Small Business Blog from Atlantic Canada

Guest post by Cameron Watson - Though the effort to understand the term “IT methodology” may appear to be long, winding and Greek to many, there is a difference between the “road” used to get to the destination and the “activities” that will be performed while on the road and heading to the destination. While most people will agree that it’s important to agree on the goal of a project, we tend to forget that agreeing on how we will achieve that goal is just as important.

Did you know that a project’s success or failure is determined to a large extent even before the charter is signed. As a project manager, your goal is to deliver a project that will benefit the business. Unless it is regulatory, your project deliverable will help the business increase revenue and/or reduce costs. It is your moral responsibility to get it right the first time. Following the guidelines in this post has helped me succeed as a project manager. I trust it will help you too.

Just as you cannot solve a problem without identifying one, you cannot plan for risks without identifying risks. So whether you are managing a project, program or business, it is prudent to spend some time identifying the risk drivers. Without getting into jargons, let’s discuss a common sense approach to identifying risks.

I just passed the PMP® exam last week - and as with any project closure one needs to file away lessons learned. But first some comments on project management and the PMP® certification exam. Having gone through the exam, I now more firmly believe that project management is common sense.Read the PMBOK again. It takes a few readings for the PMBOK contents to sink in. I did not read it three times- though I would have liked to review it at least twice. I managed to go over it just once.

Now that you have your business objectives that are measurable as defined by your strategy you need to look at the initiatives (programs) you need to undertake. Simply put, a program is a series of related or unrelated projects that further a certain goal. Just to drive home the point, the program is a portfolio of projects designed to achieve your organizational goal (strategy). Having a good program management also ensures your resources are prioritized and aligned.

The decision to undertake a project must be taken only after:
1. You are clear about the project objectives; the objectives must further the strategic objectives of the business.
2. You develop a business case for undertaking the project; i.e. the benefits must outweigh the costs
3. You are clear on the project deliverables, and
4. You have stakeholder buy-in

There seems to be an aura around “project management” and “project managers” - at least in Atlantic Canada. Some people tend to think of project management as an exotic discipline. They think they need to slave away and chip at its various layers for a long period of time before they can be considered a project manager. Well, it does not help that one of the requirements for a PMP is a minimum three year (4,500 hours) experience to take the exam.

Times have changed. We no longer live in an isolated world. Our competition is not only the guy down the street. The competition is in China, in India, in Europe … all over the globe. For all the new theory, new management principles, there is only one fundamental way to survive in the business world:

Business analyst writes requirement in detail. Architect and Developer review requirements. Many clarifications later, Developer codes module. Module goes to QA. QA find three bugs and the module sent back to developer. Developer fixes bugs and resends Module back to QA. (Developer coding time lost) QA finds the earlier bugs fixed - but now finds the fix introduced five new bugs. Fast forward three months into development cycle and the bug tracking system is crawling with bugs. Quality - whose responsibility is it anyway?

I can’t help but be amused at project job descriptions that begin with: “Our client is in need of Business Analyst/Project Manager”
One person for two roles? They must need a Superman! Does your project manager analyze businesses or vice versa? If you have answered yes to either scenario, then you may need to rethink your project staffing. Your project may be in jeopardy!