Summary of the book “Project
management for the unofficial project manager” by Kory Kogon, Suzette
Blakemore, James Wood.
More than ever, employees wear
different hats at work. They are routinely expected to coordinate and manage
projects even though they might not have a formal training. This is what the
authors refer to as the role of the unofficial project manager.
The authors make it clear that this
book emphasizes leadership in project completion and explain that the people
are crucial in the formula for success. This book offers practical, real-world
insights for effective project management and guides us through the essentials
of people and the project management process. This includes the steps to
initiate, plan, execute, monitor/control and close. If we are struggling to
keep the projects organized, this book certainly helps us.
A project is a temporary endeavor
with a start and finish undertaken to create a unique product, service or
result. Project failures are evidenced by the following facts: Only 8 percent
of organizations are “high performers” in managing projects. 45 percent of the
projects are either overdue or canceled altogether. Only 45 percent of projects
actually meet the goals they are supposed to meet. For every US$100 invested in
projects worldwide, there’s a net loss of US $13.50 – “lost forever –
unrecoverable”.
This book provides hope against
such a failure in two ways: First, it says that everyone is a project manager.
And second, project management is no longer just about managing a process. It’s
also about leading people which taps into the potential of the people on the
team, then engaging with and inspiring them to offer their best to the project.
Most common reasons for failure are
cited as one or more of the following: lack of commitment/support, unrealistic
timelines, too many competing priorities, unclear outcomes/expectations,
unrealistic resources, people pulled away from the project,
politics/legislation, lack of a “big picture” for the team, poor planning, lack
of leadership, changing standards, and lack of or mismanaged budget. Failure is
expensive and there are even greater costs than just the budget when measured
by lost opportunities, dissatisfied customers, loss of innovation, and employee
morale. A successful project meets or exceeds expectations, optimizes
resources, and builds team confidence and morale for future projects. In fact,
this definition goes beyond the popular notion of project success as one that
meets deadlines or budget. Doing more with less and maximizing the human,
technical and budgetary resources are only some of these. The true formula for
winning at projects is therefore expressed in the equation PEOPLE + PROCESS =
SUCCESS.
A good project manager is often
known as one who valued the project members. While some are nervous about
leading people, others may be the opposite – great with people but anxious
about the process part. In such a case, simple is good. It might even be better
to do without the vast machinery that the project management profession uses.
Founded in 1969, the Project
Management Institute sets standards for the project management profession. It
has 454,000 members in 180 countries and defines five process groups. These
are: 1. Initiate, 2. Plan. 3. Execute, 4. Monitor and control and 5. Close.
Some people thrive on the
operations side and others thrive on the people side. The modern thinking is
that managing the process with excellence is important but being a good leader
is essential. Informal authority inspires people to want to play on your team
and win. The flip side is also clear. Formal authority comes from a title or a
position. Giving people titles doesn’t necessarily make them good leaders.
The authors have worked with
hundreds of clients and come up with four foundational behaviors to focus on.
1. Demonstrate respect, 2. Listen first, 3. Clarify expectations and 4.
Practice accountability.
The first one values respect
as its own reward. The more respected team members feel, even when having a
tough conversation, the more engaged they will be. Listening first allows the
other to talk first. It also avoids impatience or immaturity in
decision-making. The key principle here is empathy. Clarifying expectations
brings focus to a cacophony of voices. The cause of almost all relationship
difficulties is rooted in conflicting or ambiguous expectations around roles
and goals. Accountability on the other hand is about walking your talk. It also
means transparency because covering up the truth is what hurts in the long run.
Among the five process groups, the
initiate, monitor and control and close are progressive. The plan and execution
are cyclical. None of these steps should be skipped. Every successfully
completed project runs through all five process groups. Initiating processes
authorizing the project, planning processes defining and refining objectives,
executing processes coordinating people and resources to carry out the plan,
monitoring/controlling processes ensuring that objectives are met, and closing
processes formalizing acceptance of the project.
When there is pressure, it takes
work, discipline and practice to keep one’s head and inspire others to keep
theirs.
Each of the intermediary chapters
in the book focuses on one of these five process groups.
The 'initiate' process group is
about skillset and toolset.
For the skill to identify all
stakeholders, the tool of group brainstorming helps.
For a skill to identify key
stakeholders, the tool to perform key stakeholder D.A.N.C.E is relevant. The
acronym stands for Decisions, Authority, Need, Connections and Energy where the
risks against each of them are called out. For example, make the decisions that
control or influence the project budget, have the authority to grant permission
to proceed with the project, directly benefit from or are impacted by the
project and consequently need to know all about it, are connected to the
people, money or resources required to remove roadblocks or exert influence to
ensure project success and have positive or negative energy that could affect
project success.
For a skill to interview key
stakeholders, the tool could be the key stakeholder interview or the question
funnel.
For a skill to document project
scope statements, the tool could be the project scope statement.
In short, frontloading is the basic
principle of project success.
The next set of iterative process
groups are planning and executing. A similar breakup for skills and
tools for planning can be drawn as follows:
For a skill to perform effective
planning, a risk matrix could be helpful.
For a skill to plan a risk
management strategy, the tools to tame the risks and the risk management plan
helps.
For a skill to create a project
schedule, the tools for 1. Mind Map. 2. Linear lists, 3. Post-it Note method
and 4. Gantt chart help.
For a skill to develop a
communication plan, the choice among tools is hands down the project
communication plan.
Similarly, the breakup of skills
and tools for execute process group are listed as:
For a skill to create a cadence of
accountability, a team accountability session could be a tool.
For a skill to hold performance
conversations, a conversation planner could be helpful.
Above all, the four foundational
behaviors must be kept in mind during the execution phase.
Monitoring and control require
skills and tools as follows:
For a skill to keep stakeholders
informed about the project status, the tool is to create a project status
report.
For a skill to manage scope change
effectively, the tool is to create a process change request.
Lastly, the closure demands the
following skills and tools:
The skills include evaluating task
list, confirming fulfillment of project scope, completing procurement closure,
documenting lessons learned, submitting final status report to stakeholders and
obtaining required signatures, archiving project documents, publishing success
and celebrating project close with rewards and recognitions and the
corresponding tool is closing checklist.
The authors conclude by saying that
developing the skills in this book will be worth the effort, and not just for
managing the projects. It has positive side-effects. It complements and
augments the critical time and life-management skills. Those skills applied
correctly will have far-reaching effects in all areas of our life.
#codingexercise
get count of strings with same prefix
static int getCountOfStringsWithPrefix(String[] strs, String prefix)
{
return (int)Arrays.asList(strs).stream().filter(x -> x.startsWith(prefix)).count();
}
