Ugh. Another project meeting. We’ve all been there, annoyed when our reminder goes off (if you still use them!) reminding us of our 8th meeting of the day. We’re annoyed because there are so many meetings and these meetings never seem to get anywhere. The same stories, the same excuses. Well, at the close of the […]
Blind Spot 2 – Death by Meeting Read More »
This week, I am starting new series of postings that showcase some of the most common blind spots to successful project execution. I call these the blind spots because most managers are not even aware that these menaces are the true problem. The symptoms are obvious, but the root problem is hidden. The first cause is
Blindsided! Conflicting Priorities in Projects Read More »
I’m continuing my series on the Achieving Top Performance: 7 lessons learned in a Disaster, an elaboration on the work we did during the Gulf oil spill. This week covers the final lesson, communications. In my last blog post, I wrote a little about the performance standards. This post continues that discussion and I’ll get into
Lesson 7 – Accelerate Communications 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 »
What if you can’t simply reallocate resources to maximize flow because the constraint is the process or a machine itself? Sometimes it takes a little more creativity to identify how to exploit the constraint (the drum), but just because a machine is the constraint does not mean the fix is more expensive equipment. The key to
Focus on the Constraint Read More »
Knowing what (and where) the drum is for your process does not mean that you should run out and buy more capacity to fix it. In my previous blog post, I discussed that before you react to an increase of demand and making any changes in the process, you first need to analyze the process and
Rebalance Resources to Maximize Flow Read More »
What is the first thing to do to increase output when you need more, yesterday? Often, when output needs to increase, we learn that this heightened sense of urgency creates rushed decisions and frantic behavior. This leads to the obvious and time-tested band-ads: adding another shift, throwing overtime at the problem or buying another machine. As
Make the Invisible Visible – Look for “The Drum” Read More »
In engineering offices and construction trailers all over the world, promising projects suffer delays, cost overruns and missed output projections. In response, the collective finger of blame points to everyone’s favorite excuse: “bad planning.” If bad planning is responsible for failure, it stands to reason that “good planning” should be the savior. And by “good planning,”
Mass-producing Frustration: Why “Good Planning” Often Leads to Failed Projects Read More »
We’ve been playing with a new concept in project management. This new approach blends lean concepts, visual management, and theory of constraints. It’s a visual project management process, with a display of all the projects in the portfolio. We’re calling it ViewPoint. What’s interesting about this approach to project management is that it involves the project
Visual Project Management Read More »
