LEADING FOR SUCCESS

PROJECT MGMT LESSONS LEARNED & BEST PRACTICES

Ramesh Shanmuganathan
Executive Vice President / Group CIO
John Keells Group

1 19th November 2009

 AGENDA

 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
 STATUS QUO
 5 DEADLY SINS
 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
 LESSONS LEARNED AND BEST PRACTICES
 DISCUSSIONS
 KEY TAKE AWAY!

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 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
– STATUS QUO
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CHAOS RESEARCH STUDIES
60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
Succeeded 16% 27% 26% 28% 34% 29%
Failed 31% 40% 28% 23% 15% 18%
Challenged 53% 33% 46% 49% 51% 53%

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CHAOS SURVEY RESULTS
Resolution of Projects

Challenged
53%

Succeeded
29%

Failed
18%

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 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
– 5 PITFALLS
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PITFALL#1
- PERSONAL AGENDAS

A strong desire to promote personal

agendas / motives at the expense of the
Project or to gain fame, fortune, or
power through the impact of over
reaching/unrealistic goals.

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HOW TO AVOID PITFALL #1
- PERSONAL AGENDAS

 Begin with a business need

 Prioritize requirements
 Manage expectation
 Assess Risks & Contingencies
 Under-promise and over-deliver
 Balance the act

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PITFALL #2:
- POOR TEAM DYNAMICS

Poorly formed team due to individual’s

personality, pride,etc which inhibits
the project team working together in
harnessing its true potential.

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HOW TO AVOID PITFALL #2
- POOR TEAM DYNAMICS

 Create a strong bonding

 Make ground rules very clear
 Facilitate open communications
 Manage strong personalities
 Drive decision making on consensus
 Be decisive and walk the talk

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PITFALL #3:
- PROJECT SILOS

Compartmentalization of the project into

silos where the different teams work on
different goals and objectives not knowing
the implications, dependencies and bearing
they have on each other. This is further
compounded by ignorance and apathy.

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HOW TO AVOID PITFALL #3
- PROJECT SILOS

 Establish a Steering Committee and PMO

 Define team goal with clear focus on dependencies
 Clarify each team’s and each member’s role and
role expectations
 Communicate as much as possible so that
everyone is on the same page
 Educate, Share and Collaborate to bridge possible
gaps

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PITFALL #4:
- LACK OF ENGAGEMENT

People choose to be a part of the

project without much contribution
and bearing on the outcome.

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HOW TO AVOID PITFALL #4:
- LACK OF ENGAGEMENT

 Ensure everyone participates

 Establish objectives and demand delivery
 Reinforce that there will be “NO PASSENGERS”
 Be decisive when confronted with non-performance or
poor performance
 Assess and Establish Contingencies as required and
enforce them on a timely manner

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PITFALL #5:
- CROSSING THE LINE

An action intended to deceive; deliberate

trickery intended to gain an advantage or to
avoid confrontation.

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HOW TO AVOID PITFALL #5:
- CROSSING THE LINE

 Set ground rules clearly

 Establish & communicate structure,
processes and authority levels
 Have zero-tolerance policy on violation of
established ethics and code of practice
 Be transparent

 Walk the talk!

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 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
- LESSONS LEARNED & BEST PRACTICES
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 LESSONS LEARNED & BEST PRACTICES
#1 SECURE EXECUTIVE SPONSORSHIP

 Identify and solicit Senior Executive support upfront

 Align initiatives with Business objectives of Senior Executives
 Must establish credibility as a Program & Project managers
 Should communicate effectively all the time!
 Gain support through professionalism, credibility and execution
 Strive for excellence and in raising the bar!
LESSONS LEARNED & BEST PRACTICES
#2 UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE BUSINESS NEEDS

 Be clear of the business objectives of the project

 Comprehend the Objectives, Expectations and
Mandate of the project
 Understand the business and the business
context very well
 Familiarize yourself with the Business Operations
and Critical Success Factors for the Project
 Document Business Processes and use this
opportunity to understand Process Owner (
Stakeholder) expectation and apprehensions

LESSONS LEARNED & BEST PRACTICES
#3 IDENTIFY AND MANAGE STAKEHOLDERS

 Identify other stakeholders who would influence

the PROJECT both directly and indirectly
 Get them involved, keep them informed and
gain their endorsement all the way
 Build awareness, knowledge and Appreciation
of modern Project Management approaches
 Identify and Address each stakeholders needs
and aspirations
LESSONS LEARNED & BEST PRACTICES
#4 DEFINE & MANAGE PROJECT DELIVERABLES

 Clearly document the Project deliverables in

line with the Business objectives
 Ensure each Objectives is clearly mapped to
its respective deliverables
 Ensure each deliverable has its baseline
Scope, Time and Budget
 Verify and Ensure that each deliverable is
signed off by the respective Stakeholder
 Be flexible and accommodate change as a
necessity even at the expense of baselines, if
its adding business value.
 LESSONS LEARNED & BEST PRACTICES
#5 STRUCTURE & CONSTITUTE AN EFFECTIVE PMO

 Ensure the PMO is well constituted to represent all

stakeholders
 Develop a clear Charter and Statement of Work for the
PMO
 Ensure the right people with the right attitude and skills
are brought into the PMO
 Provide clear objectives, deliverables and answers to the
question of “What’s in it for me?” to all concerned
 Provide hands-on support to project teams and “grant”
permission to fail!
 Coach & Guide all the way!
 LESSONS LEARNED & BEST PRACTICES
#6 DEVELOP AND ENHANCE THE PMO

Sustained

Integrated

Managed

Planned

Ad-hoc
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
– CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
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 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
“The pertinent question is not
how to do things right but, how to find the right things to do ,
and concentrate resources and efforts on them “

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- Peter F Drucker
#1 Secure Executive Sponsorship
#2 Understand & Acknowledge Business Need
#3 Identify & Manage Stakeholders
#4 Define & Manage Project Deliverables
#5 Structure & Constitute an Effective PMO with the right,
 Leadership
 Representation
 Resources & Skills
 Infrastructure, tools & training
 Processes, Procedures & Systems
#6 Develop & Enhance PMO
 DISCUSSION
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 KEY TAKE AWAYS..

• GAIN executive sponsorship as early as possible

• ENGAGE potential stakeholders at all levels in understanding their EXPECTATIONS
• ALIGN your Project strategy and to address the evolving BUSINESS NEEDS &
CHALLENGES
• STRUCTURE your PMO to deliver both SHORT and LONG TERM OBJECTIVES
• ESTABLISH clear objectives for the PMO based on BALANCED BUSINESS/ PROJECT
LEVERS
• QUESTION the STATUS-QUO with a view of CHANGING for the a BETTER outcome
• ADOPT a best of breed methodologies & tools only as a ABSOLUTE NECESSITY
• CHOOSE a PEOPLE for the PMO based on their EXPERTISE, EXPERIENCE and
COMMITMENT ( VALUE ADDITION)
• COMMUNICATE at all levels and across the board for CLARITY & TRANSPARENCY
• DELIVER and MANAGE your Programs/Projects to meet the PROJECT OBJECTIVEs - NO
EXCUSES. The credibility of Projects and PMO depends on this.
Parting thoughts…

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives nor the most
intelligent, but the one that is most responsive to change.”
–Charles Darwin

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Thank you!

ramesh@keells.com
ramesh@ramesh24.com 29
www.ramesh24.com