DPM UK: Stealing Project Management Lessons from Artificial Intelligence

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

STEALING PM LESSONS FROM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

DPM:UK

Manchester, Jan 2015


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Artificial Intelligence

Project Management

MY RESEARCH



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TRADITIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFTEN SEEMS OF

THE OPINION THAT THE PROCESS IS SOUND AND ADHERENCE IS THE PROBLEM



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ROBOTS/AGENTS HAVE NO PROBLEMS BEING PATIENT, LOGICAL OR RATIONAL, AND CAN WORK 24/7/365…

… BUT IT STILL DIDN’T WORK




1) AUTONOMY (AGENTS)

2) MASTERY (MACHINE LEARNING)

3) RE-CREATION (MACHINE INTELLIGENCE)


1) FIRST LET’S LOOK AT AUTONOMY AND AGENTS




ENABLING AGENTS TO MAKE DECISIONS AND ACT INDEPENDENTLY

BUT ALWAYS TOWARDS A COMMON

GOAL LEADS TO COMPLEX, SUCCESSFUL ACTION



FOCUS ON THE WHY (THE GOAL) AND ENABLE THE WHAT AND THE HOW TO BE DEFINED BY THOSE DOING THE WORK, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE


THIS IS WHY I LOVE USER STORIES

As a <type of user>,

I want to <do something>,

So that <some value is created>.

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CLUE / SKILLS MATRIX



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HUMAN SKILL DEVELOPMENT


2) HOW DO MACHINES LEARN?

MASTERY & MACHINE INTELLIGENCE



MACHINE LEARNING IS FASCINATING

• Supervised (teacher-student model)

• Unsupervised (learn-from-data model)

• Reinforcement (learn-by-doing model)

• Developmental (learn-enough-to-set-

up-more-learning-for-yourself model)





WE’RE GOOD AT WHAT WE PRACTISE, PROVIDING WE CAN LEARN FROM IT


DELIBERATE PRACTICE• You must be motivated to attend to the task and

exert effort to improve your performance.

• The design of the task should take into account your pre-existing knowledge so that the task can be correctly understood after a brief period of instruction.

• You should receive immediate informative feedbackand knowledge of results of your performance.

• You should repeatedly perform the same or similar tasks.


MODELS OF DELIBERATE PRACTICE

• Sports Model – analogous to conditioning

• Chess Model – what did the grand master do?

• Music Model – chunking & mental rehearsal


IS THE WORK DESIGNED IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE DELIBERATE PRACTICE?


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AS AN ASIDE…

DO RETROSPECTIVES DURING PROJECTS RATHER THAN POST

MORTEMS AFTER

FOR A POST MORTEM, FIRST SOMETHING HAS TO DIE


3) RE-CREATION (MACHINE INTELLIGENCE)






MACHINES ARE LIMITED.

SO ARE PEOPLE, WHEN WE TREAT THEM LIKE MACHINES.


WE ALL HATE BAD BOSSES

WE DESCRIBE THEM AS

• Clueless

• Empty suits

• Pointless

• Seagulls



Across industries, across countries, the best performing teams

answer certain questions positively


Predictors of High Performance1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?

2. Do I have the materials & equipment I need to do my work right?

3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?

4. In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?

5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who cares about my development?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important?

9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

10. Do I have a best friend at work?

11. In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my development?

12. At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?



UNDERSTAND MOTIVATION

• Purpose

• Autonomy

• Mastery


MOTIVATION =

+ PURPOSE (Do I believe in WHY?)

+ AUTONOMY (Do I get a say in WHAT?)

+ MASTERY (Am I proud of HOW?)

- ANY NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT DETRACT


Predictors of High Performance (remix)

PURPOSE

• Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important?

AUTONOMY

• Do I know what is expected of me at work?

• At work, do my opinions seem to count?

MASTERY

• Do I have the materials & equipment I need to do my work right?

• At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?

• Is there someone at work who cares about my development?

• Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

• In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my development?

• At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?


And What Else?

OTHER FACTORS:

• In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?

• Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

• Do I have a best friend at work?

ESSENTIALLY, AM I RESPECTED & REWARDED HERE?

CAN I BE MYSELF AND SUCCEED HERE?

I CALL THIS INCLUSION.


The Most Important Question

Best predictor of recruitment AND retention?

Someone’s ability to agree with:

“Someone like me can be successful here”


CREATE SPACE FOR YOUR TEAM TO BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE

Your job as a project manager…


As a PM, Ask Yourself

• Do my team know WHY we are doing this?

• Do my team get a say in the WHAT? In doing the right thing?

• Do my team get opportunities to do the thing right? And to get better at the HOW?

• Do we do a good job of making all our different people feel included & like they BELONG HERE?

(PURPOSE)

(AUTONOMY)

(MASTERY)

(INCLUSION)


EVERY ROLE IS

CAPABLE OF VIRTUOSITY


SPACE TO BE AWESOME =

+ PURPOSE (Do I believe in WHY?)

+ AUTONOMY (Do I get a say in WHAT?)

+ MASTERY (Am I proud of HOW?)

+ INCLUSION (Do I BELONG HERE?)

- ANY NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT DETRACT


TO RECAP: KEY LESSONS WE CAN STEAL FROM AI AND USE IN PM


KEY LESSONS

1. Autonomy matters (because change happens)

2. Communicate purpose & goals (why & what)

3. Let individuals define the how (bonus: motivation!)

4. Help design work as deliberate practice

5. Help teams assess & improve as they go (retros> post mortems)

6. Awesome = purpose + autonomy + mastery + inclusion


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YOU CAN’T HOLD BACK THE OCEAN, BUT YOU CAN LEARN TO SURF


DPM UK: Stealing Project Management Lessons from Artificial Intelligence

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