BU607 Reality Based

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BU607Reality Based Project Management
David Clark President Emerald City
Software Emcitysoft_at_aol.com
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Reality Based Project Management
Why Do Projects Fail? Or Exceed the
Budget While falling short of expectations?
Why are projects so difficult to manage?
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The Big Picture WithThe Seven

• 1. Project Champion
• 2. Understanding the Environment
• 3. User Support
• 4. Clearly Defined Goals
• 5. Know Your Tools, Alternatives, and
• Limitations
• 6. Technical Expertise
• 7. The Project Manager

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Project Champion

• - You must have at least one
• - The higher the better
• - Limited Tech Understanding
• - Must come from the User
• Community

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The Role of the Project Champion

• The Vision Thing
• Making Decisions
• Building Bridges and
• Knocking Down Walls
• Providing Motivation

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Understanding Your Environment

• The Game of Politics
• Sharks, dolphins, and ...
• The Occasional Killer Whale
• How Dysfunctional Are You?
• SeedPlanting and
• The Honey-Bee Approach
• Management Vision

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User Support (and managing it)

• Understanding User Fears
• Building User Support
• Touch All The Bases
• Users can...

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User Support

• USERS CAN
• Make or
• Brake (as in Stop)
• A Project

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User Support

• MAD Users
• Mutual Assured Destruction
• OR
• Mutual Assured Development

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Clearly Defined GoalsThe 4 Gs

• Generating the Goals...
• Going Outside of the Box
• Gathering Requirements
• Getting Issues to the Surface

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Clearly Defined Goals

• Seek Early Success
• Small Steps Before...
• Giant Leaps
• THINK BIG (but start small)

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Know Your Tools, Alternatives,AND LIMITATIONS (!)

• Choosing the Right Path
• Software Alternatives
• Project Management Styles
• Limitations
• and...

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Project Management Tools

• Issue Statements
• Project Charters
• Requirements Document
• Timelines \ Cost Estimates
• Change Management
• Service Level Agreements
• Gizmo of the Month Club

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Technical Expertise

• Whos On Your Team?
• Is It Complete?
• Team Strengths Weaknesses
• Teamwork / Synergy w/Customers

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Technical ExpertiseManaging Contractors

• Sizing Up 3rd Party Consulting
• Managing the Results (or cleaning up the mess)
• Transition Plans Have One!
• Avoiding the FullBack Mentality

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Project ManagerThe Big Kahuna!

• The PM in the Role of the PM
• Does Not Happen Often Enough
• Level of Other Duties
• The Project Load of the PM
• PM Experience \ Background
• PM Philosophy (The Seven Habits)

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Project ManagerThe Cult of Personality

• Uniting the Paradigms
• Projecting the You Gotta Believe Mentality
• Walking the Walk (Get Technical)
• Leadership (The Vision ThingAgain)

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The Project Manager as...a Public Relations
Expert

• The Game of Politics (Revisited)
• Getting Issues ON TOP of the Table
• Influence Management
• The Chameleon as Project Manager
• Viewing Issues from 360 degrees

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Project ManagersStaying On Top

• Bringing (and Keeping) It Together
• Managing User
• - Expectations
• - Core Needs
• - Requirements
• - Scope Creep (Good vs Evil)
• Managing the Development Team
• - Time \ Change Management
• - Team Motivation
• - Cool vs Stable (New Technology)

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Project Managing The Project Team

• With the IT Department
• With Data Resource MGMT (DBA)
• With Application Services
• With Users
• - User Interaction
• - Access to the Users
• - Access to the Process
• See the Process, Be the Process

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Project ManagerAs Manager

• Managing Management
• - Knowing When to be Direct
• - Knowing When to go to War
• PM Time Management
• - Finding the Right Balance
• - Learning to say NO

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Project ManagerAs Salesman

• Selling to the Customer
• - Internal vs External
• - The Customer Comes First
• Getting Them Hooked to Your
• - Services
• - Applications