Controlling Projects

In the previous phase (project execution) I mentioned that part of the project manager’s job involves solving problems. This is known as “controlling” the project.

No matter how well you have planned the project, you can expect problems. Projects seldom go as planned. You need to identify deviations from the plan, and respond to them, as early as possible in the project. The sooner problems are identified and resolved, the less impact they have on the overall project.

The key to identifying and accommodating changes and problems early is good communication. Stay in touch with your team members. Don’t just ask them, “How are you doing?” and accept “Fine.” as an answer. Use your tools, such as the Gantt Chart and punch lists, to track tasks. Make sure your team knows you are open to bad news as well as good news. You don’t want team members holding back information about problems because they are afraid of how you will respond.

Face challenges and problems as they come up. Don’t ignore them, hoping something will change or the problem will resolve itself. Get the facts, then based on those facts devise a plan to deal with the problem.

Don’t have a plan that is cast in concrete. Be flexible and revise your plan as needed. In particular as you get close to the completion of the project, team enthusiasm may start to drop off, or a particularly difficult task may be blocking progress. Step back, identify exactly what needs to be done, and create a new plan for accomplishing that task.

If you are nearing completion of a project, but it looks like you will miss the schedule, don’t sacrifice quality in order to make the schedule. It is better to meet your quality goals and be late delivering the project. Not meeting the quality goals usually means more problems, and an even greater loss of time in the future.

Project Execution

Step one in executing a project is to get started on time. If you start late, and have planned accurately, you’ll probably end late.

Most projects start with a kick-off meeting. This helps get your team focused on what they’ll be doing; allows you to set the schedule for future meetings; provides an opportunity to deal with any last minute problems or changes; and helps to develop commitment to the project and the project schedule.

Everyone will now be off working on their project tasks. As project manager you may have project tasks assigned to you. This means your focus will be divided. Your job as project manager is to stay in touch with team members, and track the progress of the project. The project manager has the “big picture” view and needs to identify problems, and resolve them, as early in the project as possible. Although the project manager is “the boss”, they are also a “servant” to the project team—helping to ensure the team members have what they need to complete their tasks on time.

If you, as the project manager, have tasks assigned to you, be sure to get your tasks completed on time. It’s much too easy to give yourself some slack, allowing the completion of your tasks to lag behind schedule because you have supposedly “more important” things to do. If you don’t complete your tasks on time, other members of the team will not be able to complete their tasks on time.

As the project manager make yourself available. Check your email regularly and be available by phone. Require regular status reports from team members, and provide them with status updates. Keep an eye on the details. For example, have team members use punch lists to ensure the components of tasks are completed and nothing is left out. The punch list then forms the core of the status report for each task.

Project Planning

In this phase of a project each of the goals set in the previous phase are translated into specific tasks. These are the things that need to be accomplished in order for the goal to be accomplished. Unlike a goal, tasks are specific activities that can be scheduled and assigned to specific people.

Task must be:

Clear – A task is an activity that can be described in one or two sentences.

Independently Time Based – Task should be completed within a specified time without relying on, or having to wait for, other tasks to be completed.

Individual – a task can be assigned such that a specific individual (or team leader) is responsible for the task being completed.

Once the tasks are identified start laying out a schedule for accomplishing the tasks. For small projects a calendar may be all that’s needed. Larger projects typically require the use of a Gantt Chart to visually show which tasks are dependent on others and how tasks overlap. Once tasks are laid out in a schedule you can start to assign manpower, equipment and other resources—allowing you to develop a budget and plan for how your resources will be used. You can also establish milestones for measuring the progress of the project and build quality assurance and acceptance points into the schedule.

You should now have a carefully thought-out plan for the project. It includes specific goals, tasks, resource requirements, and milestones. Put this plan in writing and be sure that all team members have a copy.

Project Initiation

The key questions in this phase are:

1) Why do we want to do this?

2) What do we want to accomplish?

3) How and when will the project be undertaken?

4) Who will be involved?

Let's look at determining what the project goals are. Keep in mind that goals must have certain characteristics. They must:

* Be realistic and achievable
* Be measurable. You don't know when a goal is achieved, if you can not measure it.
* Be time-based. There must be a point in time when the goal should be achieved.
* Be something in which everyone involved has committed to achieving.
* Be such that there can be clearly defined responsibilities.
* Be specific. Nebulous goals can not be measured, nor can anyone be held accountable for accomplishing them.

Start by brainstorming goals. Write down everything that might be a goal for this project. Also think about side effects and unintended benefits that might result from this project. They may lead to project goals you had not previously considered.

Once you have a list of goals, narrow down that list by eliminating those items that are not really goals, or which do not meet the criteria listed above for goals. For example, your list may include items that are intermediate steps towards reaching the final goal. Those should be taken off the list. But keep them in mind as you may wish to use them later as milestones to measure the progress of the project.

When you have a list of clearly defined, measurable, realistic goals, put the list in writing and give everyone involved a copy. Good communication and documentation at the beginning of a project helps keep people focused, motivated, and committed to the project.

Answer all four of the questions at the beginning of this article, and put those answers in writing. You'll end up with a document that defines the major aspects of the project.

A web page with free online tools and forms that can be used in the Project Initiation stage, including a project initiation checklist, is available at:

Project Initiation Tools

Project Management

Professional, knowledgeable, effective project management is critical to successful completion of projects that will improve your productivity, quality and safety. In my next five articles I'll provide an overview of the five phases of a project. Throughout April I'll take a more detailed look at various aspects of project management.

The following is a brief summary of the five phases of a project:

Initiation - develop the project concept (vision) and benefits; establish the objectives (goals) and the scope of the project; identify the end users; perform a risk analysis; identify a project sponsor; and start to assemble a team.

Planning - break the project into specific tasks and activities; refine the scope of the project; refine the project team; identify resource requirements; identify standards to be used; detail unusual features; specify quality assurance procedures; establish acceptance procedures; and develop an overall schedule (including milestones and deadlines) and budget.

Executing - accomplish the goals of the project.

Controlling - solve problems and take remedial actions; monitor and control changes; monitor schedule and budget and make appropriate adjustments to the schedule, budget, project or expectations.

Closing - deliver completed project and assess its success.

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