Project Management Tips for Senior Management

This is often the first and most valuable opportunity for a Project Manager to establish a) rapport and b) authority with the project team.

Why do it?

Often Project Managers have no explicit authority and, if allowed, this can be mistaken for no authority. The first meeting and the way it is handled will set the scene and certain important standards for the rest of the project. In general this meeting will serve to create a common understanding of
a) Milestones & goals
b) Communication plans
c) Responsibilities
d) Risks
e) Issues
f) Behavioural standards
g) Meeting format

This encounter with your team sends a number of explicit and implicit messages about you, your character, your level of competence and the nature of the relationship you intend to nurture with the rest of the team. Your demeanour, what you say and do at this meeting is important.

In an ideal world the Project Manager would have had an opportunity to meet all of the team members personally prior to the team event but this is rare. First impressions count and even if you haven't had a chance to meet your team beforehand you can make an impression before the kick-off meeting, publish an agenda (see Effective Meetings lens), this lets the team know what they should expect and what they might have to prepare for the meeting.

In most cases this meeting should not be scheduled to last longer than an hour. This event might go by another name in your organisation but generally the content should remain consistent with the following topics.

About the Project - What's the mandate? Who is the sponsor? What is the goal? How does it serve strategic aims?

About the method and tools - What methodology will be used? What tools and applications will be used? Make sure everyone is comfortable with both. If training is required, take note and ensure effort is made to provide it.

About You - Relevant background only, let them know what you expect of the team.

About the team - Where resources have been drawn from, different skills, knowledge brought to bear. Be inclusive, create cohesion and a team spirit.

Risks - Give a brief account of any known risks and how they will be dealt with.

Issues - Give a brief account of any known issues and how they will be dealt with.

Communications Plan - Ensure the team know the schedule for meetings and understand their responsibilities with regard to preparation and attendance.

Close - Positively, be enthusiastic but realistic.

The information presented here will clarify why risk assessment and management are essential, how to go about the task and provide enough information to get your project teams completing the task in an understandable, consistent and effective manner.

What is a risk? - It might seem obvious to the risk management expert some but there is often debate and confusion about the difference between a risk and an issue. Most project managers know they should be assessing, analysing and dealing with both but are often unsure how to go about classification.

A risk is an event that can be realistically anticipated but hasn't yet happened. An event that has happened or is a certainty is an 'issue' and should be promoted into the issue management procedure.

What is risk management? - Risk management is a continuous process of identifying, communicating and planning for uncertain events. The cycle of risk assessment and management includes, but may not be limited to, the following activities
- identification
- documentation
- assessing probability and impact
- assigning ownership
- planning mitigation strategies
- communication
- executing mitigation strategies

Why do it? - It is extremely unlikely that any project will start and end without one or more unexpected events occurring. The purpose of risk assessment and management is to identify risks, extrapolate impact and determine whether it is possible to mitigate against these events.

Why do it more than once? - The activity is a continuous one because some risks can and should be identified from the outset others may only become apparent as the project definition gathers detail or once a specific phase has started. So, the recommendation is that risk assessment should first take place when the project is in it's conceptual stage and then risks managed with additional sophistication as the project proceeds through each phase.

How do I manage my risks? - It is not the project managers job to generate the risk list, it is their job to create the circumstances in which one may be generated. So, the project manager should not sit down and try and dream up all of the risks they can think of, this may waste valuable time and is unlikely to be as productive as involving other members of the team. Involving, other members of the team will give a broader perspective and create buy-in.

Risk Management is a continuous process of identifying, communicating and planning for events which may threaten your project.

This section of the help system has been provided to assist with the initial risk assessment and to provide a framework for your ongoing cycle of risk assessment and management.

Probability-Impact Matrix

I have adopted one of the most commonly used and easily understood techniques for assessing risk, the Probability-Impact (P-I) matrix.

As each item in the risk list is entered you will be asked to assess firstly, how likely the event is and secondly, what impact the event would have on a successful outcome for your project should it occur. This information is captured as two critical factors, the Probability and the Impact.

I have intentionally kept the scale small and the classification simple. You will be asked to rank both probability and impact as high or Medium or Low. The matrix shown below may be used to determine what score is given.

The P-I matrix in Fig. 1 provides a unique number (Exposure) for each intersection and thus has a distinct advantage over the more commonly used method of multiplying the two figures to give a risk factor. A regular user will come to know instantly which axis contributed the high, medium or low score.

By comparison, the grid in Fig. 2 shows the more common method of allocating a score to each level and multiplying Probability by Impact to give a risk factor or exposure.

Whatever your scale there is always the possibility of generating the same Exposure score for different combinations of Probability and Impact. For example, knowing you have a score of 3 doesn't tell you whether this is a high probability or a high Impact risk.

The grid in Fig. 1 imparts additional information without adding complexity to the mechanism.

RAG Status - Assign a green status to exposure scores of 3 or less, amber to scores of 6 or less and red to scores of 7 and above. However, you may alter these thresholds to suit your organisation and/or the approach for your project.

Categories of risk may be;

Size - Elements of risk may be attributable to the size of the project team, number of sub-projects, number of interfaces, number of stakeholders, geographic locations

Technology - Elements of risk may be attributable to delivery of new equipment on time, prototype or leading edge technology to be used, non-standard applications required, configuration and set-up, interfaces, internet access, team connectivity, test environments, internal/external technical support.

Project Team - Elements of risk may be attributable to use of internal/external team personnel, availability of personnel, planned absence of personnel, availability of decision makers, designated seconds in the case of unexpected absence, previous experience, training.

User Environment - Elements of risk may be attributable to simulating live environment in test facilities, user training, estimating peak loads.

Other useful categories might be budget, schedule, quality, scope.

If you would like an easy to use (free) MS Word template that has worked for me leave me your email address in the feedback form.

The questions supplied here are for illustration purposes, this is by no means an exhaustive list and depending on the project stage some questions may be more or less relevant.

If you answer 'no' to any of the following questions, the consequences should be examined and, if significant, considered as part of your risk management process.

Is there a project plan?
Are the key decision makers available for the duration of the project?
Are there seconds for the key decision makers?
Are milestones and deadlines clearly understood by the entire team and stakeholders?
Does everyone understand the consequences of failure to deliver on time or to acceptable quality?
Are all the right skills available to the team?
Does everyone understand and accept the criteria for success?
Is there a mechanism for issue management?
Is there a mechanism for risk management?
Is there a communications plan?
Is there a change management procedure?
Is the project organisation clearly established and understood?
Are roles and responsibilities at all levels understood and accepted?
Have all the stakeholders been identified?
Has a project mandate (need/purpose/opportunity statement) been issued?
Is the corporate and strategic context and priority of the project understood?
Does the team include representatives of all the stakeholders?
Is there a business critical date for the project?
Have the project deliverables been clearly identified?
Is the project approach clearly understood?
If this project is part of a programme, are the dependencies understood and documented.
Is there a statement of requirements or equivalent document ready for approval?
Is your project team co-located?
if you answer 'yes' to any of the following questions, the consequences should be examined and, if significant, considered as part of your risk management process. Are there resource or organisational changes anticipated during the project?
Is new technology involved?
Are there new techniques/processes to be adopted?
Is the project dependant on another project?

What is an Issue? - An issue can be simply defined as 'an event or series of events that are an active problem causing a threat to the project's objectives.'

It might be a risk which was previously identified but if it is now a certainty it is an 'issue' and should be promoted into the Issue Management procedure.

What is issue management? - Issue management is a continuous process of identifying, communicating and dealing with problems that threaten the success of the project. The cycle of issue assessment and management includes, but may not be limited to, the following activities
- identification
- documentation
- assessing priority and impact
- assigning ownership
- planning
- communicating
- executing solutions

Why do it? - The purpose of issue assessment and management is to identify issues, extrapolate impact and determine whether you can deal with the event, if so how, or suffer the impact.

Why do it more than once? - The activity is a continuous one because some issues might exist from the outset others may only become apparent as the project definition gathers detail or once a specific phase has started. So, the recommendation is that issue assessment should first take place when the project is in it's conceptual stage and managed with additional sophistication as the project proceeds through each phase.

How do I manage my Issues? - It is not the project managers job to generate the issue list, it is to create the circumstances in which one may be generated.

In my experience the fastest way to compile a comprehensive list of issues is to set up a brainstorming session, this should be facilitated by someone who understands the rules for this kind of activity and is able to manage the session.

How do I document my issues? - There are numerous systems and templates. If you would like an easy to use (free) MS Word template that has worked for me leave me your email address in the feedback form.

'Communication breakdowns' are often cited as a principle cause of project failure, so an effective communications plan is an essential component of the project manager's toolkit, supporting the team from the outset, the different stakeholders, their information needs and the channels used to provide that information.

What is it? - The Communications Plan introduces a degree of formality into the frequency, format, mechanisms and channels used to deliver information. By documenting 'who' communicates 'how', 'what' and 'when' you will correctly set the expectations for the entire team.

A good communications plan will result in a team providing each other with information in an efficient and timely fashion, without constant reminders, what I would call 'information push not pull'.

Why have one? - You cannot get away from the fact that it is people that make projects a failure or a success and it is the job of the project manager to make other people more productive, collaborating and communicating effectively.

The Communications Plan sets realistic expectations and introduces a degree of comfort for a team facing uncertainty and the usual project 'rollercoaster' experience.

Project progress reports are part of the communications plan and provide a way of highlighting project successes, obstacles to progress and short term activity plans to the project board and senior management.

What are the essential elements? - The sophistication built into the plan will be determined by the size of the project, a small project may demand only a weekly status report and rely on informal communication most of the time, an extremely large project might warrant video-conferencing, a newsletter, demo rooms or helplines. Whatever the case the needs should be carefully considered and not left to chance.

Whatever resources are at your disposal the framework for establishing an effective communications plan is relatively simple and consistent. In most cases this information can be gathered prior to or during your kick-off meeting by simply asking people what information they need and with what frequency.

Consider;

What information is needed? - The project manager is responsible for information of different types, some needing authorisation, some indicating a change of status and others designed to coordinate activity. Delivering too much information can be just as counterproductive as not delivering enough and regularly writing long emails or 'blow by blow' detailed status reports is unlikely to prove productive.

Who supplies information? - In most cases the project manager acts as a hub for information exchange but wherever it is appropriate some of the burden of work can be transferred simply by ensuring people supplying information in a consistent format and/or copy in other interested parties.

Who consumes information?- The consumers will include but may not be limited to; Project sponsor, functional management, customer, project team, project manager. Ensure the team knows your requirements and meets them, deal with any shortcomings or failures diplomatically but promptly.

What format is required? - If there are corporate standards for document templates, use them. If not, create your own templates and distribute them to the relevant members of the team.

How regularly is the information needed? - Different members of the project will want information delivered with varying frequency and levels of detail, make sure you know what their requirements are.

Set a communications plan, publish it, stick to it.

In a time poor world it is vitally important to get the most out of any meeting. For the project manager, poor preparation and badly run meetings can result in disaffected and disillusioned teams, this in turn represents a serious risk to project success.

My ten golden rules for holding effective meetings.

Rule 1 - Publish an Agenda.

Publish an agenda well in advance. Why? Ever sat through a meeting you didn't need to be at?

An agenda should be distributed far enough ahead of a meeting to allow people to add agenda items and provide feedback. An agenda provides information about other attendees and high level information about the meeting content, allowing invitees to decide whether or not it is essential to attend.

Because it

- provides concise, accurate information about start time, duration, location;
- states the purpose for the session;
- let's everyone know who else is attending;
- gives everyone adequate notice to prepare;
- shows respect for everyone's schedules;
- sends a clear message about your level of personal organisation and competence.

Nowadays, this task is even easier as the agenda content can be distributed as part of the electronic meeting request.

This is usually the responsibility of the person calling the meeting.

If it isn't already a habit this one small change in behaviour can save organisations hundreds of wasted man hours.

Rule 2 - Start on Time.

Start on time, irrespective of who is late, their status or level of seniority. Starting late sends the message that the meeting isn't important and that it is ok to be late everyone can do it and in time everyone will!

Starting on time forces any late arrivals to walk into a room where people are working and disrupt proceedings, we all know how uncomfortable that feels! If they are habitual latecomers I guarantee that their behaviour will change providing the meetings continue to consistently start on time.

Rule 3 - Select a facilitator.

This person must be quiet but firm. They must make sure everyone understands the ground rules for the meeting, session objective, start end end times, mobile phones etc.

This is a difficult role to fulfil it requires a skill that is difficult to teach and is usually acquired with practice. The incumbent must ensure that the agenda is dealt with in the allotted time but also allow free flowing conversation and active debate to take place. Due attention must be paid to the dynamic of the group, behaviour, body language and interpersonal relationships will all contribute to the quality of the meeting. Hence, 'quiet but firm' is important, it is almost impossible to take in all of this information when you are heavily involved in the debate.

The facilitator should also lookout for quieter members of the group and encourage them to speak.

Rule 4 - Don't be late.

Everyone is late every now and again. However, persistent lateness sends a number of destructive subliminal messages; the meeting is not important enough, you are disorganised, you don't care about the schedule pressure anyone else might be under.

Rule 5 - Stick to the agenda.

It is the Facilitators responsibility to ensure that the published agenda is adhered to. If no one assumes this role the conversation will meander and important items will not be dealt with. Someone waiting to speak will not get their chance and after the meeting the perception will be created that they are a waste of time.

It sends a clear message about your level of personal organisation.

Rule 6 - Minutes must be taken and distributed for approval.

If the meeting doesn't warrant minutes why are you having the meeting!

The minutes should contain the following information as a minimum;

- Date/Time/Venue of meeting.
- Names of Attendees.
- Names of Absentees.
- Subject/Title of Meeting.
- Minuted items/actions/action owner.

Naming Absentees is a great way of dealing with people who are meant to be contributing to the project meetings but habitually skip them. Irrespective of the level of seniority I have always found this to be an effective and non-confrontational method of altering this errant behaviour. It's amazing what an impact seeing your name in lights on every set of minutes can have!

Rule 7 - Listen.

This needs explanation?

Rule 8 - Participate, ask questions, offer solutions.

If you can't or don't wish to are you sure you need to be there?

Rule 9 - Agree clear action points, assign owners, agree delivery dates.

If action is required make sure it has someone's name against it and a date for completion. It is important that this is done by mutual agreement; in other words, don't assign an action to someone who isn't at the meeting. It's a sure fire way to create resentment and almost certainly won't achieve the desired result.

Rule 10 - If meeting is unproductive, say so. If it is not relevant to you or doesn't improve, leave.

This may be difficult, sometimes impossible but that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider it. If handled diplomatically and without drama, a quiet word in the chairperson's ear at a convenient break in proceedings is more often than not a great way to release yourself to more productive pursuits.

Other things to consider

There are various theories about the optimal size for meeting groups, in my experience the best meetings are limited to a maximum duration of one hour and groups of less than eight. Groups larger than eight should be broken down into smaller working parties. This is not a hard and fast rule and there may be exceptions where extensive travel is required and/or circumstances dictate longer meetings or larger groups, but in general this works for me.

If background information is available and considered to useful for preparation, distribute it in good time before the meeting.

Appoint a facilitator and a scribe.

If the meeting is longer than an hour, take a ten minute break at least every hour.

Provide adequate refreshments.