Process Performance Zone

1. Process Performance Zone

2. 8½ Steps To Making A Project Method Stick Neil Whittington MD & Principal Consultant neil.whittington@arturian.com +44 (0) 1932 268657

3. Today’s Session • 30-40 minutes duration • Usable suggestions, hints and tips • Based on experience implementing project & development methods in many different types and sizes of organisation • Session is not specific to any project method – Prince II, PMBOK etc • Advice can be applied outside of Project Management – e.g. SDLC, IT Service Management..............

4. Presenter Background • 20 years practical experience in IT, Manufacturing and Financial Services • Established Quality Assurance functions and software testing centers for top-tier Investment Banks • Implemented several company-wide Software Development Lifecycles including one supporting 2,500 developers • Developed and deployed project and development lifecycles for clients across UK, Europe and USA • Importantly....also been a Project Manager for many years

5. 1 Challenge, 2 Principles and 8½ Steps • At some point, most organisations look to standardise the way projects are run • Once the fanfare is over – how do you stop people drifting back to their old ways of working? • There are 2 simple principles to making change stick • It must be easy for people to understand what they need to do • It must be useful – i.e. there must be something “in it for them” • This session explores 8½ pragmatic steps any organisation can take to achieve adoption of any project method

6. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote .. “A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” So, if you are going on this long journey ……..

7. STEP 1 …make sure that wherever you are going is worth the effort! DON’T OVER-ENGINEER THE SOLUTION • Make sure what you need to achieve is clear - the biggest barrier to adoption is an overly complex / bureaucratic process • Be pragmatic and make sure the method is scalable – does a 3 year, 10 person project really need to be run the same as a 1 month project? • Talk to similar sized organisations, see what they have done – did it stick?

8. STEP 2 …make sure you take a good map! MAKE IT SIMPLE FOR PEOPLE TO FIND WHAT THEY NEED • Provide a clear and simple representation of the process • Make everything people need available in one place • Processes • Guidance • Templates • Training • Ensure everything is under good version control

9. STEP 3 ...always ask a local for directions! ENGAGE PEOPLE WHO WILL USE THE PROCESS IN DEVELOPING IT • Create a working group, engaging staff from different disciplines (PMs, business users, testers) and groups – but don’t make it a management forum! • Provide a forum to gather ongoing feedback on processes & templates • Identify “Champions” in the PM user community to act as reference points and to take a temperature check with their peers • Include identifying process improvement suggestions after each project in every PM’s annual objectives

10. STEP 4 …check to see if there are any rickshaws running to your destination or better still, go by plane PROVIDE PRE-BUILT TEMPLATES, GUIDELINES AND EXAMPLES • Providing pre-built templates together with simple guidelines for use will accelerate adoption and encourage usage • Provide a Project Plan template that has all the tasks, resources and dependencies built it • Engage the “Champions” in gathering other good templates in use and make them available to the rest of the organisation • No training can beat a good example - take good documents from different sized projects and make them available to everyone in your process repository

11. STEP 5 …make sure you only pack what you need PROVIDE A SCALABLE PROJECT CHECKLIST • Scalability is key to the success of any project model • Provide a single checklist for a PM to use for their project that helps them • Categorise their project and select the right model • Engage the right people / groups at the right times • Produce the right documents / deliverables / signoffs • Maintain through the project to act as a compliance tool for reviews

14. STEP 6 …It’s ok to take a detour, as long as the destination is the same BE FLEXIBLE AND ALLOW FOR EXCEPTIONS • Provide a control mechanism that allows projects to deviate from the standards where appropriate • Publish “self assessment checklists” for key documents • Checklist of attributes / information that should be contained in the document – regardless of document format

15. STEP 7 ...a phrase book will be essential! ENSURE COMMUNICATION IS CONSISTENT AND STRAIGHTFORWARD • Identify 4 or 5 simple “rules of the road” that relate to key challenges or compliance requirements - for example • All changes requiring over 2 days total effort must follow the Project Lifecycle • Requirements must be signed off by project sponsor • Test results must be documented and approved • Ensure all affected parties know what is changing, why and how it affects them. • Use a newsletter to keep people up to date, alert to new templates and provide hints and tips on areas people are struggling with

16. STEP 8 …when you get somewhere special, send a postcard PUBLISH INTERNAL SUCCESS STORIES AND CASE STUDIES • People often associate process with bureaucracy - good PR for the method is worth its weight in gold • Publish case studies demonstrating how a successful project was implemented – and how some of the principles in the project method helped • Gain agreement from project teams using the method to act as a reference for teams being introduced for the first time to it

17. Re-Cap Keep it practical - don’t over engineer the solution Make it simple for people to find what they need Engage the users of the process in its development Provide pre-built templates and good examples Provide a scalable Project Checklist Remain flexible, but controlled and allow for exceptions Keep communication simple and consistent Publish internal case studies and success stories

18. AND FINALLY........STEP 8½ TAKE SMALL STEPS AND KEEP CHECKING YOUR PROGRESS • Get people doing one or two things well then move on