PMcrunch

Oftentimes, less experienced project managers and project teams wallow in uncertainty and lack of direction due to the lack of proper project management documentation. I have seen situations where there are lots of desperate sources of documentation but the specific project at hand is not well enough to find.

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Managing large projects and programs is challenging and most agree that one of the best approaches is to break large projects and programs down into smaller readily manageable projects.

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On so many projects we assemble all the tasks and then assign them to the appropriate individuals. However, I have found that as an alternative we need to consider assigning some tasks to a small team of people. This may sound inefficient but I think it is essential, especially in certain environments and on certain types of tasks.

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Project management in one sense can be a pretty dry field. While it can be exciting professionally and emotionally, it also can be relatively mechanical in many ways and to many people. However, as I think about it, most things are actually that way. Most things can get to be ho-hum and humdrum. The difference I find is when we decide to do things with style. We add some class to our actions and become a different kind of project manager. Let me give you my thoughts.

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Loyalty has always been a big topic in organizations of all types. Back in the middle ages, kings spoke of their loyal subjects and gave severe penalties to those who were not loyal. For many years, in the post-World War II era, people were rewarded for loyal service with lifetime employment. However, in today’s fast-paced world the question in my mind is “What are the limits of loyalty?”

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Organizations of all sizes have been taking a much closer look at their project portfolios in these tough times. One of the bigger questions is “where does innovation fit in in the portfolio?” There are some interesting ideas around this and organizations must reckon with the fact that decisions about innovation could very well set the stage for the future of the company. At the same time, we must reckon with the fact that, in order to reach a future, we must be financially sound through the crisis. I have been thinking a bit about the relationship between innovation and portfolio management in tough times.

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Most of the focus of individuals in the project management profession is on improving their own ability and that of others to execute well on projects. Typically, we are able to measure our progress in that regard by measuring performance and results on these projects. There is a process called “projectization” that refers to the general capability of people and organizations at large to manage projects effectively and predictably. Let’s take a look at how this is done at an organizational level.

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After someone has been managing projects for some time and has achieved certification, he or she will feel more than comfortable with the basics. The big question is how can more experienced project management professionals continue to advance in skill and maturity by leveraging training. Let’s explore.

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In these tight times, we are acutely aware of cutbacks, of scarcity, and of the need to streamline. However, really, these are indicative of management practices that should be occurring all the time. In portfolio management, especially, it is important to have a healthy balance between short term considerations and long term considerations. It is all a balancing act and the equation really only changes slightly during a downturn, such as we are currently experiencing.

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On your project teams over time, there surely have been “pivotal performances”. Just like in a basketball game there was something that the winning team did throughout the game, that proved to be pivotal to the outcome of that game. There are things that each team member, and the team as a whole does throughout a project, that are pivotal to the projects success. The question is, how do you find those things, and how do you get your project team to turn in pivotal performances, routinely.

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