Category: Project Manager

The Dark Cloud of Too Many Late Projects

Our project managers know we want to finish projects on time. Every time. And, with the scope and quality expected by our customers. But, there are still some projects managers who think this isn’t their primary objective. I’m about to set them straight.

Tom Berenson is a tall, lanky man with short hair and black, plastic frame glasses. He lumbers into my office and takes are seat as if he’s about to sit on a basket of eggs. Tom has three projects to manage and all are at risk of being delivered late. His slack face and undisturbed demeanor pervades the room with a sweet hint of molasses.

“Good morning Tom,” I say, “Good work getting the final installations done on the Pittsburgh project. How’s the rest of the project coming along?”

I know exactly what task is holding up this project, but I’m trying to establish rapport. Tom needs to know he’s on solid ground with me. He has four kids and a wife to support after all.

Tom says, “The permits from the local telecommunications company aren’t back yet. I’ve called them to find out where they are, but all I get is voice mail. The network guys we are promised by the customer haven’s been available either. In the meantime, I have our networking guys busy on the two other projects I’m working on.”

Tom is doing good work. I’ll give him that. The work that’s getting done that is. The customer hasn’t complained about anything we could consider a quality issue. And, I have no issues with his budget, but since he’s behind that’s not a good measure of performance.

But, Tom was part of the planning process and provided input to the project’s tasks and the estimated durations. My problem is that the projects are projected to finish late and the work planned is taking longer than we expected.

At some point, sacrifices will have to be made if Tom wants to finish his projects on time. These sacrifices are going to be in the areas of going over budget or cutting the scope of the work somehow. How these things might happen is anyone’s guess. Or, Tom can continue to do good work and stays within budget and /or delivers the full scope expected, there is a high probability the project will be late.

Around here, I’ve stressed what it is to be a good project manager. It means doing quality project management work––stay within budget, deliver the full scope and to finish projects on time. I don’t see how Tom is going to do these things. Knowing Tom like I do, he is willing to sacrifice due date performance while meeting the budget and delivering the full scope.

I wanted to be a clear as possible with Tom, so I said in a flat, firm tone in my voice, “To be perceived as reliable around here, you must finish projects on time. It’s because on-time performance is one of our key metrics. We value being trusted, dependable, accurate, and honest. And, important parameters like scope and budget are intertwined with time. They must also be satisfied. I don’t think the Pittsburg project is going to help us meet any of these objectives.”

He nodded.

Then he said, “I agree. I’m trying to do a good job, and believe me, meeting the due dates is always on my mind. But, there wasn’t enough time to do a proper plan.”

I said, “A proper plan is one in which the customer agrees with. How did that meeting go?”

Tom said, “We never had a formal kick-off meeting. They dictated a due date to us and I’m trying my best to meet it.”

There it is. When you are not getting the effects you want, look at the chain of events leading up to the effects you are looking for. Tom has skipped an important step in the process and not confronted the customer with the proposed plan.

His best wasn’t good enough, but I continued trying to understand his side of the problem. I said, “So, the customer never reviewed the tasks within the project. They don’t know who was assigned to the work. And, they don’t know how long the software predicted the project would take?”

“That’s right, said Tom, “We couldn’t wait around for them forever, so we got started and so did they. And, when we ask for the resources they promised to provide to this project, they aren’t available when we need them. The work these resources do for their own company always seems to take priority.”

“Getting commitment from project resources when needed is difficult under those conditions,” I said.

Tom said, “I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I’ll miss the due date if I continue on like this. I’ll get the project done, but the budget will suffer. Or, I can find a way to speed things up by working some overtime or bringing in some help from one of our contractors.”

I said, “But, that will drive our costs up, too. And, I don’t see an easy way out either except…” I hesitated and didn’t want to say what I was thinking. Would Tom say it for me? We stared at each other. Each waiting on the other to speak.

Tom said, “The project due date is the date the customer wants. Since we didn’t have a formal kick-off they don’t understand what it’s going to take to complete the project that they want. I’m sure they asked for all the equipment and system for a reason. And, the benefits their system will bring are what they are interested in.”

I nodded.

He said, “What if I go back to the customer with a proposed re-plan of their project that shows the date we can get all the work done without going over budget. It will have a new due date, if they agree to it then it will be a date which will be easier to meet.”

I said, “That’s what I was hoping you would say. That’s our only shot at satisfying all our objectives. You can also include in the meeting the fact that the issues they were supposed to solve during testing took twice as long as they expected. That should give you more bargaining power.”

Tom bent over, pressed his hands to his knees and stood up. He looked at me and said, “I’ll take care of it. The current due date looks a bit arbitrary to me anyway, so there’s a good chance we can get a new date. I don’t want to be the one who drags our due date performance down.”

He spun on his heals far more gracefully than someone with such a tall frame. He didn’t have to duck his head as he left my office, but a few strands of hair brushed the door frame anyway.
Late

How to Professionally Prepare for a Project Network Building Session

Jim Reynolds sat at his spartan desk. A solid grey number he picked up himself from a local thrift store. His shoulders hunched and his head bent over a blank piece of paper. Pen in hand. A wood file cabinet stained dark stood next to him like a roman centurion guard. A faded map of the world was on the wall behind him.

There was a gleaming trophy and a picture of Jim with his softball team smiling for the camera. Jim had been 100 pounds heavier in that picture. Over the past few years, he had started exercising and eating right. Today, his shoulders were broad. His head was full of grey hair framing a face of someone 10 years younger.

I walked in and sat in my project manager’s only guest chair and asked, “Good morning, Jim, what are you working on?” I glanced over at the trophy and at the old Jim.

Preparing for the Project Network Building Session

He said as he looked up, “I’m working out what I need to do to prepare for my next project network building session. I’ve noticed that we all have a different way of leading these meetings and I wanted to find the least effective dose.”

The least effective dose is medical slang. To get the greatest possible effect, the doctor injects the patient with the least effective dose of medication. Many times the medication can be poisonous, but up to a point, the poison can be tolerated by the body and kills off the virus being treated.

I said, “Good idea, this has been on my to-do list for a while, too. Do you mind sharing what you come up with?”

Jim said, “Of course, I should have something to you this afternoon. The only other thing I need to do this morning is look over my portfolio dashboard and see who needs help. As you know most projects are moving along so well it shouldn’t take me too long.”

The project network building sessions are where two project management worlds collide. Ours and the customers. The potential polite, but never the less, explosive situations between our two companies are things we want to avoid. So, we want to be very careful to plan how we get agreement on the problems which face both of our organizations before doing anything else. It may be a strange way to start a meeting, but it’s vital we build trust before continuing on to the more contentious ways we are working these days.

The Pre-meeting and Meeting Details

As I left his office, I saw Jim start to write. I know Jim needs to put pen to paper to get his thoughts straight. His handwriting is atrocious, but as long as he can read his scribbles, that’s not my problem.

Meanwhile, Jim read over the details he had about the meeting so far:

The starting point is scheduling the project network building session. DONE. He had sent out the invite to the customer’s project manager and to his team the first thing this morning.

Since this project was with a new customer, a pre-meeting was planned with their project manager. We’ll go over the agenda and make them aware of the few, key differences in our CCPM approach. Review our poor history of project performance and the significant consequences of poor performance first.

Before this first customer meeting, add my own introduction, agenda and objectives. The same content will be used to kick-off the network building session itself.

Any mis-understandings or concerns need to be cleared up ahead of time. But, the most important reasons for the customer pre-meeting was to create a sense of confidence. Trust. Not in my abilities to lead our project, but to instill some confidence in them, too. CCPM flies in the face of some commonly held beliefs about how project are planned and executed. And, it doesn’t do anyone any good if their project manager looks ignorant about them in front of their own people.

Unique CCPM Items

The few, unique CCPM items to cover in the initial customer meeting are:

    • How task durations are established.
    • The focus on scheduling the known work. Not scheduling the “what if’s”, unsubstantiated predictions or items with a low probability of happening.
    • The focus on finishing the project on time, not focusing on finishing each task on time.
    • The project buffer and the “insurance model” as an example for dealing with uncertainty throughout the life of the project.
    • The level of task details and the ability to added as much detail as desired with the task description notes, custom or activities fields.
    • The definition of a task––A task of a project is defined as a group of activities whose completion enables ANOTHER resource to start doing their work.
    • The process of building the network from the objective back, from right to left, to the beginning of the project.
    • Defining the one objective and expected benefits the project is intended to deliver.

Stakeholder Elements

Next, I’ll request and review the few elements we need before any project planning session (the stakeholder analysis elements). These elements items are the:

    • Scope, goal(s), and key milestones
    • Internal and external customers
    • Tangible deliverables
    • Major items needed as inputs
    • Technical, schedule and budget risks

Software Set-up Elements

The project management software also needs a few pieces of data before the network building session. I’ll plan on getting these things during the initial customer meeting. They are:

    • The customer’s holiday schedule
    • Project naming conventions
    • The project manager and their email address
    • Who their task managers are and their email addresses
    • Who their resource managers are and their email addresses
    • The days of the week they work and which day their work week starts
    • Request an initial list of resource types (skills) needed and quantity of each available for the project.
    • Request an initial list of users who only need access to view the project’s performance indicators.

Then, I’ll set up the software with the above data before the network building session.

Meeting Room Set-up

Arrive ahead of the network building session and make sure:

    • The room is set-up
    • The large video screens work
    • I can connect my PC to the screens
    • To dial in to the conference call, call a colleague and check the volume
    • There is enough work space for the expected project team members

Kick-off Meeting Agenda

Start the kick-off the network building session with the following:

    • Welcome and introductions
    • Inventing the future speech
    • Combination of skills and knowledge which will get us there
    • The project performance issues we encountered in the past, the significant ramifications of poor project performance, and the things we have done to avoid them in the future

After that, review the four phases of network building, e.g., build network, add all task success criteria, add resource type and durations, and optimize.

    • Network building / Naming Projects (what is a project)
    • Select the Project Manager––A Project Manager has the responsibility for all aspects of the planning, scheduling and execution phases.
    • Schedule the known, leave the unknown to the buffer.
      Planning “What must be finished immediately before this task (on the right) can start?”
    • Dependencies must be true dependencies, using the word “MUST”, i.e., this task must finish before starting the next one.
    • Repeat until you have reached a task that could be started today.
    • Add success or exit criteria to each task.
      Add resource type(s), resource quantities, and estimated task durations. Use these guidelines:
    • Assign a resource type responsible for completing the task. Resource types assigned to a task are doing the majority of the work.
    • To increase the speed of the task, determine the most number of this resource type that could be assigned to perform tasks.
    • If a resource type will cause a delay in the task’s execution, but the skill is not critical, list them in the task notes section (not as a resource type).
    • For the task duration estimate, ask “How long would this task take without interruption and if no unusual problems occurred?”
    • Optimizing project network for total duration, risk, and on-going improvement opportunities.

Examples of  CCPM Schedules

Show an example of a CCPM project. Review what the schedule will look like. Explain the critical chain tasks, project and feeding buffers. Review the project dashboard, what updates are required, and what reports are available.

Finally, we’ll determine the official start date of the project and how the project status will be communicated.

Above all, the only other thing Jim jotted down for the network building session was a small, sugar free snack from the grocery store. A small, peace offering can’t hurt. He’ll pick that up the day before the meeting.

Jim’s Email

Sure enough, Jim’s email––How to Prepare for a Project Network Building Session––landed in my inbox at 1:35pm the same day. I read it over and decided it was good enough. Good enough may seem like faint praise, but good enough is a different way of describing the least effective dose for planning projects. You see, the amount of uncertainty every project encounters during its life dwarfs any detailed predictions made during the planning process.

In the end, the beauty of CCPM is that is expects the uncertainty. A CCPM schedule has buffers in the right place to watch exactly how much uncertainty the project is experiencing. And, the performance indicators provide enough time to react to most, if not all, deviations. So, good enough is indeed good enough. The point is not to plan a project to death, but to get the project finished on-time and reap the benefits of the work done.

 

Our Big, Lovely CCPM Multi-Project Portfolio Problem

Current Status

The number of projects planned or re-planned using the CCPM method stands at 26. This is about two thirds of all our running projects. We have made progress. But, the amount of effort I have to spend poking my nose into some projects seems too high. I intervene far too many times and I’m worried about it.

The project performance indicators are showing we may hit the wall soon if I don’t find a way of avoiding it. The wall is the promised due dates for the projects I’m intervening in. What is the number one reason project managers miss their due dates? They run out of time. Why re we running out of time? And, I’m paranoid. Murphy is waiting to trip us up.

Each project manager has had some time to learn how to lead a CCPM project. The ability to focus on the same set of critical chain tasks can be described as stability enhancing. That’s a good thing around here. And, my ability to get confident answers to “where is the project stuck” questions is satisfying. The answers appear after a few clicks of the mouse. Everything seems to be going fine at the project level.

The Search for Less Expediting

But, why is there still too much expediting from my portfolio level? Some of the projects we recently re-planned required us to go back to our customers and confirm the new dates. Of course, each customer was skeptical of our new dues dates. But, what could they do? We already had the contract and some said they expected us to be late anyway. Sigh.

Staring at the screen or procrastinating over what to do next was not doing anyone any good. Admitting to yourself you are out of your depth is not an easy thing to do either. Yes, the promises we made to our customers are one thing. My promises to our own folks and to our company was another. I have to look into the eyes of these people. How am I going to feel if some day I realized they hadn’t been taken care of? Especially, when I was in a position to do so.

Get Help If You Need It

The tightness in my stomach was worsening. The dizziness is starting to build in my head, so I picked up the phone and called Gary, our non-software salesman. I tracked him down on a beach in Cost Rica. He said the sun was shining and the morning paddle he made around the deep blue inlet was refreshing. But, he had a few minutes for me.

I asked, “With so many projects running under the CCPM rules, why hasn’t our portfolio performance improved at the same rate? I’m concerned we won’t deliver as late as we used to, but I’m not sure we’ll deliver on the dates promised either.”

“I’m glad you called,” he said, “I only have a few minutes, but let me ask you a few questions. How many of the CCPM planned projects do you have running right now?”

“All of them,” I chuckled, “Since they were already underway, we re-planned them and started them as soon as everything checked out.”

“OK,” said Gary, “we may have to check your decision to do that, but here’s another question. What are your most loaded resources?”

I said, “I’m not sure. As you know, we haven’t hired or fired anyone in the past several months. So, the total resource pool hasn’t changed much.”

Gary said, “I know what may be going on, but you will need to check these things yourself. I’m being called away.”

“No problem, what do I need to do? I don’t have a lot of time myself, but I’m sure they are for different reasons that yours,” I said.

Gary says, “Since you, the manager of the project portfolio, do not know the most loaded resources concerns me. You also started projects as soon as they are re-planned. This also concerns me. You may have inadvertently overloaded your resource pool by starting some projects too soon. If you have started projects too soon it’s easy to create multi-tasking between projects. And, when multi-tasking increases, what happens to lead times?”

“Lead times always go up,” I say. I’m glad Gary is being blunt with me. I need some motivation and some clear thinking to get past the tightening screws in my stomach.

Gary says. “Look into the Pipelining process documentation. You will find your answers there. You may find some projects should not have been started right away. In other words, you re-started them too soon. Sorry, that’s all I have time for. I’ve got to go.”

Do Your Research

The phone went silent and I was left with a daydream from a beach vacation long ago. Anyway, we took great care to cut the multi-tasking within projects, it would be a shame to now have multi-tasking between projects. If we have exceeded our resource capacity that would explain it. I clicked on the software documentation and found the Pipelining section.

In the Pipeline section of the User Guide, I read that the Dynamic Drum synchronizes the release of all projects with the Pipeline status. The Dynamic Drum is focused on maximizing the throughput for the entire portfolio of projects. This is what we are missing. Gary and I talked about this a long time ago, so I continue reading.

The User Guide also says the Dynamic Drum is forward looking, not based on historical results or the past use of the resource loading data. This must mean the resource the software is using as the drum resource changes as projects are stared and introduced into the portfolio’s pipeline.

The Dynamic Drum Feature

I click on the Dynamic Drum button and walked through the predefined steps. I ranked the projects and watched the software highlight the resource selected as the Drum resource. It’s our Video Developers. They are the one’s which provide the customer code for the unique features our customers want. Almost every project uses them.

I check the status of the resource loading on another screen. Sure enough, our Video Developers are overloaded. But, so are a few others that I was not aware of. My intuition only goes so far, doesn’t it? I used to be able to tell which resources were overloaded in the past because I worked in the company for so long. I know these people. But, with the changes we’ve made, my intuition isn’t as well developed. I’m going to have to rely on the software to help me after all.

The two things Gary was worried about are indeed true. We have too many projects running and a few resources are showing overloads. I remember now, the earlier we start then the earlier we will finish is not correct. Gary went over this with us. Our new mantra should be, “To finish early, start as late as possible.” I started projects too soon. I didn’t want to lose any time. Folks were already working on these projects and didn’t want to lose momentum. These may all be good reasons, but missing the due dates was not worth it.

Gary’s prediction may be right. If I run the software’s Dynamic Drum the recommended project Start Dates may delay some of the projects from starting today. It will show some projects were released ahead of time and effected the resource use across the portfolio. If I change anything now, it would cause a major wave of disruption across the portfolio. It’s time to call a staff meeting and explain our situation.

A Group’s Problem Needs a Group Solution

Right after lunch, most of my staff are assembled in the conference room. It was a hot afternoon and rush of air conditioning was audible in the background. Jim and Karen came in together, but sat on opposite sides of the room. I know they have been seeing each other on the side, but it was none of my business. At least not until it started to effect their performance.

I started the meeting by saying, “We’ve got a problem. I’m sorry I didn’t catch this sooner, but we may have too many projects running. Too many projects in execution means we have overloaded our resource pool. Not every resource in our resource pool, but a few which many of you have on your projects. Too many overloads, too much multi-tasking, and too long lead times.”

I shared the screens I had looked at earlier. I showed them which resources were overloaded. And, showed them which resource the software suggested as the Dynamic Drum.

Jim asked, “What happens if you take the software’s suggestion?” Jim was wearing a pin-striped short sleeve shirt. Unusual for him, his thick hair was not perfectly in place.

Let the Software Support You

I said, “The software will suggest the optimal start date for each project in the Pipeline status. To include the already running projects in the calculation we need to place them back into the Pipeline. Only then can we understand how many projects our resource pool can handle.”

I let that sink in for a few seconds and said, “And, I don’t know how long these already running projects will stay in the pipeline. But, we have to take some of the load off our resource pool and improve our flow. Improving our flow will improve our throughput. And, improving our throughput will have a positive effect on almost every project’s due date performance.”

The frustrated faces stared at me. I was afraid of that, but when you find yourself in a deep hole, stop digging. We had to find a way out or all our work over the past few months will have been for nothing.

I searched for the right words and said, “I’m sorry for the hassle, but here’s what we are going to do. I’ll put every running project back into Pipeline status. I’ll run the Dynamic Drum process and let the system suggest the start date for each project. For those projects with a start date of today, we can put them back into execution. For those with suggested start dates in the future, we’ll redeploy the effected resources. These re-deployments may help the running projects finish sooner.”

Accepting the Software’s Suggestions

The software staggered the start dates of a few projects and left many of the project back where they started. We exposed capacity for the few resources which were overloaded before. We also exposed capacity for most resources which were not overloaded to begin with. They were redeployed to the running projects. This extra capacity may be enough to improve our flow. The resulting throughput improvement will help us deliver all our projects on time. Makes sense.

But, the main thing I learned is that I can’t run away from my responsibilities. I can’t hide from them because I’m afraid to proceed. The longer the procrastination, the larger the pain. So, what’s worse, the big pain of tomorrow or the tightness in my stomach and the dizziness in my head today? I’m glad Gary was there to point me in the right duration. We all need people like him to get us off the X.

Promising Results

A few weeks later, the first CCPM project we promised to deliver on time was delivered two days early. The projects due by next week were also performing well.

Multi-tasking is the single greatest contributor to poor project performance. And, as difficult as it was to reschedule our projects, is was a major breakthrough for us. It is key to not over-schedule our resource pool. It’s also the key to improving the stability and the throughput of our company.

How Project Managers Lead the Planning & Buy-In of CCPM Projects

The moment Max parroted the words I spoke the drum beat of the laboratory felt like a comforting heartbeat. The key phase I had been chanting in our project planning meeting was starting to take hold. To create good enough linkages between the project tasks, knowing how to phase the question to elicit the linkage is important.

Max raised his bulk to his feet. His massive arms flexed the fabric of his shirt as he spoke. He said, “To start this task,” as he pointed to a task on the screen, “what task must finish right before it?”

Someone would suggest a new task, we would add it, and Max would repeat his new mantra again. All I had to do was to stay focused on typing the task entries the planning team wanted me to make and keep my growing excitement to myself. For now.

Some Folks Need More Time

Not too long ago Max was defiant and blocking our attempts to re-plan his project the CCPM way. He would not respond to meeting requests. He would question why we needed a new system when the one he had was working. It wasn’t working since 100% of his projects were late. Of course we had answers to all his issues, but until today we didn’t have a chance to address them.

This morning Max strode in with a few of his subject matter experts in tow. Max was a large man, not fat, but muscular and broad shouldered, and his seat took the brunt of the offense. His camouflage ball cap and beard was in direct contract to his fresh polo shirt and dress slacks. He was the alpha dog in the room. His subject matter experts sat only after he did. They sat lower than he did, too. I had my work cut out for me.

Polishing the Planning Process

But, over the past few months, we’ve conducted every project planning meeting as an experiment. I gave the project managers a script to follow. As they facilitated the planning meeting, they followed the script the best they could. If there were any deviations, they made a note of it and how they handled it. In our weekly staff meetings we would discuss these deviations and changes to our script, if necessary.

I was confident in the planning script I was going to follow with Max. We’ve overcome the issues of many other project managers. They needed to have their hand held to make the switch to the new way. I didn’t expect everyone to make the switch, but so far, everyone was on board. Today would be different.

In the past, our project planning processes were cumbersome and took a lot of effort. Even after these efforts were translated into project plans, our project due date performance was only about 50-60% on time. Our efforts degraded into lip service. Our folks assumed this was as good as it was going to get.

Addressing a Major Problem Head-On

Now, during the project planning phase, our focus is on ensuring we start work on a project when all the necessary information is available. And, only the least effective dose. Why? Because, we are challenging our assumptions about what information is needed. And we are challenging what it means to start a project.

All energy and focus needs to be on our the major source of disruption to our portfolio of projects. That is––The sooner we start the project, the sooner we will finish. This may seem like it makes sense, but it’s not true when it comes to completing a project. Let’s ask “why” again.

If we start the project as soon as we can, we can finish sooner if and only if everything remains stable. For example, all the project content is known and does not change. The required level of effort is known and does not change. The resources are always available when needed. The resource all perform at the level we expect them to. And our spending is what we expect it to be throughout the lift of the project. This is unrealistic.

By Their Nature Projects Contain A Lot of Uncertainty

For example, the scope always changes, the effort required usually increases and hardly ever is less than planned. Many resources are not available when needed. The budget may get cut or the customer wants something for free. Or, our vendors needs more time.

There are many other planning predictions that turn out to be wrong. These changes need further discussion, evaluation and time to work out. Address each deviation from the plan never take less time. So, there is no guarantee that starting work as soon as we can will help us finish sooner.

Today, we use a well defined and polished planning process. This process gathers all the least effective dose information for a project. In other words, we give ourselves the best chance of success.

The Current State of the Project Planning Process

The current state of our planning process starts by reviewing the project charter. We’ve discussed the elements of the charter before. Next comes the 10-step process is as follows:

    1. Define the project’s objective, scope and due date requirements. Most folks are hesitant to undertake a new way of doing things.

Near the beginning of each planning session with new participants, we recap the key management questions our new software helps them to answer:

    • Will the project finish on time?
    • Which projects need my attention?
    • Which project don’t need my attention?
    • What task should my resources be working on now and which task(s) are next?
    • To recover lost time which tasks need immediate attention?
    • What is the current and future resource loading?

By reviewing already running projects, we can point of out the features of the software which answer these questions. Knowing the answers to these questions is a capability we haven’t had before. And, showing the excellent performance of the other projects offers some proof. The software is supporting the project managers not hindering their performance.

2. Define the tasks required for the main backbone of the project. Start with the project’s objective and work right to left across the screen. Use the phrase “To start this task, what task must finish right before it?”

3. Add tasks required to build other task paths by working backwards from the objective along the backbone. Continue to use the phrase “To start this task, what task must finish right before it?”

4. Read the network from the beginning. Look for more task dependencies, confirm the correct sequence of tasks, or make other modifications to the project network.  Read from left to right as if you were reading a book.  Tell the “story” of the project.

5. Check every task against the project goals, scope and sponsor criteria.

6. Identify and add the main resource type(s) and quantities which will perform each task.

7. Define task durations by deciding on an aggressive, but doable touch-time estimate. Remind the planning team that time will be added before the project’s due date. This time will absorb task and resource variability throughout the life of the project. In other words, folks are not pressured to add contingency time to their task estimates.

8. Scrutinize the network using subject matter and/or other skill set expert(s).

9. Run CCPM Schedule and seek ways to optimize and reduce project duration without compromising the scope or budget.

We also point out some key elements of the software:

    • The software inserts a buffer. This buffer is sized and placed to total up the critical chain contingency time. This protects the due date from resource unavailability and other project variabilities. Buffers are also placed on all paths that feed the critical chain.
    • The critical chain remains stable throughout the length of the project. We use the critical chain to know where to focus our attention for getting from point A to point B.
    • CCPM project scheduling eliminates resource contention within the project.
    • Between projects, few resources are overloaded. They are not pressured to multi-task because of way we pipeline and release projects.
    • The resulting plan schedules activities to start as late as possible allowing time for the latest information to be used.
      The resulting plan will be used as a baseline to measure and report against the project’s progress.

10. Finally, complete a final project assessment with the key project stakeholders.

Reviewing Our Original Criteria for a Good Project Management Solution

And, we review that the planning process supports the original solution criteria:

    • Did we compromise or cut any corners on quality, lead time, budget or on-going support to reach our project’s objective?
    • Are we confident we have a good chance to deliver this projects on time?
    • Are these new CCPM solution elements easy to understand and sustainable over the long term?

Baby Steps in the Right Direction

But, today as Max is co-leading the planning meeting with me, the rhythm of our work is obvious. The energy in the room has picked up. Everyone is engaged in contributing to the project network. And, the others on the phone are silent. My hope is that they are sitting in wonderment of the progress we’ve made today. OK, that may be too much to ask.

I am glad to see even the most hardened among us, folks like Max, can be brought on board. If we show people a process that can solve their issues and it makes sense to them, we have a chance to point them in the right direction.

 

Initial Results of Using CCPM to Plan Projects

No two projects are the same. Our place in the business universe is far from ordinary. The things our engineers can do would knock your socks off. Although we have customers who buy from us over and over again, what they want is never the same. Although our project managers lead these projects, the project teams never have the same members. And, the vendors we use to provide goods and services for our projects never know what to expect from us.

After One Month

But, after a month of planning projects the CCPM way, a pattern, a rhythm, and drum beat has emerged from the chaos. The calm voices, the productive meetings and an improvement in our performance measures is almost spooky. It may be the calm before the storm.

There are eight projects in flight which were planned and scheduled the new CCPM way. We have about 20 more projects to go. But, already the amount of distractions and people running to me for answers has gone down. No dark clouds are on the horizon.

I don’t know by how much, but the number of emails from upset customers has dropped off. Of the few measures we are using to track our performance the number of nasty emails per day is the one I am using. I want them all to go away someday, and someday day soon.

Don’t Expect Miracles, Yet

It doesn’t take long to bring me back to reality. My daydream was shattered when I hear our CEO bellow, “Why do I have to hear from one of our best customer, MegaForm, that their project is going to be late? They are threatening to pull the next order they have with us and send it to one of our competitors.” Our CEO has a temper, but today his voice was flat and firm. But, below the surface, I saw the dragon straining to be unleashed.

Remaining calm, I say, “I won’t give you excuses. Let me look into it and see what I can do. One of our best project managers is leading that project, so there must be a reason.”

The majority of our projects are still waiting to be re-planned. My hands are sill full with the unplanned ones. But, it’s how our customers are managing projects. It’s what our competitors are doing it. It’s what the professional organizations tell us are the best project management tools. How could they all be so wrong.

Somewhere along the line, the world has been suckered into a mediocre status quo. And, some folks think that’s alright. Some folks like it there. Although, we are not out of the woods my any means, I see there is a different way and a way which may raise us above the mediocrity. Right now other people’s way of doing things is not my problem.

Before I could say anything else, his back was to me as he huffed out of my office. Still, my anger was building, but after a few deep breaths and I felt the feelings pass. It’s a good thing, too, since Jim was the next person to walk into my office.

More Good News From the Front Lines

He says, “Hey boss, I want to give you an update on how our Labor Day project is going. Have a minute?”

“Sure,” I say, “give me as much detail as you want. Tell me everything.” I took another deep breath.

He grins and sits in my guest chair. He says, “As you know, we started this project on the recommended start date, which was the same day we finalized the planning. I immediately prepared to start the tasks the software suggested to start during the first week.”

“Yes, I remember that,” I say. It was a turning point which I won’t soon forget. Would this be the solution we were looking for? Time will tell.

A New Way to Request Resources

Jim said, “I asked the manager of our Accounting Department for someone to fill the Financial Analyst position. We need to set up the budget tracking process for this project. In the fine print of our contract, we agreed to provide the City with a detailed breakdown of our expenditures.”

‘We did,” I asked, “Did you get the resource you needed?”

“Like every other department around here, they are all overloaded. But, when I specified which resource we needed, for how long we needed them, and showed her the priority of this project in our portfolio, I had no problem getting them.”

Usually, getting the commitment from department managers for project resources is a well rehearsed and civilized battle between two Japanese sumo wrestlers. I asked, “How did the task assignments go?”

Assigning Tasks Redux

Jim said, “Fine, I didn’t include a due date when assigning the tasks like you asked. I was careful to only use the estimated task duration as a guide. I also stated when the task is complete, be ready to pass your work on to the next resource. This will cut the multi-tasking, Parkinson’s Law and the student syndrome behaviors.”

By focusing attention on the task due date caused all kinds of bad behaviors. Jim’s use of using the task duration should keep these behaviors at bay. I wonder if folks will add their own date to the task when it is assigned. If the task duration is three days, they could look on the calendar three days from now and pick the due date for themselves. Let me ask Jim about this when he finishes his report.

Effects of Exposing Management Capacity

I asked, “How long did it take to assigning all the first week’s tasks?”

He said, “Less than two hours. I know what you are thinking, what did I do with the rest of my day. I know we expect to free up capacity, but I didn’t think it would happen to me. I did have to take time to hold some hands to get the daily days remaining updates. But, I asked myself, what else can I be doing to move this project along.”

“And,” I said.

A Leader Emerges

“I looked ahead in the schedule and tried to think of all the things which would slow things down. I’ve heard you say time and time again to be paranoid. Be paranoid. But, don’t be hysterical. So, I found a few documents we need to have and some folks who need to have a clear desk in the next few days. I was clearing a path for the project team to follow. I’m a few steps ahead of them and can see things before they do.”

“That’s one of the things Gary, our software non-salesman, expected would happen. Putting project managers in a leadership position is much better than managing things by pushing a string through the forest.”

“It felt good being out front for a change. Not only can I see better, but I’m not being pressured to make decisions under duress. But, there is a temptation to intervene even when I know I shouldn’t.”

“What do you mean,” I asked.

“I’m so used to sticking my nose in and trying to help. When the indicators show I don’t need to, I’m helpless somehow.”

I said, “You are not helpless. You said it yourself, it’s better to be out front leading the team through the jungle rather than being in reaction mode. That’s a move in the right duration. You are also in a much better position to deal with the unexpected we know are behind the next corner. Murphy as been pretty quiet so far, but I don’t think that will last.”

“Thanks for that. I do need some reassurance from time to time,” Jim said.

One Way to Evaluate Disruptions to the CCPM Schedule

I said, “When you do come up against something that you think will cause a delay, let me know. In the software, we can make a copy of your project, make the changes we will need to make, and see what the impact is. If we like what we see, we can use the updated plan or stick with the one we have.”

“Good idea. But, I only want to use the updated plan if the change turns out to be a major disruption. I want to avoid changing the tasks along the critical chain. That would also be a major disruption. If the critical chain changes, all your looking ahead efforts are lost. Wasted,” I said.

Jim said, “I’ll be sure to let you know. The other change we made is having the team make their own daily updates to the task’s day remaining estimates. This will help us see any deviations as early as we can.”

That answered my question. Our project resources may add a date to the end of their task assignment. But, being reminded every day that all we want is a days remaining estimate should counteract the date they set for themselves.

“That’s all I have for you today, boss,” Jim said, “I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Come back anytime. When you have positive status to report like this,” I exclaim. “I can use all the positive news I can get. It’s also a good idea to plan on sharing your efforts with the other project managers in our weekly staff meeting,” I said.

Rising from his chair, Jim said, “I’ll be glad to. As good as it feels hearing good news, it feels good giving some good news for a change.” With that, he disappeared.

Silence. I’m now alone to worry about how I’m going to get the next projects planned and scheduled.

The Minimum Effective Dose For Managing CCPM Projects

The Blue Pill or the Red Pill

On the computer screen is an alert box which says, “Do you want to start this project?” Gary’s voice comes out an octave lower than usual and says, “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.” He’s quoting from the Matrix. I didn’t know he could be so melodramatic.

Continuing the dialog, I try to remember Neo’s response and say, “I know you are trying to free my mind. But you can only show me the door. I’m the one that has to walk through it.”

With a grin, Gary says, “That’s right. I know I’m being a little melodramatic, but in the world of project management, once I click “Yes” on the alert, your life will change forever. What’s it going to be?”

“Do it,” I say, “There is no going back. We’ve tried everything else I know of. I’ve accepted the status quo long enough. And, enough good things have happened since we met, I’m ready to shake things up.”

With a flourish, Gary clicks the “Yes” button. The only perceptible change is the status indicator for the project which now says “Started.” Not very melodramatic at all. Almost anti-climactic. I stare at the word. Where is the rabbit-hole? I pause waiting for something else to happen.

Nothing does until Jim says, “Now what?”

The First Change

“I’m glad you asked. I’ll be working with your boss on updating the plans for the already launched projects. But, in the meantime, we’ll go through the least effective dose for managing this CCPM project. You will be using two main indicators, 1) the early warning and, 2) buffer status indicators. I’ll show you these things in a minute. But, keep in mind there is a lot of momentum here to use task due dates and encourage people to meet them. Remember, you will no longer communicate or expect tasks to be completed on a specific date.”

Jim says, “I get it, this helps people behave in the student syndrome and Parkinson’s Law ways we don’t want them to. But, what should we do instead?”

Gary says, “Since we took most of the safety time out of each task, the remaining task durations won’t allow to much bad behavior anyway. Instead of saying, “I need this task done by XX date,” say something like, “This task had an estimated duration of 4 days. Please do your best to finish this task in 4 days.” If you want, you can add that you don’t expect the task to start on any specific date. The task will start when it get assigned to them, when they have everything they need to start, and are clear on the acceptance criteria. They can take as much time as needed. Let them do their job.”

Jim says, “So, my daily interaction are key to reinforcing the new behaviors and not judge. I like providing opportunities to coach and counsel on the proper work ethic. Every person has a different level of understanding of the project and the work. This difference allows some to act without detailed instructions. While others need a step-by-step procedure.”

I says, “Often it’s a good idea to get agreement with the person on their level of detail or even developing the details with them. It ensures that instructions are helpful without taking away their sense of responsibility and ownership. In this way, it puts some joy back into their work.”

The Second Change

“The only other daily activity is to provide an estimate of the remaining days left to complete the task they are working on,” Gary says.

“In real time, the software will compare the original plan against the actual progress made. Based on the remaining days updates the software updates the estimated due date. There is a direct connection between frequent updates and the due date estimated by the software.”

I say, “It seems to be it would be a good idea to work with each resource and guide them through the remaining days updates. This is something different, for sure, but is much less of an administrative burden that the way we used to report progress. It’s an improvement our folks can live with.”

The Third Change

“Exactly,” Gary says, “But there are also benefits for you and Jim. Using the two main performance indicators, your level of involvement will be determined by these indicators, too. In general, there are three levels of project engagement you need to be aware of.”

“The first level is to not tamper with the project; if it is performing as expected and the due date is attainable as planned, leave it alone. The second level is to investigate and prepare to take action before your back is against the wall. The due date is in jeopardy, so analyze and consider your intervention options, but don’t do anything yet. And, the third level is that the due date will not be met without a miracle or immediate intervention. Take aggressive action(s), for long enough, to restore the buffer back to one of the preceding levels.”

Managing By Exception

“This reminds me of managing by exception,” I say, “Instead of playing wack-a-mole and chasing after every problem which comes up, only act when you have to. And, for our projects, that means only acting when we get to the third level.”

Nodding his head Gary says, “As long as you follow the task list week by weeks, make the assignments, and update the task’s remaining days.”

“So, as long as the project indicators shows we are in the first level, there isn’t much for either one of use to do. The stress is leaving my body already,” I say.

Jim nods and I see his shoulders relax as he leans back in this chair. He says, “Let me make sure I have this right. We collected a few important pieces of information, got a consensus on the objective of the project, planned out the necessary tasks to reach the objective, assigned resources, estimated durations, and made sure the plan fit within the time allowed.”

He was right so far, that’s what we did. We didn’t have to know everything to plan a project. That’s a good thing, because we will never have the time for that. We can’t expect perfection at this point. We got a few, critical pieces of the puzzle in place and planned from there.

Jim took in a breath and continued, “After that we started the project. All I have to do now is to assign the tasks and make sure the resources update their task’s days remaining.”

Gary interjected, “Update as often as possible. If they did work today, they should update their task’s duration remaining everyday. Again, if they miss a day, no big deal. Even these update delays are considered part of the variability and well within the noise of the project.”

Jim nodded and said, “Plus, watch the project indicators. If the indicators stay in the first level, or green zone, I can sit back. There is nothing else to do, right?”

Gary smiles and says, “Making progress on the critical chain tasks is still the priority. The critical chain remains the pacing chain of dependencies throughout the life of the project. You have time to look ahead and clear the path for your team. Look for ways to reduce they set-up times, review the progress on the prior tasks, and encourage people to work by the new rules.”

I ask, “If a resource has finished the critical chain tasks or other tasks, could they start early on a task without a predecessor?”

Gary says, “Sure, any task in without a predecessor can be assigned to a resource as long as the resource does not have any higher priority tasks. I’ve seen other clients coach their project resources make updates and determine for themselves which tasks to work on next.”

Self-Directed Work Teams Support

I say, “We can also help our folks understand the levels of project engagement and know when to work at a normal pace when in the first level, or green zone. If the project performance drifts into the second level of engagement, they can ask for help to determine alternatives to their work.”

And Jim continues with, “If the third level is indicated, they can pitch in and put in the extra efforts to get the project back on track.”

Jim exhales and takes another deep breath in. I see his wheels turning. I’m also starting to think about all the things we could do with the capacity being exposed at the project manager level. But, that’s for another day.

Gary breaks the silence and says, “Your weekly status reports will also become obsolete.” Letting it sink in, he says nothing else.

We both stare at Gary in disbelief, but I say, “What do you mean obsolete? Everyone provides status report. Everyone asks for status report. We’ve always provided status reports.”

Questions Customers Want Answers To

Gary says, “You can continue to do that if you want, but one of the benefits of the software includes a way to end the need for conventional status reports. But, whatever way you want to provide it, the least information customers want to know are the answered to three questions. They are:

How much progress has been made? Since the project’s timeline is based on the stable critical chain task this is an easy measurement to make. The software shows how much progress has been made for every project started in your portfolio.

Have there been any deviations to the original plan? The intervention guidelines we talked about earlier communicate how much of the project work has varied. For example, the project is tracking as planned (green). Or be cautious, plan recovery actions now (yellow). Or, immediate attention is required to bring project back on track (red). The software shows how much variability for every started project has encountered in your portfolio.

Is there enough time to complete the project? Again the intervention guidelines can provide this information about the pace of the project, e.g., the project is moving along as planned (green), or action is required to move things along (red), or the project due date is in jeopardy; immediate action required (black). The software shows where we can expect the due to land for every started project in your portfolio.

Gary pulls up a document on his computer and says, “Here’s an example of a status report another customer is using to share their status. They’ve allowed us to share it with you.”

________________________________________________________________

Project Status Report

________________________________________________________________

To:                  Gloucester, MA PD
cc.:                 Charles Pennington
Subject:         Blue Light Replacement Project Status
From:             Randy Billingsley
________________________________________________________________

Progress:
 17% complete / 7 days remaining

Burn Rate:
 Yellow

Pace: 
Green

Completed Tasks:

None

Task(s) Underway:

Research blue light options (Randy Billingsley)––planned recovery actions include finding an alternate supplier.

Next Steps:

Order and receive blue lights (Purchasing Department and Randy Billingsley)

END OF REPORT


________________________________________________________________

Jim says, “That looks simple enough. And, this is information which comes right out of the software. As long as I or the members of the project teams add some notes to the tasks they are working on, we can export the project data and create a quick report.”

Self-Directed Executives Support

I say, “I like it, but why don’t we give everyone read only access and let them login anytime they want and see the status for themselves?”

Gary says, “We could do that, too. Many people already check things like their bank accounts or insurance policies online. The hurdle to check the status of an important project is not much different.”

Jim says, “I could also include updates and share notes on recovery plans, if necessary. Our senior management can review them and be informed well in advance of any pending disaster.”  I chuckle.

Don’t Forget to Be Social

“One more idea,” Gary says, “Is to agree on periodic, at least once a month, progress meetings with the customer, stakeholders, business owners, etc. and the internal delivery team. We are social animals after all and getting together every now and then would be good.”

I say, “As Morpheus said, “There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” There is a difference between planning a project and exciting on one. As long as everyone involved in the project knows where to go for the answers they are looking for, we should be in good shape.”

Next Steps

“Which reminds me,” I say, “Are we ready to starting entering my top priority projects into the software?”

“That’s what I’m here to help you with,” Gary says, “The sooner we get projects entered, we will start to see the contention for resources between projects. With more and more projects running in the software will help. You will get a better idea about how many projects you can have underway without overloading your resources.”

I say, “I’m going to assume we have too many running right now based on the way we have operating for the past few years.”

Gary says, “Right, and we’ll have to prepare you to address the obvious concerns of your CEO and other executives. If you thought not starting on this project right away was a problem. Wait until you see how many other project may need to sit in your pipeline until you have the resource capacity to work on them.”

“Oh, great,” I say with a sigh, “I can’t wait to have that conversation.”

I turn to Jim and ask if he needs anything else. A nope is all I get as he walks out my office door. I’m glad he is on my team. He’s picked up on the changes we need to make to the way we manage projects. I know it won’t be that easy with everyone.

Dealing With Those Who Doubt Your Ability To Deliver Projects Quickly & Completely

The CEO’s eyes narrowed into small slits and they didn’t leave my face until I said, “What do you mean what’s taking me so long? We only got the signed proposal last week.”

“I got off the phone with the Chief and his patrols haven’t seen any of our trucks in the field. He expected us to start work as soon as he sent over the signed proposal. Last week, he said. The clock it ticking, he said. This project has to finish on time, he said. And, then he hung up on me. What the hell is going on?”

“Let me get this right,” I say with an even tone in my voice, “the way to deliver this project as soon as possible is to start work without having all the necessary information?”

Not Starting a Project With All the Necessary Information

“Damn right,” the CEO says, “we don’t have time to collect all the information you need. In my day, we didn’t take time to plan. We went out and got the job done.”

He had managed to grow the company over the years. And, he had a good relationship with many of our customers across the country. But, he didn’t see the constant challenges with our project performance on a day to day basis. I was the face of the company out in the field. I came face to face with angry and frustrated customers all the time. They wanted what they wanted no matter if it was spelled out in the proposal or not.

I was also in meetings with the CFO who would grill me about the expenses and my budget overruns. Being busy and getting started on a project these days was more than running out the door and getting the job done. Those must have been the good old days everyone talks about.

Making the commitment to myself to fix the issues was a choice I made. I took the time to go deeper into the issues and get help along the way. I wanted to go through everything I learned and get our CEO to see we had a chance to do things different, but I said, “This project needs to finish on time right? And, you want me to stay within budget and deliver everything we promised to the Chief, right?”

“Damn right,” he said again. This time with his face became a deeper shade of red.

And, how well have we been meeting these commitments lately, I was going to say. But, I said nothing.

The Consequences of Not Having Some Information

Without a pause, he said, “That’s another thing I want to talk to you about. We’ve been making too many promised we can’t keep. Our CFO tells me to funnel more money into your labor account all the time. It’s got to stop. And, some customers we’ve had for a long time won’t even talk to me anymore. What are you doing about that?”

No way was I going to take the bait. The only thing that is going to convince anyone of anything are results. And, I expect the results will come from the new way of planning projects and the way Gary says we are going to manage them. I need to buy some time. So, I say, “I get the Chief wants to see us in the field. We did send some guys out to do site surveys, but he must have missed them. We sent out access request to the buildings we need. And, we have the Procurement department checking on the status of the hardware. So, we did start. No one noticed.”

“OK, fine, fine, fine,” the CEO says. He was backing off a little.

He needed to back off even more, so I said, “the people we need on the Chief’s project are already working on other projects. These folks need to finish what they are doing or find a way to transfer the work to someone else. That’s already underway. It’s not going to do anyone any good to load and already overloaded resource with even more work.”

He said nothing. His arms rigid with tension. He stared at me and said, “I’ll be watching this project. The Chief is a good friend of mine and he’s been a good friend to this company. I’m not going to disappoint him again. Now, I’ve got calls to make.” He swiveled in his chair, turned his back to me, and started to pick up his phone.

Higher Confidence Levels Go a Long Way

As I walked back to my office, I through about the information we got from the Chief’s signed proposal for the project. I have no idea where we got some of the estimates. Much of the key information was missing. And, somethings didn’t make any sense to me. It was not enough information to start with. Some information is necessary to start a project, isn’t it, I mutter to myself.

Gary showed us that there is bare small amount of information we needed to start the planning process. It wasn’t as much as I though and it’s took no time at all to complete once we got everyone together. We made sure we had a consensus on the project’s goals. And, we built into the plan ways to exceed expectations with no extra costs or delays.

During the planning session we sequenced the work which gave us a road map to follow. I’m sure the sequence will prevent delays and the rework we usually encounter. The resources we need are also identified. But, even more important, we now also have some idea of when we will need them and for how long. Dealing with the departments managers for those resources is going to be much easier.

If nothing else, the plan we have will act like a reference point against which we can compare our actual performance. Without this baseline, who knows if we are on track to meet the due date or not.

The CEO will get all his questions answered in due time. Right now, I have a project to start and more projects to plan in the new way. I’m convinced we had all the information we needed to start planning. The planning was done to the right level of detail. We got buy-in from all the participants. This has got to be the way to finish project and deliver them on time, with everything we promised, and within budget. Now, I only have to prove it.

Never, Never Give Up

As I rounded the corner to my office, I almost ran into Jim. Startled, he said, “Gary wants to see us in the conference room. He’s got something to show us.”

The CCPM Full Kit Process––No Project Should Start Without It

The Next Morning

My office is quiet when I arrive. What else would it be, I’m the first one here. I tossed in bed last night and said the hell with it and got out of bed early.
 
Today is the day I’ve been waiting for. We wrapped up the planning of an important project yesterday afternoon and today the project starts. The amount of coffee I usually have by now is nowhere to be seen. I’m energized by some other unseen force and can’t wait to get started. Where is everyone?
 
Appearing out of nowhere, Gary walks into my office. He’s wearing a wool overcoat, dark blue scarf, and the black fedora. “Good morning,” he says, “sleep well?”
 
Can he tell I didn’t get much sleep? I want to say I couldn’t stop thinking about what was going to happen today, but I say with a smirk, “Sure, I’m glad you are here. Ready to start the City’s project today?”

A Full Kit

“Not so fast, I got here early to check a few things before we do,” he said, “I want to make sure we don’t start the project before we are ready.”
 
I wanted to shout. I thought we were ready. And, we told everyone we would start today and we can’t afford any delays. But I say, “What kind of things?”
 
He takes off his jacket, scarf and hat and sits in the chair beside my desk. He says, “If I understand, there are some necessary things you need to start work. Site surveys, network designs, equipment specifications, contractor quotations, and the like. If work is started without these necessary things, it could result in rework. And, rework causes delays, delays we can’t afford.”
 
His laptop screen flies open and he shows me the project schedule. The cursor hovers over a task. The task requires the sub-contractor to visit buildings where our wireless equipment will be installed. He asks, “is the site survey for this location done? Nowhere in the project planning did we create a task to do this survey.”
 
Checking the files for the buildings, I didn’t find the site survey documentation we needed. It’s short work, but depending on the availability of the building manager, or in this case, the security chief, we don’t always get quick access. We show up, but have to come back later. This has caused delays in the past.
 
“I can make a few phone calls this morning. If we give the locations enough warning about when we will be there, they can usually fit us in. No delays.”
 
Gary says in his baritone voice, “That’s one delay we’ve avoided. My main interest is to ensuring all major pieces are in place so that there are as few delays as possible once the project is underway. Since I don’t know your environment all that well, I’m going to rely on you to determine what those major pieces are. What I can do in the meantime is to share the ways the scheduling software can support this process. We call it having a “full kit.”
 
“OK, let me find Jim and we’ll put our heads together. We’ll make a list and review it with you,” I say.

Some Example Full Kit Items

Later that morning, I find Gary in the conference room. He’s on the phone, but ends the call when I walk in. He says, “what things did you guys come up with?”
 
“We found a few things which would have made for a longer project. The project planning did show we made good decisions about the sequence of the work. The right sequence of tasks is going to prevent rework and delays down the road. But, to start the first task in this project, we need to make sure we have the latest line of sight confirmed between transmitters. Trees grow, leaves block the radio signals, and poor network performance is the result. One of Jim’s engineers is going to do the surveys today.”

Preventing Delays

“Good. You may want to keep track of the kind of things to check before a project starts. You will see some of the same things over and over again. You can then address them in the project planning or create a pre-launch “full kit” checklist. What else did you find?”
 
“The Power utility controls the access we need to enter the buildings on the north west corridor. We’ve already put a call into them to schedule entry. And, the City needs to provide traffic control around the two sites near the stadium. The lieutenant said she would coordinate with the units in the area. Otherwise, we have everything in place.”
 
“Nice. Before a project starts is a good time to find these things. Sometimes they are captured in the planning, sometimes they are not. No longer are we starting projects just to keep resources busy. This usually gives us time to conduct the “full kit” process.
 
I say, “As you know, when a project starts are here there never seems to be enough time and things slip through the cracks.”
 
“For a while, you’ll notice an urge to keep everyone busy and efficient, Gary says, “That’s the way you operate around here. But, you want the excess capacity. Most resources need to be a little inefficient. That’s the key to shorter lead times.
 
I say, “With only one project in the Pipeline, will see much effect on resource capacity.”
 
Gary says, “A little, but the more project we schedule, the more capacity you will expose. So, for now, let’s focus on prevent delays.”
 
“How can the software help us prevent delays,” I ask.

How the Proper Software Can Help Prevent Delays

Gary inhales and says, “The software will show your planned and actual resource loading. You will be able to check if any resources are overloaded. An over loaded resource leads to multi-tasking, and multi-tasking leads to delays.”
 
Jim will also be able to identify the resource types required each week. He can ensure they have been on-boarded. And, he can update their department managers about their involvement and their planned time frames.”
 
“Good reminder, I have to coordinate with our Procurement group. They need to have all the buy orders in place. Finance needs to have the cost and work hours tracking in place. And, our IT folks need to set up the project’s hardware and software environments,” I say with a long breath out.

Don’t Leave Raising Awareness to Chance

“And, don’t forget about some of the most important customers of all,” Gary says, “you’re management team and the management team of your customers. Since many things are going to be different. The results will take time to appear and you can’t leave the expected increase in your confidence to chance.”
 
I say, “I’m expecting to lead our company out of the mess I helped to create. With all the pressure to perform around here, I don’t have time to make too many mistakes.”
 
Gary says smugly, “Be prepared to show them the differences in the planning you did before. Show them how well the current plan includes references to all their known requirements. Be prepare to show them how we plan to deliver on time and what reporting we will be doing along the way. And, be prepared to set expectations about how issues will be escalated and the response time required. These things will show others the differences in your approach.”
 
I make a few notes in my notepad. I say before heading out the door, “I’m recharged. Give me a few minutes to get the information we need. When I get back, will be be able to start the plan?”
 
“Yes,” Gary says, “In the meantime, I’ll send out the invitations for accessing the software and setting up the “project execution” training session.”

Some People Are Never Happy

I see Jim walking in front of me. I give him a slight nod of encouragement and a smile as I pass him by. I also see the CEO coming my way. He says, “What’s taking you so long to start the City’s project? Follow me. I want an explanation. Now.”

 

The Minimum Steps Towards Planning a Project––Part 3

July 20th @ 3:00pm

The day didn’t start like any other. Despite the dark clouds outside, the project planning was unlike any other planning session. In our own way, we limited the devastation multi-tasking. We brought the planning group’s attention on a single thing. We focused on translating the project requirements into a workable plan.

The euphoria I felt only went so far. The other shoe was about to drop. I could feel it, deep down, somewhere, something was wrong.

Snapping back to reality, everyone was looking at me, again. Everyone had returned from the break. I had returned from my daydreaming. But, what was I worried about, Gary was about the speak and stood to address the group.

His large frame seemed to rise out his chair by itself. He wasn’t fat, he was muscular, a chiseled face, perched on his thick neck, out of which came a deep command voice. He say, “Thank you for your input and the effort put into the planning session,” he said. “I don’t have any proof of this, but the more effort put into planning, the less Murphy will come to visit us during the project’s execution. That’s the way reality works. Let’s push on to the end and take care of a few more things.”

The First Scheduling Run

Gary returns to the planning screen and presses the Scheduling button. An alert appears, the progress bar flies across the screen, and a new view appears. No more planning tasks, a series of horizontal lines of different colors appear.

Gary says, “This is the result of the software deciding on the projects longest path of task and resource dependencies. We call this the critical chain. Based on this critical chain, it places a shock absorber, filled with safety time, between the project due date and the end of the longest chain. For all the other tasks, the software creates feeding chains. These feeding chains also have smaller shock absorbers connecting them to the critical chain.”

What If the Plan Is Too Long

Labor Day is on Monday, September 7, but we need to be finished the day before the weekend starts. That’s Friday, September 4th. The project due date the software calculated was September 17. That’s nine working days beyond the due date. I knew something like this was going to happen. I knew there was something wrong. Now, I know what it is. The effort we put into the planning shows we don’t have a chance of being on time. Or, do we?

Gary says, “Exepron does a good job of planning and scheduling projects. But, what if the resulting schedule is too long or doesn’t fit into the required, sometimes demanded, time frame?”

Focus on the Longest Leg of Task & Resource Dependencies

I ask, “Is this really the critical chain? My question is not about the software’s algorithm, but about the assumptions we made when we built the project network.”

Gary says, “That’s a good questions. The primary limitation to finishing a single project within the time desired is based on the critical chain. Nothing else matters at this point. We have to reevaluate the current critical chain tasks. For instance, can one or more of the critical chain tasks be broken into smaller tasks? And, can these smaller tasks be done in parallel by different resources?” He points to a task which is eight days long.

The resource type assigned to this task is a Camera Installation Crew Resource Type. I ask, “Did we assume there is only one camera installation crew available to do this work? Or, can we cut this task in half, use two different crews and assign them to the two smaller tasks? That would make each task four days long.”

Jim agrees this is possible and I see him making a note on his note pad. Gary makes the change. Four days down, five days to go before the plan fits within the time we have available.

Gary decides to rerun the schedule and look for further reductions in the critical chain. Either it’s late in the day or no more obvious area for reducing the critical chain appear. We wait to see if Gary has any more ideas.

Focus on the Longest Duration Tasks

“Another way to continue our analysis is by checking the duration of the longest tasks along the critical chain. Here’s one,” Gary says and points to a task 10 days long. “Let’s re-check the task duration estimate now that we have all the other tasks in place. Are we sure this task, which we plan on working on without interruption and without adding any more safety time, 10 days?”

This task is assigned to one of Jim’s engineers, so I look at him and encourage him to re-evaluate this estimate. Jim takes the hint and talks us through the work he expects will happen and how long each segment may take. Nods around the table. He finally says it’s not a ten day task, but an eight day task. Gary updates the task duration estimate to eight days. Two days closer to the original project due date. I’m encouraged again. Three more days need to be trimmed out.

Be Careful When Adding More Resources

“Next, I would like us to check the possibility of adding more resources or resource types. This could be a way to reduce a task’s duration,” says Gary. “The reduction in the planned task duration should be significant. A reduction of at least 20% of the current aggressive, but doable estimate. Why? It’s a rule of thumb, but adding resources to a project could be expensive and they should make a significant difference. If not, it’s not worth it. And, it’s better to plan to do it now rather than trying to add resources to an already running project. There is the potential to encounter a derivative of Brook’s Law which says, something like, adding manpower to a late project makes it later.”

A chuckle of recognition comes from the room and from the speaker on the screen. But, we find a few tasks which benefit from adding another install crew and making a few police resource available for non-technical work.

Gary decides to rerun the schedule and look for further reductions, but none are necessary. We trimmed four days from the schedule and the plan shows it’s possible to finish one day before the original due date. I’ll take every day I can get.

From now on, I’m going to ask these questions to reduce the duration of the projects we are planning:

    1. Is this really the critical chain?
    2. How much time can we squeeze out of the critical chain?
    3. Where can we add resources to reduce task durations?

Using these steps, the critical chain has been crushed, mangled, and broken more than once. No more time can be squeezed out of the critical chain, and an appropriate number of resources have been assigned.

What’s Blocking the Project Now?

Now, it’s not through inaction or laziness which now blocks our ability to deliver the project in the due date. What are we waiting for? The plan is good enough. The planning has to end and the work need to begin. Robin, to the Bat Cave. There’s not a moment to lose.

As a famous philosopher once said, Mick Jagger, “Drink in your summer, gather your corn. The dreams of the night time will vanish by dawn. And time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for me.” Or for you. Or me.

Is the plan good enough? There is only one way to find out. The longer we wait, the less time we have. Start the project! But first, another quick break.

July 20th @ 4:00pm

Gathering everyone back together, I ask if there is anything else we would like to add, delete or check one more time. We are ready to move out of the planning phase and start doing the work of the project as soon as possible.

Silence. No one moves. Everyone is looking at me, again. I decide to wrap up the day with some kind works and acknowledgment of everyone’s contribution. I have to admit this planning session went better than I expected. It has set the standard for the next planning sessions we have.

In summary, I say, “Jim will start the project tomorrow morning, July 21st. By meeting our aggressive task duration estimates, it is possible to finish as early as August 13th. With the normal project delays, we plan to finish no later than September 3rd.”

Gary adds, “Tomorrow we will invite everyone to create an account. That way you’ll be able to login to the software and check the estimated due date any time you want.”

Nods all around. A smile on Gary’s face. The relief of a hard days work flows through me to far off shores.

Everyone signs off, the screen goes blank and our guests are shown to the Lobby. I turn off the lights and head out the door myself. Tomorrow the project starts. Am I sure? All I’m sure of is that we planned the best we could.

July 20th @ 5:00pm

The Minimum Steps Towards Planning a Project––Part 2

July 20th @ 1:00pm

The din of muffled, low volume conversations in the project planning room got my attention. Everyone was talking, some with another, some in a small group in the corner. I interrupted Jim and asked, “What’s up?”

 

for instance

Jim says, “It seems too simple. We built a project network in record time. Everyone is in agreement with the content, and every task is checked against one or more of the pre-planning information we collected. What am I missing?”

“I agree we did some things different, but I don’t think we missed anything. Let’s see how this afternoon goes.”

Gary walks in and takes control of the room, “Let’s wrap up and get back to finishing our planning session.”

Summary of the First Planning Steps

As everyone sits down and the remote participants appear on the screen, I summarize the steps we’ve taken so far. To build a robust project network, at the right level of detail, to meet our needs with the least amount of risk we:

    1. Defined the project’s objective, scope and due date requirements.
    2. Defined the tasks required for the main backbone of the project. We started with the project’s objective and worked backwards.
    3. Added tasks required to build the skeleton (other task pathways). We worked backwards (and sometimes forward) from the objective.
    4. Read aloud the network from the beginning tasks looking for solid task dependencies.
    5. Checked every task against the project goals, scope and sponsor criteria.

Adding Resources to Tasks

Gary says, “Next, we are going to determine the resource type and resource quantity that will perform each task. In parallel, we will also be estimating the task durations. A resource type is a description of the skill we need to successful complete the task.”

The screen zooms in on one of the right most tasks in the project network. Gary says, “This task needs a resource type, or more than one type of resource type, responsible for completing this task. They will be the resource types doing the majority of the work for the duration of the task, for instance.”

“Also, to increase the speed of the task, we can select the most number of resource types, if that’s possible.”

The day before Gary, Jim and I entered the resource types and quantities of each type we expected to need for today. It’s going to save us some time instead of entering them as we go.

But, before we can enter the first resource type, the customer’s CTO asks, “Can we add a person’s name and assign them to the task?” His large face filling the screen.

Gary says, “If this person is the only person with the unique skill we need, it’s OK. But, if you want to be as flexible as possible when making assignments, it’s better to select the resource type from the pool of resources.”

“For example, when it comes time to assign the camera install crew, we’ll select the Install Crew Resource Type for this task. When the time comes to assign a specific installation crew, the project manager will determine who is best suited to get this work. Some crews may be busy on other jobs or not have the manpower we need or not have the skill required to do the job when we need them. The crews who meet the needs at the time will get the work. That’s when Jim will make the task assignment.”

The CTO has the floor, so he asks another question, “What if we need a resource for a small fraction of the task time? Sometimes I need to sign off on something, but only need a few minutes to do so.”

Gary says, “I recommend adding your name in the Notes section of the task. Or, update the Task Description with something like, and request CTO sign-off, to the end, for instance. Sound good?”

The CTO head nods and disappears from the screen.

Gary returns his pointer to the original task can asks, “What Resource types and how many of each do we need?” He selects and enters the Types and quantities selected by the CTO.

Adding Task Duration Estimates

“Great, thank you! In parallel, we are also going to estimate the task duration based on the work involved and the resource types selected. But, to give you the proper perceptive, allow me to describe the duration we are looking for.”

This is where Gary is going to get some push-back. I know the number he is looking for. It’s not the conventional duration. The conventional duration includes the estimated time to do the work, plus the safety time.

Gary says, “Think of the duration we are looking this way. The resource types assigned have everything they need to do the work without interruption. They don’t switch to other tasks or to tasks on other projects. No unusual problems or delays occur. And, they work at a normal pace. We call this the aggressive, but doable task duration estimate.”

The pointer zooms into the task Duration field and blinks waiting for a response. The Lieutenant gives a number. Gary confirms by asking, “You estimate this task will take three days using the quantity of Resource Types listed here? These three days do not include any of the usual safety time?”

“Yes,” she says, “three days. But, what about the safety time? They usually add it for a good reason. Murphy will still come to visit.”

Finishing a Project On-Time is Always More Important Than Finishing Each Task On-Time

“I agree safety time is required to deal with Murphy, and his whole family, when managing a project. But, let me ask you this––what is more important to you, finishing a task on time or finishing a project on time?”

The Lieutenant tilts her head and says, “Finishing the project on time. That’s the only thing the counts.”

Gary nods and says, “I agree, so why don’t we use the safety where we need it the most? We need to protect the project’s due date rather than trying to protect the due date of each task.”

“I don’t know,” she says, “it’s what we’ve always done for other projects.”

And, how has that worked out, I say to myself. It’s clear that finishing the project on time is everyone’s priority. We need to do everything we can to meet the due date. And, if moving some safety time around to do that will help, let’s do it.

The Lieutenant tilts her head the other way and says, “But, I don’t see a place to do that in our plan?”

Gary says, “The software will add the safety time once we press the Scheduling button. It looks like we will be able to do that today and you’ll see what I mean.”

The screen zooms in on another task. Gary says, “This next task needs a resource type, or more than one type of resource, responsible for completing this task. Who is it going to be and how many do we need?” He makes a selection according to the input from the group.

“And, what is the aggressive, but doable task duration estimate?”

Complete Most of the Planning

The next 45 minutes are filled with adding resource types, resource names, quantities, and durations. There is some back and fourth between the folks on the phone about differences in opinion, but that’s to be expected.

Last week I was leading a project planning meeting and it wasn’t going well. We were missing key people, the folk who attended didn’t have all the information we needed, and the frustration filled the room. What a difference a week makes. On day I’m lamenting about my lot in life and the next we are moving through this phase of the planning process smooth as silk.

When I look up at the screen, the pointer has stopped and everyone is looking at me.

“What,” I say.

Gary said, “As a subject matter expert, we need your help to scrutinize the network. Check all task dependencies, resource types assigned and duration estimates. And, make sure each task has a defined deliverables. The rest of us are going to take a well deserved break.”

July 20th @ 2:30pm