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    The 2017 Project Management Dictionary
    The 2017 Project Management Dictionary
    The 2017 Project Management Dictionary
    Ebook133 pages3 hours

    The 2017 Project Management Dictionary

    By Marcus Stuart

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    About this ebook

    The purpose of this book is to provide you with a simple and direct definitional guide to all things Project Management.  I’ve worked on large corporate projects for over 20 years and my clients have spanned a pretty broad array of industries and names including Goldman Sachs, IHC (InterContinental Hotels Group), Google, TD Bank, Tokyo Gas, Morgan Stanley, VTB Bank (Russia), HarrisonGray (Australia) and Eros (Bollywood) International.

    Project Management is a team effort that has its base in traditional management theory but has developed its own system of tools and techniques. Project Management is often viewed as simply being a software package that provides a schedule for the project.  Project Management is much more than that; it is a set of disciplines, principles and most importantly ‘soft-skills’ that support an efficient way of managing a project.

    This updated and revised edition contains two new chapters.  The first, ‘How to Overcome Project Communication Challenges’ gets into the nitty-gritty of preempting communication issues and nipping them in the bud when they inevitably arise.  The second new chapter looks at several true case studies as to why large projects fail to achieve their goals.

    Enjoy and here’s to your project successes!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMarcus Stuart
    Release dateFeb 14, 2017
    ISBN9781386161332
    The 2017 Project Management Dictionary

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      Book preview

      The 2017 Project Management Dictionary - Marcus Stuart

      Introduction

      The purpose of this book is to provide you with a simple and direct definitional guide to all things Project Management.  I’ve worked on large corporate projects for over 20 years and my clients have spanned a pretty broad array of industries and names including Goldman Sachs, IHC (InterContinental Hotels Group), Google, TD Bank, Tokyo Gas, Morgan Stanley, VTB Bank (Russia), HarrisonGray (Australia) and Eros (Bollywood) International.

      Project Management is a team effort that has its base in traditional management theory but has developed its own system of tools and techniques. Project Management is often viewed as simply being a software package that provides a schedule for the project.  Project Management is much more than that; it is a set of disciplines, principles and most importantly ‘soft-skills’ that support an efficient way of managing a project.

      This updated and revised edition contains two new chapters.  The first, ‘How to Overcome Project Communication Challenges’ gets into the nitty-gritty of preempting communication issues and nipping them in the bud when they inevitably arise.  The second new chapter looks at several true case studies as to why large projects fail to achieve their goals.

      Enjoy and here’s to your project successes!

      How to Overcome Project Communication Challenges

      Make no little plans: they have no magic to stir men’s blood. . . . Make big plans, aim high in hope and work. —David H. Burnham

      A manager received a memo through the interoffice mail. It read in part, "We must keep the lines of communication open between our departments in order to ensure the success of this project.

      Please call me as soon as possible so that we can discuss schedules and deadlines."

      The manager told his assistant, "I’d like to answer, but whoever wrote this memo forgot to sign

      it."

      We’ve all heard the clichés about communication. But putting the ideas into practice is often a lot harder than applying the theories. This is even truer for project management than for departmental management.

      While managing your department, you’re in constant contact with your staff. Their tasks are well-defined and recurring. Your people are focused on performance, and their careers depend on how well they execute their tasks. A project, by comparison, is often seen as an intrusion, a departure from the normal routine—even when it’s normal to disrupt that routine with a series of projects.

      In addition to the manager-team dynamics, you must contend with communication on three other levels:

      1. The assignment. The executive (or committee) that first assigned the project to you may not agree with your idea of what the project should achieve; or he may change his mind about the outcome without letting you know.

      2. Other departments. The managers of other departments have their own priorities and may resist your schedule. This usually applies in two situations: when members of their department are on your team or when you depend on that department to supply certain information.

      3. Outside resources. Your project may depend on help or information from outside resources—companies or individuals not part of the organization. These include other divisions, subsidiaries, or offices; a vendor or separate corporation; or a consultant.

      Your budget and schedule are your best communication tools. They are useful in communicating with both your team members and outside resources. Each can be used in a number of ways.

      THE BUDGET AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL

      The budget defines the company’s financial commitment, and is used to ensure that project expenses are kept in line. If variances do occur, they often anticipate a scheduling problem as well.

      The budget also measures the degree of risk involved with your project. Any change in the company is accompanied by risk, and when time and money are spent, the decision to go ahead is based on a judgment of risk.

      Management will proceed with the project if it is convinced that the risk is acceptable and that future profit potential justifies that risk. So, for example, when you propose a project, you should communicate in terms of risk and likely reward. Approval will be granted as long as you can convince management that there’s a good chance that future profits will recapture this investment within a reasonable period of time.

      THE SCHEDULE AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL

      The schedule defines the project, and, as long as you share it with management, it is a useful tool for ensuring that your definition conforms to theirs. When it’s broken down into phases, with deadlines tied to the final result, management has the opportunity to validate your direction, and you can ensure that your understanding of the project’s goals is correct. At this early stage, you can define exactly what the project should achieve.

      You also need to use the schedule during the later phases of your project in conjunction with review meetings to ensure (1) that you are on the right course and (2) that management’s desired outcome has not changed.

      Finally, the schedule improves communication with your team, and helps avoid delays. By identifying weak links and by communicating with other department managers and outside resources, you will avoid unexpected problems.

      WORKING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENT MANAGERS

      For relatively simple short-term projects that are executed strictly within a single department, you, as department manager, have direct control over the time commitments and priorities of each team member.

      Because you are aware of your department’s deadlines and workload variations, you can build your schedule around the workload and adjust it as needed. You can also balance departmental and project demands on the basis of your knowledge of each and the scheduling flexibility and control you’re able to exercise.

      As the scope of your project grows, your task assumes a greater dimension, and you will begin to work with people from other departments. This is where your communication skills are tested.

      A common complaint often heard from other managers is, You didn’t tell me in time, regardless of whether problems arise because of deadlines, the use of an employee’s time, or conflicts in commitment. But you can solve most of the problems you will encounter in working with other departments by remembering this key point:

      Keep other department managers informed at all times: before and during the project.

      By applying a few basic rules for communication between departments, you will be able to defuse the problems that beset all managers at one time or another:  territorial motives, power struggles, and—in cases where communication breaks down completely—outright refusal to cooperate. Most of the time, the breakdown of cooperation arises not from a political or personality problem but from a failure in the communication link—especially when you have made the effort to communicate, but only once. People need periodic reminding, so don’t assume that a single message will be remembered.

      The following rules will go a long way for improving and maintaining your communication with other departments:

      RULE 1

      Visit the other manager before you finalize the schedule. From your point of view, it might seem that a given schedule has to go into effect. For example, the deadline allows little room for change, and an employee from another department has been placed on your team by the company president. So why contact the team member’s supervisor? Everything has been settled.

      Because no matter how restricted you are by the deadline, and no matter how little say you have been given in picking your team, you must be prepared to make changes to accommodate the other manager.  Plan to discuss the employee’s involvement well before you finish your schedule.

      Take this approach:

      Ask for a meeting with the other manager. present your initial schedule, explaining

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