Don't make mistakes more than once!

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Topics: Tools | Lesson learned

Worse, a fool with a tool is a dangerous fool.

Use tools in moderation and only in the appropriate setting. If one does not know why and how something needs to be done the use of a tool is just masking the problem. Actually it is exacerbating the situation.

Tools, such as document templates, computer software, mobile apps to name a few, can cause harm in a variety of ways.

First of all using the wrong tool for a given circumstance can lead to both a waste of time and the wrong results. Using the right tool but without proper knowledge of how to use the tool or the actual purpose of the tool may also lead to a lot of wasted time and the wrong results.

For example there is now ample evidence of how errors in spreadsheets such as in MS-Excel have caused major problems. There is even a special interested group, The European Spreadsheet Risks Interest Group - EuSpRIG -

We have seen quite a few instances where the wrong or inappropriate tool was used and even more situations where the right tool was used in an incompetent way. Massive schedules in MS-Project where a simple task list in a document or simple spreadsheet would have sufficed. Project document templates being filled in without making any adjustments to the contents and layout and by doing so adding complexity that was not needed for that specific project. MS-Project schedules with mistakes such as wrong project start date, mishmash of resources, needless task constraints to name a few.

Therefore two most important questions to ask your self when reaching for a certain tool are:

  1. Is this the right tool given the situation or process I am dealing with?
  2. Am I competent enough to use the tool in an effective and efficient way?
Asnwering these questions honestly, and seeking help if needed - there is nothing wrong with admitting you do not know something - will prevent you from being a fool.
 
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Topics: Lessons learned | Learning | Project closure | Project start-up

Lessons Are Not Learned At the End of a Project

Lessons are not learned at the end of a project but throughout the project and even beyond. A lesson is truly learned when the same, or similar, mistake is not made the next time the same, or similar, situation arrises.
Lessons learned need to be acted upon and actively applied during, after and before each project.
 2013-04-25 08-18-10
The collection (verb AND noun!) of lessons learned is only the begining. There is ample evidence1 that active learning is only fully realized when organizations apply both passive (online repositories, surveys) and active (workshops, brainstorming sessions, mentoring & coaching) forms.
 
Initial lessons learned are the antecendent for further learning throughout the life cycle of your project and are critical to its success.
 
1 Sofia Pemsel, Anna Wiewiora, Project management office a knowledge broker in project-based organisations, International Journal of Project Management, Volume 31, Issue 1, January 2013, Pages 31-42, ISSN 0263-7863

Demand Semantic Discipline in describing Risks

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Topics: Risk management | Risk identification | Language | Communication
The word semantic comes from the Greek word sēmantikós which means "having meaning".
The word discipline comes from the Latin word disciplina meaning "instruction".
Risk Management is an important part of managing projects. Most of us are aware of that and will act accordingly.
The problem however is that when we ask team members and others to come up with a list of risks as part of the risk identification process early on in the project the risk descriptions are all over the place. Some are just impact statements, others are merely a list of mitigation actions and then there are always motherhood statements such "not enough resources"
We have used a very simple remedy for this by adding a few descriptive (active) sentences in our risk registers. 2013-03-29 07-13-14-1
By just adding these three sentences as highlighted above in the risk indentification section we were able to dramaticallly reduce the number of meaningless and incomplete risks.
Try it!
 
Credit where credit is due, we borrowed the term "Semantic Discipline" from a paper titled "Implementation of Opportunity & Risk Management in BAE SYSTEMS Astute Class Limited – A Case Study", presented  at the Fourth European Project Management Conference, PMI Europe 2001, London UK, 6-7 June 2001 by Andrew Moore, Astute Risk Manager & Alec Fearon and Mark Alcock, Astute Risk Team.
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Topics: Learning | Project Management Office | Lessons learned

Project Management Office needs to allign with PM to faciliate learning

Project Management offices come in a lot of forms and sizes. One of the functions a lot of these Project Management Offices pride themselves of providing is facilitating the so called  lessons learned process. There is also definitely a desire and wish among project managers to learn. This section on lessons learned is testament to that.
Recent research1 published in the International Journal of Project Management however sheds an interesting light on this. Not all is well in the lessons learned world of PMO's. There seems to be a tendency for PMO's to focus primarily on the creation and management of explicit knowledge, especially related to technical and procedural knowledge. There was however limited attention for the management of tacit knowledge. In addition the extraction of knowledge/lessons learned is mainly done with the use of boundary objects such as forms, questionnaires and repositories. Boundary encounters, such as workshops, are rarely used!
Add to that a strong desire within project managers to actively share information and it becomes clear the PMO is less effective in supporting the lessons learned process than maybe expected/perceived. The takeaway for this is that the PMO needs to improve its knowledge sharing capabilities, improve its facilitation process and improve its relationship promotion.
 
See als:
 
1
Sofia Pemsel, Anna Wiewiora, Project management office a knowledge broker in project-based organisations, International Journal of Project Management, Volume 31, Issue 1, January 2013, Pages 31-42, ISSN 0263-7863
 
 

The Project Plan is Your New Best Friend

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Project success is, among other things, very much dependent on all the team members knowing what to do. Since it is not possible for the project manager to be constantly holding  her team members hands the best way to keep the team members informed about what needs to be done is an up-to-date plan. The project plan, not to be confused with the project schedule, is a great vehicle to convey to the team members and other stakeholders the intended output of the project, what needs to be done, how and when.
 
All too often have we seen that the project plan gets a lot of attention at the start of the project and then gets forgotten. Keeping the project plan up-to-date has multiple benefits.
First of all it forces you as the project manager to review the currency of the plan and in particular the business case.
Secondly it ensures that the team members have a way of knowing how the project is run and what needs to be done.
 
Having an up-to-date project plan is one of many concurrent means, you as a project manager need to employ, to keep your team and other stakeholders informed.  Finally we like to suggest to review the plan on a regular basis with your teamleads and key team members.
 
This lesson learned is also related to the plans are like food lesson learned.

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