Theory of Constraints
I’m doing some reading on the “Theory of Constraints” (TOC) as it applies to project and portfolio management. In a nutshell, the jist of this theory is that every system is constrained by some bottleneck somewhere in the system. In a project, we often consider this to be the critical path. Too often, we PM’s apply rigour everywhere in our PMBOK-centric approach to managing our projects in an optimal way. TOC stands this approach on its head and suggests that...
Read MoreThinking Strategically as a PM
I once managed a project that involved launching a new product for a financial services company. The initial few weeks of the project were very chaotic. Product development had not fully defined the specs of the product they wanted to launch which prevented the administration area from fully understanding what it would take to do their jobs once the product was launched. IT needed requirements from both sides before it could provide a meaningful contribution but the product development folks...
Read MoreEarly Planning Pain
One of the big struggles in the life of a PM is meeting the demand for a full project plan prior early in the project. Business management needs the ability to plan and so their request is not unreasonable. However, it is often very difficult to come up with a plan that has detailed task breakdowns, resourcing, estimates and so forth for tasks in the project that are beyond the initial phases / iterations with any level of confidence. You can put a high level plan in place for those tasks...
Read More10 Things PM’s Should Have on their “Don’t-Do” List
Don’t react – always take time to think through the various stimuli coming your way and respond in a planful way Don’t manage by the seat of your pants – plan! Don’t sit – wander the floor, every day Don’t ignore your sponsor – sounds obvious but it happens Don’t stay home – visit remote sites, if not often then at least at the beginning of a project to get to know people Don’t defer to strong-minded team members – if you...
Read MoreBuilding Contingency into Project Plans
Building a project plan with no contingency metrics (for budget and timeline) is foolish. Yet PM’s do it all the time, this one included. Why? It can only lead to expanding budgets and timelines for projects unless they are almost completely understood at the time of the original estimate, which is almost never. By definition, a project is a unique undertaking. If it wasn’t unique, it would be operations and hence understood and repeatable. This uniqueness translates into...
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