A Girl’s Guide to Managing Projects

The Project Management Institute (PMI), is the world’s leading member association for the project management profession, but it hasn’t really got the reach of PRINCE2 as a standard approach in the UK. Not yet, anyway. PMI over here is growing, and they are holding a conference in Malta in a couple of weeks to prove it. In fact, the figures speak for themselves: PMI membership in the region is up by 11.5% last year to 30,000.

I’m not exactly sure why they chose the Hilton in St Julian’s. I was there at the end of last year and it’s OK, but if you have the whole of Europe, the Middle East and Africa – it’s an EMEA event – to choose from it just seems a bit out of the way.

This is from the event press release:

“Organizations around the world are feeling the competitive pressures that come with globalization, such as schedule compression, shorter time-to-market windows and managing in longer and longer supply chains,” said Gregory Balestrero, chief executive officer of PMI. “To achieve success in the marketplace, organizations must recognize that project management is critical not only to project goals but to the ultimate success of the organization.”

If only Balestrero could say that directly to some of the stakeholders I’ve worked with. Unfortunately, he’s preaching to the converted.

For those attendees who can drag themselves away from the St Julian’s strip, there are 60 educational presentations covering 13 ‘areas of focus’. The idea is that you can tailor your conference experience to whatever area you particularly want to learn more about. Take your pick from advanced or foundation project management skills, communications, consulting, project management trends, professional development (not sure that this is really a whole ‘area of focus’ – how many lectures on online learning and mentoring can you take?), project management issues (which surely all other streams will cover in some way), sales and marketing skills and teaming (apparently this means learning how to work in a team).

I’m only being disparaging because I can’t go. I love conferences – there is always someone interesting at the lectern and these days the parallel streams approach means you can go with a colleague and both have completely different information at the end of the day. It also means you can turn up to some seminars and get an almost one-to-one discussion if it’s not a popular topic and the organisers have laid on a few too many eager speakers.

If you can go, or you want to find out more, you can read all the details about the 19-21 May event on the PMI website.

I saw a demo of the latest version of LiquidPlanner, the project management scheduling and collaboration tool, on Tuesday. It’s now been released – and it’s still in the Beta testing phase so it’s still free!

Bruce Henry took me, a life-long user of MS Project, through the main features. I have dabbled with ConceptDraw Project 3 and Niku as well, but LiquidPlanner outstrips anything I’ve ever used previously.

Our economy is becoming more project driven as companies outsource the straightforward stuff and leave the complex, one-off, non-repetitive tasks on home turf. While that’s great news for project professionals, it also means that we are doing a lot more work that’s never been done before. Throw some new technology into the mix and you get a project that is almost impossible to estimate with any degree of accuracy.

LiquidPlanner works with this uncertainty, rather than forcing you to commit to task durations. It creates task durations by employing ranged estimates rather than single point estimates. It also has a patent-pending scheduling engine that applies probability to each task in a schedule, so you can make more accurate guesstimates about when things will finish.

Updating progress is not done by the standard approach of percent complete either. You have to re-estimate how much longer the work will take you each time you update progress. That means that you get better predictions of when things will finish but also that you have to keep an eye on what your team are inputting. If they keep saying ‘two more days, just two more days’ but never actually get any closer to finishing then you have to catch the warning sign. I suppose you have to do that with percent complete too: I once worked with a guy who said everything was 80% complete, regardless of how much he had done and how much was still to do.

I loved the way the fuzzy durations appear on the LiquidPlanner Gantt chart: the task bars fade at the ends to signify that the tasks end during that period, but without fixing an unchanging milestone. The other great thing Bruce showed me was that you don’t have to put in dependencies when working with resources. LiquidPlanner intuitively knows that Bob can’t do six tasks on one day and schedules them to start one after the other. So it’s duration based planning rather than effort-based planning but that’s OK – after all, that’s what most people do and how most stakeholders want their information. If you want to change the priority and have Bob work on a different task first, just drag and drop until the task is first on his to-do list.

Whether or not your project sponsor will understand the concept of fuzzy durations and calculating time based on probability engines is another matter. It will help you if he or she consistently strips out the contingency you have so diligently planned and added in, as there is no need to negotiate a separate buffer – it’s there, built in already. Of course, you can always add a contingency task if you are doing a really cutting-edge project and feel you need it.

LiquidPlanner also has MS Sharepoint-style collaboration, so it acts as a document repository too. The theory behind this is that projects are a social activity and getting people to work collaboratively is a challenge that pays off when it’s done right. Social networking tools haven’t leaked over into the project management tools world. I’ve written about project blogs before, but when I looked for a wiki I could use for my current project I’ve not had much success. LiquidPlanner is taking some of the Web 2.0 concepts and applying them to the old-fashioned project management world. Which is no bad thing. However, if your company already uses another document repository or collaboration tool you will be hard pressed to sit this one alongside it. You can enter links to documents held on other web-based systems but who wants to switch from one to the other? You’d be better off doing the whole thing in LiquidPlanner, but whereas Sharepoint has enterprise-wide appeal, LiquidPlanner will only work in your project management function.

Did I mention it’s free? The product is due out of the Beta phase by July, so if you want to take advantage of it while it’s still free then now is the time. Bruce said that once the Beta phase is over current subscribers will get preferential rates, so if you think you might want to use LiquidPlanner it is worth signing up now. Ten thousand people already have.

I don’t think our corporate standards will be changing to LiquidPlanner in the short term but if you work in a small organisation then it is definitely worth a look. I’m sure that the product developers working on all the other project scheduling tools will be building these features into their own software before long. LiquidPlanner is a glimpse of the future of mainstream scheduling – and it has really got intelligent.

Welcome to the April 28, 2008 edition of carnival of project management. Yes, it’s a day late. Sorry about that.

This is a new blog for me: the Semi-Charmed Wife presents Leadership: Part 1 posted at Semi-Charmed Wife, saying, “This post is the first in a three-part series about how to be a good leader.” The As If method is something I’ll be putting into practice myself!

Rich Maltzman, PMP presents A verse on risk posted at Scope crêpe.

GreatManagement presents What I Learned From Scot Herrick About Communicating ‘Bad News’ posted at The GreatManagement Blog, saying, “Scot sees this as a strength. The fact that you can ask for help and advice when you are ‘up against it’, is a very powerful and respected skill.”

And here’s another piece about bad news: John Gough writes Five Tips on How to Be the Bearer of Bad News posted at iJournal.

Mark Runta presents Any Questions? posted at Career Progression, Management & Global Sourcing, saying, “Low interaction during meetings could be harbinger of bigger issues.”

Craig Borysowich presents Change Requests vs. Decision Requests posted at Tech Architect. This is set out strangely (and why have those little hyperlinked adverts? Who looks at them anyway?) but the process of decision requests is interesting.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
carnival of project management via BlogCarnival.

Enjoyed the series on managing international projects? Here is some further reading that you might like:

• Emotional Intelligence for Project Managers, Anthony Mersino (Amacom, 2007)

• Polyglot Dictionary of Project Management Terms, John Bartlett (PMToday.co.uk)

• Managing Without Walls: Maximize Success with Virtual, Global, and Cross-cultural Teams, Colleen Garton and Kevin Wegryn (MC Press, 2006)

• And of course my own book, Project Management in the Real World (BCS Books, 2006), includes chapters discussing managing cross-cultural teams as well as examples of project management practice from the US, Australia, Spain and the Netherlands.

Missed the series on managing international and cross-cultural projects? Catch up here:

Part 1: Cross-border projects

Part 2: Challenges for project managers

Part 3: Tackling the issues

Did you know that an individual typically works overtime in a year equating to not being paid until 22 February? That’s nearly two months of ‘free’ work we give our employers because overtime is unpaid.

As project managers, we are generally quite a well organised bunch, and I didn’t think I’d learn a lot at a recent event I attended, entitled ‘working smarter, not harder’. The evening seminar for women technologists was held at Microsoft’s Victoria offices. But I did take away some interesting figures, including the gem above about unpaid overtime. Here are some other stats:

• 78% of women say they work for companies with flexible working policies, but better technology would make it easier to balance work and life
• 55% said their work/life balance was just in control, but they wanted more ‘life’
• 45% said their work/life balances were out of kilter, and actually way past the point of being in balance.

These figures came from a survey of the women in the room, which we completed before we arrived. Suzanne Doyle-Morris, the keynote speaker, also presented research findings from a 2007 study done by the University of Hertfordshire which shows people now walk 10% faster than 10 years ago. Maybe shoes have lower heels nowadays.

I did actually pick up some tips from her presentation, and also that of the other speakers, and I pass them on here:

• Know your strengths. Don’t be an all-rounder. It’s a waste of valuable time to do things when someone else can do them for you, better than you. Don’t be threatened by surrounding yourself with good people and having a great team.
• Set clear boundaries about the hours you work: it’s fine to work at the evenings and weekends if it gives you time in the week to do what you want. Be flexible, but take the time back. This also sets a good example to the team.
• Also set clear boundaries about how people contact you. If people can reach you by IM, mobile phone, desk phone, BlackBerry, home phone, email and so on it makes life much more stressful.
• Hide away and catch up. Book time in your diary to work at home or at a different office. You’ll still be available by phone but you’ll be more productive as people won’t be constantly passing by your desk and interrupting.
• Sort out your technology and ensure you drive it, not the other way round.

Even though I’m a generally organised person, it doesn’t hurt to have someone point out what you should be doing, as it acts as a memory refresh. As a result of listening to these speakers, I have gone through my diary and blocked out a couple of days a month where I can work from home - the place I can hide away. It was also worth attending for the fab womenintechnology.co.uk pen I got, which has become my favourite piece of writing equipment. Microsoft also gave us a bar of Microsoft-branded chocolate, which is currently lying half-eaten on my dining room table. I doubt it will stay there for long.

This is the last in a 3-part series about managing cross-cultural and international teams. Missed the earlier posts? Read the first bit here, and the second bit here.

The biggest issues for international projects are cultural understanding and communication. The former isn’t something that can be neatly tackled by a software package. It relies on the emotional intelligence of the project manager, his or her leadership skills, adaptability and ability to inform and train the teams. Successful communication also relies on the soft skills that a project manager brings to the table.

These are the ability to listen, hear the unspoken concerns and messages, and respond clearly in a way that the other person can understand.

Being able to put those soft communication skills into practice is something that can be helped by technology. People need to be able to hear and speak to each other in some format before the project manger’s emotional intelligence can be put to good use. Technology can at least alleviate the difficulties of cross-border working, even if we have to accept its limitations with regards to the interpretation of messages communicated using it.

The technologies available to project managers are wide-ranging. Instant messaging (IM) gives project teams the ability to connect informally when their status is shown as online. This can promote collaborative working as team members can quickly and easily ask questions of their colleagues instead of waiting for a scheduled formal meeting. In general, the more communication the greater the bonds and understanding between team members, so provided this facility is not abused, it can help improve working relationships. In practice, it only works when all users are in similar time zones where the difference is only a few hours.

The next step up from one-to-one messaging is web conferencing, where multiple users join the same online conference. Packages such as WebEx or Sametime Unyte allow you to hold a virtual meeting with the team. Web conferencing means you can make changes to documents in real time or show product demonstrations to the rest of the team without having everyone in the same room. Some packages also allow the functionality to record presentations or meetings so they can be played back afterwards: useful for colleagues in time zones that don’t allow them to participate, or for people who are participating in a meeting not held in their native language, so they have another chance to go over any details they missed later.

IM and web conferencing allow synchronous communication, but asynchronous communication also has its place in building a successful international team. You could opt for something as simple as a shared Microsoft Outlook calendar, where team meetings and project milestones are recorded for everyone to see. When you connect from a PC configured to a different timezone, Outlook will automatically show the meeting at the correct time where you are.

Investment in project-specific software like @task will offer something more comprehensive. For fully online projects, packages like Primavera include collaborative working options. An online project team workspace where you can store documents, list tasks and progress and even post photos of team members can help a team work more efficiently, if everyone appreciates the ‘rules’ and abides by them. It will be up to the project manager to establish how the site should be used, and to ensure the team understands that.

Whatever software you choose to use to manage your cross-border projects, you will quickly realise its limitations. A bad workman blames his tools, but a good project manager knows when to use the tools, and when to set the tools aside and lead with understanding and instinct. In a shrinking world, projects are expanding, and the keys to success in international projects are shrewd use of the available technologies and excellent cultural awareness.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Kingsley Napley sends the womenintechnology.co.uk network a quarterly update on employment law, with a focus on how it impacts women in the workplace. One particular item stood out this quarter: a consultation has kicked off about whether or not to repeal equality laws, which is ironic given that a Single Equality Bill is going to be unveiled as part of the Queen’s speech in the autumn. The announcement says:

Harriet Harman, the Minister for Women, has launched a consultation on proposals to repeal legislation preventing potential employers from taking race or sex into consideration when hiring. The plan is described as “positive action” rather than “positive discrimination” - it would not allow a candidate with worse job credentials to be given preferential treatment; the measures would allow race or sex to be taken into consideration when choosing between candidates with exactly the same qualifications.

A similar system currently exists in Norway. The implementation period has now finished on a law that stipulates 40% of directors must be female. The government in have published a list of 12 companies accused of breaking the law by failing to appoint women to 40% of their non-executive board directorships.

New York has just rejected a London-style congestion charge: just because other people are doing it doesn’t make it right. Let’s see what the consultation comes up with and hope people have more sense than to implement this policy.

I had the opportunity to speak to Ron Holohan at The pm411.org recently.  We spoke about office politics, techniques for self-promotion, communicating with project stakeholders and loads of other things (yes, including my book, although you won’t have heard these case studies before).  You can listen to the podcast here.

Ron has a really dry sense of humour and it was great fun collaborating with him on this interview.  Thanks, Ron, for having me on your podcast!

This is part 2 of a 3-part series about managing cross-cultural and international teams. Missed part 1? Read it here.

Project managers taking on international projects face a variety of practical challenges. For example, time zones are important. How will you conduct real-time team meetings? Who is going to be the person who gets up in the middle of the night for a call with the Australian development team to go through the testing results? In the absence of incentives for the project team, the project manager will find it difficult to recruit volunteers.

Protecting the interests of the UK-based team also falls to the project manager. A project sponsor who doesn’t appreciate that you have just spent half the night on a web conference with the manufacturing supplier in Japan will criticise a team that then goes home at 2pm. Project managers with international responsibilities not only have to educate team members in how to work well together, but also have to manage upwards and ensure that senior stakeholders understand the constraints of this type of project. In reality, international projects take longer and involve higher travel costs than projects where the entire team is co-located – and that isn’t always a welcome message to the senior team.

In fact, co-location can be a problem even with projects completely based in the UK. A project team that is split across several locations can also be difficult to manage. If you have the choice, opt to have your team in the same building, preferably all together on the same floor. Research done by the US Civil Engineering Research Foundation shows that co-location contributes to effective decision making, attention to detail and helps the team form a partnership. Projects where the team was not based together suffered from poor communication, procurement problems and lack of direction. Whether you are split across multiple UK sites or multiple countries, getting together at critical times in the project is a sure way of moving forward with the minimal amount of miscommunication.

Involving another country in a project is a wider concern than just finding ways of working with the people involved. The project environment is typically much more complex than a UK-based project. While I was working in France, my Indian colleagues rang in to tell us they were being sent home after office buildings in Bangalore were damaged: the death of Indian film legend Rajkumar prompted spontaneous violence amongst mourners on the streets.

Another time, French commuters (and me) found it impossible to get to work after strikes about pensions meant more than 90% of high-speed trains were cancelled. A project manager leading an international team needs an international view of the different legal and political environments, in order to successfully navigate unforeseen difficulties or changes.

Having looked at what the problems are, next Monday I’ll write about how you can tackle them.

This is the first in a 3-part series about managing cross-cultural and international teams.

The world of business is continually shrinking: we work in an environment with real-time audio visual communication with colleagues on the other side of the world and online translation tools. Even small companies can operate internationally with outsourcing agreements and partners overseas, which means that project managers in organisations of any size face the challenges of managing international projects.

And that means far more than just calculating that when it’s 9 am in Paris, Texas it’s 4 pm in Paris, France. International projects come with two main challenges: the people you are working with won’t necessarily work in the same way as you, and the people you are working for won’t necessarily want the same things.

Having an open mind about these challenges is the first step in being able to address them in a pragmatic way that helps everyone involved. National culture plays a big part in how we act, and we can’t change that – we can just learn how to make it work for everyone concerned. That can be hard for senior managers to accept. After all, they have got where they are in the organisation by working hard and performing well. They expect certain responses to their behaviour, and when that doesn’t materialise, it is easy to put the blame squarely at the door of the person who hasn’t reacted as expected. Being able to see that working with an international team requires an appreciation of local reactions is key to making cross-border projects a success.

Spending some time with your team members overseas is the best way to understand how they work, but desk research before you go (or if budget constraints mean you can’t go) will be beneficial.

You will find out a great deal about how team members will most likely react in the project environment. Here are some examples of cultural differences that manifest themselves in a team environment:

• Leadership: an egalitarian, collaboarative style will work better with Scandinavians than with Russians, who will distrust a leader who is too friendly with subordinates.
• Time: in some countries, time is a flexible concept. French business meetings rarely start on time. Plan your conference calls to allow for the Mexicans to join even later. When a deadline is a drop-dead date make sure everyone actually understands the significance of missing it. For some cultures, milestones are just a guide.
• Your role: while you might be the most important person on the project in your country, your counterparts in China for example could see you as a spare part. Employees working in cultures with strong hierarchical structures may not take direction from you because in the grand hierarchy you just don’t register. Bring in your Sponsor or a board member if you need to get things moving and ask them to speak to local management to make your role clear.
• Saving face: some cultures find it easy (or at least acceptable) to hold up a hand and say ‘I made a mistake’. But others don’t. That makes managing issues much more complicated.

In summary, be bothered enough about cultural differences to find out what they actually are. Many people love talking about how their countries work and a short discussion in the early days of the project with a local expert can avoid headaches later. This knowledge provides you with a framework to manage the differences that will occur and also the reassurance that you can develop a realistic way to work together.

Next Monday I’ll be writing about the practical challenges facing project managers when managing international projects.

Image: BigFoto.com