My keynote from the Digital Project Management Summit 2014 (http://dpm2014.com/) looking at what lessons we can steal from advances in artificial intelligence, for reapplication in project management.
6. TRADITIONAL
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
OFTEN
SEEMS
OF
THE
OPINION
THAT
THE
PROCESS
IS
SOUND
AND
ADHERENCE
IS
THE
PROBLEM
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
8. ROBOTS/AGENTS
HAVE
NO
PROBLEMS
BEING
PATIENT,
LOGICAL
OR
RATIONAL,
AND
CAN
WORK
24/7/365…
…
BUT
IT
STILL
DIDN’T
WORK
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
15. ENABLING
AGENTS
TO
MAKE
DECISIONS
AND
ACT
INDEPENDENTLY
BUT
ALWAYS
TOWARDS
A
COMMON
GOAL
LEADS
TO
COMPLEX,
SUCCESSFUL
ACTION
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
17. FOCUS
ON
THE
WHY
(THE
GOAL)
AND
ENABLE
THE
WHAT
AND
THE
HOW
TO
BE
DEFINED
BY
THOSE
DOING
THE
WORK,
AS
MUCH
AS
POSSIBLE
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
18. THIS
IS
WHY
I
LOVE
USER
STORIES
As
a
<type
of
user>,
I
want
to
<do
something>,
So
that
<some
value
is
created>.
(should
fit
on
a
post-‐it)
hEps://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/8591351239/
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
20. CLUE
/
SKILLS
MATRIX
Know what to do
and equipped to
do it
Skills/Knowledge
Direction
Know what to do,
don’t have all the
skills to do it
Got skills, need
direction
Huh? Where are
we? What are we
doing?
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
33. WE’RE
GOOD
AT
WHAT
WE
PRACTISE,
PROVIDING
WE
CAN
LEARN
FROM
IT
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
34. DELIBERATE
PRACTICE
• You
must
be
mo[vated
to
aEend
to
the
task
and
exert
effort
to
improve
your
performance.
• The
design
of
the
task
should
take
into
account
your
pre-‐exis[ng
knowledge
so
that
the
task
can
be
correctly
understood
a`er
a
brief
period
of
instruc>on.
• You
should
receive
immediate
informa[ve
feedback
and
knowledge
of
results
of
your
performance.
• You
should
repeatedly
perform
the
same
or
similar
tasks.
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
35. MODELS
OF
DELIBERATE
PRACTICE
• Sports
Model
–
analogous
to
condi>oning
• Chess
Model
–
what
did
the
grand
master
do?
• Music
Model
–
chunking
&
mental
rehearsal
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
36. IS
THE
WORK
DESIGNED
IN
A
WAY
THAT
MAKES
IT
EFFECTIVE
DELIBERATE
PRACTICE?
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
39. AS
AN
ASIDE…
DO
RETROSPECTIVES
DURING
PROJECTS
RATHER
THAN
POST
MORTEMS
AFTER
FOR
A
POST
MORTEM,
FIRST
SOMETHING
HAS
TO
DIE
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
45. Across
industries,
across
countries,
the
best
performing
teams
answer
certain
ques>ons
posi>vely
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
46. Predictors
of
High
Performance
1. Do
I
know
what
is
expected
of
me
at
work?
2. Do
I
have
the
materials
&
equipment
I
need
to
do
my
work
right?
3. At
work,
do
I
have
the
opportunity
to
do
what
I
do
best
every
day?
4. In
the
last
7
days,
have
I
received
recogni>on
or
praise
for
good
work?
5. Does
my
supervisor,
or
someone
at
work,
seem
to
care
about
me
as
a
person?
6. Is
there
someone
at
work
who
cares
about
my
development?
7. At
work,
do
my
opinions
seem
to
count?
8. Does
the
mission/purpose
of
my
company
make
me
feel
like
my
work
is
important?
9. Are
my
co-‐workers
commiEed
to
doing
quality
work?
10. Do
I
have
a
best
friend
at
work?
11. In
the
last
6
months,
have
I
talked
with
someone
about
my
development?
12. At
work,
have
I
had
opportuni>es
to
learn
and
grow?
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
49. MOTIVATION
=
+
PURPOSE
(Do
I
believe
in
WHY?)
+
AUTONOMY
(Do
I
get
a
say
in
WHAT?)
+
MASTERY
(Am
I
proud
of
HOW?)
-‐
ANY
NEGATIVE
FACTORS
THAT
DETRACT
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
50. Predictors
of
High
Performance
(remix)
PURPOSE
• Does
the
mission/purpose
of
my
company
make
me
feel
like
my
work
is
important?
AUTONOMY
• Do
I
know
what
is
expected
of
me
at
work?
• At
work,
do
my
opinions
seem
to
count?
MASTERY
• Do
I
have
the
materials
&
equipment
I
need
to
do
my
work
right?
• At
work,
do
I
have
the
opportunity
to
do
what
I
do
best
every
day?
• Is
there
someone
at
work
who
cares
about
my
development?
• Are
my
co-‐workers
commiEed
to
doing
quality
work?
• In
the
last
6
months,
have
I
talked
with
someone
about
my
development?
• At
work,
have
I
had
opportuni>es
to
learn
and
grow?
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
51. And
What
Else?
OTHER
FACTORS:
• In
the
last
7
days,
have
I
received
recogni>on
or
praise
for
good
work?
• Does
my
supervisor,
or
someone
at
work,
seem
to
care
about
me
as
a
person?
• Do
I
have
a
best
friend
at
work?
ESSENTIALLY,
AM
I
RESPECTED
&
REWARDED
HERE?
CAN
I
BE
MYSELF
AND
SUCCEED
HERE?
I
CALL
THIS
INCLUSION.
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
52. The
Most
Important
Ques>on
Best
predictor
of
recruitment
AND
reten>on?
Someone’s
ability
to
agree
with:
“Someone
like
me
can
be
successful
here”
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
53. Your
job
as
a
project
manager…
CREATE
SPACE
FOR
YOUR
TEAM
TO
BE
THE
BEST
THEY
CAN
BE
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
54. As
a
PM,
Ask
Yourself
• Do
my
team
know
WHY
we
are
doing
this?
• Do
my
team
get
a
say
in
the
WHAT?
In
doing
the
right
thing?
• Do
my
team
get
opportuni>es
to
do
the
thing
right?
And
to
get
beEer
at
the
HOW?
• Do
we
do
a
good
job
of
making
all
our
different
people
feel
included
&
like
they
BELONG
HERE?
(PURPOSE)
(AUTONOMY)
(MASTERY)
(INCLUSION)
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
55. SPACE
TO
BE
AWESOME
=
+
PURPOSE
(Do
I
believe
in
WHY?)
+
AUTONOMY
(Do
I
get
a
say
in
WHAT?)
+
MASTERY
(Am
I
proud
of
HOW?)
+
INCLUSION
(Do
I
BELONG
HERE?)
-‐
ANY
NEGATIVE
FACTORS
THAT
DETRACT
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
56. TO
RECAP:
KEY
LESSONS
WE
CAN
STEAL
FROM
AI
AND
USE
IN
PM
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
57. KEY
LESSONS
1. Autonomy
maEers
(because
change
happens)
2. Communicate
purpose
&
goals
(why
&
what)
3. Let
individuals
define
the
how
(bonus:
mo>va>on!)
4. Help
design
work
as
deliberate
prac>ce
5. Help
teams
assess
&
improve
as
they
go
(retros
>
post
mortems)
6. Awesome
=
purpose
+
autonomy
+
mastery
+
inclusion
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager
58. YOU
CAN’T
HOLD
BACK
THE
OCEAN,
BUT
YOU
CAN
LEARN
TO
SURF
hEps://www.flickr.com/photos/colmsurf/144455160/
Meri
Williams,
ChromeRose
@Geek_Manager