As the time goes by – Managing versions

Eugenio — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:04:24 +0000

Nice attempt to hide the guest

In our projects, time comes in two versions:

“Fixed” in terms of delivery dates.
“Flowing” like a cursor moving with a uniform velocity on the calendar (toward the milestones).

These truisms are needed for introducing the concept of versioning.

Managing initial drafts

Until all “Acceptance Criteria” (to be intended as a general concept, not yet finalized in the Prince2 document) have been collected and approved. The documents (e.g. plans) are drafted for a shorter scope.

However essential for building the final results, these documents shall be clearly marked “Draft” and carefully doled out. This is done for avoiding stakeholders’ false expectations.

Once, the final draft has received the “imprimatur” from Sponsors, it shall be considered as a “living” document. From its changes, duly and correctly recorded, it is possible to manage the project.

Plans with short lives

Some Project managers haste to issue the “final” version, the one that shall freeze the time until the milestone will not be reached.

Risks, duly cataloged, are tamed in their boxes.
Senior Managers are assured that the neatly figures and lines will form an insurmountable barrier against every delay or extra costs.
Stakeholders have been completely satisfied with the last version of requirements.
Producers can spend all their energies on their assigned tasks.

Then all the magic disappears.

A new tall order has arrived in for changing the reality.

Again new plans are produced, usually without any consultation with the producers (probably in order to save their time).
Any trace of the previous past, shall be carefully erased. Just in case any doubt would be arisen about the far-sightedness of the project manager.

Facing difficult changes

Instead of “crying over spilled milk” (in other words, “unexpected” stakeholders’ requests for important changes, incoming big issues – until now considered as remote, risks that needs actions well beyond the PM allowances) the project management should investigate properly the accident (Prince2 Exception Report).
This means to analyze the current situation using the terms contained in the (updated) Business Case. In this analysis, the involvement of producers is essential, if it is properly focused on the event itself.
Emotions could be a big obstacle to the correct management of a brainstorming. If the current policy about changes is based on “erasing the past”; the authority could be challenged, jeopardizing the whole project.

The importance of baselines

The impact of the possible solutions shall be verified using the whole history of the project. From the well maintained documentation (including plans) it is possible to single out the trends (statistical tools – especially based on Monte Carlo system offer excellent support).
These results would supply, and then confirm, the validity of the options made available through a structured and honest confrontation with all stakeholders.
The validity of those proposed solutions shall be reviewed under both on the “Business Case – Reasons” and then “Acceptance Criteria”, especially for the “technical” aspects that influence the users.

Conclusions

The terms “life” referred to a project is not a simple label.It is a strong concept that allows managing properly any aspect of the processes needed for the outcome.

The idea of using plans as worn carpets that can be piled on, just to hide the elephant, does not work.

“I have a memory like an elephant. In fact, elephants often consult me.”
Image: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/elephant-in-the-room.html

Applying Kaizen principles to communication

Eugenio — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:48:16 +0000

Symbols are powerful communication tools

What can “Lean Management” offer for improving communication?

It would be a pretension to present myself as a “lean” expert. My knowledge and experience on this subject is at its very beginning, after a long period of bafflement. My doubts were focused on the difficulties of translating principles conceived for the production and distribution of goods, in a world (complex software projects) where the uniqueness of situations both technical organizational are difficult to predict, and then too short (in time span) for being standardized.

Information as goods to be managed

Like any other production process, there is the paramount necessity of collecting data about “what is going on”. This information (structured data) is to be read and confronted with initial estimations and plans (baselines).

From this point of view, the powerful concepts and tools made available by “Lean Management” can be applies to the program and project management. These are the points:

Any process produces (meta) information.
Those “goods” shall be distributed to everyone is involved in the process.
Every person working on the project is a customer who needs to receive “goods” in the best possible way respecting:
1. Time
2. Correctness
3. Role

My approach as newbie

There are many blogs and documents offering excellent ideas about the application of Lean Management for IT project. I have chosen a specific item: the communication.

Applying Kaizen principles

In the Crossderry post, there is a clear description about the importance of applying “Lean management” in project management. This post is focused on the advantages offered by the “5S principles” to the communication.

Phase 1 – Seiri (Sorting): Using the calendar for sorting out how many meetings, reports and diagrams shall be delivered and received, can offer a view of how the system is (not) working at the best.
Phase 2 – Seiton (Straighten): Consider, for an instant, templates, timetables, agendas, meetings etc. as tools. Are they arranged in a way that facilitates the workflow? Is it easy, for everyone who needs them, to find quickly what he/she wants?
Phase 3 – Seisō (Sweeping): Starting from the messages’ style, it is possible to check if there is any room for improving the efficiency. Quality becomes more difficult to be measured on the short leg; however, spending a little time for understanding, which is the better way to deal with other people can give huge benefits.
Phase 4 – Seiketsu (Standardizing): Once a better standard (including the cyclical verification and improvement) has been found, stick with it. People love working in a predictable working environment.
Phase 5 – Shitsuke (Sustaining the discipline): It could be seen as the best way for measuring the quality. Any decline in the “new” standards will be treated as a breach of the rules. Obviously, the point 4 shall include procedures for dealing with this kind of behaviors.

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