The Project Management Kung Fu Theater Kerry R. Wills, PMP Director The Hartford Financial Services Group.

The Project Management Kung Fu Theater

Kerry R. Wills, PMP

Director

The Hartford Financial Services Group

Objectives

How many people have seen a classic Kung Fu movie?• Project Management resembles these

Objectives• Identify different styles

• Discover new techniques for being effective

• Come away with a different way of thinking

Kung Fu Theater

What are Characteristics of Kung Fu Movies?

•Story

•Superhuman moves

•Words not matching lips

•Different techniques

Just like Project Management

The Styles

DragonMonkey

Snake Crane

Cat

The Styles

Dragon

•Aggressive

•Direct

•Breathes fire

•Fear is a motivator

Crane

•Stick out their necks

•Anything is possible

•Take risks

The Styles

Snake

•Sneaky

•Good talkers

•Doesn’t give out information

The Styles

Monkey

•Gregarious

•Team camaraderie

•Everyone’s friend

The Styles

Cat

•Cautious

•Likes all information

•Reluctant to act quickly

The Styles

When Would You Use Each Style?

•Expectations set, but not met

•Work not done

•Early in project•Experienced team

The Styles

Use Don’t Use

Use Don’t Use

•Creative projects•Deadlines not critical

•Schedule constraints•Big implications

The Styles

When Would You Use Each Style?

Use Don’t Use

•Minor problems •Big problems•Early in project

The Styles

When Would You Use Each Style?

Use Don’t Use

•Early in project•Stress reliever

•Problems that require addressing

The Styles

When Would You Use Each Style?

Use Don’t Use

•Need to consider big implications

•Minor decisions•Info not available

The Styles

When Would You Use Each Style?

The Styles

What other styles can you think of?

•The Drunken Monkey

•The Chameleon

Practice and Discipline

•Discipline is critical to success

•The 36 Chambers

•Practice is necessary to attain mastery

•Frameworks

•Can’t learn from a Kung Fu book•You want to take some punches•Experience is the best teacher

36 Chambers

Understand of all aspects of a project1. Scoping – Business case writing2. Scoping – CBA creation3. Scoping – Estimation4. Scoping – Resource Planning5. Scoping – Product/Vendor Analysis6. Req – Business Process Redesign7. Req – Use Case writing8. Req – UML Diagrams9. Req – Rules mining10.Req – Context Diagramming11.Des – Designing systems12.Des – Logical Data Modeling13.Des – Test Planning14.Des – Usability Testing15.Des – Infrastructure planning16.Des – Organizational Impact Analysis17.Build – Coding18.Build – Unit Testing

19. Build – Assembly Testing20. Build – Test Script Writing21. Build – Implementation Planning22. Test – System Testing23. Test – Regression Testing24. Implement – Release Management25. Management – Project planning26. Management – Budget tracking/analysis27. Management – Executive presentations28. Management – Conflict resolution29. Management – Meeting facilitation30. Management – Team empowerment31. Management – Vendor management32. Management – Risk management33. Management – Issue management34. Management – Change Management35. Management – Resource Coordination36. Management – Communication

Unexpected Punches

There will always be unexpected punches

•The master always took a beating first

•Experience and training will prepare you

•You know some will land

•Risk Management

Breaking Boards

Who knows how to break boards?

• Aim for six inches beyond the target

• You still need to hit the target

• Focus on the short term and long term goals

Five Deadly Venoms

1. Not having proper sponsorship

“5 Deadly Venoms” of Projects

2. No process rigor

3. Not taking ownership

4. Wrong match of people

5. Not empowering the team

Voice-Overs

Words don’t always match lips

The project is going well Original Voice-Over

The project has problems

The project is in trouble

The project will never work

The team is looking on Monster.com

The project is going great

The project is going great

The project is going great

The project has some risks

We have some potential show stoppers

We pray that we can do it We have a plan

Summary

•Use the techniques when appropriate

•There will still be some kicks

•Continue to work on practice and discipline

•PMs are Super-human warriors

•Watch for the venoms

•Make sure your words match your lips

Keep the cauldrons warm

Kerry R. Wills, [email protected]

1-860-547-5268

Contact Information