I’m not going sit here an boast of being some kind of expert on Kanban or guru of personal productivity.  I’m just a Project Manager/Leader who is always keeping his eyes and ears open for newer or better ways to manage time or work.  I believe you should always try to eliminate non-value-added processes, resulting in a positive impact of customer satisfaction, while reducing support costs.  How do you do that?  You get it done as effectively and efficiently as possible.

I recently completed Getting Things Done by David Allen.  It was an interesting book.  Though I use paperless processes to “get things done”, David offered one bit of advice that resonated with me.  To advance a task or activity to more of an actionable conclusion, he said to ask “What’s the next action?”

This parallels what I do with my Kanban (task) board.  I currently have 4 columns:  Backlog, Work In Progress (WIP), Blocked, Done.  When a prioritized task can not be worked, I put the task card (user story) in the “blocked” column.  I then ask myself the question.  What’s the next action? Without asking yourself that simple question, your task may be blocked longer than necessary.  You have to understand there may be 3 or 4 steps you need to complete before you can unblock your task and get it back to WIP.  So, ask the question.

As to not ignore the obvious, I recommend you write your tasks in a standard user story format. As a [perspective], I want to [activity], so I can [desired outcome]

It doesn’t matter if you use a physical or virtual Kanban (task) board.  I recommend following 3 simple rules:

1. Keep your tasks visible
2. Keep your tasks limited
3. Keep your tasks actionable

Unfortunately, there is no ONE best type of contract to manage. The risk the vendor and customer share is determined by the contract type. The best thing you can do is understand the risks and benefits of each. There are three categories of contracts: Fixed-Price, Cost-Reimbursable, and Time and Material (T&M). In this 3 part series, I defined the contracts in each category. Hopefully, it will help you on the PMP exam and out in the real world.

Time and Materials (T&M) is a hybrid type of contractual arrangement that contains aspects of both cost-reimbursable and fixed-price contacts.  They are often used for staff augmentation, acquisition of experts, and any outside support when a precise statement of work cannot be quickly prescribed.

These types of contracts resemble cost-reimbursable contracts in that they can be left open ended and may be subject to a cost increase for the buyer.  The full value of the agreement and the exact quantity of items to be delivered may not be defined by the buyer at the time of the contract award.  Thus, T&M contracts can increase in contract value as if they were cost-reimbursable contracts.  Many organizations require not-to-exceed values and time limits placed in all T&M contracts to prevent unlimited cost growth.  Conversely, T&M contracts can also resemble fixed unit price arrangements when certain parameters are specified in the contract.  Unit labor or materials rates can be preset by the buyer and seller, including seller profit, when both parties agree on the values for specific resource categories, such as senior software engineers at specified rates per hour, or categories of materials at specified rates per unit.

Image courtesy of Marc Lemmons via Flickr

Are you studying for the PMP exam and struggling with the concept of Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost Performance Index (CPI)? Are you just bored and want to impress your friends with your knowledge of SPI and CPI?  Well, I’m going to try to make it easy for you.

To the left you’ll see two charts.  Both are displaying variances on a monthly basis.  The first chart is displaying variances in thousands of dollars, both in schedule and cost.  The second chart is displaying the variances as they relate to a performance index.

Definitions and Formulas

• Earned Value (EV) – The estimated value of the work actually accomplished
• Actual Cost (AC) – The actual cost incurred from the work accomplished
• Planned Value (PV) – The estimated value of the work planned to be done
  

  [Chart 1 - Variance (In Dollars)]

• Scheduled Variance (SV)=EV – PV
  a NEGATIVE schedule variance is behind schedule and
  a POSITIVE schedule variance is ahead of schedule
• Cost Variance (CV)=EV – AC
  a NEGATIVE cost variance is over budget and
  a POSITIVE cost variance is under budget

  [Chart 2 - Variance]

• Schedule Performance Index (SPI)=EV ÷ PV
  You are progressing at __% of the rate originally planned
• Cost Performance Index (CPI)=EV ÷ AC
  You are getting $_____ worth of work out of every $1 spent

Practical Application

So, where does that leave us?  Your goal is to have a $0 (zero dollar) cost and schedule variance, resulting in a SPI and CPI of 1.0.  That would mean you estimated correctly, leading into your project.  Going into the PMP exam, you should know these formulas and how to calculate all of the above.  Here are a 2 simple questions you should be able to answer:

1.  Is a 1.3 CPI a good thing or a bad thing?  Why?

This is a good thing!  A 1.3 CPI translates to you getting 1.3 dollars of results for every dollar you put into the project.

2.  Is a 0.90 SPI a good thing or a bad thing?  Why?

This is a bad thing!  A 0.90 SPI translates to your project progressing at 90 percent of the rate originally planned.

Example Question: Based on the charts listed above, what would you be more concerned with, schedule or cost, if you were taking over this project from another project manager?

Answer: The answer is cost.  As of August, CPI is closest to 1.

People generally go to meetings because they are asked to attend. With a simple click of the mouse, they accept. Rarely do they respond to your request with the why did you invite me question. Some accept and just don’t show up. These are contributing factors that sway a meeting from productive to unproductive.  I sometimes see people go an entire day and only attend meetings. When do they get actual work done? We all know that answer.

Here are a few helpful hints for the next meeting you organize.
[1] Write out the purpose of the meeting with actionable events in mind. e.g. “Provide an updated status, identifying risks and opportunities, and identify new action items.”

[2] Identify your attendee list but only keep those you can map to the actionable events listed in step 1.  There is a difference between an attendee list and a communications distribution list.

[3] Create an agenda.  Do not ever arrange a meeting without a written agenda.  Your meeting will suffer scope creep in the worst possible way.

[4] Identify who will run the meeting and who will take notes.  It should not be the same person.

[5] Circulate the completed agenda and collateral documentation prior to the meeting.  Have some on hand in the event people don’t bring their own copies to the meeting.

[6] Provide different means of attending the meeting.  e.g. In person, via telephone, via web meeting.

[7] Start every meeting on time.  If you don’t start on time, how do you expect to finish on time?

[8] Ensure discussion points align to the agenda.  If they don’t, recommend taking the topic to another forum.

[9] End the meeting by having the note taker read back the discussion points and the understood action items.

[10] Send out the meeting minutes within one to two days.

Here are a few helpful hints for the next meeting you are invited to or attend.
[1] Upon receiving an invitation, ask yourself if it is really necessary to attend this meeting.  It could be you just need to be kept informed.  Ask to be included on the meeting minutes distribution list rather then attending.

[2] If you are going to attend, arrive on time!  It is rude to walk into a meeting after it has started.  Have a little respect for the other attendees.  They found it important enough to arrive on time, why can’t you?

[3] Know which agenda items pertain to you prior to coming to the meeting.  Be prepared.

[4] Verify the published meeting minutes for accuracy.

I hope this helps you get the most out of your project meetings.  As an added bonus, I am including a link to my free Meeting Minutes Template.  You can also find it by navigating to my Free PM Templates page.

I welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Regards,

Derek

Without trying to appear to be too much of a geek, I sometimes code-name a project as Kobayashi Maru. For those out there who are not Star Trek geeks, Kobayashi Maru is a test in which command division cadets at Starfleet Academy are presented with a no-win scenario as a test of character. I use the term for a project in which management gets involved and I’m presented with a no-win scenario.  I doubt they are trying to test character. Rather, it’s an example of their lack of understanding project management.

I’m sure there are PMs out there who have had management redirect resources from your project to others, only to refuse to narrow scope or push out a delivery date. That is a Kobayashi Maru.  Just because I have a PMP®, don’t expect me to pull a rabbit out of a hat.  On a previous program, I’ve looked management in the eye and reminded them that something will have to give.  Narrow scope, extend the deadline, lower quality expectation, or increase the budget.  Do something or this will be a no-win scenario.

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