This document discusses two major project killers - fear and complexity. It examines different types of fears that can undermine projects from customers, suppliers, project managers, and teams. These fears often lead to poor decisions if not addressed. The document also discusses how complexity is difficult to predict and that the traditional models of analyzing and planning everything upfront don't work for complex projects. It advocates for iterative and collaborative approaches like agile, PRINCE2, and Scrum which embrace uncertainty, learning, and small incremental steps to better handle complexity. The conclusion is that projects are more successful when the ability to learn is enhanced through collaboration, accepting uncertainties, and proving assumptions quickly.

1. Two project killers Martin van Borselaer © 2010 Whitehorses

2. Today’s goals Create awareness Recognition

3. Fear

4. Complexity

5. Deadly combination

6. My definition of fear “Fear prohibits us from doing or saying we know what’s right”.

7. Customer’s fears Pay too much/receive too little Bad quality Wrong requirements Capability/capacity to change …

8. Supplier’s fears Too much time/costs Dissatisfied customer Making mistakes/bad reputation Scope creep Demanding too much from employees …

9. Project Manager’sfears Dysfunctional customer Dysfunctional team Dysfunctional supplier Dysfunctional tools …

10. Team’s fears Life/work balance Making mistakes …

11. Underlying fears Job/income security Status

12. Projects know lots of fears Customer Supplier Results? Project Manager Team

13. Exaggerated? Consciousness Rationality Sub consciousness Emotions

14. Fear leads to poor decisions

15. Examples Fixed price/fixed date/unknown scope Analysis paralysis Kill the messenger, ignore the message Stick to the plan at all costs Micromanagement Punish mistakes, no learning Taking no risks, making no decisions Operation successful, patient killed The list is endless…

16. Solutions… No culture of heroes and loosers, but … together

17. Making mistakes is normal No mistakes = taking no risks = accomplish nothing Mistakes are part of the learning process Don’t punish Create a culture of learning

18. Be vulnerable

19. Transparancy Yes, we make mistakes Yes, we’re not perfect Mistakes are visible So that we can learn and adapt… …together

20. Choose your measurements carefully You get what you measure Choose the correct level of measurement Measurement system should enhance collaboration Beware of conflicts in interests

21. Complexity The past More production? More people!

25. Project = production process

27. Complexity is hard to predict All models are wrong, but some are useful. (George E. P. Box) In theory, there is nodifferencebetweentheory and practice. In practice, there is!“ (Chuck Reid)

28. Productdesign A project is not a production process, it’s a product design process. We don’t know what we want We don’t know how to get there We need to discover and adapt We need to prove our assumptions Collaboration creates knowledgeSpecialization impedes knowledge

29. Standard method for problem solving The Deming problem-solving process

30. That’s not how it’s used!

31. The ‘agile’ Demingcircle

32. Sequential or iteratief

33. Focus Sequential Iterative Create solution

34. PRINCE2 against fear Project Board is accountable Project Manager is only responsible for the project’s process as agreed on by the Project Board Known method which gives the Project Board explicit means of control Tolerances Management by exception

35. Scrum against fear Promise little, create results fast Uncertainty part of the deal Team results are more important then individual results Multi-skilled team Strong customer collaboration Mistake? No problem Plan is a guideline, not written in stone

36. PRINCE2 against complexity Manage in stages Not ‘activity based’ but ‘product based planning’

37. Scrum against complexity Simple planning process Simple analysis process Incremental product creation/delivery Prove assumptions by creating software, not by creating a model.

38. Conclusion Projects are more successful when the ability to learn is enhanced. Enhance collaboration Accept uncertainties Proceed iteratively in small steps Create a culture of learning and adapting Prove assumptions fast

41. Small steps

42. Learn and adept