Why Holding Workshops is Key to Accelerating Project Start-up

Project start-up is a particularly hurried phase and we often hear project managers and other project team members state that they are too busy to have time for workshops. However, properly conducted workshops will significantly accelerate setup and project preparation compared to traditional work approaches. In our new White Paper 2017-13 ‘Why Holding Workshops is Key to Accelerating Project Start-up’ we examine why it is the case, which workshops are particularly important to hold and what are the required features of productive workshops.

Properly prepared and facilitated, workshops are efficient ways to co-create shared understanding and plans. The reasons are fourfold:

• Bringing together different and varied points of views and experience to enrich the discussion,
• A dedicated span of time without interruptions to consider key issues,
• Confronting points of view thus enabling the emergence of new approaches, and the shared realization of challenges and opportunities,
• Reaching a shared vision of reality that will allow and intrinsic alignment of the team during execution.

In addition, during the project start-up phase, as team members have been gathered to execute the project, workshops serve as an excellent occasion for teambuilding.

The resistance of many people to the workshops concept might be due to past negative experiences where “workshops” were conducted which were simple meetings without proper framing, resulting in poor productivity and feel of loss of time.

Real workshops need to be properly prepared and facilitated to be effective.

Holding effective workshops is the most efficient way of supporting project start-up. This is not understood by many project teams, possibly because of the lack of properly facilitated workshop experience and the lack of experienced facilitators.

Our experience is that properly effective workshops can save weeks of conventional office collaboration and accelerate dramatically the project start-up while producing high quality deliverables that will allow the project to start on the right foot with a realistic execution plan and an effective organization. Find how in our new White Paper 2017-13 ‘Why Holding Workshops is Key to Accelerating Project Start-up’ !

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2017-13_Workshops_Acceleration_v0.pdf

Why It Is Important to Run Independent Data Checks and Project Reviews

An easy manner to avoid being blind to a Project that is failing is to organize independent data checks and independent Project reviews. Unfortunately it takes a certain level of organizational maturity to implement these processes. In our new White Paper 2017-05 ‘Why It Is Important to Run Independent Data Checks and Project Reviews’ we expose how to organize these independent checks and why they are so important.

Independent data checks should be focused on the most critical issues for the Project (activities close to critical path, cost items most prone to large deviations), and/or the suppliers and contractors for which limited track record exists. Still it is also important to include some random checks on less critical elements to verify that the overall data available is not corrupted.

In an interesting parallel with the independent data checks for data assurance, we believe that the Project Control Manager should also implement an independent communication check program. This aims at ensuring through an independent check the effectiveness of all the formal communication channels providing data to Project Control.

The most essential element of independent checks is to expose the Project from time to time to external eyes at the detailed level. The form of this exposure varies but generally involves a team of experienced external reviewers spending one to two weeks within the Project, in the Project office as well as on the construction site where relevant.

Having outsiders will allow a fresh view on the Project execution and its strategy. The review if successful will confirm a number of actions and will ask challenging questions on other areas.

Due to some organizational cultural reasons some of these independent checks are not always implemented whereas they do provide consistently substantial value to Projects, and provide assurance to senior management that what is reported is consistent with reality. Independent reviews and check must be applied, in particular if there is resistance from the Project, which may indicate that some issues might need to be uncovered.

Read our new White Paper 2017-05 ‘Why It Is Important to Run Independent Data Checks and Project Reviews’ to understand better how to run independent checks on your projects!

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2017-05_Independent_Checks_v0.pdf

How to Overcome the Paradox of Project Control: Traditional Management Control or Support to Project Piloting?

The terminology ‘cost control’ or ‘project control’ stems from industrial business control, traditionally an independent function which role is to effectively police productivity and people and check for fraud. However in a project it is important that Project Control does not limit itself to pure control independently of operations: it also needs to provide the foundation for proper data allowing the project manager to pilot to the project to its destination.

This paradox – and the need to overcome the ‘control’ terminology – is not always well understood leading to Project Control administered as a pure control function depriving the project of proper navigation tools. Our new White Paper 2017-12 ‘How to Overcome the Paradox of Project Control: Is it Traditional Management Control or Support to Project Piloting?’ elaborates on this paradox and how to overcome it.

In spite of its name, Project Control is not involved in Business Control in the traditional understanding of the term. The term is misleading. Project Control main role is to gather data, check for its accuracy and then produce the relevant indicators that serve to steer the project towards its objectives. This role needs to happen taking into account consistently all major considerations of contract, cost, schedule and risk.

The role related to actual Business Control is very limited. We observe sometimes Project Control resources being used to provide actual Business Control functions. This can be very dangerous.

Read more about this terminology issue and the risks associated in our new White Paper 2017-12 ‘How to Overcome the Paradox of Project Control: Is it Traditional Management Control or Support to Project Piloting?’

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2017-12_Project_Control_vs_Piloting_v0.pdf

How to Identify and Manage Weak Signals in Large Complex Projects

Identifying and managing Weak Signals is an essential capability in all complex systems. Its aim is to enable to act before large disruptive consequences spread throughout the entire system. In general we find that Complex Projects do not listen sufficiently to potential disruptive signals. In our new essential White Paper 2017-04 ‘How to Identify and Manage Weak Signals in Large Complex Projects’ we discuss how to identify and assess these Weak Signals, with the aim to anticipate as much as possible events that will significantly alter the course of the Project.

The more complex the Project, the more:

• Isolated events will generally have consequential impacts,
• Small disturbances, also called Weak Signals (even remote from the core of the Project) can have very significant impact, up to the point of significantly disrupting the Project.

This is due to the fact that Project complexity is a direct consequence of the interdependency of activities and responsibilities between contributors.

Tracking small disturbances (Weak Signals) and assessing systematically their consequential impacts is thus an essential task. In Complex Projects, a forecasting process that would not consider Weak Signals and consequential impacts would be very insufficient.

The Project Control Manager is often the only person that can apprehend and analyse fully the consequential impacts of events – actual or potential such as in the case of Weak Signals. He must play this role systematically together with the identification and assessment of Weak Signals – internal or external to the Project. Actually the identification, observation and analysis of Weak Signals is an essential Project Control capability. Read  our new essential White Paper 2017-04 ‘How to Identify and Manage Weak Signals in Large Complex Projects’!

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2017-04_Identify_Manage_Weak_Signals_v0.pdf

Why Time Has More Value Than Cost in a Project

Time is generally a much more important factor for Project success than cost. Delays will always create significant indirect costs and complications. Certain time options or time windows will create substantial complexity and potential for severe consequential impacts. Discipline in maintaining the Project schedule according to best practices will be essential in defending your rights should the occasion arise. In our new White Paper ‘Why Time Has More Value Than Cost in a Project And How to Defend Your Rights for Time’ we explore why time is so important, and what these best practices are that should be followed.

To better understand the consequences of delays, we explore in the White Paper the main causes of consequential impacts of delays on the project outcome and discuss extensively issues around windows and cost of opportunity.

It is essential to comply with scheduling best practice, in particular in terms of traceability of changes, to increase the chances of winning any claim related to schedule.

Time is an essential contractual issue for Projects and is the main driver of performance and most contractual discussions. Adhere to scheduling best practices to protect your rights. Understand better how by reading our new White Paper ‘Why Time Has More Value Than Cost in a Project And How to Defend Your Rights for Time’.

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2016-09_Schedule_Contractual_Aspects_v0.pdf

The Three Essential Transverse Processes to Keep Large, Complex Projects Under Control

To keep control of a Large, Complex Project a large number of interfaces between functions have to be monitored through the Project Control processes. Three additional processes that are fully transverse to the Project also need to operate perfectly: these are:

• Management of Change,
• External Interface Management,
• and Procurement Post-Award Management.

Our new White Paper 2017-03 ‘The Three Essential Transverse Processes to Keep Large, Complex Projects Under Control’ exposes why these processes are so critical, and what are the associated success factors.

The three transverse processes exposed in our new White Paper 2017-03 ‘The Three Essential Transverse Processes to Keep Large, Complex Projects Under Control’  are absolutely essential for any Project to be successful. Sufficient attention must be devoted to setting up and operating those processes. This will often warrant to allocate a full-time experienced person to be allocated for Management of Change and/or External Interface Management. Experience often can’t be replaced when it comes to gauging quickly the impact of a Change or an Interface Request over the entire Project, including consequential impacts.

Depending on the Project organization, Project Control might not be responsible to establish and maintain these processes. In all cases it must make sure they are functional throughout the entire Project execution, and make good use of the data they provide.

How Psychological Factors Affect Schedule Optimism

Project Scheduling is not just science and rationality. Many psychological factors come into play when designing a Project schedule and then during Project execution that greatly influence events and outcomes. Some of these are compounded by intrinsic weaknesses of the scheduling approaches and methods used. Our new White Paper 2016-08 ‘What the Psychological Factors At Work in Scheduling Are, and How They Affect Schedule Optimism’ detail those issues.

The main psychological factors at work include:

• Parkinson’s law,
• Student’s syndrome,
• Commitment syndrome,
• Planning Fallacy,
• Lack of calibration of estimates.

Psychological factors play a decisive role in actual Project Scheduling and execution. Neglecting them is often disastrous, in particular because the net effect is often an optimistic initial plan, which subsequently progressively slips into delays.

Prevention methods must be implemented at the planning stage, which need to take into account whether familiar tasks or new tasks are being discussed. During Project execution, specific methods such as adequate project buffers, virtual float elimination and float monitoring, will also help minimize the effect of these psychological factors.

Read our new White Paper 2016-08 ‘What the Psychological Factors At Work in Scheduling Are, and How They Affect Schedule Optimism’ to get a grip on these issues.

At the end of the day, always remember that Projects are a Human Adventure!