Ask Cadence: The Project Management Podcast

In this episode's conclusion to "The 8 Biggest Problems" podcast, Cadence president John Patton brings you problem number eight in the series: Project Managers are Passive. "In some companies, this is problem number one. I've saved it until problem number one, however, because I want to underscore it's importance." There's a core confusion in organizations between coordination and leadership. A coordinator assists the project manager in the logistical needs and support of the project. "They're describing the wake at the rear of the boat," says Patton. They are not project leaders. On the other hand, project managers are well prepared with excuses defending poor project performance. "One of the most common," says Patton, "'This project was delayed due to circumstances beyond my control.' If it's out of their control, how could they possibly steer the project around it?"

This time, in "The 8 Biggest Problems" podcast, Cadence founder John Patton brings you problem number seven in the series: Changes to cost, schedule, and performance are not controlled. Even project teams with the best intentions suffer the challenges of "Scope Creep," says Patton, and there are a number of contributing factors. For example, project team members often don't have a complete understanding of projects during the planning phase and make changes to the work they're doing past the half-way point of the project. Project managers agree to changes without due process, in an effort to provide good customer service, without understanding the changes being requested. "Managers are uncomfortable with limits," Patton says. "They want the flexibility to make changes when they think of them because they live in a world which is constantly changing and they're constantly making adjustments to provide better customer service, better service to their clients in this living operating environment." However, a muddy change process becomes a circle that causes the schedule to slip, tasks to be late, and has a potentially negative overall project impact. This time, Patton describes a process for addressing Task, Deliverable and Project level change to maintain efficiency and understanding while maintaining control over Cost, Schedule, and Performance variables on the project and respecting project authority. "The people who complained the most about scope creep are the people who make the changes" Patton says. "Those are the project managers and the team members."

A common stumbling-block for companies appears well into the project planning and implementation stage, when roles have been decided but actual responsibility at the task level is lacking. We have detailed several causes and effects below, along with a best-practice solution to help you ensure that your project has the greatest possible chance of success. While the overall project aim, timeline, team, and roles may have been defined, often the tasks that are needed to move the entire project forward are not sufficiently detailed. Some necessary tasks may be overlooked altogether and others are not assigned to the appropriate person. The solution for this is to have a constantly-updated chart where the individual tasks are clearly detailed, along with the team member responsible for each one and a completion date.

A common challenge many clients face in project management is simply being able to get enough people onto the project team. To build crucial momentum, a successful project requires sufficient team members to take care of all aspects of the planning and execution. What makes this problem especially insidious is that in some cases, it may initially appear that you have enough willing team members for your project. What becomes apparent as the project gets underway however is that a significant number of these members are already overcommitted on other projects and therefore unable to contribute fully in their role as intended. This can also be a timing problem, where people assigned earlier to your project are unavailable at its commencement due to other projects they are involved in running late. Then there are the situations where recently completed projects fail, leading to emergency situations that occupy human resource, leaving your project stuck on the runway.

A common problem that we regularly see with clients in a broad spectrum of industries is that many people simply don’t have the ability to plan their section of the work required for the project to be successful. Planning isn’t a skill that comes naturally to most people. It requires determined, focused mental effort – as Henry Ford is reputed to have said: "Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it!" There are tools to assist with project planning, but these don’t necessarily break down the project into the component step-by-step parts that each individual will need to contribute. This problem can lead to the project never getting off the ground at all, or alternatively, proceeding in a series of small gains followed by setbacks due to a lack of proper planning. This in turn can lead to discouragement and negative feeling on the part of all involved.

We see this all over the world and it is one of the most common problems clients talk about: our projects start slowly. Reasons for these slow starts vary, and some are highly contradictory. For example, some complain that there is too much time, while others complain that there isn't enough time. Other common reasons given are that there are unanswered questions, they don't know enough about the project, or there are not enough people on the project team. Sometimes, the reasons given pertain to the work done in previous phases. Maybe the work was incomplete or inadequate. The bottom line, though, is that projects typically fall behind because the pace was not set at the beginning of the project. Even though people are busily working, no real progress is being made on the project.

The planning phase is the stage that comes into play immediately after authorization and initiation, and it is critical to the success of your project. During planning, your focus is developing the roadmap your project team follows throughout the project's duration. In addition to developing a project management plan, this is the time to define scope. It is this piece, defining scope, which seems to cause the most trouble during planning. Inadequate scope definition leads to a host of issues. Read on to discover its impact, solutions, and how to implement those solutions.

The execution phase is the stage that comes into play immediately after authorization and planning. While previous phases have eliminated risks and problems, more will be discovered in this phase. While the project manager and team must be alert to finding these problems and solving them as early as possible, there is a class of problems caused by lack of process. In fact, some of these problems are caused by management who do not understand the processes needed for good project control, processes which also accelerate execution when present. Read below to read the impacts caused by the lack of time reporting by all parties working on the project, and how to implement the solutions.

Cadence founder John Patton brings us this series based on his speech, "The 8 Biggest Problems with Project Planning and Execution ... and Solutions for Each." These eight problems come as a summary of the key issues Patton has witnessed in his experience as a seasoned project manager, and the wisdom he's helped his client organizations to apply in moving beyond them. Each week, we will offer a dissection of some of the near-universal implementation and management problems felt by project managers around the world.

As projects near completion, it can sometimes be difficult to finalize and deliver them due to issues that can drag on or situations that arise. Getting over that last hump, to deliver the finished project can be the most difficult phase.

It happens. The team is working hard and they’re trying to keep up. Everyone’s putting in the extra effort. Yet you’re running into a number of problems. In the middle part of the project, you can start to lose momentum. The team can start to lose some of their enthusiasm. And, if you’re not careful, you can even start to doubt yourself and your abilities. Cadence founder, John Patton, discusses how projects—and project managers—can get bogged down in the middle stage of a project. He also addresses strategies that project managers can employ to right the ship, and get their projects back on course to successful delivery.

In the early stages of a project, a number of issues can crop up that can shift the project manager’s focus away from getting the project kicked off and on its way to eventual delivery. It’s an important time, as a successful start sets the stage for a successful delivery. This segment is the first in a three part series that focuses on keeping your projects moving. In it, Cadence founder John Patton lays out the causes for projects getting off to a slow start, and outlines strategies for dealing with the issues and distractions that can keep your projects from getting safely off the ground.

This week’s problem card asks, “we’re dealing with so many external influences demanding quick successes — how do you avoid jumping to implement in a way that drives success but doesn’t forget that you’re working on a project?” This week on the show, Connie Plowman joins us to take on this issue with tips on planning, strategy, and nimble project management that allows you to be responsive to organizational demands without taking unnecessary risks.

This week’s problem card focuses on the busy executive that, for whatever reason, is not making tough decisions quickly and is beginning to impact the smooth march forward of the project. This week, Connie Plowman joins us to walk through the roadblocks to executive decision making, and outlines key steps you can take to make sure your leadership team is equipped with the right data to make the right decisions for your project. In this episode, we make reference to the Cadence Problem Solving tool, which you can download from our forms and templates library.

Former Cadence COO Connie Plowman returns to Ask Cadence to discuss portability of the project management skill set in her new role. John Patton and Pete Wright talk with Connie as she shares the value of the project management domain in organizational leadership.

A Cadence graduate called for help — after relocating for a promotion, his company was acquired by a new firm. Management roles changed, and it was time to renegotiate. John Patton and Pete Wright tackle this issue, and share guidance on planning your career in the face of company acquisition.

This week’s project challenge comes from a recent attendee dealing with the loss of a critical team resource — a team member recently suffering a stroke. This sort of shock affects teams on many levels, from the deeply personal, to the profoundly professional. John Patton joins Pete Wright to take on this sort of devastating loss and discuss the recovery process ahead.

Each PMI Global Congress, we like to sit down with Cadence representatives and do a brief recap of lessons learned. The Global Congress in Dublin gave us an excellent opportunity to visit trends in complexity and program management, as captured by some of the top thinkers in our field. John Patton joins Pete Wright for a discussion of highlights.

The Project Management Institute’s Education Foundation - PMIEF - is a foundation for spearheading the kinds of projects that support building best-in-class project managers for the future. John Patton and Pete Wright review the role of this important part of our project management ecosystem and cover how the foundation drives project management education around the world.

Organizations that invest in developing their project management initiatives quickly recognize the complexity that comes with newfound sophistication. To tackle broader and more robust initiatives, portfolio and program management offer a new basket of tools and skills for medium and large organizations to apply. John Patton and Pete Wright discuss the organizational impact of a portfolio and program management initiative and offer ideas on how you can begin to drive toward these new tools in your own project management environment.

There is a fear and misconception that project managers without technical or engineering skill will put the projects they manage at risk. Further, that organizations that adopt project management across the company, the only kind of project manager that surfaces will be the non-technical sort. John Patton and Pete Wright take on the fear, not to defend the non-technical project manager, but to give you ideas on how to best integrate the non-technical project manager into a smart, technically-focused project organization.

For 35 years, John Patton has been serving and supporting the Project Management Institute, both as CEO of Cadence Management Corporation, and as a professional project manager and researcher of the field. Join John Patton and Pete Wright as they reflect on the history of PMI and the role of the organization in the life and work of project managers around the world.

During the execution phase of the project, the team is stretched by the customer to add to scope. It’s causing strain on the team and putting pressure on the schedule. Jay Christensen and John Patton discuss the critical importance of scope definition in planning, and how to manage the complex client relationship that evolves after profile development is complete.

The transition from project mode into operations is often every bit as critical as planning the project itself. John Patton and Jay Christensen take on this issue, and provide options for bringing transition planning back into the planning process, and under control.

Lack of timely decision-making can cause rework and re-scoping on projects. Jay Christensen and Pete Wright take on this challenge from a course attendee and offer suggestions for maintaining team focus and strong communication up and down the project hierarchy.

You know the project is coming, but it hasn't been authorized. As the window to deliver closes, how do you push sponsors to move the project forward before the schedule slips? Jay Christensen and Pete Wright take on this issue from an attendee with solutions for getting action without sacrificing reputation!

Jay Christensen and Pete Wright discuss a key project management hurdle as presented in class: there are unclear priorities and mixed messages coming from the steering committee and an unwillingness to move projects down in priority. We cover the role of the portfolio manager and offer solutions for streamlining communication to ensure your teams are working on the right projects at the right time.

As a new team member in an organization, what do you do when those around don’t understand or believe in the power of project management? We respond to this common yet difficult challenge with strategies for building success, support, and understanding, while helping your new team shine. Join John Patton and Jay Christensen on Ask Cadence.

Cadence Vice President and COO has served almost every capacity in her 22 years at Cadence. She has served as leader and mentor across the project management community and helped countless practitioners achieve success through project management themselves. We at Cadence will miss her greatly in our day-to-day activity, but we’re thrilled to see what Connie will bring to our field in the next chapter of her journey. This week on Ask Cadence, a brief conversation with Connie on her tenure at Cadence, her journey in Project Management, and what comes next.

On projects, it’s all about the team. The same is true for training. John Patton and Pete Wright discuss the importance of attending training and consulting events in teams, leveraging the experience of training together to work on real projects, delivering real results fast.

The Cadence scholarship program for educators, in partnership with the PMI Education Foundation, has been a boon to teachers and administrators looking to bridge practical business and organizational skills with curricula. Join Connie Plowman and guest Denise Tischler to discuss her experience in the Cadence PM course, and how she will be using her new skills as a principal and administrator.

This time, we take on culture. Building off our on-going discussion on behavioral models for individuals and teams, John Patton and Pete Wright discuss the importance of defining and understanding cultural behavioral profiles in project management in light of the ever-increasing demands on teams to work in geographically and culturally diverse project environments.

This time, we take on groups. Building off our discussion last week on individual behavior models, John Patton and Scott Lissit introduce group behavior dynamics and outline critical strategies for project managers who are bogged down by the discomfort that can come in the early phases of team development.

This time we dive into human behavior. For project managers, helping team members understand and quantify their strengths can be a critical asset in guiding the team to delivering results. John Patton and Scott Lissit introduce key behavioral models and instruments, and discuss how to apply them judiciously in individual and team development.

Setting responsibilities for delivering results in project management is critical for success on teams, but even more important for the management support hierarchy around projects. John Patton joins Pete Wright to discuss the key principles and responsibilities that each role must take on to ensure consistent success on projects.

The CAPM certification from the Project Management Institute was originally fashioned as a milestone in the development of the professional project manager. But John Patton has a different take on the cert, one that positions team members as better prepared and supported team members, armed with the right tools to deliver project results for the team. John joins Pete Wright to talk about the importance of the certification on Ask Cadence.

IIn part 7 of our special, “19 Techniques for managing people who do not report to you,” Jay Christensen and Rod Sharman discuss problem solving and managing progress of critical tasks. After 7 discussion episodes on our 19 Techniques, we share some reflections on managing the people side of projects, and the importance of balance across key management disciplines in the best project managers.

In part 6 of our special, “19 Techniques for managing people who do not report to you,” Jay Christensen and Rod Sharman discuss how project managers can manage difficult people on their teams. Through rapport-building exercises social activities, communication study, and functional management involvement, you’ll have a suite of tools to use to build a tighter team and keep the project moving forward.

In part 5 of our special, “19 Techniques for managing people who do not report to you,” Jay Christensen and Rod Sharman discuss the importance of using facts and data in supporting positions on projects, how you can encourage critical thinking in your team, and what you need to do to support your team members in removing obstacles standing in the way of getting their work done.

In part 4 of our special, “19 Techniques for managing people who do not report to you,” Jay Christensen and Rod Sharman discuss task definition, specifically around critical impact tasks, and how to manage these tasks in a way that encourages action and progress.

In part 3 of our special, “19 Techniques for managing people who do not report to you,” Jay Christensen and Rod Sharman discuss issues and concerns, with special focus on how to manage resolution of issues in a visible way.

In part 2 of our special, “19 Techniques for managing people who do not report to you,” Jay Christensen and Rod Sharman discuss roles and responsibilities on your projects, ensuring that commitments are clear and visible through the Responsibility Matrix and Schedule.

This is part 1 of our special, “19 Techniques for managing people who do not report to you.” Jay Christensen and Rod Sharman discuss the importance of goal statements, clear objective statements, and a well-publicized project profile in getting the support you need to deliver project results.

You can help your organization understand the roles and skills required for the project management function — you just have to know where to start. Jay Christensen helps outline the planning elements you’ll need to add to communication what will and will not be done on your project — and by whom!

When working to build your team, you may find yourself in a sticky political mess when you find different groups in your organization are prioritizing your project differently. Consistent prioritization is key to alignment on projects and requires the right mix of authority, will, and communication. Jay Christensen points you in the right direction as you help your organization master project prioritization.

You have a problem. You escalate to your sponsor or steering committee. Their response? Don’t worry, they’re sure you’ll be able to solve the problem without impacting Cost, Schedule or Performance! As frustrating as this response may be, listen in as Jay Christensen unravels the motivation behind this typical response, and gives you the tools you need to present the right solutions, just the right way!

Are you a project manager seeking support from the functional managers who have their employees on your teams? Are you a team member looking for more support from your functional manager as you work on projects? TJay Christensen takes on both of these issues and give you the strategies you’ll need to solve a tricky political puzzle.

It’s one of the most common things we see on troubled projects, and sometimes the trickiest to navigate: No sponsor or steering committee supporting your projects. Jay Christensen dives into the issues that lead to this on your projects, and how you can find the support you need to get your projects back on track.

The problem card this week says it all: “Three project teams working on mandatory compliance projects to 18 countries, all three high priorities. Tasks from all three due all the time. How do I manage projects and priorities across overlapping critical projects?” It’s a question for all over-worked project people, and John Patton joins Jay Christensen to tackle it on the show.

It may seem like stakeholder meddling, but external influences competing for attention on your project can be a symptom of a much larger problem. This week, John Patton and Jay Christensen help you focus on the lifecycle, using a few key tactics to ensure all your project stakeholders are working with you to keep the project focused — not distracting you from getting your project work done.