM course assures this.
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Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
OK, substitute MSP for Word and you have the same outcome. People who can run the tool but don’t have a full grasp on how to use the tool.
Ultimately, what it comes down to is a combination of two things- being able to run the tool- knowing how to use it; and being able to interpret or use the output from the tool in making decisions.
My experience has been that a lot of people know how to run the tool, but not so many are able to use the output.
My advice was and remains not to conflate running the tool with being able to use the tool to do something useful…..
Hence, I come back to my shop teacher’s axim that “a fool with a tool is still a fool”……
BR,
PDG, heading out for lunch in Jakarta
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Glen B. Alleman Reply:
July 19th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Paul,
How did this people learn to run the tool without learning how to manage with the information from the tool?
How did these people become “fools with tools?”
How could you have prevented that outcome from happening on your watch?
With that answer in hand, you’ll be ready to add value to the process of learning the tool and how to manage a program with the information from the tool.
Until those two are joined in the same education process – I’d conjecture – you’ll be stuck in the loop you’re in now – trying to implement the shop teachers advice you gained some 45 years ago.
How can you break the cycle described by the shop teacher? The answer to that is where the value to the profession is. Restating 45 years tautologies is just that.
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Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo Reply:
July 19th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Unfortunately, in the world I move in, I see people taking courses in MSP, Primavera ad infinitum and they think that just because they can run the tool means they can use the tool.
Patently false. And moreover, dangerous. So that tautology is just as valid today as it was 45 years ago. Different set of tools, but the same end result…..
And not to get off on another tangent, but project management is NOT a profession. It is a process, system or methodology.
Hey, gotta run….. On our way to the Systems Dynamic Society meeting in Albuquerque NM…..
Yep, more “tools” to play around with…..
BR,
Dr. PDG, packing in Jakarta
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Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo Reply:
July 19th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
PS: You asked how to prevent it? And I come back to exactly what my shop teacher did to us. We learned how to do it by hand FIRST, before allowing us to use the tool…..
I take this same philosophy in the courses I teach. People learn how to estimate costs by hand, they learn how to create schedules by hand, then they learn how to do do the forward and backwards pass by hand and they learn how to do create activity based costing and then earned valeu….. All by hand first. After they learn how the tools work, then they learn how to interpret the OUTPUTS from those tools.
Then, when they demonstrate having mastered an understanding of the how the tool works and in understanding how to apply the output, then and only then do they move up to actually using the tool.
And before you challenge me, as you undoubtedly will, my wife is an 8th Grade Science teacher and she follows exactly the same approach- teach tbe fundamentals FIRST then teach them how to use the various tools.
Gotta run……
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
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Jul 15th, 2009 at 8:12 am
“Tools Don’t Manage Projects. You Do.”
That’s so right! Since almost 10 years I work as a project manager; right now I’m even the product manager of a project management software.
I met a lot of different methods, tools and people through this 10 years. And regardless if it’s a very complex or simple method or tool – it’s always the human beings who make it work… or not.
Projects may even be successful without tools – if the team contains the right people: organised, experienced, good social skills, reliable, on time, etc. The more of these parameters are in place the less contracts, planning, etc. is needed.
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Jul 15th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Josh,
You have a point about the focus on tools. Tools are necessary but not sifficient for success. But without the “proper” tools we can’t address the core issues with project failure:
1. Inattention to budgetary responsibilities
2. Work authorization not always followed
3. Budget and data reconciliation issues
4. Lack of an integrated management system
5. Baseline fluctuations & frequent replanning
6. Current period and retroactive changes Improper use of management reserve
7. Earned Value techniques not reflecting actual accomplishments
8. Untimely and unrealistic Latest Revised Estimates (LRE)
9. Progress not monitored in a regular and consistent manner
10. Lack of vertical and horizontal traceability (critical path)
11. Not capturing and using cost and schedule data for corrective action
12. Lack of predictive variance analysis
13. Lack of internal surveillance and controls
Managerial actions not demonstrated using Earned Value
It is unlikey the PM would be able to deal with these issues in the absence of tools.
So a bigger question seems to be “what processes are needed for successful project?” That seems to me to be the bigger issue with new PM’s is knowing what they need in terms of step-by-step actions and how to build up a collection of processes to improve their chances of success.
I’ve seen new PM’s be clueless about burn rates, late starts mean late finishes, unaccounted for rework, measures of completion, and others.
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Avinash Palve Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Glen,
I’m completely agree with you. Tools are very helpful in proper decision making.
By the way decisions have to be made by PM, tools help with early warnings where to go.
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Josh Nankivel Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Exactly Glen. Tools can help address all of the items you listed. I am stressing that if someone is given a tool designed to address one of those items, but has no foundational knowledge on the topic, they can not utilize the potential of the tool. They won’t notice red flags or be able to adapt the tool for their own situation.
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Glen B. Alleman Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Josh and Paul,
Then don’t do that. Don’t allow students to learn the tool in the absence of the processes that tool supports. Don’t allow students to learn the process in the absence of the process needed to provide value to the project.
Design the training to prevent the outcomes Paul often sees. Then the number of ancedotal examples should go down.
That’s the direct experience we have seen on our large A&D clients. They don’t dwell on what not to do and instead focus on benefical outcomes needed to move the program forward.
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Jul 15th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Josh, I completely agree with you.
Project management is about getting people to deliver. The best teams with the worst tools will succeed. And the worst teams with the best tools will fail.
While we DO need tools, it’s way more important to build an effective and functional team.
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Glen B. Alleman Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
On anything but a trival project, the best team with the worst tools will have little visibilty into what “done” looks, how they are making progress toward “done,” and what impediments there are the way to done..
Tools will not help the worst teams, beacuse the worst teams won’t be able to recognize what the tools tell them.
It’s not a matter of “either or” both “good” teams and and “good” tools are needed for success.
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Josh Nankivel Reply:
July 18th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Karine, I’m not talking about the quality of project teams here. Very important, but not in scope for this post.
I’m saying that diving into tools without understanding the fundamentals and concepts those tools use is folly.
For example, learning how to use MS Project is not a good starting point for someone who is completely new to project management. I urge them to understand the strategy and process and the “why” first before diving into a specific tool.
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Jul 15th, 2009 at 8:43 am
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Tool-obsessed PMs: focus on the people (I commented) [link to post] (via @pmstudent)
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Jul 15th, 2009 at 10:03 am
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PM Student: Project Manager Tools Crazy [link to post]
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Jul 15th, 2009 at 10:33 am
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Shared: Project Manager Tools Crazy [link to post]
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Jul 15th, 2009 at 10:34 am
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So true. And also for building software: RT @ProjectShrink: Shared: Project Manager Tools Crazy [link to post]
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Jul 15th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Josh,
I found that the ILL Microsoft Project Orange Belt training (Dynamic Scheduling with Microsoft Project 2003) was absolutely remarkable. This is a book I refer back to often. Even thought I am a huge fan of Primavera as a tool vs. MSP, this book is loaded with fundamentals for managing a dynamic schedule. Everybody working on projects should have a copy available.
Also, the Primavera 101 & 102 training is highly recommended. The trainers are very knowledgeable about many concepts, methodologies, and practical applications. Primavera built P6.2 with these concepts in mind to help take failure out of projects.
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Jul 16th, 2009 at 2:31 am
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@pmstudent – Sharing: tools, tools, tools – why so many in PM?
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Jul 16th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Amen, preacher. Tools should enable you as a PM to do what you need to do and not be an end in and of themselves.
@Travis – I have also found the IIL training in general to be a good value, though I haven’t taken the one you mention.
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Jul 16th, 2009 at 7:33 am
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RT @pmstudent: #PMOT Comment on Project Manager Tools Crazy by maventraining (Maven Training): Twitter Comment .. [link to post]
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Jul 19th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
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@pmstudent enjoyed your post on Project Manager Tools Crazy [link to post]
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