Study material on Project Mangement
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62. In situations in which information is incomplete and changing frequently, and when you have to proceed quickly, your objective is to reduce uncertainty by learning as soon as possible about the obstacles that lie ahead (see Principle Two). In these situations, accelerated speed comes mainly from learning faster, not from working faster.
63. When information or knowledge concerning “how to do” is incomplete, early involvement of downstream representatives in upstream planning is the best way to acquire the missing information. By bringing the people in who can ask the right questions early enough, quick learning is accomplished.
64. To compete better in a relay race, the next runner is warmed up and actually starts running before the baton is handed off. In addition to quick learning, early involvement of downstream representatives in upstream planning ensures that when the time comes for responsibility to be passed, there is no stop-and-start because the leadership of the downstream phase is already up to full speed.
65. Overlapping project phases is vital in order to accelerate speed. This step can be applied easily when phases are independent of one another. Very often, however, phases are highly dependent on each other, and overlapping without maintaining essential conditions can be very costly. Since completing tasks too early may bring about a need to redo them, overlapping without maintaining essential conditions may even add time to the project.
66. The most crucial steps for effective overlap of project phases are maintaining flexibility of plans and behavior, and employing frequent two-way communication between the overlapping phases. You can achieve flexibility of the plans by enhancing their ability to absorb changes (Principle Three). You can enable flexibility of behavior by establishing an autonomous leadership (Principle Four) and a collaborative orientation (Principle Five).
67. Compressing schedules by overlapping engineering and production requires breaking engineering work down into small increments, adjusted to production schedule. To maintain smooth progress, engineering must be flexible and cater to production needs. At the same time, however, production must be willing to shape its demands according to engineering constraints, in particular to its lack of information. This mutual adjustment can be maintained by continuous coordination and frequent two-way communication between engineering and production
68. In cases of extremely high speed, it is necessary to overlap phases to a greater extent. Small batches of intermediate output must be transferred from one phase to another, thus creating a situation in which there is a continuous flow of transfer of bits of work from one phase to the other. In this mode of work, it is impossible for upper management to conduct formal reviews at the end of each phase. Review is accomplished in real time by the project team, which should be granted substantial autonomy.
69. Even when projects are launched with high certainty, extreme speed in and of itself causes high uncertainty. Highly accelerated projects that are planned like a football game and rehearsed like a symphony orchestra, quickly turn into a basketball game with its spontaneous moves, and ultimately deteriorate into improvised jazz. Principle Seven: Simple Procedures
70. Standard project procedures prevent reinventing the wheel, they save time and energy, and they contribute significantly to the parties’ ability to maintain tight cooperation efficiently, even in the face of uncertainty. They also provide a common vocabulary and avoid ambiguity, and help establish internal stability.
71. Standard project procedures also serve as the organizational retention system, where the accumulated organizational knowledge about project management methodology and systems is stored, for purposes of formal and on- the-job training and continuous organizational learning.
72. Employ standard project procedures, not for top-down control, but rather for lateral cooperation, within and among the various project teams.
73. Employ standard procedures that are simply presented in quick and easy-to- understand form, and that are easy to implement.
74. Simple procedures do not attempt to address all possible situations. To deal with less-common situations, the project manager is expected to modify the standard project procedures or even develop ad hoc procedures. “Standard and flexible procedures” is an oxymoron. Knowing when and how to modify the standard procedures is one of the hallmarks of experienced project managers. Through years of experience, of successes and failures, they have acquired an ability to diagnose the situation properly and to fit the procedures to the project context.
75. Success stories that underscore the need for flexibility and that present examples of flexible behavior may complement standard project procedures. Use stories as inspirational training tools, and to foster organizational identity and values, as well as organizational learning.
76. Bureaucracy and speed do not mix. In cases of extremely high speed, you should eliminate bureaucracy whenever possible. You should form a small team, adopt very simple and informal working procedures, and reduce documentation requirements. Principle Eight: Intensive Communication
77. Pay great attention to fitting the intensity and mode of communication to the situation.
78. High interdependence between functional groups, coupled with uncertainty and speed, will require more frequent sharing of large volumes of information.
79. The value of information is directly related to timeliness. It is more important to have partial but timely information than to have it complete but late. Likewise, it is more important to have approximate but timely data, than to have precise, processed and detailed data later.
80. How well you communicate is determined by how well you are understood, not by how well you express yourself.
81. Modern electronic communication devices are no substitute for human contact, especially in situations of uncertainty and speed. The structure of face-to-face interaction offers an unusual capacity for interruption, repair, feedback, and learning. 11 This instantaneous two-way feedback, which enables immediate correction and interpretation, is essential to avoid misunderstandings.
82. People who work together, but distant from each other, need face-to-face, rapport-building opportunities to lay a foundation for all the communication that will follow. Once you have established the required trust and openness among team members, then you can make extensive use of modern information technologies.
83. The degree to which communication is formal or informal correlates to a great extent with the phase of the project. During the earliest planning phases, communication modes are primarily informal. By contrast, during the latter phases of theproject more communication is carried out through formal plans, reports, and standard forms.
84. Yet, since uncertainty and change in most projects do not subside, even toward the end of start-up, face-to-face meetings should be carried out throughout the project life. Principle Nine: Systematic Monitoring
85. The need to monitor project performance systematically is based upon the homegrown truth that identifying a small problem is difficult; correcting it is easy. Identifying a big problem is easy; correcting it is difficult.
86. In a dynamic environment you must simultaneously monitor the validity of the objectives, the achievement of the objectives (effectiveness), and the utilization of the means (efficiency).
87. In unsuccessful projects there’s never enough time to do it right, but there’s always time to do it over. 88. Management systems can’t control projects. Only people can, helped by management systems. A management control system that does not lead to decisions and actions is a total waste.
89. Only team members who are directly responsible for project implementation can control projects. Staff specialists cannot control them.
90. Only what is yet to come can be controlled. Last week’s performance is relevant to the project team only when knowledge of it helps them decide how to do next week’s work better. Analysis of the gap between planned and actual performance is justified only in cases where the future is similar to the past. Such is rare in today’s projects.
91. More paperwork does not ensure greater information reliability or accuracy -- it only adds to the non-value-added cost. It only seems that adding more measurement and reporting means better control. The illusion of control may partially explain an obsession with control.
92. Excessive control through an elaborate administrative information system often “encourages” employees to systematically distort the data or to develop aberrant practices. If you distrust your employees, they will not disappoint you. Their behavior will prove you right. The vicious cycle never ends. As employees suppress critical information for fear of management reprisal, they provoke even greater management suspicion and scrutiny.
93. Successful teams know that effective project control does not result from reviewing and analyzing performance reports. Since the maximum potential for influencing project outcomes occurs early in planning, successful teams control their projects primarily by carrying out effective front-end planning.
94. Managers who maintain a stationary position are forced to make complex judgments with incomplete cues. They have no choice but to imagine the environment and rely on inferential processes, while their senses may play tricks on them and generate unsound conclusions. Great amounts of formal information create information overload, but do not ensure understanding. Can you imagine basketball coaches remaining in the locker room, trying to guide their teams without watching the game? Even if the game’s statistics were conveyed on-line, using the most advanced information technology, without actually seeing the game the coaches’ understanding of what’s going on would be minimal.
95. Master project managers control the project by employing formal Performance reports and by moving about.
96. moving about contributes not only to the “understanding” component of Control, but also to the “influencing” component. Management-by-walking-around Allows project leaders a natural, subtle, and timely influence on project activities. It also motivates team members.
97. When uncertainty is low, control is best implemented by measuring performance and then by taking corrective steps to adjust performance to the plan. As project uncertainty increases, control is less of a “governor” of execution (ensuring that implementation conforms to plans), and more of a data collection function for continuous planning.
98. In uncertain conditions, “control” should systematically provide feedback for Planning, and thus its emphasis should be on looking ahead with anticipation rather than looking back with justification. That is, in uncertain conditions the main Question should not be: “Why didn’t your performance yesterday conform to the Original plan?” Rather, it should be: “What kind of feedback can help you learn Faster and perform better tomorrow?”
99. When uncertainty is outstandingly high, the best way to control the project is through the staffing process. By selecting adaptable and responsive people, you can cope with conditions in which classical planning and control have little meaning.
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