Category Archives: Project management

Featured, Miscellaneous IT, Project management

How to Project Manage When it’s Not Your Job AND Everything is a Priority

By Melanie Haskell, Project Manager III

Over the years, we have heard customers repeatedly ask for tips on how they can manage their initiatives when project management is not their only job function and everything is a priority.  Before you can manage your time, you need to know what it is you must manage.

  • Create a list of what needs to be done. The first draft of your list should capture only high level items; don’t worry you will add more details later. At this point, you’re focused on what you need to get done, not how you are going to get there.
  • Prioritize the items on the high level list. In order to create realistic priorities, set aside the concept of “everything has to be done yesterday.” This is a first pass so prioritize the list based on what you know now. You can create any coding technique that works for you (for example, high, low and medium) – the only thing that matters that the coding works for you.
  • Now take the highest priority items and determine what needs to be done to complete the objective of that item (this is called a Task List). Eventually you will work through all items on your list.  This is an iterative process.  You might be able to create this task list on your own, or you might need to pull in other entities to flesh out the details. The more complex the item, the more help you may need. For example,  upgrading the firmware on your non-production SAN is a much easier item then moving your on premise email to a hosted cloud solution or embarking on hybrid cloud computing projects. When you start talking to people, you start discovering what needs to happen, and the picture becomes clearer.
  • Organize the task list conceptually – see if you need to pull in others just like in the step above. Since you did your due diligence during the discovery stage, now your objective is to chunk out the work.
  • Assign resources – ask for help if you do not have the ability to assign anyone.  You might end up owning all items, but if you can delegate tasks do so.  Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to do it all. You can be much more effective if you can delegate tasks as necessary.  Make sure individuals understand the overall goal and how it benefits the organization, as well as how their role affects the overall initiative. Gather feedback as much as possible as this will help identify risks, missed steps in the plan etc.
  • Determine if there is a tool you want to use to help you manage the task plan (i.e. the to-do list).  Some popular tools are Microsoft Project, Excel or Word. It does not matter what tool you utilize as long as it helps you with task management (i.e. what needs to get done, who is doing it and when will it happen).  Use technology to help you!
  • Set a communication plan – How will you know a task status?  This information can be gathered in many ways. Find what works for you and your resources.  Set schedules and follow up with people to make sure they are meeting their deadlines. Make time to monitor the task list to verify the team is in alignment with the committed tasks and timelines.

 

This all might sound like a lot of work, and you’re probably already over-tapped, but this will create efficiency and save a lot of time in the end.  It’s better to plan out how you will build your house before you pick up a hammer, nails and some wood and start building. Good luck and remember, if needed, our Project Management team is here in the wings to offer you professional advice any time!

 

Collaboration, Featured, Miscellaneous IT, Project management

Collaborating Through Crisis and Change for Successful Outcomes

By Brian Shaw, Program Manager, Managed Services Solutions

 

Crisis management and change management begins long before an incident occurs with the creation of a collaboration and decision making framework prior to project implementation.

A collaboration strategy needs to address the types of change to be communicated (perhaps based on thresholds for schedule and cost impact), who change needs to be communicated to, and what actions may result from that change. Actions resulting from change collaboration may be as simple as accepting the impact to the project schedule or as complex as allocating additional budgets and personnel. Follow the below steps prior to project implementation and your project team will be ready for change when it occurs. [Note: the method of applying these concepts should scale to the complexity and duration of the project.]

Preparation

Could it be coincidental that “preparation” and “Project Manager” both begin with a “p?” I think not. It is the responsibility of the Project Manager and the project team to create an environment for project success. A communication plan is a key component of project preparation. The plan should take into consideration the multiple audiences for project related information. All too often a single communication method is selected (such as emailing weekly status updates); however, this strategy doesn’t take into consideration that each audience has its’ own needs. A project engineer will require information regarding architecture and device level access that would be extraneous noise to an executive audience.

Additionally, most projects have a threshold for which change can be quickly accepted versus change or crisis that requires escalation. Define these thresholds as early as possible. If the duration of the work effort changes by less that x% or the cost changes by less than $x, can the project team quickly move forward without engaging an executive for approval? Prior to project initiation determine what types of change need to be escalated and who those changes need to be escalated to.

Control Sheet/Project Dashboard

Believe it or not, some audiences of project information don’t like reading MS Project plans and Ghantt charts…go figure. Both executive and client audiences often prefer a succinct format which quickly identifies task families that are on track, those at risk and those that have failed. This type of shorthand project metrics update is often referred to as a project dashboard or control sheet.

A project dashboard should quickly communicate project budget to actuals, project timeline and the status of milestones and/or important tasks. A popular method of sharing the status is the red, yellow, green light methodology. The critical benefit of this communication strategy is that audiences of this information can move quickly to problem areas and work towards resolution actions. If you are using a risk register then the yellow and red lights may kick out to the risk management work stream.

Collaboration Tools

Knowing what you are going to communicate and when you are going to communicate is only part of the collaboration strategy. It is critical that the project team determine how to collaborate and share types of information. Collaboration tools such as SharePoint, Drop Box and Huddle are commonplace, and I highly recommend your project team adopt a collaboration tool if you haven’t already done so.

The collaboration tool you use should allow the storage of multiple types of information along with selective access to information. The best tools allow access control at both the folder and file level. This level of information control allows sensitive information such as access credentials to be locked down to those that need access only.

The control sheet should be maintained within your collaboration tool so appropriate consumers can pull up a live project status at any time. Additionally, the collaboration tool should not replace individual action. If an important change or crisis occurs an update to the control sheet should not suffice as engaging decision makers. Those changes should be escalated in an active way to decision makers.

Execution:

Creating a communications plan around change is only the beginning. Once you’ve determined how you are going to communicate change, what changes will be communicated and how crises will be handled, it is then the responsibility of the Project Manager to ensure that consumers of this plan are informed and clearly understand the expectations. The plan is actionable and when change occurs the project team should be familiar enough with the plan to easily put it in motion.

 

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Featured, IT Management, Miscellaneous IT, Project management, resource scheduling

Behind the Scenes of IT Resource Scheduling

By Ryann Edwards, PMP, Resource Specialist, LogicsOne

 

A few years ago, we made a change at GreenPages-LogicsOne to streamline how we handle the resource scheduling process.   It’s a good thing too, because so far in 2013 there have been close to 400 engagements that have used this new process.  While scheduling a large group of resources may sound easy, at times it feels like it takes a team of highly skilled scientific specialists and analysts to get it right.  Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but there is actually a bit of a science to it.

I should begin with the disclaimer that the ­process hasn’t always been so efficient. In fact, most of my new hire trainings begin with the “back in the day” spiel because it brings to light the lessons we’ve learned.  This in turn leads to where we are today.  So where did we begin? We were slightly blind. Our services team of Account Executive, Solutions Architects, and Project Managers were working in silos when it came to choosing and selecting resources for our services engagements.  Everyone involved had the best of intentions: to find the right resource for the project, meet our customers’ deadlines or requests, schedule the project, and implement a highly successful engagement. The problem came when multiple Project Managers had “just the right project” for “just the right Consultant” who, yes, happened to be just the same person.  Needless to say, as our professional services organization has grown and matured over the years, the need became strong for a streamlined scheduling system.  That brings us to present day where we now have a Resource Specialist team to handle scheduling requests.

As I mentioned above, there is quite a bit of thought and strategy (“science” may have been pushing it) that plays out behind the scenes when it comes to the scheduling of service projects. It is imperative that at the forefront of it all is our customers’ best interests, including special requests and internal deadlines. While some might joke that we should just throw darts at a board of names to figure out who to schedule, I assure that you that we really don’t.  In fact, we look at each Statement of Work and scheduling request that comes in to our queue in great detail. From researching the background and history that Consultants may already have with a client, to looking at geographical location, travel, availability, customer dependencies and deadlines; there are a lot of considerations.

At the end of the day, our objective is always the same: to make sure we are looking at the big picture and are doing everything we can to keep our internal and external customers satisfied.  Our top priority is making sure the resource(s) assigned to a project are a good match for all parties involved, so the outcome is a successful professional service engagement for our customers.  Believe it or not, our customers can help in this process. Here are some things that help us ensure a successful engagement:

  1. Sign Off. The signed Statement of Work is crucial. It is the only way we can fairly and accurately prioritize requests for services.
  2. Information. The more details you can provide regarding the project or services, the better. Does a key resource on the project have an upcoming vacation?  Are there outside dependencies that will effect when your project can start?  Do you have an important internal deadline that you need to meet?  All of those things are pieces to the scheduling puzzle.
  3. Be open-minded. While you may have worked with one Consultant in the past and would like to use them again, we have a full staff of highly qualified resources that welcome the opportunity to work with you!

Streamlining the scheduling process has allowed members of the services organization to focus on other important aspects in the project lifecycle; project planning, managing, and executing. Having a team dedicated solely to resourcing has improved efficiency in scheduling, increased visibility into utilization of the solutions team, and is a key piece of the puzzle for successful project delivery.

 

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Featured, Miscellaneous IT, Project management, PSA Tool

Five Things to Consider Before Choosing your Professional Services Automation Tool

By Alyson Gallant, PMP, Project Administrator, LogicsOne

Choosing a Professional Services Automation (PSA) tool can be an arduous task. There are a number of options out there, and everyone’s business and workflows are unique. Also, the potential cost and time of evaluating a number of tools and running a proof of concept can be overwhelming.

Why do you need a PSA tool? A PSA tool is crucial to understanding where your resources are spending their time and the profitability of projects. A suitable PSA tool should allow your organization to continuously evaluate performance in order to improve and scale.

Like any Professional Services organization (or any organization looking to track time and budget on large internal projects), we’ve evaluated and used a number of different PSA tools. During the implementation of our current PSA tool, the Project Management Office (PMO) was lucky enough to have significant input into our PSA tool selection as well as the rollout to our Professional Services organization.

There is no one size fits all when it comes to a PSA tool, and there are many methods of evaluation, which we won’t get into here. However, here’s some food for thought based on our experiences for anyone preparing to search for a new PSA tool:

1) Can you consolidate your applications?
Do you have a lot of applications? Will your new PSA tool be an additional application for your users to use? Are your users experiencing application overload?? If so, have you investigated what your current CRM application already offers? A number of PSA applications are part of a larger suite, and the more modules you use, the better your data flows through.

2) Are you trying too hard to reinvent the wheel? Customization vs. integration.
One of the potential cons of going to a tool that you cannot customize is that you may have to change your workflow to fit the tool rather than having a tool that works with your existing workflow. But is that necessarily a bad thing? Using an application that hundreds or thousands of other customers are using can help provide a baseline for what your organization should be doing if your current workflow has a number of inefficiencies. Also, if you customize your tool, how does that affect future upgrades? Be open to revaluating your workflow. Look for a tool that is open to integrations with your other applications as an alternative to customization.

3) Is there an active community of users?
A great feature of a PSA tool is the energy and enthusiasm of the community of users. We did not have this with our first PSA tool, and it wasn’t until our second PSA tool that we recognized the value of this. Through an online community, users actively discuss new releases and provide feedback on forums open to all users. Users are encouraged to enter “New Feature Requests” and vote on them. We all know our time is highly prized during the workday, but sometimes it can be a good gut check when you’re running into an issue or workflow conundrum to take a look at what others are seeing or experiencing to see if you’re on the right track.

4) Are you able to roll out your tool in a staged approach?
If you have the luxury of rolling out a PSA in a staged fashion, this may be an easier way to encourage adoption of your users, as well as ensure you’re getting accurate data entered by your users. As we all know, change can be difficult, and when users are overwhelmed and unsure of a new process, it may not be the best setting for the most accurate information to be entered. If you have the ability to roll out a single module of your new PSA at a time, your users can focus on getting each process down correctly before moving onto the next new process. A staged approach may not always work for your rollout, but it is worth considering to ensure you have “good data”.

5) Are you willing to perform constant evaluation on the new tool and provide recurring training?
As rollouts can take time, there can be quite a gap between inputting your data into your new PSA tool and evaluating the data that you extract. What happens when you extract data that isn’t useful? What if the information is incorrect? You’ll need to constantly gauge how well your workflow is providing your management with information, and changing that workflow can require new training. Make sure to factor this in with the rollout of your PSA tool – the work is never done.
Are you in the market for a new tool to track your projects? What do you use currently, and what are your pain points?

 

If you do have any questions, this is something we can help with as part of our On Demand Project Management Offering, so feel free to reach out!

Collaboration, LiquidPlanner, Project management, Task management

LiquidPlanner 4.3 Bridges Gap Between Task, Project Management

LiquidPlanner has released new features to their priority-based, predictive project management solution to improve team performance and collaboration.  Checklists can now be added to any task in LiquidPlanner, so that all individual steps can easily be listed and crossed off as they’re completed. Checklist items can be reordered by dragging and dropping, copied between tasks, or assigned to other team members who need to review or approve the work.

“Checklists are the ultimate Swiss Army Knife for project teams,” said Liz Pearce, LiquidPlanner CEO. “They can be used for quality control, new hire training, tracking individual to-do lists, managing repeatable processes, and much more. By capturing the steps that go into tasks in simple checklists, teams can simplify their project plans and—at the same time—better ensure that the work is being done right.”

The new release also includes a complete overhaul of key collaboration features. Comments are now threaded (like Facebook) instead of streamed in date order (like Twitter), so conversations can be followed more easily. Conversation threads can be filtered by client, project, or team. Customers can also choose which types of activities or events (such as adding documents or marking items done) trigger email notification, which drastically improves the signal-to -noise ratio of email alerts.

While many PPM solutions brush off simple task management in favor of more robust scheduling and resource management features, LiquidPlanner is committed to serving the needs of both individual contributors and managers with its dynamic solution.

“To help companies be successful, Social Task Management vendors must boost employee productivity with simple task tracking and allow for more comprehensive resource planning,” said Alan Lepofsky, VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research. “By using predictive scheduling and time tracking in combination with lightweight checklists, teams get the best of both worlds.”

Cloud & IT Management, Collaboration, Guest Post, Project and Program Management, Project management, Project team, Project-Manager

Project Management and the Cloud

A Guest Post by Joel Parkinson, a writer for projectmanager.com

In the world of information technology, the “cloud” has paved the way for a new method for managing things on the Internet. In a cloud environment, computing “takes place” on the Worldwide Web, and it takes the place of the software that you use on your desktop. Cloud computing is also hosted on the Web, on a server installed in a “data center”, which is usually staffed and managed by people who are experts at technology management. What does the cloud mean to project management? Here’s an overview of what cloud project management is.

What Cloud Computing Means to Project Managers

Project management is defined as the “set” of activities and processes that are done to execute, and complete, a task that’s outsourced by one party to another. Project management ensures the high probability of success of a project, through the efficient use and management of resources.   So what does cloud computing mean to project managers?  According to PM veterans, cloud computing offers a greener and more sustainable project management environment, lowers cost, eliminates the use of unnecessary software and hardware, improves scalability, and eases the process of information-sharing between team managers and staff, customers and executive management.

Benefits of Cloud Project Management

In a project management environment, the cloud speeds up the whole process. As cloud services are available anytime, any day, the cloud can help a project management team hasten the process of execution, and provides improved results and outputs too.   With the cloud, project managers and staff can also easily monitor, and act without delays as information is delivered on a real-time basis. Let’s look at the other benefits of the cloud for project managers.

Improved Resource Management

The cloud’s centralized nature also allows for the improved utilization, allocation and release of resources, with status updates and real-time information provided to help optimize utilization. The cloud also helps maintain the cost of resource use, whether its machine, capital or human resource.

Enhanced Integration Management

With the cloud, different processes and methods are integrated, and combined to create a collaborative approach for performing projects. The use of cloud-based software can also aid in the mapping and monitoring of different processes, to improve overall project management efficiency.

Overall, the cloud platform reduces the gridlocks and smoothens the project management process, and makes the whole project team productive and efficient in terms of quality of service for the customer, and it also enhances the revenues of the organization.

But does the cloud project management model mean a more carefree and less-costly environment? We could say it makes the whole process less costly, but not overly carefree. Despite the perks provided by the cloud, everything still needs to be tested and monitored, and every member of the project management team must still work upon deployment, and each of them should still be fully supported by project managers, and the clients. The cloud is perhaps the biggest innovation in the IT industry because it “optimizes” the utilization of resources within an enterprise.

Business Processes, Mavenlink, Project management

Mavenlink Launches New Financial Management, Reporting Capabilities

Mavenlink today announced the launch of new capabilities which provide users with end-to-end financial reporting and management control. With real-time visibility into their projects and financials, Mavenlink customers benefit from greater visibility and control over their business performance, and staying in alignment with business goals becomes more certain.

“Mavenlink, and our new smart class of products, is improving the way work is defined and managed across distributed teams,” said Ray Grainger, Mavenlink’s CEO. “With the addition of these new financial management and reporting capabilities, Mavenlink becomes even more compelling, enabling businesses to improve productivity, increase profitability and more effectively manage business outcomes.”

Mavenlink enables companies to efficiently manage more of their business online, including team & project management, messaging & conversations, file management, time & expense management, invoicing & online payments and financial reporting. Mavenlink’s new reports, available in real-time and multiple currencies, provide users a detailed view of the entire financial life cycle of projects.

Key new features include:

  • Utilization Reports: Maximize revenue through more efficient resource utilization and planning
  • Work In Progress (WIP) Reports: Keep track of planned and actual costs, as well as what has been billed and awaits billing on any project for every client
  • Accounts Receivable Aging Reports: Reduce time-to-payment through better visibility of upcoming and late invoices
  • Time Sheets: Effortlessly capture time, view and report on billable and non-billable hours for each team member or workgroup, with a real-time view of project costs
  • Task-Level Budgeting: Manage cost expectations and ensure tighter project controls by tracking budgets (hours and dollars) down to the task level

 “Social Task Management (STM) platforms combine project management and social networking to enable teams to more effectively get their work done,” said Alan Lepofsky, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research. “By adding capabilities with financial related areas such as budgeting, invoicing payments and management reporting, Mavenlink has created a single place for team members to seamlessly organize all aspects of a project. I’ve yet to see this type of broad project management and financials together from any other STM SaaS provider.”

BigData, Business Intelligence, Computer security, E-Government, Government, Project management, Webinar/Webcast/Presentation

FOSE 2013: Cloud, Virtualization, Cybersecurity, Mobile Government, Big Data Featured

Cloud and Virtualization; Cybersecurity; Mobile Government; Big Data and Business Intelligence; and Project Management will be the featured tracks at FOSE 2013, each providing cutting-edge technology insights, policy updates, case studies and expert guidance to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs. FOSE 2013, the largest and most comprehensive event serving the government technology community, will take place May 14-16 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

“Late last year we surveyed our government and industry attendees to gauge the topics that are of most interest,” said Mike Eason, Vice President, Public Sector Events, 1105 Media, Inc. “Not surprisingly, cloud, mobile, big data/analytics and cyber came in at the top. It’s our job to ensure we are offering the education that supports the government’s needs around these issues. We are once again structuring our program to highlight these key trends, and will be drawing on the expertise of agency executives that have real past performance in the five areas to serve as speakers.”

Each track provides an in-depth look into the given topic, including:

  • Cloud and Virtualization will feature best practices and insights on technology trends, case studies and leading practices on planning, implementation and benefits realization.
  • Cybersecurity will examine the business of cyber, including detecting complicated malware and adversaries – insider and outsider, determining what data left the organization, developing defensive and preemptive measures to keep attacks from happening and managing risk-based compliance.
  • Mobile Government will offer tools, strategies and insights into hot issues such as BYOD, security, APIs and mobilizing enterprise systems, as well as achieving the goals of the Digital Government Strategy.
  • Big Data and Business Intelligence will focus on how to extract meaning from bits and bytes to reach business objectives, featuring case studies from federal agencies that have found useful intelligence from data, examine toolkits being used and highlight the management and policy challenges that come up in the process.
  • Project Management, developed in conjunction with the Project Management Institute, will provide best practices and trade secrets of agile project management to help the government professional advance their career.

A selection of confirmed session topics includes:

For more information and to keep up-to-date on the full program agenda, visit www.fose.com. To see how FOSE addresses the technology road ahead, view the FOSE 2013 infographic at www.fose.com/techtrends.

IT Management, IT Projects, Project management

Project Communications to the C-Suite

By Tobi Evangelisti, Senior VP of PMO, and Craig Mullen, Engagement Manager

Project communications to the C-Suite must include as much rational objectivity as possible to provide a pragmatic update taking into consideration identification of the C-Suite stakeholder’s interest.

The importance of constructing a projects’ communications to the C-Suite, starts with conscious development of the subject line. The first couple of sentences must address directly the project status and communicate whether action (or reading is required) or that the communication is providing a summarized update. It should have detail to understand the big picture but not overly granular. C level execs will always come back if they require more.

Communications to the C-Suite are not project status reports. Do not lead off with issues, items, or ideas, unless they are strategic or business oriented. Management functions within the C-Suite typically have functional expertise, but their focus usually would be different than a department because of their focus on the larger business environment. Ideally, the project communications role to the C-Suite would be as trusted advisor. A communication should be concise and clearly outline project status, open issues requiring attention and specifics as to how the project may require assistance. If the communication is in regards to issues that may be occurring an overview of the timeline is important for the C level person to understand the magnitude and the sense of urgency. In C level communications it is important to make sure the message includes a next step or a move forward plan. This creates a confidence that you are continuing to work the issue.

There is a time and place for email communication, phone calls and in person communication:

  • Rule number one: Understand how your audience prefers to be communicated with.
  • Rule number two: Do not hide behind email. Sending an email does not mean that the issue is resolved and if the topic is hot it is imperative to either call or find the person face to face if possible.
  • Rule number three: Sense of urgency should assist in choosing your communication method.
  • Rule number four: IF you are using email: Use proper use of the to and cc fields. If you do not require action use the cc. If you are requiring action, use the to field.

Effective communications start with using simple words and clear thoughts. C-Suite communications is essentially the project manager’s version of the sales elevator pitch. It may help to have a co-worker proof your message, or at least make sure you re-validate the initial draft to ensure clarity, emotional tone (balanced), accuracy, and timeliness.

 

To learn more about how GreenPages can help you click here.

Miscellaneous IT, Project management

Project Managing Like Bill Belichick

By Jamey Beland, Project Manager, PMP

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that being a project manager leading a virtualization or IT project is identical to coaching a professional team the way Bill Belichick coaches the Patriots (sorry New Yorkites).  Hear me out on this.   A project manager and a coach each have the responsibility of delivering on the objectives of the stakeholder and owner. Each plans their strategy and objectives prior to starting the game.  Each has to make adjustments to the plan and strategy depending on circumstances and how the project or game progress (sorry Eagles fans).  Each has to work with some unique personnel in the project; (Divas don’t just exist in sports.)  Each has to lead a multifaceted and talented team to achieve a goal.  Ultimately each game is a basic project or at a minimum, a phase in a larger project which is to win the Lombardi trophy.

In coaching and in Project Managing, the key basic principles are the same; setting expectations, having the players or project team provide input, and facilitating communication.  My colleague Craig Mullen hit on this in a previous posts: Active Project Management; Facilitate, Don’t Dictate.   Think about it, if someone does not know what is expected from him or her, how can they realistically do their job? You can’t win a game if you don’t know the rules.  This applies to the coaches knowing their role, just as much as the players knowing their role.  A PM’s role is to ensure that the each player clearly understands the expectations of the stakeholders and sponsors, just as a coach must be in sync with the owner and GMs. Furthermore, the PM or coach is responsible for ensuring the players and project members clearly understand their roles and responsibilities; this is done through project charters, project plans, scope objectives, and thorough communication prior to any project execution.  This is a key reason the Krafts have done so well owning the Patriots.  Each player on the Patriots knows what is expected out of them; as the Pat’s saying goes, “Just Do Your Job.”  The ones that get out of line a bit too much, might as well pack their bags (i.e. Randy Moss not playing the Patriot Way)!

Whether football team owners or project owners, the good ones seem to clearly understand the need for good project management and not let a player run the team  or an engineer run the project.  Just as in the early years of football and professional sports, it was not uncommon to have a player / coach running the team.  Similarly, in the earlier and debatably less complicated days of IT projects, it was not uncommon to have a Sr. Engineer double up and also be the project manager.

Just because someone is a great owner/director or engineer/player, it does not make them suitable or capable of coaching a team or managing a project.  Robert Kraft is a great football team owner with deep understanding of how the game is played, however, he looks at the bigger picture: the stadium, personnel, marketing and ultimately the bottom line.  Thus he has Belichick actually run the team. And it’s why Tom Brady is not put in a player/coach position. Tom may be good at QBing, however, can he realistically coordinate and ensure all positions on offense are focusing on what they need to do as well as his responsibilities?  Never mind the Defense,  Just as a CIO or Director of IT certainly has an overarching knowledge of the game being played in IT, but to actually direct it would take their eye off of the proverbial ball of the other aspects of the business that needs to be overseen.  As any professional knows, focus on your job and do it well; that’s the Patriot’s way.

In a football game the 1st possession and maybe the 2nd possession plays are already predetermined, however, as the game progresses the strategy adjusts based on previous success as well as what the other team is giving you.  Just as in a project, you initially setup the work breakdown structure, risk management plan, communication plan, etc. but as the project moves forward there typically needs to be some adjustments made based on progress, issues, new information etc. This is where agile project management is best: being able to plan, execute and monitor and control iterations in a typical waterfall project are key..  If Belichick realizes that the opponent is taking out Wes Welker, Gronk, and the other receivers before they really get off the line and the passing game isn’t there, he and Josh McDaniels (Offensive Coord) will look at moving the ball maybe by running a bit more, or doing screen passes.  As in virtualization projects, if there are roadblocks in the initial plan, alternatives need to be determined on how to move that project “ball.”  Basically, just as in football, there needs to be flexibility in an IT project.

Each project is a game with a beginning and end.  It’s crucial to have someone that not only specializes in working with different players’ needs, but who can also incorporate their input into the game and ensures all players understand their roles and responsibilities.  Add to that clear communication, it just becomes a matter of execution to win each game, I mean IT project, and have a successful season.

And though coaching the Patriots and Managing an IT infrastructure project is ALMOST the same, we do need to figure out how to get a project manager paid like Belichick…oh, and maybe some cheerleaders for the project?

Want to learn more about GreenPages Project Management? Email us at projects@greenpages.com