PMI Virtual Library© 2011 Susan Hilty

A Simple Process for Project Management! Project Management in “Plain English”

Sometimes we don’t think one person can make a difference, but sometimes this is all it takes. If you consider the ground-breaking potential of one man

with a shovel, then you can appreciate the earth-moving capabilities one person can have. If you think someone should be doing something, remember: you’re that someone! Then ask yourself, what should I be doing? Simplify! Don’t make things so daunting that they can never happen, and take one step at a time. The foundation I use is the one used to write a story. The “English synopsis” of Who, What, Why, When, Where, and How. If you are looking for a template with which to form your project plan, put these words into a word document, an Excel spreadsheet, or a project plan and start digging. Post pictures, document progress, put it out in the forefront, communicate it, and exude positive mental energy!

Once you are on your way, it will be easier to get others more involved. It is the motivational tactics that get you going and will help you work through any issue. When you are motivated to act, your cheerleading and coaching mentality will motivate the rest of the team. Once you have a team with forward-moving momentum and a defined target, you can conquer the world; a project is just the beginning of this process.

The Six Questions Used for Success: [Six Questions Used to Tell a Story or Define a Project.]

Who? What? Why? When? Where? hoW?1. Who is it for? Identify the stakeholders: Who wants something? Who will it affect? Who will pay? Who can do it? Who needs to be

By Susan Hilty, PMP

When you are motivated

to act, your cheerleading and

coaching mentality will motivate

the rest of the team. ”communicated with about it? Who will be affected, and have we communicated with all of them or, better yet, had a conversation with them about it?

2. What do they need?This is the tricky part and plays off of the “why do they need it?” It should be scalable, but you need to identify what they are trying to do. Develop a checklist of questions and get the answers; then find out “what they need” —this could make a huge difference in the cost of the project. I once worked with a chief financial officer (CFO) who stated that all he really needed was a little red pick-up truck and the IT team bought him a rocket ship, which defeated the purpose. All he needed to do was to go across the street to the hardware store but he couldn’t even do that without going around the world.

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The CFO didn’t have an astronaut to man the rocket ship, couldn’t afford to hire one, and wasn’t able to pay for all the fuel needed for a rocket ship anyway. We need to define what the expectations are and ensure we meet those, giving the customer the ability to upgrade, but not overwhelming them.

(Sometimes, what the customer wants is not what they need at all. We have to understand what the problem is in order to be able to deliver a viable solution. This leads us to question three.)

3. Why do they need it? When we identify why the customer needs something, we can help them design an educated solution. From the foundation of why they need to achieve something, you will be able to determine what they need to do, but we need to know why they want to do this.

Sometimes the simple solution is not the most obvious. An example is when the space program began there was a need to be able to write in space. One team spent millions of dollars to produce a pen that could write in space without gravity, while another team gave its members pencils. We need to find out why we need something and make a logical decision to add value and not expense. If people know why they are being asked to do something and are able to make informed decisions, you will get better results than if you just have them fill in templates without background information (don’t build silos). Do you want a secretarial pool or a program management office? Set clear expectations so you can procure the proper resources (i.e., define the scope).

Project management is about making informed decisions based on the knowledge you have uncovered, identified, and documented in the sign-off phase. Program management is managing a group of projects and can sometimes be defined as doing a project and developing processes that can be used to supplement all of the offices or organizations being rolled out. Problem management is what I refer to as “elbow management”; in other words, forcing an idea through and getting out the firefighting equipment. The team needs to define which way to go—the why will help identify what is needed.

4. When do they need it? This is one third of the requirements of cost, time, and quality in project management. If they needed it yesterday, it will make big differences in all the other questions. Perhaps they only needed part of it yesterday. Maybe you need to bring in a really big team and get it done tomorrow. This is where the true project manager stands out in getting the definitions and expectation setting truly defined and accurate. Get a

timeline in place, and remember: firefighting equipment can be expensive!

5. Where is it needed? Does everyone need it or only a select few? Are there global implementations? And how does this fit in with the entire picture? Where do we find the resources? Where is the blueprint, design, architecture, requirements, and what are the expectations? Have you defined the success criteria? Let’s build something; where should it go? This brings us to step six.

6. How do we get it done?Again—do we do it all at once, a little at a time, or do they only need one piece of the product now, with another upgrade project to be added later? (Remember: Start digging slowly or you will get in each others’ ways.) Once you have a plan, you can start making these decisions.

Most people don’t accept a job with the intention of it failing. The failing is in the expectation setting. Team members start a project excited, open, flexible, and once you have trained them and stated the rules, they get confused, concerned, and frustrated if it is a moving target. A group of motivated people with no handbook for delivery is the beginning of chaos and confusion. Define how it will be done.

If you have had a recent outpouring of associates, maybe it is time to step back and redefine what it is you are looking for. Is that old evil expectation setting rearing its ugly head again? People being hired for their expertise and then being told they are only needed to take down minutes and update project plans. Maybe you don’t need a project manager after all, but just an administrative assistant?

How Does One Manage People Who Don’t Think They Need to be Managed?Communication and support from the executive team are the only way anything will succeed. Knowing that the team can ask questions and that there will be a productive conversation and learning experience, not the beginning of a contest in which the person who weakens first will be the expendable piece, are the keys to success. Communication will create a more positive environment. In a lose–lose situation, there are never any winners, only a hostile work environment. In these types of environments, not much work gets done. The team should be open to accepting the information or knowledge being shared and making informed decisions.

The first part of a successful project is meeting with the executive committee, the sponsors, and the ones who will be doing the project, getting the discussions started, setting

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the expectations, letting the team help set the expectations, and then they will buy into the project or role; there will be more of a team effort to get it completed. The team needs a common goal, with examples in the play book, and the team needs to “decide” which is the best answer and not just read the answers. There usually isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” solution. If there was no need to make educated decisions, there would be no need for someone to manage the project.

Have you ever spoken with a customer service representative about an issue and all the person did was quote something out of the company’s policy handbook? This can be frustrating, because there is never a one-size-fits-all answer. Templates should be used as tools (i.e., examples) and decisions made based on their usefulness. The problem is usually making the decision or finding the person willing to go the extra step and not just read the handbook to expedite the process.

Expectation SettingSet up definitions: Who defines the following: What do you expect from me? Can I perform that? When will it be done? If everyone can answer these questions, then you will be off to a great start!

Set the expectations and use an expert to assist in the design and development, put forth guidelines and not templates. In the world of project management, you should be letting those you hire help formulate or generate ideas; let them help define how. If you are going to hire people to fill out templates, then this should be the expectation of them and it should be a hiring pre-requisite. If you have templates that work in every situation, then, by definition, it isn’t really a project anymore. (I used to work with someone who always used the expression “it depends.”) Once again, it all lies in the expectation setting or “definitions”; it can be whatever you would like it to be, it depends....... Just define it as a team and communicate it!

Change Controls Are to Assist and Expedite Change—Not to be Used as a CrutchRemember: once you have programmed the team not to think; don’t be upset when they don’t come up with any new

ideas or make any vast strides to improve things. If you want people to only remove faxes from fax machines and expedite orders, don’t expect any decision-making or a lot to happen, except for congregating around the fax machine. This will also lead to a “bunch” of unhappy people—you cannot stifle creativity and expect growth.

Learn and grow together through definitions and expectation setting. A good project manager is one who can build and mentor his or her team to define the dimensions of the “hole” and keep moving forward building the foundation. The rest is easy, as long as you keep talking to each other and measuring and celebrating success.

REMEMbER yOuR TOOLKIT: Who, What, Why, When, Where, and How. Define and set the expectations, draw the picture, communicate, implement the project, and measure and celebrate success. Living up to your standards and meeting your expectations will be very difficult if even you are not sure what they are!

About the AuthorSusan Hilty has a unique background in retail store management, progressing into IT project/program management. Hilty has an extensive background in management and IT infrastructure, including operations, data centers, MS Windows servers, and computers and she specializes in project recovery and organization. Susan has her PMP certification and has received certifications from Microsoft, Novell, and Project Management Institute, as well as holding certifications in accounting, computer business systems, and computer network engineering.

A proven manager who has grown with the industry, Hilty has held titles such as regional office and training supervisor, retail store manager, IT director, network administrator, project coordinator, project manager, global regional theater lead, and project engineer. In 2006, Susan started her own consulting company, SLT Concepts, Inc, and has teamed up with IbM, Dimension Data, Cisco, Dow Chemical, and baxter. Susan works with Hudson IT at Mayer brown, in Chicago, Illinois, uSA.