| Project delivery makes IT organizations | | | | imbued with changes, vague expectations, |
| credible. When IT "gets it right" at the | | | | egos, etc. by project members, customers and |
| project level, its ability to impact the | | | | project sponsors. The project leader must |
| financial results of a company increases and | | | | continually ask, "why." Press for specific |
| its leadership in providing strategic | | | | answers on how the change, the additional |
| direction improves. Good project delivery is | | | | goal, etc. get the project closer to |
| the key to unlocking the door from the | | | | completion. Ultimately, the business needs |
| back-office to the boardroom.And yet, | | | | the project completed to reap the benefits. |
| according to a recent survey by Accenture, | | | | |
| only 29% of IT projects are considered | | | | 5. Perform quality checks at a regular |
| successful. The average cost overrun is 56%; | | | | interval on the schedule, the budget and the |
| the typical delay is 84%. After decades spent | | | | expectations of everyone involved. These are |
| learning and implementing project management | | | | not detailed-oriented checks, but rather |
| methodologies, measurements and controls, the | | | | 10,000-foot reviews. Pick 3 random items and |
| success rate of IT projects is no better than | | | | delve more deeply by probing with five or |
| when a single computer took up an entire | | | | more questions each.FOUR: Communicate to |
| room.Now, despite the need for companies in | | | | Ensure AccountabilityAccording to |
| the 21st century to innovatively embrace | | | | Labformatics, one of the top reasons that IT |
| technology to compete, CIO's still find | | | | projects fail is lack of responsibility over |
| themselves hearing second-hand about their | | | | the project by both project teams and the |
| company's strategy while line-of-business | | | | customers. Take a page from the nonprofit |
| executives embrace the "IT as a commodity" | | | | marketplace and utilize three communication |
| philosophy.For IT to contribute to a | | | | tricks to continually draw in end-users and |
| company's bottom-line, IT executive teams | | | | sponsors.First, build a simple, no frills |
| need to ensure project alignment with | | | | website focused solely on the project itself. |
| business strategy. Projects, and particularly | | | | The site should contain the following: |
| large-scale programs of multiple projects, | | | | |
| need to be run flexibly, with an eye toward | | | | - project goal(s) |
| the larger business picture.The following | | | | |
| pages present six straightforward principles | | | | - personnel involved |
| - culled from our experience with Fortune 100 | | | | |
| companies, ten person firms, mid-sized | | | | - timeframes (and current status) |
| businesses and not-for-profit organizations - | | | | |
| to turn your project into a bottom-line | | | | - costs and allocations (i.e. "coding of |
| success.ONE: Use Occam's RazorBig projects | | | | purchasing interface") |
| are seductive. They are also inherently | | | | |
| risky, costly, complicated and come laden | | | | - meeting minutes |
| with poor track records.William of Occam, a | | | | |
| 14th century logician, wrote "Entities should | | | | - requirements documents |
| not be multiplied unnecessarily." Albert | | | | |
| Einstein restated this as "Everything should | | | | - project team checklists.You can also post |
| be made as simple as possible, but no | | | | the original business case as well.Second, |
| simpler." Apply their advice. Break up large | | | | regularly distribute a short e-mailed |
| projects into simpler, smaller projects or | | | | newsletter with quick 8-12 word updates and |
| phases. Delineate each phase by its ability | | | | links to the project website for more |
| to provide an immediate and direct business | | | | information. At minimum, the project update |
| benefit.This approach has five benefits:1. | | | | must address two ever-present questions:- |
| Requirements are simplified. With tighter | | | | "when are we getting the business benefits |
| constraints, requirements gathering quickly | | | | from this project?" |
| centers on the most crucial. Time-box the | | | | |
| remainder as "nice-to-have." Done well, | | | | - "how much is it costing us?"Consider using |
| requirements will be easier to understand, | | | | the "5-15" rule: the update should take you |
| have clear connections between them, and | | | | no longer than 15 minutes to write and take |
| should be easier to complete. | | | | the reader no more than 5 minutes to |
| | | | read.Third, set up an unstructured blog |
| 2. A crystal clear focus is easily achieved | | | | environment for the project team members. |
| when working on smaller, simpler phases. | | | | This is critical if your project is being |
| | | | worked on by virtual or remote project teams, |
| 3. A succession of success can be built by | | | | or is in 24-hour shift mode. The goal of the |
| rapidly delivering smaller project phases for | | | | team blog is simple: keep everyone |
| people to easily see what they are getting | | | | informed.FIVE: Apply the Pareto PrincipleIn |
| for their money, time and effort. | | | | the 1800's, Vilfredo Pareto discovered that a |
| | | | small portion of any activity produces a |
| 4. Smaller phases are simpler to manage, | | | | majority of the results. Now called the 80/20 |
| perform quality and compliance checks on, | | | | Rule or the Pareto Principle, its application |
| fix, tweak or debug, and modify as | | | | in the IT world is essential to project |
| environmental factors demand. | | | | success. The Pareto Principle is intuitively |
| | | | being applied when you hear the phrase "good |
| 5. Phased projects are more easily paused | | | | enough."In essence, if approximately |
| (or halted altogether) as business conditions | | | | one-fifth of the project will produce about |
| change. Personnel can then quickly pick up | | | | four-fifths of the benefits, then identifying |
| other activities.TWO: Buffer | | | | the essential one-fifth of the project will |
| ConsistentlyCritical Chain Project | | | | allow you to quadruple your results.There are |
| methodology suggests minimum 20% buffers in | | | | two techniques to determine which efforts |
| your project schedule. Many Finance | | | | produce 80% of your results:1. Ask your |
| organizations expect a 10-15% cost buffer | | | | customers and your team, "what of our efforts |
| over initial estimates on major projects. And | | | | are producing most of the results for you?" |
| in his book Slack (2001), Tom DeMarco points | | | | Be ruthless; eliminate or postpone every |
| out that to be their most effective, people | | | | trivial task that does not directly |
| need approximately 20% slack or downtime | | | | contribute to the delivery of the business |
| during their workday.Ironically, many project | | | | benefits of the project. |
| managers set up a 20% buffer in their | | | | |
| schedules and a 10% fudge factor in their | | | | 2. Post the project goals in your office, in |
| budgets yet leave their people a 0% buffer. | | | | presentations, on your project website, etc., |
| Thus, before scope "creep" or other project | | | | and turn attention to them at every question |
| changes or problems, the chances for success | | | | or change. Ask, "how will this improve our |
| have been cut by one-third.Tackle this | | | | delivery of the benefits of this |
| head-on with third grade math: prior to | | | | project?"SIX: Use Two Linear BetasAll good IT |
| establishing a budget or plan, assume a | | | | projects have a beta phase. The mistake many |
| 6-hour workday (20% buffer) at 15 | | | | project managers make is to set up a group of |
| project-focused workdays a month (after | | | | users or IT personnel as a beta rollout group |
| factoring in vacation, illness, holidays, | | | | without keeping in mind the ultimate project |
| company meetings, etc.); in other words, 90 | | | | goals. To improve your results, set up two |
| hours of project work a month per team | | | | sequential beta rollouts.Beta 1 is strictly |
| member.THREE: Prioritize the Soft-SideBecause | | | | for IT personnel who support the various |
| projects are run for and by people, the | | | | departments that will be using the system |
| primary role of the project leader is | | | | (for instance, IT department liaisons). They |
| managing the "soft" people issues. The | | | | will provide your project team with a mix of |
| mistake most IT organizations make is to use | | | | real-world testing and tweaking while gaining |
| the project leader to manage schedules, track | | | | valuable experience and comfort with the new |
| metrics, control costs, assign resources, | | | | system.After the project team has had a |
| handling reporting and so forth. Instead, our | | | | chance to address the issues from Beta 1, set |
| experience has shown that successful project | | | | up the Beta 2 group: users from each of |
| leaders focus first on five tasks:1. Run | | | | those departments. Preferably, select two |
| "interference" for the project team(s). | | | | users from each department, one who has and |
| Projects can quickly become politically | | | | one who has not historically been friendly to |
| complicated. By minimizing the impact of | | | | IT projects. The latter represents the |
| politics on the project team members, the | | | | one-fifth of users that provide you |
| project leader reduces the risk of delay and | | | | four-fifths of your results.Final ThoughtsThe |
| scope "creep." | | | | more projects you complete successfully, the |
| | | | more credibility you gain. Delivering high |
| 2. Determine the right people to be | | | | levels of business value will bring you, and |
| involved, from project team members to pilot | | | | your business, the success it deserves.Are |
| users. | | | | you ready?Copyright 2006 John AvellanetJohn |
| | | | Avellanet is the managing director & |
| 3. Make the final decisions on internal | | | | principal consultant of Cerulean Associates |
| project issues. When money, time and | | | | LLC, a Virginia-based IT management & |
| resources are constrained, management by | | | | compliance consultancy focused on helping |
| committee is not conducive to tactical | | | | clients improve their bottom-line results |
| success. | | | | with project assurance, program management, |
| | | | and IT and compliance strategies aligned with |
| 4. Focus on specific goal-oriented | | | | business initiatives. |
| completion of the project. Projects become | | | | |