Principles of Project Success

Principles of Project Success #

The three Governing principles of Succesful Project Management are:

  1. Create Value
  2. Lead People
  3. Manage Process

In this world that we live in, it’s not often we talk about the successful project. That project we met budget, anticipated outcome, or even on time. More often than not, we are focused on what is in front of, the problems we face, or even how bad that last project went.

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 15-16). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Project Success #

The best measure for project success involves the happiness meter with the Stakeholders.

Like that meter from The Sims.

This spread of happiness is for all stakeholders; from the user, the the project sponsor, to even you (the project manager). All individuals are responsible for the success of the project.

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 16). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Quantitative Vs. Qualitative #

Quantitative Value is the quantity; the Value that could be measured with a Return on Investment (ROI) or Net Present Value (NPV). This could be the Value that investors see as the make it break or break it value.

Qualitative Value is different, it’s not a value that is usually tracked with numbers. This Value is based on other factors such as brand awareness or market trust.

Project Management Focus #

The primary focus for projects will be the qualitative value that would be deemed essential. Usually if qualitative metricsare met, the quantitative metrics will be met.

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 17). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Formal Authority Vs. Informal Authority #

Formal Authority #

Formal Authority is where the title the person holds holds value. This authority allows you to enforce certain rules or formally push for results. This is not where “true” Power comes from. “True” power is when you work with others in a respectful manner.

Someone with formal authority still holds a lot of power (depending on how they exercise that power).

Informal Authority #

Looking back at the stakeholders for projects, this is the type of authority that can ultimately make or break the team. This authority could even be the cause for project failure. This authority is comprised of Someone’s character & capabilities.

Some good questions to ask; regarding formal authority:

  • Are you a Good listener or a Great Listener?
  • Are the project expectation clearly understood not only to yourself but to ALL Stakeholders?
  • Do you treat people with respect? Even if they don’t deserve it?
  • Are you trustworthy?
  • Do you hold other people to committments? Better yet; do you keep your committments?

Only you know yourself and can answer these questions!

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 20). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Informal Authority Behaviors #

The Five Foundational Behaviors are: Listen First, Clarify Expectations, Extend Trust, Practice Accountability, & Demonstrate Respect.

Listen First #

In life, when we engage in verbal communication, there are two different processes we follow; Hearing & Listenting. With every moment in our day, how much do we hear? How much do we listen?

If you don’t exercise empathy in life, you will not be able to connect with the stakeholders, or even those in our life. Before going in with our prior thoughts or preconceptions; first attempt to listen and understand what the other person is communicating. This is the key to empathy. Truly listening to the other party or your team, would allow you to reach a level of confidence; not only self-confidence, but also the team gaining confidence in you.

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 22). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Clarify Expectations #

Clarifying Expectations is a of communication; just like “Listening First”.

“The great enemy of communication, we find, is the illusion of it. We have talked enough; but we have not listened. By not listening, we have failed to concede immense complexity of our Society - & thus the great gaps between ourselves & those with whom seek understanding.
William H. Whyte

SMART Goals & the 5 Ws are already some great tools that provide insight and allow us to have a shared vision with how we would move forward. These tools can help break barriers; especially when both parties aim to do their best. Projects can only be “Successful” when ALL Stakeholders are оn the same page.

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 23-24). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Extend Trust #

When you trust someone, that means that you trust them to handle what they say they are going to do. You trust they will perform the task appropriately. When you trust someone, you have a connection with them; allowing the conversations to be more impactful, they are much more likely to include each person listening.

The irony here is that when you trust someone, they’ll typically work harder. They will want to do their best!

“Trust is something you have! If you lose someone’s trust; you have to earn it back!”
Vincent Maule

This trust is something that can be lost from one side, or even both sides. Trust can be thought of like a bridge. Ironically enough, trust can play a big part in projects; even in life itself outside of projects.

Not meeting commitments with work, not showing up on time, or even not completing milestones/tasks can rumble that bridge, impact the trust. Trying to hide faults from the other person/group is another good way to rumble that bridge. intentionally deceiving the other party could lear the the destruction to that bridge.

If you have problems trusting people, one of these poor habits could be the root of the problem:

  • Avoidance in Delegating Tasks
  • Not Letting Team Members make Decisions
  • Always giving Negative Feedback
  • If Your Project drag on Forever

There is even another concept called counterfeit trust. This type could be seen as if your delegating a task to someone but not even letting them compelete the task. Another counterfeit, that could be been seen as worse, would be micromanagement. Here is a breakdown of poor management characater aspects:

  • Micro-Management: Watching every minute of Someone’s day.
  • Nit-Picking: Focusing on the insignificant errors.
  • Controlling: Telling them what to do & how to do it.

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 24-25). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Practice Accountability #

If you break this trust with yourself, how can you hold yourself to standards? What about breaking trust with others? As the project lead, you are a Model! If this trust is in place, you’ll be able to be accountable with each other. You could genuinely & authentically hold others accountable, you won’t be “punishing people”; you’ll be connecting with them.

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 25-26). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Demonstrate Respect #

Although the other four Informal Authority Behaviors are important, this behavior might be the one that tops all of them. They are all still very important, important enough where you can’t just fake it to make it. If you practice all of these behaviors, other people will want to be on you team to win.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Lao Tzu

This quote holds so much power! Especially in regards to the “Demonstrating Respect” pillar. Once you learn how to Respect yourself; you’ll learn how to Respect others! By showing respect to Stakeholders, they will be inclined to show the same respect back. Straight talk is a form of respect. You can’t just “act” or fake it to make it. You have to be genuine & honest with not only those around you, but yourself as well.

If you hold these genuine & honest attributes, you will succeed in the project; more importantly, with life. If you know all of the Project Management Process, you can still fail as a Project Manager.

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 26-29). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Manage the Process #

Without processes, people would wonder aimlessly; wondering, wasting resource & time. In many different environments, processes could be seen as the guard rails with how we approach something that might be new to us; these guard rails could also help with projects from start to finish. Historically in project management, there have been two different ways with approaching projects: The Waterfall Method & The Agile Framework.

The Waterfall Method #

This could be seen as the traditional method when approaching project management. This method involves a Waterfall; tasks or milestones going down stream. The primary purpose of this method is to manage frojects that have a well-defined scope, clear objectives, & a deadline. There can be minimal changes throughout the project; but as we go downstream, it can be difficult to change anything upstream. Usually, the value is not realized until the end.

flowchart LR
    A[Milestone 1] --> B[Milestone 2] --> C[Milestone 3] --> D[Milestone 4] --> E[Milestone 5]

Project Value #

The Projects value can sometimes be identified at the start, in the scoping phase. More than likely, value of the product can not be taken advantage of until the end of the project.

The Agile Framework #

Originated from the world of software development, this approach focused on being Agile. No pun intended; this method involved sprints, a duration that can range weeks or months. Most notably only weeks, a sprint would last 5-7 weeks at a time. Everything starts out with a rough draft, possible with an end goal envisioned by stakeholders. Sometimes, there would be multiple sprints that would be planned to make it to one higher arching goal.

Stakeholders would collaborate closely, sometimes with daily calls; and work together to contribute towards the end goal. Below is a lifecycle of a Sprint:

flowchart LR
    1["Raise Issue(s) & Plan"] --> 2["Develop Deliverable"] --> 3["Close Issue(s) & Project"]
    subgraph Iteration
        2["Develop Deliverable"] --> 4["Deploy Deliverable"] --> 5["Test Deliverable"] --> 6["Review deliverable"] --> 2["Develop Deliverable"]
        end

Project Value #

Projects value is gained through the completion of each issue.

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 29-31). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Another Option #

There is another framework/method that has been formulated, a mix from the best of both worlds; The Unofficial Project Manager Process!

flowchart LR
    subgraph Process
        direction LR
        s[scope]
        subgraph Action
            p[Plan] --> e[Engage]
            e[Engage] --> p[Plan]
            end
        s --> Action --> c[close]
    end
    Action --> t[Track] --> a[Adapt] --> Action

Kogon, Kory; Blakemore, Suzette. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition) (p. 32-34). BenBella Books. Kindle Edition.

Maybe it was just called the Project Management Framework all along. 🤪

Project Management Framework Source: https://www.franklincovey.com/courses/project-management

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