Archive for the ‘project management’ Category

Project Management Critical Path

The project management critical path is the path of scheduled activities with no slack time. In other words these activities cannot slip. Work must be completed on schedule and with excellence. Unfortunately, many project leaders are a real stickler for maintaining the schedule but not the standard of excellence needed for sustainable project results.

I have audited too many projects that looked good on paper but produced less than desirable long term results. While the project completed on schedule or within budget the deliverables didn’t hold up to the test of time. Following are three safeguards that will help project managers lead project management critical path activities with excellence.

1. Communicate like the expert you are.

You are the project manager for a reason. Your leadership feels you poses the qualities needed to produce results, they trust you. If your communication is weak, however, they may not continue to trust you. Make the hard calls and ask the hard questions. even if you are met with resistance, you will earn respect for having done so. Some examples include:

• Ask for more money when sticking to the budget will create costly end results
• Ask for more time when the cost of the time will be compensated by improved results
• Negotiate unrealistic expectations regarding schedule and budget
• Explore cutting other efforts in the project to make resources available for critical path activities

Obviously, it is also important to communicate with clarity and candor with your project members. Ask your team members for a commitment to excellence. Reinforce critical path activities and follow up with responsible members frequently. In doing so, some may feel micromanaged. To overcome this use the following statement, “I want to make sure you have the support and resources you need to meet your goals, is there anything I can do for you or anything I need to know?”

2. Put your best people on critical path activities.

When delegating work and leadership, make sure your best players are on the critical path. Often these activities aren’t the most desirable responsibilities on the project so make sure people are recognized and rewarded. I often remind my leaders that the responsibility in question is of extreme importance to the projects overall success.

when human resources are spread thin you can utilize your top performers by making them responsible for overseeing work on certain activities. They become the “go to” person for the rest of the team. they may also be responsible for check-ups and follow-ups to ensure quality and timely results.

3. Prioritize your own time based on the critical path.

Many project managers really struggle with staying focused on what matters most. They tend to suffer from the “squeaky wheel” syndrome or just get caught up in the drama of leadership. Make sure others crisis aren’t becoming your priorities simply because they are experts at whining and complaining. some find it easy to spend more quality time with project members with whom they are familiar. This can be a huge time trap. Schedule time for your critical path activities and the people responsible for them. everything else comes second. Keeping your priorities in order will allow you to lead for excellence in everything.

Another time trap is taking too much responsibility for issues that are not on the critical path. The moment you realize you are managing a crisis for a non critical activity, ask yourself, “who can I delegate this to?”

Bill “the builder” Carpenter has facilitated projects in over a dozen industries. With an emphasis on clarity and quality Bill has trained and coached top performing project managers from companies like: Ford, Caterpillar, Hershey and more. He is available for keynotes, seminars and web based training programs. Call for availability 937-935-6789

 Project Management of

Regardless what you manage, why you manage and with whom you manage the number one responsibility of every project manager is to create clarity. The better you are at creating clarity the more efficiently your projects will complete. When developing the 3D methodology of project management I learned that the single greatest deficit in every project office was failure to clarify. The single most common weakness among project managers was communicating clearly. In this article I will point out the 3 main reasons we don’t clarify and how to improve our processes with the 3 laws of clarity. First, let me clarify some of the industry experience and research that shaped the 3D Methodology.

I began managing projects in the construction industry and moved on to real-estate. I have personally been involved on projects with the following organizations:

• Hershey
• National City Banks
• Hallmark
• North Alabama Health
• Waste Management
• Rockhurst University
• Many more

What I am trying to illustrate is the diversity of industries where we have applied these methods. These aren’t just suggestions or untested theory. More than 300 companies across dozens of industries have been trained in these methods and rate the content an average of 5.8 on a scale of satisfaction with a high of 6. That means our students are getting results. Another interesting statistic is that 94% of participants said they would recommend the training to others. Three percent of participants don’t complete the evaluation at all. That means 99% of our participants rate the quality of our solutions very high.

If you are responsible for the project management of health care services, food preparation, construction, manufacturing, education, or any other industry or service you must master the art of clarity. Creating clarity is an art and it is a vanishing art at that. Fortunately there are three simple laws that serve as the foundation for this critical communication skill. Once you understand and observe these laws you will see immediate improvements in all your projects. So, here they are.

1. I am responsible for the clarity in all of my conversations and communications.

I should never assume that the other party will take this responsibility. When I assume the responsibility I reduce the possibility of misunderstanding and conflict. To assume this responsibility I must do three things very consistently.

Listen with all of your listening senses. They are sight, hearing and a sixth sense we will call discernment. I might ask, “Do you understand what to do?” and the receiver says “Yes.” We both know that a verbal yes doesn’t always equal yes. Here are some examples where yes may mean other things.

• “Yes” starting off with an audible draw for breath and trailing off may mean, “yes I know what to do but I’m not sure how.”
• “Yes” said while shifting my gaze downward may mean, “I’m saying yes to save face because I don’t want to honestly admit id didn’t get it.”
• “Yes” said with a firmed jaw and lowered tone may mean, “I’m conceding because I am intimidated by you, but disagree.”

By listening for tone and tempo as well as watching for micro-expressional cue you can greatly improve your listening skills. Obviously, you want to be cautious about how you respond to your observations because discernment is more of an art than a science. If I discern much disparity between what you say and what you express it is usually a good idea to explore further.

I recommend two books that will help you with reading and understanding people:

• How to Read Any Person Like a Book by Gerard Nierenberg.
• Understanding How Others Misunderstand You by Ron Braund, Ken Voges.

Observing this law is tougher in print but the following will help you:

• Ask for read receipts with critical email communication
• Read and reread all contractual documents and correspondence used to propose services or products
• Backup all proposals and agreements for reference purpose
• Promptly respond to all discrepancies or disparity in any correspondence
• When terms are disagreeable be prompt in responding and respond with crystal clarity
• If you are unsure of the clarity in correspondence you are preparing ask someone to read and critique it
• Use the subject line to clarify the content and importance of an email message

As the project manager you must observe this law with all project correspondence whether, in meetings, documentation or daily sharing of information.

When we bring 3D project Management training to your organization your team will learn powerful communication methods that increase professionalism and performance. Call to reserve your training dates today. (937-935-6789) Please pass this article along to your HR office and anyone in your organization responsible for employee development.

2. Clarity is lost when correspondence changes hands.

It’s a fact. The originator of a message understands her objectives and may give great attention to detail. However, when the delivery of the message is handed off to another team member the message becomes diluted by the messenger’s understanding of the subject matter, values, delivery skills and even commitment to the message. If the message changes delivery hands several times the massage can be vastly different by the time it reaches its intended audience.  Here are some tips that will help you avoid dilution:

• Put critical information in writing and make it clear that the written copy must be shared with all dialogue
• Make yourself available to anyone impacted by the information for Q&A or other support
• Deliver high priority messages yourself
• Use technology to participate in the assimilation and management of information through conference calls, web based meetings and audio recordings
• Live delivery usually improves clarity
• Develop policies and guidelines for the assimilation, management and protection of information
• Insist on universal use of software and methodology in project management of resources

3. Follow-up communication improves clarity

Clarity is lost as information is contemplated and processed through personal and social filters. You might deliver crystal clear expectations to the IT department but the IT group may lose the placement of urgency on certain points simply because their priorities are different. Therefore, it becomes necessary to follow up on critical needs and requirements through follow-up correspondence and meetings. I know people hate meetings but they are a necessary evil in project management of all types. Here are some tips that will make you meeting more effective.

• Keep them short
• Keep them relevant
• Keep good minutes for no shows
• Keep agenda and schedule commitments

You can also follow-up information with emails and voicemails. Unfortunately, some may perceive a follow up as dummying them down. So consider the following:

• Follow-up consistently with everyone
• Use I statements to soften the follow-up (i.e. “I want to be sure I left nothing out…” or “I want to reinforce the importance of…”)
• Tell participants that follow-ups and reminders will be sent for clarity and support
• Be supportive (i.e. “I’m calling just to be sure you have all the resources and support you need…”)

Bill Carpenter teaches 3D Project Management through onsite and web based training venues. Simply call or email to reserve your training date. 937-935-6789 or Charles@charlesspeaks.com