Project recovery missions are probably one of the most difficult challenges a project manager may face. Alone a project manager cannot handle such a situation. It takes a team to do so. This presentation will show why and how team building can be an effective and efficient mean to re-align projects gone astray. -- more information available at www.TheProjectLeadershipPyramid.net

1. Yes We Can: Team-Building as a Means to Re-Align a Project Thomas Juli, Ph.D., PMP® Managing Director, Thomas Juli Empowerment Partners 1 May 19 & 20, 2009

2. YesWe Can A sloganmovestheworld Yes We Can- More than a slogan. It has become a motivational, inspirational motto for millions of people in the US and world wide. One leader is asking the crowd to follow and support him to master the economic, political, social challenges ahead. He calls for joined action to make the impossible possible. 2

4. unclear roles and responsibilities in team

5. lack of team self-reflection

6. low delivery qualityAlone, a project manager cannot handle such a situation. Yes We Can- suggests that a project leader asks his team to follow him to re-align a project with project objectives and stakeholders’ expectations. The question is, how can the leader engage his team to recover a project? In particular, how can team-building contribute to achieving this goal? 3

8. Outline of Workshop Workshop Simulation Introduction Conclusion Approaches to Project Recovery Why Team-Building? The Team-Building and Project Re-Alignment Workshop Re-visitingthepast Assessingthepresent Buildingthefuture Lessons Learned from Involving Teams in Project (Re-) Alignment Q&A 5

9. Approaches to Project RecoveryOverview of selectedapproaches Severalapproachesto project re-alignment / recoveryexist; forexample: (4) The Recovery Team (3) Road to Rehabilitation (2) The Recovery Waterfall (5) Short- and Long-Term Recovery (1) PMBOK (6) Spiraling Back to Control Questionstoask What is the right framework? Who is driving project re-alignment? Who is involved in re-aligning the project? 6

11. monitoring,

12. and control processesPMBOK focuses on individual PM and rigorousapplication of PM methodologies. * For a critique of the PMI book see Paul Steinfort and Derek H.T. Walker: A critique of the PMI post-disaster rebuild methodology. 2008 PMI 7

13. Approaches to Project RecoveryThe RecoveryWaterfall “Project recovery is about quickly restoring project control.”Richard W. Bailey II (2000): Six steps to project recovery. PM Network, May 2000 Step 1: Intervention Step 2: Assessment A recoverystepis not initiateduntilthepredecessorstephasbeencompleted. Step 3: Recommendation Step 4: Planning Initiatingrecoverystepswithoutcompletingpredecessorstepscanresult in furtherdelaysin restoring project control and greaterunfavorablevariances. Step 5: Execution Step 6: Closure 8

14. Approaches to Project RecoveryThe RecoveryWaterfall - Critique ? The WaterfallRecovery Approach suggests simple steps. Yet, nomention of teamorteam-building in re-aligning a project. Instead, focus on PM and top-down recoverymeasures. 9

15. Approaches to Project RecoveryRoad to Rehabilitation Proposal of a four-stage 12-step framework for recovery and rehabilitationJaguAiyer, T. M. Rajkumar, Douglas Havelka (2005): A staged framework for the recovery and rehabilitation of troubled IS development projects. Project Management Journal, Vol. 36. No.4, 32-43 Recognition ImmediateRecovery SustainedRecovery Maturity Problem awareness Admittrouble and seekcounsel Conduct a quick assessment and project review Decisiontorecover Triage Treatment Analyzestatus & createissue / resolutionlist Create revisedbaseline and get manage-mentapproval Execute and monitor plan Documentlessonslearned Propogatelessonslearned & buildorganiza-tionalknow-ledge Implement in otherprojects 10

16. Approaches to Project RecoveryRoad torehabilitation - Critique Recognition ImmediateRecovery SustainedRecovery Maturity 1 - Awareness 2 - Admission 3 - Assessment 4 - Decision 5 - Triage 6 - Treatment 7 - Analyze 8 – Revise 9 - Execute 10 - Document 11 - Propogate 12 - Implement Helpful and simple framework. Yet, noword of teamorteam-building and project (re-)alignment. 11

17. Approaches to Project RecoveryThe Recovery Team The concept of “rapid” assessment and recovery J. LeRoy Ward (2007): Five critical first steps in recovering troubled projects. 2007 PMI Global Congress Proceedings, Hong Kong Step 1 – Definingthe Charter Step 2 – DevelopingtheAssessment Recoveringtroubledprojects Step 3 – ConductingtheAssessment Step 4 – DevelopingtheRecovery Team Step 5 – ConductingtheRecovery 12

19. re-establishing customer and management confidence

20. re-baselining the project plan

21. sorting project problems

22. rebuilding the original project team”The project recovery is executed by aRecovery Team (RT). Approach calls for a Recovery Team, but not the existing team helping to recover a project. Still, accounts for importance of original project team. 13

23. Approaches to Project RecoveryShort- and Long-Term Recovery “Successful corporations must address the short-term problems and also pour a project management foundation for the future that will allow for continued growth and a reduction of “911” calls for project recovery.” Thomas R. Block (1998): Project recovery: short- and long-term solutions. Proceedings of the 29th Annual Project Management Insitute 1998 Seminars & Symposium, Long Beach, CA, USA Project Office 2 PM methodo-logy 1 Select approp. software 3 PM training 5 PM develop-ment 4 Mentor-ing / con-sulting 6 Senior managementsupportispresent and communicated 7 14

24. Approaches to Project RecoveryShort- and Long-Term recovery - Critique Focus on project management and top-down recovery. Lacks explanationwhoisconducting project recovery. Nomention of teamorteam-building. 15

25. Approaches to Project RecoverySpiraling Back toControl “Learn right from the beginning to avoid a situation where project recovery becomes necessary.” Elisa Ludwig (2008): Your Project is Spiraling Out of Control. Now What? The Road to Recovery.” PM Network, November 2008, 47-53 Admitthere‘s a problem 1 Find therootcause of theproblem 2 Go straighttothesource 3 Develop a plan forrecoveringthe project – or not 4 Rally thetroops 5 16

26. Approaches to Project RecoverySpiraling Back toControl - Critique Admitthere‘s a problem 1 Find therootcause of theproblem 2 Go straighttothesource 3 Develop a plan forrecoveringthe project – or not 4 Rally thetroops 5 Straight-forwardapproach. Yet, again, itisthe PM whoisleading and conductingtherecoveryeffort. Activeteaminvolvementonlyatthe end. 17

28. rigorousapplication of PM methodology18

29. Approaches to Project RecoveryCritique Noapproachisexplicitlyreferringtoinvolvingtheteamtore-align a project Questionsare: Who isconductingtheassessment? Howtoconductrecovery? Isitreallyalwaystheproject manageralone? 19

30. Teambuilding in Project Recovery?Teambuilding is a foundation of good leadership and control All mentioned project recovery approaches stress the importance of good leadership and control in recovering projects. One of the most important foundations of control the PM has is his own team. Teams realize projects, not single project managers alone. = A PM leads and manages the project AND is a member of the team; a part of the whole. A PM without a functioning team is acting without any foundation of control. Teambuilding helps establish a foundation of control. Effective project leadership always involves team building. 20

31. The PMBOK cites fundamentals of teambuilding in Appendix G.2 The PMBOK and Team-Building “Team building is the process of helping a group of individuals, bound by a common sense of purpose, to work independently with each other, the leader, external stakeholders, and the organization. The result of good leadership and good team building is teamwork. […] Outcomes of team building include mutual trust, high quality of information exchange, better decision making, and effective project control.” Teambuilding and project re-alignmenthavetogohand in hand. 21

35. design a gap-closure strategyMost commonsteps in presentedrecoveryapproaches: Admitthere‘s a problem Analyzetheproblem Develop a recovery plan and executeit Ensuresustainable, longlastingresults Project Re-Alignment &Teambuilding Team Building & Project Re-Alignment Workshophastoincorporatetheabovementionedsteps. 22

36. Outline of Workshop Workshop Simulation Introduction Conclusion Approaches to Project Recovery Why Team-Building? The Team-Building and Project Re-Alignment Workshop Re-visitingthepast Assessingthepresent Buildingthefuture Lessons Learned from Involving Teams in Project (Re-) Alignment Q&A 23

37. The Workshop SetupThe workshopconsists of 3 partscoveringpast, present and future Workshop with project teamfacilitatedbythirdpersonwhohastobeabletoactasmediatorifnecessary. Simulation duration: ~25-40‘ per part 24

39. Scope is not closed, is in a state of flux and regularly changing

40. Roles and responsibilities are not mutually agreed

41. Quality standards have not been defined prior to developmentCase Project Situation*Overview * Actualcase project mayvaryatconference 25

43. There is a lack of agreement among project team members on project drivers, priorities or expectations

44. There is no escalation chain in place, or it is not functioning correctly

45. Client participation during development will be limited due to timing, geographic distance, etc.

47. Overall project schedule is very aggressive

48. The project is using new technology, or new versions of existing software that none of the team members have experience with

49. The project cannot leverage frameworks or existing processes / procedures

50. There is a lack of documentation or knowledge for the product or application to be used

51. No previous metrics are available for estimation due to lack of experience with technology

52. There are significant dependencies on clients or other third parties26

54. Roles and responsibilities are not mutually agreed

55. The project is having difficulties filling certain key positions with the proper skills and abilities required

56. There is a significant transition of project team members between phases (challenges of knowledge transfer, reasons behind decisions, etc.)

58. Quality standards have not been defined prior to development

59. Quality standards are not monitored during development

60. Application is difficult to understand and test due to complexity

61. There is not a well defined client quality assurance / acceptance process27

63. Project objectives, deliverables, time frames, risks and critical success factors are in writing and described explicitly, but sponsor is unwilling to share information with complete team due to confidentiality concerns

64. Project objectives using technical language, i.e., not easily understood by business people

66. Estimates based on experience of lead architect

68. 8 person team using 1 room; no permanent meeting room available

69. Highly individualized folder structure

70. No versioning control in place

72. Attractive project location

74. what did not go well? What can we do better and how?(2) Categorize input into sections: V: vision / project objective(s), C: collaboration, L: learning culture, R: results / deliveries 30

75. The Workshop SetupStep 1: Re-visitingthepast - Instructions Form groups of 5-8 people. Each group will get limited # of cards on which they write their answers to the questions what went well thus far? what did not go well? What can we do better and how? Group is to choose 4 answers to each question (1) and (2). Categories of answers: V: vision / project objective(s), C: collaboration, L: learning culture, R: results / solution quality Please initialize each response card in top right corner with the respective category (V, C, L, or R). Cards are collected and sorted by facilitator and prioritized by the audience Total expected duration: Sorting: 5’ Brainstorming: 10’ Categorizing: 5’ Group: Presentation to audience: 10’ TOTAL: ~30’ 31

76. Workshop Step 1: Re-VisitingthePast

77. The Workshop SetupStep 2: Assessingthepresent The teamanalyzesthepresentsituation. Session Objectives Systematically analyze the present situation Identify source of problems Outline resolution and expected benefits Derive critical success factors Develop recovery objective statement 33

78. The Workshop SetupStep 2: Assessingthepresent - Instructions (1) Create a “Problem Statement” Meet in previous groups to discuss categories of problem statement stating top issues and risks, who is affected, what the impacts of the issues are, what needs to be done to resolve the situation, what benefits to expect, what critical success factors need to be met. Develop problem statement Present results to audience Group discussion and prioritization of problem statements by audience (2) Develop recovery objective statement Meet in previous groups. Develop recovery objective statement based on results from (1). Make sure objective statement is SMART*. Present results to audience Prioritization and selection of recovery objective statement by audience Total expected duration: Problem Statement: 15’ Presentation and prioritization: 10’ Recovery objective statement: 10’ Presentation and prioritization: 10’ TOTAL: ~45’ 34 * specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-boxed

79. The Workshop SetupStep 3: Buildingthefuture The teamjointlyagrees on re-alignmentmeasures. Session Objectives Individual level: Conduct team norming (individual roles and responsibilities, expectations) Team level: Agree on additional team building events and activities which help re-align and stabilize the project 35

80. The Workshop SetupStep 3: Buildingthefuture – Instructions (1) Re-fined roles and responsibilities Identify roles and responsibilities in group / audience, capture results on flip charts spread throughout conference room Discuss possible expectations of team members (2) List of activities boosting team collaboration and learning as well as project results Breakouts identify 1-2 top activities to boost and secure team collaboration, team learning, project results Presentation of results and discussion Prioritization of results in audience Total expected duration: Sorting: 5’ Brainstorming: 5’ Categorizing: 5’ Group: Presentation to audience: 10’ TOTAL: ~25-30’ 36

81. Workshop 3: Building the Future (1) RefinedRoles & Responsibilities Guidingquestion: „How can the individual role contribute to achieving the project objective(s)?” Role Expected deliverables / results Activities Expectations What can team expect from role? What can role expect from team?

86. Analyzetheproblem

87. Develop a recovery plan and executeit

88. Ensuresustainable, longlastingresultsWorkshop Results (1/2) Team building and project re-alignmentworkshophas incorporated all of theabovementionedsteps. 38

90. Team-building: team assessed situation together, identified problems, categorized them, found resolutions.

91. Team accountability, team commitment39

92. Outline of Workshop Workshop Simulation Introduction Conclusion Approaches to Project Recovery Why Team-Building? The Team-Building and Project Re-Alignment Workshop Re-visitingthepast Assessngthepresent Buildingthefuture Lessons Learned from Involving Teams in Project (Re-) Alignment Q&A 40

95. self-organization and accountability,

96. a set of engineering best practices that allow for rapid delivery of high-quality softwareThe presented approach of team-building as a means to re-align a project can be used, too. Indeed, team building is most important in agile settings.

97. LessonsLearnedTeambuildingas a meanstore-align a project requireseffectiveleadership 44 The Team-Building and Project Re-Alignment Workshop resulted in: V Vision –> RecoveryObjective Statement C Collaboration -> List of activitiestonurtureteamcollaboration L Learning -> List of activitiesto promote teamlearning R Results –> List of activitiestoensurehighqualityresults

98. LessonsLearnedTeambuildingas a meanstore-align a project requireseffectiveleadership 45 The VCLR Principle: Effectiveleadershipisbased on 4 pillars: Vision, Collaboration, Learning, and Results V BuildingVision: Sharing a common vision and goals and having the same understanding how to achieve it are one of the key factors in successfully re-aligning a project. C NurturingCollaboration: A performing team yields synergy effects; the impossible becomes possible. This is why team building is crucial. L PromotingLearning: Effective leaders are open for receiving and giving feedback. It requires courage to explore new avenues and to make mistakes and to learn from them. R EnsuringResults: Delivering results is both a prerequisite and an outcome of effective leadership.

100. Contact me after the workshop

101. Participate in my survey on teambuilding as a means to re-align a project. http://tinyurl.com/TJEP-teambuildingSurvey results will be published on my website and presented as part of my upcoming presentation (“It Takes a Team to Re-Align a Project: Lessons From Rescue Missions”) at the PMI Global Congress North America in Orlando in October 2009,

102. Please fill out the online feedback form46

103. Contact Information Thomas Juli, Ph.D., PMP®Managing Director Germany (headquarters): Bahnhofstr. 24 68535 Edingen(Heidelberg) info@thomasjuli.com www.thomasjuli.com Blog: http://thomasjuli.wordpress.com/ +49 (0)151-516 333 22 USA: 2018 Jeffery Martin Drive St. Louis, MO 63366 info@thomasjuli.com www.thomasjuli.com 47