Project Management Insures Success
Throughout human history, no significant structure has been successfully built on time, to budget, without good project management. Information Technology projects are no different.
The Root Group employs the art and science of Project Management on all the projects we do. Defining and achieving success, as measured by our clients, is at the root of our methodology. On this page, we describe how we perform Project Management. Individual topics include:
Secrets
There are stacks of books, classes, methodologies, software systems and even degrees on project management. But in the end, a project is successful if and only if, somebody says it's so. That's the secret. You find out who that somebody is, understand their expectations and meet them.
And, how do you do that? This is the second secret. A recent study indicated that "coordination and relations alone count for 77% of the variance in perceived project success."1 In other words, its human relations. A project is a bunch of people working together to meet the expectations of other people. Root Group Project Managers are picked as much for their skills in the 77% human relations factors as they are for the 33% of other project management factors. They can help you to hear those magic words from your management and users, "that was a successful project."
1 Mastering Project Management, James Lewis, McGraw-Hill, 1999
Methodology
Before we describe The Root Group Project methodology, there are two important points to be made.
- First, The Root Group believes strongly that Project Management, properly applied, can make a vital difference in the achievement of success for your project.
- Second, the fundamental Root Group philosophy is that the talent of our individuals is the principal ingredient in project success. The Root Group only hires senior engineers with extensive experience. This philosophy also applies to our Project Managers who are put through an extensive interview and testing process before being hired and then carefully monitored to be sure they meet Root Group standards. While we employ a structured project methodology, we believe the skills and judgment of our individual Project Managers make the vital difference.
A person may have a checklist of steps (i.e. a methodology) to becoming a great baseball player, but... The processes of project management are well known, and we certainly practice them as they fit the needs of a given project. What we have found, however, is that there are a few key factors in projects that rise above the others in importance that yield success.
- The first is to clearly Define Success. All methodologies emphasize proper objectives. But, we go beyond that. For example, our clients often come to us asking to perform some work to a stated objective. We then start a round of questioning where we repeatedly ask, "why?" Eventually, the "why" questions discover the root problem which then allows us to propose project objectives and solutions that, in effect, cure the disease rather than mask the symptoms. Another key element to defining success is determining who will declare success, and then ensuring their definition is consistent with the stated objectives. It may sound like a small thing, but our job is not to, for example, make an NT Server happy, but to make people happy.
- The second key factor is to manage Project Management. We implement an Executive Review Board (ERB) composed of appropriate senior managers from The Root Group and from our client whose job is to set directions, approve plans, handle issues and approve project changes. The Project Managers report to the ERB. We have found this board to be extremely valuable in keeping the project on track when the road gets bumpy; and all projects eventually hit bumps in the road (e.g., see next bullet).
The third key is to Manage Murphy. We all know Murphy, the ever present monkey wrench in our optimism. Murphy can be a simple irritant or can derail the project completely. Our project managers continually perform a "red flag analysis" throughout the project to anticipate and steer around Murphy. If Murphy strikes anyway, which he will certainly do, they have processes to quickly contain and resolve the issues that arise.
With The Root Group, Project Management starts before the contract. The techniques of Project Management are used to understand your business and your needs and translate them into a quality proposal. If we are organized before you sign, you can be confident we will be organized during and after the contract.
Project-on-a-Page™
Have you ever stared at a 400 line Gantt chart and thought, "Wow, I hope it's right," with your eyeballs starting to roll back in your head. The 400 line Gantt chart and the 40 page Project Manual are very useful tools for the Project Managers, but are poor ways to communicate project plans and status. The Root Group has a special technique for the project team and for management to see the project at-a-glance called Project-on-a-Page.
Selling Project Management to your Management (or to yourself)
Some managers see a line item labeled, "Project Manager" and ask why they need it. It is perhaps ironic that a manager would be asking why management is needed. However, it is a legitimate question. "What does a Project Manager contribute?"
First: A Project Manager is a Manager
At the highest level, a Project Manager is a manager. They manage a collection of work that has specific objectives and a specific end date. A regular manager also has objectives, however they are usually sustaining objectives. A manager is only needed when a team cannot meet their objective by themselves. The justification for a Project Manager is, ultimately, the same as for any manager. For projects that contain a critical mass of complexity, time frame and/or volume, management is necessary to be sure the team defines and meets their objectives on schedule and on budget.
Second: Project Management is Always Done (one way or another)
All projects are managed. All projects have objectives, a plan, a schedule and a set of rules governing the project. Without a Project Manager, these functions are performed by the engineers themselves. The total number of hours an engineer will work on a project, then, consists of engineering hours and management hours. For projects that have critical mass complexity and/or volume, a professional Project Manager will be able to perform the management function in fewer hours and with higher quality, thus resulting in higher ROI on the project.
Third: Tangible Justification
Tangible justifications for Project Managers are twofold. The first is pure cost. A project will cost less with a Project Manager then without a Project Manager. It is common sense. If a trained, professional Project Manager uses 5% of the project's time for management, how much time would an engineer untrained in project management take? The second is avoidance of pain. A project managed by a good Project Manager is much more likely to come in on time and to spec. What is the cost to your company for the project to be 25%, 50% or 100% late?
Fourth: Intangible Justification
A Root Group Project Manager is expected to be much more that a resource scheduler and process manager. Much more. A Root Group Project Manager is asked to step back and, using their experience, form a judgment on the value of the project, its objectives, milestones and its basic strategy.
