Cut to the Chase — Keep Your Project Objective in Focus
By Karen McIsaac, PMP
What happens when you walk into a conference room and see reams of paper covering the walls with project graphs and charts? In many cases, you can safely assume more time is being spent on generating those graphs and charts than on driving an initiative forward…and this project may be faltering. This was the scenario when I was interviewing to manage a project that had an unmovable year-end deadline. It was late August and the project was in distress.

The project manager with the wall charts was not relating to his team, was not working with his supporting partners and was not focused on the milestones ahead as well as the end goal.

In my experience, countless graphs and charts have been good indicators that a project is faltering and that more focus is being placed on the methodology rather than the objective. We are all asked to make presentations, participate in unrelated meetings, complete forms and checklists, etc. that may not have any direct impact on the progress of your project. There is no denying that one must do them, but what is most important is that we ensure that these activities do not distract us from delivering our projects. Staying focused on the goal is what drives the team to getting there.

Putting Methodologies in Perspective

As a project manager, you should not only envision the end goal, but how to get there. The “how to get there” is usually defined by the methodology and project management practices. Project managers must understand how to best utilize both the methodology and project management practices to reach the end goal with speed (a sense of urgency), without risk to quality and project success and with the development of a cohesive and supportive team.

Methodologies are the “road maps” that we use to identify how we get to a destination or the end result. Most methodologies consist of steps, phases and life cycles with associated deliverables, and the practice of project management governs how to apply these methodologies.

I am not questioning any organization’s methodology because without them we would have no road map and would be unable to determine both project status and projections. What I am questioning, and would like you to consider, is how we use or in some cases misuse our designated methodologies. Just like the road map mentioned above, the methodology should be used to guide us to our destination – note the word “guide” as in guideline.

The methodology should help you to think about the checkpoints along the way. Just think of how you use an actual road map as a tool to plan a trip. For example, for a long trip (just like a project), you make plans as to where you will stop, refuel, check your schedule and check your budget.
The road map also helps you think about the planned contingencies like construction, accidents, detours, etc. The planning will come with known assumptions such as fuel, food and lodging and also with identified constraints like the fact that where you are traveling is expensive and your expenses will be greater than at your departure location.

Be Flexible and Weigh the Alternatives

The identification of these checkpoints, contingencies and known assumptions are meant to make the path to your destination more manageable, but this does not mean that you should let the fixed routes (i.e., existing road systems) dictate this path.

While implementing a project many people view methodologies as inflexible, yet this is not always the case. Just like looking at a road map suggests that there are optional routes, methodologies often provide the same flexibility, such as removing/combining project phases, tools, etc. However, be sure to evaluate the risks of such options because these alternative uses of methodologies may infer risk-taking. Understanding the risk versus reward is paramount.

Depending on the size, scope, complexity and timeline of a project, a project manager may have the opportunity to combine the steps/phases of a methodology, but understanding, documenting and seeking approval of the risks incurred by doing this is extremely important to your project’s success. Remember, shortcuts that jeopardize project success should never be taken and combining the appropriate steps should not be perceived as a shortcut, but it may shorten the timeline.

When a project manager sees the opportunity to combine steps/phases, an assessment of risk needs to be conducted that identifies the impact of the risk and where it can be mitigated, avoided or accepted. Project managers should also make the recommendation to the project sponsor regarding where steps/phases can be combined to support both a more accelerated timeline and a quality deliverable.

Two Examples

Now let’s look at two examples that may be helpful in understanding where combining methodology steps/phases and deliverables may or may not be appropriate.

In the first scenario, your task is to develop and deliver training, where:

- There is no technology involved.
- There is no cross-functional area impact.
- It is a small initiative in terms of resources, scope and person-hour estimates.
- Audience and rollout is limited and training is not a critical component of a dependent project.
In this instance, the risks associated with combining the steps/phases of the methodology are minimal. You can potentially combine high-  and low-level design, build the materials, focus group test it and deliver while limiting the tollgate checkpoints and approval steps.

Now let’s say you have another task to develop and deliver training, where:

- There is a major dependency on technology being developed to deliver the project.
- There is significant cross-functional area impacts including multiple business areas each with unique training needs.
- It is a large initiative that is critical to the success of the project (that is, everyone must be trained, tested and ready prior to deployment of project ).
- Audience is large.

In this case, there are too many risks associated with any combining of steps/phases and you could potentially jeopardize the deliverable. The tollgates, checkpoints and approvals are all critical in this instance to ensure completeness and quality.

These scenarios suggest that combining steps/phases of a methodology may or may not be appropriate, but you should always remember to stay focused on the end result. You must envision not only the project goal, but the best method for getting there.

About the Author
Karen McIsaac, PMP, is an expert in organizing, planning and executing large program/project initiatives. She has over 20 years of experience in delivering large business-driven initiatives with significant business, cultural and technological impact. Karen has assisted the firm’s clients create success stories through achievement of project-related business objectives and management of the associated change. She can be reached at kmcisaac@projectmgrs.com.

Project Managers, Inc., founded in 1998, specializes in the implementation of business-driven initiatives that transform Fortune 1000 organizations. As implementation professionals, we deliver on time and within budget to all of our clients thus forwarding their business and maintaining their trust.