Project mania to project management
How to successfully move from the one to the other
I've managed A LOT of projects over the years. From implementation of multimillion pound document management systems to bespoke web applications and everything in between. And I do mean everything! Some of these eclectic gems included: classroom refits, large scale music concerts, music studios, video recording set builds and even a friend’s wedding reception.
That last one was a blast and ended with me having my hair dyed green!
Somewhere along this journey I had an interesting realisation: THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PROBLEMS. Whether these are small problems in a big project or big problems in a small project.
No matter how much planning and preparation was done at the outset, not one of these projects, big or small, was plain sailing: The venue was unavailable for the band rehearsal the day before, the contractors were late delivering the flooring, the vendors unexpectedly didn't have engineers available for the DMS deployment, the trainer fell ill the day before the site training etc, etc.
And speaking to some of out other PMs, I was not alone in this: it is the reality of modern projects, but somehow we have to cope, succeed and overcome. How do we do it?
After reflecting on this, I finally distilled my response to project problems into a process with four elements:
1. Take a step back
When we're invested in a project, we want to solve any issue immediately, but by taking a step back, breathing and evaluating from a distance, it is often easier to make a high quality decision. Ask yourself and your immediate team:
How big of an issue is this? (usually measured against the budget and timeline)
How time sensitive is it?
What would happen if we did nothing?
Is there an opportunity here?
2. Use the tools
There are tools that help us deal with and often resolve these problems. The PMI offers a great toolkit - it’s well worth a look, if you haven't seen it. It is also useful to note that you don't have to use all the tools everytime, but should choose a selection of the most relevant and useful to solving the problem at hand.
However, in my experience, noting the issue, referring back to previous notes or looking at the impact on a timeline doesn't move you forward on their own. These are merely inputs (and sometimes outputs) to the next steps.
3. Consult the experts
Use the tools from step 2 and talk to your team. This really is the most important of the 4 steps. You might think you know the answer - talk to your team. You might even KNOW you know the answer - still, talk to your team!
You can't know all the answers nor see all the potential pitfalls, so your team, experts outside of your team and stakeholders' knowledge is crucial. This process will fold like a deck of cards if you have bad or incomplete information. Get all the facts before you move on to step 4.
4. Make a decision
The saying goes "a moving ship is easier to steer" and that is certainly the case for a project. To keep forward momentum you need to make decisions. So, make sure to follow-up steps 1- 3 with step 4.
Sometimes the decision is as simple as to revisit the problem again at a specific time when you have more information. But importantly, you've made a start at dealing with the problem.
Often it takes iterating through these four steps several times to resolve the issue, but working your way through the steps logically moves you and the project forward every time.
The beauty of this process flow is that it is easily repeatable and applies to dealing with project problems of any nature and projects of any magnitude. Maybe the caterers are delayed to Aunt Gertrude's wedding anniversary or stage 1 of your rocket launch is in jeopardy - in my experience these 4 steps will work towards resolving both!
Of course just because the process is simple, doesn't mean it's easy and you might want to customise it to suit your style, but the more you practice this iterative approach to solving project problems the easier and more rewarding it will get.