Breaking Through the Project Fog E-Book

James Norrie

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 397

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

A trail of mismanaged or terminated projects in recent years has cost the North American economy $100 to $150 billion dollars annually in lost productivity and shareholders capital. Unfortunately, the gap between project selection and project execution is often symptomatic of the onset of Project Fog, an all too familiar business situation in which projects are started and stopped constantly; resources fall short of the project workload to be executed; and, in the end, the entire effort is seen as a failure. A guide to sidestepping the usual hazards that often spell Project Fog, this book bridges the gap between executives who develop strategy and decide what projects get approved, and the project managers who have to execute those projects flawlessly. It provides a roadmap so that project managers can partner with executives to align their portfolio of projects with overall business strategy, ensuring that things get done right.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgements

CHAPTER ONE - Spotting Project Fog

HOW THE FOG ROLLS IN

THE FOG THICKENS

THE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

DEFINING A NEW STARTING POINT

THE LINK BETWEEN CURRENT PRACTICES AND “BETTER PRACTICES”

CHAPTER TWO - The Importance of Being Strategic

IS YOUR ORGANIZATION ALIGNED FOR RESULTS?

CURRENT PROJECT SELECTION METHODS

THE STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF LIMITED RESOURCES

THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL

SELECTING THE MOST STRATEGIC PROJECTS

UNDERSTANDING THE ORIGINS OF PORTFOLIO THEORY

ON-STRATEGY PROJECT MANAGEMENT: THE FOURTH DIMENSION

THE FINAL WORD IN THE REAL WORLD OF PRACTITIONERS

CHAPTER THREE - Navigating Through Foggy Strategy

BALANCED PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND MANAGEMENT

BUILDING A STRATEGIC PROJECT SCORING MODEL

BENEFITS AND COSTS OF REVISING YOUR CURRENT METHODOLOGY

PUTTING THE PROPOSED CHANGES INTO PRACTICE

CHAPTER FOUR - Managing Project Risks, Returns and Resources to Maximize Benefits

MAXIMIZING YOUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT EFFORTS

MANAGING PROJECT RISK

INTERNAL PROJECT RISK ASSESSMENT

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES IN PPM

INTEGRATING PPM WITH OTHER CORE BUSINESS PROCESSES

CHAPTER FIVE - Creating Small, Smart and Mighty PMOs to Steer the Way

GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START!

DEFINING OR RE-DEFINING THE PURPOSE OF THE PMO

STRATEGIC PMO PROCESSES

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

SUPPORTING STRATEGIC PROJECT SELECTION

IMPROVING THE PROJECT SUBMISSION PROCESS

ESTABLISHING STANDARD METHODOLOGY (OURS OR YOURS)

SUMMARY OF DO’S AND DON’TS OF AN EFFECTIVE PMO

CHAPTER SIX - The Role of the Board: Integrating Measurement and Accountability ...

ALL BOARDS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL

FOR-PROFIT OR NON-PROFIT BOARD: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

ELECTED OR APPOINTED?

BOARD COMMITTEES

THE BOARD AS PROJECT SPONSOR

THE BOARD AS A PROJECT RESOURCE

THE BOARD AS PROJECT MANAGER

FINAL THOUGHTS

CHAPTER SEVEN - Good Leadership in Foggy Conditions

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE SO MUCH?

A NEW LEADERSHIP MODEL

THE THREE C’S FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS

THE THREE A’S FOR EXECUTIVES

THE FORECAST FOR RELATIONSHIPS

A PARTING REFLECTION

CHAPTER EIGHT - Sweeping Away the Fog in the Private Sector

CLARIFYING STRATEGY AND REDUCING NON-STRATEGIC PROJECTS

IMPROVING PROJECT SELECTION METHODS AND PROCESSES

TRAINING AS A TOOL OF STRATEGIC CHANGE

INTEGRATING RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTO PPM

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

CHAPTER NINE - Two Case Studies: Clearing Up the Fog in the Public Sector

CASE STUDY CANDIDATE 1

STEP 1: CLARIFYING THE STRATEGY

STEP 2: CONSOLIDATING EFFORT

STEP 3: REINFORCING WHAT WORKS

STEP 4: STAYING THE COURSE

INTERESTING DATA POINTS FROM PARTICIPANTS

CASE STUDY CANDIDATE 2

WHAT WAS DONE DIFFERENTLY

CONNECTING INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

INTERESTING DATA POINTS FROM PARTICIPANTS

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTS

WHY PPM REALLY WORKS

CHAPTER TEN - Where to Go from Here?

NEXT STEPS

APPENDIX - Review of Relevant Research and Annotated Bibliography

STRATEGY REFERENCES

PROJECT MANAGEMENT REFERENCES

LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT REFERENCES

FINANCE AND PORTFOLIO THEORY REFERENCES

BSC AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Index

Copyright © 2008 by James Norrie

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed in writing to The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free 1-800-893-5777.

Care has been taken to trace ownership of copyright material contained in this book. The publisher will gladly receive any information that will enable them to rectify any reference or credit line in subsequent editions.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

Norrie, James, 1965-

Project fog : how smart organizations achieve success by creating, selecting and executing on-strategy projects / James Norrie.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-67528-1

1. Project management. 2. Strategic planning. I. Title.

HD69.P75N.4’04 C2008-900609-7

Production Credits

Cover design: Ian Koo Interior text design: Natalia Burobina Printer: Friesens

John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.

6045 Freemont Blvd.

Mississauga, Ontario

L5R 4J3

FP

This book is dedicated to Paul, Lia and Jillian, whose gift of time and patient understanding allows me to indulge my passion for writing and sharing knowledge with others. I am grateful for your love and affection; my life is fuller because of our life together. And to Bev and Derek Walker (thesis supervisor), great colleagues and now good friends without whom this book would not exist.

Preface

The writing of a book begins with an idea, and in this case, its origins belong to my many academic and consulting colleagues, incredible clients and the talented project management practitioners I have had the pleasure of working with over the course of two decades together. The field of project management is quite young; consequently, as “professional pioneers” we are all still figuring it out as we go!

This book is based on over 20,000 project hours; hundreds of online survey responses; and multitudes of case study interviews, training sessions and focus groups, conducted while completing my Doctorate in Project Management (achieved in 2006) under the able supervision of Dr. Derek Walker at RMIT. This book’s genesis was my thesis for that degree. In addition, my consulting work in leadership and strategic project management within organizations continues as part of an ongoing research initiative at Ryerson University, where I am an Associate Professor in the Ted Rogers School of Management.

This book was written for the following audiences:

• Executives and Board Members in the Private and Public Sectors

This group is ultimately responsible for strategy, governance, and an organization’s overall performance. We know that the building blocks of executing any strategy take shape initially as projects, whether a new product or service development project, a new or improved business process project, or the installation of new IT or Web-related capabilities. We also know that organizations are investing millions, even billions, of dollars worldwide in projects and project management-related activities. For those tasked with selecting strategic projects or ensuring that investments in project management pay off for their organizations, this book provides practical help and insight into proven practices that work.

• Project Managers and Program Leaders

Whether you are a sole practitioner, are part of a team inside an organization, or are at the top of your game and leading a global Project Management Office (PMO), all project managers need to continually challenge themselves to think about their ability to add value to their organizations. Within this book you will find a multitude of suggestions aimed at helping you become a strategic business partner to senior management, which is, in turn, deeply engaged in your organization’s strategy and in the selection and execution of the strategic projects that really matter. You will also learn more about why some of what you have learned along the way may be limiting your professional contribution, success and career mobility. In short, you will learn how to clear up the project fog and excel as a respected professional contributor at the highest levels of your organization.

• Consultants, Educators, Association Leaders

If you are responsible for shaping the future of project management and have an influence on this profession, this book will challenge you to think differently about the project management context and its place in business. You will also develop an understanding of what C-suite executives really want from their project management investments. This knowledge can help you develop and implement better project management practices globally that will ensure strategic results and executive satisfaction with your advice and contributions.

I have included many ideas directly contributed from individuals in exactly these roles—executives and practitioners from Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia, who shared their experience by anonymously answering online questionnaires.

I hope this book will free project managers to bring even more value to their organizations and move on to become part of senior management. When I talk with you at conferences, in training seminars, or while working with you in your organizations, I often hear your desire and willingness to contribute and your frustration at the lack of acknowledgement of the value of your potential contribution to strategy and its successful execution.

This lack of recognition must change, and it will over time. But it requires that we rethink our assumptions about strategic project management to ensure that they are relevant to the CEO and his or her senior executive team. The findings I share in this book and on the website (www.projectgurus.org) suggest a new mandate for project managers to participate at the highest decision-making levels of an organization. The website that the author and co-authors of this book have assembled provides free access for any project management practitioner or executive who wants extend the practice of strategic project management by joining a community of like-minded professionals.

We hope to change the current professional definitions of what constitutes the full scope of project management activities, especially in relation to strategic management of the project portfolio and project selection methods. This blurs traditional lines between strategy and project management and demands a fusion of two disciplines that is potentially disruptive, messy and ill-defined. However, navigating through the project fog is a worthy mission and one that will benefit both the individual project manager and the profession as a whole. This book and its accompanying website are hopeful first steps in that direction.

Meanwhile, the CEOs of large and small organizations in both the private and public sectors are frustrated too. They want project managers to contribute and they want their organizations to benefit from that contribution. But they are unsure of the essential value of project management and its role in the execution of strategy. This should concern everyone. For this book, I researched real behaviors of both management teams and project managers in an attempt to determine what should be happening as opposed to what is currently happening. I do not refer to this as “best practices” because the misuse of this term often confuses executives and leads them deeper into the fog. Rather, my mission is to help you find a path through the fog by providing practical, easy-to-use tools and techniques that work and are based on recognizing the reality of authentic organizational dynamics, politics and the “need for speed” that defines global competitiveness.

I hope that you can locate yourself in this book and see how it can contribute to the ultimate prize in business today—aligning your organization behind persistent effort that enables successful strategy execution!

For my academic colleagues: I am often dismayed by how little our insights into practice seem to matter to management. This should tell us something. Our deep understanding of the technology and techniques of project management is an asset, and our ability to influence practice, given that project management is an applied discipline that cuts across many traditional business subjects, is extremely relevant. Yet our insistence on the need for “statistical validity” and “quantitative proofs” means we risk not making as effective or complete a contribution to practice as we could. Ultimately, the study of project management happens best within an organizational context—action-based research techniques applying real-time interventions in real organizations that are geared to study differing results. While this method is gaining increased momentum and acceptance, it is not happening quickly enough. Project management is messy and complicated to study in real-world situations. I hope as academics that we can collectively work towards making our findings relevant in a business world where speed increasingly demands that we find newer, faster and more accessible ways of sharing our knowledge.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank the many people without whose help and support this book would not exist.

First, I thank my collaborators for their contributions to this book. In one’s professional life there are those that stand out for both their gifts and willingness to share them. The co-written chapters of this book (Chapters 5, 6 and 7) express wisdom that is the result of collaboration over many years with talented, dedicated and gifted colleagues with whom I truly enjoy working. You are each outstanding professionals in your own right and I am delighted to have worked with you on producing this book.

I wish to thank the many executives and practitioners from Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia who spent time answering questionnaires. Your honesty and willingness to share your experience were instrumental in the production of this book. Your willingness to participate in what has been, for me, a labor of love helped to clarify my thinking about strategic project management; I hope the final product justifies the investment of time you made in helping to produce the insights it contains.

I wish to thank my students at both the undergraduate and graduate level (and the students of my esteemed colleagues who may be using this book in the classroom). Teaching, more than any other activity, provides pure joy in my life. You challenge me not only to share what I know, but to justify the value of knowledge in practice. This gift ensures that I remain connected to my field so that what I do in the classroom remains relevant and engaging for you. I hope you will find this book is a launching point for your own careers in this wonderful and diverse field to which I have dedicated more than half of my life so far—afield that I hope will provide you with a diverse and satisfying career as you move from project management neophyte to leader in the coming decades!

To the wonderful folks at Wiley Canada, and an especially gifted and understanding editor (I mean you, Karen!), my thanks for making this project a reality and for enabling me to collaborate yet again with Michelle Nanjad, who is as talented and patient a taskmaster as anyone I have ever worked with. Your collective influence is evident in this book, and so the credit for success is duly shared.

To my readers who approach this book in the hope of becoming better at what you do, my sincere thanks and appreciation. I would like to hear from you: please visit my website and send me your comments, questions, and concerns at www.projectgurus.org.

Toronto, Canada

November 2007

CHAPTER ONE

Spotting Project Fog

The last five years of my professional life involved completing a doctorate in project management (DPM) and exploring strategic issues related to the practice of project management in organizations. The research conducted for my thesis is the genesis of this book. As I traveled the world of project management and C-suite executives that are so critical to the process of sponsoring and executing projects, I began to recognize that both parties were frustrated with the efforts and results from the other.

Project management professionals often feel distant and unconnected to the strategic management processes of their organizations. Rather than being strategic partners, they feel like a pair of hands that kick into action once a project has been selected and approved for implementation. Yet they could contribute so much more to the process if they were involved from the outset in the definition and selection of projects and worked closely with the executive team to help them realize their strategic vision. Since projects are often the building blocks of strategy execution, something that all executives should be focused on, it would seem like a natural partnership. Project managers want to ensure that their hard work matters and that what they are doing is truly strategic. Yet in my surveys, many project managers worldwide report feeling like they work on a never-ending list of projects with doubtful intentions and lack a clear strategic focus. They rarely feel connected to their executive sponsors or feel that they are on a strategic mission together towards a defined destination. This feeling of drift is not healthy for any professional. Its origins need to be examined so that organizations can address their level of motivation and engagement.