This document discusses five mantras for achieving project success and delivering right the first time. The first mantra is to eliminate false requirements, which can waste time and resources. False requirements sneak in through friendly customers, assumptions, aspirations, and lack of acceptance criteria. They must be identified by questioning originators and determining if requirements are testable. Consulting stakeholders and confronting the impacts of requirements can help remove false ones.
The document discusses different approaches an IT services company can take to incubate emerging technologies and build capabilities around them. It describes three main approaches: the "deep dive first" approach where R&D explores a technology in-depth before bringing it to delivery units; the "hand in hand" approach where R&D and delivery units collaborate early in the process; and crowdsourcing challenges to the organization. It provides examples of how these approaches have worked or not worked for technologies like cloud computing, enterprise mobility, location intelligence and IoT. The document advocates that a collaborative approach involving both R&D and delivery units early on tends to be most effective for technology adoption.
The document discusses ethical decision making and leadership in project management. It presents a 5-step ethical decision making framework (EDMF) created by PMI to guide project managers facing ethical dilemmas:
1. Assessment - Gather facts about the dilemma and ensure it aligns with laws, codes of ethics, and cultural values.
2. Alternatives - Consider alternative choices and weigh pros and cons.
3. Analysis - Identify a candidate decision and evaluate its potential impacts.
4. Application - Apply ethical principles like beneficence and justice to the candidate decision.
5. Action - Make a decision you're willing to publicly stand by and then take action.
The EDM
This document describes how an IT services organization transformed itself into a learning organization by addressing issues with how employees on the "bench" were utilized. A two-pronged "push" and "pull" approach was implemented to encourage contributions to capabilities from bench employees. Key changes included creating teams to drive specific activities, establishing clear KRAs for development managers, and implementing a dashboard to monitor contributions in a transparent manner. This resulted in benefits such as increased training, knowledge sharing, and reusable components while reducing attrition and increasing productivity and deployability.
This document discusses managing Generation Y (Gen Y) talent in IT project teams. Gen Y now makes up a large portion of the workforce, especially in the IT sector, and their traits require a different talent management approach than previous generations. Gen Y expects more flexibility, frequent feedback, meaningful work, and opportunities for growth. The current talent management frameworks in many companies are not adequately addressing Gen Y's needs and expectations, leading to high attrition rates. A new, holistic approach is needed to manage the Gen Y talent lifecycle from recruitment to performance management, focusing on technology, processes, and people to retain Gen Y in projects and get the best return on investment.
This document discusses using case-based reasoning (CBR) to improve productivity for IT maintenance and support projects. It describes how CBR involves solving new problems by retrieving similar past cases, reusing the solutions from those cases, revising as needed, and retaining the new solution. The document argues CBR has advantages over other knowledge management techniques for maintenance projects, which involve troubleshooting unpredictable issues under tight time constraints. It proposes using a modified CBR approach combining it with other methods like analytic hierarchy process to further improve productivity for IT support teams.
This document discusses executive coaching as an effective tool for developing project managers. It defines executive coaching as an experiential and individualized development process that helps executives achieve goals aligned with organizational objectives. Coaching sessions are usually one-on-one and last 3-4 quarters, helping to develop intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. Coaching is beneficial for newly appointed and experienced project managers by facilitating transitions, developing high-potential managers, and addressing derailing behaviors. It can help project managers learn to broaden their vision, unlearn unnecessary details, and maintain work-life balance.
This document discusses how integrating HR and business processes leads to a strong engaged workforce at Tata Consultancy Services. It provides two case studies as examples:
1) A Six Sigma project that reduced recruitment cycle time from 99 to 76 days, saving $18 million.
2) Analyzing "infant attrition" (employees leaving within 1 year) and reducing it 10% by engaging employees through surveys, mentoring programs, and addressing issues found in exit interviews.
The integration of processes through a digital platform ensures timely staffing for projects, links employee allocation to compensation, and identifies competency development needs to improve utilization. This engagement of workforce contributes to organizational metrics like productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability
The document discusses how the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) can be used as a tool to organize risks and determine which risks should be accounted for in a project bid. It provides an example of how AHP was used to prioritize 7 key risks for a water/wastewater project. Risks were first scored based on likelihood, consequence, and mitigation potential. They were then compared pairwise in a matrix to determine priorities. The highest priority risks were Risk A and Risk D/G, followed by Risk F, Risk E, and Risk B/C as the lowest priority. AHP provided a consistent method to structure the risk prioritization problem.
The document discusses different approaches an IT services company can take to incubate emerging technologies and build capabilities around them. It describes three main approaches: the "deep dive first" approach where R&D explores a technology in-depth before bringing it to delivery units; the "hand in hand" approach where R&D and delivery units collaborate early in the process; and crowdsourcing challenges to the organization. It provides examples of how these approaches have worked or not worked for technologies like cloud computing, enterprise mobility, location intelligence and IoT. The document advocates that a collaborative approach involving both R&D and delivery units early on tends to be most effective for technology adoption.
The document discusses ethical decision making and leadership in project management. It presents a 5-step ethical decision making framework (EDMF) created by PMI to guide project managers facing ethical dilemmas:
1. Assessment - Gather facts about the dilemma and ensure it aligns with laws, codes of ethics, and cultural values.
2. Alternatives - Consider alternative choices and weigh pros and cons.
3. Analysis - Identify a candidate decision and evaluate its potential impacts.
4. Application - Apply ethical principles like beneficence and justice to the candidate decision.
5. Action - Make a decision you're willing to publicly stand by and then take action.
The EDM
This document describes how an IT services organization transformed itself into a learning organization by addressing issues with how employees on the "bench" were utilized. A two-pronged "push" and "pull" approach was implemented to encourage contributions to capabilities from bench employees. Key changes included creating teams to drive specific activities, establishing clear KRAs for development managers, and implementing a dashboard to monitor contributions in a transparent manner. This resulted in benefits such as increased training, knowledge sharing, and reusable components while reducing attrition and increasing productivity and deployability.
This document discusses managing Generation Y (Gen Y) talent in IT project teams. Gen Y now makes up a large portion of the workforce, especially in the IT sector, and their traits require a different talent management approach than previous generations. Gen Y expects more flexibility, frequent feedback, meaningful work, and opportunities for growth. The current talent management frameworks in many companies are not adequately addressing Gen Y's needs and expectations, leading to high attrition rates. A new, holistic approach is needed to manage the Gen Y talent lifecycle from recruitment to performance management, focusing on technology, processes, and people to retain Gen Y in projects and get the best return on investment.
This document discusses using case-based reasoning (CBR) to improve productivity for IT maintenance and support projects. It describes how CBR involves solving new problems by retrieving similar past cases, reusing the solutions from those cases, revising as needed, and retaining the new solution. The document argues CBR has advantages over other knowledge management techniques for maintenance projects, which involve troubleshooting unpredictable issues under tight time constraints. It proposes using a modified CBR approach combining it with other methods like analytic hierarchy process to further improve productivity for IT support teams.
This document discusses executive coaching as an effective tool for developing project managers. It defines executive coaching as an experiential and individualized development process that helps executives achieve goals aligned with organizational objectives. Coaching sessions are usually one-on-one and last 3-4 quarters, helping to develop intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. Coaching is beneficial for newly appointed and experienced project managers by facilitating transitions, developing high-potential managers, and addressing derailing behaviors. It can help project managers learn to broaden their vision, unlearn unnecessary details, and maintain work-life balance.
This document discusses how integrating HR and business processes leads to a strong engaged workforce at Tata Consultancy Services. It provides two case studies as examples:
1) A Six Sigma project that reduced recruitment cycle time from 99 to 76 days, saving $18 million.
2) Analyzing "infant attrition" (employees leaving within 1 year) and reducing it 10% by engaging employees through surveys, mentoring programs, and addressing issues found in exit interviews.
The integration of processes through a digital platform ensures timely staffing for projects, links employee allocation to compensation, and identifies competency development needs to improve utilization. This engagement of workforce contributes to organizational metrics like productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability
The document discusses how the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) can be used as a tool to organize risks and determine which risks should be accounted for in a project bid. It provides an example of how AHP was used to prioritize 7 key risks for a water/wastewater project. Risks were first scored based on likelihood, consequence, and mitigation potential. They were then compared pairwise in a matrix to determine priorities. The highest priority risks were Risk A and Risk D/G, followed by Risk F, Risk E, and Risk B/C as the lowest priority. AHP provided a consistent method to structure the risk prioritization problem.
This document discusses how business analytics can help improve the management and financial viability of India's power sector. It describes how analytics can be applied across generation, transmission, and distribution to better understand operations, reduce losses, improve revenue, and enhance decision making. The integration of business analytics with big data from the power sector is seen as important for developing power quality services. Overall, business analytics has the potential to improve various aspects of the power sector in India through more effective analysis of the large amount of operational and customer data that is now available.
The document discusses challenges in managing small teams that are different from large teams. While most literature focuses on simplifying processes for small projects, the document emphasizes challenges in managing human aspects of small teams, such as deciding roles based on strengths, providing training, motivating team members, and managing growth and attrition. It suggests managers of small teams need experience leading others, technical skills to interface externally and train team members, and training in interpersonal skills to manage conflicts that could heavily impact small teams.
Day 202-20-201135-20-201220-20-20pearl-201-20-20avinash-20kumar-131008015752-...PMI_IREP_TP
The document presents a framework for quantifying and managing client expectations in project delivery. It introduces three key metrics: Client Outlook Score, Provider Role Ratio, and Execution Quality. The Client Outlook Score reflects the client's ability to delegate control and tolerate variance. The Provider Role Ratio captures the provider's positioning relative to the client's needs and capabilities. Execution Quality measures how well the provider meets expected performance. These metrics are used to calculate a Client Expectation Ratio that provides guidance on managing expectations across different clients and projects. Environmental factors that influence expectations are also discussed.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive function. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms.
Mulching was explored as a value engineering approach to enhance road safety and aesthetics through cost reduction for median plantations on a highway project in Andhra Pradesh, India. An experiment showed that applying mulch (paddy grass) led to 52% lower water consumption, faster plant growth, and eliminated weed removal costs, reducing maintenance costs by 10-12% compared to conventional methods. The successful trial indicates mulching is a feasible eco-friendly technique that can yield cost and environmental benefits when implemented on a larger scale for road projects.
This document discusses approaches to implementing agile project management processes for distributed teams across multiple locations. It describes two case studies where distributed agile was successfully used. In the first case study, agile allowed for more frequent releases, reduced defects, and leveraged global talent. Best practices like daily stand-ups, estimation games, and tools like JIRA were used. The second case study involved a larger team across more locations developing mobile apps. Specialized teams and automated processes in tools allowed complex work to be completed successfully using distributed agile. Both cases saw benefits like improved velocity, faster turnaround, and time to market.
This document discusses the qualities of an entrepreneurial project manager. It argues that entrepreneurial project managers see beyond the typical constraints of time, cost and scope, and understand how projects fit within an organization's strategic goals and culture. They are able to motivate teams by communicating the bigger picture and building strong relationships. Entrepreneurial managers also anticipate challenges and adapt to changing priorities. While they face barriers like lack of growth opportunities, organizations benefit from supporting entrepreneurial managers through training, mentoring and providing challenging assignments to help them grow with the company.
This document discusses several design patterns: Factory, Flyweight, Singleton, Observer, Proxy, Decorator. It provides definitions and examples of when to use each pattern. The Factory pattern creates objects without specifying the exact class. Flyweight reduces memory usage by sharing instances. Singleton ensures only one instance exists. Observer notifies dependent objects of state changes. Proxy controls access to another object. Decorator adds new behaviors to an object dynamically.
This document provides an overview of developing a stakeholder management system for large infrastructure projects. It discusses identifying stakeholders, analyzing them to determine their power/interests, and assessing their current engagement levels. The document then outlines developing stakeholder management plans with engagement strategies. These strategies aim to keep supporters engaged, neutralize sceptics, decrease negative impacts, and raise interest of disinterested stakeholders over the project life. The overall goal is an effective system to ensure stakeholder support and participation for project success.
These slides contain general advice for considering an ALM tooling solution. This includes management of requirements, tests and defects. It is a draft release.
The document contains 10 exam questions related to project management. The questions cover topics such as project management office types, project characteristics, portfolio vs program vs project, responsibilities of a project manager, interpersonal skills, portfolio management, earned value management, constraints, and personal skills. The questions test understanding of key project management concepts and principles as they may appear on the PMP certification exam.
The document contains 10 exam questions related to project management. The questions cover topics such as types of project management offices, characteristics of projects and portfolios, responsibilities of a project manager, interpersonal skills, and constraints that can impact a project. The questions test understanding of core project management concepts and how they apply in different scenarios.
Possible errors in projects and methods of avoiding and eliminatingSefaKOCAKALAY
This document discusses 13 common mistakes that can negatively impact projects and ways to avoid them. Some key mistakes include employing an inexperienced project manager, poor resource matching that prioritizes availability over skills, unclear objectives or success measures, unrealistic timelines, and lack of buy-in from executives. To prevent issues, the document recommends properly defining the project scope, requirements, and timelines upfront through collaboration with stakeholders; selecting skilled resources and a project manager; clearly communicating; and gaining support from leadership. Vigilant planning and communication can help avoid these common pitfalls.
Smu mba sem 3 PM spring 2016 assignments, smu solved assignments ,smu assignments ,smu mba assignments ,smu mba solved assignments ,smu mba spring 2016 assignments
How to recruit an it project manager it-toolkitsIT-Toolkits.org
Many job roles have claimed the title ‘project manager’, but in reality, are a far cry from the traditional role with overall responsibility for the planning and execution of a project. So how can you be sure you are recruiting the right person?
The “Course Topics” series from Manage Train Learn and Slide Topics is a collection of over 4000 slides that will help you master a wide range of management and personal development skills. The 202 PowerPoints in this series offer you a complete and in-depth study of each topic. In "The Appraisal Interview", you'll learn how to prepare for, run, and follow up on every staff appraisal that you have to carry out with your team.
This document contains a fully solved assignment for project management in retail for semester 4. It discusses 6 questions related to project management challenges, retail formats in India, judgmental processes in retail management, how project conflicts are handled, stages of project formulation in retail, and briefly appraisals of retail projects. Students are instructed to send their semester and specialization to receive fully solved assignments or call a phone number for assistance.
The document discusses the importance of requirements gathering for project success. It notes that 70-80% of project failures can be attributed to poor requirements gathering, analysis, and management. While requirements gathering is critical, it is often overlooked or not allocated enough time. The document provides five key components of effective requirements gathering: clearly defining requirements before scope, identifying project and product requirements, adequately documenting requirements, selecting the right methodology, and engaging diverse users. It emphasizes that requirements gathering lays the foundation for a successful project.
The MTL Professional Development Programme is a collection of 202 PowerPoint presentations that will provide you with step-by-step summaries of a key management or personal development skill. This presentation is on "The Appraisal Interview" and will show you how to prepare for and conduct a successful appraisal review session.
Procurement system in the Indian construction industry issues and remediesPavitr1203
Procurement System in the Indian Construction Industry Issues and Remedies by Pavitra Sharma - Master of Science Candidate in Construction Management at Arizona State University, Tempe AZ
Capstone project_Pratim Roy PGDM_1838(1)pratim roy
This document is a capstone project report on valuing Kotak Mahindra Bank submitted by Pratim Roy, a student in the PGDM program at Institute for Technology and Management. The report includes an introduction covering the problem statement, importance, scope and objectives of the project. It also provides details about Kotak Mahindra Bank such as its products/services and organizational structure. The literature review section summarizes several analyst reports on Kotak Mahindra Bank's financial performance and valuation. The methodology, data collection, analysis and conclusions are also outlined.
This document discusses how business analytics can help improve the management and financial viability of India's power sector. It describes how analytics can be applied across generation, transmission, and distribution to better understand operations, reduce losses, improve revenue, and enhance decision making. The integration of business analytics with big data from the power sector is seen as important for developing power quality services. Overall, business analytics has the potential to improve various aspects of the power sector in India through more effective analysis of the large amount of operational and customer data that is now available.
The document discusses challenges in managing small teams that are different from large teams. While most literature focuses on simplifying processes for small projects, the document emphasizes challenges in managing human aspects of small teams, such as deciding roles based on strengths, providing training, motivating team members, and managing growth and attrition. It suggests managers of small teams need experience leading others, technical skills to interface externally and train team members, and training in interpersonal skills to manage conflicts that could heavily impact small teams.
Day 202-20-201135-20-201220-20-20pearl-201-20-20avinash-20kumar-131008015752-...PMI_IREP_TP
The document presents a framework for quantifying and managing client expectations in project delivery. It introduces three key metrics: Client Outlook Score, Provider Role Ratio, and Execution Quality. The Client Outlook Score reflects the client's ability to delegate control and tolerate variance. The Provider Role Ratio captures the provider's positioning relative to the client's needs and capabilities. Execution Quality measures how well the provider meets expected performance. These metrics are used to calculate a Client Expectation Ratio that provides guidance on managing expectations across different clients and projects. Environmental factors that influence expectations are also discussed.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive function. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms.
Mulching was explored as a value engineering approach to enhance road safety and aesthetics through cost reduction for median plantations on a highway project in Andhra Pradesh, India. An experiment showed that applying mulch (paddy grass) led to 52% lower water consumption, faster plant growth, and eliminated weed removal costs, reducing maintenance costs by 10-12% compared to conventional methods. The successful trial indicates mulching is a feasible eco-friendly technique that can yield cost and environmental benefits when implemented on a larger scale for road projects.
This document discusses approaches to implementing agile project management processes for distributed teams across multiple locations. It describes two case studies where distributed agile was successfully used. In the first case study, agile allowed for more frequent releases, reduced defects, and leveraged global talent. Best practices like daily stand-ups, estimation games, and tools like JIRA were used. The second case study involved a larger team across more locations developing mobile apps. Specialized teams and automated processes in tools allowed complex work to be completed successfully using distributed agile. Both cases saw benefits like improved velocity, faster turnaround, and time to market.
This document discusses the qualities of an entrepreneurial project manager. It argues that entrepreneurial project managers see beyond the typical constraints of time, cost and scope, and understand how projects fit within an organization's strategic goals and culture. They are able to motivate teams by communicating the bigger picture and building strong relationships. Entrepreneurial managers also anticipate challenges and adapt to changing priorities. While they face barriers like lack of growth opportunities, organizations benefit from supporting entrepreneurial managers through training, mentoring and providing challenging assignments to help them grow with the company.
This document discusses several design patterns: Factory, Flyweight, Singleton, Observer, Proxy, Decorator. It provides definitions and examples of when to use each pattern. The Factory pattern creates objects without specifying the exact class. Flyweight reduces memory usage by sharing instances. Singleton ensures only one instance exists. Observer notifies dependent objects of state changes. Proxy controls access to another object. Decorator adds new behaviors to an object dynamically.
This document provides an overview of developing a stakeholder management system for large infrastructure projects. It discusses identifying stakeholders, analyzing them to determine their power/interests, and assessing their current engagement levels. The document then outlines developing stakeholder management plans with engagement strategies. These strategies aim to keep supporters engaged, neutralize sceptics, decrease negative impacts, and raise interest of disinterested stakeholders over the project life. The overall goal is an effective system to ensure stakeholder support and participation for project success.
These slides contain general advice for considering an ALM tooling solution. This includes management of requirements, tests and defects. It is a draft release.
The document contains 10 exam questions related to project management. The questions cover topics such as project management office types, project characteristics, portfolio vs program vs project, responsibilities of a project manager, interpersonal skills, portfolio management, earned value management, constraints, and personal skills. The questions test understanding of key project management concepts and principles as they may appear on the PMP certification exam.
The document contains 10 exam questions related to project management. The questions cover topics such as types of project management offices, characteristics of projects and portfolios, responsibilities of a project manager, interpersonal skills, and constraints that can impact a project. The questions test understanding of core project management concepts and how they apply in different scenarios.
Possible errors in projects and methods of avoiding and eliminatingSefaKOCAKALAY
This document discusses 13 common mistakes that can negatively impact projects and ways to avoid them. Some key mistakes include employing an inexperienced project manager, poor resource matching that prioritizes availability over skills, unclear objectives or success measures, unrealistic timelines, and lack of buy-in from executives. To prevent issues, the document recommends properly defining the project scope, requirements, and timelines upfront through collaboration with stakeholders; selecting skilled resources and a project manager; clearly communicating; and gaining support from leadership. Vigilant planning and communication can help avoid these common pitfalls.
Smu mba sem 3 PM spring 2016 assignments, smu solved assignments ,smu assignments ,smu mba assignments ,smu mba solved assignments ,smu mba spring 2016 assignments
How to recruit an it project manager it-toolkitsIT-Toolkits.org
Many job roles have claimed the title ‘project manager’, but in reality, are a far cry from the traditional role with overall responsibility for the planning and execution of a project. So how can you be sure you are recruiting the right person?
The “Course Topics” series from Manage Train Learn and Slide Topics is a collection of over 4000 slides that will help you master a wide range of management and personal development skills. The 202 PowerPoints in this series offer you a complete and in-depth study of each topic. In "The Appraisal Interview", you'll learn how to prepare for, run, and follow up on every staff appraisal that you have to carry out with your team.
This document contains a fully solved assignment for project management in retail for semester 4. It discusses 6 questions related to project management challenges, retail formats in India, judgmental processes in retail management, how project conflicts are handled, stages of project formulation in retail, and briefly appraisals of retail projects. Students are instructed to send their semester and specialization to receive fully solved assignments or call a phone number for assistance.
The document discusses the importance of requirements gathering for project success. It notes that 70-80% of project failures can be attributed to poor requirements gathering, analysis, and management. While requirements gathering is critical, it is often overlooked or not allocated enough time. The document provides five key components of effective requirements gathering: clearly defining requirements before scope, identifying project and product requirements, adequately documenting requirements, selecting the right methodology, and engaging diverse users. It emphasizes that requirements gathering lays the foundation for a successful project.
The MTL Professional Development Programme is a collection of 202 PowerPoint presentations that will provide you with step-by-step summaries of a key management or personal development skill. This presentation is on "The Appraisal Interview" and will show you how to prepare for and conduct a successful appraisal review session.
Procurement system in the Indian construction industry issues and remediesPavitr1203
Procurement System in the Indian Construction Industry Issues and Remedies by Pavitra Sharma - Master of Science Candidate in Construction Management at Arizona State University, Tempe AZ
Capstone project_Pratim Roy PGDM_1838(1)pratim roy
This document is a capstone project report on valuing Kotak Mahindra Bank submitted by Pratim Roy, a student in the PGDM program at Institute for Technology and Management. The report includes an introduction covering the problem statement, importance, scope and objectives of the project. It also provides details about Kotak Mahindra Bank such as its products/services and organizational structure. The literature review section summarizes several analyst reports on Kotak Mahindra Bank's financial performance and valuation. The methodology, data collection, analysis and conclusions are also outlined.
1.1 Supporting the team with data collection and analysis
1.2 Preparing presentations and documents
1.3 Administrative tasks like scheduling meetings, travel etc.
Engagement Manager:
1.1 Overall responsibility for delivery and client relationship
1.2 Budgeting and resourcing the project
1.3 Ensuring quality and timely delivery
1.4 Escalation point for any issues
Partner:
1.1 Overall leadership and strategy for the client
1.2 Business development
1.3 Ensuring profitability of the engagement
1.4 Escalation point and sign off on key deliverables
So in summary- analysts do analysis, consultants manage work streams, engagement
managers
This casebook was created by the 36th and 37th batches of the Consulting and Strategy Club of IIM Lucknow to provide an overview of the case interview process for consulting roles. It contains frameworks for different case types, examples of past cases, transcripts of interviews, and additional resources. The casebook aims to help students prepare for consulting interviews by understanding the typical process and practicing various case scenarios. It is a comprehensive guide developed based on experiences of previous candidates who interviewed with consulting firms recruiting from IIM Lucknow.
Requirements Gathering for Project Management SuccessWG Consulting
Ever wonder why your project isn't going as smoothly as it could be? Do you know the 5 key components of a successful requirements gathering process? This presentation will help ensure your project gets started on the right foot.
The document discusses requirements gathering and its importance for project success. It notes that 70-80% of project failures can be attributed to poor requirements gathering, analysis, and management. The document outlines five key components of effective requirements gathering: 1) gathering requirements before defining scope, 2) identifying project and product requirements, 3) adequately documenting requirements, 4) selecting the appropriate methodology, and 5) engaging diverse users. It emphasizes that requirements gathering provides the foundation for building project scope, plans, and risk mitigation strategies.
Dear students get fully solved assignments
Send your semester & Specialization name to our mail id :
“ help.mbaassignments@gmail.com ”
or
Call us at : 08263069601
The document discusses lessons for project managers in their role. It identifies project management as an "accidental profession" for two reasons: 1) project managers are often not formally selected and trained, and 2) many individuals pursue project management without defining a clear career path. It then provides 12 guidelines for project managers to address common problems, such as understanding stakeholder expectations, using flexible leadership styles, and maintaining appropriate planning. The guidelines range from understanding the project context to effective time management.
Similar to Wilsoanandaraj balasubramaniankrishnamurthy-131008015801-phpapp01 (20)
The document discusses causes of delay in the erection of power transformers in India. It identifies 18 causes of delay which are categorized into 5 groups: internal, external, planning, contractor/vendor, and transportation/packaging. Common delays include material damage during transit, poor storage areas, rework activities, and lack of resources. Addressing three key delays - material damage, rework, and security issues - could save around 40% of delay time and 200,000 INR per site. Proper planning and adherence to quality processes are recommended to avoid delays and their impacts on costs, customer satisfaction, and safety.
This document outlines 10 commandments or principles for project success based on the concepts of mind, body, and soul. It begins with an introduction to the topic and definitions of key terms. It then describes 3 cardinal rules for project teams based on mind, body, and soul. The rest of the document outlines each of the 10 commandments for project success and discusses challenges in implementing them. For each commandment, it provides solutions categorized as knowledge/mind, action/body, and soul. The commandments focus on areas like scope management, cost estimation, team development, risk management, use of quality tools, and project monitoring and control.
The document describes IBM's Actuate program for project launches. Actuate aims to ensure projects are started right by facilitating key startup activities within 45 days. These activities are grouped under 10 focus areas like project scope, risk assessment, governance, and tools setup. IBM has seen benefits of Actuate like reduced surprises, improved risk assessment, and faster startup phase completion. Over time, Actuate coverage has increased while duration to complete activities has decreased, showing improved efficiency. Lessons learned include addressing delays in input documents and stakeholder availability.
This document discusses applying innovative models and theories to project management. It describes four main innovative concepts: TRIZ, morphological analysis, system concept-knowledge theory, and the method of focal objects. TRIZ involves analyzing patents to identify common inventive principles to solve problems and eliminate conflicts. Morphological analysis works backwards from outcomes to components rather than vice versa. The document argues that using these innovative models in project modeling software could provide more solution options to meet client objectives compared to current practices.
This document discusses how businesses can create shared value for both society and business through their operations and strategies. It provides four approaches for shared value creation: 1) Solve societal problems and create new business opportunities; 2) Align existing products to benefit society; 3) Improve internal operations; and 4) Choose a social cause to support that aligns with the business. Creating shared value can provide competitive advantages for businesses through new markets, cost savings, and increased loyalty while also generating employment, participation opportunities, and improved standards of living for communities.
The document discusses implementing an agile methodology on a project at Atos India while maintaining CMMI compliance. It describes challenges with a fresh, distributed team and how the company customized agile practices like adding two scrum masters, documentation standards, and mandatory pair programming. Metrics showed improved quality, reduced rework and schedule variance after adopting this blended agile-CMMI approach. A survey found the team benefited from better communication, collaboration and early problem identification. The customized process was added to Atos' global standards to provide benefits of both agile and CMMI frameworks.
The document discusses how an innovation program at Tata Consultancy Services adopted Agile project management methodology to address issues they were facing. Some key problems prior to adopting Agile included frequent changes to delivery targets, spending too much time on requirements and design upfront, lack of transparency, and escalated issues. By introducing Agile with support from senior management, establishing user stories and sprints, and increasing transparency, the program benefited from improved planning, early feedback, on-time delivery, and quality.
This document discusses how project management needs to evolve to address changing trends in the business environment. Traditional methods of stakeholder management, communication, and human resources management need to transform into deeper client engagement, articulating client value, and talent management. Project delivery also needs to incorporate more consulting approaches. Additionally, innovation, consulting skills, and social technologies can help augment traditional project management. These changes will help organizations better engage customers, deliver higher value, and ensure project success in today's dynamic marketplace.
The document discusses ways an offshore team improved engagement and ownership of a software project. The team increased communication, implemented regular status reporting, and delegated resources onsite. These changes built trust with partners and improved predictability. As a result, the offshore team took on more work, delivered additional features ahead of schedule, and received very positive feedback and requests for more offshoring from partners. However, challenges around testing automation, buffer management, and continuous learning remain.
This document describes a statistical model created by Tata Consultancy Services to predict customer satisfaction levels. The model was built using data from 3000 customer projects where satisfaction decreased. It identifies factors that influence satisfaction positively or negatively. The model enables project managers to proactively monitor key factors, assess potential satisfaction impacts, and take action to improve outcomes. It has been implemented digitally and is helping the organization significantly improve customer satisfaction levels across many projects.
Social media, mobile devices, analytics and cloud computing (SMAC) have combined to create a technology ecosystem that supports project management. SMAC allows project managers to access information anytime from anywhere, collaborate more effectively with teams, and gain insights from analytics. While SMAC has benefits, successful adoption depends on factors like an organization's business model and culture. Project managers must redefine processes and best practices to leverage SMAC's value.
This document discusses implementing a "process way of life" culture within an organization. It involves three key steps:
1) Enabling people through fun and interactive training to increase process awareness. This helps ensure the right data enters systems.
2) Implementing common metrics and a single project management tool so internal and customer reporting is streamlined. This provides immediate feedback.
3) Recognizing and rewarding "process champions" and best practices to motivate adherence to processes and spread positive messages.
Benefits included more predictable project management, improved metrics, and effort/metrics being reported without reminders. The approach helped establish a consistent process culture.
The document discusses using an agile approach called Hybrid ASAP methodology for SAP implementations to overcome the limitations of the traditional waterfall approach. Hybrid ASAP combines aspects of ASAP methodology and agile methods like Scrum. It involves dividing the project team into smaller groups to work in parallel sprints. An initial product backlog is created using SAP accelerators and baseline builds. Then a lean business blueprint is made along with a release plan. Multiple sprints are conducted with dynamic updates to the product backlog at each sprint completion to deliver incremental working software. This allows for faster deployment, reduced risks and improved customer satisfaction over the traditional waterfall approach.
The document discusses how fusing aspects of traditional waterfall project management and agile methodologies can improve the chances of project success, especially for large upgrade or migration projects. It provides examples of different "fusion approaches", such as using waterfall delivery within agile iterations or applying agile execution techniques within a waterfall framework. The success of a fusion approach depends on variables like organizational culture, risk appetite, and governance structures. When applied appropriately, a fusion model can help complete projects on time and budget while minimizing risks.
This document discusses stakeholder management strategies for the successful implementation of India's Right to Education Act. It argues that stakeholder engagement and community mobilization are key, as seen in the success of India's polio eradication campaign. Specifically, establishing effective school management committees and increasing parental involvement can help address ongoing challenges like low learning outcomes and the enrollment of economically disadvantaged children. Proper monitoring of schools is also needed to ensure compliance with the act in practice, not just on paper. With coordinated efforts among all stakeholders, including government, schools, communities and volunteers, the goals of universal elementary education can be achieved.
Presentation by sathish nataraj sundararajanPMI_IREP_TP
This document discusses process excellence for new age project management. It describes tools like Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), target cost matching, target cost approach curve, point of no return (PONR), ABC analysis, and characteristic management that can be used to enhance the planning, steering, and reporting of projects. These tools help structure project management by aiding in planning, tracking project timelines and costs against targets, prioritizing parts, and ensuring all requirements are met. Using such tools in a standardized way across a company brings transparency and helps complete projects on time and on budget.
The document discusses building a sustainable customer advocacy program. It recommends starting with identifying requirements, forming a program team, and creating a responsibility matrix. The process then focuses on delivering a tailored program to drive new customer acquisitions by shortlisting strong advocates and creating an advocacy messaging framework and outreach program. The final step is creating a tracker to monitor process efficiency and effectiveness against key performance indicators. Implementing this approach can significantly increase customer loyalty and give a competitive advantage.
This document describes the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) which is a framework for implementing agile development practices at the enterprise level. It discusses how SAFe addresses the limitations of traditional waterfall development and scales agile to meet the needs of large projects. SAFe incorporates key lean principles and consists of three levels - Team, Program, and Portfolio. At each level it defines roles and practices for planning, prioritizing work, and delivering value in short iterations. The goal of SAFe is to synchronize collaboration across many agile teams to continuously and predictably deliver working software.
The document discusses how project managers can leverage recent advances in psychology to better manage human aspects of projects. It provides a framework for applying concepts from evidence-based psychology, positive psychology, and organizational psychology across the project lifecycle. The framework identifies common project management challenges and shows how psychological solutions like focusing on process over results, breaking work into small tasks, and praising effort over talent can address issues around negotiation, team motivation, and performance. The document advocates using a scientific, evidence-based approach to incorporate psychology into project management.
This document describes a Deployment Excellence Framework (DEF) to effectively adopt high maturity processes. The framework includes 3 interlinked cycles: 1) Identification Cycle to target initial units and stakeholders, 2) Initial Deployment Cycle focusing on awareness and success indicators, and 3) Sustenance Cycle increasing adoption scope and self-reliance. It also includes a feedback adapter for course correction. The case study illustrates using DEF to standardize an organization's project estimation processes and templates by deploying new estimation models and tools over 6 quarters.
Industrial Tech SW: Category Renewal and CreationChristian Dahlen
Every industrial revolution has created a new set of categories and a new set of players.
Multiple new technologies have emerged, but Samsara and C3.ai are only two companies which have gone public so far.
Manufacturing startups constitute the largest pipeline share of unicorns and IPO candidates in the SF Bay Area, and software startups dominate in Germany.
At Techbox Square, in Singapore, we're not just creative web designers and developers, we're the driving force behind your brand identity. Contact us today.
Company Valuation webinar series - Tuesday, 4 June 2024FelixPerez547899
This session provided an update as to the latest valuation data in the UK and then delved into a discussion on the upcoming election and the impacts on valuation. We finished, as always with a Q&A
IMPACT Silver is a pure silver zinc producer with over $260 million in revenue since 2008 and a large 100% owned 210km Mexico land package - 2024 catalysts includes new 14% grade zinc Plomosas mine and 20,000m of fully funded exploration drilling.
Top mailing list providers in the USA.pptxJeremyPeirce1
Discover the top mailing list providers in the USA, offering targeted lists, segmentation, and analytics to optimize your marketing campaigns and drive engagement.
Navigating the world of forex trading can be challenging, especially for beginners. To help you make an informed decision, we have comprehensively compared the best forex brokers in India for 2024. This article, reviewed by Top Forex Brokers Review, will cover featured award winners, the best forex brokers, featured offers, the best copy trading platforms, the best forex brokers for beginners, the best MetaTrader brokers, and recently updated reviews. We will focus on FP Markets, Black Bull, EightCap, IC Markets, and Octa.
Taurus Zodiac Sign: Unveiling the Traits, Dates, and Horoscope Insights of th...my Pandit
Dive into the steadfast world of the Taurus Zodiac Sign. Discover the grounded, stable, and logical nature of Taurus individuals, and explore their key personality traits, important dates, and horoscope insights. Learn how the determination and patience of the Taurus sign make them the rock-steady achievers and anchors of the zodiac.
Tata Group Dials Taiwan for Its Chipmaking Ambition in Gujarat’s DholeraAvirahi City Dholera
The Tata Group, a titan of Indian industry, is making waves with its advanced talks with Taiwanese chipmakers Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) and UMC Group. The goal? Establishing a cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication unit (fab) in Dholera, Gujarat. This isn’t just any project; it’s a potential game changer for India’s chipmaking aspirations and a boon for investors seeking promising residential projects in dholera sir.
Visit : https://www.avirahi.com/blog/tata-group-dials-taiwan-for-its-chipmaking-ambition-in-gujarats-dholera/
Event Report - SAP Sapphire 2024 Orlando - lots of innovation and old challengesHolger Mueller
Holger Mueller of Constellation Research shares his key takeaways from SAP's Sapphire confernece, held in Orlando, June 3rd till 5th 2024, in the Orange Convention Center.
Understanding User Needs and Satisfying ThemAggregage
https://www.productmanagementtoday.com/frs/26903918/understanding-user-needs-and-satisfying-them
We know we want to create products which our customers find to be valuable. Whether we label it as customer-centric or product-led depends on how long we've been doing product management. There are three challenges we face when doing this. The obvious challenge is figuring out what our users need; the non-obvious challenges are in creating a shared understanding of those needs and in sensing if what we're doing is meeting those needs.
In this webinar, we won't focus on the research methods for discovering user-needs. We will focus on synthesis of the needs we discover, communication and alignment tools, and how we operationalize addressing those needs.
Industry expert Scott Sehlhorst will:
• Introduce a taxonomy for user goals with real world examples
• Present the Onion Diagram, a tool for contextualizing task-level goals
• Illustrate how customer journey maps capture activity-level and task-level goals
• Demonstrate the best approach to selection and prioritization of user-goals to address
• Highlight the crucial benchmarks, observable changes, in ensuring fulfillment of customer needs
LA HUG - Video Testimonials with Chynna Morgan - June 2024Lital Barkan
Have you ever heard that user-generated content or video testimonials can take your brand to the next level? We will explore how you can effectively use video testimonials to leverage and boost your sales, content strategy, and increase your CRM data.🤯
We will dig deeper into:
1. How to capture video testimonials that convert from your audience 🎥
2. How to leverage your testimonials to boost your sales 💲
3. How you can capture more CRM data to understand your audience better through video testimonials. 📊
The Evolution and Impact of OTT Platforms: A Deep Dive into the Future of Ent...ABHILASH DUTTA
This presentation provides a thorough examination of Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms, focusing on their development and substantial influence on the entertainment industry, with a particular emphasis on the Indian market.We begin with an introduction to OTT platforms, defining them as streaming services that deliver content directly over the internet, bypassing traditional broadcast channels. These platforms offer a variety of content, including movies, TV shows, and original productions, allowing users to access content on-demand across multiple devices.The historical context covers the early days of streaming, starting with Netflix's inception in 1997 as a DVD rental service and its transition to streaming in 2007. The presentation also highlights India's television journey, from the launch of Doordarshan in 1959 to the introduction of Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite television in 2000, which expanded viewing choices and set the stage for the rise of OTT platforms like Big Flix, Ditto TV, Sony LIV, Hotstar, and Netflix. The business models of OTT platforms are explored in detail. Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) models, exemplified by Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, offer unlimited content access for a monthly fee. Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD) models, like iTunes and Sky Box Office, allow users to pay for individual pieces of content. Advertising-Based Video on Demand (AVOD) models, such as YouTube and Facebook Watch, provide free content supported by advertisements. Hybrid models combine elements of SVOD and AVOD, offering flexibility to cater to diverse audience preferences.
Content acquisition strategies are also discussed, highlighting the dual approach of purchasing broadcasting rights for existing films and TV shows and investing in original content production. This section underscores the importance of a robust content library in attracting and retaining subscribers.The presentation addresses the challenges faced by OTT platforms, including the unpredictability of content acquisition and audience preferences. It emphasizes the difficulty of balancing content investment with returns in a competitive market, the high costs associated with marketing, and the need for continuous innovation and adaptation to stay relevant.
The impact of OTT platforms on the Bollywood film industry is significant. The competition for viewers has led to a decrease in cinema ticket sales, affecting the revenue of Bollywood films that traditionally rely on theatrical releases. Additionally, OTT platforms now pay less for film rights due to the uncertain success of films in cinemas.
Looking ahead, the future of OTT in India appears promising. The market is expected to grow by 20% annually, reaching a value of ₹1200 billion by the end of the decade. The increasing availability of affordable smartphones and internet access will drive this growth, making OTT platforms a primary source of entertainment for many viewers.
The 10 Most Influential Leaders Guiding Corporate Evolution, 2024.pdfthesiliconleaders
In the recent edition, The 10 Most Influential Leaders Guiding Corporate Evolution, 2024, The Silicon Leaders magazine gladly features Dejan Štancer, President of the Global Chamber of Business Leaders (GCBL), along with other leaders.
At Techbox Square, in Singapore, we're not just creative web designers and developers, we're the driving force behind your brand identity. Contact us today.
1. 5 Mantras Of Right First Time
Secrets of success in project management
Wilson Anandaraj PMP & Krishnamurthy Balasubramanian PMP
6/18/2013
2. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
Contents
Contents ..................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ................................................................................................. 3
Mantra 1: Eliminate your false requirements .......................................................... 4
What are false requirements and how do they get a berth? ...................................... 5
Case Study ................................................................................................ 6
How to avoid false requirements...................................................................... 6
Mantra 2: Tour your execution ........................................................................... 8
Reasons for poor planning .............................................................................. 8
What is touring the execution? ........................................................................ 9
Advantages of touring your execution ............................................................... 10
Mantra 3: Be passionate yourself ....................................................................... 11
Two levers of passion .................................................................................. 12
Strategies for maintaining passion ................................................................... 13
Mantra 4: Do not drive just with rear view mirror.................................................... 13
Rear View mirror approach............................................................................ 14
Ghosts of the past ...................................................................................... 14
Reactive Vs Proactive Approach ...................................................................... 14
How do we approach this?............................................................................. 15
Mantra 5: Close Iteratively............................................................................... 17
Moving to next phase................................................................................... 17
Benefits of closing often............................................................................... 18
Conclusion .................................................................................................. 19
Authors Profile............................................................................................. 20
3. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
Introduction
Big projects may become big embarrassments when not managed properly.
The 5 billion dollar rail projects in Australia, the UK’s first commercial carbon capture and
storage project (64 Million UK pounds), Russia’s space programs, Cutting edge baggage
handling system at Denver airport which delayed the opening of the airport by more than one
year, India’s infrastructure projects (182 high way projects are behind schedule) are some of
the major embarrassments we are aware of. A survey in the PM network states that less than
40% of the projects are completed within the triple constraints of the project. Success rate of
project completion is yet below the expectation. Success at the first instance and first time
right has become dreams in many organizations.
Matured project management practices decrease the chance of embarrassments. But can the
framework alone solve all the miseries? While the framework provides the guidelines, there
are skills that the project manager must have, which the PMBOK calls as “Expert Judgment”
to deliver right first time.
Why are the project managers of such projects told, “Get results or Get lost”. There is a
famous saying that, the projects are delivered by Individuals, the project managers. If
getting it done first time right depends on individual project managers, what is the magic to
make every project manager successful?
In this paper, we have listed five mantras based on the small and medium projects that we
have administered either as sponsors or as project managers. No mission seems impossible
when one sticks on to these mantras. These mantras span across all phases of the project life
cycle, starting with planning execution monitor and control to closing. The mantras
are
1. Eliminate false requirement 2. Tour your execution 3. Be passionate yourself
4.Do not drive just with rear view mirror 5.Close iteratively
This paper attempts to elicit these mantras – Enjoy reading.
4. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
Mantra 1: Eliminate your false requirements
One of the prominent reasons of failure in projects is, “The False Requirements”.
False requirements are tough to identify from the valid requirements, they look real and are
destructive. False requirements are created as part of the requirement gathering techniques
or get introduced at any phase of the project. Project managers are taught with multiple
techniques to gather requirements, that include interviewing, observations, group creativity
techniques facilitated group discussions, anonymous and consensus techniques, prototyping,
group decision making, questionnaires and surveys. Project managers have immense pressure
not to let any of the requirement slip thru the fingers. There is a great pressure to get the
entire requirements captured and baseline-ed. There are requirements matrix at all levels to
make sure that all requirements are planned, designed, implemented and tested.
(Requirements to design matrix, requirements to testing matrix and more)
5. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
While, making sure all requirements is met, project managers should be vigilant enough to
eliminate such requirements which appear normal but are Pseudo. We call them as false
requirements. Before we analyze how these false requirements creep in and settle with valid
requirements, let us see, what are the impacts that these false requirements do to the
project.
False requirements,
1. consume budget
2. stretch schedule – sometimes add to the critical path
3. Increase risk of failure of the project
4. Confuse stakeholders and lead to de-motivation and stress
5. Bring down the quality of the real requirements and final deliverables
What are false requirements and how do they get a berth?
In project management, requirements describe how a product or service should act, appear,
or perform. If the requirements do not bring any difference to the product of the project, and
then be sure that that is not a real requirement
1. Very normal source of false requirements are the friendly customers
a. Customers, who influence the project managers by being friendly, continue
to rank first in providing false requirements.
2. Adding attributes to requirements-
a. Attributes become requirements on the go.
3. Assumptions in the contract are another source of false requirements
a. Assumptions in the SOW turnout to be project constraints.
4. Customers Aspirations to do more within the constraints
a. Wish list rather than real requirements
b. Conscious not to leave gaps
c. Not clear with their own needs (Hence Provide a General RFI)
6. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
d. Future needs
5. Non-Explicit acceptance criteria
a. Having no explicit acceptance criteria between all the stakeholders of the
project is a source of false requirements
6. Gold Plating
a. Gold Plating is another simple reason for introducing false requirements
Case Study
One of the Projects Applications did not hit the DR4 on time because the Automation of the
test cases was not completed. On closer examination, it was revealed that the automation
was not part of the testing scope and was added by the project manger to impress the
customer.
How to avoid false requirements
1. Identify
a. If there are requirements that does not change the final product or service
, we need to consider them as false requirements
b. Opinions are not requirements
i. Example “We should do the prototyping first and then build the
product” – this is an approach to product building, but is not a
requirement.
c. Identify the role of the originator of the requirement – look at the RACI
matrix. if it comes from a stakeholder who is not the right person to decide
the requirements, ignore the requirement.
i. Example, while building a new office space, an engineer talks about
how the MD room should be designed
d. Because we were tests manager most of our career, we do keep saying this
– any requirement that is not testable, is not a requirement.
7. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
i. Example, “the building should be very strong” or “the UI should
respond very fast”
2. Consult
a. Ask follow up question to the originator of the requirement to understand if
this was a real requirement – call for meetings if required to discuss with
larger stakeholders.
b. Probe with questions on what does this requirement do that is not covered
by other requirements
c. Ask what is the % of scope that this requirement covers, ask what if this
requirement is not taken to the project scope
d. And finally, if this is a valid requirement add to the list of valid
requirements else put it aside
3. Confront
a. Simple questions on monetization of the requirement can eliminate the
false requirements
b. Work out the amount of cost and schedule this requirement will consume
from the project
c. Explain the risks added to the project by adding this requirement
Pseudo requirements make the projects tougher and integration out of control. At, times,
customer thinks that even the pseudo requirements are real as well. Helping to eliminate
such false requirements helps the customers and the sponsor.
Pseudo requirements increase the complexity of the project and as complexity amplifies, so
too does the potential for disaster.
Let customers know this. Talk about Chicago building architectures does not have anything
false. Brail in drive in ATMs has.
Eliminating False requirements from the project is a way to getting the project delivered first
time right as it reduces your deviation for the project goals.
8. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
Mantra 2: Tour your execution
Mr. Amitabh Khan, member of the PMI board in India, remarked sarcastically in the keynote
address of the 4th PMI India conference in Chennai that the project managers have mastered
the art of planning and executing simultaneously. Planning continues as the execution is on.
Planning little and planning again has been misunderstood as PDCA. PDCA is for Quality
control. If you are doing a PDCA of your project, you will keep circling and not complete it.
PDCA circles never end. We have seen project managers misuse the word agile, when the
planning is incomplete – Agile is not about mis-planing. Agile is about iterative development.
Agile is about more planning – Agile is to plan smaller sprints, execute and plan the next
sprint. Another, most misinterpreted phrase of project is “Progressive Evolution”. Project
managers start projects not knowing what next and have a cool answer – “Every project is like
this, it will become clear as we go by”
Reasons for poor planning
1. Pressure to start immediately
2. Experience and comfort zone (First 15 over 130 runs and then we will plan)
9. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
3. Competition - need to show something to the customer /sponsor
But the mantra to successful execution is planning and mantra to successful planning is
dreaming. “Dream” is what Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India calls for.
“Dream has an immense power to change. Dream provides a divine energy to execute”. Let us
call this little differently, “Virtual touring” or “Touring your Execution”.
What is touring the execution?
Computers do not start the execution until the compilation is done – in compilation process,
the compilers make sure that there is path to the end whatever be the condition – Pilots do
not start flying without knowing the path of their flight. They have the vision of the
turbulence on the way, where it is raining, and the temperature at the destination.
Take a virtual tour of the project execution phase even before starting the execution. Tour
your plan, check for gaps in planning, see what would happen if the plan does not work and
check where the plan can lead to mishap, create an alternate path for assuming the primary
path will fail. Identify risks on the way, eliminate false requirements as you tour. Tour
multiple times, thru multiple roads, take all the roads untaken in the previous tours and while
the real tour is on, the lessons of the virtual tour will guide to success at the first time.
Tour thru your assumptions, thru your risks and the mitigation plans, stop to detour your
milestones and how they each milestone can affect the project. Examine each milestone
carefully, identify the weakest link, and identify the cushion that can be created to absorb
the slips. The assumption list is created at the end of the tour.
Walk thru the inputs of the risks; you’re thru each risk, the cause of each risk and the impact
of each risk. Tour thru the probability of the risk and set the probability to 1 and challenge
yourself. Tour through each of your mitigation. Tour as if each of the mitigation is applied
and fail. Identify more risks and plan mitigations. Such a tour helps in identifying risks that
are more realistic than the pre-determined list of risks.
Project Managers should tour thru conversing with your stakeholders, tour thru project
meetings to be conducted, tour as if your team does not show up for the meeting, tour as if
your team members do not communicate properly, tour thru the conflicts that would arise,
tour thru the accidents and possible slips to the project schedule. At the end, you already
have the organization chart of your project team. You have a set of ground rules for the
team. When we were sharing this thought with a friend of mine, he said in a light sense, that
10. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
such a touring project manager will already have a list of action items for a team which is yet
to handshake with the project manager.
Complete the cycle of execution in virtual. Project completion should have run thru the mind
of the project manger even before the project enters in to the execution phase. While the
real execution is on, you will not be surprised at events that are not in the project plan,
because you have seen them in your virtual tour and have handled them already, you know
what method to apply to handle assumptions, risks, issues, conflicts, scope creeps, priority
clashes, lack of resources, supply chain issues and accidents.
There have been recommendations, to do a group tour. Take the members of your team for a
virtual tour of the project execution. Stop at each milestone and explain them as a tour
guide. Let the members of the team ask you questions. These questions will serve you as list
of assumptions or issues to be clarified. The advantage of such a group tour is that, your
project team gets aligned to your execution path. The forming and the norming get done in
the planning stage.
Advantages of touring your execution
1. Check for gaps in the plan, identify accident prone zone in the project
2. Identify Risks and assign mitigations
3. Create the assumption register
4. Identify stakeholders on your way
5. Assign action items to characters who are not even in the team
6. You already have started managing your team passively in virtual tour
In today’s competitive world, there is a big pressure to start immediately – Our
recommendation is to start immediately – but start the Virtual tour immediately to get
flawless planning and thus the execution has no surprises for you.
11. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
Mantra 3: Be passionate yourself
In 1870, When Fredrick Bartholdi designed the statue of liberty; he did not even have a clue
that, one day the 305 feet statue will be seen from Aircrafts. (it is in 1900 year that the first
aircraft was tested successfully). But it is his passion that led to the perfection in the statue.
When the statue was designed, nobody from the ground would have appreciated the
perfection of the crown or even the Queens’s hair. But it is the Fredrick’s passion to
excellence that we see today from the aircrafts.
Not all projects make to the top five in list of the organization’s portfolio priority. It does not
mean that the projects other than the top five can fail. Each project need to be successful –
to make a successful portfolio. Even more, to get right first time, the one differentiator will
be “your Passion”.
Shri Shri Ravi Shankar, the Yoga Guru, teaches that passion leads to excellence. Having right
amount of passion in the work we do, is the right way to achieve success. It is the passion of
the project manager in driving the project makes it successful. Amitabah Khan, an Indian
Administrative Services official says that “Project are delivered by Individuals – projects are
delivered by Project managers”. The team will consist of super performers, average
performers and below average performers. The team may have people from different
cultures, people with different attitudes. The way in which people react to simulators will be
different. But if there is one thing that can unite and direct, it is the passion of the project
manager. The degree of the passion that project manager possess in executing the project
directly impacts the energy level of the team members executing it.
Dr. E. Sridharan, when explaining the success factors on the Delhi Metro project explains that
“No project fails due to lack of technology – but projects fail due to lack passion.” Remmber
12. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
7 KM Kolkata metro took 22 years and 330 KM Delhi metro was completed on schedule within
the cost and with superior quality.
Two levers of passion
Rohan David, Author of “Where Passion Lives” Highlights 2 lever for Passion.
1. Communicate, communicate and communicate
76% of the projects fail due to project chicken attitude. 86% of the projects miss deadline
due to lack of communication. PMBOK says 90% of our time is typically spent on
communicating – framework like PMBOK tells us a lot about communicating; formal,
informal, internal, external, vertical, official, unofficial, written, oral, verbal, nor-verbal,
listening, questioning, educating, summarizing, negotiating, persuading, fact finding,
etc… Srini Sundarajan, Head of R&D for Alcatel-Lucent in India, emphasizes on over-
communicating. As per Srini, project managers need to continuously and over-
communicate and the information will be absorbed to the extend team needs; similar to
broadcasting of FM radio. If the team needs it, it will tune to get the information, but
continuous and over communication is the need of the hour. Communication can avoid
surprises at later stages.
a. Large portion of the failed projects are due to mistrust in the project manager
– the one tool to remove mistrust is communication
b. Communication plan should include Process to deal with communication
problems rooted in cultural differences.
2. Practice, Practice and Practice
a. This is integrity and leadership
The second lever of passion is, Practice. This is a matter of integrity. Practicing what we
preach has been a trait of leaders from the days of Jesus Christ. It is a simple way to keep the
passion and motivate the team.
In a survey conducted and reported by Asan Sofian, “Project Success in Relation with
Organizational Roles and Capabilities and Project Managers' Skills and Capabilities”, the
13. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
personal integrity of the project manager is valued as the “most important” quality that a
project manager should possess.
Strategies for maintaining passion
1. A clear vision of the goal
a. See opportunity in every trouble and see only the troubles that will hit the
project. When the glass is filled half with water, an optimistic project manger
should say, the “Glass is half empty and I have an opportunity to fill”
2. Have your say – but be open to others.
a. Beware of being over passionate. When one is over-passionate, he is led to
dreams which are not executable. Be passionate, but learn to be dispassionate,
Antony De Mello,in his book, “prayer of the frog” talks about the third angle of
passion - be compassionate
b. Being passionate should not hide risks and issues under cover – Being passionate
should help in seeing more risks, more conflicts and more issues that will be
mitigated and resolved with the positive energy of the project manager.
Mantra 4: Do not drive just with rear view mirror
14. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
“Oh Yeah. We have information about project success. We claim, we hit success every
time. But it is a lie – so does the statistics look good – but what we never admit is how
many times we moved the schedule. That’s the real story” – VP Manufacturing company
“I had to move from green to red overnight, two weeks before it was supposed to go alive.
I had to involve the second and third highest persons in the company- I felt bad for the
project lead” – VP, food services firm..
Rear View mirror approach
Projects are at times executed by looking through the rear-view mirror. With this kind
of approach, the project team never gets a clear view of what’s ahead and what action to
take. Also, the project team does not know the real status of the project(where are we
and where to go).
Ghosts of the past
Managers who place all or too much focus on analyzing past performance and then
initiating improvement plans which will eventually ending up in missing the opportunity to
salvage. Projects are dynamic in nature and the circumstances keep changing. While the
practice of reviewing past performance and using the data as part of a performance
improvement plan is necessary, this "rear-view-mirror" approach can be costly (in terms of
lost opportunities) if it encompasses the entire project management approach. We need a
balanced approach so that an effective decision making platform is built.
Rear View mirror approach is also like putting a sheet of black cover over the
windshield of your car and trying to drive it by looking at the rear view mirror. We need a
method that can forecast the future Performance by looking out the front windshield.
Reactive Vs Proactive Approach
Taking actions based on the past results of the project is a reactive approach rather
than a proactive one. In complex project scenarios, results of past weeks cannot set the
trend for the coming weeks. The past results can provide a good experience to improve
our knowledge and expertise. But it is the responsibility of the project manager to use this
15. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
expertise to take a scientific approach and be proactive in taking actions considering the
fact that the very moment is the starting point. This is like using the route map in smart
phones – route from current location to the destination.
Another key factor to remember is that the past cannot be an indicator to the future.
A good example is the cricket run rate graphs while chasing a score for a win. The graphs
always consider the current score and the situation. Based on that, it will clearly tell us
what needs to be achieved and it will not indicate what can be achieved based on the
score taken from the past overs.
There is no denying the fact that the rear view mirror is useful especially in
identifying the opportunities for team improvement based on analyzing past activities and
results. But what is more important for the successful project manager is to identify
preemptive actions steps and strategies that can impact future results. This is called as
balancing the Rear View Mirror.
Proactive approach will help us in analyze the prevailing situation and the threats
and opportunities in the road ahead and be more agile. We should remind ourselves that
the worst is yet to come. So why we do we sit and wait for things to happen assuming that
things will go well since we have performed better in the past weeks?
How do we approach this?
Perform a constant re-estimation at the activity level where the work is being done.
Half-way through the activity, the engineer will know far more about the problem being
worked on than was known months ago when it was first estimated and laid in gantt chart.
Critical chain buffer management approach is a good technique which is largely forward-
looking and helps us to avoid the rear view mirror approach in Project Management.
Successful Project Managers of leading companies like Procter & Gamble & Verizon have
used Critical chain project management which they believe is forward looking rather than
looking into the rear view mirror.
A forward looking risk assessment of the tasks that are critical is an important
technique that can help in making effective mitigation plans to be implemented and also
provide a great data source for the effective decisions.
Apart from the above techniques, one of the best methods is to focus on fundamentals
by walking into the site and getting the hands dirty. At times, many Project Managers
spend too much time on tracking rather than managing the project. They are more like
16. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
historical reporters and not forward looking strategists. A good example is the
construction industry
So we need to look clearly at where we are now, where we are being carried by
ongoing changes in the economy, and take actions to decide the future.
17. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
Mantra 5: Close Iteratively
The word close is associated with the “End” and usually provides a negative sense in most of
the world cultures. Look at the positive side of Close – Close also means “Near”.
But closing is importation in project management for a simple reason that projects have
definite beginning and definite end. So does all the activities in the project.
Moving to next phase
There are two ways how you can move to the next phase or activity
1. By finishing the previous activity
2. By closing the previous activity
When you finish an activity, it means you have completed the expected work and you move
on to the next. When you close an activity, it means that you have completed the work,
reviewed it for areas to improve, there are lessons learned and best practices added to the
organizational assets if any, and handed off to the next activity.
We need to remember PMI calls the formal closing of projects as “Administrative Closing”,
which is after finishing the deliverables
18. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
Benefits of closing often
1. Closing helps project managers to avoid drifting
a. You do not find surprises at the end. Nor will you have to do a RCA at the tail
end of your project.
2. Closing to reward the work done well
a. Do not wait for the end of the project to reward, closing iteratively helps in
more frequent recognition of the team members, which motivates them for the
next phase.
3. Closing brings abundance of information
a. Closing brings metrics of the current phase
b. Closing allows you to look at the data as close as – beginning the next phase
c. Closing also helps in determining the run rate for the future activities;
4. Closing helps in identifying the gaps between subsequent activities.
a. Closing helps in risk that need not be tracked for the next phase
b. Closing helps in eliminating assumptions and issues of the past phase
c. Closing helps you to focus on the immediate issues in the subsequent phases
5. Closing often not only means that, more rigorous tracking and monitoring;
a. There is a nominal pressure created in each activity owner to close.
6. Closing means continuous planning, shorter tour of your execution, shorter duration to
maintain high passion
a. Closing helps in identifying resources to be utilized better and gaps in current
processes.
b. It helps you to make right decisions. It is said that project managers capable of
making right decisions get 87% of their Projects delivered on time.
7. Regular closing is PDCA in the project management
a. Project as a product.
19. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
It is like cricket, the captain needs to decide who to bowl at the end of each over – there is a
review and planning after each over .When we were boys, we watched cricket, there used to
be a run rate update at the end of each over. With the advent of T20 format of the cricket
there is closing of every ball. Current rate to required run rate is calculated at the end of
each ball bowled. Project managers should also get this guideline from T20 format of the
game as today’s projects are competitive like T20, is pressuring and needs to be delivered
first time right. Project managers should plan close each milestone religiously as in T20
matches. Handoff documents, activity completion report and open issues from the past
millstone can be better communicated to the teams while conducting regular closing
meetings.
Conclusion
Simple five mantras to increase the success rate in your projects. These mantras can be
applied from the beginning of the project, thru the execution, monitor and control phase to
the closing of activities. Eliminate false requirements from your projects, save energy for the
valid requirements only. Take a tour of your execution, use the power of imagination and
dream of execution. Be passionate to lead the team. Look not just at the rearview mirror
because the path behind is in no way an indication of the path to travel. Close iteratively and
have things under control. Happy Project Management.
20. 5 mantras of right first time Wilson & Bala PMI India Conference
Authors Profile
Wilson Anandaraj heads IP Transformation Center in Alcatel-Lucent, India. Wilson holds a
Master’s Degree in Computer Science and a Master of Philosophy in software Metrics. Wilson
has 14years of experience in the industry. He is associated with Alcatel-Lucent since 2004.
Wilson is a PMP. He joined the PROMPT in 2008 and has been an active contributor in the
forum. He has mentored 3 study groups in Alcatel-Lucent University. He is a member of SPIN
(Software Quality Improvement Network), IEEE and PMI-Chennai chapter. Wilson was part of
the technical paper review panel for the recently held Project Management National
conference, India. Wilson’s Passion for project management and knowledge does not stop at
office but extends to talking to students. He has been a speaker at various colleges and
Universities. He believes that the success of the project not only depends on the skill and
knowledge of the project manager but in the way the members of the project team respond
to the project manager’s call.
Balasubramanian Krishnamurthy is a Program Manager in Alcatel-Lucent, a world leader in
Telecommunication solutions. He has an overall 15 years industry experience with 5 years of
Project Management and 3 years of Program Management experience. He is a PMP, who
developed a new business model CESR for the complex transformation programs and projects
and his technical paper was selected for the 2012 PMI India National Conference, and also
presented it in various conferences including the PMI Chennai Chapter. As a Project Manager,
he has managed more than 10 large projects and has also worked as a product lead, by
leading a virtual international team across USA, France, Belgium and China.