Getting started with Portfolio Management is typically quite easy. Essentially it’s all about reporting. But once this is in place, what next? It’s easy to lose momentum and get trapped in a weekly cycle of reporting.
To make sustainable progress on Portfolio Management you need identify how to add additional value from Portfolio Management. This way, you can make sustainable progress. You won’t lose momentum.
The first step in Portfolio Management is reporting. You gather all the various project, programmes and change initiatives together. This may take time, but it’s reasonably easy. If you are working at the enterprise level, your enterprise portfolio is the sum of all the approved, active change initiatives in your company. If there are a lot of initiatives, focus on the bigger ones. If you are working in a department such as I.T., your I.T. portfolio is the sum of all your approved, active I.T. initiatives, including those which support other departments.
This first step is typically fruitful, as it invites answers to several pertinent questions:
- what projects and programmes have been approved?
- are project and programmes well defined (are there overlapping projects? are some projects part of bigger programmes?)
- do you have wildcat projects?(unofficial, i.e. active but not actually approved)
- do you have zombie projects? (dormant, i.e. approved but not active)
- do you have straggler projects? (the project should have closed, but instead has drifted into maintenance or support work)
Reporting is the first step. What comes next? How to sustain momentum and avoid the trap of low-value repetitive reporting?
The way forward is to identify where your company needs to add value with Portfolio Management.
There are basically four ways to add extra value
1) Target the right projects, to generate value
❑ You choose to focus on the project approval process. You start to build a project prioritisation model, which is a decision support tool for choosing which projects to run. The model will help to build a balanced, achievable portfolio, aligned to your strategy
2) Help projects to deliver, to protect the value-adding process
❑ You choose to focus on tracking and monitoring projects. You ensure project inter-dependencies are managed. You work on resource bottlenecks. You highlight problems and push forward issue resolution.
3) Push for better performance, so more projects deliver well
❑ You choose to focus on project performance. You monitor actual performance against plan (on time? on budget? how good are the estimates?); and whether projects following your expected ways of working. Then you feed back lessons and drive improvements.
4) Follow up on business cases, to ensure real long-term value-for-money
❑ You focus on delivering value. You ensure all projects have a solid business case, which is reviewed before work starts, at key milestones, at closure - and most importantly in the weeks and months after closure, to ensure benefits are really sustained.
When you can identify where to add value, you have a goal. A destination. Once you understand your destination, you can plot the journey: your next next steps become clear.
An invaluable next step is to benefit from other people’s experience to guide your journey. For Portfolio Management, you now have guidance in the form of the MoP framework (Management of Portfolios) and the P3O guide (Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices). For example, the MoP guidance explains how to build a portfolio prioritisation model, while the P3O guidance explains how to to build a value proposition.They are interlinked - MoP helps you to define your destination, while P3O helps plan out the journey.
When you know your destination, when you have a plan for the journey, taking the next steps is easier…
Friday 23 November 2012
Wednesday 31 October 2012
Your first Prince2 project starts like 1-2-3
Here’s how to start your first project with Prince2 in three easy steps
You’ve been to Prince2 training, you’ve sat the exam. Now you are back at your desk. You re-open the manual, with its 320 pages, 19 chapters and 26 documents… where do you start?
Let’s make this as simple as 1-2-3.
1) Write the Project Brief and get it agreed by your executive
As its name suggest, the Project Brief is a SHORT document. Make the document easy to read. The Prince2 book gives a suggested composition of the document, but go for readability and clarity rather than formality and detail.
The brief should include the project organisation structure. You are the project manager, and you need an executive. This is VITAL, yes, the absolutely vital minimum - without an executive you are not using Prince2. The Executive will assume responsibility for the project, you will be executing on his or her behalf.
The Brief should also include a definition of the Project Product - your final deliverable. It’s important to write this down, as it defines your scope. The Prince2 book says this is a separate document, but you can probably write it as a paragraph of your Brief.
To define your Project Product correctly, you need to understand who is your Customer or User (could be an internal or external customer). You need to discuss your deliverable with your Customer, to understand their needs. The Project Brief should include their quality expectations and acceptance criteria.
When the Project Brief is written, the Executive should validate it. Until this is done, you should not move forward.
2) Create a Product Breakdown Structure, and get it agreed
The Product Breakdown Structure (or PBS) is a great way to understand what you need to produce. The PBS starts with your Project Product which is your final deliverable. The PBS will show more detail - it will probably show 15 or 20 key deliverables.
The easiest way to create a PBS is with sticky-notes on a flip chart or whiteboard. If you use sticky-notes, it’s easy to reshape the PBS as ideas emerge. Ideally you work with a colleague or two, to ensure you get an all-round vision.
When it’s done, you can convert the sticky-notes version into electronic form with a diagramming tool, such as Visio or Powerpoint.
It’s important to create a PBS before you do any planning. For Prince2, the PBS is a first step of planning. If you are using a planning tool, such as Microsoft Project or even Excel, you should create your PBS and get it agreed BEFORE you do any work with your planning tool. Keep the PC switched off!
You need to review the first version with key people - the Project Executive, your Customer or User, and with the team leads who will produce the solution. When it’s agreed, build a high level Project Plan around the 15 or 20 deliverables in your PBS.
3) Create a Business Case, working with your executive
The business case provides the business justification for the Project. It explains the resources that the project will use, and balances them against the expected benefits. It’s a important document, but you need to apply the KISS rule (Keep it Simple and Short)
The problem with the business case is to decide how much detail you need. Your executive will guide you regarding the level of detail. Apply the KISS rule, and NEVER add unnecessary detail (for example, if your company doesn’t need you to express benefits in cash terms, then DONT try).
You start with a summary of your resources needs, and the expected benefits. (In some projects, that’s all that is needed).
• The resources are typically people and/or money. You need to understand the type of resources you will need. (For example, you need designers and testers, plus money to buy some equipment).
• The justification is based on benefits - get input from your executive about expected benefits. You both need to understand the type of benefits your project will generate. (For example, cost savings and reduced maintenance).
Once you have a summary, you can add more detail, but ONLY IF NECESSARY. You may need to convert resources and benefits into money terms. You may need a timeline. You may need a complex financial calculation such as NPV. But ALWAYS apply the KISS rule - don’t do work that you don’t need.
In three easy steps, we have the foundations for the PID (the Project Initiation Document). The three key pillars for the PID are the Project Brief, the Project Plan and the Business Case. Our three easy steps create those three pillars.
That’s how to convert your Prince2 classroom training into practice. Just take three easy steps, 1, 2, 3.
You’ve been to Prince2 training, you’ve sat the exam. Now you are back at your desk. You re-open the manual, with its 320 pages, 19 chapters and 26 documents… where do you start?
Let’s make this as simple as 1-2-3.
1) Write the Project Brief and get it agreed by your executive
As its name suggest, the Project Brief is a SHORT document. Make the document easy to read. The Prince2 book gives a suggested composition of the document, but go for readability and clarity rather than formality and detail.
The brief should include the project organisation structure. You are the project manager, and you need an executive. This is VITAL, yes, the absolutely vital minimum - without an executive you are not using Prince2. The Executive will assume responsibility for the project, you will be executing on his or her behalf.
The Brief should also include a definition of the Project Product - your final deliverable. It’s important to write this down, as it defines your scope. The Prince2 book says this is a separate document, but you can probably write it as a paragraph of your Brief.
To define your Project Product correctly, you need to understand who is your Customer or User (could be an internal or external customer). You need to discuss your deliverable with your Customer, to understand their needs. The Project Brief should include their quality expectations and acceptance criteria.
When the Project Brief is written, the Executive should validate it. Until this is done, you should not move forward.
2) Create a Product Breakdown Structure, and get it agreed
The Product Breakdown Structure (or PBS) is a great way to understand what you need to produce. The PBS starts with your Project Product which is your final deliverable. The PBS will show more detail - it will probably show 15 or 20 key deliverables.
The easiest way to create a PBS is with sticky-notes on a flip chart or whiteboard. If you use sticky-notes, it’s easy to reshape the PBS as ideas emerge. Ideally you work with a colleague or two, to ensure you get an all-round vision.
When it’s done, you can convert the sticky-notes version into electronic form with a diagramming tool, such as Visio or Powerpoint.
It’s important to create a PBS before you do any planning. For Prince2, the PBS is a first step of planning. If you are using a planning tool, such as Microsoft Project or even Excel, you should create your PBS and get it agreed BEFORE you do any work with your planning tool. Keep the PC switched off!
You need to review the first version with key people - the Project Executive, your Customer or User, and with the team leads who will produce the solution. When it’s agreed, build a high level Project Plan around the 15 or 20 deliverables in your PBS.
3) Create a Business Case, working with your executive
The business case provides the business justification for the Project. It explains the resources that the project will use, and balances them against the expected benefits. It’s a important document, but you need to apply the KISS rule (Keep it Simple and Short)
The problem with the business case is to decide how much detail you need. Your executive will guide you regarding the level of detail. Apply the KISS rule, and NEVER add unnecessary detail (for example, if your company doesn’t need you to express benefits in cash terms, then DONT try).
You start with a summary of your resources needs, and the expected benefits. (In some projects, that’s all that is needed).
• The resources are typically people and/or money. You need to understand the type of resources you will need. (For example, you need designers and testers, plus money to buy some equipment).
• The justification is based on benefits - get input from your executive about expected benefits. You both need to understand the type of benefits your project will generate. (For example, cost savings and reduced maintenance).
Once you have a summary, you can add more detail, but ONLY IF NECESSARY. You may need to convert resources and benefits into money terms. You may need a timeline. You may need a complex financial calculation such as NPV. But ALWAYS apply the KISS rule - don’t do work that you don’t need.
In three easy steps, we have the foundations for the PID (the Project Initiation Document). The three key pillars for the PID are the Project Brief, the Project Plan and the Business Case. Our three easy steps create those three pillars.
That’s how to convert your Prince2 classroom training into practice. Just take three easy steps, 1, 2, 3.
Monday 24 September 2012
Why a project manager is like the conductor of an orchestra
Here’s an incredibly easy question that many people get wrong.
Question: What is a project manager?
Answer: Someone who manages a project.
Many projects and many companies get this question wrong. They don’t understand the project manager role. They think that the project manager delivers the project. They think the project manager is a “doer” not a manager. They hire technical specialists as project managers and ask them to get stuck into the technical work.
Let’s be clear: The project manager’s role is to MANAGE the project. He or she is primarily a manager. Any technical expertise is useful but secondary.
Prince2 is clear about this. Prince2 has a well defined project organisation, in multiple levels
1. At the top level is the Project Executive (sometimes called Project Sponsor or Project Owner) and the project board. This is the level which takes decisions and assumes accountability.
2. In the middle is the Project Manager, who manages the project day-by-day and coordinates the specialist work.
3. At the third level are the Project Teams who do the specialist work and need technical expertise.
For Prince2, the project manager is like the conductor of the orchestra.
• The conductor doesn’t make music; s/he coordinates the musicians.
• The project manager doesn’t deliver the project’s work; s/he organises the work
For Prince2, a key task of the project manager is to package up work and give it to the teams.
It’s like a handshake. We need agreement between the project manager and the team manager on the work to be done
• The Project Manager proposes a “Work Package”
• The Team Managers proposes a Team Plan to deliver the Work Package
Once they are agreed, the work can start.
And once the work does start, the project manager has to follow up on progress. The project manager has to MANAGE progress, without being too “hands-on” nor too “hands-off.”
❑ If the project manager is too hands-on, s/he wastes time (and often ends up doing the work rather than managing it)
❑ If the project manager is too hands-off, s/he may lose control (and fails to manage)
To manage correctly, the project manager should review the work package status regularly at periodic “check-points”. A check-point isn’t a long and boring weekly status meeting. Prince2 avoids “management by meeting” which is time consuming and ineffective.
A check-point is a regular event, typically weekly.
• A written status report
• A meeting (optional)
• Follow up
A check-point should always start with a written status report. It’s important that the status report is written, and it’s important that the project manager gets it before the meeting. This allows the meeting to be a short-and-sharp meeting - the Project Manager can focus on a few key points from the written report. This is “management by exception”, which saves time and helps to ensure that the Project Manager is focused and effective.
The team’s checkpoint report is structured into
• what the team has done in the current week
• issues
• what the team expects to do next week.
Let’s look at an example. Perhaps a team manager sends a Check-point report every Thursday to the Project Manager. On the Friday, the project manager might discuss with the team manager (face to face, or by phone, by instant message…):
• two tasks which were not finished on time
• one issue which looks worrying
• one task which must be planned for next week
The Project Manager focuses on a few exceptional points rather than on the broad status. It’s management by exception. The Project Manager is a manager, and doesn’t need to control everything in fine detail. In some projects, the Project Manager may need strong technical expertise in order to define Work Packages; and may even directly manage one or more teams. But the key task for the Project Manager is to manage.
So now we have the right answer to the question “What is a Project Manager”. The answer is simple with Prince2. The project manager is … a manager.
Question: What is a project manager?
Answer: Someone who manages a project.
Many projects and many companies get this question wrong. They don’t understand the project manager role. They think that the project manager delivers the project. They think the project manager is a “doer” not a manager. They hire technical specialists as project managers and ask them to get stuck into the technical work.
Let’s be clear: The project manager’s role is to MANAGE the project. He or she is primarily a manager. Any technical expertise is useful but secondary.
Prince2 is clear about this. Prince2 has a well defined project organisation, in multiple levels
1. At the top level is the Project Executive (sometimes called Project Sponsor or Project Owner) and the project board. This is the level which takes decisions and assumes accountability.
2. In the middle is the Project Manager, who manages the project day-by-day and coordinates the specialist work.
3. At the third level are the Project Teams who do the specialist work and need technical expertise.
For Prince2, the project manager is like the conductor of the orchestra.
• The conductor doesn’t make music; s/he coordinates the musicians.
• The project manager doesn’t deliver the project’s work; s/he organises the work
For Prince2, a key task of the project manager is to package up work and give it to the teams.
It’s like a handshake. We need agreement between the project manager and the team manager on the work to be done
• The Project Manager proposes a “Work Package”
• The Team Managers proposes a Team Plan to deliver the Work Package
Once they are agreed, the work can start.
And once the work does start, the project manager has to follow up on progress. The project manager has to MANAGE progress, without being too “hands-on” nor too “hands-off.”
❑ If the project manager is too hands-on, s/he wastes time (and often ends up doing the work rather than managing it)
❑ If the project manager is too hands-off, s/he may lose control (and fails to manage)
To manage correctly, the project manager should review the work package status regularly at periodic “check-points”. A check-point isn’t a long and boring weekly status meeting. Prince2 avoids “management by meeting” which is time consuming and ineffective.
A check-point is a regular event, typically weekly.
• A written status report
• A meeting (optional)
• Follow up
A check-point should always start with a written status report. It’s important that the status report is written, and it’s important that the project manager gets it before the meeting. This allows the meeting to be a short-and-sharp meeting - the Project Manager can focus on a few key points from the written report. This is “management by exception”, which saves time and helps to ensure that the Project Manager is focused and effective.
The team’s checkpoint report is structured into
• what the team has done in the current week
• issues
• what the team expects to do next week.
Let’s look at an example. Perhaps a team manager sends a Check-point report every Thursday to the Project Manager. On the Friday, the project manager might discuss with the team manager (face to face, or by phone, by instant message…):
• two tasks which were not finished on time
• one issue which looks worrying
• one task which must be planned for next week
The Project Manager focuses on a few exceptional points rather than on the broad status. It’s management by exception. The Project Manager is a manager, and doesn’t need to control everything in fine detail. In some projects, the Project Manager may need strong technical expertise in order to define Work Packages; and may even directly manage one or more teams. But the key task for the Project Manager is to manage.
So now we have the right answer to the question “What is a Project Manager”. The answer is simple with Prince2. The project manager is … a manager.
Monday 13 August 2012
Size matters: when should big projects become programmes
Some project managers still like to use the old “rule of thumb” that a project shouldn’t last more than 9 months. This is project management folklore. If a project is longer than 9 months, says the old folklore, then it is likely to fail. So best split it into pieces.
As with much folklore, this “rule of thumb” contains some wisdom, but it’s not rigorous and proven. Methods like Prince2 help to show that project length is only one factor likely to cause project failure. A 9 month project can fail for many, many reasons (as can a 3 or 6 month project); whereas a 2 year project which is correctly managed can succeed (and many do)
More importantly, the old rule ignores the emergence over the last 20 years of programme management. Programmes are used for handing major initiatives and business changes, and typically take years rather than months.
Does the old rule of thumb maybe need to be rewritten? Should it say “if your project will take more than 9 months, then run it as a programme”?
Let’s consider some of the main differences between a project and a programme
❑ A project focuses on deliverables, and is generally shorter and more structured
⁃ When the deliverables are in place, the project is finished.
❑ A programme is a longer initiative, which often more flexible
⁃ delivers one or more strategic objectives
⁃ focusses on delivering change - when the benefits from the change are in place, the programme is finished
This tells us that the differences are not due to the length of the project or programme. More important is what it delivers: the vital difference between programmes and projects relate to the nature of the change, not to the duration of the change initiative
One simple way to understand whether to use project management or programme management is consider the nature of the change
❑ Project management is good if you are changing things (or making new things)
⁃ software and web sites
⁃ new or improved products
⁃ new IT infrastructure
⁃ buildings, roads
❑ Programme management is better if you are changing people (or their way of working)
⁃ restructuring, reorganisation
⁃ new processes
⁃ better ways of working
⁃ globalisation
⁃ expanding, downsizing, outsourcing, off-shoring
So that old “Rule of thumb” is a nice proverb. Like all proverbs, it seems right at times, but often it’s wrong and misleading. Better in today’s world to use another rule of thumb: “If your project will take more than 9 months, attend a course on programme management”.
Aim high to build a high performance team
In today’s fast moving world, most organisations have a large change agenda. Do you have more projects to run than people to run them? Are you forced to use inexperienced staff to run key projects?
One response to this challenge is to look at best-practice frameworks like Prince2 for Project Management, or MSP for Programme Management. But it’s important to set the right goal.
When you start to deploy a best practice framework like Prince2 or MSP for your team or company, you should set the goal high. You want a high performance team, not just a few star performers. If you create team-wide strength in project management, you can really start to deliver your organisation’s change agenda.
Some organisations hesitate to standardise on a framework like Prince2; perhaps they train a few people, but they don’t roll it out to everyone.
They are missing the benefits of a generalised solution. The way to get full benefit from a framework like Prince2 is to generalise its use.
There are three reasons why you should widen the rollout of a framework like Prince2 or MSP:
1) each framework is relatively simple to learn so training is short and relatively cost effective
2) a framework provides a single point of truth to unite the team
3) a framework helps your organisation to improve and innovate.
Let’s look at those points
1) Speed: Learn in a week
All the best practice frameworks from OGC (Prince2, MSP, MoP, P3O, etc) are reasonably simple to understand. With a week’s training, you can understand the key concepts, pass an exam and get a basic understanding of how to use the framework.
At the team or enterprise level, this means that all your team can learn your method. You can train them all. This is a key to success.
2) Single point of truth
If your organisation uses a framework such as Prince2, you have an external reference.
There are thousands and thousands of books on Project Management. Every author has his or her own ideas. If you don’t have some reference point for your organisation, every Project Manager will have his or her own ideas.
Prince2 has condensed a huge diversity of opinion into one book, which covers a major part of Project Management. That means that an organisation which adopts Prince2 has started to simplify its Project Management problem. With Prince2, you start to introduce a single vocabulary, a single point of view, a single intellectual framework. That’s significant added value, and a second key to success.
3) Improve and innovate
Don’t be worried by Prince2’s apparent complexity. Treat it like a supermarket which stocks 10,000 items, but you only need a week’s groceries. It up to you to choose. You can adapt Prince2 to your needs. This is what Prince2 calls “tailoring”.
If you tailor Prince2 with intelligence, it becomes a springboard to innovation. It becomes easier to implement, easier to use, and easier to adapt to your business needs.
You should start with the standard framework of Prince2, then simplify in order to implement it. If you hit barriers to implementation, then simplify it further. (That’s quite normal - the first simplification is never quite enough!). This simple core is your starting point. It’s your foundation for building team-wide high performance.
As you continue, you can build on this foundation. You have focussed on the essentials of your project management problem. You have a basis for continuous improvement, for further innovation. And that’s your third key to success.
That’s three keys to success to building in-depth strength, and a high performance team. You need to aim high to increase your project capacity, and to meet the challenge of delivering an ambitious change agenda. Aim high, deliver high performance.
Saturday 7 July 2012
Mapping the future, mapping the past
This is about understanding the past. It’s a case study, but it’s more than that. It’s about how we can better understand the past if we have a frame of reference.
The case study explains how a large company improved its project & portfolio management.
This multi-national organisation was structured as 7 business units. They had an ambitious change agenda. To deliver this huge amount of change, they needed to improve their project management.
They ran a 3-phase improvement initiative to improve project management
❑ Phase 1 introduced Prince2 project management, supported by heavy-duty EPM tools (Enterprise Project Management software)
❑ Phase 2 measured regularly the improving maturity, by measuring the use of Prince2-based methods and the tools. With these measures, they found the weak spots, and took corrective action
❑ Phase 3 introduced portfolio reporting. It started once the level of maturity of Project Management was acceptable - it needed good quality project data as the starting point for consolidated portfolio reporting.
We can understand this case study in terms of P3O. That will be our frame of reference. P3O provides organisations with a top-down approach for improving their P3 (P3 stands for projects, programmes and portfolios). The O stands for Offices, so P3 + O gives P3O.
So let’s use the P3O framework. How does this case study look in P3O terms?
Retrospectively, we can detect the gradual construction of a P3O model, as the 3 phases advanced
❑ Phase 1. Local CoE functions were set up (Centres of Excellence) supporting the deployment of Prince2.
The local CoEs
⁃ published standards, procedures, templates
⁃ provided training, coaching
⁃ ensured tool support
❑ Phase 2. A centralised the CoE function emerged. The local CoEs were merged into a single unified CoE.
The central CoE
⁃ measured the maturity of Prince2 and tool using with a P3P3 approach (P3M3 is a maturity model)
⁃ provided an Information Portal with standards, procedures, templates, etc
⁃ continued to provide coaching to teams with low maturity
❑ Phase 3. A Portfolio Office structure was deployed, with a central Organisational Portfolio Office managed by a senior manager.
Each Portfolio Office
⁃ introduced Portfolio Design - budget management, demand management, resource optimisation, portfolio optimisation
⁃ coordinated Portfolio Delivery - monitoring and control of projects, data consolidation, status reporting
This provided the foundations for solid Project Management.
We can see that the P3O support was a key enabler
❑ The P3O structure was a key enabler of for project management. Without support from the CoE structures, this major Prince2 and tools deployment would not have succeeded, and the high maturity levels in Project Management would not have been achieved.
❑ The P3O structure was also an essential enabler for Portfolio Management structure. Without the Portfolio Office, the ambitious work to structure Portfolio Management would not have progressed. It was beyond the reach of the business managers responsible for the portfolios - the support of the Portfolio Offices in the P3O model was vital.
By looking back at the past, we learn lessons by finding a good frame of reference.
Now look forward to the future. To improve your organisation’s project management, use a good frame of reference. Try using the P3O framework to map out the future.
The case study explains how a large company improved its project & portfolio management.
This multi-national organisation was structured as 7 business units. They had an ambitious change agenda. To deliver this huge amount of change, they needed to improve their project management.
They ran a 3-phase improvement initiative to improve project management
❑ Phase 1 introduced Prince2 project management, supported by heavy-duty EPM tools (Enterprise Project Management software)
❑ Phase 2 measured regularly the improving maturity, by measuring the use of Prince2-based methods and the tools. With these measures, they found the weak spots, and took corrective action
❑ Phase 3 introduced portfolio reporting. It started once the level of maturity of Project Management was acceptable - it needed good quality project data as the starting point for consolidated portfolio reporting.
We can understand this case study in terms of P3O. That will be our frame of reference. P3O provides organisations with a top-down approach for improving their P3 (P3 stands for projects, programmes and portfolios). The O stands for Offices, so P3 + O gives P3O.
So let’s use the P3O framework. How does this case study look in P3O terms?
Retrospectively, we can detect the gradual construction of a P3O model, as the 3 phases advanced
❑ Phase 1. Local CoE functions were set up (Centres of Excellence) supporting the deployment of Prince2.
The local CoEs
⁃ published standards, procedures, templates
⁃ provided training, coaching
⁃ ensured tool support
❑ Phase 2. A centralised the CoE function emerged. The local CoEs were merged into a single unified CoE.
The central CoE
⁃ measured the maturity of Prince2 and tool using with a P3P3 approach (P3M3 is a maturity model)
⁃ provided an Information Portal with standards, procedures, templates, etc
⁃ continued to provide coaching to teams with low maturity
❑ Phase 3. A Portfolio Office structure was deployed, with a central Organisational Portfolio Office managed by a senior manager.
Each Portfolio Office
⁃ introduced Portfolio Design - budget management, demand management, resource optimisation, portfolio optimisation
⁃ coordinated Portfolio Delivery - monitoring and control of projects, data consolidation, status reporting
This provided the foundations for solid Project Management.
We can see that the P3O support was a key enabler
❑ The P3O structure was a key enabler of for project management. Without support from the CoE structures, this major Prince2 and tools deployment would not have succeeded, and the high maturity levels in Project Management would not have been achieved.
❑ The P3O structure was also an essential enabler for Portfolio Management structure. Without the Portfolio Office, the ambitious work to structure Portfolio Management would not have progressed. It was beyond the reach of the business managers responsible for the portfolios - the support of the Portfolio Offices in the P3O model was vital.
By looking back at the past, we learn lessons by finding a good frame of reference.
Now look forward to the future. To improve your organisation’s project management, use a good frame of reference. Try using the P3O framework to map out the future.
Monday 21 May 2012
Why the Project Manager is a Time Traveller
In the popular Science-Fiction film, “Back to the Future”, a mad scientist makes possible time travel. Marty, the film’s hero, can travel to the future. In real life, we can’t travel to the future, but we often need to imagine the future.
The project manager (and programme or portfolio manager) is a change agent, who will change or innovate, to build a different future. The project manager’s job is to imagine a new future and how to get there. We travel to the future in our imagination.
So the Project Manager imagines the future, and converts it into a plan. A good project manager will spend a lot of time planning, which is almost “living in the future”
Planning can be a major, time-consuming activity for the Project Manager. If done wrongly, the Project Manager can waste much time on planning, as one plan gets replaced by the next and then the next...
To plan effectively and avoid wasted time, methods like Prince2 (for Project Management) and MSP (for Programme Management) can help enormously.
Three key strengths of the Prince2 approach to planning are:
So make sure you are a time traveller. Spend time in the future, and build your plan. Then use it. As the other saying goes “Plan your work, then work your plan”.
The project manager (and programme or portfolio manager) is a change agent, who will change or innovate, to build a different future. The project manager’s job is to imagine a new future and how to get there. We travel to the future in our imagination.
So the Project Manager imagines the future, and converts it into a plan. A good project manager will spend a lot of time planning, which is almost “living in the future”
- planning the journey to the future (how to get there)
- planning the destination (what the future will be like)
Planning can be a major, time-consuming activity for the Project Manager. If done wrongly, the Project Manager can waste much time on planning, as one plan gets replaced by the next and then the next...
To plan effectively and avoid wasted time, methods like Prince2 (for Project Management) and MSP (for Programme Management) can help enormously.
Three key strengths of the Prince2 approach to planning are:
- Prince2 starts the planning process with Product Based Planning. You start with the “What” (your deliverables, which give a picture of the future) before the “When” or the “Who” (which tell you about the journey). Product Based Planning generates more robust plans, which are easier to understand and maintain.
- Prince2 has three levels of plan - project plan, stage plan, team plan. This reduces complexity, and aligns planning to the team structure.
- Prince2 uses just-in-time planning - as the next stage approaches, the stage plan is created. This avoids the need for a hard-to-build and hard-to-maintain mega-plan for the entire project.
- MSP separates the picture of the destination (the Blueprint) from the journey (the Programme Plan)
- MSP has several types of plan - programme plan, project plan, transition plan… This is aligned to the programme organisation, and avoids building one hard-to-handle mega-plan
So make sure you are a time traveller. Spend time in the future, and build your plan. Then use it. As the other saying goes “Plan your work, then work your plan”.
Thursday 12 April 2012
"Prince or Agile?" is like "Hammer or Screwdriver?"
All around the world, the Prince2 project management framework is growing in popularity, but a new challenger, Agile, has appeared. So we are starting to hear a debate “Prince2 or Agile?”.
That’s an interesting question, but often it’s the wrong question. If you are starting a home improvement project, you don’t ask “Hammer or Screwdriver?”
- You probably need both
- You need to know when to use each tool
- You need to know how to use each tool correctly
The same applies to Prince2 and Agile. A mature organisation will have both methods in their toolbox, and will skilfully use the right tool at the right moment.
So if we might need both Prince2 and Agile, how do they compare as tools?
We need to compare like-for-like, so the starting point is to find the right Agile. There are many variants of Agile, many of them lightweight variants such as SCRUM and XP. These lightweight variants are not full-scale project management methods, they are used by teams to manage parts of projects, mostly the IT parts. A heavyweight contender to Prince2 is Agile ATERN (also known as DSDM)
Both Prince2 and Agile-ATERN are fully-fledged project management frameworks. Both are general purpose methods. Both are enterprise-ready with a focus on value-for-money, on control, on quality, and so on.
Which one to choose?
* Prince2 is the better choice for specification-driven projects
* Agile ATERN is the better choice for discovery projects
* Agile ATERN is great for deadline-driven projects
The type of project helps you choose your method:
Here are some ways that you could make a Prince2 project more Agile:
- use your first stage to build a “kleenex” prototype (limited functionality, simulate the real solution)
- use a pilot stage (limited deployment, get something working and into daily use)
- use time-boxes (have zero time tolerance for a stage, but high scope tolerance - if you are running late, reduce scope)
- start your day with stand up meetings (e.g. project manager plus team managers)
- use “Enough Design Up Front” (EDUF) not “Big Design Up Front” (BDUF) by finalising your product descriptions at the stage boundary (rather than on the PID)
- for a work package where you need a discovery approach, use a lightweight Agile method such as XP or SCRUM
So just as it’s not “Hammer or Screwdriver” for your home improvement project, so it’s not “Prince2 or Agile” for your company.
Just as you need a Hammer and a Screwdriver at home, you may need Prince2 and Agile at work. The way forward is to have both tools. If you are using Prince2 today, you should start looking at Agile ATERN.
That’s an interesting question, but often it’s the wrong question. If you are starting a home improvement project, you don’t ask “Hammer or Screwdriver?”
- You probably need both
- You need to know when to use each tool
- You need to know how to use each tool correctly
The same applies to Prince2 and Agile. A mature organisation will have both methods in their toolbox, and will skilfully use the right tool at the right moment.
So if we might need both Prince2 and Agile, how do they compare as tools?
We need to compare like-for-like, so the starting point is to find the right Agile. There are many variants of Agile, many of them lightweight variants such as SCRUM and XP. These lightweight variants are not full-scale project management methods, they are used by teams to manage parts of projects, mostly the IT parts. A heavyweight contender to Prince2 is Agile ATERN (also known as DSDM)
Both Prince2 and Agile-ATERN are fully-fledged project management frameworks. Both are general purpose methods. Both are enterprise-ready with a focus on value-for-money, on control, on quality, and so on.
Which one to choose?
* Prince2 is the better choice for specification-driven projects
* Agile ATERN is the better choice for discovery projects
* Agile ATERN is great for deadline-driven projects
The type of project helps you choose your method:
- Specification driven means you start off with a written document (and probably with a contract)
- Discovery projects have only the essential needs decided up front
- Deadline-driven projects must absolutely deliver on time
Here are some ways that you could make a Prince2 project more Agile:
- use your first stage to build a “kleenex” prototype (limited functionality, simulate the real solution)
- use a pilot stage (limited deployment, get something working and into daily use)
- use time-boxes (have zero time tolerance for a stage, but high scope tolerance - if you are running late, reduce scope)
- start your day with stand up meetings (e.g. project manager plus team managers)
- use “Enough Design Up Front” (EDUF) not “Big Design Up Front” (BDUF) by finalising your product descriptions at the stage boundary (rather than on the PID)
- for a work package where you need a discovery approach, use a lightweight Agile method such as XP or SCRUM
So just as it’s not “Hammer or Screwdriver” for your home improvement project, so it’s not “Prince2 or Agile” for your company.
Just as you need a Hammer and a Screwdriver at home, you may need Prince2 and Agile at work. The way forward is to have both tools. If you are using Prince2 today, you should start looking at Agile ATERN.
Tuesday 13 March 2012
How MSP helped a tiny organisation... to survive
There is a growing understanding that Programme management is vital for big organisations. Methods like MSP are increasingly used by big organisations for major transformational programmes like
• company mergers
• business reengineering (e.g. ERP or CRM rollout)
• launch of new products, services or markets
• public sector reorganisation
• major sporting events which help regenerate run down urban areas
But it’s less well understood how a method like MSP can help small organisations or small teams.
Small organisations can face for the same need for transformational change as big organisations.
So let’s look at how very small voluntary sector organisation has benefited from MSP over the last few years. The organisation is indeed small, with only 5 staff. But from 2005, it identified some big problems… which could have threatened its very existence.
It’s a publicly funded organisation, and the management team saw that it was not delivering value for money to the funding bodies. It was time for change, time for transformational change, time to apply some MSP best practice. Otherwise, in today’s difficult times, the funding would have been cut, and the very future of the organisation put at peril.
Here’s three of the ways that MSP helped this tiny organisation to re-invent itself... and survive!
1) Develop a vision to drive the change: since end 2008 a vision statement has been in place. The organisation must change over the coming years. It must reinvent itself.
The vision statement explains where things are heading and helps to guide the change. At various annual meetings (AGM, board of control), the vision has been explained and agreed. This is the MSP way - build consensus for change, starting with a vision.
2) Analyse the stakeholders: from 2005, the organisation started to look at the funding bodies as stakeholders, not just as sources of income. MSP helps you to get a 360° vision, to view your situation from the point of view of the stakeholder. With MSP you seek to understand their interests, and to work out how to engage with each stakeholder.
3) Build a project dossier, run the next tranche: In 2010, by looking the stakeholder interests of the major funding body, the organisation identified several options to provide stakeholders with better value for money. One was an outreach project, providing services in a wider geographical area. Another project was educational, targeting 11-15 year-old school kids.
In MSP terms, this was a part of the project dossier, to be rolled out in the next tranche of the programme. Once the tranche plan was agreed, the projects were launched. Soon the outreach solution went live, and by 2011, the benefits were clear and measurable. The outreach was working in 12 towns. Equally, the educational project as fine - the schools were happy.
This tranche delivered clear benefits to a key stakeholder. The story continues today - additional opportunities, follow-up projects in more schools, new projects in the 12 towns… the new tranche is under way.
So we have seen three of the ways that MSP has helped a tiny organisation to reinvent itself. MSP can help your small business or your small team. It’s not just for the big guys!
• company mergers
• business reengineering (e.g. ERP or CRM rollout)
• launch of new products, services or markets
• public sector reorganisation
• major sporting events which help regenerate run down urban areas
But it’s less well understood how a method like MSP can help small organisations or small teams.
Small organisations can face for the same need for transformational change as big organisations.
So let’s look at how very small voluntary sector organisation has benefited from MSP over the last few years. The organisation is indeed small, with only 5 staff. But from 2005, it identified some big problems… which could have threatened its very existence.
It’s a publicly funded organisation, and the management team saw that it was not delivering value for money to the funding bodies. It was time for change, time for transformational change, time to apply some MSP best practice. Otherwise, in today’s difficult times, the funding would have been cut, and the very future of the organisation put at peril.
Here’s three of the ways that MSP helped this tiny organisation to re-invent itself... and survive!
1) Develop a vision to drive the change: since end 2008 a vision statement has been in place. The organisation must change over the coming years. It must reinvent itself.
The vision statement explains where things are heading and helps to guide the change. At various annual meetings (AGM, board of control), the vision has been explained and agreed. This is the MSP way - build consensus for change, starting with a vision.
2) Analyse the stakeholders: from 2005, the organisation started to look at the funding bodies as stakeholders, not just as sources of income. MSP helps you to get a 360° vision, to view your situation from the point of view of the stakeholder. With MSP you seek to understand their interests, and to work out how to engage with each stakeholder.
3) Build a project dossier, run the next tranche: In 2010, by looking the stakeholder interests of the major funding body, the organisation identified several options to provide stakeholders with better value for money. One was an outreach project, providing services in a wider geographical area. Another project was educational, targeting 11-15 year-old school kids.
In MSP terms, this was a part of the project dossier, to be rolled out in the next tranche of the programme. Once the tranche plan was agreed, the projects were launched. Soon the outreach solution went live, and by 2011, the benefits were clear and measurable. The outreach was working in 12 towns. Equally, the educational project as fine - the schools were happy.
This tranche delivered clear benefits to a key stakeholder. The story continues today - additional opportunities, follow-up projects in more schools, new projects in the 12 towns… the new tranche is under way.
So we have seen three of the ways that MSP has helped a tiny organisation to reinvent itself. MSP can help your small business or your small team. It’s not just for the big guys!
Thursday 9 February 2012
4 ways that Prince2 saves you time
Prince2 can save you time. Here's 4 ways... there are many more!
1) Management by exception is a genuine time saver. It is essentially “hands-off” management - you establish the parameters for a block of work (a stage, a work package), and then delegate that work.
It’s hands off, but it nevertheless provides management and control. You focus on the decisions and the unexpected, which saves time at all levels of the project management team. Time is scarce. Your team is busy. Use scarce time wisely. That’s efficient.
Does management by exception really save time? Well, just look at some of the inefficient alternatives commonly used by non-Prince2 teams.
Prince2 encourages you to “rIght-size” your planning. Prince2 has three levels of plan
Prince2 has a strong focus on quality. If you use it correctly, it can save you a lot of time. With Prince2, you do concrete, pragmatic work on quality early in the project, before your deliverables are produced.
If you don’t use this upstream approach to quality, you’ll probably waste time. You’ll discover the defects downstream. You’ll find out the customer’s quality expectations when you deliver. And you’ll probably fix any problems. But fixing quality defaults once the product is delivered can be very time consuming. You may end up doing the work twice… once to make the product, and a second time to fix it.
So addressing quality the Prince2 way saves you time. One of the most famous books on quality is called “Quality is Free”. The book says that addressing quality correctly doesn’t cost you time and money, it saves time and money. Prince2 agrees.
4) Don’t reinvent the wheel each project
Prince2 has a defined life cycle, with a defined set of roles and responsibilities. This saves you time.
Each project is unique. Without a method like Prince2, you start a project with a blank sheet of paper. You need to invent a way forward, you need to build a team and ways of working. With Prince2, your project is still a challenge, but you know how to address the key questions.
✓ You know how to get started, using the Prince2 “Startup up a Project” process.
✓ You know how to structure your team, with a Project Executive, a Project Manager and so on.
✓ You know you should get agreement on a Project Brief, your first major document.
✓ You know you will continue with the “Initiating a Project” process.
With Prince2, the first crucial weeks of your new project are mapped out.
You have a proven route map, even though your project is new and unique. Now that’s a real time saving.
1) Management by exception is a genuine time saver. It is essentially “hands-off” management - you establish the parameters for a block of work (a stage, a work package), and then delegate that work.
It’s hands off, but it nevertheless provides management and control. You focus on the decisions and the unexpected, which saves time at all levels of the project management team. Time is scarce. Your team is busy. Use scarce time wisely. That’s efficient.
Does management by exception really save time? Well, just look at some of the inefficient alternatives commonly used by non-Prince2 teams.
- “micro-management” is time consuming
- “management by walking around” can be irrational and unstructured
- “management by meeting” eats up man-days of effort in large, unproductive meetings
Prince2 encourages you to “rIght-size” your planning. Prince2 has three levels of plan
- You need a project plan, but it can be fairly simple. This is a summary plan, showing the key deliverables, the stage boundaries, some key milestones and some high level estimates. Because this is high level, it’s quicker to do. You are saving time by not writing a long, detailed plan.
- The stage plan is essentially a “just-in-time” plan with some extra detail. You don’t do detailed planning until you get near to the work concerned, and that saves you time as it avoids reworking your plan.
- The team plans contain the lowest level of detail. The Prince2 project manager delegates the creation of each team plan to the team manager. That make sense. And that’s more time saved for the project manager.
Prince2 has a strong focus on quality. If you use it correctly, it can save you a lot of time. With Prince2, you do concrete, pragmatic work on quality early in the project, before your deliverables are produced.
If you don’t use this upstream approach to quality, you’ll probably waste time. You’ll discover the defects downstream. You’ll find out the customer’s quality expectations when you deliver. And you’ll probably fix any problems. But fixing quality defaults once the product is delivered can be very time consuming. You may end up doing the work twice… once to make the product, and a second time to fix it.
So addressing quality the Prince2 way saves you time. One of the most famous books on quality is called “Quality is Free”. The book says that addressing quality correctly doesn’t cost you time and money, it saves time and money. Prince2 agrees.
4) Don’t reinvent the wheel each project
Prince2 has a defined life cycle, with a defined set of roles and responsibilities. This saves you time.
Each project is unique. Without a method like Prince2, you start a project with a blank sheet of paper. You need to invent a way forward, you need to build a team and ways of working. With Prince2, your project is still a challenge, but you know how to address the key questions.
✓ You know how to get started, using the Prince2 “Startup up a Project” process.
✓ You know how to structure your team, with a Project Executive, a Project Manager and so on.
✓ You know you should get agreement on a Project Brief, your first major document.
✓ You know you will continue with the “Initiating a Project” process.
With Prince2, the first crucial weeks of your new project are mapped out.
You have a proven route map, even though your project is new and unique. Now that’s a real time saving.
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Mapping the future, mapping the past with P3O
This is about understanding the past. It’s a case study, but it’s more than that. It’s about how we can better understand the past if we have a frame of reference.
The case study explains how a large company improved its project & portfolio management.
This multi-national organisation was structured as 7 business units. They had an ambitious change agenda. To deliver this huge amount of change, they needed to improve their project management.
They ran a 3-phase improvement initiative to improve project management
❑ Phase 1 introduced Prince2 project management, supported by heavy-duty EPM tools (Enterprise Project Management)
❑ Phase 2 measured regularly the improving maturity, by measuring the use of Prince2-based methods and the tools. With these measures, they found the weak spots, and took corrective action
❑ Phase 3 introduced portfolio reporting. It started once the level of maturity of Project Management was acceptable - it needed good quality project data as the starting point for consolidated portfolio reporting.
We can understand this case study in terms of P3O. That will be our frame of reference. P3O provides organisations with a top-down approach for improving their P3 (P3 stands for projects, programmes and portfolios). The O stands for Offices, so P3 + O gives P3O.
So let’s use the P3O framework. How does this case study look in P3O terms?
Retrospectively, we can detect the gradual construction of a P3O model, as the 3 phases advanced
❑ Phase 1. Local CoE functions were set up (Centres of Excellence) supporting the deployment of Prince2.
- The local CoEs
- published standards, procedures, templates
- provided training, coaching
- ensured tool support
❑ Phase 2. A centralised the CoE function emerged. The local CoEs were merged into a single unified CoE.
- The central CoE
- measured the maturity of Prince2 and tool using with a P3P3 approach (P3M3 is a maturity model)
- provided an Information Portal with standards, procedures, templates, etc
- continued to provide coaching to teams with low maturity
❑ Phase 3. A Portfolio Office structure was deployed, with a central Organisational Portfolio Office managed by a senior manager.
- Each Portfolio Office
- introduced Portfolio Design - budget management, demand management, resource optimisation, portfolio optimisation
- coordinated Portfolio Delivery - monitoring and control of projects, data consolidation, status reporting
This provided the foundations for solid Project Management.
We can see that the P3O support was a key enabler
❑ The P3O structure was a key enabler of for project management. Without support from the CoE structures, this major Prince2 and tools deployment would not have succeeded, and the high maturity levels in Project Management would not have been achieved.
❑ The P3O structure was also an essential enabler for Portfolio Management structure. Without the Portfolio Office, the ambitious work to structure Portfolio Management would not have progressed. It was beyond the reach of the business managers responsible for the portfolios - the support of the Portfolio Offices in the P3O model was vital.
By looking back at the past, we learn lessons by finding a good frame of reference.
Now look forward to the future. To improve your organisation’s project management, use a good frame of reference. Try using the P3O framework to map out the future.
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