How do I start a project off?
Any project should be driven by your business needs and hence result from a the company's business plan or a Business Program within that plan. The need or idea should be written up as a Proposal that describes the need (why you want a project) in sufficient detail to enable a choice to be made as to whether a similar idea exists and if not, whether to initiate a project. See Chapter 5 of the Project Workout.
What is a Business Program(me)?
A Business Program is a portfolio of tightly aligned but loosely coupled projects and programs and line activities. It represents a slice of the business plan, which is aimed at implementing a part of your overall strategy. A Business Program is led by a Business Program Sponsor, managed by a Business Program Manager and comprises a number of constituent programs and projects. It has a defined cash flow it can spend each year on initiating and undertaking projects and programs. For small organisations, a Business Program is the company. It differs from a program. In the Project Workout, A program is defined as a tightly aligned and tightly coupled set of projects. In other words what can be thought of as a “large project”. Often referred to as a goal directed program.
See Chapter 13 of the Project Workout for programs.
See Chapter 14 of the Project Workout or Business Programs.
Where do people go wrong in designing their frameworks?
In designing their frameworks, I have found people make mistakes in two key areas, the front end and the back end.
All too often, I see frameworks with a minimal start-up activity, immediately followed by the Develop & Test Stage. They have in effect gone from “idea” to “Business Case” in one small step. In all but the simplest projects, such a leap is naïve and may account for why so many projects are ill-defined and doomed to failure. By all means make it easy to start the project off (i.e. pass through the Initial Investigation Gate), but do ensure there is rigour in the actual investigations themselves. A project comprises both investigation and execution.
At the back end, people often confuse project closure with post implementation review. The former looks at project efficiency and delivery, whilst the latter looks at benefits realization and operational effectiveness. These two views cannot be combined as the measurement points are entirely separated by time. Also, do notice (Figures 3.6 and 3.7 in Project Workout) that “Proposal” and “Post Implementation Review” are not stages of the project. They are activities which happen before and after the project, respectively; that is why I show them as a circle and not an arrow.
I'm in a hurry, can I miss out the Initial Business Case?
No. You should never miss out the Initial Business Case. But, if your project is simple, the Initial Business Case will be all you will need as you should have been able to meet the full Development Gate criteria in the 4 to 12 weeks of the Initial Investigation Stage. Do not confuse “being in a hurry” with doing it right. There is little point in skipping detailed investigation work (feasibility and definition) only to have very much more expensive delays during implementation. I know of a number of projects which have tried this route, only to founder, as they have lost direction and/or have no resources committed (either to the project or downstream operation). See Chapter 12 of Project Workout, Small Stuff.
What time scales can I expect?
How long is a piece of string! I have known a new product development go from Initial Investigation Gate to Ready for Service in 7 weeks. It can be done but very much depends on what actual or perceived priority the project has. An Initial Investigations should be between 4 and 8 weeks, 12 at the most. A Detailed Investigation Stage may vary between 4 to 16 weeks.
I've lost my project resources. What should I do?
In the first instance ask the line manager of the “missing resource” why it has been withdrawn. If you have no success, escalate this to the Project Sponsor and finally to the Project Review Group (or the equivalent in your company). The Project Review Group is the body within the company through which cross functional resource commitments are made. No function should unilaterally withdraw its commitment without reference to the Project Review Group.
See Chapter 15 of the Project Workout (Project Review Group).
See Chapter 16 of the Project Workout (Resources).
How do I close a project?
Closure happens in two circumstances:
- When a project is completed and all deliverables have been approved,
- When a project is terminated (aborted prior to completion).
See Chapters 26 and 27 of the Project Workout.
What is a Post Implementation Review?
This is the review which takes places 3 to 6 months after the project has been completed to assess whether the business objectives are being met and whether the outputs are working as expected. It assesses the effectiveness of the project.
See Chapters 26 and 11 of the Project Workout.
What about Earned Value Analysis?
Well, you’d better buy the 3rd edition, which now includes this topic! There are few places where Earned Value is done well on an enterprise-wide basis, although there are many examples of it on individual projects or groups of projects. It does require there to be a very good foundation of project management knowledge, experience and infrastructure in an organisation and its suppliers. My primary aim for this book is to bring project management to life and make it real and accessible to people new to project management, especially senior management. If the basic principles and tools are not understood, then more sophisticated techniques, like earned value analysis, will give little benefit and may only produce “lip service” reporting. The 3rd edition of Project Workout includes Earned Value.
What about British Standard BS6079?
Whilst the book is by a British author, it is intended for the world market (hence the international English (American!) spellings). BS6079 is not singled out for special neglect – there are hardly any references like this at all in the book – that is what this web site is for! Nevertheless, the methods in the book do comply with BS6079 except, in places, I use different terminology. No one book can match PMI’s, APM‘s, PRINCE2‘s, BS6079’s and the host of other document's individual glossaries. I have chosen a glossary which I have found, by experience, is readily acceptable by a wide range of professionals.
|
