project oversight management - ethier · 3 why projects are successful zuser involvement zexecutive...

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PROJECT OVERSIGHT

FUNDAMENTALS

Derek Riphagen

CMA Alberta Accountability SummitMay 2009

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WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR CHALLENGES?

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WHY PROJECTS ARE SUCCESSFUL

User InvolvementExecutive Support

Project Sponsorship

Project ManagerProject Fundamentals & Leadership

15%

34%51%

Failed

SuccessfulChallenged

“When a project fails, it’s rarely

technical.”

Jim JohnsonThe Standish Group

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Setting the Project Structure

Vetting the Plan

Monitoring and Controlling

AGENDA

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PROJECT LIFECYCLEStrategy

Planning & Budgets

Project Lifecycle Production Lifecycle Retirement

Implement ClosePlan ExecuteInitiateProjectPhases:

SETTING THE PROJECT STRUCTURE

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GOVERNANCE

Project oversight is about good governance

Good governance sets the stage for a successful project

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SOME KEY DIFFERENCES …..

Project environment

It is a change of the status quoTime limited (defined start and end dates)It has a budgetTypically has dedicated skilled resources (proven ability)Distinct phases and deliverablesSpecific outcome tied to a commitmentTask focus

Line environment

Long-term support of company strategyEmployee development & growthDoing as much as can be done within a given budget yearService-mindedDirectional focusOperational in nature

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FUNCTIONAL SUPPORT

• Contracts

• Training

• Human Resources

• Project Office

• Architecture Group

• Other

PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEEPROJECT SPONSOR

PROJECT MANAGER

A Typical Project Organization Structure

THIRD PARTIES

• Vendor

• Regulator

• Customer

Subject Matter Expert(s) (SME)

TECHNICAL LEADERBUSINESS LEADER

PROJECT SPONSORPROJECT SPONSOR

Project Oversight

Project Team

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Organizational Structure Comparison

STEERING COMMITTEE

TECHNICAL LEADER

BUSINESS LEADER

PROJECT SPONSOR

PROJECT MANAGER

CEO / CHAIRMAN

COMPANY ORGANIZATION

BOARD

PRESIDENT or COO

VPVP

PROJECT ORGANIZATION

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ExecutionScope, Schedule & Budget

Project governanceBusiness outcomesBusiness value

EffectiveWorking Relationship

Sponsor Project Manager

Roles and Responsibilities

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RELATIONSHIP

Remember that as a Sponsor, your Project Manager must be your best allyTake time to build the relationshipMake sure the project manager is in tune with your needsEnsure you have the necessary confidence in your project manager

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The Sponsor is usually the senior person from the company’s business area for whom the solution is being implemented and will most likely be the major recipient or beneficiary of the derived business benefits

SPONSOR ROLE

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SPONSOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Sets the visionChairs the Steering CommitteeSelects Steering Committee membersAppoints the project managerApproves project budget and planMonitors project executionDeals with escalated issues and changes to the planChampions the project in the organizationProvides project governance

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Committed

Empowered

Business Focused

Consistent

Demanding

Visionary

Mine Sweeper

Decisive

Communicator

Credible

A Good Sponsor Is ……

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Members of the SC, assist the Sponsor with his/her duties

Stakeholders are usually present or at least adequately represented on the SC

The SC provides project governance

STEERING COMMITTEE ROLE

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STEERING COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

Members of the SC, through the Sponsor, provide high level business and technical guidance, direction and advice to the Project Manager so as to ensure the project delivers the maximum overall benefit to the company

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Project size, reach and impact

Risk

Knowledge

Authority

STEERING COMMITTEE CONSIDERATIONS

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The PM is responsible for planning, leading, organizing, directing, monitoring and controlling the project execution along with delivering a quality result on time and within budget according to the parameters set out in the project plan and any subsequent approved changes to the scope, schedule and budget

The PM reports to the Sponsor

PROJECT MANAGER ROLE

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PROJECT MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES

Develops the project framework

Develops the work plan

Determines resources, schedule and budget

Obtains approval for the baseline plan

Manages and controls the project execution

Provides regular progress updates

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PROJECT MANAGERRESPONSIBILITIES

Develop Risk Management Plan

Define Key Deliverables

Determine Approach

Document Change Mgmt Process

Identify Constraints

Document Issue Resolution Process

Determine Space, Other Requirements

Determine Order of Tasks

Define Scope

Establish Project Reporting

Put on Calendar w/ Milestones

Determine Hardware/ Software Requirements

Determine Best Estimate

Determine Objectives

Establish Project Standards

Assign Tasks to Resources

Determine Personnel Resource Requirements

Specify Activities and Tasks

Identify Stakeholders

Approve & Baseline

Plan

Develop Project Controls

Prepare Budget

Develop a Schedule

Resource Requirements

Develop Work Plan

Project Framework

Plan a Project

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PROJECT MANAGER SKILLS

Project management competencies

Leadership

Communication

Track record

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Project management competenciesPlanningEstimatingOrganizingDelegating

DecisiveJudgmentInterpersonal

ToolsTrack recordBusiness savvy

Professional designation?

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Leadership skills/styles

CollaborativeDemandingFairConsistentSituationalTeamworkHonest

Learning experience?

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Excellent and mature communicationVerbalWrittenPresentationConciseClarityUnambiguousAccurate, honest and completeAudience sensitive

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Track record

Previous experience on similar projectsSuccess and failures

Subject matter expertise?

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PROJECT MANAGER ATTRIBUTES

Initiative

Motivation

Perseverance

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INITIATE PHASE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Establish the relative priorities

ScopeSchedule

Cost

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Project ReviewsSet up

Progress

Lessons

Use them

Plan for them

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Is the vision clear?Is my organization structure correct?Are the roles defined?Are the responsibilities clear for each role?Do I have the right project manager for the project?Do I have the right skills and knowledge represented on the steering committee?Are the lines of communication between roles clear and understood by everyone?Are there any conflicts of interest?Do I have confidence in the project manager?Do I trust the project manager?Have I delegated the right authority to the project manager?Does the delegated authority align with the project manager’s responsibilities?Is the budget and timeframe reasonable?Do I understand what success looks like?Is the project positioned for success?Will I fulfill my role expectations and responsibilities towards the project for the duration of the project?Should I instruct the project manager to plan for a project review?

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VETTING THE PLAN

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StrategyPlanning &

Budgets



VETTING THE PROJECT PLAN

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VETTING THE PLAN

TIPS:

Ask lots of questions

Get answers from the Project Manager that make you feel comfortable

Things to watch for…

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VETTING THE PLAN

VisionWho?Why? (Decisions, Focus, Commitment)Unambiguous?

ScopeS.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-boxed)Include, exclude, dependencies, completeness?Is Scope controllable?Will we know we are done?

Watch for “Miracles”

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VETTING THE PLAN

Objectives Explicit, Measurable, What you need?

DeliverablesMeasurable, Comfort

Slack time or floatWhat is it?Why have it?How much?

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VETTING THE PLAN

Contingency What is it?How much?

ApproachAlternatives considered

Decision points and ExposureHow much timeHow much money

EstimatesWho was involvedUnderstand how estimates were arrived atOptimistic or pessimistic or reasonableTask duration

Dependencies

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VETTING THE PLAN

ResourcesLevelingLoadingAvailability

Is it a good thing that the project manager is “doing”

as well as managing?

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VETTING THE PLAN

Success

Define for both Project and Company

Why do you need to define success?

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VETTING THE PLAN

RISKS

ASSUMPTIONS CONSTRAINTS

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VETTING THE PLAN

Risk probabilities are ranked (H, M, L)Risk impacts are ranked (H, M, L)Mitigation plans must exist for all H, H

HIGH

LOWImpact

HIGH

LOW

Prob

abili

ty

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VETTING THE PLAN

Challenge the project manager and pay attention to the response you get

If uncomfortable with the response, probe further or take action until your concerns abate

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MONITORING & CONTROLLING

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StrategyPlanning &

Budgets




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Project BaselineScheduleBudgetScope

Change Management process

ScopeSchedule

Cost

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“No Surprises”

What is meant by this?


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It’s all about trends and variances


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Temp

Engine

Oil Pressure Speed

Transmission

Windshield

Battery

Fuel

RPM

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Fuel

llllllllllSpeed RPM

L HOil Pressure

D CBattery Engine

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Time

Cum

ulat

ive

$

Cumulative Budget Cumulative Cost

Project Financial Summary

Plan

Actual

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MONITORING & CONTROLLINGAS OF: 23 July 20XX

WEEK ENDINGOct

2 9 16 23 30 13 10 17 246 13 20 27

^ ^

^^

^ ^

^ ^

^ ^

^^

Analysis

Online Screens

Test & Implement

Reports

Test & Document

Project Mgmt. &Supervision

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Milestone ScheduleMilestone Planned Date Revised Date Actual Date

User Requirementssign-off

March 20 March 25March 27

April 4

Plan Approved bySteering Committee

April 12 April 12

Detailed DesignSign-off

May 30

…….…..

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MONITORING & CONTROLLINGMONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT

Project ManagerMonthProject Name

•All Green flags•One Yellow flag

•Three or more Yellow flags that are likely the forerunners of other soon-to-surface project issues

•One or more Red Flags•Three or more Yellow flags.

Project overall

•Project has resource levels, skills and knowledge to meet the project plan.

•Skills unavailable. Resolution in progress.•Inadequate resources. Resolution identified.

•Skills are unavailable.•Inadequate resources to meet the plan.

Technical Resources

•Project has resource levels, skills and knowledge to meet the project plan.

•Key resources are not meeting commitments of time or content deliverables.•Some skills and knowledge is unavailable to the project.

•Key resources are unavailable.•Key skills/knowledge is unavailable to the project.

Business Resources

•No issues affecting cost and schedule.•Issues exist.•Resolution identified.•Issues may impact cost and schedule.

•Issues impacting one or more of cost, schedule, complexity and quality

Technical

•Spending within +/-10% of approved cash flow.•Project cost within 10% budget tolerance.

•Spending to date within +/-15% of approved cash flow. •Forecast project cost exceeds +10% budget tolerance but not greater than +15% of the budget.

•Spending to date has deviated more than 15% from the approved cash flow. •Forecast project cost is >15% over budget.

Budget

•Defined and stable.•Some scope changes. •Complexity unchanged. •Can be absorbed within current schedule and budget.

•Complexity is increasing. •Changes will not fit within the current schedule and budget.

Scope

•Progress within +/-10% of approved plan.

•Progress within +/-15% of approved plan. •Some interim milestones will be late. •Final completion date will be met.

•Progress has slipped more than 15% from the approved plan. Interim milestones missed. •Project completion date has >50% probability of being missed.

Schedule

Green(G)

Yellow(Y)

Red(R)

Flag Definitions

Project overallTechnical ResourcesBusiness ResourcesTechnicalBudgetScopeSchedule

CommentsGreen (G)Yellow (Y)Red (R)Indicator

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Issues and ChangesLog

Sponsor & Steering Committee responsibilitiesReview escalated issuesResolve escalated issuesTimely action

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Report frequency considerations

SizeProfileRiskPhasePerformance

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MONITORING & CONTROLLINGESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

It’s all about trendsBudgetScheduleForecast to completionAssumptions and RisksIssues (number, open and/or resolved)Scope changes (number, timing)Water cooler talk

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IMPLEMENTATION

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StrategyPlanning &

Budgets



IMPLEMENTATION

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IMPLEMENTATION

If you and the project manager have been fulfilling your responsibilitiesYour staff are on side and supportiveYour staff are trainedThe project team starts dissolving and moves into a transitionalsupport roleThe line organization takes operational ownership

...and it should be relatively seamless

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

Planning is a means to an end not an end unto itselfEffort doesn’t disappear – it merely moves earlier or later in the project lifecycleDone or not done

Take time to do it right the first time, avoiding taking more time later to control damage and increase the

risk to the business results.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

If not evident (written down), assume it doesn’t exist

Use judgment balanced with your comfort tolerance

Be consistent in expectations

Project manager reacting rather than anticipating

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

What will you be doing differently?Ask more questions

Expect more definitive answers

Fulfill your role obligations

Make sure the PM gives you what you need when you need it

Understand what you’re given

…..

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

It’s all about – fundamentalsProject Management SkillsClarifying Roles & ResponsibilitiesSetting and managing expectationsGood governance

It’s all about – leadershipEffective relationshipsFocusing effort wiselyDealing with issuesStanding up for your principles

Finally – nothing covered today should be viewed as optional for disciplined execution and consistent, predictable, successful outcomes to projects.

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Project managementBusiness process innovationBusiness systems analysis

www.ethierassociates.ca

[email protected]

(403) 234 8960

Business improvement through

people and technology

project oversight management - ethier · 3 why projects are successful zuser involvement zexecutive...

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