Dependency is a Risk to be Managed

Anyone in project management knows that dependency is a risk. When tasks are using the most common finish-to-start dependency, the delayed completion of predecessor task introduces a risk to the project. When resources are unavailable to start the tasks or their capacity is reduced to work on a project, their dependency on other project commitments poses a risk. Waiting time on processes, such as workflow approval, or not having a clear process, such as a lack of documented code review guidelines, introduces dependency on others. Technical architecture decisions requiring a dependency on other SMEs or dependency on training due to the lack of knowledge on the technology or tools adds risk. Organizational cultural considerations on budget approval, procurement considerations, or hiring processes are dependent on stakeholders for decision-making. 

So, as you can see, there are people, process, technical, and organizational dependencies either deliberately introduced (hard logic) or mandatorily included (hard logic) can be looked from internal and external considerations. The internal considerations may be within the team or within the company. As a result, we can come up with a table as below. Given below are some examples of dependencies that may be a risk.

How do you think this will work for your organization? Share your thoughts.

Godzilla Principle: Planning is Essential

I had a personal party and had invited a few friends to my house. As people assembled and the festivities began, I was focused on entertaining people. My son asked about his friend who was the son of one of our friends. It dawned on me to follow up that person. Unfortunately for him, he had a little car trouble enroute to our house. As soon as I told this to the group assembled, one of the people volunteered to drive and pick him up. During that chit chat that followed, a parent of the friend commented about how we missed out on the Godzilla principle. I have not heard that term before but didn't have time to follow up. The party mood carried on! 

Later the following week, I was attending a meeting group as part of Six Sigma discussions. As the head of PMO and as part of my continuous quest for learning, I took part in local discussions. Some were strangers and we discussed challenges with processes and other ideas. One of them discussed the principle of "Rule of 7". This is a principle that talks about consistent observations that are either increasing or decreasing within the upper and lower threshold levels indicating that a problem is about to happen. My inner voice started asking if anyone knew of this Godzilla principle. 

Lo and behold! It seems that it is in fact a principle that stands out for not monitoring certain activities responsibly and taking appropriate actions to address them. As the person said, "Don't let the problem grow to be a monster and destroy your project." In the context of the "Rule of 7," perhaps, this means that a series of 7 occurrences probably indicate that a larger problem is brewing warranting attention. It is also a principle that people seem to have used to identify the biggest contributing force to a planned delivery. I guess, this then also contributes to the Pareto principle of 80-20 rule! To me, this Godzilla principle also indicates how much we must apply careful proactive reasoning to look for things that could go wrong and build contingencies. 

Now, I am not too sure if this has anything to do with the Godzilla character that roamed the movies destroying anything in its way. I don't know if there is any connection to this character being so huge due to man-made experiments gone awry requiring us to think through the impact of what we do or do not do. However, I learned of a new Godzilla principle as another approach to inculcate preventive and corrective actions as part of risk management thinking. 

Have you heard of such a term? Have you heard any other such principles? Please share.

Essential Elements of a Project Binder

Late in December 2011, one of my good friends and coworker told me that I should start a blog. "You have so much to offer, and you should share it with others," he said. Now, having done my PhD with a dissertation on Leadership and Project Management, I know of the principles of servant leadership. I volunteered in many places to share my knowledge and mentored a few people too. But my friend's statement made me think. While there may be many others more qualified than me to share knowledge, if one person thought I have something to share with the world, why should I not? After all, I will never know who will benefit from what I share whether that is meaningful, relevant, and useful! 

Based on discussions with this friend, I started this first blog article on what makes up an essential project binder. Otherwise, elements of a good project plan which is beyond a Project Schedule! One has to incorporate additional thoughts depending upon the size and complexity of the project, visibility of the project in the company, and the nature of the industry. Nevertheless, the following 10 elements apply.

1. Project Charter (Typically 1-2 pages)
2. Scope Statement (Typically 1-2 sentences)
3. Assumptions (What is expected to be true) and Constraints (What are known to be true)
4. Risks
1. Types of Risk
2. Probability and Impact Scale
3. Risk Exposure Ranking
4. Contingency Reserve
5. Response Strategy
6. Treatment Plans for critical risks
5. High Level Requirements
1. List of Deliverables
2. Delivery Milestones
3. Funding Considerations
4. Approval Considerations
6. Project Plan
1. SOW or any related agreements
2. Stakeholders List
3. Resource List
4. Team Charter 
5. Conflict Management Considerations
6. Definition of Done
7. WBS (to the extent known with more clarity for the first few milestone)
8. Major (Funding Related) & Minor (Deliverable Focused) Milestones
9. Basis of Estimates (Cost and Schedule)
10. Approval considerations for change management
7. Communication
1. Management Communication
2. Team Communication
3. Progress Metrics Evaluation Cadence
4. Issues Log
8. Acceptance
1. Quality Definitions
2. Testing and Triage Considerations
3. Acceptance Criteria
9. Project Review
1. Incremental Lessons Learned (WoW Factors)
2. Final Lessons Learned (With Team, Management, and Client)
10. Recognition
1. Team Member Recognition 
2. Client Recognition

Hope this is a good start for anyone embarking on their project management journey! Let me know if I missed anything.