Who says achieving delivery dates are not important? There is a school of thought in the project community, that for some projects, dates are impossible. You can’t put a clock on the creative process. Bull. Every project has a date, and to ignore it is to deny reality. If you’re building software, you still have a […]
Why Do Projects Succeed or Fail? Achieving Reliable Delivery Read More »
In kindergarten, we learned some simple skills: how to work together, how to share, how to communicate with others, how to be kind and make friends. They were basic social skills that would help us in the long run to get what we want out of life and out of our work. As we grew older,
Back to Basics: Building Blocks for Successful Project Delivery Read More »
In my previous post about checking your assumptions, I talked about the rules and requirements about your process. The supply chain is no different. After all, rules are made, boundary conditions established around how you deal with your suppliers. Therefore, you should also look at your supply chain policies to find possibilities to increase output –
Reconsider Your Rules on Materials and Suppliers Read More »
To increase output, whether in a disaster or in everyday pressures, you must challenge your assumptions to find solutions. Usually, the solution is not obvious (otherwise, it would have been implemented, right?), so you have to dig deeper. Challenging assumptions helps us see where we can change the process. There is still more to get out
Challenge Your Assumptions about the Process Read More »
The more contractors or departments involved in a project, the more chances for variation and, often, more confusion. There is always the opportunity for misalignment and miscommunication. The larger the organization, the more opportunity for missing cues on priorities and direction. For the process owner, the challenge is to align a team to drive progress towards
Manage and Align Performance by Applying Uniform Standards Read More »
In kindergarten, we learned some simple skills: how to work together, how to share, how to communicate with others, how to be kind and make friends. They were basic social skills that would help us in the long run to get what we want out of life and out of our work. As we grew older,
Back to Basics: Building Blocks for Successful Project Delivery Read More »
Complex projects have complex problems. Problems so complex that to an insider, those closest to the project, they seem impossible to fix. Picture this: Your project has one goal: Build a mountain. Now, think of your project as two tectonic plates: one is called Planning, one is called Results. You are standing right in the middle,
The Secret Weapon for Successful Project Delivery Read More »
If you’re a follower of my blog, you’ll know that I’ve written quite a bit on the topic of execution – that the lever for improving project performance is found in the execution phase and processes of the project. Actually, there are 12 levers to improve project performance, but they have to be pulled in order.
My last post concerned the third principle of the Basic Collaboration Level of the Project Execution Maturity Model, Priority Control. This post introduces the fourth principle, Control Work in Progress (WIP). Control Work in Progress (WIP) It seems like common sense: start sooner, you’ll finish sooner. The problem is that everyone starts sooner! Increasing the
Why Do Projects Succeed or Fail? Control Work in Progress Read More »
People want to work together, but most of the time, there is no simple method for them to do so. The result is that problems are identified very late. Communication is delayed, the right problem solvers arrive too late for prevention, leading to rework – additional work – into the process. Capacity is consumed doing the
Collaborative Execution Video: How to Improve the Effectiveness of Your Project Team Read More »
