Never Cancel a Risk Meeting: Creating Lasting Change in a Challenging Environment

Agenda• Our World• Speeds and Feeds• My Life is Failure• Game Plan• Tools• Mindset• Team• Game Plan

Chris Shafer, PMP chris_shafer@comcast.net 1

Project Management

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Project Management in reality

You are here

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-ways-to-be-awesome-in-business-2010-3?op=1

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Speeds and Feeds• $80M• 140+ team members• National service delivery 24 X 7 X 365• 30+ concurrent IT work assignments• 1000 time critical service events

7 turnarounds 4 customer domainsBattlefield promotions 27 Leaders

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If this is on every analyst’s desk . . .

Why is the customer mad?5

My Life is FailureWhat makes Projects Red?Unrealistic expectationsExpectation mismatchNot enough . . . Ready Fire Aim Things have not been going well for some time

What are the risks of joining a Red Project?

Who runs toward a flaming project?

Grey hairCareer limitingLong hoursAccountabilityVisibilityOwnershipTrial by Fire

How do you make them Green?

• My Life is Failure – Standish Group CHAOS report

• Who – Geoffrey Smart• The Fifth Discipline – Peter Senge•http://leadinganswers.typepad.com/leading_answers/2011/04/lies-damn-lies-and-statistics.html

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Game Plan• Engineer Success – what is the

outcome you want?• No surprises – Communicate

clearly, effectively, and often• Never Cancel a Risk Meeting• Everyone is your Customer• Its not about you: Seek first to

understand, then be understood• Bargain fairly for time, scope,

and resources• We are in the service business.

Perception is reality• Event + Response = Outcome

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Tools for the Journey

• Scope / Core documents• Issues / Open Items Log• Risk Register and

associated plans• Communications plan• Financial Transparency• Project / Schedule

transparency

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Tools - CommunicationCY2 Rel 1

Ref Activity NotesReq Effort

(L, M, H, V)Dev Effort

(L, M, H, V)Test Effort(L, M, H, V)

Priority(L, M, H, V) Release #

2Manual maintenance of active/inactive claim numbers / Manual addition of new claim numbers.

(GBR 68) Database changes and some "internal" coding to support this feature have already been done. Still need a UI(GBR 69) Database change for this has been done, still need UI

L M M H 1

7Identify and produce appropriate notices for Final reconciliations.

(GBR 76) This is actually part of the EOYR workflow. I broke it out because ENB block work is distinctive from calc work, and getting notice language and requirements finalized is typically a challenge for us.

H M M M 1

15Design launch protocol for beneficiary-initiated EOYR

This can probably be just a "Go" button on the UI, since it will only impact a single beneficiary. M M M H 1

16Implement the Event History Screen.NOTE - This is a significant effort. There is much to do with regard to data requirements, DB changes, screen design, evemt logging etc, etc.

V V V V 1

20Update earnings and participant workflows to initialize claim numbers with "active".

Setting the claim nubers active and inactive as they process through the workflow L L L H 1

23DE for Initial & Revised

Complete DE cases coding for Initial and Revised as we have stopped the procesing of the cases at step 13 of the workflow.

H H H

H 1

OPEN ITEMS - 10/24/2011Item Priority Description Start Date Target Close Actual Close Owner Status

35 Review LM Standardized unit test approach with SSA for agreement

10/7/2011 10/7/2011 10/26/2011 Name Meeting set after no definitive feedback. Incorporated customer’s comments. Need to determine if other comments from SSA.

39 High Association Low Level Design 10/3/2011 TBD Name 30% completed 10/23/11. Review with SSA on 10/24/11. See details on Tab 3

43 High Association Development 10/17/2011 11/18/2011 Name 15% of first design package (10/23/11) See Schedule on Tab 3

14 High RTA-Setup - Complete Review with SSA 9/27/2011 10/14/2011 Name Now 10/25 due to incomplete review on 10/21. See details on Tab 3

34 MED Review RTA Unit test findings with SSA 10/7/2011 10/14/2011 Name Has this been closed to customer satisfaction?

37 High Complete RTA All Set-up Code Revisions

9/30/2011 10/21/2011 Name Now 10/28. See details on Tab 3

38 High Re-Review RTA Set-up Code -- All with SSA

9/30/2011 10/21/2011 Name Now 10/28 or later. See details on Tab 3

17 Med Baseline DLDA Code 10/7/2011 10/7/2011 TBD Name Unix testing remains open item prior to Baseline review. LM will move to address revised multithreading approach after discussion with customer.

44 MED DLDA Multiple Thread options 10/12/2011 10/19/2011 10/24/2011 Name Paper sent for review

45 High DLDA Performance Refinement 10/15/2011 TBD Name Implement one of three Performance Improvement Options pending Association Workload or alternate developer. Name. Will be assigned to the project once a Performance improvement option has been decided.

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Spending Curve: Weekly Spending / Cumulative Spending

Active WO’s: 10

People: 10

Openings: 0

WY Allocation: NN

INACITVE 8/15/2010

Inactive 8/15/2010

Name SIT Analyst 8/8/2010

Name PSM EPM Dev 8/25/2010

Name LIT EPM Dev 9/27/2010

Name LIT EPM Dev 8/8/2010

Name SCS Analyst/Dev 8/29/2010

Name SIT EPM Dev 9/27/2010

INACITVE 8/19/2010

Name SIT Analyst 9/21/2010

Name SCS Analyst/Dev 9/19/2010

INACTIVE 7/18/2010

Name LIT EPM Dev 9/19/2010

TM / TM

TM / TM

TM / TM

RAS Code(s): NNNN

TM / TM

WO 03: Project Modernization

TM / TM

RAS Code(s): NNNN

WO 03: Project Modernization

RAS Code(s): NNNN

TM / TM

WO 03: Project Modernization

TM / TM

RAS Code(s): NNNN

WO 03: Project Modernization

WO 03: Project Modernization

WO 03: Project Modernization

WO 03: Project Modernization

RAS Code(s): NNNN

RAS Code(s): NNNN

RAS Code(s): NNNN

Tools – Financial Transparency

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Mindset

• Honesty and Transparency• Non-defensiveness• Do what you say you will do• Lead by example• Teach• Mind like water

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There is no I in Team

Mike A Lee H Krishna K James M Two guys in Philly Shelia K Gary R Susan W Ashish K Shreyash K Walter S Hector S Alisa G Aparna S Shiva S Kirin V Lee M Asad H Erik L Mark D Stacia C John S Xavier M Jeff K Phil M Erica J Steve W Kirthi A Emilio S Scott B Tim S Joe E Darryl B Mike A Kim R Curt R Mike B Brendan M Jim M Tom G Sandeep S Neeraja L John A Scott G David K

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Game Plan• Engineer Success – what is the

outcome you want?• No surprises – Communicate

clearly, effectively, and often• Never Cancel a Risk Meeting• Everyone is your Customer• Its not about you: Seek first to

understand, then be understood

• Bargain fairly for time, scope, and resources

• We are in the service business. Perception is reality

• Event + Response = Outcome 13

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