June 16, 2008 - Along for the Ride

For Father’s Day yesterday, we went to Knott’s Berry Farm, technically the oldest theme park in the United States. Father’s Day has to be the best day to go to an amusement park because there were no lines.

While we were waiting to board one of the roller coasters I snapped a picture of the warning sign: “Many rides at Knott’s Berry Farm are dynamic and thrilling. There are inherent risks in riding any amusement ride. For your protection, each ride is rated for its special features, such as high speed drops, sharp turns or other dynamic forces. If you choose to ride, you accept all of these risks.”

Perhaps projects should have their own warning signs:

“Many of the projects at are dynamic and thrilling but you probably won’t be assigned any of those. Regardless, there are inherent risks in managing any project. For our amusement, each project is rated for its special features, such as highly frustrating directors, unproductive team members, over ambitious time lines, unrealistic expectations and only a vague sense of scope. Unfortunately, we will keep this knowledge from you.”

So by now your seatbelt is fastened, the lap bar is in place and the ride operator has pushed the final button. Your project is picking up speed as it heads for the first turn. Now what?

Open Your Eyes. Rides are better if you can actually see what is coming. Take a realistic look at your project.

• Assess your team and determine what to expect from each individual. This includes knowledge, ability, availability, work ethic and attitude.
• If already written, re-read the charter or statement of work to understand what bumps you are expected to hit.
• If the charter or statement of work is not written, take the opportunity to write it, defining your scope and setting everyone’s expectations.

Secure Loose Articles. Straps on your glasses are a good idea. Get a good understanding of your budget, resource allocations, scope and any other aspect of your project that isn’t well defined. If you can’t explain it, you can’t manage it.

Focus on the Horizon. Some rides can make you sick to your stomach unless you focus at a fixed point and ignore the whirling objects all around you. Set you sites on the project scope and reign in the urge to go chasing extra items to add on.

Put Your Hands in the Air. Gripping tightly to the restraining bar does nothing to direct the ride or protect you. If you are strangling your team trying to force them to do things your way, loosen up a bit. Micromanaging the team isn’t going to keep it on track.

Scream. There are appropriate times for letting it out. Surprise, shock and horror occasionally pop up while managing projects. The tricky part is keeping it from becoming anger and dismay. Maybe screaming isn’t the most effective communication method. Lower your voice, but make sure people hear your concerns and address the issues.

Enjoy the Ride. Survival shouldn’t be the only goal. Having fun along the way is good for your team and for your blood pressure.

June 9, 2008 – Project Success…at What Cost?

Great things can be accomplished if Scope, Budget and Duration are no object. Here are some historical examples:

Hoover Dam
Scope: Stop a river and produce 2080 megawatts of power.
Budget: $49M US cost (under budget)
Duration: < 5 years (2 years ahead of schedule)
Added Expense: 112 Deaths

Egyptian Pyramid
Scope: Started as a grave. Scope creep resulted in one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World with quite a bit of gold plating, literally.
Budget: Spare not Cost
Duration: 27 years each
Added Expense: Slave Labor

Great Wall of China
Scope: Stop the Xiongnu attacks with a really big wall (6400km / 4000miles long)
Budget: Unknown
Duration: Several Centuries
Added Expense: 2 to 3 million Chinese lives

Each of these was an amazing project and each came with a high price tag in human lives.

Unfortunately there are a fair number of companies that force their teams to nearly kill themselves for unrealistic timelines. A friend of mine told me of the unhealthy environment they had recently left. The pressure there was tremendous. Deadlines were strictly enforced, resulting in projects that came in on time. How? People were required to work as much as 80 hours a week and be on call when they weren’t physically there. This resulted in people quitting, massive amounts of sick time request, spouses threatening divorce and people being hauled off in ambulances.

What made this story ironic was the fact that the company was in the health care industry.

How can you avoid killing your team?

Involve them in the estimating process. It seems obvious, but the people that do a deed generally know what it takes to get it done. Your job is to question the numbers. First, make sure there are enough hours. Are their estimates only for development? Did they include requirements, design and testing? Next, get a second opinion. One method for this is Planning Poker (see entry on Agile Estimating Methods). Finally, work to eliminate padding. Create a contingency pool to apply where needed but estimate the pieces realistically.

Limit overtime. Your initial pass at the schedule should not include overtime. Then, if overtime can’t be avoided, set boundaries on the timeframe. People can survive a lot if there is an end in sight. Strive to keep the overtime sprints to 6 weeks in duration. Show the team the time line and ask for their commitment.

Compensate them. Even “exempt” employees (salaried / non-time and materials) can’t be expected to work tirelessly without receiving something. The promise of several days off following a sprint can keep the team pushing forward. This isn’t expected to be an hour per hour trade for the time they put in. After all, salaried employees are expected to put a bit more into their jobs when necessary.

Set realistic expectations. As the project manager it is your responsibility to set the expectations of upper management.

Schedule team outings. Get your team out of the office once in a while. Lunch can be a simple solution. On the flip side, a friend of mine is attempting to set up a cricket match here in the states.

Give family friendly rewards. Stressful environments wreak havoc on families. Token rewards such as movie tickets or gift cards can help ease some of that pressure. Acknowledgement of that fact can go a long way. Consider presenting awards directly to spouses to show you understand the strain they are under.

Watch for warning signs. Keep on eye out for people that are putting in too many hours. Encourage them to throttle down a little, especially if they are wearing the same cloths they had on yesterday.

Very few projects are worth killing your team over. Besides, the paperwork involved in having an ambulance on site is a real pain.