When You Assume …
by William R. Duncan, © 2002
Project Management Partners.
This article is a slightly
modified version of one that appeared in Projects@Work.
What you don’t know can hurt you. What you think you
know can, too.
I once heard an experienced project manager assert that a project
could have infinite resources. Why did he think that? He’d
taken a training course where the instructor said it was so.
When it comes to project management, we should examine our assumptions
periodically to decide if they are building blocks or mental
blocks.
I have over 100 books on project management on my shelves, and
nearly every one contains at least one seriously misleading statement.
I have reviewed about two dozen project management training courses
from a variety of vendors (including most of the major ones),
and each of these also contains potentially misleading guidance.
Usually, the error is one of omission: the author fails to provide
adequate guidance about context. For example, one of the most
popular introductory training programs shows how to develop a
Gantt chart without ever mentioning the need for analysis of
the network or the resources. In a similar vein, one of the best
books ever written on the mechanics of scheduling says that scope
and quality are not the concern of the project manager! This
may be true on occasion during the construction phase of a facility
development project, but it’s certainly not true of most
projects.
In the paragraphs below, I’ve documented some project
management truths that too many project management professionals
seem to be unaware of. In each case, I’ve stated the truth
rather than the myth for a specific reason: I’m afraid
that someone will quote the myth as truth and attribute it to
me.
Context is king.
The correct answer to pretty much every question
in project management is: “It depends.” A more precise
answer needs context. For example, I have heard many people assert
that “no activity should require more than 40 hours of
effort” without noting that this guidance is intended for
activities performed by professional staff working at least half-time
on a project that is reporting status weekly.
Change requests should be cause for celebration.
When your customer
or client asks for something new or different, it means that
they are actually involved in the project. It means that they
care about the project, that they are still interested in it,
and that they are still planning on using the product of the
project.
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Variances from plan should be greeted with pleasure and joy.
When there are variances, you know that there’s a good
chance people are telling you the truth. Since we know that
no non-trivial project ever goes exactly according to plan,
variances mean that we are living in the real world rather
than building castles in the sky. As part of a lawsuit where
I was called upon to provide expert project management testimony,
I once saw a plan that had over 600 activities that had been
completed with zero variance, and yet was still more than 4,000
hours over budget because of “unplanned work.” A
few pointed questions revealed that the bulk of the overrun
was not unplanned work but rather budget variances.
The team should develop the plan.
Many project managers disappear
into their cubicle and emerge with the plan held high like Moses
descending from the Mount with the Ten Commandments. Not a good
idea. Involving the team — and the customer when possible — in
the development of the project plan will not only produce a better
plan, it will also help to ensure understanding of and commitment
to that plan.
The best way to meet your schedule is to provide adequate staff
at start-up.
In too many organizations, if a reasonable plan
calls for eight people over six months, the project is likely
to get only five or six assigned. In a supportive environment,
the project manager will be told to “be creative.” In
a more authoritarian context, the project manager may be told
to “just
do it.” Yet
there is plenty of evidence dating back to the earliest days
of formal
project management that shows this “short staffing” approach
actually increases the cost of the project.
If you are behind schedule, add staff.
Most of today’s
project managers are familiar with Brooks’s Law: adding
resources to a late project makes it later. But this so-called
law is only partly true. Correctly quoted , Brooks said that
adding resources late to a late project makes it later. If you
take corrective action soon enough, you may be able to complete
the project on time. And if you don’t add resources, you
will still be late.
Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.
The first
word in this quote is vital — Emerson was railing against
consistency for the sake of consistency. He was railing against
politicians and others who refuse to change their minds even
when presented with a preponderance of evidence that their initial
position was wrong. Consistency in the form of reliable processes
is good. And striving for consistency does not preclude continuous
improvement — ignoring opportunities to improve would,
indeed, be foolish.
To err is human. To learn from your errors is good project management.
© 2002 Project Management Partners. This article is a slightly
modified version of one that appeared in Projects@Work.
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William R. Duncan is a principal of Project Management Partners,
a project management consulting and training firm headquartered
in Lexington, MA USA. He is the former Director of Standards
for the Project Management Institute (USA) and is currently
Director of Standards for the American Society for the Advancement
of Project Management (asapm).
Mr. Duncan has nearly thirty years of management and consulting
experience including five years with a major international consulting
firm. He was the primary author of the 1994 and 1996 versions
of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. In addition,
his “process model” of project management was used
to organize ISO 10006, Guidelines for quality in project
management and underlies the Australian Project Manager Competence Standards.
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