The Yin and Yang of Project Management

Project management can sometimes seem to be a job of opposites - sometimes sitting in front of your screen preparing project plans, documentation and reports. But at other times you’re out and about sorting out problems that could impact the project’s success or diplomatically resolving personality clashes that could lead to a crisis. And whether you're documenting aspects of the project or fire-fighting problems it never seems to be easy. But then you probably wouldn't want to do the job if it was. 

Part of what makes project management interesting is the challenges it always seems to throw up. And part of what makes a successful project manager is being able to deal with the challenges whether they are related to the budget, scope, schedule, people or project documentation.
A project manager must be all things to all people. You can't be successful as a project manager if you are only effective at the scheduling and budgeting and not good at dealing with people on a personal level or convincing others of the benefits of the project.

Yin and yang are opposite forces that are both interconnected and interdependent, and, therefore, complementary. Everything has both yin and yang aspects - light and dark, female and male - and one cannot exist without the other; but either aspect can be more or less prominent. In a project manager it is the balance of the yin and yang that determines how they handle aspects of a project such as change, risk and individual people on the project team.

So nurture both sides of your personality to obtain the perfect balance of yin and yang and develop your project management skills to a level that will ensure success.

·         Build collaborative teams

·         Develop a supportive working environment

·         Encourage professional growth

·         Deliver first-class products

·         Accept that mistakes can be made (and move on without blame)

·         Foster a can-do attitude

·         Communicate authoritatively and concisely

Read more about the attributes of male and female project managers in these articles:

"Do Men make the best project managers?"
"Do Women make the best project managers?"

And if you are still in doubt undertake some training on one of the very best project management courses in a recognised methodology such as PMP, PRINCE2 or APMP.

The importance of end-users in IT Projects

I met up with an old colleague recently who I worked with when we were both IT Project Managers for a large blue-chip corporation. Our conversation got me thinking about how often the opinions of end-users in IT projects are dismissed as of little importance or, worse, ignored completely. The stakeholders, senior management, project manager, suppliers and vendors all have a voice in IT projects – they can articulate their needs and requirements and their opinions are duly noted and acted on because of their importance within the organisation and within the project hierarchy.

And yet it is the end-user who will be using a new software system on a daily basis. It is the end-user who knows and understands the data in the legacy system, who knows how to work around problems with the current system and understands how to get their job done quickly and efficiently. So why don't more project managers take more notice of the comments and concerns of this important group?

Is it that the group itself does not believe their opinions carry any weight and, therefore, do not speak up when given the opportunity to do so. Is it that they are never fully involved in the project and so don't have the opportunity to speak up? Whatever the reasons might be, don't ignore users' concerns and comments throughout the project. In my experience it is often the user who can identify a potential problem before it happens.

If it is proving difficult to get feedback from the everyday user of a system then it is in the interests of the project manager to elicit that information by the best means possible. There are many approaches to obtaining feedback from users. Informal brainstorming sessions, formal meetings and questionnaires all may work well for different projects and different individuals. The best project management training courses will suggest other ideas for gleaning the information you need to ensure the new system delivered can actually be used effectively from day one and hence make your project a success.

I have personally found that cultivating a good personal relationship with key users is the best way to do this. Talk to them informally and on a personal level about their concerns – perhaps at a casual lunch or over coffee. Find out what their day-to-day tasks are now (on the existing system) and understand what they do. I have often shadowed a key user for their typical working day – it can be hugely revealing and throw up information that is almost impossible to find out in a more formal session.

So involve key users from the outset of the project. This is particularly important if a legacy system is being replaced with new technology or software to ensure the wealth of information in the existing database is not lost through incorrect handling. Data conversion can be a huge stumbling block if not done properly – I know of new IT systems that have been implemented without the full suite of data required for the users to perform their jobs. These are new IT systems that looked good, went live on time, had all the required features but the databases were incomplete so the systems were effectively useless. This sort of project will always have a poor reputation even if the problems with the data are quickly rectified.

I have also found that in many IT projects the most resistant user to the new technology can become the greatest advocate given the right involvement, training, encouragement and a good deal of hand-holding. The benefits of this effort on the part of the project manager are enormous. The chances of a highly successful project are much greater, the "reputation" of the software is immediately a good one, as soon as it goes live. And we all know it is much easier to get people to accept a few faults in an otherwise good system than to rescue the reputation of a system that starts off badly.

So learn from previous project problems and failures, take the advice of more experienced project managers and ensure you attend one of the professional project management courses available but never ignore the comments and concerns of the end-users in IT projects. You do so at your peril.

Project Success in Doubt

So you have brought your project in on-budget, on-time and it meets the requirements as documented and approved by the stakeholders. But the end-users are not happy and do not consider the project to be successful. The business department for which the project was carried out will now only sign-off the project if a new plan is put in place to add a whole series of enhancements to the original project.

You are probably asking yourself how did this happen? It could just be that that's life, stuff like this happens and there is nothing you can do about it. But stop right there, a simple solution may be close at hand.

There are many reasons why end-users may not be satisfied with a project that seems to be a success on paper. The most common ones are:

• Poorly defined Business Requirements
• Lack of involvement of key people
• Business imperative pushing through a pre-determined but unrealistic deadline
• Poor communication between all involved parties throughout the project
• No prototype
• Lack of, or poor, training on the new system/process
• Human resistance to change

If you are a project manager and have ever been in this situation, or fear you might be soon, then I would recommend that you look first at training and resistance to change. These are areas that can be rectified fairly easily and may resolve the problem. The simplest and most effective way to do this is to speak to the people who are the end-users.

Let's take as an example a project that involved delivering a new software system for administrative staff in a multinational corporation. Previously they had been using their own local versions of software developed over many years that very specifically targeted and met their local needs. But the global heads of the corporation wanted all their reports to look the same and present data in the same way so a new, common system has been introduced with this aim.

Each local department now feels they haven't quite got a system as good as the one they used to have. They're probably right from their perspective but from the perspective of the "powers that be" the project is a great success.

But your reputation is at stake if the system gets a bad reputation in the early stages of implementation so you need to do something about it.

So talk to the users and find out specifically what their gripes are. A little bit of hand-holding and encouragement may be all that is needed. If not, you will have a better idea of the enhanced requirements to ensure the system is eventually accepted. Very often, in my experience as a project manager the people given my time and attention in the early stages of implementation became great advocates of the new systems and even became "expert users" over time.

Good communication with all parties involved in a project is vital to a project's success, which I have said many times before. But I still regularly hear about projects in difficulty when simple, honest, face-to-face communication would have prevented the problems arising in the first place. So never underestimate its importance and if you get to go on some project management courses in the near future take a special note of the tips and techniques they will teach you about the importance of communication in a project environment and strategies such as SWOT analysis that will help you to make better decisions on future projects to prevent the same situation arising again.

Ways to Improve Your Project Management Skills

Successful Project Managers often have soft skills that set them apart from their colleagues and help them to deliver projects successfully where other equally well-qualified project managers would fail. Of course, you can't be a successful project manager with only the right personality traits – you also need the right training and experience but combining that with well-developed soft skills might just make all the difference.
Here are some ways to improve your project management skills:

·         Be assertive without being aggressive.

·         Display an optimistic, "can-do" attitude at all times.

·         Expect resources to be limited and have a contingency plan.

·         Plan for changes to priorities and requirements.

·         Deal calmly with changes to the project.

·         Promote a good team spirit – motivate, develop and encourage the team members.

·         Communicate in person whenever possible.

·         Talk to team members individually - give praise where it is due and clearly state your expectations if standards fall below what are required.

·         Take an active interest in every aspect of the project.

·         Communicate with team members and stakeholders at their level and in their language – avoid technical jargon.

·         Keep reports as clear and simple as possible – develop the ability to explain complex issues in a straightforward way.

·         Stay clear of business politics where possible – and when it is not possible try to take a rational, diplomatic approach and stay focussed on the original business objective.

·         Be receptive to new ideas without losing sight of the business objective. As a project progresses there can be situations where a re-think is required of how to achieve a particular goal or milestone.

·         Don't assume the original plan was the best approach if new information comes along part-way through the project.

·         Don't lose sight of the detail.

·         Celebrate each successful project with the team and don't forget to thank everyone, and involve everyone in the celebration, regardless of how junior or senior they might be.

·         Learn something from every project and take that knowledge forward with you to the next.

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Like all professional careers, the path to successful project management begins with a sure foundation. This foundation can be built by a combination of formal project management courses and work experience. If you are very fortunate you may also have a mentor. You can work well and effectively as a project manager with this base but to progress to being truly successful and consistently successful you will need to develop your "soft skills" and progress to more advanced levels of understanding with professional qualifications such as PMP Certification.

10 Reasons You Need Project Management

You may feel the whole process of project management with all its methodologies, techniques, meetings, reports and other assorted documentation is just a thorn in your side. You may even feel you would be better off without it - but I suggest you read these 10 benefits of project management and they may just change your opinion.

Project Management is simply a series of strategies that help to turn an idea into reality and get you from the ideas stage to a finished product or process as efficiently as possible and with least risk of failure.
If you are the client you know that the budget will be well-controlled and that the final product will meet your requirements and expectations. But it is only by applying formal techniques and using the skills and knowledge of the project manager that this will be the likely outcome.

So here's my 10 benefits of project management:

1.      Meeting Requirements: By clearly defining the business requirements at the outset and staying focussed on those requirements even when changes occur and risks arise, the end result will meet the client's needs.

2.      Client Satisfaction: Project management provides the tools and techniques to help deliver projects that not only meet the client's needs but are on time and on budget which naturally leads to client satisfaction.

3.      Flexibility: By incorporating change management processes into the running of the project and anticipating the need for changes, there can be the opportunity for flexibility in the client's requirements without risk to the project's success.

4.      Minimising Risks: Risk Management is an integral part of project management and, as such, risks can be anticipated and dealt with easily as they are not unexpected.

5.      Schedule: The detailed plans and schedules that are part of all good projects enable you to pre-empt scheduling conflicts and over-runs and deal with them by either modifying the project tasks or agreeing a revised schedule with the stakeholders.

6.      Controlled Costs: Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of controlled and organised project management is that you can spot problems with escalating costs before they become a major issue. You can then deal with them relatively easily because you have the detailed information to do so.

7.      Efficiency: Well trained project managers have learnt from the accumulated knowledge of projects that have gone before as well as those they have personally been involved in. They know what works well and what does not.

8.      Quality: Efficient projects that treat quality control and quality management as an inherent part of the project process result in higher quality end products.

9.      Communication: Everyone involved in the project, from team members, right through to the client will be kept well-informed of progress, change and risks. Good communication is a vital for a successful project.

10.  Team Motivation: When everyone involved in a project can see (from the plans, schedule and reports) what has been achieved, and by whom, then this will motivate all members of the team. They will get the recognition they deserve for a job well done.

So next time you are thinking about taking (or sending someone on) one of the many project management courses available and what you might learn, think about these benefits. They are all essential project management skills that will help your project be a success and that is good news for your company and good news for your career.

Project Scope and Its Importance

You know how you sometimes overhear a snippet of conversation – on a train, in a shop or restaurant – and it gets you thinking about a subject close to your heart. You want to join in the discussion – you can feel a heated debate arising - but the people in conversation have moved on. 

You may well have misunderstood them and, given that you didn't hear the whole conversation, they may well have come around to your way of thinking. But you can't help churning it over in your mind (well not if you are anything like me anyway).

The topic of conversation I overheard recently was about project scope and its importance in the success of a project. The type of project (or activity or product) was irrelevant to the discussion – it could have been any business or personal project. 

One of the protagonists believed that not only should the scope be clearly defined but what was NOT in scope should also be clearly defined. The antagonists thought that documenting (or indeed thinking or worrying about) what was not in scope was a waste of time. There could be a million things that are not in the scope of a project, they argued. But I believe they missed the point completely.

If, like me, you have worked as a project manager on many projects during your career (IT projects in my case) then you are certain to have come across situations like these:

·         There's a mismatch between what is delivered and what was wanted by the client

·         Requests for major changes are made halfway through a project

·         Different clients on the same project have different requirements

·         Changes are requested immediately after the project is completed

These are all signs that the scope of the project was not clearly defined or, more likely, what was not in scope was not discussed or documented. So the antagonists in the argument I overheard can continue to believe it is unimportant to define what is not in scope, if they wish, but the end results of their projects are likely to have some, if not all, of the above problems.

If you don't define what is NOT in scope then people involved in a project – be they project managers, team members, end users or stakeholders will make assumptions. Their expectations will then be unlikely to match the expectations of those delivering the work. It is vital, in my opinion, to clearly state what is not in scope in order to successfully manage the expectations of the client or customer.

In fact, managing expectations is a skill that every good project manager should develop early on in their career – it takes no more than an ability to communicate clearly with all those involved in a project. Although this sounds easy it is a skill that many project managers fail to master. The reasons for this are varied – it might be a fear of questioning those in senior positions, it might be a failure to talk to those at the coal face or any number of other reasons. Whatever the reasons, fully defining the scope of a project and managing customer expectations are inextricably linked.

And the solution is simple – talk, talk openly, listen and listen without prejudice. The customer may have a role far removed from yours but they are the ones who will ultimately define the success of your project. Foster good relationships with them right at the outset and you will be rewarded with good communications that will not find you on the BIG DAY discovering that everyone "assumed" that such-and-such would be delivered and it was not.

Good Luck! And here's to your project success – Remember Scope Matters.

For those of you who want to learn more about how to define scope then find one of the many project management courses that cover business requirements analysis. This is the process of finding out, analysing, writing down and agreeing on the requirements of a project. It is the most successful technique for defining in detail the scope of a project and there are various types of courses to help you including podcasts which you can listen to on your ipod - my current favourite way of learning.

Studying with Podcasts

Studying for a professional business qualification using podcasts is becoming evermore popular. It’s an attractive alternative to traditional classroom courses that may be difficult to attend for a variety of reasons. And whilst there are many online training courses as another alternative, these require an internet connection and computer. There are often situations where you have neither of these. In fact, I wish that when I commuted into London by train and tube standing all the way, I could have made better use of my time keeping up with the latest techniques in project management.

But whilst podcasts certainly fill a gap in the arsenal of training tools, and provide an option for those unable to attend an instructor-led course, they do not necessarily provide a better or easier way of learning; particularly if you are studying for a serious professional qualification. However, if used to complement a traditional course or an online e-learning course, then they certainly are a very valuable tool in reaching your training objectives.

So if you are considering studying using podcasts then look out for those that are integrated with online or classroom modules and also provide written study guides or manuals.



There are, of course, a number of advantages to studying through podcasts:

• You can study when and where you like; whilst travelling on trains or planes, whilst walking in the countryside or even while lying on the beach.  
• It’s a fun way to learn so it's very motivating and effective.
• It is less expensive than attending a traditional classroom-based course.  
• It’s available anywhere, which is particularly relevant if you don't happen to live close to a training centre.  
• There is access to the expertise of an instructor through email or community forums.

But there are also some disadvantages that you should consider:

• It’s easy to just listen idly to the podcasts without actively studying the material.
• You don’t have to engage with an instructor or other learners so there is no impetus to fully absorb the information.
• You need an mp3 player! I wonder if there are any courses which offer the mp3 player for free as part of the course?

But overall, podcasts are an easy and exciting way to learn at your own pace and they are likely to become more and more popular and be more widely available.

Listen to this project management training podcast for a taste of what they are like or take a look at this article on project success for more inspiration.