ALL3PM

Sharing tools and ideas for Portfolio, Program, and Project Managers

Archive for the tag “Resources”

26 Apr 2013

Death By A Thousand Cuts or How To Slow Down Your Project Without Knowing Why

Just an observation regarding resources and resource planning.  When I’ve viewed other PMs project plans I’ve noticed that they assign resource names of core team members (first level) and many times extended team members (second level) and Subject Matter Experts (SME).  What I don’t see many PMs do is regularly create and assign resources to ALL “touch points” in a project.  My definition of “Touch Points” is any person, department, division, R&D/production/test equipment, vendor, supplier, or other that interfaces with the project and that must provide inputs or produce an intermediate or final output of some kind to the project.  Case in point, how many list the documentation department, metrology, or equipment maintenance as a resource in projects?  Why not?  New product projects easily generate hundreds (sometimes thousands) of Engineering Change Notices (ECNs) or Engineering Change Orders (ECOs). If the documentation dept. is a small staff and you have a  new medical product that generates one thousand ECN/ECOs over one year at one hour per ECN/ECO for review, input, processing, scanning, approvals, recording, backups, filing, and offsite storage you’ve just handed the dept.  1000+ hours of work or 6 man months of labor.  Will they be able to absorb that amount of additional work?  Are other projects ongoing that will add additional labor to this dept.?  Does the Doc. Dept. even have the budget for overtime or hire additional temporary staff if needed?  These are typical areas that are outside the project that we normally take for granted.  I worked on a project that revalidated an entire manufacturing site.  There were 1800 Installation Qualifications (IQ) alone not to mention additional Operational Qualifications (OQ) and Process Qualifications (PQ).  Each protocol had to be submitted and approved and put into documentation BEFORE execution.  Every executed final report had to be approved and placed into documentation.  That alone is two ECN/ECOs times 1800 IQs equals 3600 hours of additional labor!  By adding touch points to your project plan you can summarize your findings and have data to discuss with others. With this information you can meet with affected department managers and go over your findings and come up with a plan to address this potential bottleneck.  Perhaps the additional labor required to pay for processing ECN/ECOs comes out of your project budget!  This is the foresight and preplanning for which excellent PMs get paid.  The alternate is to wait three to six months into the project and keep bringing up and explaining why deliverables are late, “The paperwork is still in documentation!”

You get the idea.  Add ALL touch points as resources to your project plan.  Summarize and share the data with the affected parties.  They can approve your plan or you’ll at least have time to make changes that will minimally affect your schedule.

Advertisement
Posted in Execution, Planning, Scheduling and tagged | Leave a comment
21 Apr 2012

When was the last time you actually created a Project Management Plan? (Not just a schedule?)

When was the last time you actually created a Project Management Plan (PM Plan) and not just a schedule? The Project Management Body Of Knowledge 4th Ed. definition;

Project Management Plan [Output/Input]. A formal, approved document that defines how the project is executed, monitored, and controlled.  It may be a summary or detailed and may be composed of one or more subsidiary management plans and other planning documents.

Formal usually means written.  Approved, should be at least by two or more otherwise it’s not approved.  You just become both author and approver. 

I’ve posted one example of a plan I created for a major project.  Refer to Fig. 1 Project Management Plan example.  This was a major corporate initiative and a large complicated project with 150 people onboard at its peak running across several business units and multiple sites in four states across the United States and a budget of over 20 million dollars. I’ve only shown the Table Of Contents to give you an idea what can go into a PM Plan.  If you work for a large company they may have a template or form to use.  Many of the large companies I’ve worked for had no formal PM Plan procedures.  The Project Manager would put together a schedule and that would become the “Plan.” There would be a business feasibility study (most of the time) but not much in the way of an over arching plan or how it fit into the company’s strategy.  From the example you can see that I showed from the top down how this project fit into the companies goals and how it fit into the site goals.  Overall this PM Plan example was a 57 page document and DID NOT INCLUDE ONE SCHEDULE OR GANTT CHART!  The example described key aspects that would be put into the Work Breakdown Structure and schedules but in itself did not contain a schedule. 

Fig. 1 Project Management Plan example for a large project, 150+ people.

Fig. 1 Project Management Plan example for a large project, 150+ people.

Key aspects of this plan were communication and organization.  Meetings were held every day. Two days of individual team meetings, then core team, next the main site leadership meeting, and finally wrapped up with a corporate meeting with VPs.  So it went week after week.  It was imperative that we structured the who, what, and when of each of these meetings.  The escalation process followed. If a team couldn’t make the decision it went to the core team, next site leadership then up to the VPs if no decision was forth coming.  

Organization was also key.  With 150 individual employees and contractors it was imperative that everyone knew who was on what subteam and who the contacts were for the many offsite resources.  One lesson learned during the project is to make sure you have the NAMES of all individuals that are assigned to your project.  In many cases the functional manager assured us we would have support so in the organization chart I added the functional group name, e.g. R&D Engineer or Quality Engineer.  When it came time to interface with these individuals it took over one week to determine WHO was assigned and accountable.

Peruse this Table Of Contents and see if there are areas you could/should capture in writing.  Are there areas that standout because they were not written down before, then they changed during execution resulting in major negative affects on your project?   If you only write down your current understanding of these items and share them with management or other team members you’re bound to generate discussion and feedback which should result in a better plan.   Who are you going to talk to for expert advice?  Are there outside influences?

Remember not to get bogged down in style or formatting.  It’s more important that you think about each of the items in the Table of Contents and even if there is nothing appropriate write “Not Applicable” it will show that at least you gave it consideration.

While this may seem a bit much for smaller projects my question would be “How much are you willing to do to improve your probability of success?”

Posted in Closing, Execution, Initiating, Monitor & Control, Planning and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
01 Mar 2012

Custom scheduling tools and databases – Part IV (Final)

This post continues to discuss the final six Microsoft Project templates continued from previous posts, Custom scheduling tools and databases – Part I, Part II, and Part III.  These posts are about using your scheduling software as a database to create custom tools needed to plan, execute, monitor, and control your projects. The advantage is that it keeps your project data in one place while associating the data with the appropriate tasks and resources.
 
Next views on the list are resource management templates PMO_Resource-To Do Tasks, Fig. 1 and PMO_Resource-Incomplete Tasks, Fig. 2.    These are output views.  PMO_Resource-To Do Tasks View does as it is titled, lists all tasks for a specific resource for a window of time and groups them by week that the task should begin. When PMO_Resource-To Do Tasks View is selected you are first prompted for three pieces of info: 1) To choose a resource name from the dropdown list, 2) Choose a starting date, 3) Choose an end date (must be greater than the start date.  The view will then filter the view for only that resource and group by week all tasks that Start within the time period selected.  Time period could be weeks, months or years but are always grouped by week beginning Monday.  For the screen shot I choose several months but as a practical matter a few weeks at a time should be sufficient. When there are many resources on a project this view and related printout are invaluable for communicating responsibilities and schedules.  I had four Project Coordinators who printed out dozens of these reports on a regular basis then gave these printouts to the resources.  Resources reviewed current work and upcoming work with their team leader to make sure they understood the timeline and the amount of work required to keep the project on track.
Fig. 1 Microsoft Project template Resource-To Do Tasks screen shot

Fig. 1 Microsoft Project template Resource-To Do Tasks screen shot

 PMO_Resource-Incomplete Tasks View does as it is titled, lists all incomplete tasks for a specific resource for a window of time and groups them by week tasks should be completed.  When PMO_Incomplete Tasks View is selected you are first prompted for three pieces of info: 1) To choose a resource name from the dropdown list, 2) Choose a starting date, 3) Choose an end date (must be greater than the start date.  The view will then filter the view for only that resource and group by week all tasks that are incomplete and should be finished within the time period selected.  Time period could be weeks, months or years but are always grouped by week beginning Monday.
Fig. 2 Microsoft Project template Resource-Incomplete Tasks screen shot

Fig. 2 Microsoft Project template Resource-Incomplete Tasks screen shot

 The fields for each template are the same. Descriptions are below. I’ve noted Custom Fields with a (CF) notation. 
  • Task Name – Regular WBS Task Name.   PMO_Resource-TO Do Tasks is grouped by week the task should begin.  PMO_Resource-Incomplete Tasks is grouped by the week the task should be completed.
  • Start – Date the task is to begin.
  • Finish – Date the task is to be completed.
  • Accountable (CF) – I added this column because there were several resources for the majority of tasks and it was unclear who had final authority for task decisions and completeness.
  • Resource Names – Individuals assigned and “responsible” to achieve the task.  
 PMO_Resource-To Do Tasks and PMO_Resource-Incomplete Tasks are formatted to print on 8.5″x11″ (letter) sheet for comments and review. 
Fig. 3 Microsoft Project template PMO_Slipping Task screen shot

Fig. 3 Microsoft Project template PMO_Slipping Task screen shot

PMO_Slipping Tasks, Fig. 3, is also an output view.  Inputs to this view come from other views.  This view describes the who, what, when, and why of task slippage. Purpose of this template is to communicate project status by identification of all late incomplete tasks regardless of  the resource or who is Accountable.  Below are descriptions of each field.  Custom Fields are noted as (CF). 
  • Task Name – Regular WBS Task Name grouped by when the task should be completed.
  • Task Issues (CF) – This field is to capture issues affecting task completion.  This field is typically filled induring updates to the schedule using the PMO_Tracking Gantt view.  Use this field to describe the cause of the issue.  These should be escalation issues meaning you have to go outside the project team for resolution.  This field is NOT for describing general task status. 
  • Accountable (CF) – I added this column because there were several resources for the majority of tasks and it was unclear who had final authority for task decisions and completeness. 
  • Status – This is an MS Project generated indicator which can be sometimes misleading. The Status field indicates the current status of a task, specifying whether the task is Complete, On Schedule, Late, or a Future Task based on the MS Project algorithm.  The trouble with this is that you can begin a task ahead of schedule (good) then fall behind on this task (bad) meanwhile the task Status will read Future Task (due to the baseline) which is no longer true. This is why I’ve added the next custom field…
  • Slipping Tasks (CF) – This field calculates whether a task is slipping based on the baseline or actual start if started early then gives you an indicator based on the number of days the task is behind schedule;  Yellow 1-10 days late, Red 11-20 days late, Black >20 days late.  If completed the status changes to Green (100% complete). 
  • Actual Duration – Number of days actually spent on task.
  • Rem(aining) Dur(ation) – Number of days left to complete task.
  • Actual Start – Date the task was started.
  • Finish – Scheduled finish date of task.
  • Baseline Finish – Scheduled baseline finish of task.
 PMO_Slipping Tasks is formatted to print on 8.5″x11″ (letter) sheet for comments and review.
Fig. 4 Microsoft Project template PMO_Critical Path screen shot

Fig. 4 Microsoft Project template PMO_Critical Path screen shot

Fig. 4 Microsoft Project template PMO_Critical Path screen shot is a an output view used to communicate project status.  This view filters only tasks that are on the critical path.
 Custom Fields marked with a (CF) notation. 
  • Status Indicator – The Indicators field displays indicators that give different types of information about a task.  Go to the link for more details.
  • Task Name – Regular WBS Task Name.
  • Duration – Duration used by MS Project for calculating schedule.
  • Start – Planned start date of task.
  • Finish- Planned finish date of task.
  • Accountable (CF) – I added this column because there were several resources for the majority of tasks and it was unclear who had final authority for task decisions and completeness. 
PMO_Critical Path is formatted to print on 8.5″x11″ (letter) sheet for comments and review.
Fig. 5 Microsoft Project template PMO_Network Diagram screen shot

Fig. 5 Microsoft Project template PMO_Network Diagram screen shot

PMO_Network Diagram, Fig. 5, describes predecessor and successor relationships. Usage of this view is better described in the post SCRAPP™ Method or How To Integrate Your Schedule.  
Fig. 6 Microsoft Project template PMO_Gantt Chart screen shot

Fig. 6 Microsoft Project template PMO_Gantt Chart screen shot

The last view is the typical (Yawn!!!) PMO_Gantt Chart.  I add it here for historical purposes only and because if I didn’t people would continually ask “Where’s the Gantt Chart?”  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve asked someone for their project plan (not schedule) and they pull out a 20 page stack of this nonsense. Who looks at this stuff? Not management!  The first thing this tells me, if this is all they give me, is that the person running this project doesn’t really understand project management only how to operate MS Project (or whatever software used to create it). This is the reason why I’ve developed and used the previously described views and templates in order to initiate, plan, execute, monitor and control my projects.

This post captured the last six views discussed in this series. As shown with the various views we’ve created a pretty wide-ranging project database, used various views for inputting information and using the same data in different output views for communication and status.  This should give you the idea that you have very specific requirements and data needs for your projects.  Extend your database a little farther in your project. Take Project and add one or more custom fields and views to capture that information as it relates to tasks or resources or some other aspect of your project and keep your project info  current and concise.    

If you would like the MS Project file with all views already included send me an email with your request to wayne@all3pm.com and I will forward a copy to you.  Any feedback you care to provide is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks for following…

Posted in Closing, Execution, Initiating, Monitor & Control, Planning and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Post Navigation