April Top 10 Tips Managing Projects

1. April Top 10 TipsManaging Projects

2. Managing Projects #1 Define, define, define!  At the start of any project investing the time to define is well spent. Here are a few just for starters and to get you familiar with the lingo. Define: Project Scope - what is in what is outwith; Governance Structure - who makes the final decision, Roles and Responsibilities - who does what, Change Control - what latitude do you have as a Project Manager?, Outputs - what are you delivering, Outcomes - what do you expect to change/impact. AND most importantly when does the Project end! Being clear about these things as at the beginning can save you a lot of time during the course of the project it also gives you an insight into the experience and preferences of the others in the project and what that means you HAVE to do to balance them out.

3. Managing Projects #2 The Perfect Excuse! If you have not agreed AND communicateda task/activity Plan it is very easy for work not to be completed. As a Project Manager if you have not done this then it is very hard for you to 'pull‘ anyone up on deviation from the Plan as there is no baseline on which to compare. Define your project - to deliver Top Ten Tips about project management on Facebook and following this to upload these to the website. Project Plan - during April - way too vague.... so make it clearer on consecutive days in April.

4. Managing Projects #3 Stages of Projects There are five stages to good project management: Definition; Planning; Implementation; Completion and Evaluation.  Implementation is often seen as the most interesting, dynamic, energising part as it is the stage of DOING. And DOING is usually what we do as our job; what attracted us to the job in the first place so it isn't surprising that it is where we feel most comfortable, confident and competent. It also appeals to the 'activists' amongst us. But beware spending more time on the first two stages will enable the Implementation phase progress more smoothly. • Definition - we began to look at Top Ten Tip #1  • Spending time getting the Definition right will define your success!  • Whether you are using a template like a project proposal form, an initiation document or business case the questions you need to ask as part of definition should include the following: • Aim and Objectives - overarching aims and specific objectives.? • Drivers for the project - why is it critical that this project take place - what is the burning platform?Outputs and • Outcomes - what are the deliverables and what are the business benefits? • Governance - what are the decision making processes, change control processes, delegated authorities – essentially where does the buck stop? • Resources - this is especially important to define the people, ICT and topline bbudget requirements. • Risks - of not doing it and also of doing it. Remember a risk is something that could happen and an issue is something that is happening! • Stakeholders - who has a vested interest in this project and what do they want and need. • Scope - what is in it and what isn't - this is really important to ensure that there isn't project creep over time.

5. Managing Projects #3 Stages of Projects – continued Projects often grow arms and legs and be defining what is in and OUT of scope will Timetable - when does the project have to be finished by? does this finish date include longer term evaluation stages? ensure that the project remains focused and delivers the deliverables and the business benefits. Working Title - working title is good enough - you need to be able to describe or speak consistently about the project. These may well be developed more so during the Planning Stage but to begin to answer these questions and populate them will help you move more seamlessly to the Planning Stage. In my experience without appropriate definition you are at risk of delivering the wrong project to the wrong stakeholders Definition provides clarity and this in turn produces success.

6. Managing Projects #4 Planning I am a natural planner - I love it! To be honest sometimes I let the planning get in the way of the doing which is equally as flawed However the Planning stage is still more important for a successful project because without it you can have successful implementation. Here are a few handy hints for planning: • Involve as many of the delivery stakeholders as possible at the planning stage the number of projects I have been involved in where a critical function has been excluded. • Plan in time to get to know each other as humans and team members. Collaborative working is easier if you understand each other, respect each other and speak a similar language. It is also critical as a 'support network' if things aren't going to plan. • Often people are too focused on the Project Plan (schedule/timetable) rather than other planning, what is the Communications Plan? And by Communications Plan I don't mean a Marketing Plan but an Internal Communication Plan that is focused on keeping the rest of the organisation in the loop and engaged with your project. Not only are they your best advocates for the project but also might provide you with a different insight and could get you out of a sticky situation if you need help at any point. . • Identify the activities (work streams) and tasks (work packages). This can be done through discussion or there are a number of techniques that can help. Tools and techniques will be on day 7. This will provide you with an understanding of what needs to be achieved. • Look at the task lists and identify the minimum and the maximum amount of time you think at this point those tasks would take to complete. If you don't know you need to find out and this is just a starting point in terms timings and should not be set in stone until you have tested, consulted and reviewed the 'reality' of the tasks.

7. Managing Projects #4 Planning - continued • Now look at the tasks and identify which ones are on the critical path ie will stop other activities from proceeding. So for an exhibition project a critical task is the object list, design, conservation and interpretation cannot commence properly, if at all without the agreed object list. So where there is a critical task you need to allocate more time to complete - more contingency so if there is a delay in this task it is within these agreed limits so it does not have a negative impact on the schedule. And if your object list is heavily dependent on Loans factor even more time in! • So we know the tasks, we know how long ish the tasks take and we know which tasks sit on the critical path so we have afforded them even more contingency. Now we need to look at scheduling the activities. What tasks need to be completed in sequence and which can occur in parallel? This is facilitated by having this info on post it notes so enable you to be very flexible. • As part of this scheduling you should also identify who is responsible for a particular work stream or task as at this stage you should be able to identify any competing resource requirements and this can be remedied by elongating the schedule or if the delivery date is non-negotiable then having an up front conversation about additional resource or lowering quality. • This should be your draft/version 1 Project Plan and will need testing, consultation and proofing and not JUST with the people who have developed it but with other stake holder, a QA function or a fresh pair of eyes. As it is this Project Plan on which you will report variance and monitor progress. • Project Plans are, you should remember, just tools to help you deliver the project. There will be unexpected issues and changes along the way that will have an impact on your schedule and your schedule may need to change this is not a failing on your part at all Your success is in this important point which is that if you have done the appropriate planning, including the agreed contingency these issues are less likely to scuppa you! You will be in a better position to predict the impact and then take action to get the project back on track!

8. Managing Projects #5 Implementation Stage This Stage is focused on Doing, putting all your previous work into place. As previously emphasised if you have Defined and Planned well this should be easy. Outlined below are a few of the generic tasks that should be taking place through the Implementation Stage of any project but so often get put to one side when you are in the throws of DOING yet by not DOING these things your Project is at RISK! 1.Communicate, Communicate, Communicate within the: a) Project Team - ensure that everyone associated with delivery gets access to the rationale for decisions especially if they deviate from the original scope, plan or specification. It takes much less time to develop a succinct key message following project meetings or including an explicit decision audit trail in the minutes that is available to the WHOLE Project Team rather than wasting DOING time by doing this on an individual basis. b) Wider organisation - it can feel quite lonely if lots of what looks exciting stuff from the outside is going on and money being spent when your area is not involved so make sure they feel part of it - see yesterdays post about Internal Communications Plans. 2. Monitor a)The primary monitoring is in relation to progress along the Project Plan. The extent to which tasks have been completed in line with the 'due date'. Where there is variance there could beimpact on subsequent tasks and so this information is really important to gather to provide time and insight to put in place corrective actions. b) Another aspect of monitoring is looking at the number of tasks completed. I would always present this information NOT as a % as for people not as intimate with the project that is meaningless. I prefer to present it as eight tasks completed out of 10 tasks that allows people to ask directly about which two tasks have yet to be delivered and they will get a real sense about the time required to complete them (it is easy to hide behind % and as not all tasks have the same amount of time allocated it doesn't give a real picture). c) Quality Assurance is also an important part of monitoring. When identifying the tasks you should discuss a range of details in terms of delivery dates, stakeholders involved, success measures, specifications and quality standards. Part of this discussion should also include the person who is going to QA and Sign Off that might be one and the same person for specific tasks or different people so you need to factor this element into Planning and Monitoring. Ensuring that the task is delivered not just to time but also to specification/ quality standard is critical and this needs to be managed and monitored. NOTE I heart goes out to anyone who works in an organisation where all tasks have to QA’d and Signed Off by a single individual – this causes project paralysis! d) The budget, if you have one, is obviously important to monitor. Pretty much it is the same as an operational budget for example forecast spend, record committed spend, when that happens and does it need to dovetail into when funding streams. In addition you will/ should have a contingency pot and reporting on how much has been utlised should be part of your Monitoring Reports. Some projects are long-term and span more than one financial year if this is the case please please please remember to factor in inflation and potential increases in other costs - you would be surprised! Also if it spans more than one financial year get agreement in relation to spend in a particular year - this can be a killer if for whatever reason a project hits a delay which means you have not spent the money but then your accounting rules mean you have to hand it back or not carry it over! 3. Reporting - whilst this may be a particular line in your Internal Communications Plan please there is more to be included. a) If you are reporting to a board or project steering group you need to agree how frequently you are going to report to them. This might be a function of the length of the project, the stage of the project, or the risks/ impacts/ profile but you need to know. As part of this you also need to know the format of the report, Is it narrative or visual? Are you reporting by exception and risk or on progress? You also need to know the criteria on which you are reporting - is it everything that you are monitoring or are there other aspects. This type of discussion should have taken place at Definition Stage whilst talking about Governance but if for whatever reason this hasn't happened make sure it is discussed and agreed as early on in the Implementation Stage. b) Another type of reporting is about individual project team member’s performance. Often team members are released for an amount of time to undertake specific tasks but are still 'managed' by their line manager in their home department. It is fantastic if you do get a completely dedicated project team but it is unusual so we will focus on the former or matrix management as it is often referred. You need people to undertake tasks on behalf of the project and you as a project manager yet you have no 'line management' license. A way to address this is to ensure that a project objective is developed, agreed and included in their appraisal. This means very clearly that a particular task needs to be undertaken. As part of this you should provide, as a minimum, feedback about progress, performance etc. to the line manager and the member of staff as required. c) Other reports will be a function of the nature of the project, other stakeholder requirments for example funders or Trustees. This may require additional reports or hopefully re-purposed reports. Again this should be highlighted and agreed in Definition but if not agree it now so you can integrate it with the project plan and other reporting structures. Obviously in addition to all of this there will be the DOING - the delivery of the activities and tasks. And it is that delivery that enables progress to Completion Stage and it is that stage we will be looking at tomorrow #6

9. Managing Projects #5 Implementation - continued 2. Monitor c) Quality Assurance is also an important part of monitoring. When identifying the tasks you should discuss a range of details in terms of delivery dates, stakeholders involved, success measures, specifications and quality standards. Part of this discussion should also include the person who is going to QA and Sign Off that might be one and the same person for specific tasks or different people so you need to factor this element into Planning and Monitoring. Ensuring that the task is delivered not just to time but also to specification/ quality standard is critical and this needs to be managed and monitored. NOTE I heart goes out to anyone who works in an organisation where all tasks have to QA’d and Signed Off by a single individual – this causes project paralysis! d) The budget, if you have one, is obviously important to monitor. Pretty much it is the same as an operational budget for example forecast spend, record committed spend, when that happens and does it need to dovetail into when funding streams. In addition you will/ should have a contingency pot and reporting on how much has been utlised should be part of your Monitoring Reports. Some projects are long-term and span more than one financial year if this is the case please please please remember to factor in inflation and potential increases in other costs - you would be surprised! Also if it spans more than one financial year get agreement in relation to spend in a particular year - this can be a killer if for whatever reason a project hits a delay which means you have not spent the money but then your accounting rules mean you have to hand it back or not carry it over! 3. Reporting - whilst this may be a particular line in your Internal Communications Plan please there is more to be included.  a) If you are reporting to a board or project steering group you need to agree how frequently you are going to report to them. This might be a function of the length of the project, the stage of the project, or the risks/ impacts/ profile but you need to know. As part of this you also need to know the format of the report, Is it narrative or visual? Are you reporting by exception and risk or on progress? You also need to know the criteria on which you are reporting - is it everything that you are monitoring or are there other aspects. This type of discussion should have taken place at Definition Stage whilst talking about Governance but if for whatever reason this hasn't happened make sure it is discussed and agreed as early on in the Implementation Stage.

10. Managing Projects #5 Implementation - continued 3. Reporting - whilst this may be a particular line in your Internal Communications Plan please there is more to be included.  b) Another type of reporting is about individual project team member’s performance. Often team members are released for an amount of time to undertake specific tasks but are still 'managed' by their line manager in their home department. It is fantastic if you do get a completely dedicated project team but it is unusual so we will focus on the former or matrix management as it is often referred. You need people to undertake tasks on behalf of the project and you as a project manager yet you have no 'line management' license. A way to address this is to ensure that a project objective is developed, agreed and included in their appraisal. This means very clearly that a particular task needs to be undertaken. As part of this you should provide, as a minimum, feedback about progress, performance etc. to the line manager and the member of staff as required. c) Other reports will be a function of the nature of the project, other stakeholder requirments for example funders or Trustees. This may require additional reports or hopefully re-purposed reports. Again this should be highlighted and agreed in Definition but if not agree it now so you can integrate it with the project plan and other reporting structures. Obviously in addition to all of this there will be the DOING - the delivery of the activities and tasks. And it is that delivery that enables progress to Completion Stage. 

11. Managing Projects #6 Completion Stage This is a much maligned and under invested in stage but it is the stage that ensures the successful transition from project phase to operational phase. It includes more than just a celebration, opening or launch and is definitely a stage rather than a date! During the Completion Stage the project team should be putting in place clear steps to enable them to extricate themselves from the project when the time comes without the project falling over at that point – essentially creating a sustainable operation. Things you need to think about are as follows: • Training - if the operation requires the non project team to do something differently make sure they know what it is before the launch or project close. • Handover Notes - these can include a wide variety of things from lists of passwords, location of documents (physical and virtual), Standard Operating Procedures if the project has created a change in working practices. • Lessons Learnt - this is important to factor in BEFORE the project team disperses especially if you have had people on temporary contracts (NOTE - always ensure that Temporary Contracts finish beyond the planned launch date as a contingency if there is a delay, participation in the Lessons Learnt meetings, and any other activities. • Be clear about the tasks that can only be completed post the launch of the project - there will be a snagging list, there is likely to be some sort immediate of evaluation, as well as final invoices, funder reports, etc. • Quality Assurance is highlighted as separate, especially as this needs to be factored in for all completed tasks, especially if it is a build and you have external contractors - hopefully your payment phasing should reflect sign off THEN final payment not the other way around. Anything that has not met the QA standards should either be addressed immediately, put on the snagging list or on a 'carry-over' list. Again what you hope is that there are minimal QA issues - they will always be some but hopefully not too many. I always think a good question for any project manager at interview is to ask how long their snagging list is? •  Celebration and thank yous and this again should be for the project team rather than just funders, members or Trustees - can be very symbolic helping people say good bye to the project and hello to the business as usual.

12. Managing Projects #7 Evaluation Stage It is no accident that I have waited to post this post about this Stage. For those of you who had given up or moved on pretty much that is what happens in real projects. Whilst we might well expect formative evaluation through the life of the project and some immediate reaction evaluation at the end of the project. It is summative evaluation that will demonstrate whether the project deliverables/outputs are really fit for purpose – intended consequences. To what extent did your planning, monitoring, quality assurance work? • In addition however much formative evaluation, reflection on best practice, robustness testing, implementation of Lessons Learnt etc at the planning stage you can never fully anticipate how a visitor will use a gallery space, how an app might be used, how robust an interactive or the way people affect, circumvent or sabotage a process change. These unintended consequences, if at all, are logged 'anecdotally' rather than systematically and this has an impact on the power and influence they have either for snagging lists or for future project learning. So when designing summative evaluation plan in open questions, be confident to ask supplementary questions and explore fully any of the material they offer up. • All too often the evaluation focuses on the experience of output - did you enjoy this gallery? ; and the immediate outcome - would you visit again? Whereas most projects are looking for business benefits and these tend to have a longer lead time. For example if the ultimate business benefit was to change the visitor profile of your museum you will need to measure this at a later date as immediate figures may not reflect that. Also such business benefits are expected to be sustained so that such measures will need to be put in place at a number of points. That is difficult when time and budget is tight and especially if a new shiny sexy project has come along so be clear at the Planning Stage that this is the evaluation plan, these are the measures, this is why they are important, these are the methods we are going to use and this is how this research will not only demonstrate the success of the project but will contribute to future projects. 4. All of the above points identify very clearly any baseline data required and it is useful to look broadly at research, audits, benchmarks or watermarks that take place that could, usually at someone else's expense and time, demonstrate positive gains as a function of your project. When I worked at the Science Museum as a matter of course for visitor related projects 3% of the budget was set aside for formative and summative research which demonstrated how important it was viewed now times have changed but for ANY PROJECT build in time and resource (human or financial) to evaluate. We are going to play catch up with the last 4 Top Ten Tips being sent out by the end of the week - this equates to the mad panic that ensues before a gallery opening. So see you #7 this afternoon.

13. Managing Projects #7 Evaluation Stage – continued All of the previous points identify very clearly any baseline data required and it is useful to look broadly at research, audits, benchmarks or watermarks that take place that could, usually at someone else's expense and time, demonstrate positive gains as a function of your project. When I worked at the Science Museum as a matter of course for visitor related projects 3% of the budget was set aside for formative and summative research which demonstrated how important it was viewed now times have changed but for ANY PROJECT build in time and resource (human or financial) to evaluate. We are going to play catch up with the last 4 Top Ten Tips being sent out by the end of the week - this equates to the

14. Managing Projects #8 Sharing Expertise Whilst, well lets just say it, we are competing for visitors, objects and funding we should remember that culture and heritage don't know such organisational or local authority boundaries so lets contribute to the sector in its fullest sense by sharing expertise and learning in an honest and transparent way so that we can all benefit from the projects and funding that others have run and received. This means that we present the 'reality' of the project in a constructive way whether through applying Appreciative Enquiry or Reflective Practice lets make sure that our learning counts. This is a really nicely written Project Evaluation without spin and a model that we should model! Lets start sharing this good, bad and disasterous practice honestly and constructively as a matter of course in the sector domain rather than relying on every project manager having to take other project managers for coffee for the low down - this doesn't help anyone! Have you seen other Evaluation Reports that nails it? Lets share!

15. Managing Projects #9 Tools and Techniques There are lots of techniques that help you during your Definition and Planning Stage. These can be used at other points in your project especially if it is a long project where things might change, for example I would review or re-do a PESTLE analysis. Outlined below are a few that should help you think...:PESTLE, Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Ethical/Environmental – this tool helps you look outside and horizon scan in terms of potential impacts on your project either in terms of wants and specifcations; or challenges and risks.SWOT, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats this can be used in a team context or to help you think about your project definition especially if you are proposing a project by outlining the threats to us externally it may give you more gravitas.Stakeholder Analysis, this enables you to identify those individuals that have a vested interest in your project, you may either need to consult, lobby or deliver to these groups, they should always be in view. A good way to use a stakeholder analysis is for members of your team to a play a stakeholder at every meeting and then you shouldn’t lose sight of what they need.Brainstorms, this can help you download ideas quickly. However remember there is an extrovert bias which means you may only get quantity from a few members of team, and quantity does not mean quality– if this is the case individual BS or small group BS can overcome this.Spider or Tree Diagram or Mind Map, a more visual representation of a Brainstorm and allows you to present ideas so that they have connections and linkages which can help you scope or define a project during later stages. Also you can easily add more information as the project progresses.

16. Managing Projects #9 Tools and Techniques – continued Fishbone, similar to Tree diagrams, however focuses attention on an objective. This allows people to place what they feel as important closest to the fish’s head. This can help you when dealing with your team as it demonstrates what they think is important to the project and this can act as a sense check for you.Work Breakdown Structure, this focuses you on the activities and tasks associated with your project. I recommend you use post it notes to begin with so you can really explore what goes where. The WBS enables you to allocate responsibilities more easily (see below).Responsibility Assignment Matrix, allows you either to identify the skills you need on your team, the skill gaps you have or step 1 for delegation and allocation of responsibility.Critical Path Analysis, allows you to look at interdependencies and therefore creates an order of activities. It also enables you to look at allocating resources to parallel activities to meet the deadlines.Gantting, translating the CPA into a Gantt, has a number of benefits as it enables you to look at critical deadlines more easily, it is readily accessible so other stakeholders can see progress being made, especially useful when dealing with a long lead time to project deadline. It also allows corrective action to be made more easily, more resources or deadlines negotiated.PMI, plus minus interesting, can help in the definition stage about why we should be doing a project and what the next steps might be certainly in lobbying stakeholders or for communications planning. Also during the implementation stage it allows you to make decisions quickly but forces you to take into consideration the outcomes of certain action – the interesting column.Force Field Analysis, similar to PMI, but a more visual representation. Useful as it looks at the forces for and against. Remember, often the first strategy is to push, augment the forces FOR, however a better strategy is to look at how you tackle, minimize and lobby the forces AGAINST.

17. Managing Projects #10 Lessons Learnt This for me warrants a separate tip and whilst we have talked about it in the: Planning Stage - ALWAYS review Lessons Learnt from similar projects. Implementation Stage - Keep a. Learning Log throughout because you will not remember all of your lessons at the end of a three year project.  Completion Stage - ALWAYS factor this in before the project team is disbanded.  Evaluation Stage - What has the reaction and longer term summative evaluation taught you about the project process and content development.  Here are my final musings about Lessons Learnt based on my lengthy experience as a project manager.  • Some Project 'we never seem to find time to do Lessons Learnts - we are just too busy’ Managers use this as an excuse because they KNOW there are lessons to be learnt! • Virtual Lessons Learnt processes - i.e. sending out a template to Project Team Members - often fails as they sit in an inbox gathering dust. • Facilitated meetings are best and even better when facilitated by someone who has not been part of the project. But beware the use of consultants in terms of their need for 'new business' from your organisation so their level of integrity will dictate what they raise as 'important issues', most likely to be the ones they can solve! And also the level of honesty that they adopt with senior managers.  • A Lessons Learnt process/ meeting is only as good as:a) The breadth of the people participating - everyone that has been involved in the project should be invited to attend.b) Thinking broadly - additional Lessons Learnt meetings should be arranged for people outwith the project - either people/functions that should evidently have been involved from the start or others within the organisation. c) The level of honesty that exists is critical.I recently heard of a LL meeting where every time the CEO stepped out of the room people cut to the chase and shared what was wrong when this individual came back in everyone pleaded ignorance in terms of why this particular project was so so challenging - if you are not honest you are colluding! So if you are the CEO or the facilitator create a safe and honest space to discuss issues even if that means bringing up the Elephant in the Room, on behalf of the group so they feel able to be honest without being perceived as a troublemaker, clype or whistle blower is important.d) The information you discuss and record. Sometimes there is over emphasis on what went wrong - too much of a critical friend!; too much spin and post renationalisation; too much denial - their perception isn't reality - yes it is to that person (and probably 100s more!); too little Appreciative Enquiry; too many anecdotes rather than evidence; too little time invested in capturing positive lessons and drilling into the detail. I could go on….5. #8 talked about sharing and I just want to re-state this. Even if people haven't been involved in the LL meetings, publish, as a minimum in the organisational domain and let others reflect and comment on it you will have a better end product.6. Finally a message from me remember : Being a museum professional is about dealing with complex and sometimes difficult situations and that WILL include not always agreeing, having to be challenging to be creative and delivering difficult messages. If you don't do this, constructively you are complicit in future project failures! 

18. Managing Projects #10 Lessons Learnt - continued A Lessons Learnt process/ meeting is only as good as: • The breadth of the people participating - everyone that has been involved in the project should be invited to attend. • Thinking broadly - additional Lessons Learnt meetings should be arranged for people outwith the project - either people/functions that should evidently have been involved from the start or others within the organisation.  • The level of honesty that exists is critical. I recently heard of a LL meeting where every time the CEO stepped out of the room people cut to the chase and shared what was wrong when this individual came back in everyone pleaded ignorance in terms of why this particular project was so so challenging - if you are not honest you are colluding! So if you are the CEO or the facilitator create a safe and honest space to discuss issues even if that means bringing up the Elephant in the Room, on behalf of the group so they feel able to be honest without being perceived as a troublemaker, clype or whistle blower is important. • The information you discuss and record. Sometimes there is over emphasis on what went wrong - too much of a critical friend!; too much spin and post renationalisation; too much denial - their perception isn't reality - yes it is to that person (and probably 100s more!); too little Appreciative Enquiry; too many anecdotes rather than evidence; too little time invested in capturing positive lessons and drilling into the detail. I could go on…. #8 talked about sharing and I just want to re-state this. Even if people haven't been involved in the LL meetings, publish, as a minimum in the organisational domain and let others reflect and comment on it you will have a better end product. Finally a message from me remember : Being a museum professional is about dealing with complex and sometime difficult situations and that WILL include not always agreeing, having to be challenging to be creative and delivering difficult messages.  If you don't do this, constructively you are complicit in future project failures! 

19. If you have a suggestion for a Top Ten Tip Topic then please email us.