5 Tips on Strategizing Your Key Project Resources

#SridharPeddisetty #Agile #PMO #Strategy #Project #Resources #Management #Tips #PMP #BestPractices #ProcessImprovement  

Once there was a company with a vast scrap yard that needed someone to guard it. So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job. Then someone thought, how would the watchman do the job without instructions? So the company decided to create a planning department and hired two people. One person was hired to write the instructions while the other person performed time studies. Later someone from the company thought, how would we know whether the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly…? So they created a quality control department and hired two people. One employee to do the studies and the other to write reports. After that, someone from the company thought, how are these people going to get paid…? So they created another set of positions, hiring two more people, a time keeper and a payroll officer. Again someone from the company said, who would be accountable for all of these people…? So they created an administrative section, hiring three more people, an administrative officer, an assistant administrative officer and a legal secretary. Finally, after one year, an executive in the company realized they were $18,000 over budget and must cut-back on overall costs. So the company laid off the night watchman.

Tip#1: Identify your key project resources

Firstly, it’s very important to identify who are the key resources for your project. Normally the key resources for a project are those with niche or advanced skills and knowledge or combination of skills and knowledge, which makes them indispensable. Once the key resources are identified, then it’s easier to follow the next tips in strategizing for them. 

Tip#2: Identify tasks for key project resources 

Identify tasks for key project resources and do resource leveling until no key resource is overloaded. In my earlier post Empower Your Team To Own Responsibilities, I had shared that the key to start empowering your team to own responsibilities is by making the list of tasks, which play to their strengths better and letting them own those tasks. Also in my earlier post Trust Your Team But Make Sure To Verify, I shared that it’s an important trait for the Scrum Master or Agile Project Manager to trust the self performing team to execute and deliver on business value but verifying the same with stage gates is essential.

Tip#3: Understand what motivates them

Robust communication, leadership and emotional intelligence are necessary to effectively communicate with key project resources in order to inspire and motivate them. It is important for the Project Manager to have the ability to strike a balance between knowing what motivates the key project resources and what they are working on. Work with the key resources to identify their goals and fitting them into the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Time bound) acronym.   

Tip#4: Encourage them to challenge status quo

Create a transparent, collaborative and productive environment in which project resources are encouraged to take calculative risks while challenging the status quo. If you want your key resources to take the risk of innovation then you have to give them freedom to fail. We understand that often your best people are the ones who make the worst mistakes, because your best people do the most complex work. In my earlier post 5 Reasons To Let Your Team Struggle Today, I had shared that in the face of adversity would emerge your next leaders, who emerge stronger and smarter.  

Tip#5: Plan a roadmap for their growth 

It’s important to invest in your key resources and train them in emerging skills or knowledge. Most organizations do not plan roadmaps for their key resources to grow, fearing the risk that they may leave. Experience teaches us that it’s better to train key resources and risk they leave, than not planning a growth roadmap and risk that they stay. 

If a drop of water falls in a lake, there is no identity. But if it falls on a leaf, it shines. So make sure to create an environment for your key project resources where their abilities and identity always shine.

Previous posts you might be interested in:

• Empower Your Team To Own Responsibilities 
• 5 Reasons To Let Your Team Struggle Today
• Trust Your Team But Make Sure To Verify

5 Tips on Strategizing Your Key Project Resources was originally published under Prokarma blog on Oct 23rd 2015

My 7 Lessons Inspired By Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

#SridharPeddisetty #Leadership #Management #Motivational #Inspirational #AbdulKalam #DrKalam  

“Learning gives creativity, creativity leads to thinking, thinking provides knowledge and knowledge makes you great.” ―  A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

There are some who inspired few and there are very rare who inspired an entire generation, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was one of the very rare ones. Dr. Kalam was inspirational to an entire generation is evident from the outpouring of tributes from all walks of life. He had touched so many lives and ignited so many young minds to believe in the power of thinking, knowledge and on top of it, self belief. Dr. Kalam has shared his wisdom in numerous inspiring speeches he has given with the sole aim of igniting the young minds to lead the nation, not where its going but where it ought to go. Its ironical that he breathed his last doing what he loves doing best, passing his knowledge torch to a new generation of torch bearers.  Below are some of my lessons inspired by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. 

1. A true leader would own team’s failure and let team take the credit for success
2. You need difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy the success 
3. All of us do not have equal talent. But we all do have an equal opportunity to develop our talents
4. Do not lean on to an excuse counter and whine about injustice, corruption and wrong doing in the society but be the change agent to fight the evils of the society.
5. The sides of the mountain sustain life, not the peak. This is where things grow, experience is gained, and technologies are mastered. The importance of the peak lies only in the fact that it defines the sides.
6. Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life. Thinking provides knowledge and knowledge is power 
7. Failure will never overtake you if your definition to succeed is strong enough

When asked how he would like to be remembered, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam responded by saying, as a ‘teacher’.

So here is to his legacy and a teacher lives on...

My 7 Lessons Inspired By Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was originally published in LinkedIn

5 Tips For You To Run Faster Than Somebody Today

#SridharPeddisetty #Leadership #Management #Motivational #Inspirational #Agile #ProjectManagement #ScrumMaster   

Every morning when Deer wakes up, it thinks that today I have to run faster than the fastest Lion for me to survive & live and every morning Lion wakes up to think that today I have to run faster than the slowest Deer for me to eat & survive.

No matter who you are, you have to run faster than somebody today nevertheless. Today’s workplace is comprising of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and possibly few Traditionalists. Its becoming quite competitive with number of years of experience under your belt does not automatically qualifying you to hold a position but what you bring to the table does.  So its not only important to keep pace but to run faster with combination of your experience and knowledge. Always be a step ahead by

1. Being a vivid reader of whats going in the area of your domain, technical skills or industry in general, which would always help you take informed decisions or contribute intelligently in a conversation. 
2. Surrounding yourself with people smarter than you. Listen to understand in the company of experts to gain knowledge. We often listen to reply, which is counterproductive and sometime back I had written a blog 'Why Active Listening is Key for Successful Delivery of Agile Projects' on similar lines
3. Blogging or sharing your insights with the community on relevant topics. You either would intelligently be able to share with your experience or would do some research on the subject, thus gaining knowledge before sharing. 
4. Get your hands dirty or feet wet by working on a prototype or proof of concept on a newer technology or process to get a better handle. 
5. Being positive in attitude, which would always result in your ability to see through the challenging times.Positive attitude defines your successful career is a blog post I had shared earlier on how positive attitude does matter. 

Always keep in mind that if you are not enough fast, you are not just left behind but are left in the past. 

PS: Above picture was clicked by me in San Diego Safari Park

Note: 5 Tips For You To Run Faster Than Somebody Today was originally published in LinkedIn

Top 20 Tips for Project Managers

Project managers are responsible for the successful initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, controlling and closure of projects. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), a project is temporary in that it has a defined timeframe, and therefore defined scope and resources. Also, a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. Project teams often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies.

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. The following 20 tips (not necessarily in any particular order) are good references while managing a project.

1. Take good care of your project team and your team will take care of client, which in turn will take care of business
2. The project is all about delivery and keeping stakeholders (internal/external) informed
3. At any given point of time a project manager should know what tasks need to be done, who should do it and have an ETA
4. Always be on top of the RAID (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, & Dependencies) log as RAID is a critical factor for a successful project outcome
5. No plan is perfect so always have Plan B. Circumstances change frequently so always consider the alternatives
6. Projects are 90% planning and 10% implementation
7. Plan, Execute, Review and Adjust
8. Be adaptable and flexible while thinking outside the box
9. A good communicator is a good listener. By listening you may learn something new while speaking repeats what you already know
10. Always remember the 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle), which means by executing 20% of the work you can get 80% of the benefit
11. Break the whole plan into milestones and scope them accordingly including the development of checklists for each milestone to verify quality as project work incrementally iterates
12. Understand the dynamics of 'Definition of Ready' and 'Definition of Done'
13. Design a robust feedback loop to learn lessons along the way and strive to continuously improve
14. Negotiate achievable commitments by separating people from problems
15. You cannot manage and improve what you cannot measure
16. 6 P's of Project Management: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Project Performance (If i had 4 hours to cut down a tree, i would take 3 hours to sharpen the axe)
17. Get the right people involved including the experts you need and proactively seek guidance 
18. Trust but always verify. Direct communication is a key for forging trustworthy relationships
19. Plans are nothing; planning is everything. Planning is a continuous process including progressive elaboration or rolling wave planning
20. The difference between a good project manager and a great project manager are the leadership skills they possess

What are your top tips for a project manager? Please leave a comment to share your tips.


Top 20 Tips for Project Managers was originally posted under Prokarma blog on Dec 10th 2014

Tips to document portfolio management experience for PfMP®

In my previous posts related to Project Management Institute (PMI)’s most recent and coveted Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)® credential. , I have shared 

• What is Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)® Credential?
• My Lessons Learned for (PfMP)® Exam and
• Portfolio Management Knowledge Areas, Process Groups & Processes

and this post is for sharing some tips on how to fill application for PfMP. Note that for obtaining (PfMP)® credential, there are two evaluations that needs to be cleared. 

Evaluation 1—Panel Review: The initial evaluation occurs through an extensive application review during which a panel of portfolio managers will assess your professional experience based on your responses to the Portfolio Management Experience Summaries provided on the application.

Evaluation 2—Multiple-Choice Examination: The next step occurs with the multiple-choice examination in which you will be called upon to demonstrate your competence in both situational and scenario-based questions. 

So its important to fill application with appropriate answers to pass panel review. 

Note that there are lot of folks who actually fail panel review and are given only one more chance to reapply with updated answers 

Following experience summary questions are asked in align with 5 knowledge areas of Portfolio Management (Strategic Management, Governance, Portfolio Performance Management, Portfolio Risk Management and Portfolio Communication Management) and you can select either option A or B for each question to map your answer with

Experience Summary #1: Strategic Alignment
A. Identifying and prioritizing portfolio criteria and evaluating portfolio component priorities based on the organization's strategic goals and objectives
B. Creating and/or updating a high level portfolio roadmap using scenarios that helped the organization to align and operationalize the portfolio in accordance with the organization's strategic goals and objectives

Experience Summary #2: Governance

A. Securing authorization to execute the portfolio through identification and justification of recommendations regarding the portfolio

B. Ensuring effective and efficient portfolio management by implementing and/or optimizing the portfolio management plan including key components applicable to your portfolio 

Experience Summary #3: Portfolio Performance

A. Managing portfolio changes to optimize resource utilization and/or ensure portfolio effectiveness and efficiency
B. Evaluating continuous progress toward the achievement of business or strategic goals through the collection, consolidation, and measurement of portfolio value

Experience Summary #4: Portfolio Risk Management
A. Developing and/or updating the portfolio risk management plan
B. Enabling the organization to capitalize on an opportunity(ies) or manage threat(s) based on portfolio risk management processes, methods, and/or techniques

Experience Summary #5: Communications Management

A. Developing, and/or updating a portfolio communication strategy and plan

B. Engaging stakeholders to set and manage expectations and influence the success of the portfolio

Tips on how to document Portfolio Management Experience Summary

#1. How the Portfolio you managed was aligned with strategic goals of the Organization. Remember that Portfolio is a collection of components (i.e. projects, programs, portfolios and other work such as maintenance and related ongoing operations) that are grouped together to facilitate the effective management of that work in order to meet the strategic business objectives. So need to make sure that when you define your portfolio, it clearly defines components and how they were grouped to align with goals.

#2. Make sure that strategic goals are well defined that are tangible and fits acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Time bound)

#3. Use empirical data such as $ (Money and try putting in USD), # (Number like # of years, # of Projects, Programs or Portfolios) or # of direct reports, # of team members, # of projects), % (percentage of increase in efficiency, growth, revenue increase, scalable)

#4. Use more empirical data and less verbiage. Try using more universally known acronyms like Org, SME, PMI, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, others to save on verbiage

#5. Remember that Portfolio is more strategic in nature than projects, programs or operations so include words like strategy, objectives, benefits, org goals, how your portfolio was aligned with the org goals. Do not use words that would reflect 'how' you managed teams because that would be more Project Mgmt. Use words where it mentions more on 'Why/What' of Portfolio and ‘How’ you did governance management to keep it aligned.

#6. Before filling your application make sure to read Pfmp® Handbook and if possible “The Standard for Portfolio Management” to understand how PMI is defining Portfolio and what standards are being suggested to do Portfolio Management (Strategic Management, Governance, Portfolio Performance Management, Portfolio Risk Management and Portfolio Communication Management). While filling in your application, you would need to clearly define how you used each of the 5 knowledge areas to manage your Portfolio in your answer(s)

#7. Portfolio management includes processes to identify, categorize, monitor, evaluate, select, prioritize, balance, and authorize portfolio components within the portfolio. So explain in your answer(s) what those processes were in your case to work on portfolio components

#8. All Portfolio Components have following common features including                    

• Be representative of investments made or planned by Organization
• Be aligned with Org. strategic goals and objectives
• Grouped together for effective management
• Have the ability to be quantifiable
• Can be measured, ranked and prioritized
• Share and compete for Org. resources

So explain in your answer(s) how your portfolio(s), programs, projects & operations that are possible Portfolio components have above mentioned feature(s)

#9. Portfolios have an organizational scope that changes with the strategic objectives of the organization so explain in your answer(s) what was the scope and how it changed (most often it does) with strategic objectives of org

#10. Portfolio managers continuously monitor changes in the broader internal and external environment so explain in your answer(s) how you were monitoring the changes

#11. Portfolio managers create and maintain necessary processes and communication relative to the aggregate portfolio so explain in your answer(s) how you were communicating and using what processes

#12. Portfolio success is measured in terms of the aggregate investment performance and benefit realization of the portfolio so explain in your answer(s) how they were measured and what was the benefit realization

#13. Portfolio managers monitor strategic changes and aggregate resource allocation, performance results, and risk of the portfolio so explain in your answer(s) how they were monitored including portfolio risks

#14. Portfolio managers may manage or coordinate portfolio management staff, or program and project staff that may have reporting responsibilities into the aggregate portfolio so explain in your answer(s) how as a portfolio manager you were coordinating the portfolio staff

#15. Portfolio Management balances conflicting demands between programs and projects, allocates resources (e.g., people, funding) based on organizational priorities and capacity, and manages so as to achieve the benefits identified.  Explain in your answer(s) how you were balancing conflicting demands

#16. In your answer(s) try including references to Portfolio Charter, Portfolio Strategic Plan, Portfolio Roadmap, PMO, Portfolio Governance, Portfolio Sponsors, Portfolio Risk Management Plan, Portfolio Risk Register, Portfolio Communication Management Plan and how they were used in your Portfolio wherever applicable.

Sample points that could be used in your answer(s)

·       Establishing and maintaining a framework, governance model, and methodology (policies and procedures) for portfolio management to achieve organizational strategies and objectives.

·       Guiding the selection, prioritization, balancing, and termination of portfolio components to ensure the alignment with strategic goals and organizational priorities.

·       Providing key stakeholders with assessment of portfolio component selection, prioritization, and performance, as well as identification of portfolio-level issues and risks that are impacting performance.

·       Measuring and monitoring the value to the organization through portfolio performance metrics and targets.

·       Supporting senior-level decision making by ensuring timely and consistent communication to stakeholders on progress, changes, and impact on portfolio components.