Welcome Back!• The following slide contains a list of 6

words.• Instead of reading them, we will speak the

COLOR of each word. • For example:

•Dog (Red)•Cat (Blue)•House (Green)

• Success Definition:– A room full people speaking clearly with one

voice Slide - 1

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BLUEBLUEYELLOWYELLOW

GREENGREEN

REDRED

ORANGEORANGE

WHITEWHITE

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Ready… Set… Go!

theBigRocks of Project Management©

1. Project Charter/Summary

2. Scope, Goals & Objectives

3. Alignment

4. Risk & Issue Management

5. Documented Project Plans

6. Project Communication

7. Activity Management

8. Track & Control

9. Change Management

10. Verifying Results3

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“Plan the Work” “Work the Plan”

AM PM

Consider this rule of thumb: “You will know that you’re doing enough communication when you’re doing too much…”

Plan for communication by considering:

a. Key messagesb. Stakeholder audiencesc. Appropriate sendersd. Timing and pacee. Available channels, formats & methodsf. Sensitivity to culture, language and nuance– Feedback loops

Bottom Line: It’s not what you SAY that counts. It’s what they HEAR!

AreAreWe?We?

©

Big Rock #6: Communication

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Two Primary Communication Needs

• Team Communication– Consider what information your team members

need to have in order to “stay in the loop” and be successful.

– Look Up!– Look Down!– Look Out!

• Stakeholder Communication– What information will be needed by those who are

impacted by your project - but not necessarily on the team?

Brainstorm: What Information?

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Stakeholder Communication

• What:– Identify important stakeholder groups and key

messages– Plan for targeted messaging and regular blanket

communications for the general population• Who:

– Identify which messages will come from the change team and which messages will come through “regular channels”

• How:– Map key messages to stakeholder groups and deliver

with timing, sequencing, reinforcement & feedback

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* List some people and groups who will need regular communication regarding your project. Include both

Team & Stakeholder needs. *

Communication Planning Worksheet

Source Key Message Target Audience

Channel(s) Timing Feedback Method

Use a Summary Table for Tracking:

Author: _____________________________ Who will draft the message?

Source: _____________________________

Who will send the message?

Core Message: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What information needs to be shared?

Target: _____________________________

Who needs to get the message?

Channels: ___________________________

How will the message be delivered?

Timing: _____________________________

When will the message be sent?

Feedback:___________________________

How will feedback be measured?

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Guidelines for Action-Based Guidelines for Action-Based Communication Communication

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Big Rock #7 Coordinate Project Activities

1.It’s the PM/Project Coordinator’s job to keep things on track.

3.Help the team ruthlessly prioritize:a.Set daily/weekly work priorities – especially help your key

people.b. Verify activities are getting done and that results are

satisfactory.c.Decide how you’ll handle activities that “get stuck”, start to

‘slip’ or produce unsatisfactory results.d.Keep track of what’s getting done, being worked on and

coming next.

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AreAreWe?We?

©

2.Coordinate the assignment & execution of activities.a.Verify who has authority to

“tell people what to do” & where that authority starts and ends. Beware of assumptions!

b. Make it clear how work is assigned & how assignments are acknowledged.

Exercise:

Jugglingthe Work of a Team

Step

3

AB

10

Re: Accountability

If it needs to be done, it sticks to the PM (or Project Coordinator) until they can make it stick to someone

else…”

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Big Rock #8: Tracking & Control

Project Coordinators need to keep their team and their Sponsor “in the loop” with information such as:•Accomplishments - Completed work & milestones achieved•Work in Progress – Current tasks•Next Steps: Near-future activities•Risks and Issues (New and existing)•Communication Needs (for the Team & for Stakeholders)•Escalations: Areas where you need Sponsor’s help

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Refresher: the Triple Constraint

• Lever-1: Cost– Add or move resources.

• Lever-2: Schedule– Change dates for expected

completion of milestones/activities.

• Lever-3: Scope & Quality – Adjust expectations for

Scope or Quality of Deliverables.

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The Process of Tracking• Refer back to your plan for:

– Dates– Resources– Deliverables/milestones– Etc.

• Compare results and report variance.

• Work with your team and Sponsor to adjust plans as needed.

Resist the urge to:– …assume “everything’s fine” because it’s

quiet– …only report the good news– …only report the bad news– …fixate on the parts you understand

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Remember to

contin

ually

verify tr

acking

needs with

your

Sponsor(s

)!

100%? Green

Plan? Yellow

Red

YES

YES

NO

NO

Monitor

Follow Recovery

Plan

Escalate

Facts -vs-Criteria

Fact-Based Status Reporting

AreAreWe?We?

©

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People may go through an “adoption curve” as they encounter change:1.Uniformed Confidence: Buy into the basic logic for a change, feed off the personal good will and “halo effect” of relationships and trust.

2.Doubt: Usually fed by a lack of information and personalization of impact.

3.Realistic Questioning: Try to understand the change impact on an individual – begin gathering information for a decision.

4.Informed Clarity: Not necessarily acceptance, but getting enough data to make a decision based on values, perceptions, and impact.

5.Acceptance/Rejection: Personal decision to go with a change or not.

Big Rock #9: Manage Change Impacts

UninformedConfidence

Informed Clarity

Realistic Concern

Doubt

Acceptance/Rejection

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Typical Change-Related Risks

• Unclear goals

• Poor communication

• Perceived “resistance”

• Questions about timing

• Unclear roles & expectations

• Poorly executed training

• Unclear how it fits into our future

• Challenge to our culture/way of working

… trust

… interest

… awareness

… motivation

… information

… a clear plan

… a clear rationale

Or a Lack of:

Taking a structured approach to change helps!

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Exercise: List a few change impacts for your project.

Example of Change Impacts5 Questions to Consider:

1. What’s brand new with this project?2. What not changing at all?3. What’s going away?4. What’s still here, but done differently?5. What are we still not sure about?

•The answers may drive:– Training– Communication– Stakeholder Support

What? When?How?

For whom? Where?

With What?Roles?Tools?

Systems?Positions?Metrics?Reports?Security?

Steps?

What? When?How?

For whom? Where?

With What?Roles?Tools?

Systems?Positions?Metrics?Reports?Security?

Steps?

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The “People Side” of Change

A Few Ground Rules for “the People Side” of Change:

1. Change Agents will be critical to helping their peers adapt to the “new world”

3. Information pulls them along.

4. Unanswered questions lead to “filling in the blanks” – for better or worse - with good or bad results.

5. Assumptions can cause significant issues downstream – it’s usually better to be diligent up front than disappointed later.

6. “Top-Down” is a myth: People reserve the right to decide.

AreAreWe?We?

©

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Change Agent Skills

Challenges

• Argument• Complaining• High Emotions• Displays of

Resistance • Difficult Personalities

Tools/Skills• Venting with a Purpose• Full Participation +

Listening / Dialogue• Capturing Data/Facts• Problem-Solving• ID Follow-ups & Risks• No Pollyanna• No Panic

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Guidelines for Effective MeetingsGuidelines for Effective MeetingstheBigRocks of Effective Meetings© 2009 theBigRocks.com

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Team Interaction

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Teamwork• What:

– Effective teamwork is an expectation that starts from Day-1

– Clear roles help those involved in implementing the change

– Understand & leverage your team strengths & close gaps

• Who:– All team members – playing their roles together

and making adjustments as needed• How:

– Ground rules, guiding principles and behavioral expectations

– Effective team processes & logisticsSlide -

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Big Rock #10: Verify ResultsVerify that your project realized what it was created to

accomplish…Did you produce the desired RESULTS?

1. “Begin with the end in mind”: Check project deliverables, outcomes and performance against the goals and objectives you drafted earlier.

2. Consider project metrics of success and the business metrics of success that the project was designed to enable. Consider these two types of success metrics:

a. Project Metrics:i. The project was completed for $4500 less than the budget.

b. Objective Metrics (aka: “Bottom line results”)i. The new system allows us to take period-by-period attendance in half the time and returns about 12,000 instructional minutes to the classroom each semester.

DidDidWe?We?

©

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Now Consider Your Project…

How will you measure your critical project success metrics?

How will you verify your objectives were met?

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Exercise: How will you measure the success of your project?

Lessons LearnedConduct a project “Lessons Learned” after the project is done to learn what could be improved on the next project…

Consider using a variety of data-gathering techniques:

1. Anonymous surveys2. Structured brainstorms3. Open discussions4. Formal deliverable reviews

DidDidWe?We?

©

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Lessons LearnedExample questions for a structured brainstorm or survey might include:

a. How reasonable was the scope considering the time & resources we had?

b. What project processes worked well & which if any didn’t add much value?

c. How well did we “manage by facts”? 1. What risks should have been known

earlier? How ell did we respond to risks as they appeared?

2. What other projects can benefit from the lessons we learned on this project?

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Treat Some Lessons as Action Items

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Exercise:

Jugglingit all

in Real TimeStep

4

AB

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theBigRocks of Project Management©

1. Project Charter

2. Scope, Goals & Objectives

3. Alignment

4. Risk & Issue Management

5. Documented Project Plans

6. Project Communication

7. Activity Management

8. Tracking

9. Change Management

10. Verifying Results

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Don’t Make This Harder Than It Is…

"Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."

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You!In recognition of your completing the 1-day workshop on the basics of Project Management.

Steven J. Chihos, PMPInstructor, theBigRocks.com

Project Management - 101Project Management - 101Certificate of CompletionCertificate of Completion

Pat Yankowich, PMPInstructor, Sirius PM

Is Hereby Awarded To

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Wrap-Up, +/

How will you apply this to your work?

What worked well today?

What could we do differently next time?

CanCanWe?We?

©

ShouldShould

We?We?©WillWill

We?We?©

AreAreWe?We?

©DidDidWe?We?

©

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