5 Tips for Levelling your Resources

As a Project Manager, would you like to spread work evenly across your team? This task is called "resource leveling" and it's one of the hardest things you will have to do. To help you out, we've listed...

5 Tips for Leveling your Resources

It's easy enough using tools like Microsoft Project, to create a Project Plan and allocate resources against it. But how do you make sure that each resource has an amount of work allocated which exactly matches the amount of time they have available, i.e. how do you know they are not under or over loaded?

Very few tools actually provide sound resource leveling features, so we've described here 5 generic tips for doing it yourself...

1. Create a Bullet Proof Plan

The first step is to create a Work Breakdown Structure that includes ALL phases, activities and tasks. The worst thing you can do is to level your resources and then find that you've missed critical tasks in your plan and have to start again. Once your task list is complete, list all resources that are allocated to the project. Miss no-one. If you later find you've missed someone, then it could play havoc with your leveling. Only with a complete list of tasks and resources are you truly ready to level your resources.

2. Start with Critical Tasks

Now, identify the most critical tasks in your plan and calculate the amount of effort required to complete them. Then allocate your best resources to completing these tasks and make sure that the effort allocated is sufficient.

3. Perform Leveling

Great - so every critical task has the resources needed to complete it. But in doing this, were any of your resources over-allocated? For instance, is Bob Smith allocated for 60 hours a week instead of 40? The process of reallocating people against tasks to even out their workload, is called "resource leveling" To do it, take these steps:

• Identify the number of hours that each person in your team has available for work.
• Then calculate the number of hours they are allocated to tasks, in your plan.
• If the number of hours allocated is greater than the number of hours they have available, then they are "over-allocated". If it's the reverse, then they are "under-allocated".
• For any resources under or over allocated, you need to change the tasks they are allocated to, in order to try and perfectly fit their available hours against their allocated hours.
• Only when you've completed this, are resources considered as "levelled".

4. Tackle Non-Critical Tasks

It's now time to perform all of the above steps for your non-critical tasks. This is a time consuming process, but by starting with your critical tasks first and your non-critical tasks second, you know that the project has a great chance of succeeding.

5. Constant Surveillance

Your Project Plan is a living and breathing document. It changes every time you complete a new task or finish an old one. You need to constantly monitor your resource utilization and make sure that your team are allocated to tasks in the most efficient manner. This will give you the best chance of succeeding.

Work smarter by purchasing the Project Management Kit of templates. They will save you time and make life easier!

Kick Starting Your Projects

Want to kick start your projects into life in the New Year? By reading this newsletter, you’ll find out how to rally your team and give your project that boost needed to finish on time.

Kick starting your projects...

Welcome to 2008. As a Project Manager, the New Year is a challenging time for your project. You have staff away on leave, you may have deliverables from last year that you need to catch up on and the clock is already ticking. So how do you catch up and then give your project the edge you need to get ahead? Here are 5 tips for doing just this...

Tip 1: Playing Catch up

Projects are always ahead in some areas and behind in others. When starting the New Year, make a list of all of the areas that you’re behind in. Then prioritize the list and calculate the amount of effort needed to complete them. Are there any tasks that can be completed by others outside your team? If there are non-critical tasks that you can outsource, then now is the time to consider it. Use whatever resources you can find to complete these tasks as soon as possible. This will allow you to start the new year with a clean slate and a fresh mind, which is critical to motivating your team.

Tip 2: Re-planning

Once you've caught up as many tasks from the prior year as possible, revisit your Project Plan. Update every task in the plan and recreate your project schedule for 2008. You need to make your team feel like they're getting a fresh start, without dragging stresses from the prior year into the New Year. This will boost motivation and enthusiasm for completing the revitalized plan.

Tip 3: The Road Ahead

Now that you have a crystal clear plan for 2008, you're ready to get the team behind it. Wait until everyone is back from leave, and then take them out for lunch. Walk them through this year's challenges and the timeframes in which they must be achieved. Try not to talk about last year. Instead, focus on the road ahead and gather their support. If possible, ask a customer to come along, to impress on your staff what it is that they need to deliver. Tell them you're proud of them and what they're capable of achieving.

Tip 4: Individualization

The trick now is to make each person feel like they are a critical cog in the wheel. Meet them individually, reward their successes and recognize achievement whenever you see it.

Tip 5: Quick wins

A winning team like to know they are winning right from the start. Focus on delivering a couple of critical tasks early, then shout about the success. Then get more quick winds under your belt and shout again. This creates the feeling of achievement and it creates momentum in the team. Sure, the project may not be finished until you've crossed the finishing line, but half the fun should be in getting there.

By taking these 5 tips, you can kick start your projects in the New Year and boost motivation levels to an all time high...

Work smarter by purchasing the Project Management Kit of templates. They will save you time and make life easier!

Building your Project Management Career

Would you like to boost your career in Project Management? Christmas is often the perfect time to reflect on your Project Management career to date and set a new path for the coming years. If you’re interested in getting the most out of your career, read this newsletter which gives you tips and tricks on...

Building your Project Management Career

Most people find themselves in Project Management by chance. They were offered a role, took it because it looked like fun and now they're running on "go-go juice" (pure adrenalin) trying to coordinate people, time and money to meet the expectations of the customer. It's pretty hard to schedule a career around this.

However the Christmas period usually gives people a chance to reflect on the year to date and plan ahead for the following year. So use this time wisely, by reflecting on our advice below...

Your dream job

It may be something like "to be a professional baseball player" or "leading climbers up Mount Everest " and it may have nothing to do with project management at all - but by defining your dream job and what it has to offer, it will set the scene for where you are in your career now and will paint a clear picture of the road ahead. It will also help you define where you want to be in 5 years time, which is critical to setting a clear career path.

The long term goal

How will you ever achieve your long term goal if you don't know what it is? Give it a try by thinking about the type of role you want to be doing in 5 years time and what it would involve. For instance, do you want to have your own business, be a PM high flier, an industry expert or to retire? Whatever it is, write down a detailed description of your 5 year goal and what it is about this goal that makes it attractive.

Navel Gazing

Now think about where you are and how that matches your long term goal. How far are you from meeting your goals? List in detail all of the things that are different between your current role and your long term goal. Then prioritize those differences, so you know which is more important to you. For instance, is taking on more challenging projects more important than earning more money?

Decisions

Take a little time to decide how serious you are about achieving your long term goal and what you are prepared to do about it. For instance, if it requires more responsibility, a larger team and more stress, are you really willing to take this on board?

Decide on your goal and feel proud about it. Only a fraction of the workforce actually succeed in setting a long term personal goal. Tell others about what you have decided. The more you tell others about what you're going to achieve, the more you will believe that you can achieve it. Self-motivation is critical to a promising career.

Action Plan

It's now time to set out an action plan. Between your current role and your ideal long term role, which interim roles will you need to fulfill? Create your own career plan, by defining each of these roles and how they are going to help you to realize your dream.

Describe what it is that you expect to get out of each role (e.g. what you will learn or the types of experience gained) and then add timescales to each role, so you have a plan of attack.

Taking the Plunge

Talk through your plan with your current boss to get their feedback and support. Bounce it off a mentor, friend or colleague. If you believe in it yourself and it feels right then stick to it.

Constantly look for opportunities that match your action plan and when you're ready, take the plunge. By driving your career yourself, you will feel more empowered and confident in your abilities. And you'll boost your chances of achieving that dream job.

Note: Most employers require "indepth knowledge and experience in using a Project Management Methodology", such as MPMM. So boost your career by purchasing MPMM now.

Motivating Project Staff over Christmas

As a Project Manager, the Christmas period coming up can be a real worry. You have a backlog of project work to complete, yet many of your team will be on leave and the remaining team members want to "wind down" over the Christmas period. So how do you keep on track? Read this newsletter to learn tips for...

Motivating Project Staff over Christmas

The Christmas period often results in substantial delays for projects. With staff holidays, reduced productivity and a lack of focus, teams often fall way behind with their deliverables. Besides - when your peers are all away in the Caribbean, who wants to work, right?

It takes a talented Project Manager to keep their project on track over this period and deliver an outstanding result. To help you do this, use these 5 tips...

Tip 1: Plan Ahead

Often, Project Managers have no idea who is taking leave until the week before Christmas. So they suddenly become short of resource and unplanned delays occur. You need to plan ahead.

Find out right now, who in your team wants to take leave over the Christmas period (December and January) and for how long. Then negotiate with them as to when that leave is taken. Try and schedule the leave for a timeframe that fits with your project plan. For instance, if you're in the design phase over Christmas, try and convince your construction workers to take their leave over this period.

Tip 2: Make it fun

It's fair to say that most people don't want to "slog it out" between Christmas and the New Year. They really want easy, interesting work that is fun to do. They don't want to do anything repetitive, anything stressful or anything too big, while others are on holiday. So get the most out of their performance by giving them work that fits their needs.

Every project plan is full of "fun" tasks and "mundane" tasks. Try and give your team members that stay behind and work over Christmas, some of the fun tasks to do. Whether it's researching a new solution, designing a concept, creating a marketing plan or creating prototypes, as long as the work is fun then your staff are more likely to maintain a high level of productivity.

Also, by giving them shorter tasks to complete over this period, it makes them feel like they're achieving more.

Tip 3: Don't burn-out on the run-up

Project Managers often try and finish as many deliverables before Christmas as possible, so that they can show that they have delivered more within the current year. So teams are usually stressed around this time.

It's fine to increase the work slightly before Christmas, but remember; only a percentage of your team will be taking a holiday and will be able to wind-down afterwards. So be careful not to overload the guys that will be staying around over the Christmas period, or they might burn out early in the new year. Remember: overloading only works if it is short term and is followed by a period of complete rest.

Tip 4: Regroup

Post Christmas day, many staff quickly become de-motivated. The Christmas cheer has finished, the office may feel empty and the telephone never rings! Now is the perfect time to regroup by taking your team out to lunch and revisiting your work goals for the next few weeks. Get your team together frequently over this period, so that they feel like a team within a team, while the others are away.

Tip 5: Reward and Recognize

And finally, make a special effort to reward achievement over this period, as you normally would when everyone else is there. A valued team will always be more productive!

By taking these 5 tips, you'll be able to keep team motivation levels high during the Christmas period and allow your team to gain the time to regroup, refresh and gain new energy for the coming year ahead.

Work smarter by purchasing the Project Management Kit of templates. They will save you time and make life easier!

How to use Project Standards...

Have you ever heard a Project Manager say "we use best practice" or "we applied project standards" to projects? If you have, then what do they really mean and how do they do it? Read on, to learn...

How to use Project Standards...

A "Project Standard" is an agreed best practice way of managing a project. We say agreed, as the standard will usually have been reviewed and used by thousands of project managers around the world, before it becomes formally recognized as a "standard" practice.

There are 3 common standards in the Project Management industry:

1. PMI "PMBOK" Standard
2. OGC "Prince2" Standard
3. APM "Body of Knowledge" Standard

These standards give you a generic way of managing projects. They don't give you a prescriptive "step-by-step" approach to managing projects (as MPMM does), but they do give you a set of practices and principles that you can apply to your projects, to boost your chances of success. So how should you use them? Here's how...

Make your selection

Review each of the above standards and select the one that has the closest fit with the way you run projects now. Each standard will have a completely different approach, terminology and lifecycle to the rest.

Only by selecting the standard that closely matches the way you work, will you really be able to immediately boost your efficiency.

Pick and Choose

Standards are typically generic, so that they fit all industries and all project sizes. So they will probably include stuff you won't need. Pick and choose the elements of the standard that you know you need to deliver projects successfully.

Customize to Fit

Then take the parts you've chosen and customize them to fit your environment. Keeping within copyright law, you'll probably want to change the terminology, the language used and the sequence of activities used.

Break it Down

To be able to use a standard properly, you really need to take it to the next level for your projects. You need to define the next level down. So for instance, if it talks about "risk management", then you'll want to list and describe the exact steps needed to manage risk within a project. For every step, describe what should be completed, how, by whom and in which order.

Use it for projects

Now that you have chosen your standard, picked the relevant parts, customized it by adding your own terminology and described it in a little more detail, you're ready to use it for your projects. Here are some tips on how to use it:

	Use the same standard for every project. Only by applying the same principles over and over again, will you gain "economies of scale" allowing you to manage projects faster.
	Don't always apply the standard in its entirety. Only apply the bits that are relevant to the particular project you're managing.
	Continue improving the standard. On every project, identify the elements of the standard that help and those that didn't. If you continuously improve the standard used , then it will become a "living and breathing" tool to help you improve your projects.

By using standards to improve the way you work, you'll soon be known as "that guru who always gets their projects done on time!"

Use these templates which are based on project standards.
Download this methodology to help you implement standards.

Create your own Project Lifecycle...

It you don't want to have to start every project from scratch, then it's worthwhile creating your own Project Lifecycle.

How should you do this? What should it look like? And how do you use it? Keep reading to find out how to...

Create your own Project Lifecycle...

A Project Lifecycle is a series of steps that you take to complete a project from start to finish. Of course, it implies that you can complete the same steps for every project— so is this true?

In principle, yes. Every project will have an Initiation phase, a Planning phase, an Execution phase and a Closure phase. However within these phases, the steps you take may vary slightly between projects.

The trick is to create a lifecycle that is generic enough to use for all of your projects, while still being specific enough to add value and save you time on delivery. Here's how to do it...

Map it out

Every project is delivered in some form of lifecycle. You probably usually define your project upfront, then you'll hire your team, you'll plan and complete a set of tasks to create some deliverables and then get your customer to signoff the output. This sequence of steps are what is called a "lifecycle" and chances are that you're using the same generic lifecycle every time you deliver a project!

So start by mapping out your current project lifecycle on a blank sheet of paper and identify the elements that you know work well, and those that don't.

And improve it

Then try and improve your lifecycle by analyzing why certain steps don't work well currently. Analyze the root cause and identify which steps you could take instead, to improve your chance of success. For instance, maybe "scope creep" is an issue for you, so by putting in place better steps for managing changes to scope, it would help.

Once you have identified the sequence of steps that you know will deliver your projects successfully from start to finish, the next thing you need to do is to "get detailed".

Get detailed

With a clearly defined series of steps, you now need to define the tasks and activities that are needed to perform each step efficiently. For instance, if your first step was to get funding for your project, then do you need to create a Business Case or Financial Plan to do it? What type of person will authorize the funding and what information will they need to do it?

For every step, describe how you intend to do it, the tasks and activities to be taken, and as importantly, who is responsible for doing them (e.g. it is yourself or members of your team)?

Tool up

Great—so you have a crystal clear process for delivering projects. Now how can you do each step quickly and efficiently? Typically project managers use templates, software and examples to help them complete each step faster and more efficiently. With a well documented lifecycle, the right lifecycle steps and good tools, you will be armed and ready to tackle any type of project to succeed.

Get ready

And finally, with all of this collateral, you need to collect it into a single place, ready to use on projects. Many project managers use "MPMM" for this, as you can create a brand new Project Lifecycle and import all of your templates and examples into it, ready for use.

By creating your own project lifecycle or customizing that of another, you can apply a single approach to managing successful projects.

Download a complete Project Lifecycle within MPMM now...

Building high performing teams

So you're a Project Manager on a new project and you want to build a high performing team? Excellent, this is a great goal to strive for.

But it's not easy, especially in the project environment which has its own challenges. To do it, take these tips for...

Building high performing teams

What exactly is a high performing team? It's "a team that exceeds the goals you set, by working hard and smart, as a group, not individuals."

Whether you're in IT, construction, engineering or another industry, building a high performing team is critical to success. You can do it in just 5 steps...

1) Planning

Before you hire your first person, you need to document what it is that your team have to achieve and by when. You also need to create specific Job descriptions that set out your expectations for each role and how you'll measure their performance.

Don't stop there. Think about the team culture you want to build, the dynamics of your team and how they should work together. Only with a personal vision for how your team will perform, will you be able to meet that goal.

2) Recruiting

Recruitment is harder than it looks. It's easy to recruit the wrong person, and it's even easier to build a team that don't perform well. A candidate should only be recruited if they fit the job description, align with your personal vision for how the team will work together and they want to work in a culture that depicts your vision.

Take your time. Be swayed by your gut feel. Recruit "like-minded people". Introduce them to high performing staff you know of and get their feedback. Be choosy. Recruit the best. If you have to pay top dollar for top performer, it will often cost less in the long run, than a cheap resource who doesn't perform.

3) Culture Creation

If you've hired "like-minded people" then they will all like each other, and that's a great start. Get them working together on tasks. Constantly change the people you pair up, so that people get to know others in the team.

If your ideal culture is "performance through achievement" then shout out loud about each team success. And if you want "performance through happy customers" then strengthen the relationship between the team and your customers. Get them socializing. Try team sports.

4) Self Motivation

A happy motivated team will always out-perform an unhappy unmotivated one. And it starts with you! Are you happy and motivated? Get on track personally by working out, relaxing after hours, de-stress and set personal goals. Your motivation will rub off on your team.

Then when you're ready, focus on motivating your team. Use team building and group rallying exercises to get them pumped. Tell them how proud you are to work with them. Help them understand why the goals are important and how every team member contributes to them.

5) Recognition & Reward

People only respond positively to positive behavior. So you need to constantly recognize achievement when it's due. Tell the team about an individuals success. Make them feel proud. Spread the love—don't focus on one team or person too frequently.

And reward them when it's due. Reward them unexpectedly as people will appreciate it all the more. Meals to restaurants, tickets to the super-bowl. These things mean a lot to staff when they didn't expect it!

And there you are. If you plan for success, recruit a great team, build a positive culture and recognize achievement, then you'll build a healthy project team and boost your chances of success!

And if you want your team to perform even better, download the Project Management Kit now to save time completing projects.

Download the Project Management Kit now.

Turning around Failing Projects

Most Project Managers have been there. You're assigned a project that's going off the rails and you're expected to turn it around. Where do you start? Why is it failing? What should you do to get it back on track?

People who exceed in these roles are called "turn-around specialists" and it's a discipline of its own. Yet Project Managers are often asked to do it. So we thought we'd offer some tips and advice here, on:

Turning around Failing Projects

Great– you've been assigned to a new project, but things are already going crazy. Your team are dissatisfied, your deliverables are late and your budget has already been exceeded. Your Project Sponsor is unhappy and no-one really knows who the customer is. Where do you start?

Confirmation

The first thing to do is to find the documented vision for the project, go to the Sponsor and confirm that it's still accurate. If there is no vision, then you need to create one pretty darned quickly. Identify the key project stakeholders and get them to agree on exactly what the project must achieve, by when and whom for. Only with a solid vision will you have a clear stake in the ground from which to move forward.

Review

Next, you need to find out what's going on. Why are the team unhappy? Why is everything late etc. Identify the top 10 things that need to be fixed to get the project back on track. Don't look back, only look forward.

Don't do a post mortem. Instead make it a short, sharp review that identifies the key issues affecting the project. Involve your team as much as possible, as you need their buy-in.

Quick Wins

You need to build confidence with your Sponsor and more importantly, your team. Choose a couple of issues that you know you can solve immediately, and once solved, communicate it to your team.

Plan of Attack

Only now, will you have a good feel for the project issues and what it will take to resolve them. You can now create a plan of attack. Identify the actions to be taken by all of the team, to deliver the project vision successfully. We say "all" of the team, as you need to gain the buy-in of your entire team to get the show on the road.

Then take your plan to your Sponsor and get their support. Don't be afraid to ask for more money, time or resource as this is the time to ask for it. If you ask now while you're fresh in the role, it won't reflect on you. Don't wait until you're near the end of the project before you ask.

Rally

With your Project Sponsors support, get the project team together, for a single communications event. Tell them what you've found, what needs to be fixed and how you plan to do it. Tell them about the quick wins that have already been made and how you know that if everyone focuses on the plan ahead, you can deliver successfully.

Milestones

Set clear milestones that everyone understands. Put the milestones and plan of attack on a wall chart to make them visible. Then meet regularly to discuss their progress.

Love, Hugs and Tears

Then love your high performing staff, hug your underperformers who show promise, and shed no tears at having to change staff that show no signs of buying in to your action plan. It's onwards and upwards!

Want a Project Management Methodology that helps you get projects back on track? Download a free trial edition of MPMM now.

Managing a Program of Work

Want to manage a program of work?

As you become more experienced managing projects, you will often be asked to manage an entire "program of work". This is usually more challenging than managing a single project, as you will have a greater budget, team and responsibilities than you had before.

To help you out, we've defined here the 4 steps to take when...

Managing a Program of Work

So what is a Program? Well, a simple definition is that it's a group of projects. But wait– there's more! The projects in a program will have been grouped together for a reason, which is typically that they contribute to the same objectives in the business strategy.

Also, programs may include operational work within their scope, which makes them different by their very nature.

So you've been asked to run a program to build a new retail complex which involves 3 construction projects and some general marketing activities. How do you do it? Here are some tips:

Review the Strategy

When kicking off your program of work, the first step is to review your company strategy and agree on the objectives that your program is responsible for delivering. This is important, as the objectives are what you use to peg your projects to. If you end up creating new projects that don't contribute to your specified objectives, then they should be excluded from your program of work!

Get support

To gain the support, funds and "mind share" of your executive team, complete a Business Case. This will help you to identify the benefits and costs of running the program, the risks you foresee and what it is that you need to make it a success. It will also help you get the funding you require, as your Business Case will justify the funding needed, by stating the benefits to be realized.

Start carefully

Now that you have the funding and support from management, you're ready to kickoff. Before launching into scoping your projects—instead define your overall program of work in depth first. Create a Program Charter setting out your vision, objectives, roadmap and deliverables. Then set up a Program Office and appoint the key members of your administration team.

Selection is critical

You're now ready to define your projects and other related work. Scope out each project carefully and make sure that the benefits delivered from all of your projects combined, deliver the goals stated in your Business Case. Selecting the right projects to deliver the right benefits is critical. Make sure you categorize, evaluate, select and prioritize your projects carefully.

It's all down to execution

Now kick off your projects in a logical order. Spread your program resources (people, time and money) evenly so you don't have resource constraints. Go for quick wins first. Schedule larger projects next, once you have momentum. Never schedule critical projects to take place at the end. To retain the buy-in of your Sponsor, make sure your projects deliver value early.

Control chaos

After your projects kick off, changes in the business often cause a level of chaos. Your projects change in scope, their budgets get constrained and resource shortages start occurring. How you react to these changes will determine your level of success as a Program Manager.

When this happens, step back and re-assess your program. Outside influences are often the cause and these are things that you alone can fix. Only in exceptional circumstances should you dive into the depths of the program itself and work alongside project managers and teams at the micro level. A good Program Manager will instead step back and make macro level changes to influence the success of the program.

We hope these tips help improve your program management success!

Next Steps...

	Use this kit of templates to run projects within a program.
	Use this methodology to improve your project success.

Managing a Portfolio of Work

Want to "move up" in the field of Project Management? If so, then consider a career as a Project Portfolio Manager. You will be responsible for managing an entire portfolio of work, to help your company to achieve the overall business strategy.

So how do you startup, plan, execute and close a portfolio? We will explain how to do it right here, in this special newsletter edition on...

Managing a Portfolio of Work

What is Project Portfolio Management? Well, the short and sweet definition is that it's "managing most (or all) of an organizations resources towards achieving a common goal". Wow - that's huge!

Yes, if you're responsible for managing a portfolio of work, then you often have all, or at least a large portion of the organizations resources (people, equipment, money...) at your disposal. This is why portfolios usually include a whole suite of projects, programs and even operational work, grouped together to achieve a common goal. So how do you manage a portfolio? Take these 4 steps:

Initiate your Portfolio

When starting up a new portfolio of work, take the first step by identifying the elements of the business strategy that will be achieved by the portfolio and the timeframes in which it must be delivered.

Then create a Portfolio Charter (like a Project Charter), stating the objectives, scope, constraints and risks involved in undertaking it. You will then want to create a Portfolio Management Office consisting of planners and administrators responsible for reporting the status of the portfolio at all times.

And you'll also want to create a Governance Structure, which is a fancy term for appointing the portfolio sponsor, board and manager, as well as making sure that their roles are clearly defined.

Plan your Portfolio

Now comes the fun bit - scoping out the programs, projects and operational work that are needed to undertake the portfolio. Make sure that you scope each group of work clearly and accurately, and that there is no overlap between related projects.

Also, make sure you balance your resources evenly across programs. Remember, you only have a fixed amount of resource at your disposal, so make sure there are no shortages or surpluses in your plan.

Once you've scoped out the programs, projects and other related work, schedule it all in a Gantt chart. Then make sure that items on the critical path have ample resource to succeed.

Execute your Portfolio

Then kick-off your programs and projects in the order specified in your plan. You'll need to appoint Program and Project Managers for each chunk of work and closely monitor their delivery.

While each program and project is being delivered, you need to carefully monitor and control the overall performance of the portfolio, to make sure that it delivers the strategic goals agreed.

Close your Portfolio

Portfolios don't usually close over night like projects do. The reason is that by the end of the portfolio schedule, the majority of the value of the portfolio should have been gained by the business. If you've worked smart, you will have scheduled the high value projects at the start and the low value projects at the end, so the success of the portfolio will already be known throughout the organization.

To close your portfolio when ready, you need to document its outcome in a Portfolio Closure Report. In this report you will specify the strategic objectives achieved and value delivered to the organization. Then gain approval to release the remaining staff, suppliers, equipment and funds held by the portfolio team.

So if you get the opportunity to run a portfolio of work, you can use these tips above to boost your likelihood of success.

Further Information

The bread and butter of portfolio management is the running of projects. Use this template kit to deliver projects quickly and easily.

Want a methodology for managing projects? Download a free trial from www.MPMM.com

Monitor and Control Your Projects (Part 3)

There are 3 critical areas that many project managers overlook when monitoring and controlling projects, and they are often the root cause of project failure. These 3 areas are the management of; suppliers, procurement and communications. To help you to monitor and control each area efficiently, we've described each in further detail below...

Monitor and Control Your Projects
(Part 3)

Having previously covered the management of time, cost, quality, change, risk and issues - the final step in the "Monitor and Control" newsletter series is the management of suppliers, procurement and communications.

If you can monitor and control all of these aspects smoothly and efficiently, then you will have a great chance of delivering your project successfully. So let's tackle the last 3 remaining areas now...

Managing Suppliers

Always make sure you appoint suppliers through a formal process. Even if you're appointing suppliers you know and have worked with for some time, always create a statement of work which defines the exact scope of work that you wish them to perform.

Next create a formal detailed supplier contract for the scope of work to be completed. In this contract, define the work to be completed, the responsibilities of both parties, the performance criteria and terms and conditions for the relationship. Then if things go sour, you have something to fall back on.

In your contract, have milestones which specify what it is that you expect them to have delivered and by when. Then at each milestone date, complete a formal review of deliverables completed to date, vs. the deliverables specified in the contract. If things change during the project, then amend the contract accordingly. The contract should always represent the nature of the agreement and never become "out dated".

You can then closely monitor and control your suppliers performance.

Control Procurement

As well as managing your suppliers overall performance, you also need to monitor and control the procurement of goods and services from those suppliers.

Controlling procurement is all about reviewing and accepting goods and services once they have been delivered by your supplier. You need to implement a Procurement Management Process which enables your team to take ownership of the item being delivered, review it against pre-defined criteria and approve payment for it, based on your supplier contract.

Tip: Always make sure that you issue Purchase Orders for products you require from suppliers. Create a detailed description of the product you require on the Purchase Order, so that you have something to measure against when it arrives.

Perform Communications

Communication is King! As part of the "monitor and control" phase in a project, you'll need to keep a constant eye on the communications that are taking place.

You should always have a formal Communications Plan in place so that key messages are communicated to the right people at the right time. You can then monitor and control your project communications by making sure that the activities on your communications plan are completed at the right time, and in the right manner.

Make sure you have a feedback process so that if the wrong messages are received by staff, suppliers or stakeholders, then you'll be immediately informed and can take action to resolve it.

So that's in. In these last 3 newsletters, we've explained how to monitor and control your project by managing:

	Time, Cost and Quality
	Change, Risks, and Issues
	Suppliers, Procurement and Communications

By using these key project management principles, you can deliver projects quickly and efficiently, with less stress and effort than before.

Further Information

Visit Method123.com for the complete set of templates, forms and checklists to complete projects quickly.

See MPMM.com for smart software that helps you implement methodologies for projects.

Monitor and Control Your Projects (Part 2)

One of the biggest challenges you will face as a Project Manager is "scope creep". That's when during the Execution phase of the project, the planned scope of work changes, often causing delays and expense.

To avoid this, you need to carefully Monitor and Control your projects, by implementing change, risk and issue processes. Here are some tips on how to do it...

Monitor and Control Your Projects
(Part 2)

So things aren't going to plan because your customer has changed the scope of the project? Don't worry, this is a normal event for a Project Manager, as many projects are time consuming and while the project has been progressing, the business pressures faced by the customer have changed.

The art is not in minimizing change, but in managing it properly when it does occur. Here's how to do it...

Monitor Change

The most typical cause of a project going off-the-rails is that the scope has grown out of control, by "osmosis". The client has asked for changes, the team have had new ideas and your nice neat set of project tasks now look like spaghetti.

To succeed, you need to keep tight control of your project scope, by being vigilant about change. Do this by implementing a change management process. As soon as you identify a request for change in your project, document it formally by specifying where the change has come from, why it's needed and its impact on your project objectives.

And if the change is likely to affect the target end dates, budget or deliverables, then get your sponsor and customers approval before implementing it. Don't be afraid to ask for more time, people or money if you need it, especially if the change was initiated by the customer.

Never allow change to run your project. Instead, run your project by managing change!

Control Risks

As a Project Manager, it's all too easy to roll your sleeves up and get stuck into the project delivery. But when you do this, it's often hard to keep your head above water. You may end up managing at the micro level and high level risks to the project may pass you by.

It's hard, but try and remain a little divorced from the detailed day-to-day operation of your project where possible. In this way, you can continually assess the overall risk to the project from the outside and pounce on new risks when they appear.

Also, implement a Risk Management Process to formalize the way that risks are identified, assessed and mitigated. For each risk that appears, quantify its potential impact on the project, then take immediate action to minimize the likelihood of it occurring. Always create contingency plans, so that if the risk does occur, you can go to "plan b" and minimize its effect on the project delivery.

Resolve Issues

Resolving issues sounds easy right? The challenge however, is not just in resolving every issue that turns your way, but instead monitoring all of the issues that occur on a project and only resolving issues that are likely to impact on the project outcome. It's very infrequent on a project that you'll have time to resolve every issue that crops up - so be picky.

To make sure that you resolve issues in a timely manner, you need to put in place an Issue Management Process. This helps you to review all of the issues that crop up, assess their impact, delegate the ones that can be handled by others and resolve those that are critical to the project.

And there you have it! By managing change, risks and issues, you'll be able to avoid scope creep and boost your chances of achieving project success!

Further Information

Visit Method123.com for the complete set of templates, forms and checklists to complete projects quickly.

See MPMM.com for smart software that helps you implement methodologies for projects.

Monitor and Control Your Projects (Part 1)

How should you monitor and control your projects? It's a good question, because everyone does it differently. We believe that the processes you use to monitor and control projects should be the same, regardless of the size and type of project you undertake. So read on, to find out how to effectively...

Monitor and Control Your Projects
(Part 1)

After you've started up and planned your projects, you'll move into the Execution (or "delivery") phase in the project life cycle.

This is typically the longest phase in the project, as it's in this phase that the physical deliverables are built for the customer. Whether your project is to build a construction complex, computer system or land a space vehicle on mars, you will need to very carefully monitor progress and control delivery. Otherwise, your project could go off the rails.

So to monitor and control delivery, you need to implement 9 critical project management processes. We'll describe the first 3 processes here, and in the next newsletter we'll cover the remaining 4 critical processes or you.

Critical Process #1: Time Management

Every Project Manager knows that the customer expects their project to be delivered "on time". But how many Project Managers actually record every hour spent by staff on the project?

To ensure on-time delivery, that's what you need to do: implement a time management process. This process will help you to monitor the time spent by all of the members of your team, so that you can control how time is spent.

It's not just about "having great time management skills" either, it's about putting in place a process for recording time spent by staff by using timesheets and recording that time against the project plan.

That way, you can create an accurate picture of the current status of the project to determine whether or not it is likely to finish under / on / over the time allotted.

Critical Process #2: Cost Management

Few Project Managers can tell you for every day of the project, exactly how much of their budget they have spent to date. The reason is that many of the project costs are often difficult to track, especially when they relate to the use of equipment and consumption of materials.

But to deliver you project within budget, you need to monitor and control all of the costs that accrue, on a very regular basis. You can do this by implementing a cost management process.

Cost Management is all about accurately recording project expenses, as they occur. By using Expense Forms and an Expense Register, you can monitor all project costs and control expenditure when unplanned expenses arise. You don't need to be an accountant, you just need to keep an eye on the overall project expenditure on a weekly basis and act quickly when any issues arise.

Critical Process #3: Quality Management

It's often said that the hardest thing to monitor is "quality". Most Project Managers find it difficult to determine exactly what the customer expects in terms of deliverable "quality", let alone measure the actual levels of quality achieved. But you must try.

To do this properly, you need to implement a Quality Management Process. By following this process, you can set quality targets to be achieved and gain agreement from your customer.

Then you can use Quality Assurance and Quality Control techniques to monitor and control the actual quality of your project deliverables. If your quality levels drop below the targets set, then you can take action to rectify it. By constantly reviewing quality levels and ensuring that they always meet the target, you can feel confident that your customer will sign off your project as complete, once all of the deliverables have been produced.

And there you have it. By implementing time, cost and quality management, you can take the first steps needed to properly monitor and control your project delivery.

Use Templates or a Methodology to monitor and control your projects effectively.

Create a Project Charter

Want to improve your project success? Most Project Managers will tell you that the best way to ensure success is to define your project clearly from the outset. That way, all of your team members, stakeholders and customers will have a single view of what the project needs to achieve. So the best way to define you project clearly is to:

Create a Project Charter

A Project Charter is a document that is completed at the very start of the project life cycle. It sets out the project vision, objectives and scope, so that you can gain a clear picture of what it is that the project must achieve.

It also describes the deliverables, the people involved in producing them and the timeframes for delivery.

To create a Charter for your project, take these 5 steps:

Step 1: Set the Vision

Every team needs a "Vision". By clarifying the vision for the project and the goals that must be met, your team will gain a single collective understanding of what it is expected of them. When setting out your vision, make sure that you:

	Gain agreement from the Sponsor first
	Write it using clear, meaningful words
	Communicate it to all team members

Don't email the vision out to your team. Instead, present it personally, so that they have a first hand understanding of what it is, why it's important and what it should mean to them.

Step 2: Define the Scope

With a clear vision, the next most important step is to define the project scope. The scope lists the activities and deliverables that must be completed, in order to achieve the vision.

Having a detailed scope helps you to plan your project effectively. It also helps you to prevent "scope creep" which is when unplanned deliverables and activities are added to your To Do list by your customer.

Only by clarifying the project scope at the outset, can you manage your customers needs, by telling them for instance that a request is "out of scope" and therefore requires additional time or money to complete it.

Step 3: Structure the Project Team

So you know your end target (i.e. your vision) and deliverables to be produced (i.e. your scope), you now need to identify the people who are going to do the work.

Create a Project Organizational Structure chart which show all of the customers, stakeholders, team members and other people involved with your project. Depict the reporting lines between each, and where possible, add lines of communication as well.

Documenting the organization structure is important, as it clarifies the number of people needed to complete your project and the responsibilities of each member in your team. It also helps you to create Job Descriptions for each member of your team.

Step 4: Create a Roadmap

Then create a project roadmap. This is a high level project plan that lists the phases, activities and tasks that your project will pass through, to complete the entire project management life cycle.

As well as setting out the activities needed to complete the project from start to finish, you need to identify the resources needed for each project phase. And finally, identify the overall budget required to complete the project, so that you gain financial approval to undertake the project, as early as possible in the project life cycle.

Step 5: Identify Risks and Issues

The last step to take when creating a Project Charter is to list the risks and issues that are currently apparent. By listing these items, you can make your Project Sponsor aware of the overall level of risk of the project and enlist their support to resolve them early.

By taking these 5 steps, you're ready to create a Project Charter to initiate projects more successfully. If you would to implement these 5 steps for your projects, then get the Project Charter template now.

Want to boost your project management success? Check out these 2 great project management solutions...

	Project Management Templates
	Project Management Methodology

Improve Project Success

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Manage Projects "Within Budget"

One could say that your biggest challenge as a Project Manager is delivering "within budget".

If you are late then you can consider adding more staff, if the quality of your deliverables is not good enough then you can consider scheduling more time, but if you are over budget, then there are not a lot of options for you. So to help you out, we have described here how to:

Manage Projects "Within Budget"

Every Project Manager has a fixed budget. It is one of those things that makes a "project" a project. If you had an on-going annual budget, then you would be managing an operational activity, not a project.

The budgeting challenge for a Project Manager is that often by the time that they are allocated to a project, the budget has already been set by the Sponsor. The Project Manager does not have any real "say" in the matter. So how to can you manage your project within budget, when you have not created the budget in the first place? Here are 10 top tips on how...

Tip 1: Revise the budget
As soon as you are allocated to a project, make it one of your first jobs to revise the budget set. Even if the budget has not formally been set, the Project Sponsor will have some ideas on the overall amount of budget available for use. If you think that the budget is insufficient, tell your Sponsor as early as possible.

Tip 2: Create a Financial Plan
Whether a budget already exists of not, your next step is to create a detailed Financial Plan for your project. This plan will set out all of the planned expenses and when they are likely to occur. Make sure that your Sponsor accepts your plan and that you are comfortable that you can deliver the project against it.

Tip 3: Baseline the plan
Right, so you are now managing the project against a detailed Financial Plan, not a loose budget or general guide on what should be spent. You have a detailed view of the forecast project costs, against which to measure project progress. You should now baseline the plan by getting your Sponsors endorsement and communicating it to your team leaders.

Tip 4: The plan is the plan
Many people manage their project against the total amount of expenditure available. Do not fall into this trap, as you will always think you have enough funds to complete the project. Instead, manage the project against the detailed Financial Plan you have set out. If some items go over budget, investigate why and fix the issues. Only by managing at this level of detail can you build an accurate view of the projects performance against budget.

Tip 5: Get serious
If you are serious about delivering your projects within budget, then you need to implement some form of Cost Management Process. This process will give you formal procedures for the identification, recording and tracking of project costs.

Tip 6: Use Expense Forms
Ensure that your staff record all expenses using Expense Forms. Only by formally recording expenses can you build an accurate picture of the overall cost of the project to date.

Tip 7: Register your expenses
By using an Expense Register or log, you can create a summarized view of the project cost to date, at any point in time.

Tip 8: Report progress We have seen some Project Managers tell their Sponsor that they are likely to be over budget the week before they were due to finish! If you even have an inkling that you might be over budget, tell your Project Sponsor about it as early as possible. It will help you gain buy in and they may even be able to help you out.

Tip 9: Do not be afraid If you need more money and you have exhausted all other options, then ask for it. Do not be afraid to tell your Project Sponsor that you have reached this point. Remember, there are quite often very valid reasons for needing more money throughout the project.

Tip 10: Balance time, cost and quality evenly Remember, your goal is to deliver the project on time, to cost and quality. Never compromise time and quality to bring your project in under budget. It is a challenging job, but always try and balance time, cost and quality fairly. You can do it!

If you would like help managing projects within budget, then these 2 products will give you all of the templates and methods you need...

	Project Management Templates
	Project Management Methodology

How to Deliver Projects On Time

As a Project Manager, you are always pushed to deliver your projects on time. Not a day goes by that you don't worry about whether you are on, behind or ahead of schedule.

To help you to boost your chances of success, we've described here...

How to Deliver Projects On Time

On a project, it is easy to get bogged down with the details, and forget about the "helicopter view". Other than completing Project Status Reports at the end of each reporting period, many Project Managers adopt the approach that their own knowledge and experience alone will ensure that the project delivers on time.

But the reality is that all project managers need to complete some basic steps throughout the project, to make sure that it is "on track", otherwise it is easy for a project to go off the rails.

So what are the steps that a Project Manager needs to complete to make sure that the project is delivered on time? We have listed them for you here...

Step 1: Plan to succeed
There is an old project saying: "Plan not to fail, don't fail to plan". By creating a detailed Project Plan with fixed delivery milestones that your customer agree with, you will gain a firm basis for measuring the progress of the project.

Make sure that your plan includes delivery milestones every month where possible and that the Work Breakdown Structure is detailed enough to show all of the critical tasks that must be completed. Non-critical tasks can be re-scheduled later, but tasks which are on the critical path must be completed by the due dates specified.

Step 2: Clock the time spent
Almost every Project Manager these days has implemented Timesheets for tracking time. But how many actually record that time in a Time Sheet Register and update the Project Plan with the time spent per project task?

By doing this, you can allocate a set amount of time and effort to complete every task on the Project Plan, and easily identify when you are late. If staff spend more time than that allocated and the task is still not complete, then you will need to investigate why this has occurred and resolve the problems identified. This process is called the Time Management Process and it ensures that staff complete tasks where possible, in the timeframe allocated to them.

Step 3: Create a helicopter view
It is harder than it looks. To accurately monitor and report on the project at a helicopter level, you need a crystal clear picture of the project delivery against a schedule.

You need to know for every task in your project plan, whether it is under / on / over schedule and what the overall impact on the project is. You also need to have identified the critical path and determined whether the tasks on this path are on track.

Only with this detailed knowledge can you gain a sufficient "helicopter view" to be able to report accurately to your Project Board or Sponsor. Remember, by keeping your sponsor accurately informed of the project progress, you will ensure their full support.

Step 4: Going "Belly Up"
So you have done all this but your project is going "belly up" (i.e. slipping). What then? Well the first step is to investigate the reasons why. It may be that the scope of the project has grown from that originally agreed, or you have encountered complexities that were not identified when you started, or that the plan was too aggressive in the first place.

Regardless, you need to 1) Stop 2) Investigate 3) Resolve 4) Report. To resolve the problem, you may need to formally redefine the scope of the project, hire additional resources to help out, or agree with the customer on a new delivery timeframe. You will also need to update the Project Plan with any additional tasks required to fix the problems, and then you will need to report on the new status to your Sponsor.

Step 5: Getting the right mix
Almost every project team will encounter unforeseen changes, risks and issues. Your level of success will depend on how you manage these when they arise. By implementing these project processes below, you can ensure that your mix of changes, risks and issues are easily manageable:

	Change Management Process
	Risk Management Process
	Issue Management Process

To help you deliver projects on time and keep your Project Sponsor happy, use these two great project management solutions now...

	Project Management Templates
	Project Management Methodology