It’s not my problem

One of the major challenges of a project manager, or any manager, is determining is who owns the PROBLEM. By default, the PROBLEM is owned by the person with the biggest guilt complex (aka ME)…and not the person who can actually address the PROBLEM. No matter how hard the current PROBLEM owner tries to get others to help resolve the issue, the PROBLEM tends to bounce right back, as if it was attached like a paddleball. The end result: the PROBLEM is not effectively addressed and blame and future problems have a greater tendency to be associated with ME.

Ok, rant over, now some definitions:

• The PROBLEM – anything that went wrong
• ME – the Person who always seems to be working through the teams problems

Without trying to over-define everything, let’s just say that the PROBLEM is something that needs to be corrected, is understood enough to know who it should be assigned to and is of a severity enough that it needs to take priority. Any additional information is…well…nice to know.

An effective process would be:

• Centralizing problem reporting – an excel sheet to some sophisticated bug tracker
• Problem Triage – someone (ME) needs to determine how severe the issue is and WHO the PERSON is that is most associated with it and can resolve it
• Assign (you need authority) to the PERSON
• Follow up and make sure the problem gets attention and resolved

Seems simple, but if you ASSume people understand the process and will voluntarily follow it…well let’s just not ASSume, let’s communicate to the team and to management and let us ASSume that we have the authority to push the PROBLEM to the right PERSON….as difficult as assigning to the right person is, the actual resolution is based on the PERSON’s focus and attention to the PROBLEM. The easiest way I’ve found for this to happen is to send out a daily/weekly report of all active PROBLEMS, who they are assigned to and HOW LONG they’ve been out

standing. Peer pressure and Management pressure can then take it’s course.

Interpersonal communication

Communication, (1) it happens, (2) you can't time travel to change what was done, (3) it isn’t easy and (4) you need to take everything going on into consideration…basically the four principals of interpersonal communication…….let’s discuss It Happens……

We’re always communicating – all of the time. Don’t even consider hiding from anyone, that’s communicating in itself and most likely a message that you did not want to communicate (or perhaps one that you did – but it’s not one you have real control over since you’re not guiding it……right?).

We need to realize that our communication flow is always on, we need to either take ownership of it or let it run wild: our choice, either way we’re responsible for the outcome. Like a mighty river, it can’t be stopped and at best only controlled for a temporary period of time. Let’s take our interpersonal communication lifecycle under s microscope and examine the major stages:

Pre- relationship communication – this is the communication that occurs prior to establishing a firm relationship with another person. From the moment you bump into them to you have a better understanding of each other. A good example is the sending of your resume up to the end of the first interview, how much does the recipient really know of you? And what do you think decides their understanding of you at this stage?

• Your name
• Your writing style
• Your background – shared experiences, similar education…
• What’s on their mind, what have they gone through getting to work, the coffee that just spilled on their desk
• The format of your letter/resume – can they easily read it? Does the butterfly image in the upper right hand corner amuse them? Or distract them?

When communicating to an unknown person, there’s little you can do to control the above ‘feelings’, but the little can go a long way:

• Keep it simple and keep it direct. 
• Don’t assume anything about shared experiences or common terminology. 
• Don’t overwhelm and don’t underwhelm. 
• Make sure you tell the story the way you want the common reader to understand it.

(to be continued)

Grady Booch

If you've never heard of Grady Booch...well, there's a good chance you wouldn't be here......like DeMarco, Yourdon, List and all the other greats - Grady is a Master level, old school, IT genius.....for a more definitive background, check wikipedia (where else would you go): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grady_Booch

I just happened to come across his podcast, the reason for this post - a must listen for all you real IT people out there: http://www.computer.org/portal/web/computingnow/onarchitecture?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=examines+the+triage+process&utm_content=meade.rubenstein%40yahoo.com&utm_campaign=CN+November+17%2C+2010

Also found on iTunes Podcasts......of course

Time Zones

The risks and complexities of Project Management evolve around communication. How do we effectively communicate needs, updates, feedback, priorities, expectations, etc. A new twist to this, really not that new – but one that I’m currently appreciating more, is the way the world works, specifically time zones. Talking across time zones includes talking across cultures……in addition to being on a call before you wake up talking to someone who’s ready to go home, think of all the common understandings that don’t exist. I recently had a review of some quiz functionality being set up, one of the questions was about vegetables….it took a few minutes to realize the foreign word entered was a local, well known, vegetable. If you can’t both understand what the local potato is, what makes you think you can understand anything more complex? On the positive side, I got a quick intro to some local Indian blue looking, squash looking, potato something that is apparently feeding a good portion of the world’s population.

‎"A champion is someone who gets up when he can't." - Jack Dempsey

Maybe, just maybe, project managers need to think of themselves as trainers and corner men (women) for the teams we are working with and the projects we are responsible for. There’s a certain rhythm in the preparation, fight-night and post fight that takes place for all professional fighters. There’s also a certain progression of ability for boxers and supporting staff, all based on prior success – success easily being defined in boxing as the last one standing.

Prior to any boxing event there’s around 12 weeks of intense training and preparation – aka boxing camp. The boxer starts ramping to top condition, the trainer and supporting staff get into the boxer’s skin, understanding abilities, gaps, trigger points, specific needs, etc. The training is the true determinate in the boxer’s ability to win, by the time the boxer enters the ring, he is just executing – utilizing his physical and mental conditioning and skill training from the prior 12 weeks. There’s always a chance for a stray/lucky punch from either side – but those are rare, the outcome is determined by the base ability and the recent training. How much training does a project manager and team have prior to a new project? Typically not much and maybe this is the one area that we need to focus on – REALLY focus on. After all, it’s all about the people – projects don’t get themselves done – right? Maybe we need to go through a few weeks of getting to know each other, setting up communication protocols, processes, tools, etc. before the next major project begins. These activities usually occur during the first few weeks of the project, causing strain, confusion and later on-rework. Sounds like a Boxer’s approach to PM is a good buzz sound bite…anyone up to writing a book?

10 Commandments of Project Management

ONE: You shall have no other goals but Business Success

TWO: You shall not make for yourself anything that is already made and working, not process, not group, not support groups, not teams

THREE: You shall not take the name of the Business in vain, you are the Business and need to represent it well to all

FOUR: Remember to rest and relax and enjoy life

FIVE: Honor your family and your boss

SIX: You shall not indiscriminately fire employees or stop work

SEVEN: You shall not steal resources from other groups

EIGHT: You shall not harm other Business units or Partners

NINE: You shall not falsely report either to enhance yourself or take away from others

TEN: You shall not covet another team you shall not covet another teams clients, nor their team members nor their tools, nor their projects, not anything that belongs to another team

In practice there is

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.
Yogi Berra

If everything being taught about project management was practical and applicable than why are there still so many failed projects? Simple, because there is a difference between theory and practice and that's the one of the major missing lessons. A good project manager adjusts, effectively communicates and always reevaluates. Take your classes, read your books, think your deep thoughts and then bury them inside as you, with an open and honest mind, take in all that is happening around you. PMBOK, Agile, Scrum, Earned Value are all nice buzz words, your real value is being able to apply and adopt that knowledge to improve the situation that you are currently in.