The Seven Deadly Sins

of Project Management

PMI-ISSIG Webinar
PMI-ISSIG Webinar

Presented
Presented By
By
Gopal
Gopal K.
K. Kapur,
Kapur, President
President
®®
Center for Project Management
Center for Project Management
One
One Annabel
Annabel Lane,
Lane, Suite
Suite 108
108
San
San Ramon,
Ramon, CACA 94583
94583
gkapur@center4pm.com
gkapur@center4pm.com www.center4pm.com
www.center4pm.com
1
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 State Of IT Project Management
®

ƒ “The “whisper number” (the one no

one likes to publicly acknowledge) for
annual IT waste is around $75 billion.
These are the dollars spent yearly on
failed IT projects.” Thornton May, Save the
Suits From Themselves, Computerworld, March 10,
2003, pp. 21.

2
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 7 Deadly Sins
®

1. Mistaking Half-Baked Ideas for Projects

2. Inadequate Due Diligence
3. Ineffective Sponsorship
4. Under Skilled Project Managers
5. Lack of a Robust Project Management
Process
6. Not Monitoring the Vital Signs
7. Absence of a Comprehensive Project
Portfolio

3
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
Sin 1: Half-Baked Ideas as Projects
®

EXEC
H-B Idea

Deadline
Manager

PM

T E A M

Progressive
ProgressiveRegression
Regression
4
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Filter Half-Baked Ideas
®

1 Which specific strategy is the project linked to?

2 What are the key objectives?
3 What is the value-to-business?
4 How realistic are the key assumptions?
5 Are the measures of success quantified?
6 What are the shut down conditions?
7 How realistic is the deadline?
8 What are the implications of doing nothing?
Questions
Questionsdesigned
designedto
tofilter
filterout
outhalf-baked ideas.
half-baked ideas.
5
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Filter Half-Baked Ideas – Problems
®

ƒ Sponsors and project managers don’t

really talk to each other.
ƒ Sponsors don’t like to be questioned.
ƒ Most sponsors are too busy to spend
any time with their project managers.
ƒ Project managers find it difficult to
bring up the issue of canceling a
project.
Seeds
Seeds of
of failure
failure are
are sown.
sown.
6
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
There is an effective project management process that
filters half-baked ideas from viable projects.
®

Routinely Most Often Often Sometimes Rarely

1 2 3 4 5

5 1
13% 1% 2
20%

4
17%

3
49%

Data
Datawas
wascollected
collectedat
atthe
theSF-PMI May
SF-PMI May2003
2003Regional
RegionalConference.
Conference.
7
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Sin 2: Inadequate Due Diligence
®

“Hundreds of careful studies show that

most new companies, products and
services are flops – even during the
best of times.” Robert I. Sutton,Stanford
University, CIO Insight, October 2001, pp. 47.

Reason:
Reason: Lack
Lack of
of due
due diligence.
diligence.

8
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Stakeholders
®

Policy Implementation

Project
Project

Management Customers
End-users

9
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Policy-Level Stakeholders
®

SH SH
Comatose Champion

SH Project Sponsor
Nemesis

SH SH
Champion Neutral

Those
Those who
who “shape”
“shape” the
the project.
project.
10
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
Implementation-Level Stakeholders
®

SH SH
Comatose Champion

SH Project SH
Nemesis Nemesis

Expectations

Degree of
Change
SH SH
Champion Neutral
Level of
Readiness

Those
Thosewho
whowill
willbe
be“shaped”
“shaped”by
bythe
theproject.
project.
11
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project proposals undergo appropriate and effective
levels of due diligence.
®

Routinely Most Often Often Sometimes Rarely

1 2 3 4 5

1
2
1%
9%
5
24%

3
25%

4
41%

Data
Datawas
wascollected
collectedat
atthe
theSF-PMI May
SF-PMI May2003
2003Regional
RegionalConference.
Conference.
12
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Sin 3: Ineffective Sponsorship
®

ƒ Commitment of “political capital”

ƒ Commitment of personal time
ƒ Commitment of resources

Sponsorship
Sponsorship means
means more more than
than
approving
approving the
the budget.
budget. ItIt means
means having
having
one’s
one’s “skin”
“skin” in
in the
the game.
game.
13
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Role of the Sponsor - A Partial List
®

• Provide guidance and direction for key

business strategies
• Understand project complexity The
Thesponsor
sponsor
• Empower the project manager should
shouldbe be
• Champion the project and the team able
ableto tomake
make
• Formally manage the project scope 80%
80%of ofall
all
decisions
decisions
• Approve plans, schedules, and budgets
without
without
• Ensure sustained buy-in having
havingto toget
get
• Clear road blocks (obstacles) approval
approvalfrom from
• Ensure timely availability of resources higher
higherups.
ups.
• Review project progress
• Ensure that project benefits are realized
14
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
Project Manager’s Lament
®

My sponsor done left me,

don’t come round no more.

Inflatable
Inflatable Sponsor!
Sponsor!
15
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Sponsors in my organization commit their political
capital, personal time, and resources to their projects.
®

Routinely Most Often Often Sometimes Rarely

1 2 3 4 5

5 1
9% 6% 2
13%

4
36%

3
36%

Data
Datawas
wascollected
collectedat
atthe
theSF-PMI May
SF-PMI May2003
2003Regional
RegionalConference.
Conference.
16
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Sin 4: Under Skilled Project Managers
®

ƒ Poor project management is a leading

cause of project failure.

“Why
“WhyInformation
InformationSystem
SystemProjects
Projectsare
areAbandoned:
Abandoned:
AALeadership
Leadershipand
andCommunication
CommunicationTheory
Theoryand and
Exploratory
ExploratoryStudy.”
Study.”EEffy
ffyOz
Ozand
andJohn
JohnJ.
J.Sosik,
Sosik,Journal
Journalof
of
Information
InformationSystems,
Systems,Fall
Fall2000.
2000.

17
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project Manager Skills Survey - 47 PMs
®

Developing Compre-
hensive Project Plans Skill Gap

Developing Realistic
Skill Gap
Estimates & Sched.

Project Complexity
Tracking Project
Skill Gap
Progress

Managing
Skill Gap
Expectations
Managing The Team
Skill Gap
(Leadership)

Negotiation Skills Skill Gap

0 1 2 3 4
Novice Expert

© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003

 Under Skilled Project Managers
®

ƒ “More than 75% of 219 IT executives

interviewed earlier this year by Meta
Group Inc. indicated that a lack of in-
house project management skills is a
major workforce issue for them. But
relatively few companies offer formal IT
project management training…” Thomas
Hoffman, Computerworld, August 11, 2003, pp. 16.

19
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project managers in my organization have the necessary skills
to do their jobs effectively and efficiently.
®

Routinely Most Often Often Sometimes Rarely

1 2 3 4 5

1 2
2% 4%

5
39%
3
26%

4
29%

Data
Datawas
wascollected
collectedat
atthe
theSF-PMI May
SF-PMI May2003
2003Regional
RegionalConference.
Conference.
20
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Under Skilled PMs - Typical Solution
®

ƒ Acquire a site license for a project

management software package
– Powerful tools
– Uneducated project managers

Mounting
Mounting afterburners
afterburners on
on aa mule.
mule.
21
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 PM Skills Development Program
®

ƒ Comprehensive Education and

Training
ƒ Challenging Job Assignments
ƒ Non-judgmental Mentoring
ƒ Professional Certification

22
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Sin 5: Lack of a Robust PM Process
®

Project
ProjectProcess
ProcessArchitecture™
Architecture™(PPA
(PPA™
™))
Vision

Idea Pre Launch Execute Implement Operation

Launch

Project Project Plans & Schedule Completed

Charter Production
Request Estimates & Track Project

66 Stages,
Stages, 33
33 Steps
Steps
Scalable
Scalable Model
Model
23
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project Process Architecture™
®

Vision Project
Idea
Request

√ 1. Idea Statement
√ 2. Project Request

√√ Recommended
Recommended for
for all
all projects
projects

24
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project Process Architecture™
®

Project Project
Pre-Launch
Request Charter

√ 3. Project Description 10. Stability Assessment

√ 4. Intra-Project Priorities 11. Issues
√ 5. Stakeholder Assessment √ 12. Risk Assessment
√ 6. Complexity Assessment 13. Preliminary Scope
√
7. Policies, Standards, Statement
Procedures √ 14. Project Size Estimate
8. Impact Assessment √ 15. Project Charter
9. Constraints and Obstacles

25
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project Process Architecture™
®

Project Plans &

Launch
Charter Estimates

√ 16. Project Staging √ 22. Staffing Plan

√ 17. Project Organization 23. Communications Plan
√ 18. Task Plan 24. Project Notebook
19. Prototyping Plan √ 25. Detailed Estimates
√ 20. Organization Change √ 26. Project Plan Review &
Management Plan Budget Approval
21. Scope Management Plan

26
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project Process Architecture™
®

Plans & Schedule

Execute
Estimates & Track

√ 27. Schedules
√ 28. Progress Review and Control

Between
Between 6060 to
to 70
70 percent
percent ofof project
project
effort
effort and
and time
time is
is spent
spent in
in this
this stage.
stage.
27
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project Process Architecture™
®

Schedule Completed
Implement
& Track Project

√ 29. Project Implementation and Closure

30. Process Assessment

28
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project Process Architecture™
®

Completed
Operation Production
Project

√ 31. Value-to-Business Assessment

√ 32. Operations Metrics
√ 33. Current System Retirement

29
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 My organization uses a robust well-defined process
to manage its projects.
®

Routinely Most Often Often Sometimes Rarely

1 2 3 4 5

5 1
12% 4%

2
27%

4
23%

3
34%

Data
Datawas
wascollected
collectedat
atthe
theSF-PMI May
SF-PMI May2003
2003Regional
RegionalConference.
Conference.
30
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Sin 6: Not Monitoring the Vital Signs
®

Fantasy
% Complete =
Fantasy
George Glaser

Fantasy
% Complete =
Lie
Gopal Kapur

Percent
Percent Complete
Complete is
is Insidious.
Insidious.
31
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project Vital Signs
®

1. Strategy Alignment
2. Customer Buy-In
3. Technology Viability
4. Sponsor’s Commitment and Time
5. Value-To-Business
6. Vendor Viability
7. Disposition of the Team
8. Status of the Critical Path
9. Milestone Hit Rate
10. Deliverables Hit Rate
11. Issues
12. Actual Cost vs. Estimated Cost
13. Actual Res. vs. Planned Res.
14. High Probability, High Impact Risk Events
15. Overtime Usage
32
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Vital Signs – Report Card (Example)
®

Vital Signs Deviation Value

Status of the Critical Path (Gap) <10% 0 Green
Weekly 10% - 20% 1 Yellow
>20% 2 Red
Milestone Hit Rate (Gap) <10% 0 Green
Weekly 10% - 20% 1 Yellow
>20% 2 Red
Cost-To-Date Variance (Gap) <10% 0 Green
Monthly 10% - 20% 2 Yellow
>20% 4 Red
Issues No Issues 0 Green
Weekly Issues < Del 1 Yellow
Issues > Del 2 Red
33
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Vital Signs Assessment
®

All is well
Run Away Condition
Shut Down Condition

AAWhite
WhitePaper
Paperononthe
thesubject
subjectis
isavailable
availablethrough
throughthe
the
Center’s
Center’sweb
website:
site:www.center4pm.com
www.center4pm.com

34
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Our project managers monitor a set of well-defined Vital Signs
of their projects.
®

Routinely Most Often Often Sometimes Rarely

1 2 3 4 5

1
2
2%
14%
5
32%

3
21%

4
31%

Data
Datawas
wascollected
collectedat
atthe
theSF-PMI May
SF-PMI May2003
2003Regional
RegionalConference.
Conference.
35
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Vital Sings - Benefits
®

ƒ A major consumer goods company was

able to negotiate a reduction of $45
million in fees from three vendors by
diligently tracking the vital signs of 40
projects.
ƒ A number of Center’s clients have put in
place a well defined process to identify
and cancel troubled projects.
http://www.center4pm.com/ProjectHALTt.pdf

36
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Sin 7: Absence of a Comprehensive Project
Portfolio
®

ƒ CEO Concerns:
ƒ How much are we spending on
projects?
ƒ Do the right projects get approved?
ƒ How many projects are being executed?
ƒ What is the status of the various
projects?
ƒ What is the total project capacity of the
organization?
37
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Project Portfolio Dashboard
®

Pre- Launch Execute Implement Operations

Idea Launch

II I II I

SG SG SG SG SG
1 2 3 4 5
Suspended
Expiration Expiration
Date Date IV III IV III
Request Charter Plan & Development Deployment Canceled
Estimate
Demand Capacity

SG Stage Gate
In Progress

Approved On target Lagging Jeopardy

38
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Portfolio Alerts
®

ƒ Unaligned Project
ƒ Low Customer Buy-in
ƒ Schedule Overrun
ƒ Budget Overspend
ƒ Resource Under Allocation
ƒ Shutdown Condition
ƒ Portfolio Stress

39
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 My organization has a well-structured project portfolio.
®

Routinely Most Often Often Sometimes Rarely

1 2 3 4 5

1
30%

2
70%

Data
Datawas
wascollected
collectedat
atthe
thePMI -ISSG June
PMI-ISSG June2003,
2003,San
SanAntonio,
Antonio,TX.
TX.
40
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Elements of Project Success
®

Vital Portfolio
Signs Management

Sound
Project Filter
PM
Success H-B Ideas
Process

Skilled Solid Due

PM Sponsorship Diligence

41
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Absence of a Disciplined PM Process
®

Most projects eventually get done, but:

– Not in the right sequence
– Not by the right people
Sponsor

– Not in the right detail

– Not by the right time
– Not at the right cost Please, let me live...
PM

Results:
– High “body count”
42
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 References
®

How to Manage a Portfolio of Projects

CIO Insight, January 1, 2003
http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,3959,841098,00.asp

How to Kill a Troubled Project

CIO Insight, September 1, 2001
http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,3959,16486,00.asp

43
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003
 Center for Project Management™
®

ƒ Services
– ProjectSCAN™
– ProjectHALT™
– Executive Briefings
– Seminars and Workshop
– Consulting and Mentoring Services
– Tools and Templates
– White Papers
– Project Manager Certification Program
– Train-the-Trainer Program
– Best Practices Development and Deployment
Contact
ContactRaj
RajKapur,
Kapur,VP
VPSales
Salesat
at800 -510-1535, Ext.
800-510-1535, Ext.11
11
rkapur@center4pm.com
rkapur@center4pm.com
44
© 1995 Center for Project Management® Rev: December 8, 2003