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Practice Project Management at home

by Jennifer Bedell

As a Mom, it is important to know exactly where everyone is at any given time, how long they are going to be there, and what they are doing while they are there.  Other than that, it’s pretty simple.

As a Project Manager, it is important to know exactly what task each project resource is working on at any given time, how long they will be working on that task , what they are doing and why they are doing it.  Other than that, it’s pretty simple.

A Mom is the “boss” of the house.  They make the rules as they go along and everyone just does what they are told.  If they decide to change the process, they don’t need to clear it with anyone, they just announce that expectations have changed, then everyone complies with the new rules.

Wouldn’t it be nice if this actually worked?  But, that is not the case.  A Mom/Project Manager must earn the respect of their team whether the team is their family at home or their colleagues at work.  The first step in earning respect is giving respect.  When you respect the team, they will respect you.

Flickr Attribution: cambodia4kidsorg

Flickr Attribution: cambodia4kidsorg

When Mom decides to change the rules, she should get input from her team (the children) before imposing her new rules.  This doesn’t mean that the children get to make the rules, but by feeling that they are a part of the process, they will embrace the upcoming changes and they will be more willing to adhere to them.  Likewise, a Project Manager should seek input from their team before making any process changes.

Exactly how should a Project Manager introduce a process change?  First, they need to examine the existing process to determine where and if a change is actually needed.  Take the time to map out the current process and share it with the team.  If the process was not previously documented, the team may not have fully understood what was required of them.  This may solve the process issue at hand.

Once the process has been documented and shared with the team, ask for feedback on where the team feels there are inefficiencies or room for improvement.  The team may be doing more or less work than is required at any point in the process.  Understanding and following the now clarified process may solve the issue at hand.

When the current process has been documented, reviewed and discussed, try it for a few weeks before examining where changes should be implemented.

If a change is required, the next step is to brainstorm with the team on areas for improvement.  This will satisfy two requirements for change: 1) The team becomes engaged and ready to accept a change ; 2) The Project Manager is not on their own to create the new process.

In extreme cases, a Change Management consultant should be brought in to facilitate the process change.

We are operating in a world where change is the new normal.  To succeed, we need to manage change in a way that people who are adverse to it, will embrace it.

Fortunately for the Mom, children are very adapable and will readily accept of change; however, the Project Manager is usually dealing with adults who are not as open to following the “new” rules.  By soliciting input from the team, everyone will feel that they had a part in creating the new process thereby motivating them to embrace it.

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Monitoring and Controlling in Project Management

by Travis K. Anderson, MBA, PMP

Projects begin and end by definition. For many of us, it is about applying the concepts and best practices we learned throughout our experience as project stakeholders. Each of us starts out differently on projects. Some may initiate, some may close, perhaps planning is your forte or execution is where the action happens.

The project environment is such an exciting place to be, especially if your company supports and recognizes the value add of project management. For me it is monitoring and controls where I have captured the most valuable project experience. As a Science Application International Corporation (SAIC) Project Controller (PC) for the Landsat Data Continuity Contract (LDCC) it is my role to administer earned value, monitor and control project scope, schedule, and budget, and integrate change control in accordance to the project management plan and contract. LDCC is a development project that is a part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). Provided is the LDCM website link for more information on LDCM (http://ldcm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ).

Project Life Cycle

The monitoring and controls process group is an over arching process that lasts for the entire project as represented in the line chart to the right. Before monitoring or controlling anything on a project, we must capture scope, derive requirements, develop a schedule, derive costs components, understand team dynamics, think of reporting requirements, inventory resources, be ever watchful for potential risks, and most importantly account for contract deliverables. It is then that we encompass the monitoring and controls process group around the other process groups as represented below.

Project Management Processes

Some of the best experience I received was during the development of our Resource Loaded Network (RLN) and Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) development. The RLN helped us to identify our critical path and the associated impact of external dependencies (risk) on the project.

The RLN is just one component of the PMB. A PMB is comprised of a scope (technical) baseline, a schedule (RLN) baseline, and a cost (budget) baseline. An Earned Value Management System (EVMS) is used as a monitoring and controls tool to evaluate project performance and generate forecasts. EVMS is a whole other subject that could be expanded upon.  [Editor note:  For more on EVMS basics, see this series of posts.]

Monitoring and controls is a process group that is associated with all aspects of the project. Delivering quality results is the primary goal of a project and we owe that to our clients. It is my job to serve and assist the project stakeholders by measuring project performance on a regular basis to ensure success and in order to generate accurate forecasts. A proper monitor and controls system must be cognizant of past performance, but the emphasis is in a forward direction. My main goal is to apply the correct balance of monitoring and controls on the project so the whole team wins.

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