The Critical Path

At my last engagement, there was a lack of matured documented process.  I’m all about process. If you have good process, quality results will follow.   People sometimes don’t understand that if a documented process does not provide value to the project, you should not do it.  Consistently use proven templates, processes, and methodologies to refine your project management approach.

Templates are mere tools in a toolbox.  Again, only use the ones that provide value to the project.  I once had a Product Manager voice her frustration because she was told to complete ALL of the project templates in the repository, after the project was in a later phase.  My response was to weigh the cost (time) of completing the templates against the benefits gained by them.  The benefits are traditionally lower risk or higher customer satisfaction.  In this case, it was neither.  If anything, there should have been Lessons Learned or Postmortem document that would have identified the gaps or overlaps of the documentation.

To assist readers of my blog, I’m going to start uploading templates I’ve used at previous engagements.  They are free of change and will fall under public domain.  You’ll find them by selecting Free PM Templates or locating the link in the right navigation menu.

I pride myself in the fact that I’m a very honest and hard working manager.  I define the Huether Triple Constraint as Passion, Commitment, and Skill.  I’m passionate about what I do, I’m committed to the organizations I work for, and I rely on my skills and the skills of others to be successful.

As part of commitment, ethics and professional conduct should always be considered.  One of the questions I always ask myself before making a leadership decision is “Is this good for the project and our organization?”  No, I don’t work for Initech and this isn’t Office Space.  This is a valid question and there will be several questions on the exam that deal with ethics and professional conduct.

I recommend reading the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
Even if you don’t take the PMP, every good project manager will learn from it.

With Project Management, you must understand that EVERY project has constraints.  Unfortunately, project managers tend to ignore this and it will come back to haunt them time and time again.  Constraints include time, scope, cost, quality, risk, or any other factors that will limit what your options are when managing a project or deliverable. “Triple Constraint” is a term that originally included time, scope, and cost.  Newer definitions include customer satisfaction, risk, and quality.  If you’re taking the PMP exam, include both the original and newer definitions.  Sextuple constraint just doesn’t quite role off the tongue. 

I try to stress to stakeholders every time they try to expand scope that it will directly impact the other constraints.  If you expand the scope, you will either have to expand cost or time.  If you don’t expand either of these two constraints, you’re going to increase risk and lower quality.  

On a daily basis, I hear managers, directors, and executives referring to the MS Project file as “the project plan”.  I must frustrate a lot of people because I refuse to call it that.  I refer to it as the activity list and Gantt Chart.  Some PMPs call Gantt charts “bar charts” but I am one of those people who still calls a cotton swab a Q-Tip.  Either way, if you refer to the MS Project file as an activity list and bar chart, you’re on the path to passing the PMI exam.  If you’re still convinced it’s a project management plan, I can almost guarantee you’re not going to pass.

A project management plan, as defined in the in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is “A formal, approved document that defines how the project is executed, monitored, and controlled.  It may be summary or detailed and may be composed of one or more subsidiary management plans and other planning documents.

I usually refer to my “plans” as a project management packet.  I include my signed charter, the communications plan, risk plan, resource plan…  I keep them in a central packet and also a central virtual folder for easy access. 

And that’s all I have to say about that.

I was at a vendor site yesterday, discussing how they were going to satisfy our needs on four upcoming projects.  There were four people in the meeting:  the technical lead from the vendor, the product manager from our organization, a director from our organization, and myself.  Since I am the project manager, I had to take into account each perspective of each participant.  Communications grows exponentially, every time you add another person to a meeting or project.  A project manager needs to realize the complexity and manage it accordingly.

The situation reminded me of a few questions that were on the PMP exam.  Communication Channels  can be calculated by using the following formula:  [N (N-1)]/2 where N equals the number of people involved.  Do not just memorize the formula, UNDERSTAND it.  Below is an illustration of the formula that should help you visualize it.

If on the PMP exam, I had been asked how many channels of communications existed in the meeting, I could either draw a picture with lines between the people or I could just use the formula.  Take my word for it, just memorize the formula and understand when it applies.