My last couple of ProjectBrief posts have pertained to risk management best practices. The first post was about the value of articulating risks as events, and my last blog was about including the consequence of risks in the register. This time, I want to remind people of a PM best practice that lends itself well to identifying risks.
Project Management Posts
Decompose for Better Risk Identification
Posted: July 5th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. 2 Comments »
Project Risks? So What?
Posted: June 14th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »
In my last ProjectBrief post, I talked about the importance of clearly identifying risks as events and making sure they aren’t simply stated as facts. Here I’d like to briefly highlight the importance of including the consequence of those identified risks in the risk register.
Risk registers often include risks with little or no indication as to the consequence. Take a look at the register below, for example:
| Risk Event | Prob 1-5 | Impact 1-5 | Risk Score PxI |
| Scheduling classes on new site fails to work with the ISP’s new online scheduling services when going live. | 3 | 5 | 15 |
What is a Risk?
Posted: May 24th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »
These next few weeks I will be sharing thoughts about Project Risk Management.
In my training experience, I find that most people know what risk management is, but many people struggle with identifying risks. Often, people create a list of risks that includes things like “The infrastructure is outdated,” or “We aren’t sure how much Sam will be available for the project.”
These are certainly concerns that we should be thinking about, but are they risks? I would suggest that no, they aren’t. The first one is simply a statement of fact; the second one is an uncertainty. Risks may derive from circumstances or uncertainties like these, but the most effective way to articulate a risk is to express it as an event. It’s something that could happen.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman?
Posted: May 3rd, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »
Not exactly. It’s an agile project manager. They may not be superhuman, but they are super popular right now. Anything agile is hot, and although not the right fit for every project or every organization, its popularity is not likely to wane anytime soon.
PMI is introducing an agile certification in the third quarter of 2011, and there’s an opportunity to participate in the certification pilot. Applications for the PMI Agile Certification will be available at the end of May to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria. Pilot candidates will submit their applications and then be the first to take the exam when it becomes available in September. They will receive their scores 10-12 weeks after taking the exam, during which time PMI will be evaluating the responses to determine the pass/fail criteria. (Post-pilot candidates will get their scores immediately after taking the exam.)
Toss Negativity into the Trash with Ritual Cleansing
Posted: April 12th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »
Do you remember the last time something bothered you so much that you couldn’t get it out of your head? A troublesome thought can consume you and preclude you from thinking of anything else. It becomes paralyzing.
One way to resolve persistent, negative thoughts is to do something to symbolize the elimination of the source of the negative thought and associated negative energy. For example, you might write down your thought on a piece of paper and then tear it up or burn it to symbolize the destruction of what’s troubling you. Psychologists call it ritual cleansing.
On day 1, we look great. It’s day 2 that kills us!
Posted: March 22nd, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »
I heard this from a project team member in a training class recently. He was referring to the schedules for the projects he works on. What he was getting at was that the team really doesn’t have a chance from the get-go. They are behind on projects before they even begin, and it doesn’t take long for that to be evident.
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Project managers know they should be getting input from the team on planning and the estimates for their work. And they often do. It’s what happens after that that’s problematic – namely, the input is ignored.
Influencing takes Patience, Planning, and Perspective
Posted: March 1st, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »
The ability to influence without authority is a skill coveted by any project manager. Even if a project manager has complete authority over project team members (which is seldom the case), there are still other stakeholders over whom they have no control and who need to make decisions, review or approve deliverables, or provide resources for the project.
It’s the crux of our job, really, to get people to do things for the benefit of the project.
Assumptions are Project Killers!
Posted: February 8th, 2011 by Bob Prentiss. Comments »
Let me be candid and up front – I do not like assumptions. Never have, never will. I truly believe that they can be one of the most destructive forces in business analysis. I do not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere. I do not like them I believe, so make them go away and leave! (Thank you Dr. Seuss, you always inspire me). So why is BobtheBA all jacked up about assumptions? Well… let’s just say he has first-hand experience with the pain they can bring. Now even though I do not like them I will also recognize up front that they are a necessary evil. Notice I said evil.
Successful Learning is a Two Way Street
Posted: January 20th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »As an instructor, I am happy to own the success of the learning events I lead. It is my job to understand students’ needs and then figure out how
to best meet them. In addition, it’s my responsibility to do that in a way that maximizes the student experience, that is, make it fun, engaging, and pertinent to their real world.
What, if anything, do the students own? Students often see training as a break from the proverbial grind. They want to have fun, relax, even be entertained. And that’s fine. Learning should be fun. But how is the success in the classroom dependent on what they bring to the experience?
Critical Path Method – Valuable Techniques in Practice
Posted: December 16th, 2010 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »
The Minnesota Department of Transportation, Mn/DOT, recently completed the biggest project in its history: 3 ½ years and $288 million. And get this: It finished weeks early and was completed within 2% of original contract value. I visited the project manager, Steve Barrett, a couple of months ago and he showed me around the project site and answered questions I had about how Mn/DOT manages projects. I wanted to see what project management looked like and how it worked on really big projects, and what better example of “uber” project management than the Interstate 35/Highway 62 exchange project in Minneapolis.
