Art of Project Management (what your PMP certification is not teaching you)

The Artof

Project Management

by Ron Vereggen

Copyright © 2013 - Rapid Success Coaching Inc. - All Rights Reserved

(what your PMP certification is not teaching you)

Welcome

• My thoughts on what it takes to be a great Project Manager

• Based on my 20 plus years of experience involved in business and technical projects

• What your PMP certification is not teaching you

2www.MasteryRocks.com

What Makes An Extraordinary Project Manager?

1. Mindset (aka Attitude)

- The right frame of mind

2. Process

- Identify what needs to get done

3. People

- Influencing others to do the work


Mindset (aka Attitude)

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Your Primary Focus• What value do you provide as a professional Project

Manager?

• As a Project Manager the value you provide must be focused on how you improve the success rate of your projects

• This must be your primary focus

• Ask this question of yourself every day - How am I going to improve the success rate of my project today?

• If you just focus on what your PMP certification tells you - you will just end up documenting your way to project failure


Manage Your Reputation

• Your #1 priority as a Project Manager is to Manage Your Reputation (it’s what makes you valuable)

• Do you have a reputation for delivering value?

• Do you have a reputation for getting things done?

• Do you have a reputation for growing and developing people?

• Do you have a reputation for delivering successful projects?

• Reputation takes a lifetime to build and a minute to lose

• Protect your reputation at all costs


Attitude Is Everything• How important is a positive attitude to your success as

a Project Manager?

• Your attitude is directly related to your effectiveness

• Your attitude is the foundation of your reputation

• A poor or negative attitude will slow you down, limit your effectiveness and stall your career

• A positive attitude will open doors, make things happen and enhance your ability to connect and influence

• What are you doing to improve your attitude?


Do The Right Thing

• Whenever you encounter a problem - do whatever it takes to make it right

• If you make a mistake - take responsibility and make it right

• If someone on your team makes a mistake - take responsibility, give feedback and coach them on how to make it right


Never Make Excuses• You are 110% absolute personally responsible for the success /

failure of your projects

• The success of your project lies in your ability to influence others to take action

• You need to make sure people are clear on what is required of them and when it needs to be completed

• In the real world you need to realize that shit happens.

• When it does, you need to engage people … not blame them

• Understand the problem (for no more than 2 mins), focus on the solution (don't give them the solution - help them come up with it) and hold them accountable for the next action


Be Transparent• When you make a mistake - take responsibility

• If you don't know the answer - say so and find out

• When you forget to do something - tell the truth

• If you don't think you can deliver - provide options and clarify what you would require to make it happen

• When you need help - ask

• It's so must easier to be transparent

• Never lie - your reputation depends on it


Keep Calm Under Pressure

• It's easy to stay calm and collected when things are going well

• The true measure of your skill as a Project Manager is how you behave when the shit hits the fan

• Are you able to control your emotions (so you don't say the wrong thing)?

• Do you step-up and take responsibility to make things right?

• Are you able to lead the team through the stressful situation?

• If you find that your manager steps-in when things are not going well - you need development in this area


Learn To Anticipate• Are you able to anticipate the many roadblocks and

obstacles that inevitably appear and do something about them in advance - well before they become a problem?

• Are you able to hold your entire project (or sections) in your head and notice where problems might occur?

• Are you able to predict the behavior of others? Will they follow through with your request? How will they react?


Know The Details

• You need to know the details

• It's not good when people outside of your project raise concerns before you become aware of them

• It's ok to say … I don't know the answer to that however I will find out and get back to you

• Just don't let that be your default response


Develop Self-confidence

• The level of your self-confidence will determine your overall success as a Project Manager

• Your (lack of) self-confidence acts as a glass ceiling that is preventing you from moving to the next level

• To take on bigger and better projects - you need to improve your self-confidence


Have A Learning Plan

• The Art of Project Management is not about processes, checklists and methodology

• It's more about self-development, influence and strategy - all focused on improving the success rate of your projects

• What’s on your learning plan?


Practice Extreme Self-care

• It takes a huge amount of drive and personal willpower to turn an idea into reality

• As you move through the day there will be many obstacles and roadblocks that require you to use up your personal energy

• It's important that you recharge your personal energy and find ways to reward yourself for the hard work that you do

• See next slide for a list of things that I do to reward myself


Reward Yourself• Take a walk (or other form

of exercise)

• Read a good book

• Enjoy a good meal

• Spend time with family and friends

• Meditate

• Listen to music during the commute

• Write in my Journal

• Talk with my coach

• Take a vacation to recharge

• Take a course / seminar to learn a new skill

• Connect with my mastermind group

• Practice my NLP techniques


Have Fun• One of the things I learned long ago (and that my wife

is quick to remind me when I forget) is that I need to stop taking myself so damn seriously

• It's amazing what can happen when you stop sweating the small stuff and focus on having fun

• The simple act of connecting with people during the first few minutes of a meeting can go a long way with team morale and commitment

• Look for ways to inject fun into your projects - you will be glad you did


Process

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See The Big Picture

• Know what problem you are trying to solve

• What does the client care about most?

• How does your project fit into the bigger picture?

• How important is your project to the organization?


Ask Questions

• Good Project Managers are extremely curious and have a thirst for knowledge

• If you don’t understand what is going on - ask a question

• If something doesn’t seem right to you - ask a question

• If you are not clear on the next action - ask a question

• TIP: Great Project Managers appear to know all the answers because they have learned how to ask the right questions


Do Your Homework

• You need to go deep enough into your project to know the details

• To anticipate the issues, improve quality, do the right thing and to get it right the first time

• Warning - Don't slow your team down by staying in the weeds


Which Methodology?

• Are you aware that there are different project management methodologies?

• The two most common methodologies are classic waterfall and agile

• Do you know which methodology to apply depending on the problem you are trying to solve?

• Most PMs only know classic waterfall - this is like treating every problem as a nail since the only tool you have is a hammer


Don’t Do StupidAbout half the steps in the project development lifecycle (specifically classic waterfall) are a waste of time

For each step I find that either ...

1. Nobody cares / Nobody is watching

2. Nobody cares / Somebody is watching (it only appears on some PMO checklist)

3. Somebody cares / Nobody is watching (unless the shit hits the fan)

4. Somebody cares / Somebody is watching (many downstream processes - production gatekeepers / audit )

I only focus on the last two (numbers 3 and 4) and ignore everything else


Write The Charter• Most Project Managers do a poor job / skip the project charter - big mistake

• Don't let someone else do this

• This is the contract between you and the organization (executive steering committee)

• Determine what project methodology you are going to use and why

• Define what's in-scope and out-of-scope

• Define the resources (people and skill set) that you will need

• Define the schedule / time-line you will deliver in

• Define the overall budget for the project

• Highlight any know risks and constraints

• Include your assumptions that led you to clarify scope / resources / schedule / cost


Change Control

• Your project will evolve

• Trust me when I say that your reputation depends on how well you can explain the history of your project

• Formally document everything that impacts your original Charter

• Anything that changes scope / schedule / cost

• Save internal and external sign-offs (store PDFs)

• Save key emails (store PDFs)

• Use your weekly status report to highlight issues

• Log key decisions in project log


Create A Project Mantra• Examples

- Get It Right The First Time (if there is a history of a high defect rate)

- A Date is a Date is a Date (if there is a history of date slippage)

• Stick with the mantra through the entire project

• Repeat it at every opportunity (you need to say things 7 times for people to hear it once)

• If possible - align the message with what the Leaders within the organization are saying


Your Estimate Sucks• People (and that means you) are not very good at estimating the overall

size of a project

• The reason for this is that you might be using the wrong project methodology to solve a complex problem

• Activities always take longer than anticipated

• Projects end up costing way more than estimated

• Your SWAG (sweet wild-ass guess) is about as good as it gets

• The key to project success is to document your initial SWAG as part of the Project Charter and then document, communicate and have the project executive steering committee review and approve all major changes to scope / schedule / cost

• A good rule of thumb is to do this for anything over 5% of your baseline


Key Project Artifacts(created / maintained / owned by the PM)

• Project Charter (created at start of project)

• Project Schedule (project time-line)

• Project Resources (required resources over time and costs)

• Weekly Status Reports

• Project Status Log (spreadsheet with a tab for each - actions / issues / risks / decisions / changes)

• Project Change Request (document anything that impacts charter)

• Project Budget (watch this like a hawk)


Publish a Weekly Status Report

• You must issue a weekly status report (even if you are not asked to)

• Use Traffic Lights (Green / Yellow / Red) for each Area (overall / scope / schedule / cost / resources)

• Identify key accomplishments

• Status of project changes (anything that impacts your charter)

• Highlight Risks and Issues


Publish a Project Newsletter

• Idea from Seth Godin

• Purpose - To recruit people to your cause

• Great for getting support for internal projects

• Highlight the cool stuff you are working on

• Tell people how you are going to change the world


Master Your 2 Minute Update

• As a Project Manager there are many opportunities that you are given to provide a 2 min update on the overall status of your project

• What accomplishments are you going to highlight?

• What issue are you going to raise?

• What concerns / risks are you going to mention?

• What help are you going to ask for?

• Remember the other rules - Over Communicate / Never Surprise Anyone


Key Project Meetings

Meet with each of these groups regularly …

- Project Leads (daily)

- Project Team (weekly)

- Client (weekly)

- Executive Steering Committee (bi-weekly or monthly)


Own Your Minutes• Don't let someone else write up your meeting minutes

• Remember - whoever writes the minutes owns history

• Distribute the minutes within 24 hours of the meeting

• Capture these items in a project log (use a spreadsheet with multiple tabs)

- Next Actions

- Key Decisions

- Issues (be clear on the 'so what' and highlight the next action)

- Risks (add new risks as you identify them / highlight risks that may become an issue)

- History of changes to Project Charter


Manage Risks• What can go wrong?

• Risk management is about anticipating the common problems in your organization

• Manage key dependencies (what other projects are going to impact you?)

• Factor everything into your project charter

• Your contingency will be used up before you realize


Scope Creep• All those little additions to scope can add up and

will impact your schedule AND your budget

• When you follow the practice of 'Doing The Right Thing' it can AND will add to your scope

• It's your call if and when you need to formally document a change to your original charter

• You need to find the right balance between documenting every little change and letting things spin out of control


Improve The Process

• Great PMs take a hands on approach to learning

• Be curious on the best way to get your project completed

• Learn everything you can by asking great questions

• Make sure you learn from your mistakes so you don’t repeat them over and over

• Help your team improve by tracking lessons learned so they don’t make the same mistake again

• Help the organization get better by sharing lessons learned with your peers


People

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Learn The Landscape• What's the formal org chart?

• Who are the key influencers in the organization (hint - it's different than the formal org chart)?

• Who do people listen to in meetings?

• Who has the most to gain if the project succeeds?

• Who has the most to lose if the project fails?

• How does the work get done? (SDLC, project methodology - waterfall / agile)


Build Your Informal Network

• Work outside the org chart

• Ignore silos

• Develop key relationships

• Help others and they will help you

• Identify the key players (aka rock stars) you will need to make your project a success


Influence Without Authority

• As a PM you are responsible for getting the project done

• People working on your project will rarely report directly to you

• You need to figure out how to engage people to work on their assigned tasks and deliver on time

• This is not easy since every person has different drives, motivations and goals

• You are also competing with other Project Managers for their attention

• You know when it's working when the people on your project get their stuff done on time, raise concerns early and look for ways to help other members of the team


Get Executive Buy-in

• Your project will fail if you don't have executive buy-in

• Establish your Executive Steering Committee

• Make sure you have engagement from key players

• Ask for their help - that's what they are there for


Over Communicate• You can never over communicate

• At a minimum you need to double whatever you are doing now

• You need to say things at least 7 times for people to say they heard it once

• Communication is not 50/50 - if they don't hear it / get it / understand it - it's 100% your fault

• Take every opportunity to speak about your project

• Start every meeting with your key message / project mantra

• Use your 2 min update wisely


Make Your Team Better

• What are you doing to make your team better?

• How are you helping them with their learning plan?

• What is each member of your team working on improving?

• Are you giving both positive and constructive feedback (about 50 / 50 split)?

• How are you leveraging the strengths of each member of your team?

• Have you aligned the goals and desires of each team member with that of your project?


Recruit Rock Stars• Identify the best people for your project

• Remember - you are looking for attitude / passion / enthusiasm along with competence

• Do whatever it takes to recruit them to your project

• Figure out how you can align the success of the project with one of the following ...

- something cool to add to their resume

- able to learn a new skill

- key exposure within the organization

- as a stepping stone to help them move to the next level


Mentor Jr. Rock Stars• Occasionally you will discover Jr. Rock Stars

• A person that has the right attitude / passion / enthusiasm - however may not have the right skill

• I’ve found it to be extremely rewarding when I have invested time and energy to mentor someone that has the right attitude

• I know that I am thankful to all the mentors that I have encountered on my journey that have invested time and energy to provide me with guidance, feedback and coaching - I couldn’t have done it without you


Remove Bad Eggs

• Negative / whining people will bring your project to a halt

• Do whatever you can to remove them from your project

• If you have no choice - highlight it as a risk


Hold People Accountable

Who WhatSteering Committee Changes to Project Charter

Client Identify The ProblemArchitect Define The Solution

Business Analyst Traceability of RequirementsDevelopers Unit Testing / Code Reviews

Testers Test Coverage Production Support Deploy Walkthroughs

Operations Transition to Steady State


Clarify The Next Action

• Most people are working in reactive environments where the most urgent items get attention

• Your role as Project Manager is to ensure everyone on the team is clear on what their next action is and when it's due

• Every interaction should be focused on clarifying the next action

• Every next action must be accompanied by a due date

• Your project log is the place to document all next actions


Follow-up

• Don't assume everybody knows what needs to be completed next

• You need to make enough noise to grab peoples attention so you can get them to work on your project

• You must follow-up with every next action

• Use your project log to track everything


Never Surprise Anyone• This can be one of the hardest things to do

• If you need to - do it one on one - never in meeting / group setting

• Explain the issue / get buy-in from key players prior to meetings

• Surprises should be documented as a project risk (if it's not documented - add it to your project log now)

• Risks turn into issues that impact scope / schedule / costs


Celebrate Success

• Acknowledge when people get it right

• Success is found in the journey - not the destination

• Take time to celebrate the success along the way - both small and large


What’s Next?

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Join Mastery Rocks!

• Mastery Rocks is a LinkedIn group of like minded career professionals

• We are focused on becoming the best of the best - top 5% of our field

• We help each other accelerate our progress toward our personal and professional goals

• We help you create an actual plan, with actionable steps, that will move toward the next level in your career

• Visit www.MasteryRocks.com to learn more


The Best Self-Development Training Available

• Learn a set of self-development tools that enables you to …

1. Increase your level of self-confidence

2. Deal with emotional highjacks and improve your recovery rate

3. Access flow (aka the zone) and other states of peak performance

4. Improve your ability to connect with and influence others

5. Focus your attention and intention on accelerating your success

6. Align your goals with your purpose

• Visit www.NLPCanada.com to learn more


Ron VereggenAs a Senior Project Manager I help companies increase the

success rates of their projects. I specialize in enabling teams within large corporations in the banking industry to

deliver large technology projects / programs.

As a Career Coach I enable IT Professionals to connect with their purpose so that they can do work that matters. I do this by helping you identify what is slowing you down and help you to create an accelerated learning plan that

will move you into the top 5% of your field.

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@vereggen

ca.linkedin.com/in/vereggen/

www.vereggen.com

www.MasteryRocks.com

Art of Project Management (what your PMP certification is not teaching you)

Business

formal org

executive

weekly status

classic waterfall

pmp certication

key players

cares

project managers