A project manager in the investment management industry will often use analogies from the construction industry to explain the phases of a project. I’ll admit it; I use them often myself. The problem is that it’s a terrible analogy to make! It sets the expectation with your project team, sponsor, and stakeholders that you are embarking on a predictable path that’s been travelled many times before. The projects we manage, however, are unique, bringing a set of unknown challenges. Citisoft’s David Bates previously blogged on the topic of managing the "unknown knowns," and this blog illustrates how that same concept should be extended to project management.
The construction analogy falls apart when you charter a project in a services industry like investment management because nothing that you are about to embark upon is nearly as predictable as laying tile or finishing hardwood floors. Therefore, do yourself, your sponsor, and stakeholders a favor and do the following:
1 – Stop relying on your methodology as a safety net. No more telling your stakeholders that everything is okay because you are following your tried-and-true project management methodology. Don’t get me wrong, a methodology is indispensable! Just don’t lean on it to save you when issues arise – it won’t. Start: Using the methodology as a general framework to help you manage the project, surface issues, keep people informed, etc.
2 – Stop glossing past the risks and risk mitigation plans in your project charter. Even if you feel you don’t know enough about the project yet, this is a huge mistake. After scope, risk is arguably the second most important part of a charter. Later on in the project, these “unknowns” partner up with their friends called the “unknown-unknowns” (i.e. the things “you don’t realize that you don’t know”) and together they will try to derail even the most well-run projects. Don’t let them! Start: Making sure you raise all things “you-know-you-don’t-know” as risks and that your project sponsor truly understands them.
3 – Stop rarely discussing your risks. Instead of only discussing your risks when you meet with the steering committee on a monthly or (worse,) quarterly basis, you should be identifying your risks bottom-up and ingraining them into your day-to-day project discussions. Start: Treating your risks as ugly little rodents. Don’t let them out of your sight and make sure you aggressively manage them. If you don’t take over them, they will take over you!
4 – Stop throwing bodies at the work in hopes it will get done. You wouldn’t ask a plumber to roof your house, right? Start: Taking the time to understand the skillset required, then take the time to find those people. Remember John Wooden’s quote: “If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over?”
5 – Stop using the words “on time” and “on budget” in your project success metric. Careful with this one! There are projects when it is more important to be on timeand on budget. Start: Focusing on the most important goal: delivering the business benefits to your sponsor. (Do you want a house that is built on-time and on-budget but is uninhabitable, or do you want an inhabitable house?)
6 – Stop using construction analogies. I promise I will do the same.
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