The Art of Project Management: what does it mean? how could it help?

1. The Art of Project Management PMI Montreal - Mentoring program Abderrahman NADIR, PMP, ITIL March 30, 2011

2. The Art of Project Management Agenda Introduction The “Shock Wave” Scenario The Art of Project Management Conclusion © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 2 of 31

3. The Art of Project Management Part I Introduction © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 3 of 31

4. The Art of Project Management The Art of Project Management What does it mean? How could it help? © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 4 of 31

5. The Art of Project Management The definition of art According to Wikipedia “Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items (often with symbolic significance) in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. … Traditionally, the term art was used to refer to any skill or mastery. …” © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 5 of 31

6. The Art of Project Management The “Turmoil Level” Tracking Approach Projects introduce changes to existing organizations. Human nature does not accept changes easily Projects introduce a kind of “turmoil level” to the existing organizations Tip! Track and control the “turmoil level” introduced by projects to existing organizations © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 6 of 31

7. The Art of Project Management Part II The “Shock Wave” Scenario © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 7 of 31

8. The “Shock Wave” Scenario © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 8 of 31

10. We’ll definitely lose money

11. It’s not my fault

12. Why did not we know of that issue beforehand?

13. We don’t know where we go with this projectThe “turmoil level” will jump to a high level The confidence level will drop significantly © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 9 of 31

15. Cut from the scope if feasible

16. Ask to delay the milestoneThe project manager will need: Time Strong leadership skills © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 10 of 31

18. Lack of expertise

19. Political issues within the organization

20. A key stakeholder not involved from the beginning of the project

21. An issue identified beforehand but underestimated or not well assessedQuestion: Why those issues were not identified beforehand? © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 11 of 31

22. The Art of Project Management The Science of Project Management The issues or additional risks should be identified at the “Verification and Control” step. Although the “verification and control” is the fifth step in the project life cycle, it should have been considered and addressed on the beginning of the project. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 12 of 31

23. The Art of Project Management How to capture the issues and risks as early as possible? Tactic: Consider the following risk from the beginning of the project: “The issues or risks are not identified as early as possible.” © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 13 of 31

24. The Art of Project Management Risk: “The issues or risks were not identified as early as possible.” Three tips to mitigate that risk (1/3) Tip 1/3: Since the beginning of the project, consider both formal and informal approaches to capture and track the risks as well as the issues encountered during the project. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 14 of 31

25. The Art of Project Management Risk: “The issues or risks were not identified as early as possible.” Three tips to mitigate that risk (2/3) Tip 2/3: Manage time, along with the stakeholders’ expectations. In other words, for each issue or risk identified during the project, the project manager should set up the best strategy for handling it with the involved stakeholders, taking into account the upcoming milestones. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 15 of 31

26. The Art of Project Management Risk: “The issues or risks were not identified as early as possible.” Three tips to mitigate that risk (3/3) Tip 3/3: Make sure there is no vision gap between the project team, the steering committee, and the other stockholders. All the people involved and impacted by the project should have the same understanding of “where do we stand and where do we go?” © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 16 of 31

27. The Art of Project Management Risk: “The issues or risks were not identified as early as possible.” What is required to practice those three tips to mitigate that risk? The project manager must demonstrate certain skills and abilities, … the “Art of Project Management” © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 17 of 31

28. The Art of Project Management Part III The Art of Project Management © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 18 of 31

29. The Art of Project Management What is the Art of Project Management? “The art of project management is the ability to leverage the science ofproject managementwith theleadership skills in order to make theright decisions throughout the project life cycle. ” © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 19 of 31

30. The Art of Project Management The Leadership skills (1/4) Communication: be the most accurate and avoid confusion as much as possible. This can be achieved by paying attention to the following: What information to communicate, to whom, and in what format (meeting, e-mail, telephone, or fax) and how often. How the information is communicated: How is it written (e-mail, status report, project charter? How is it said (during a lunch, in a corridor)? And, most importantly, how is it presented (at a formal presentation)? Listen and look for the feedback to verify what the target audience understood from the message. Also, there could be other concerns expressed within this feedback. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 20 of 31

32. Have the whole vision of the project

33. Understand the direction of the organization, and the interaction with the departments within and outside the organization. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 21 of 31

34. The Art of Project Management The Leadership skills (3/4) Problem solving: analyze, proceed with elimination, eventually involve external experts, consider “Workarounds”and then come up with options to overcome the problem. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 22 of 31

35. The Art of Project Management The Leadership skills (4/4) Negotiation: think of what we must ask for, along with what we can give, because the “win-win” solution is the best solution for the short, medium, and long term. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 23 of 31

37. Discuss an issue with stakeholder A before stakeholder B

38. Do nothing

39. Wait© 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 24 of 31

40. The Art of Project Management The right decisions (2/6) Situation: a major issue was identified earlier and the project manager had to make a decision. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 25 of 31

41. The Art of Project Management The right decisions (3/6) Decision A:As soon as the issue was identified, the project manager organized a meeting to which he invited two key stakeholders and two key project team members. The project manager didn’t consider the bad relationship between the two stakeholders. During the meeting, the major issue was linked and mixed with another issue and the meeting was difficult to control. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 26 of 31

42. The Art of Project Management The right decisions (4/6) © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 27 of 31

43. The Art of Project Management The right decisions (5/6) Decision B:The project manager first discussed the issue in depth with two key project team members and developed a draft action plan with two potential options, then he discussed it separately with two key stakeholders, who both agreed to go ahead with option 2. Then, the project manager organized a meeting with the steering committee, during which he presented the issue along with the draft action plan. Then, it was easy for the steering committee to reach the consensus to go ahead with option 2. © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 28 of 31

44. The Art of Project Management The right decisions (6/6) © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 29 of 31

45. The Art of Project Management Part IV Conclusion © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 30 of 31

46. The Art of Project Management © 2011 Abderrahman NADIR Page 31 of 31