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Hear Susan
Speak
Listen to her
20 minute interview with David Wolf on 9/28/07
(.MP3 format, 14.5 MB)
Susan Junda
Dynamic Solutions
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 888-4786
the Dynamic Solutions Electronic Newsletter
September/October 2008
- What's going on out there? - a message from Susan
- Project Management World
- Where is Susan?
- Ask Susan
What's
Going On Out There - a message from Susan
Here we are, well into the autumn season. If you will note, this newsletter is a bit late, primarily due to my extensive travels during the past month, spanning from California to the United Kingdom, where I did some work for a client and visited with a former (project management) colleague in Scotland.
Last issue I wrote a bit about people being concerned about the economy. Well that has certainly not changed the past month. In fact, most are probably even more concerned. So the topic for this issue is "Project Management in a Down Economy," in honor of what is happening all around us. I hope you can find something useful for you!
On a personal note, the world is changing, and changing rapidly. This means we are ALL going to have to change - to be quicker to adapt, accept, and trust that all the changes that are occurring are eventually going to lead to a better life for all of us. If I didn't believe this, I would probably be fearful and depressed most of the time - and that is NOT how I want to live my life! The movement that is happening is forcing us to look at what is important to us, what matters most to us, to get "back to basics," back to our true values, not only in our families and personal relationships, but in business, politics, economics and in the world.
I am hopeful. In the greater scheme of things, in the much, much bigger picture, things are happening for a reason, a GOOD reason - even if we can't see it yet!!!
Enjoy the crisp, colorful autumn days!!
Susan
Project Management World
The Problem...
Project Management in a Down Economy
The economy is down. Everyone and every business is concerned about their financials - whether or not they are losing money. So much is uncertain. So much is changing. More rapidly than most of us would like. How can good project management practices in a solid organization help during these unpredictable times?
Scroll down to see the solution from all three perspectives or jump to the Senior Management, Project Manager, or Team Member perspective.
The Solution...
From the Senior Management (or boss/stakeholder) Perspective...
Change cannot be avoided in life. The fact is that change is very real and very present, especially these days. Here's a thought: If this is true, what would it take for you and your staff or colleagues to embrace the change rather than avoiding it?
Project Management is a way to manage time, cost, quality and CHANGE. Now is the time, more than ever, that Senior Managers and Executives need to know where things stand. Here are a few things you might consider doing (or at least assessing ) to allow good Project Management practices to assist you during these very volatile times:
- Do you have a practice in place to prioritize projects?
- Do you at least have a current LIST of all the projects going on in your area (department, division, organization)? If not, create that list.
- Do all of your projects support your strategic plan and/or core business? If not, eliminate the ones that don't contribute to the forward movement of your organization.
- Do you have more projects going on than people to work on them? This
is another reason to hone down that list, to give
reasonable workloads to people so they can actually complete the projects!
- Have you and your staff/colleagues created a project environment where it is "safe" for a project manager and team to recommend the cancellation of a project?
- Is there a team of "stakeholders" a project team can go to and make a recommendation to cancel a project if they, given their technical expertise, believe it is not in the best interest of the company's time, energy and money, to continue pursuing?
- Are you and your staff/colleagues capable of hearing an honest assessment of reality surrounding a project(s)?
- Do you and your staff "shoot the messenger" and/or state
that your people should "just go
do it!" when you don't like what you hear? These responses to "negative information" will make it unlikely that your Project Managers will ever tell you when a project is wasting the company's time, money and resources. This is NOT what you need, especially in today's economy!
- Have you and your staff/team agreed on a project planning methodology that is used to plan ALL projects? One that creates the same documents (i.e., Project Charter and Detailed Project Plan) for every project?
- If not, come up with planning and scheduling methodologies and common documents that all teams and project managers have to use (NOTE: they can vary slightly based upon the size of the project).
- Reward project managers and teams for keeping the plan valid during execution so you can use these plans to make good business decisions.
Again, now more than ever, all businesses need to know where they are, eliminate the projects that no longer "serve" and prioritize the ones that move the company forward - build your infrastructure, open a new market segment, create a new product or service, update your systems. Now is the time to assess who you really are, what you really offer and to do it exceptionally well!
From the Project Manager Perspective...
A few tips for you on managing projects and teams during these challenging times:- Keep your project plans valid. This is not the time to "wing it," hoping and praying that nothing slips through the cracks. You should have a plan for EVERY project you are managing!!
- Use your team! Their inputs are so incredibly important at this time. You need them to help you create and maintain the most realistic project plans that you can right now.
- Keep your stakeholders informed. Do NOT surprise them!! Show them you know what is going on in and around your projects. Remember, if any major changes affect the previously agreed to delivery dates, costs or requirements, stakeholders need to be informed so that new business decisions can be made. Give them options!
- Get training for you and your team! If you don't know how to motivate a team to work together, or if you don't know how to create a project plan with the team, go do a training together! Those dollars spent will be recovered once you are able to create an efficient plan that uses resources wisely and keeps everyone on track - the SAME track!
In these tight, uncertain times, your stakeholders are depending on you to know what is going on with your projects and to highlight problems to them as soon as you can. Business decisions that executives make need to be made using valid data, which you can give them through good project planning and management.
From the Team Member Perspective...
A few tips for you on being an exceptional team member during these challenging times:
- Estimate well. When asked how long a task will take, really think about:
- How long the actual "hands-on work" will take, considering your past experience, the complexity of the task and how many people you have to work with on it (all these can increase your estimate). This is called WORK/EFFORT (for example, it might take 6 hours to install a software application).
- How much CALENDAR time it will take to complete the task, considering your competing priorities. This is called DURATION (for example, it might take 2 weeks to install the same software application because you are BUSY working on other things!).
- Keep both your boss and Project Manager updated. Your direct line boss needs to know what you are working on and how you are prioritizing your workload. Your project manager needs to know that all is on track according to plan and, of course, they BOTH need to know as soon as possible when things are NOT going according to plan!
- Practice good time management skills. Again, in these tight times, you are most likely going to feel stretched. Please, please, please, manage your workload. Work efficiently. And when too much is put onto your plate, have a conversation with your boss about what you are doing and have him/her help you prioritize it! Let them support you to do your job well!
Project Managers and teams need valid project plans. Your input to these plans and ability to keep your tasks ON TRACK is critical to ALL levels of the organization.
Where is Susan?
Want to meet?
November 2-5 - Chicago, IL
November 18-21 -Garden Grove, CA (LA area)December 2-5 - Dallas, TX
December 25-January 1 - North Jersey/NYC area
...and yes I'll meet you if you'd like!January 25-28 - Chicago, IL
Ask Susan
If you want more information on what we can do to help your organization, projects and teams be more successful, please click here.
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