Turning Around Troubled Projects by Harry Mingail 561-749-0336

How BA’s and PM’s Anticipate and Turnaround Troubled Projects: Tips and Techniques

Copyright © 2008 by Harry Mingail of www.harrymingail.com
Extracted from 2 day webinar workshop from www.performancewwi.com


Harry Mingail
25+ years as a freelance consulting
Toronto and Florida residences
VP, Director, Manager, Program/Project Manager, Management Consultant
11 years training, many seminars, rated Excellent (95%) as a trainer
(presentation skills, communications, negotiation, time management,
project management, strategic, getting results without authority, planning,
business analysis, managing competing priorities)
Self portrait drawn by Harry
Computer Science, Math, Bus, PMP, CBAP, Six Sigma
Write, Workshops,Speak (try “Harry Mingail” in
www.google.com
www.amazon.com books written
“Project Management Entrepreneuring”
“Business Information Technology Strategic Planning”

Training, writing and problem-solving are my favourite things to do



Three Steps
- Highlights Only in Our 1 Hour Together -

Step 1. What’s wrong . What’s right?

Step 2. Let’s do something about it!

Step 3. Let’s make it happen!



Think of your projects


2. Let’s do something about it!

3. Let’s make it happen!


1. What’s wrong . What’s right?

What is a troubled project?
When can trouble start?

.

A Checklist of Potential Challenges - Trouble? -
Scope changes and creep
Too many risks have manifested themselves
Competing priorities
Too many issues have manifested themselves
Time pressures
Exceeding budget
Funding pressures
Exceeding schedule
Lack of stakeholder understanding/ability to
Exceeding people resources
communicate requirements
Conflicting priorities
Lack of stakeholder availability and involvement
Poor quality interim and final results
Political pressures
Weak vendor contributions and contract problems
Weak project sponsor
Irrational reluctance to sign-off
Weak project manager
Rational and justified resistance to sign-off because of poor
Misalignment with strategy
project deliverables
Lack of proper project justification
Rational and justified resistance to sign-off because of poor
Lack of leadership in project
project budget/schedule performance
Weak teamwork
Difficult circumstances surrounding premature closing of
Weak product skills and knowledge
project before planned results delivered
Changing organizational and project priorities
Resistance to changes created by project results
Dwindling management support
Inadequate vendor deliverable versus contract
Miscommunications
Lack of established effective closing procedures
Inadequate vendor responses
Irrational resistance to lessons learned continuous
Interdependent projects not fulfilling commitments
improvement assessments
Misalignment with strategy
People resources unavailable
Lack of stakeholder collaboration
Inadequate planning processes
Organization is frequently in firefighting mode
Inadequate life cycle processes
Fixation on first estimates/wrong planning detail
Planning analysis paralysis
Failure to properly plan for reviews and approvals
Continuous improvement not integral



KEY POINT
The Cup Is Usually Half Full

"The measure of health is the
disposition to find good
everywhere.“
…Ralph Waldo Emerson

Extracted from 2 day webinar workshop from www.performancewwi.com 7


How many of you have an objective “Project Management Health Check Scorecard Measure”




Business
Strategy/Architecture

An External Factor Data,
Process &
(Location)
Architecture
Applications
Architecture
Conceptual Process Model
Interoperability Model
Technical Architecture
Technical Models
Technical Reference Models
Standards


Strategy and Portfolio Management
– Vital Project Foundations -

An External Factor


Check Your
Organization’s PMMM
5. Optimizing
Focus on process improvement

4. Managed
PM processes measured/controlled, quality includes PM
An External Factor

3. Defined Enterprise use of PM practices, project + project = quality

2. Repeatable Methodology implemented, training, reviews

Ad hoc, informal, success by heroism
1. Initial



Your Current State Analysis
 Do the “Dirty Dozen” Checklist
1. Create an assessment plan
2. Identify and obtain all documents and files to conduct the review
3. Identify the project team members
4. Identify the stakeholders for review meetings
5. Hold a project kick off meeting with all parties involved
6. Hold individual meetings with all parties
7. Analyse all project data
8. SWOT
9. Root cause analysis
10. Draft assessment report
11. Factual accuracy review of assessment report with stakeholders
12. Finalise assessment report and recommendations
 Do It Quickly


1. What’s wrong . What’s right? Your Current State Analysis
Document Checklist
 Business Case or Mandate  Scope definition
 Project Objective/s  Process Models
 Project Charter or Initiation  Project Logs
Documents  Issues
 Organisational Chart  Risks
 Work/Product Break Down  Decision
Structure  Change
 Last Few Project Status Reports  Dependency
 Project Schedule/Plan  Resource plan
 Financial budget/plan  Resource tracking sheet actual vs
 Financial tracking sheet actual plan
vs plan  Project Management
 Business Requirements process/methodology & metrics
 High level roadmap  Last 3 steering committee meetings
 Benefits map  Communication plan
 Quality Plan

Use BA Elicitation
Techniques to
UncoverRoot Causes
Face-to-Face Other
♦ Brainstorming ♦ Document analysis
♦ Focus groups ♦ Interface analysis
♦ Interviews ♦ Surveys/questionnaires
♦ Observation
♦ Prototyping
♦ Workshops


Create Your Project’s Root
Cause Fishbone Diagram

Category 1 Category 2
Factor Factor
Factor
Factor
Factor

Topic Name
Factor Factor
Factor Factor

Category 3 Category 4

Factors and/or categories of factors


Danger Danger
Excessive Groupthink
 Overestimation of the group (illusions of invulnerability, illusions of
morality)

 Close-mindedness (rationalizations, stereotypes about the outgroup)

 Pressures toward uniformity (self-censorship, the illusion of
unanimity, direct pressure on dissenters, self-appointed
mindguards).

 Defective decision-making processes


Sample Gap Analysis Format
C T

C T

C T

C T

C T

C T

C T

C T

C T

C T




How to Establish Your Leadership
Credibility
Your Can you Can you Can you get it Other?
expertise learn it? recruit it? some other
strengths and way?
weaknesses?

19



PMBOK

1 Primary Plan +
8 Subsidiary Plans




PM’s Need to Empower The
BA “Workpackage”



Build Your Stakeholder Poster

YOUR PROJECT



2. Let’s do something about it! Consider Multiple Views

The Problem
Problem
to be
analysed

Balancing is a key PM professional responsibility


One Sample View
- What Executive Stakeholders May Want -


•Respect business needs
•Cost controlled (low)
•Objectives achieved
•Not oversold
•Not over-committed
•Well managed
•Effective controls
•Milestones achieved
•Other?


Understand Your Stakeholders’ Filters

2. Let’s do something about it! Filters Influence the Way We Make Decisions

Actions I take

Conclusions I draw

Beliefs I have

Assumptions I make

Meaning I add

Data I select
I observe data and experience


Very Important
to
Collaboratively
2. Let’s do something about it! Establish a
Shared Vision
A shared vision is not
an idea… it is, rather, a
force in people’s hearts,
a force of impressive
power.

Peter Senge, The Fifth

•Evolve team vision to drive team behavior
Discipline

•Create project vision to drive project behavior
•Facilitate product vision to drive project evolution

26


Make It Happen – The “BA” Model

Data

Process

People




Data

Process

People


Focus on Performance Not Status



Each participant answers 3 questions
Initially - Daily Standup Meeting

(primarily about critical path)

1 What did you do yesterday?

2 What will you do today?

3 What’s in your way?

• These are more than status sessions for the manager
• They are team member commitments in front of the team

31


Avoid Grizzly Meetings

• A meeting is a project.
• Restrict to one hour or less
• Start and finish on time
• Set the tone for the project
• Be realistic on completion dates but expect on-time
completion (see next slide)
• Exception management – only raise issues that need to
be escalated, use issue & risk processes to introduce
new topics
• Allow some general conversation, preferably when
discussing next weeks planned work, but keep the group
focused
• If there is conflict, stop and address it, do not ignore it.



Focus on Achieving on Business Rules
- Important BA “Data” -
♦ Directive that is
– Specific
– Actionable
– Testable

♦ Under the control of the business
♦ Supports a business policy

♦ Ideally written


“Less is More” in a Project Scorecard
Project Performance Rating – Projects are assigned ratings from “Blue” to “Red” based upon their overall performance. “NR” means
not rated either due to inadequate or no reportable activity.
Level Trend
Q4 ‘04 Q1 ‘05 Q2‘05 Q3 ‘05
Overall Project Rating R Y G G

Project Operations and Maintenance
Occupancy B G Y Y

Service G G G G
Budget R Y G G
Annual Site Visit
NR NR NR NR
Development
Schedule Y R Y Y
Finance
Project Financial Health Y Y G B
Debt Coverage
NR Y Y G

Trends = Improving = No Trend = Declining



Collocate Team Members

• Effective collaborative

• Common area for
workspaces need:

collaboration and community
• “Caves” for privacy
• Phone calls
• Emails
• Web surfing
• Other individual tasks
• Open “drafts” of information
Not always possible but it trivial?

36

#1 Trust
Cultivate Two T’s
#2 Transparency

Deal with Inevitable Conflicts

High

Forcing Collaboration
Assertiveness

Compromise

Avoidance Accommodation

Low High
Cooperativeness

Checklist of Keys to Minimizing
Negative Stakeholder Behaviors

Introduce Manage
clear rules team norms

Free flowing Support
information values that oppose
politics

Manage change Leaders as
effectively role models


3. Let’s make it happen! Deal With Stakeholder Dynamics
3. Norming
Characteristics 4. Performing
• Willing to solve problems
• Focus on Characteristics
• Performance • Collaboration
• Results • Interdependence
• Share information • Communication-Open, Fast
• Constructive feedback • Spirit, Trust, Flexibility
• Smoother consensus-building • Shared leadership
• Wiling to take risks • Clear expectations
• Feedback is informal
Key Questions in Relationship • Commitment to meet goals
• Will we continue progress?
• Will we continue goal focus ? Key Questions in Relationship
• How doing in relation to goals? • How can we get better?
• Continue to ask tough questions? • What’s next?
• Will we mask disagreements? • Will we stagnate?
• Acknowledgement for my efforts?



You Must be Able to
“Read” Your Stakeholders
COLOR RED BLUE WHITE YELLOW

1. Loyal to tasks 1. Loyal to People 1. Tolerant 1. Positive
2. Committed 2. Committed 2. Patient 2. Forgiving
3. Visionary 3. Quality 3. Cooperative 3. Friendly
Oriented
4. Logical 4. Accepting 4. Optimistic
4. Sincere
5. Leader 5. Objective 5. Trusting
5. Honest
6. Focused 6. Balanced 6. Appreciative
6. Purposeful
7. Responsible 7. Listener 7. Open
7. Moral

Apply Situational Leadership

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most
intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species

4 Development Levels
– D1: Low competence, High commitment
– D2: Some competence, Low commitment
– D3: High competence, Variable commitment
– D4: High competence, High commitment
Low Moderate High

Development Levels of Followers

D1 D2 D3 D4
S1: Tell S2:Sell S3: Participate S4: Delegate


Build on Personal Strengths

• Each person is unique and has unique strengths and weaknesses – whole
• Applying it to Others:

persons
• Great managers recognize that trying to standardize human behavior is
futile, and don’t waste their time trying to change people dramatically
• Rather than focus on weaknesses, they build on the personal strengths of
their team members and help them become more of “who they already
are”

• Find out what you don’t like doing and stop doing it
• Applying it to Yourself:

• "The point is to feel authentic, self-assured or creative”
• More info: http://www.marcusbuckingham.com

43

Extract from Harry book “Project Management Entrepreneuring”
9.5 Author’s Experience – 10 Vital People
Qualities
I strive for and value in others the following qualities in order of priority:

1. Trustworthy
2. Genuine
3. A giver, not just a taker
4. Conscientious
5. At least moderately intelligent
6. Innovative and positive problem-solver
7. Hardworking
8. A team player who cares about fellow humans
9. Willing and able to learn
10. Happy with the gift of their existence

After that, the rest is easy.



Make It Happen – The Process

Data

Process

People



Waterfall vs. Agile – Delivering
3. Let’s make it happen! Incremental Value
Waterfall

Req’ments
Design
Code
Test
Agile
Release
Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3 Iteration 4 Iteration 5 Iteration 6 Iteration 7 Iteration 8

2 wks 2 wks 2 wks 2 wks 2 wks 2 wks 2 wks 2 wks

Release #1 Release #2 Release #3

Agile Principles Help You too Achieve “Wins” Momentum

Key Agile principles are:
Focus on Customer Value – Align
•
project, product and team visions to
deliver better product quality – faster
and cheaper.
• Small Batches - Create a flow of value
to customers by “chunking” feature
delivery into small increments.
• Small, Integrated Teams - Intense
collaboration via face-to-face
communication, collocation, etc;
diversified roles on integrated, self-
organizing, self-disciplined teams.
•
Teams reflect, learn and adapt to
Small, Continuous Improvements –

change; work informs the plan.

47


Agile Structures Enable Wins Momentum
Product
Traditional Silos Owner
PM BA Designer Developer Tester

Release
Manager
Integrated Agile Team
Capacity
Architect
Planner
The Core Project Team BA Extended
ideally consists of 5-9 (7 Designer BA Project Team
plus or minus 2)
members. Core Project Prod.
DBA Developer PM
Team

Developer Tester
Product
Tech Owner
Security
Ops

Business
Sponsor

48

The Three Steps Related to BABOK
(Highlights Only)


Step 2. Let’s do something about it!

Step 3. Let’s make it happen!



1. Have a positive outlook.
2. Be a realistic but positive problem-solver.
3. The Cup is usually more than half full.

"The measure of health is the
disposition to find good
everywhere.“
…Ralph Waldo Emerson


Turning Around Troubled Projects by Harry Mingail 561-749-0336

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