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Two project killers

Martin van Borselaer

© 2010 Whitehorses

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Today’s goals

Create awareness Recognition

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Fear

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Complexity

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Deadly combination

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My definition of fear

Know

Do

Fear

Say

“Fear prohibits us from doing or saying we know what’s right”.

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Customer’s fears

●Pay too much/receive too little●Bad quality●Wrong requirements●Capability/capacity to change●…

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Supplier’s fears

●Too much time/costs●Dissatisfied customer●Making mistakes/bad reputation●Scope creep●Demanding too much from employees●…

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Project Manager’s fears

●Dysfunctional customer●Dysfunctional team●Dysfunctional supplier●Dysfunctional tools●…

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Team’s fears

●Life/work balance●Making mistakes●…

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Underlying fears

● Job/income security●Status

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Projects know lots of fears

Customer Supplier

Project Manager Team

Results?

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Exaggerated?

ConsciousnessRationality

Sub consciousnessEmotions

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Fear leads to poor decisions

OverkillExaggerate problemReaction to strong

PassivityDenialTalk but no action

Overkill

Passivity

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Examples

● Fixed price/fixed date/unknown scope● Analysis paralysis● Kill the messenger, ignore the message● Stick to the plan at all costs● Micromanagement● Punish mistakes, no learning● Taking no risks, making no decisions● Operation successful, patient killed● The list is endless…

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Solutions…

together

No culture of heroes and loosers, but …

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Making mistakes is normal

● No mistakes = taking no risks = accomplish nothing

● Mistakes are part of the learning process

● Don’t punish● Create a culture of

learning

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Be vulnerable

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Transparancy

●Yes, we make mistakes●Yes, we’re not perfect●Mistakes are visible●So that we can learn

and adapt…●…together

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Choose your measurements carefully

1

•Customer goals

2

•Project goals

3

•Team goals

4

•Individual goals

● You get what you measure

● Choose the correct level of measurement

● Measurement system should enhance collaboration

● Beware of conflicts in interests

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Complexity

The past●More production?●More people!

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Complexity

●Simple is stupid ●Smart sells

Solutions are supposed to be complex The more complex the better

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Managers believe in brainpower

●Anything can be analyzed and planned

●First analysis than plan than act●Follow the plan●Deviation = wrong!

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The T-Ford productionmodel

●Division of design and labor●First design a process/product, than build●Specialization creates efficiency

We still believe in this model Project = production process That’s fine if we build the same system

over and over again

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Assumption: predicatability

Complexity

Order

Chaos

Complexity tools

Com

plex

ity e

nviro

nmen

t

Complexity determines

Predictability

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Complexity is hard to predict

All models are wrong, but some are useful.

(George E. P. Box)

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there

is!“(Chuck Reid)

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Productdesign

A project is not a production process, it’s a product design process.

● We don’t know what we want● We don’t know how to get there● We need to discover and adapt● We need to prove our assumptions● Collaboration creates knowledge

Specialization impedes knowledge

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Plan

Do

Check

Actualize

Standard method for problem solving

The Deming

problem-solving process 

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Plan Do Check Actualize

That’s not how it’s used!

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Plan

Do

Check

Act

The ‘agile’ Deming circle

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Plan

Do

Check

Act

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Plan Do Check Actualize

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Sequential or iteratief

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Focus

Time

Create solution

Time

Create solution

Sequential Iterative

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PRINCE2 against fear

●Project Board is accountable●Project Manager is only responsible for

the project’s process as agreed on by the Project Board

●Known method which gives the Project Board explicit means of control

●Tolerances●Management by exception

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Scrum against fear

●Promise little, create results fast●Uncertainty part of the deal●Team results are more important then

individual results●Multi-skilled team●Strong customer collaboration●Mistake? No problem●Plan is a guideline, not written in stone

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PRINCE2 against complexity

●Manage in stages●Not ‘activity based’ but ‘product based

planning’

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Scrum against complexity

●Simple planning process●Simple analysis process● Incremental product creation/delivery●Prove assumptions by creating

software, not by creating a model.

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Conclusion

Projects are more successful when the ability to learn is enhanced.

●Enhance collaboration●Accept uncertainties●Proceed iteratively in small steps●Create a culture of learning and adapting●Prove assumptions fast

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Two main impediments• Fear• Complexity

Recipy for success• Collaboration• Small steps• Learn and adept