Derby Business School

1. www.derby.ac.uk/dbs Derby Business School www.derby.ac.uk/dbs

2. Education with the personal touch Week 11 – Where is the debate about Delivering Winning Projects going? www.derby.ac.uk/dbs

3. The Project Life Cycle (PLC) - effort over time How long?? Level of effort Time Planning, scheduling, monitoring, control Evaluation and termination Selection Conception

4. DEFINE PLAN ORGANISE CONTROL CLOSE State the problem Identify project goals List the objectives Determine preliminary resources Identify assumptions and risks Identify activities Estimate time & cost Sequence activities Identify critical activities Write project proposal Determine personnel needs Recruit Project Manager Recruit Project Team Organise team Assign work packages Define management style Establish control tools Prepare status report Review project schedule Issue change orders Obtain client acceptance Install deliverables Document the project Issue final report Conduct project audit IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING Covered Part-covered Not really addressed

5. Greer (1999) - 14 key principles for good Project Management • Project managers must focus on three • dimensions of project success. (QCT) • Planning is everything -- and ongoing. • Project managers must feel, and transmit to • their team members, a sense of urgency. Ref John Kotter(1995) • on factors which influence successful change • Successful projects use a time-tested, • proven project life cycle. • All project deliverables and all project activities • must be visualized and communicated in vivid detail.

6. Deliverables must evolve gradually, in • successive approximations • Projects require clear approvals and sign-off by • sponsors. • Project success is correlated with thorough • analyses of the need for project deliverables. • Project managers must fight for time to do things • right.

7. Project manager responsibility must be matched by equivalent authority. • Project sponsors and stakeholders must be active participants, not passive customers. • Projects typically must be sold, and resold. • Project managers should acquire the best people they can and then do whatever it takes to keep the garbage out of their way. • Top management must actively set priorities. Michael Greer (1999) " Planning and Managing Human Performance Technology Projects," Handbook of Human Performance Technology, Jossey-Bass,

8. Greer - Ten Guaranteed Ways to Screw Up Any Project • Don’t bother prioritizing your organization's • overall project load. • Encourage sponsors and key stakeholders to • take a passive role on the project team • Set up ongoing committees focusing on • management process • Interrupt team members relentlessly

9. Create a culture in which project managers are • expected to “roll over” and take it when • substantive new deliverables are added • Half way through the project, when most of the • deliverables have begun to take shape, add a • bunch of previously unnamed stakeholders • never force sponsors to stand behind their • approvals with a formal sign-off • Make sure project managers have lots of • responsibilities and deadlines, but no authority

10. Describe project deliverables in the vaguest • possible terms • Get projects up and running as quickly as • possible http://www.michaelgreer.com

11. The Road to project success? Teun Van Aken (1997) - PhD thesis • Background considerations: • 55% of Projects within budget • 45% of Projects on time • Therefore - 45% over budget and 55% late!! • Why are some projects more successful than • others?

12. Van Aken’s Reasoning • Success is NOT about tools & techniques: • Tools and Techniques are well developed, • Many projects fail • Therefore using tools & techniques does not • guarantee success

13. Findings: Negative effect Positive effect Conceptual Model Governability 1 2 3 4 Structured working style Project Success Goal - orientated working style Tools & Techs use

14. Findings • The use of tools and techniques is not a • guarantee of success • That working style relates strongly to success • That goal-oriented work needs only a few • tools and techniques to be successful • Too much structuring is an obstacle to success • Style of working is the key!! • This contradicts much of the PMgt Literature

15. Reminder - The Traditional PM model Quality Cost Time The ‘Iron Triangle’ of Objectives, Burke (1993)

16. Reminder - The ‘Square Route’ Model - Atkinson (1999) The Iron Triangle The Information System The Square Route Organisational Benefits Stakeholder Benefits Adding the further stages helps to gives a more balanced and pragmatic view of project success.

17. Winch (2006), Managing Projects as Future-Perfect Thinking There is a very important sense in which projects are the means by which organisations create their futures. Project organisations as sense-making systems engaged in systematic future-perfect thinking, and the project process as a progressive reduction of uncertainty through time. In a better place? Where do we want to be Projects are the way to get there Where are we now Seeking a better place??

18. Source: Winter M, Smith C, Morris P and Cicmil S (2006) Directions for Future Research in Project Management: The Main Findings of an EPSRC Research Network. Direction 1 The Lifecycle Model of Projects and PM From: the simple PLC models of projects as the dominant model of projects and project mgt. And from: the assumption that the PLC model is the actual ‘terrain’ (i.e. the actual reality ‘out there’ in the world). Theories of the Complexity of Projects and PM Towards: the development of new models and theories which recognise and illuminate the complexity of projects and project management. Towards: new models & theories which are explicitly presented as only partial theories of the complex ‘terrain’. Implication The need for multiple images to inform and guide action at all levels in the management of projects, rather than just the classical lifecycle model of project management, as the main guide to action.

19. Direction 2 Projects as Instrumental Processes From: the instrumental lifecycle image of projects as a linear sequence of tasks to be performed on an objective entity ‘out there’, using codified knowledge, procedures and techniques, and based on an image of projects as temporary apolitical production processes. Projects as Social Processes Towards: concepts and images which focus on social interaction among people, illuminating: the flux of events and human action, and the framing of projects (and the profession) within an array of social agenda, practices, stakeholder relations, politics and power.

20. Direction 3 Product Creation as the Prime Focus From: concepts and methodologies which focus on: product creation – the temporary production, development, or improvement of a physical product, system or facility etc – and monitored and controlled against specification (quality), cost and time. Value Creation as the Prime Focus Towards: concepts and frameworks which focus on: value creation as the prime focus of projects, programmes and portfolios. Note however: ‘value’ and ‘benefit’ as having multiple meanings linked to different purposes: organisational and individual.

21. Direction 4 Narrow Conceptualisation of Projects From: concepts and methodologies which are based on: the narrow conceptualisation that projects start from a well defined objective ‘given’ at the start, and are named and framed around single disciplines, eg. IT projects, construction projects, HR projects etc. Broader Conceptualisation of Projects Towards: concepts and approaches which facilitate: broader and ongoing conceptualisation of projects as being multidisciplinary, having multiple purposes, not always predefined, but permeable, contestable and open to renegotiation throughout.

22. Direction 5 Practitioners as Trained Technicians From: training and development which produces: practitioners who can follow detailed procedures and techniques, prescribed by project management methods and tools, which embody some or all of the ideas and assumptions of the ‘from’ parts of 1 to 4. Practitioners as Reflective Practitioners Towards: learning and development which facilitates: the development of reflective practitioners who can learn, operate and adapt effectively in complex project environments, through experience, intuition and the pragmatic application of theory in practice.

23. Agile Project Management • The principles of Agile can be found in: • lean manufacturing and six sigma. These concepts include error proofing, eliminating waste, creating flow, adding customer value, and empowering workers. • Agile emphasizes teamwork. Customers + developers. Agile Principles include:- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools- Working software over comprehensive documentation- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation- Responding to change over following a plan Additional Benefits include:- Customer satisfaction by rapid, continuous delivery of useful software- Working software is delivered frequently (weeks rather than months)- Working software is the principal measure of progress- Even late changes in requirements are welcomed- Close, daily cooperation between business people and developers- Face-to-face conversation is the best form of communication (co-location)- Projects are built around motivated individuals, who should be trusted- Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design, Simplicity- Self-organizing teams and Regular adaptation to changing circumstances http://www.marketpressrelease.com/Agile-Project-Management-1273134175.html

24. Perspectives on project management Johs et al 2007 IJPM • The task perspective – Focus On QCT. based on Scientific Management and rational choice Planning and control methods have a central position in this perspective, e.g., WBS, PERT, CPM, and cost estimation techniques • The leadership perspective –Key issues are leadership, communication, uncertainty, and learning. This is based on theories of leadership, communication, process, change, and teams. • The system perspectives –problem-solving by considering the total picture rather than individual components. Project as a management system including several subsystems. Key issues are systems, element of systems, boundaries, and dynamics. • The stakeholder perspective – effective management of the relationship between the project and its stakeholders is important for project success. Key issues include stakeholders, communication, negotiation, relationships, influence and dependence. The agency theory is dominant, as well as the theory of power and resource. • The transaction cost perspective –based on the assumption that a project can be considered an economic transaction. Transaction, transaction costs, production costs, and governance structure are key issues in this perspective. • The business by project perspective –project investments and benefits. The basic idea is that the company’s business is conducted through projects. Key issues include business, project results, project success, strategy, profit and benefits. • What perspective prevails in your organisation – how are you managing your project??

25. Leadership style and project type, Müller and Turner (2007) IJPM • On medium complexity projects, emotional resilience and communication are important. On high complexity projects sensitivity is important. These are more transformational leadership than transactional leadership. • On repositioning projects, motivation is important, whereas on renewal projects, self-awareness and communication are important. Thus a more transactional styles seems to be preferred on repositioning projects whereas a more transformational style on renewal projects. • On fixed price contracts, sensitivity and communication are important, whereas on re-measurement contracts influence and communication are important. On both a transformational style seems to be preferred. • Throughout the life-cycle, conscientiousness and communication are important. At the design stage managing resources is also important, and motivation and sensitivity at the commissioning stage. Strategic perspective is detrimental to project success, except during feasibility and close-out. • On home-based, multi-cultural projects, motivation and managing resources are important and strategic perspective detrimental.

26. Global virtual teams for value creation and project success - Lee-Kelley and Sankey (2008) IJPM • Examines whether virtual projects present challenges that are different from conventional projects and how they might be more useful than face-to-face teams in delivering value in certain contexts. • Findings indicate that time zone and cultural differences in particular, affected communication and team relations. • Other barriers included more ‘conventional’ issues such as management agenda and leadership style, requirements creep, asymmetry in processes and unclear roles and responsibilities. • However, success in terms of time, budget and value delivery was evident in both of the virtual projects – attributable primarily to the determination and outcome orientation of team members. • The study concludes that virtual teams are useful for projects requiring cross-functional or cross-boundary skilled inputs and the key to their value creation is to have a defined strategy to overcome problems associated with at-distance cooperation.

27. 2010 Trends in Project Management- Reed, Donna    January 2010 Trend 1 - Enterprises continue to look for Efficiencies in Process & Technology Trend 2 - Agile and Lean Processes are overtaking Waterfall Trend 3 - PM's are becoming Independent Consultants Trend 4 - Virtual & Independent Teams will be more Prevalent Trend 5 - Social Media will become a Norm Trend 6 - PM & BA Roles are Converging

28. Other useful references http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/project-management/index_html JISC infoNet aims to be the UK's leading advisory service for managers in the post-compulsory education sector promoting the effective strategic planning, implementation and management of information and learning technology. http://www.prince2.com/ PRINCE2 is a process-based approach for project management providing an easily tailored, and scaleable method for the management of all types of projects. Each process is defined with its key inputs and outputs together with the specific objectives to be achieved and activities to be carried out.