Tag: Project Management
Milestones in Project Management – What are they?
A project milestone is a point that has important significance in relation to delivery of a particular aspect of the project or financial payment. This is delineated in a point in the project schedule so it is evident to the project team, stakeholders and management. These points can note the start and finish of a project, and mark the completion of a major phase of work. Milestones can be used to symbolize anything that has started or finished, though it’s primarily used as a scheduling tool.
A milestone focuses on major progress points within a project, which is useful in scheduling. Just as tasks break a larger project into manageable parts, milestones break off components of a project to make it less daunting.
So, when starting a project, milestones can help immensely with scheduling. Milestones are most commonly found in project management software, and are represented as diamonds in the Gantt chart feature. Gantt charts are a visual representation of a schedule, laid out on a timeline, with tasks as points along the path to the successful completion of the project. Milestones divide this timeline into project phases.
Milestones provide a way to more accurately estimate the time it will take to complete a project, making them essential for precise project scheduling. They are often used in scheduling methodologies, such as the Critical Path Method, which can determine major scheduling periods. The use of milestones enables better calculation of the slack in a project by segmenting the project into intervals, or smaller time-frames to control.
Milestones, like tasks, can be linked. That is when the phase of one milestone cannot begin until the completion of the phase before it. That way the team members are not being hampered by having to wait or by not allowing them what they need to move forward with their tasks.
Milestones measure progress by breaking the project into phases. A milestone is a marker that separates the end of one phase from the start of another. There are typically four phases in project management: initiation, planning, implementation and closure. But when exactly is the milestone added?
The simple answer is when everything in that project phase has been completed. For example, completing the project charter is usually the last step in the initiation phase of a project. This would be where the milestone is placed to indicate moving from initiation to planning.
However, the exact point at which the milestone is placed depends on negotiation with the project team members, stakeholders, management. Some Milestones are self-evident and hence no formal discussion is required whereas others may need further input. It’s always best to seek help from experts in the industry and within the organization. A little guidance upfront can save a lot of headaches later on.
Milestones are more a period in time than the specific completion of a task, there can be milestones that don’t relate to project phases. Milestones can be points that are deemed important to the successful delivery of a project. Traditionally, they break projects into phases; a milestone can be created to indicate a major task, deliverable or more.
Part of scheduling a project is being able to monitor and track the progress of that schedule in real-time. Milestones are a way to see how far a project has progressed. By noting the completed milestones, this way the distance for the current point in time of the project to the end can be measured.
This comes in handy when dealing with stakeholders. Stakeholders are not interested in a granular, detailed report on the project’s progress. They want broad strokes that indicate whether or not the project is moving along as scheduled. Milestones are ideal for this kind of reporting because milestones show the major phases completed at this point in the project, according to the plan.
When presenting to stakeholders, they can be shown milestones completed to date and the ones on track to complete for the coming month. Let them know if those milestones were reached as planned or if there were any delays. Remain honest if milestone was late in being achieved, this should not be hidden. By being transparent, stakeholders receive a sense of where the project is. They will understand and appreciate the honesty, and in turn trust the professionalism in managing the project.
Reaching a milestone is a place in time, but that doesn’t mean completion. How is it understood that a milestone has in fact been achieved? Without knowing initially if the objectives planned where reached at the close of a milestone, then it’s an empty victory.
Project reporting assists with this situation, by generating a status report and get a look at the overall health of the project. Were the tasks completed on time and within the budget that was set? For example, a change in project scope may have occurred or perhaps there has been some slippage and the schedule has fallen behind. That’s not a milestone to celebrate.
However, it’s also not a cause for undue alarm. Changes are part of any project. The problems arise when those changes aren’t responded to. By running a status report, there is an understanding of what’s changed and its impact on the project. Work towards getting back on schedule by reaching the next milestone, run more reports to track progress and make sure the project is staying on track.
Milestones are mainly used for the nuts and bolts of scheduling; they are also useful for celebrating project achievements. Obviously, once a milestone has been reached it’s because the team has done something right, like completing a phase of the project or delivering something important, which can be used to congratulate the team.
Celebrate success in whatever manner is deemed fit for the project. It can be as simple as a handshake or a note to the team. Something bigger, like treating the team to a lunch or offer a bonus. Acknowledging the team’s achievement pays off in dividends in the forms of employee retention, team loyalty and project buy-in. It also fosters a positive relationship with the team and building trust, which is instrumental to a productive project.
Milestones can be anything deemed important by the project team, stakeholders and management. Remember to consult those involved with the successful delivery of the project to ensure milestones are reflected correctly. Once established they should be placed in a project management software tool for representation, via Gantt charts which provide real-time data, and a collaborative platform to assist with efficient and productive information for the team.
What is Stakeholder Theory and Why It Matters
Continuing on with our series of nurturing stakeholder relationship for project managers, let’s look at stakeholder theory and why it matters. Stakeholders can influence everything and everyone in a project or organization, including senior management, project leaders, team members, customers, users and many others. With so many ways to sway a project, as a manager it’s critical to prioritize and focus on only the most important stakeholders, those with power, proximity and urgency.
This is the beginning of stakeholder theory. Stakeholder theory addresses business ethics, morals and values when managing stakeholders involved with a project or organization. It seeks to optimize relations with stakeholders, thereby improving efficiencies throughout the project or organization.
Stakeholder theory states that a company is only successful when it delivers value to its stakeholders, and those values can come in many forms beyond financial benefits. Such as the impact on employees and customers, one of the values produced by stakeholder theory includes greater productivity across the organization. If employees, who are considered stakeholders, feel as if they’re being valued, then they’re going to work harder and be more productive.
This also means that companies will have greater retention of their employees, but also of customers. If the productivity is up, then the product or service delivered to the customer is improved. With that improvement comes more customer loyalty, especially as they are one of the many stakeholders the company is considering when making decisions. Customers are also more likely to then refer other customers to the company.
All this is leading to more investment from financiers. They too, of course, are stakeholders. While sometimes they are thought of as the only stakeholders or the most important to a company as they hold their hands on the level of capital, they’re really connected to other stakeholders. As other stakeholders are valued, the value of the company grows, and investors are more likely to add money to production to take advantage of this increased market share.
From there, it’s not only capital that is infused into the company, but talent. Everyone loves a winner, and as the company grows and dominates because of its care for stakeholders, it will inevitably attract new talent to its doors.
Stakeholder theory drives more than profits and productivity. There are ethical benefits of practicing it as well. Companies find that the mental health of the workforce is greatly improved as their job satisfaction increases. It also will elevate the status of the company’s social-economic status in the local community. When one company practices stakeholder theory, it creates healthy competition among other companies, where all can thrive and help benefit their stakeholders.
Some critics, such as political philosopher Charles Blattberg, say stakeholder theory is problematic. They claim that the interests of various stakeholders cannot be balanced against each other.
This is because stakeholders represent such a large and diverse group. You can’t please every stakeholder. One or more stakeholders will have to take a backseat to other, more dominant ones, which is likely to create discord. This will disrupt the benefits associated with stakeholder theory.
Also, who will wield the most influence? Some stakeholders might find that they’re not impacting decisions as much as another group. The different power levels and spheres of influence can be a problem. Even those with seemingly more influence might not feel that they’re getting what they want.
The key principle of stakeholder engagement is communication. Here are some key tips for making sure that stakeholder communication stays strong and efficient:
- Make sure messages are targeted and delivered timely
- Consult early and often
- Know that stakeholders are people with feelings and need to be treated as such to build trust
- Consider potential risks and opportunities with each stakeholder
- Compromise
- Know how success is defined
- Take responsibility
It’s clear that stakeholders are important to the success of the project and that means you have to manage them and their expectations to keep things moving smoothly. This is achieved by using the available tools in the project manager’s armory, especially communication both written and verbal format. Let us know your thoughts on Stakeholder management, all the very best on your project management journey.
The brave-smart project manager and their effect on delivery
The project manager’s behavior or ego can either have a positive of negative effect in project delivery. Regardless if it is an asset or distraction, it is very important to point out behavior that isn’t acceptable. For the seasoned project manager, it’s pretty likely that they have come across many people challenges.
Whether its problematic stakeholders, absent or inexperienced sponsors, misalignment between those at the top and those on the ground, or ineffective communicators within the team, there are many different personalities that intersect on a daily basis. One of the common denominators in these challenges is ego and how it plays out within dynamic and fast-paced environments. There’s little doubt that people need to have thick skin to be in the project management game, however, there are many examples on what happens to projects when egotistical behavior directs the project path and how it can threaten success.
It can be incredibly difficult to speak truth to power or call out behavior detrimental to the outcomes being aimed for, particularly when the environment doesn’t support it or it’s coming from sponsors and stakeholders who haven’t heeded warnings about problems or risks.
However, there is a leadership trait that can make a big impact on how to navigate through landscapes dominated by ego. It’s called being brave-smart. The environment within an organization can be shaped by ego and high performers. Corporate politics can place pressures by applying rapid changes and its demands on people. So when high performers emerge and deliver what look to be successful projects, it seems they are allowed to shape how projects get delivered, particularly when they demonstrate high levels of confidence and seeming ability to get the job done.
High performers often come with egos that, for better or worse, can leave their mark on teams charged with delivering big change and consequently in the cultures that they work within.
Healthy egos belong to people who know they are good at what they do and utilise their knowledge and experience in productive ways. In healthy and supportive cultures, this sort of confidence is a huge enabler to delivering success. But it’s also personal.
Life experience allows individuals to offer the best of themselves only when they are content with where they are. When people feel good about what they’ve done, how they are doing, and themselves in general, it’s easier to tackle even the most challenging problems, regardless if it’s their own problems or someone else’s.
Brave-smart project managers implicitly understand that for a successful team, confidence is a must, but there’s a big difference between confidence and egotistical behavior.
In toxic or deeply challenging environments, what often emerges is a perform-at-all-costs culture that can be deeply detrimental to success, as it allows egotistical behavior to thrive. When egotistical behavior becomes a factor in how projects operate, it’s a huge contributor to increasing the risk of failure. If all of the indicators are pointing toward success, it’s easy to overlook, but when things start going wrong or off-course, ego can become a very big problem.
Good leaders have the competence and ability to see beyond the egos in the room, the smarts to make the right decisions, and the courage to tackle egotistical behavior head-on.
A good leader will make decisions on what is best for the project or the company and not focus the egos in the room. They will evaluate situations on facts, seek clarification, get several views on a given situation, and they will ask for guidance where it’s necessary.
They’ll ensure that people understand their roles and responsibilities are clearly understood, that the right people are in the right roles, and they will adhere to the principles of strong governance.
Most importantly, an effective leader is only as effective as the sponsor they are delivering for. If the sponsor isn’t listening, project leaders need to be adept enough to find a way to communicate news – be it good or bad – to the sponsor.
Brave-smart leaders implicitly understand how important it is to spend time with the team to gauge how each of them is feeling and use positive reinforcement and other fit-for-purpose techniques to help create a positive environment to get the best from them.
Setting the tone is a valid – and invaluable – starting point for eliciting the kind of behaviors that leave ego at the door. Examples may include:
- Agreeing what is acceptable behavior upfront
- Listening and allowing others to speak
- Valuing the input, opinion, and perspective from various viewpoints within the team
- Remain focused on outcomes that the project is aiming to achieve as a team so that contributions remain in context, are not easily parked, and do not side-track or personalize matters
- Ensuring that those with the egotistical behaviors need to back up what they say with facts
- Setting the platform that enables Brave-Smart conversations to be had from the outset
Brave-smart behavior should always be the goal. When a team is clear on some of the above behaviors, it makes it easier – though not easy – to call out behavior like that of the egotist that is never conducive to fostering a long term productive delivery environment.
What are your thoughts on the brave-smart project manager, leader we would like to hear from you.
The perception with project management and influencing the outcome.
The ability to influencing project delivery and managing stakeholders to achieve the desired results becomes more possible as project experience grows. There comes a point in almost any project professional’s career to feel for when to influence both upwards and outwards. The ability of a project professional to use their skill and experience to influence positive outcomes is directly linked to how well they are able to engage and influence others within an organization.
A lot has been written about the typical stakeholder avatars that project teams are likely to encounter, the traits they exhibit depending how mature their experience is in delivering projects, and of course, how they should be engaged. As project professionals there is a deep seated understanding based on relationship building on how influential the professional can be within the organisation.
The ability to be influential at both an individual and group level is a critical part of either delivering successful projects or leading wayward ones out of the wilderness. There’s a truth for project leaders that requires ego to be set aside: In projects, perception is reality. A project management office, for example, will only remain valued and valuable when it is perceived by stakeholders to be a safe pair of hands that are contributing to the business’s ability to deliver successful projects. The same holds true for project managers.
Establishing RelationshipsIn this instance perception is more important than aspiration for the project to succeed. Being able to influence outcomes requires strong relationships with stakeholders and people within the organization so that when the need for robust and straight-talking conversations come, which is normally the case, the foundation exists for those tough, brave-smart conversations.
It is best not to wait until a project has commenced to start conversations with stakeholders, a great way is to seek out the opportunity to connect and build a working relationship with people who will be owning the work. It’s not enough to aspire to be influential; building relationships takes time and effort to get to know the stakeholders, what drives them, and what matters to them. Being able to engage and communicate becomes much easier after that. This is insight that becomes incredibly valuable when things are going well and critical when things start to go awry.
Minimizing the gap between the desire to be influential and the stakeholder’s perceptions should be the goal before the project gets going. There is little value for anyone trying to influence a stakeholder in the heat of battle when a poor perception of what project leaders bring to the table already exists.
The development of influence is not an easy task, as it is a skill which is honed over years of relationship building. There is an art to developing influence, but it first requires a reality check about current standing in a project or organization and how possible it is to gain both access and opportunity to engage with stakeholders.
Understanding how to achieve perception in which the stakeholders are to adhere is particularly important:
- Do you want to be the ‘safe pair of hands’?
- Do you want to be an advisor that stakeholders come to for guidance on how to set up a successful project rather than having to inject yourself—unsolicited—into the project when you see issues?
- Do you want to be the trusted voice in the room when war has broken out and a decision needs to be made to remediate or kill off a project?
These are all great aspirations, but they won’t become reality if you aren’t able to properly position yourself within an organization as someone who is capable of delivering.
Developing influence means knowing when to park ego at the door and understanding when to possibly change belief systems. In essence, what is believed to be true against what is actually true is perceived differently by those with influence.
Taking the time to meet the people in and around the project is valuable for understanding what is needed and expected from the role in terms of time, communication, expectations and raising issues. This is crucial to understanding what works for them and what doesn’t, and it will enable a picture of your stakeholders. Acknowledging perceptions is actually reality and concerns about what needs to change are important. Demonstrating willingness to provide value is important but so is understanding that the stakeholder may have expectations that are not within the project manager’s capabilities to provide.
The goal is either to shift perceptions of what can and can’t be done to build a case to provide those capabilities where it makes sense. Either way establishing a rapport and a clear understanding of what can be brought to the table is critical.
There are always people within an organization that have gravitas and insight and if you watch how they operate, there is a lot to be learned about how they use their position to influence both stakeholders and their project teams.
If you can get time with them, more often than not, there are deep insights and knowledge to be gained by asking the right questions about how they view the issues they deal with, what they see as the real and superficial challenges, and how they have developed their ability to influence.
The important thing is to observe how they are motivated to serve the project as well as what they bring to the table that captures the attention of their stakeholders.
The transformation of Project Management by AI
This is a brief insight on the increased rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning within organisations and daily life which has occurred over the last few years. On a daily basis there are aspects of AI around us, whether it be at home with Alexa in the living room, to Gmail smart reply. Today Google robotic can call a preferred hairdresser to arrange an appointment and self-driving cars on the road is not too far away from being a reality. The onset of AI in daily home life will drive itself into work life, and project management will not be immune from the impact.
Although no one knows at this stage the impact it will have on the daily work effort or delivery of a project for a project manager, one thing is certain, a change to the landscape is imminent. As organisations across all industries are looking for AI opportunities to remain competitive by tapping inti their data. Approximately 80 percent of businesses across the globe are currently investing in AI, this cannot be ignored.
Examples of this can be seen within, Zurich Insurance Group which is using intelligent bots to deal with personal injury claims. Otto, a German retailer adopted AI and ML to autonomously make operational decisions at a scale that humans cannot match.
It is human nature to be concerned about the impact AI will have on job security and availability. A number of jobs which seem quite complex will be disrupted by widespread adoption of AI in 15 – 20 years’ time, this includes:
- journalists,
- drivers,
- chefs,
- financial analysts
- lawyers
It is expected that almost 73 million jobs are at risk of being replaced by 2030, this invariably means that new ones will be created to accommodate the change, as even AI will need to be supported.
AI shouldn’t be feared but embraced as the future for human employees may be improved by the adoption of AI to perform jobs. It may even become the best team member, especially for Project Managers.
Some areas AI, predictive analytics and machine learning may have an impact on project delivery once in full swing. Areas such as risk estimation;
- Throughout the life cycle, every project encounters a number of uncertainties and risks that can trigger a failure, which the project team should analyse and respond to base on their knowledge, experience and available tools.
- The difficulty with the ongoing risk assessment can turn into a catastrophe if the team fails to identify threats on time – but what if a sophisticated, self-learning machine could evaluate historical information, issue logs to come up with an enhanced risk rating model?
- Machine learning enables computers to use project information and advanced algorithms to predict results and determine the potential threats and vulnerabilities influencing your project.
- Project Managers will save considerable time, money and resources through the implementation of AI.
Resource management is another area which will benefit or be affected by AI;
- As a Project Manager, you have to reassess the progress, time-frames and costs multiple times over the course of the project.
- AI provides insight into the history of previous projects and can offer real-time resource management information.
- This will help to manage any additional resources or take people off the project if a disparity rises in the hours required versus projected availability.
Artificial Intelligence can be a distinctive accelerator and game changer, and Project Managers should embrace the technology and leverage AI where possible. AI should be considered as an assistant not replacement of Project Managers. This way the Project Manager can spend more time on more value-adding activities while delegating many project management tasks to the intelligent machines.
Project Actions and how results can be affected
Project Actions
The very nature of projects refer to change, whether it relates to infrastructure, construction, IT or organizational. The process and in particular the actions we take as project managers can either make the delivery better or a real chore to achieve. Projects are a series of actions which enable an idea into a real change, this can relate to making more money; improving people’s lives. Actions include the ability to express oneself by speaking, writing, or with body language. This soft skill is an essential tool.
The delivery of new or modified products, architectural brilliance, events, and processes can impact both the project environment and the environment that receives the results. Once these environments are changed, then there is a direct effect on people’s lives, the way they work, think, their values and how they relate with others.
The very action of a project or any action for that matter, whether it is to make things better or not, creates a ripple effect. The effect may be short lived or may be felt for many years down the track. Comprehending the effect and its possible ripple effect should motivate people to be careful about what they do, say, and think. Every action has an effect; at times the effect can be subtle and minor. This is the foundation for process thinking and quality management.
Take a project to implement a new process for example, where an operational group can disrupt the organization. The project may cause a new or ongoing conflict between management and labor, and either makes for better ongoing performance. Performance which may degrade depending on how well the project has executed and how the new process has been performed and maintained overtime.
The best of intentions or biases, values, and beliefs are the drivers of decisions, which drive behavior. The way decisions are made influences relationships and outcomes. For example, being overly aggressive or using underhanded methods to achieve a goal can cause distrust and anger that clouds relationships going forward and negotiations in general.
There are a number of actions or strategies to promote and achieve the best performance. People who ignore the consequences of positive actions are normally surprised by others reactions and the results of their behavior. This can lead to consequences and in these instance project consequences.
Remember, to take a breath when faced with a critical decision, especially when placed in a situation which can become heated. Relax, pause, breathe and think about what action will be taken next. By diving-in, risks unforeseen consequences can occur and quickly escalate. Respond only after the due diligence of assessing from multiple perspectives the pros and cons, risks and rewards, ripple effects, and alternatives.
Most project managers have at least a moment to step back and consider the ripple effect of actions and words. It is only the lack of awareness that acts as the blocker.
Training can provide and cultivate self-awareness to enhance the possibility of a natural process of letting things unfold. The ability to understand flow which can ensure skills, intelligence, analysis and intuition emerge in perfect alignment with the need of the situation. Also being able to objectively observe what is going on internally and externally to create the platform for what to do next.
There is a ripple effect in most decision making as ultimately it has an effect on actions. Being responsive means making conscious decisions and discerning whether they are unbiased, justifications or rationalizations after the action has been carried out. Being reactive means there is no conscious decision making, only the outburst or withdrawal, which should be avoided.
It would be great to get your point of view on this soft skill, actions and how they are delivered, affect projects. Please add your thoughts in the comments section. In any case, being mindful enough to remember the Law of Cause and Effect and responsive enough to choose appropriate actions, words and thoughts.