Aplan Inc., , 949-720-9698 The 10 Commandments Of Project Success: Correcting Faulty Thinking and Assumptions!

Aplan Inc., www.aplaninc.com, 949-720-9698

The 10 Commandments Of Project Success: Correcting Faulty Thinking and Assumptions!

Presentation Purpose:

• Understand why projects fail

• Look at how faulty thinking contributes to the problem

• Learn the commandments to resolve

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Typical Project Problems

• Long Time Frames

• Lack of Integration

• High Costs

• Errors & Poor Quality

• Diminished Customer Satisfaction

• Poor Internal Communication

• Commitment of Resources

• Long Expensive Maintenance Cycles


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Standish Report on Project Success:

• 431 or 12% - will come in on time, within budget and contain the features and functions originally specified.*

• 33% will experience cost overruns of 150 to 200%

• 33% will experienced time overruns of 200 to 300%

• 25% to 49% will contain required features and functions

Of 3,682 Applications Under Development:


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Problem # 1: The Meaning of Project Success

• On time

• Within Budget

• To User Satisfaction

• Faster, Better, Cheaper


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Faulty Thinking:Tired Definitions of Project Success

On TimeWithin Budget

User Satisfaction

FasterBetter

Cheaper


• Construct project to be measured accordingly vs. the value they offer

• Plan projects so they complete on time / within budget vs. business needs

• Loose focus on what counts!

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Effect of Definition of Project Success

Concerns….

Value of Definition of Project Success

• Black and white • Measureable and clear

BUT

• Serve long term objectives?• How is value measured?

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Get Real About The Meaning of Project

Success

• Decision making

• Priorities reflect what’s needed

• Realistic budgets

• Value contributed to organization


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The 1st Commandment:Redefine The Meaning of Project Success

• Growth and competitive advantage of the enterprise

• Add value to the business• Facilitate the use of the

system

• Reflects end-to-end process

• Not detract from the well being of those involved


Commandment 1B:Redefine When You Decide If A Project Is Successful• Executive dashboard, checkpoints and operational

status after implementation– measuring the operating costs

– continuing value

– customer satisfaction

– problems, issues and concerns

• Hold people accountable for quality and value over time

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Problem # 2: Piecemeal Patching, Modifications and Maintenance…• Patching our systems to death

• Don’t have time to do it right the first time

• Don’t build systems based on value and need

• In a continuous cycle of fixing what’s broken – and creating new problems all the time

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Faulty Thinking: We Just Can’t…

• Resources

• Deadlines

• Priorities

• Technology

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Effect

• Tomorrow never comes

• Business doesn’t get what’s needed

• Deteriorating quality

• Unhappy frustrated workforce

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Project Backlogs Impact Everyone • Department• Budget• Future Work• Staffing• Business Performance• Stock Prices• Quality of Life


The 2nd Commandment: Get Rid of the Backlog

• Temporary Staffing

• Outsourcing

• Onshore / Offshore

• Training

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Get a Clean Slate ~ Clear Baseline

Problem # 3: Building a Plan Before You Know What Needs To Be Done

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• Given the Project Scope• Given the Project Deadline• Given the Project Budget• Told Go Create A Project Plan

Faulty Thinking: Plans Typically Focus on Administration

• Tasks

• Sequence

• Resources

• Timing

• Completion

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Plans Need To Reflect What Is Needed

• Investigation leads to more work…• Bad time to make that decision…• Can’t make a decision until you

know what’s needed…• Real problem is perception…. that it

will take too long• Quick win VS. long term value

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The 3rd Commandment: Have To Know What

You’re Planning

• Understand problems to be solved• Clarify goals to be achieved• State opportunities to be realized• Define requirements• Build consensus

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Problem # 4: Failure to Communicate

• Technical vocabulary• Different backgrounds• Different contexts• Same terms / different meanings• Different terms / same meaning• Lost in translation• Interpretation of “important nouns”• And so many nuances to how words are strung

together….

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ALL INADVERTANT REASONSALL INADVERTANT REASONS

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Faulty Thinking:Building and Maintaining a Project Glossary Is a Nuisance…

• It takes too long

• Everyone knows what those ‘things’ mean….

• Let’s not waste any time doing the obvious!!!!


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Effect: Missed Communication

• Imprecise understanding

• Opportunity for confusion

• Information out of context

• Going different directions


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Align Terminology

• Terms

• Acronyms

• Abbreviations


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The 4th Commandment:Always Build And Maintain A Project Glossary

• Align terminology• Leave no room for interpretation• Ensure communication

connection• Baseline for understanding and

learning• Prevents misunderstandings

NOUNS


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Problem # 5. There’s A Lot Left To

Misunderstand


• Concepts and content• Options and alternatives• Value and need• Priority and sequence• Approach• Decisions

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Faulty Thinking: Use Methodologies and Tools Creates Clear Specifications


Ahh, Err - Solves other problems but not this

kind

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Problem: No Opportunity For Consensus


• Imperfect Knowledge• Hear Information Out of Context• Resistant to Change of Old Thinking• Momentum , Interruptions and Long Time Frames• Vested Interests and Priorities• Disjointed, Old, Undigested Information• Information limited by Exposures• Thought Holes• Lack of Ownership• Reactionary Decision Making

• Two heads are better than one

• It takes a team to win• You can’t scotch tape

ideas together

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Consensus is a Togetherness Thing

All The Reasons Why You Can’t….

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• Waste of time• Hard to get people together

• Costs too much• Not productive

• Need to be at their jobs

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Collaboration is the ONLY Means to Achieve Consensus

• Allow thought digestion

• Demonstrates management commitment

• Align terminology

• Single vision

• Expanded understanding

• Pride of ownership and buy-in

• Builds Camaraderie

• Improved productivity• Cultivates team spirit• Reduces time and cost• Resolves politics and

personalities• Sets realistic expectations• Exceptional quality• Confidence in results


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The 5th Commandment :Collaborate To Ensure

Consensus

• Address electronic, verbal and written communication modes

• Ask, answer, see, hear, say, try, refine - INTERACT

• Uses experiential, audio and visual learning styles


Until everyone connects with ideas in the same way

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Problem #6: You Gotta Have the RIGHT People

Collaborate


• Cross functional stakeholders

• Technical representatives

• Experienced business users

• Movers and shakers

• Decision makers

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Faulty Thinking:SME’s Can Fill-in For Business Users

• Can’t speak on behalf of the business

• No substitute for first hand knowledge

• Stale information


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The Value of IT SME’s

• Analysts that communicate well• Understand business challenges• Understand the business systems• Interpreters and catalysts• Provide technology improvement

suggestions


The Value of the Business User

• Team member vs. intermittent player

• Intimate knowledge of operations

• First hand knowledge

• Vision of how it could / should be!36

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Faulty Thinking:I Don’t Want Charlie On This Project

• Rude

• Controlling

• Disruptive

• Bossy

• Makes life miserable


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Invite Charlie To Be On Your Project

• Take away his/her power• Wear them out• Listen to them• Part of the solution• Contributor to the process• Promoter of the cause


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The 6th Commandment:Involve the Best, the Brightest and the Naysayers

• The quality of deliverables will be proportionate to the range of involvement

• Nobody understands the issues better than those who are actually involved

• Successful projects required cross functional teams


Problem #7: Right People Have To Develop The Right Solutions

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• Merely recreate what you already have?

• Fine tune it• Modernize it?

• Maximize investment

• Avoid lost opportunity

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So, How?

WARNING

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Brainstorming

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Faulty Thinking:Brainstorming Is A Waste of Time

• Leads to scope creep

• Blue sky ideas

• Sets unrealistic expectations

• Hard to get people together


Underrated Misunderstood Practice

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• Access to alternative ideas• Process to examine options• Compare perceptions• Challenge the status quo• Forum to express thoughts• Put information into context

The 7th Commandment:Brainstorm For Quality

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• Flush out ideas• Encourage creativity• Build on one another’s thoughts• Never expose what you don’t

know• Learn from one another

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Problem #8: The Quality of “The” Specification

• Pages of random bulleted thoughts• Gothic novels that rot on a shelf• Hotbeds of misunderstanding• Don’t explain process logic• Neglect complete data definition• Don’t promote traceability


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A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

• Most people are visual• Thoughts come in waves• Negotiate for understanding• Straw model - second hand

experience• Do it live to remember• Final product as memory aid


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Specifications Should Enable Traceability

• Match test plans to requirements• Confirm functionality and

expectations• Involve the business user• Mandatory with outsourcing model• Not possible with Gothic Novel


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Faulty Thinking:Don’t Make This More Complicated Than It Has To Be

• Models are hard to do

• Which tool should I use?

• Who’s going to keep them up?


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The 8th Commandment:Demand 1st Class Specifications

• Model driven approaches

• Integrated tool sets

• Owned by everyone

• Understood by all - training

• Check and verify


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Problem #9: Too Many Projects Spiral Out of Control

• Time alters perceptions• Refine ideas• Things change….

• Acknowledge it• Deal with it• Be agile


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Faulty Thinking:Iterative Development Is Really Hard

• Not understood well

• Not mainstream yet

• Fear of change

• Rationalized as a fad


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Iterative Development Distilled – Why?

Analyze Design Build Test Deploy

Waterfall – Sequential – Really Hard To Turn Back… Investment to Keep Going


Analyze Design Build Test DeployAnalyze Design Build Test DeployAnalyze Design Build Test Deploy

Analyze Design Build Test DeployAnalyze Design Build Test DeployAnalyze Design Build Test Deploy


Iterative – One Component At A Time – Flexible, Agile, Accommodates Change


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The 9th Commandment:Go Iterative

• Attack risk early and continuously• Plan for change• Focus on executable software• Baseline an architecture early• Keep business users engaged • Focus on quality throughout,• Work as a cross-discipline team• Process modeling and SOA


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Problem 10: A Bad Attitude Will Doom You

• Thought precedes action• Positive attitude• Ban negativism• Stimulate challenge• Breed pride of work• Counter attach the serious “I don’t

care” attitude prevailing out there!


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Faulty Thinking:Donald Trump’s, “It’s Just Business”….

• Good for the business owners but what about the people?

• Efficient, but do you really get the best?

• How long can people sustain in FUD?

• Competition as a way of life


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10th Commandment:Cultivate Cooperation vs.

Competition

• Inspire others • Fun, Challenge and Excitement• Promote cooperation vs.

competition• Learn from one another• Build on each other’s ideas• Leave out the negatives• Appreciate others


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Questions????

Contact Information”

Inez J. Marino

Aplan Inc.

[email protected]

www.aplaninc.com

949.720.9698 Office

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.aplaninc.com/

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Aplan Inc., , 949-720-9698 The 10 Commandments Of Project Success: Correcting Faulty Thinking and Assumptions!