PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS KEEPING PACE WITH GLOBAL CHANGE

Project management is a discipline—a set of methods, theories, and techniques that have evolved to manage the complexities of work that is unique and temporary. Even as the discipline continues to evolve, it can claim a proven track record. Millions of projects around the globe routinely rely on the concepts found in this and other project management books. The Project Management Institute (PMI), headquartered in the United States; the International Project Management Association (IPMA), serving Europe, Asia, and Africa; and other standards organizations have formalized this discipline over the past 60 years.

The proliferation of projects has led to substantial growth in the number of people who call themselves project managers, and project manager is now a common role in nearly every kind of organization. The related phenomenon is the rise of the certified project manager. PMI and IPMA both offer professional certification programs to formally recognize skills, knowledge, or both.

Examples of how project management is spreading to new parts of our global workplace can be found in the profiles at the end of this chapter on two organizations, OrthoSpot and PM4NGOs. The first is a business startup, and the second is a nonprofit that is promoting the use of project management in developing countries by aid agencies. In both cases, these organizations have used the proven project management framework as a starting point, and then adjusted it to meet the needs of their unique audience.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS AN ESSENTIAL LEADERSHIP SKILL SET

Given the importance of thriving in a project‐driven world, the people who lead projects—who turn visions of what might be into tangible products and services—stand out. But it has been proven that project managers alone can't carry the burden of creating mature organizations whose project management capability produces a strategic advantage. In fact, as the pace of change continues to increase, leaders at every level must be able to speak the language of project management.

• Executives select projects. They also stand behind projects as champions or sponsors, overseeing project progress and providing advice to the project manager and team. Every major project or program has an executive who is ultimately accountable for its success. Executives are also accountable for the project portfolio, the collection of all active projects that have been selected as the best way to achieve the organization's goals.
• Functional managers sponsor, lead, or oversee projects within their departments. They make decisions about project priorities as they assign their staff to project teams.
• Team members who understand project management make the entire project run more smoothly. They make the project manager more effective because they make better estimates, identify risks, and participate in planning and problem‐solving.

A related trend is the growth of part‐time project leaders. These tend to be senior staff and functional managers tasked with leading smaller or part‐time projects. They don't want the project manager title or career path. But they still need to clarify goals, make practical plans, and communicate regularly. These people view project management as one more set of tools that make them effective leaders.

How does project management fit into your personal career goals? In an economy that is pushing each of us to learn and adapt, how much change do you expect in your job over the next decade? If the new normal is continuous transformation, isn't the ability to navigate new territory the most enduring skill?

SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS DELIVER VALUE

Twenty‐five years ago, the project management community could agree that a successful project was on time, on budget, and delivered to specification. But times change. Too many projects have “delivered to specification” without actually being valuable to the organization that paid for them. The most common offenders have been expensive information technology (IT) projects that produced reports or systems that didn't make a positive difference to the business, either because the system was rejected by the users or it didn't solve the real problem driving the project. But IT isn't alone. Any project team that focuses only on delivering the specified product or service but loses sight of the context of the project can be guilty of failing to deliver value.

A more current definition of a successful project is one that delivers business value. The implication is that the project manager should understand the business case—why was this project approved? It has also broadened the perception of who is a project stakeholder. After all, if a solution to my part of the organization causes pain to your part of the organization, have we made things better or worse?

Another aspect of delivering value is the realization that if our solutions are not really accepted and used, they probably aren't achieving their potential impact. Therefore, the practice of change management has a growing role on project teams. As the term is used here, change management refers to assisting affected people to change their behaviors in support of the project goal. This should not be confused with change control, which addresses controlling changes to scope, schedule, budget, and other previous agreements.

When project managers see their job as leading change that delivers business value, they see the bigger picture and increase their contribution to their employer and to all stakeholders.

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF PROJECT LEADERSHIP

Project management has been called both an art and a science. In these pages, you will see how mastering the science of project management provides a foundation for the art of leadership. The necessary skills are common to both. There is no question that the best project managers are also outstanding leaders. They have vision, they motivate, they bring people together, and, most of all, they accomplish great things.

Indeed, when we characterize the attributes of the great project managers, their skill can seem mysterious and magical, as though the good ones are born and not made. Fortunately, that is not the case. Through over 30 years of listening to many thousands of professionals and observing the most successful project leaders, it has become very clear to me that project management is a skill that can be taught and learned. I've learned that, far from being magical or mysterious, certain characteristics are consistently found on successful projects in every industry. Boiled down, they consist of these five project success factors that drive the design of this book:

1. Agreement among the project team, customers, and management on the goals of the project. The importance of having clear goals seems so obvious that it's almost embarrassing to bring it up. Yet thousands of projects at this very moment do not have clear goals, and the results of this fuzziness can be devastating.
2. A plan that shows an overall path and clear responsibilities and that can be used to measure progress during the project. Since every project is unique, the only way to understand and execute it efficiently is with a plan. Not only does a good plan show who is responsible for what and when, but it also demonstrates what is possible. It contains the details for estimating the people, money, equipment, and materials necessary to get the job done. And because the plan is the basis for measuring progress, it can also act as an early warning system for tasks that are late or over budget.
3. Constant, effective communication among everyone involved in the project. People—not plans or software—complete projects. A successful project is a result of people agreeing on goals and then meeting them. From concept through implementation, success depends on the ability to come to agreement, coordinate action, recognize and solve problems, and react to changes.
4. A controlled scope. Success is in the eye of the beholder. This is why, from the very start, the successful project manager will ensure that everyone involved understands exactly what can be accomplished within a given time frame and budget. This is called managing stakeholder expectations, and it is an important, ongoing task throughout the project, especially if changes are introduced. Stakeholders must not only agree to the original scope of the project, but must also understand any changes in scope.
5. Management support. Project managers rarely have enough formal authority to make all the decisions it takes to complete a project. They rely on people in traditional management roles to supply people and equipment, make policy decisions, and remove organizational obstacles. Even the most enthusiastic, creative, motivational project leaders will stumble if they do not enlist the people with authority to act on their behalf.

Far from being mysterious, these five essential factors can be achieved through the diligent, persistent use of the science of project management. That is not to say that success comes without art—on the contrary, art is immensely important. Art encompasses political and interpersonal skills, making creative decisions when complete information is lacking, knowing intuitively when to delegate work, and more. But learning the basic science is requisite to practicing this art.

That's important for all of us, because it means that success at leading projects is not reserved for the lucky few born with the skills; rather, it is a discipline that can be taught and learned.

Processes Are Not Leadership

Project management can be viewed as a science composed of techniques and methods, and even software. It can also be viewed as the ability to inspire a team to achievement, to make tough choices, and to act with integrity when mistakes are made. In fact, project management can be all of these things. To grow, we must recognize the difference between knowing the science and practicing the art.

The art of project leadership embodies skills that are gained through experience, sensitivity, and a thorough knowledge of the basic science of management. Learning the basics of project management can be your first step on the road to becoming a skilled and inspiring leader. While developing all these skills will take time, the basic science can be learned fairly quickly; able students can read and practice the lessons in this book on their very next project.

A PRACTICAL CHECKLIST FOR SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS: HOW THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU

This book is written for people who need to understand the time‐tested techniques of project management and how those methods are being put to use on projects every day. It is for people who need a complete foundation in the discipline, whether they are recent graduates, experienced executives, mid‐level managers, or team members wanting to be team leaders. This book is primarily about how: how to get agreement on goals and how to reach them, how to enlist team members and project sponsors, how to negotiate schedules and budgets, and how to reduce risk and increase the odds of success.

The five project success factors introduced earlier in this chapter drive the content in this book. As the workplace has become more project‐driven, other factors that influence projects also need to be addressed. The following checklist expands on the five factors and shows you where to look in this book for practical advice.

1. Agreement among the project team, customers, and management on the goals of the project.
   • It is apparent why this project is worthwhile. The benefits that will be realized from the project have been balanced against the costs, both tangible and intangible, and we understand the urgency. Chapter 5 addresses the minimum content of a project proposal.
   • We know who needs to be satisfied and who will judge the success of the project. Chapter 6 explains who our stakeholders are and how to find them.
   • What will be delivered, and the actions required to complete the project have been described at both the macro and micro level. Chapter 7 explains how the project charter establishes agreements on a common goal. Chapter 9 introduces the work breakdown structure, the detailed view of tasks and deliverables.
2. A plan that shows an overall path and clear responsibilities and that can be used to measure progress during the project.
   • We have planned for the unexpected and for factors beyond our control. Chapter 8 demonstrates how risk management techniques reveal potential threats and opportunities, allowing the team to proactively influence or prepare for these future events.
   • The schedule is constructed using a detailed understanding of the work to be performed and the sequence of relationships between the tasks. Chapters 9 and 10 use a step‐by‐step approach to breaking down a project and building a realistic schedule.
   • The schedule is based on work reasonably assigned and the people responsible for the work have not been overburdened. Chapter 10 provides task estimating guidelines and an explanation of resource leveling, the process of evaluating a schedule to find unrealistic assignments of work in any time period. Look for tips on communicating clear task assignments in Chapter 16.
   • Progress against the plan is measured with a steady rhythm. Chapter 11 provides an overview of the Scrum method of planning and monitoring a project. Chapter 19 contains formulas for calculating the progress against cost and schedule baselines.
3. Constant, effective communication among everyone involved in the project.
   • We know who will be actively engaged in the project to accomplish the work and make decisions. Chapter 6 gives us stakeholder identification techniques, and Chapter 7 describes the RACI matrix that clarifies project roles.
   • Our project team has the trust and commitment to tell each other the truth and to work together to solve problems. The attributes of cohesive project teams are described in Chapter 15.
   • We are prepared to assist those who will be affected by the changes that the project creates so that they contribute to achieving the project's goals. Chapter 17 introduces the discipline of change management.
   • Our project infrastructure contains risk logs, issue logs, visible schedules, and other practical methods that team members can easily access and update. Chapter 16 focuses on team communication.
   • We have established a rhythm of project reporting that is appropriate to the size and pace of the project and will keep our team and management synchronized. Chapters 16 and 18 present a communication plan and guidelines for reporting status graphically. Every technique in this book promotes more effective communication among project stakeholders!
4. A controlled scope.
   • A practical approach to documenting and managing requirements has been adopted, so we deliver on the real business need. Chapter 22 explains how requirements are collected, prioritized, and managed.
   • We know who must approve changes to schedule and cost, and what authority the team has for accepting changes to specifications and scope. The people who will approve changes have agreed to the process, so that change requests will be processed in a timely manner. Chapter 18 describes the steps for maintaining the proper balance between what is delivered, how much it costs, and when it arrives.
   • Cost and schedule estimates and commitments were created using reliable models developed from similar past projects. Read about techniques for making accurate estimates in Chapter 12. Chapter 21 presents the role of a Project Management Office in creating repeatable project management practices.
   • We have realistic expectations about the potential for deviating from the plan when our assumptions turn out to be wrong. Chapter 13 is full of strategies for catching up, cutting costs, and shifting the balance between cost, schedule, and scope. Chapter 20 contains classic project problems and reasonable responses.
5. Management support.
   • The project sponsor is accountable for project success and has planned to meet with the project manager on a regular basis to provide support and guidance. Learn about the role and responsibility of a project sponsor in Chapter 6.
   • The people with the right skills and availability have been assigned to the project. Functional managers are responsible for assigning people to the project, which is discussed in Chapter 6. The planning process in Chapter 10, particularly task estimating, reveals the necessary skills.
   • Our sponsor and management team have met with the customer and other key stakeholders. All are committed to regular communication. Chapter 16 covers the project communication plan and team kickoff.
   • Escalation thresholds are in place to raise issues and risks up to the proper level of management. We know our allowance for cost and schedule variance before higher‐level management will intervene. Chapter 19 shows how cost and schedule variance boundaries create escalation thresholds.
6. Strategic alignment drives prioritization.
   • This project is prioritized and sequenced relative to other projects in the firm, and therefore has been assigned resources that are sufficiently available to complete the project. Chapters 5 and 21 address multi‐project management factors, including portfolio management.
7. Technical competence and mature development practices.
   • Our team has up‐to‐date skills. The techniques in Chapters 9, 10, and 12 on planning and estimating reveal the skills that are required to perform the work.
   • We use industry best practices to clarify our customers' goals and to design, build, test, and deliver great products and services. Read about traditional and iterative development life cycles and the benefits of a consistent development approach in Chapter 4. Quality principles that help us deliver to requirements are explained in Chapter 23.

This checklist is available as a downloadable form at www.VersatileCompany.com/FastForwardPM.

Webinars to Explore New Topics or Learn in a New Way

Books are one medium for learning. Live, interactive webinars with the author and his team provide another medium to stay up to date on new trends or explore a new twist on topics within the book. Be notified of free webinars by registering for updates at www.VersatileCompany.com/FastForwardPM.

Downloadable Forms for Putting the Discipline to Work

The distance from concept to application can be shortened for all of us by using standard forms and templates. This book contains more than 20 checklists, forms, and templates for managing your own projects. We've titled these forms the Fast Foundation in Project Management, because together they form a basic project management methodology. The forms are listed in Appendix B and can be downloaded from www.VersatileCompany.com/FastForwardPM. Look for them at the end of Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 16, and 18. Since these forms were first included in the second edition of this book, many firms have used them, adjusted them to fit their own projects, and adopted them as their own standards.

Microsoft Project Best Practice Tips

There are many effective project management software tools in the market, but by far the most common is Microsoft Project. Video tutorials for getting started with Project are part of the videos available at www.VersatileCompany.com/FastForwardPM.

PMP Exam Preparation Guidelines and Test Questions

Many project managers benefit from earning PMI's Project Management Professional certification. One requirement for earning this certification is passing a lengthy exam. As an aid in exam preparation, sample exam questions are provided at the end of most chapters. These exam questions, along with Chapter 24, which contains general advice on preparing for the exam, have been contributed by Tony Johnson, author of a leading PMP exam preparation course series.

The content of this book is aligned with terminology used on the exam. Many chapters have additional exam‐specific content available as video tutorials accessible at www.VersatileCompany.com/FastForwardPM.