Project Risk Management Tools (Ultimate Guide to Project Risk, Part 2)
This is the second in a two-part series for our Ultimate Guide to Project Risk. Read Part 1: Assessing Risk first, then return here to continue. Once you’ve completed your risk assessment, you’re ready to create your risk management response plan (using appropriate risk management tools). Note that risk management isn't something you check off your project to-do list; it's an ongoing process. Here are the suggested steps on how to manage risk in a project: Step 1: Determine your "risk tolerance" How much risk can you take on before you consider abandoning the project? This is an essential conversation to have with your stakeholders. Their success is on the line, too. There are a lot of issues to discuss: do they want to be informed when risks happen? Or will it depend on the level of impact? If certain risks occur that could derail the project, do they want to be consulted first, or do you have the authority to act right away? Make sure everyone knows the plan of attack and agrees on the strategy. Stakeholder conflict is one risk you can counteract with open communication. Step 2: Decide which risks to manage Once you've determined the project's risk tolerance level, you can start to identify which risks are worth your time and attention. Even if a risk has a high probability of occurring, if its impact is small — say it would add $200 to your project costs and your budget is $50 million — you may choose to ignore it if counteracting the risk is an inefficient use of your time and resources. Use a risk matrix as a key tool for your risk register to identify which risks fall below your level of tolerance and which you need to plan for. Use your completed assessment to plot each risk on a quadrant: high probability and high impact risks to the upper right; low probability and low impact risks to the lower left. Risk Matrix template from The Program Manager's Blog Pay special attention to that upper-right quadrant. These are risks that are both high probability and high impact. They’re more likely to happen, and if they do, it could be game over for your project. In these instances, you’ll want to be proactive in lowering the probability that the risk will occur (if possible) or have a definite plan in place to counter its effects. Step 3: Identify project risk triggers What cues might indicate a particular risk is imminent? If someone in the office starts sneezing and coughing, that could be a "trigger" your team is about to get hit with the flu bug. Establish roles and responsibilities for monitoring triggers among your team, and determine what steps should be taken if one pops up. Step 4: Create an action plan What can be done to reduce the probability of a risk occurring or minimize its negative impact? (Can you provide Purell during flu season? Or spread important tasks among the team so progress can be made even if someone’s out for a few days?) If a risk occurs, what's the most effective response? What will your team do, and who's responsible for what? Make sure you've thought each piece through and everyone on your team knows the plan. Step 5: Evaluate After your project wraps up, step back and consider which parts of your strategy were successful. How effective were your triggers in forewarning risks? How effectively did you react to those triggers, and were you able to successfully prevent any risks from affecting the project outcomes? What could be done to improve for the next project? Start your projects risk-aware, not "risk-free" Discovery, ingenuity, ambition — all businesses and projects involve risk. You'll never be able to eliminate uncertainties, but having a plan in place can keep small problems from growing into full-blown catastrophes. And by acknowledging risk and keeping an eye out for it, you can recognize and jump on fortunate opportunities to deliver value beyond what’s expected. What are your best risk management tips? Share your wisdom in the comments section! Image credit: Viktor Hanacek.
Is It Possible to Combine Top-Down and Bottom-Up?
Both approaches to project management may have their pitfalls. Perhaps the best way to manage your projects and business would be to use a hybrid method, which takes the best features from the two approaches. Learn more about leveraging the two approaches by reading Andrew Filev's article published in the influential Web 2.0 Journal.
9 Project Management Lessons Learned from the Apollo 11 Moon Landing
“We can lick gravity, but sometimes paperwork is overwhelming.” —Wernher von Braun, Chief Architect of Apollo's Saturn V Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins may have been the most visible figures of the 1969 moon landing, but the Apollo 11 team included thousands of people led by a select group of program and project managers at NASA. Tasked with the nearly impossible goal of putting an American on the moon in less than a decade, the Apollo program will always be remembered as a remarkable feat of technological innovation. And yet to many leaders at NASA, its true legacy lies in its project management achievements. Use these 10 lessons learned from their extraordinary experiences to make your own project a stellar success. 1. Keep Open Lines of Communication with Stakeholders “When John Kennedy went before Congress on May 25, 1961 and said we were going to the Moon, our total flight experience was one 15-minute suborbital flight." —Dr. John M. Logsdon, Director of the Center for International Science and Technology Policy To say Kennedy set an ambitious timeline is an understatement. The fact is, sometimes stakeholders will have sky-high expectations that you don't think are realistic. So take a cue from Dr. Robert Gilruth, Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center at the time. He recognized that he and Kennedy were working on the same team, not fighting against each other. Instead of starting his relationship with Kennedy on a tense, adversarial note, Gilruth chose honest communication. He said, “I don’t know if this is possible," and followed it with frank and upfront details about the resources NASA would need in order to make the dream a reality. Gilruth recalls, “[Kennedy] really wanted us to be successful.” So no matter how difficult it may be to manage your stakeholders' expectations, remind each other that you share the same goal and use that motivation to focus on the project's success. Read: 7 Keys to Project Stakeholder Management from the #PMChat Community 2. Planning is the Most Important Step... "We knew what had to be done. How to do it in 10 years was never addressed before the announcement was made. But quite simply, we considered the program a number of phases." —Dr. Maxime A. Faget, Chief Engineer & Designer of the Apollo command and lunar modules When faced with an extraordinarily complex project, Apollo's program leaders broke it down into much smaller steps and focused on attaining each one. They set a series of milestones: phase 1 was to fly to the moon, phase 2 was to orbit the moon, phase 3 was to land an unmanned craft on the moon, and so on. They organized all their service structures and measured their progress around these set milestones. Had they immediately set their sights on a full-fledged lunar landing, history may have turned out very different. In spite of the time crunch, the NASA team put a great deal of thought into the planning process, viewing it as an opportunity to cut as much risk as possible. Dr. Faget recalls, "I basically said the best way to deal with risk management is in the basic conceptual design, get the damn risk out of it.” If you're facing a tight deadline you may be tempted to jump right in and get to work, but check that reflex. Take a beat and formulate a thorough project plan, considering risk from the very beginning. You'll thank yourself later! Read: 6 Steps to a Foolproof Project Plan 3. ...But Don’t Be Afraid to Modify the Plan "They probably normally expected us to land with about two minutes of fuel left. And here we were, still a hundred feet above the surface, at 60 seconds." —Buzz Aldrin, Lunar Module Pilot On descent to their landing site, the lunar module's computer became overloaded with tasks and incoming data, threatening to reboot in the middle of the landing sequence. Armstrong and Aldrin discovered they were going to miss their target, and would likely smack into a crater littered with treacherous boulders at an alarming velocity. Armstrong took semi-automatic control of the lunar module, while Aldrin fed him altitude and velocity data. They successfully landed on the moon's surface with just 25 seconds worth of fuel left. If Armstrong and Aldrin hadn't acted, Mission Control would probably have been forced to abort the mission, and Armstrong's iconic moonwalk would never have happened. So remember that even the most well-thought-out project plans may need to be altered if circumstances change or a new opportunity arises. Don't be so rigid that you fail to adapt to either save your project from disaster or seize the chance to deliver beyond expectations. Relate read: 5 Project Management Ideas That Should Be Extinct 4. Acknowledge Risk, but Don’t Let It Deter You “We said to ourselves that we have now done everything we know how to do. We feel comfortable with all of the unknowns that we went into this program with. We don’t know what else to do to make this thing risk-free, so it's time to go.” —Dr. Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Director of Flight Operations The Apollo 11 mission was perhaps one of the most risky undertakings in human history. From technical failure to human error, any number of things could have gone wrong — and did. But without acknowledging and planning for that risk, the achievement would never have been made. NASA handled risk by actively looking for it and constantly asking themselves, "What if?" Having backup systems and procedures in place ensured there was always a Plan B. So be proactive in assessing and managing risk for your own projects. Identify situations that could trip your team up and plan for them — but don’t let an acceptable amount of risk keep you from pushing ahead. Another risk management strategy embraced by NASA: training and empowering your team to make good decisions and fix problems on the fly. Howard Tindall says, “I think one of the greatest contributors to minimizing risk was the extraordinary amount of training that was done. That really saved us many, many times because I don’t think there was a single mission that we didn’t have some significant failures. The fact was that people could figure them out because they had been trained and knew how to work with each other.” Read: Ultimate Guide to Project Risk Assessment (Part 1- Project Risk) 5. Be Strategic About Team Communication “One of the biggest challenges that we had was one of communication and coordination.” —Owen Morris, Chief Engineer & Manager of the Lunar Module Apollo's team of project managers went from managing small projects with a select team of close colleagues to managing thousands of people they had never met. Coordinating such a massive effort required constant communication to avoid costly or dangerous errors. Their solution was to identify five central priorities and drill them into every single level of the organization. With the entire team aligned around those set priorities, communication and discipline became infinitely easier. Team leaders also met every few weeks to coordinate efforts, discuss progress, explain current challenges, and work together to overcome problems. At no point was any team in the dark about what another group was doing, or what support they needed. Communication is often cited as the #1 reason projects fail, so take a proactive approach. Don't just trust that communication among team members will fall into place on its own, or that everyone will assume the same priorities. Create a plan for how your team will communicate with each other and with you, and check in frequently to offer support, clarify high-priority tasks, and make sure processes are running smoothly. Read: How to Communicate Like Super Bowl Champions & The 5 Ws of Virtual Communication 6. Delegate! “Another thing that was extraordinary was how things were delegated down. NASA responsibilities were delegated to people who didn’t know how to do these things, and were expected to go find out how to do it." —Howard W. TIndall, Jr., Mission Technique Coordinator Delegating to people who don't have experience with a certain task may seem counterintuitive, but it was something Apollo project managers actively encouraged — in fact, the average age of the entire Operations team was just 26, most fresh out of college. NASA gave someone a problem and the freedom to run with it, and the results speak for themselves. So while it's tempting to give important tasks only to team members who have direct experience, you may be missing out if you do. While you shouldn't just dump a critical task on a hapless employee and wish them good luck, with the proper support, fresh eyes and curious minds can discover the most innovative solutions to a problem — or find valuable ways to improve stale processes. Read: 9 Phrases to Jumpstart Productivity When Delegating a Task 7. Record Lessons Learned “When we had the [Apollo 1] fire, we took a step back and said okay, what lessons have we learned from this horrible tragedy? Now let’s be doubly sure that we are going to do it right the next time. And I think that fact right there is what allowed us to get Apollo done in the ‘60s.” —Dr. Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Director of Flight Operations The Apollo program was home to some of the most brilliant minds in the world, and yet no one was shy about their mistakes. They made recording and learning from their errors a central part of their process, from the very top of the organization down. Failure was simply an opportunity to learn and improve. Follow their lead by making retrospectives an ongoing part of your project, not a one-time event that's relegated to the end. Collect lessons learned at each standup or status meeting to refine your process as you go, and take the lead yourself so your team knows it's safe to discuss mistakes and roadblocks without judgment. Your team — and your project's results — will be that much stronger for it. Read: Why You Need to Record Project Lessons Learned: Tips & Templates 8. Celebrate Success as a Team "We would like to give special thanks to all those Americans who built the spacecraft; who did the construction, design, the tests, and put their hearts and all their abilities into those craft. To those people tonight, we give a special thank you." —Neil Armstrong, July 26 television broadcast from orbit At every opportunity the astronauts called the world's attention to the efforts of their teammates back on the ground. So when you deliver a successful project to a group of happy stakeholders, share that applause with the rest of your team. Relay positive feedback and results back to the group, acknowledge their hard work with a round of high-fives, and use small wins throughout the project to fuel continued hard work. Read: 5 Reasons Your Team Isn't Getting Stuff Done & 10 Encouraging Productivity Proverbs to Hang on Your Office Wall 9. Make Project Success Sustainable "The leader has got to really believe in his organization, and believe that they can do things, and find ways to challenge them." —Dr. Maxime A. Faget, Chief Engineer & designer of the Apollo command and lunar modules Once you've achieved success, how do you make it repeatable across your entire organization? According to Apollo's project managers, every successful project needs three things: the first is a vivid picture of where you’re going and what you can accomplish to motivate your team. Second: complete commitment from leadership so your team has the support they need to get things done. And finally, a deadline or goal to keep everyone focused on high-priority tasks that further immediate business goals. Secure these three things at the beginning of a new project and you're already on the path to success. Read: 3 Lessons on High Performing Teams from TED Talks Keys to Project Management Success As experienced project managers, we know you have some expert tips on managing projects and achieving results that are out of this world. Share your best advice with fellow readers in the comments below! Sources: History.Nasa.gov, History.com, Space.com, Wikipedia.org Photo credits: NASA Images Collection at Archive.org
5 Project Management Lessons to Learn from Superheroes
With busy schedules, tight deadlines and many other day-to-day project management challenges, have you ever wished you had a super power to help you cope with them all in a magical way? Inspired by interesting comments to our CEO’s recent post "7 Business Lessons an Entrepreneur Can Learn from Superheroes", we thought of a few lessons a project manager can learn from superheroes. Thor – Learn humility This Northern god of Thunder was thrown down to Earth and deprived of his powers, until he proved to be humble. Jim Collins, the author of leadership best-sellers Good to Great and Built to Last, also suggests humility as a key factor of being a great team leader. As an example, he writes about Darwin Smith, CEO of Kimberly-Clark. Described as a “shy, unpretentious, even awkward” guy, he turned Kimberly-Clark into the leading consumer paper products company in the world during his 20 years as a CEO. Spider-Man – Take responsibility Peter Parker learned the hard way that “With great power comes great responsibility.” Of course, a project manager doesn’t need to save New York from scientists who go crazy, but a project’s success is definitely a big weight that lies on their shoulders.However, as Ian McAllister, senior traffic manager at Amazon, mentions in his answer to this Quora question, taking responsibility is different from taking blame. Just remember, that at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whose fault it was, but that it’s your responsibility to prevent the mistake from happening in the future.By the way, responsibility has an upside as well. Our recent survey showed that more than 80% of managers consider a sense of responsibility the no.1 productivity motivator for them! Green Lantern – Be creative A project manager can learn a thing or two from Hal Jordan who used his ring to materialize things that existed in his mind. When competition is hot, you need to be extra creative to get ahead of it. Edward de Bono, the author of the "lateral thinking” term (which is a less-used substitute to the “outside-the-box” buzzword) said, "Creative thinking is not a talent; it is a skill that can be learnt. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate profits." The Thing – Stay empathic Don’t let appearance mislead you, this thick-skinned guy may seem tough, but he is the heart and soul of Fantastic Four. He possesses the trait that Dr. Daniel Goleman, famous psychologist and science journalist, finds mission-critical for a successful leader – empathy. "Leaders with empathy," says Goleman, "do more than sympathize with people around them: they use their knowledge to improve their companies in subtle, but important ways." This doesn't mean that they agree with everyone's view or try to please everybody. Rather, they "thoughtfully consider employees' feelings – along with other factors – in the process of making intelligent decisions." Professor X – Raise superheroes yourself Probably the best team manager in the Marvel universe, Professor Charles Xavier, didn’t only build a famous X-team, but also created a school where he helped gifted youngsters safely develop their powers. As a team leader, it’s one of your priorities to foster and improve your team member’s talents and skills. After all, this is the way to building a dream superhero team. What about you? What super power do you wish you could use on the work package battlefield?
The Ultimate Guide to IT PMOs
Companies with large IT departments and projects have complex needs that require advanced solutions. IT project management offices, also known as IT PMOs, offer oversight, guidance, and tools that will make your organization more productive and make it easier to scale. But what exactly is an IT PMO? What are the core IT PMO objectives and how can your IT department adopt best practices? Here’s everything you need to know to get started. What is an IT PMO? An IT PMO is a project management system that delivers high-quality results in the most efficient ways possible. Any project that involves information technology, no matter the size or urgency, will fall under the responsibility of an IT PMO. All PMOs involve a combination of goal setting, strategy, and organization. These qualities are essential when it comes to IT because of this department’s unique needs. Issues such as standardization and reducing task repetition across departments are all resolved when teams use an IT PMO. Businesses may opt to have an overall organization PMO and an IT PMO. This makes it easier to drill down on the specific technical aspects of IT that only experts fully understand. An IT PMO has experience working with a wide range of IT-specific tasks. But, more importantly, they have enough of an understanding about the challenges, potential obstacles, and resources required to complete nearly any given IT project. They can also keep up with IT project management trends while maintaining established initiatives. This leads to more accurate forecasting and smarter planning. And when trial and error isn’t an option (which is the case for most businesses), combining the powers of a business PMO with an IT PMO can ensure alignment between overall business goals and specific IT project needs. The most common uses for an IT PMO include updating tools and software. It’s also used for scaling workloads without increasing team sizes. And when new regulations or compliance issues arise, IT PMOs can strategically slip these tasks among ongoing or long-term projects without significant disruption to delivery timelines. What are the objectives of an IT PMO? The main objectives of an IT PMO include: 1. Policy creation Policy creation for project management means creating big-picture guidelines for all IT projects. These guidelines dictate expectations for what is accomplished and how it should be executed. There may be separate policies for more complex or sensitive tasks, which is another reason why having a dedicated IT project management team is so beneficial. 2. Team training New team members and third-party contractors may need help developing the skills needed to complete their assignments. An IT PMO will not only schedule and set up team training, but they may also provide one-on-one consulting wherever needed. 3. Resource allocation and distribution IT PMOs ensure that each project has exactly what it needs while maintaining a balance of resources across all other active projects. If there are competing needs, it’s the IT PMO’s job to prioritize them. And when unexpected problems arise, the IT PMO will be responsible for shifting resources in order to keep everything on track. 4. Process development A large part of why it’s important to hire experienced IT professionals to command your IT PMO is because they’ll largely be responsible for outlining workflows. These processes will range from small tasks, such as submitting deliverable approvals, to large ones, such as onsite hardware installations. 5. Standardization To keep teams aligned with clients, legal, and HR, there will need to be some standardization in place. Not only will the IT PMO find a way to consolidate these various sources of input into one cohesive list of practices, but they’ll also be in charge of monitoring and adjusting as needed. 6. Adherence to protocol Whether it’s safety standards or intellectual property development, IT PMOs ensure adherence to protocol by monitoring performance across all active department projects. This also means providing solutions to possible breaches before they happen. 7. Improved collaboration and communication In general, an IT PMO is the head of all projects, which means they can oversee important day-to-day team needs. Improved collaboration comes from having strong guidance and a clear path forward. What’s more, improved communication relies on having a system in place that makes sense with how IT operates. An IT PMO will provide both. 8. Detailed reporting and data insight One of the most important functions of an IT PMO is to continuously improve their department. That can mean everything from improving how they work to the products they produce. Would an IT PMO benefit your company? If your company has ever had issues with project delivery, decision-making, or resource management, an IT PMO would be beneficial. Without an IT PMO, projects may not be delivered on time or on budget. Or, if they do meet those initial benchmarks, quality might be wavering from project to project. An IT PMO uses the power of data insight and organization to predict the success of a project, given the other obstacles departments may already be facing. That includes certain task dependencies, employee workloads and scheduling, and roadblocks from one project that may domino into others. IT PMOs also help with decision-making. They have a clear understanding of what the business needs and what the IT department needs better than anyone else. They also have access to facts and figures that can help C-Suite executives better understand which goals are realistic. And as experienced IT consultants themselves, IT PMOs can provide advanced insight on reports that general PMOs might miss. In regards to resource management, an IT PMO is trained to work with what they have to achieve their goal. For example, this means working with the teams they have while limiting hiring, saving money long-term. This also means having a more accurate understanding of how long certain IT tasks realistically take and scheduling them accordingly. What is an IT PMO organizational structure? An IT PMO organizational structure outlines the flow of communication and command within the department. It’s often depicted as a flow chart. There are various ways teams can organize their IT project management teams, but the most common ones often include the head of the organization at the top, followed by the PMO, with each department division underneath. Interdepartmental IT PMO organizational structure will often flow from IT directors to IT managers to IT project managers. An organization can choose between placing business PMOs and IT PMOs side by side or deferring to the IT PMO as head of their department while still under the larger organization’s PMO umbrella. What are IT PMO metrics? IT PMO metrics are used to measure the success of an IT project. The information used is quantifiable and aligns with established goals. The metrics themselves may vary project to project. They also vary business to business depending on what information they have access to and what they’re striving to achieve. In general, IT PMOs can count on using PMO metrics that cover three essential categories: strategy, process, and deliverables. IT PMO metrics should be defined both for the department as a whole and for each new project. The metrics are used for creating smarter goal benchmarks for improvement later on. They also gauge progress against past performance. IT PMO metrics, in particular, offer additional insight into how the department functions in comparison to other departments so that executives can be sure their relative success is on par with the rest of the organization’s standards. What are the IT PMO best practices you need to know? 1. Focus on hiring talent that is highly skilled and collaborative. While the former has historically been the only top recruitment priority, studies and anecdotal evidence found in modern texts such as Brotopia by Emily Chang provide a strong case for myth-busting the ‘lone wolf’ ideal in IT. 2. Have a continuous growth mindset. Not only is an IT PMO responsible for daily operations and big-picture goals, but they are also responsible for implementing helpful changes along the way. These changes can be small or large, but they must all align with strategy, be monitored for effectiveness, and be adjusted as needed. 3. Educate other departments and executives on IT projects. Helping other decision-makers understand what your department does and how it affects the greater ecosystem of your organization can go a long way towards improved collaboration long-term. The key is to strike a balance between empowering your audience and talking down to them about the more technical aspects. 4. Be proactive at every level. Look ahead for ways to improve repeatable tasks. Forecast potential project delays or resource depletion before they come up. Anything the IT PMO can do now to mitigate risk and delays will pay off in dividends almost immediately. 5. Choose starting where you are over reinventing the wheel. Many IT departments have some level of project organization established even if they don’t call it that. It’s easier to adapt systems that are working well rather than force the entire team to take on entirely new habits. Perform a teamwide diagnostic before implementing new practices when switching over to IT PMO leadership. What should you expect from an IT PMO tool? Simply put, you should expect an IT PMO tool to make your projects faster and easier. You can templatize past successful projects for new work. This will decrease the time spent planning recurring tasks and projects so teams can focus on higher ROI activity. You can also find ways to automate notifications such as task dependencies so that your team is always on top of what’s due next. An IT PMO tool can even automate administrative tasks and streamline team communication. Collaborators will chat directly within the tasks themselves so that everyone who participates can view the history and get caught up. You can also loop other voices in simply by using @ mentions. Additionally, your IT PMO tool will have visual graphs, charts, and task allocations. This makes information easier to understand at a glance. IT PMO tools such as Wrike also offer personal dashboards so that each team member can focus on information that’s most relevant to their role when logging on. Reporting and data analysis across all active projects is another key benefit of an IT PMO tool. You can quickly pull reference numbers in meetings, provide statistical backup for client calls, and make better, more informed decisions on the fly. How to set up and maintain your IT PMO with Wrike Brands like Dish, Fitbit, and Solera use Wrike as their set up and maintain their IT PMO. Here’s how they do it: Onboard and train users. The executive teams at Dish said that their expectations for adoption were exceeded thanks to the support they received from the Wrike team. Establish your one source of truth. Wrike offers IT teams a space for organizing projects but it also offers advanced data reporting capabilities so teams can make better decisions. Share timeline reports. Communicate with business PMO and key stakeholders using timeline reports that clearly and accurately set expectations for project deadlines. Centralize project management. If you have projects being managed under a variety of different tools, Wrike can help consolidate all active and new assignments while also providing a clear view into interdependencies. Try dynamic timelines. Fitbit used Wrike to plan, prioritize, and assign work without taking away necessary resources from other projects. Full transparency across all assignments means you’ll know how these changes will affect the IT department and the company at large. Defend against burnout. Wrike gives users like Fitbit the ability to view and strategically use employee availability so that managers can assign tasks based on skills needed and their other active projects. Optimize processes. Solera uses Wrike’s request forms, Calendar function, and project status reports so the entire global team can keep track of what’s going on at any given moment. Take advantage of Wrike’s helpful project management features to get your entire IT department aligned with your goals. Sign up for a free two-week trial and discover why world-renowned IT companies trust Wrike to manage and execute their projects.
When to Use a Project Calendar vs. a Gantt Chart
With so many options, how can you identify which project scheduling tool best suits your needs? Here, we’ll break down the differences between a project calendar and a Gantt chart, as well as outline a few scenarios when each one is more suitable.
RACI Improved: Structuring Responsibilities with the Help of Project Management 2.0 Software
In one of my recent posts I wrote that using project management 2.0 software helps project manager guide his team’s work, delegate some of his initial duties and allocate roles and responsibilities so that they are clear to everybody on the team. Project management 2.0 tools also let one apply some traditional methodologies of structuring responsibilities more effectively. Let’s take RACI as an example. Originally a RACI diagram, or RACI matrix, is used to describe the roles and accountabilities of various teams or people in project delivery and operations. It is especially useful in clarifying responsibilities in cross-functional/departmental projects and processes. The RACI diagram splits tasks into four participatory responsibility types, which are then assigned to different roles in the project. These responsibilities’ types make up the acronym RACI. Responsible (R) - offer commitment, skills, and contributions that shape a project’s final outcome. In short, this is the “doer”, who actually completes the task. This person is responsible for action/implementation. There can be several people responsible for one task. Accountable/Approver (A) - a person ultimately answerable for the correct and thorough completion of the task. There must be only one Accountable specified for each task. Consulted (C) – those who are consulted before the final decision or action is made. Informed (I) - those who are kept up-to-date on progress. Your clients, for example. Applying the RACI method provides maximum benefit when responsibilities are not clear, for example, when a project team is formed by members from several organizations, who report to different managers, have no imposed governance model and have a hard time achieving objectives on time. I agree with Michael L Smith and James Erwin who say that trying to complete a big project in bureaucratic environment without clearly establishing roles and responsibilities, is like trying to parallel park with one eye closed. RACI’s core advantage is that it helps to avoid potential responsibility uncertainty. However, despite all the benefits, the RACI model does have some disadvantages. Data collection cycle and information exchange flows may be too slow. Project management 2.0 software can help eliminate these drawbacks and speed up the communications. With project management 2.0 software, everybody can clearly see who is accountable for each task. Visibility brought by emergent structures makes it possible to keep all the responsibilities clear for everybody on the team. Emergent structures brought by the second-generation tools let have the full insight into what each RACI team member is working on. For example, A can easily follow the work of Rs. At the same time, project work can be easily adjusted to changes in the environment, by reassigning roles, changing work-breakdown structures and task flow in seconds. This flexibility helps to bring iterative and incremental practices into project management without giving away the control. Second, it is very easy to plug in responsible, consulted and informed people. Project management 2.0 software lets all the members of the RACI team work in one flexible Web-based collaborative environment. Teams can collect all the relevant information in one place, thus minimizing the time of information exchange. Everyone on the team will be able to access the data anytime he needs it without pulling information out of his colleagues. This means that team members can collaborate seamlessly, building work structures with less central control, assigning tasks and defining roles. For example, if there are several Rs assigned to one task they can work together, keeping all the relevant discussions, files, notes, links in one place that can also be accessed by A, C and I. Last, but not least, thanks to many-to-many structures, each member of the team his own perspective of a project. Each team member becomes more productive because they can follow their own portion of the work and see its relationship to the project as a whole. The RACI method, when combined with project management 2.0 technologies, allows teams to become more agile and react to changes going on inside and outside the organization at a faster pace. RACI is not the only methodology that can be made more efficient by the second-generation tools. You are very welcome to provide your examples in the comments.
The Ultimate Guide to Project Management for Accountants
Welcome to the modern financial professional’s guide to project management for accountants. In this article, we’ll go in-depth into the benefits of using project management methods for every aspect of project-based accounting. We’ll also teach you what the challenges are and how to choose the best tool for your team. Why is project management for accountants important? In accounting, the goal is always to serve the client or group to the best of your ability. And if you’re not already using project management to do so, you aren’t reaching the full potential of your services. Project management is key for managing resources such as time and budgeting. It’s also an effective way to ensure on-time delivery of paperwork, processing, and payments. For large accounting firms, the balancing act of managing many different accounts and personnel all at the same time is quite complex. But with project management, accounting teams are empowered to be proactive rather than reactive in their methods. In everyday life, this translates to establishing a consistent process for tracking, approving, and updating all active files. Everything from timesheets to taxes can be streamlined with the right project management tool. Not only does this produce better results for your clients, but it also gives you a competitive advantage over firms that rely on outdated methods. How does project management benefit accounting firms? Project management for accounting firms goes beyond simply organizing files (although that is a benefit too). It’s a way to transition from the hourly model to a more customer-centric one. Instead of limiting your assistance to budgeted hours, your team can deliver clients better results without exceeding scope or creating extra work. It’s also handy for setting expectations, even during times of crisis. With the right project management tool, accounting firms can plot out project phases, assign tasks, and create a visual timeline of events. This all accurately reflects when work will be completed when put together. Project management for accounting firms helps with operations too. Managers can create reusable templates for common forms and task types. Team leads can manage and approve important materials. And the rest of the team can efficiently communicate with one another within individual tasks on your chosen project management software. What are the challenges of project management for accountants? One of the biggest challenges of project management for accountants is letting go of timesheets. Timesheets are a measure of billable hours, but they’re not an effective measure of effort and duration. Project management, however, does take these two factors into account. When creating tasks in a project management tool like Wrike, managers can easily add an estimated level of effort to each one so that assignees have an idea of how to schedule their time. As for duration, project managers have a bird’s eye view of all active projects and individual personnel schedules, making it easy to provide accurate turnaround estimates. Accounting firms then use this information to create a fixed and change order pricing model based on a more accurate representation of the project’s value. There’s an opportunity for growth and development with this method you simply cannot get from the timesheet system. For example, if the estimated effort for a task is wrong, managers can do a lot to improve productivity on both an individual level and for the organization as a whole. That includes coaching an individual on how to complete a task more efficiently, resolving workflow issues so that they don’t come up again, and adjusting effort expectations on similar tasks in the future. Put simply, overcoming old habits like timesheets is the biggest challenge, but there are many micro and macro rewards for doing so. How to implement project management in accounting First, take stock of your resources. Consider employee availability, project operations costs, and other related materials. You’ll have a chance to organize and prioritize these in detail later within your project management tool. Then, choose a data tracking system that includes time. In project management, time is a resource, not a product, so it must be used wisely. Managers can use historical time-tracking records to determine how long a task will realistically take and then schedule it accordingly. Next, decide how you’ll manage customer change requests and the ever-changing rules, regulations, and tax codes all accountants must deal with. Other productivity obstacles such as stakeholder requests, unforeseen roadblocks, and everyday inefficiencies get in the way of even the best-planned timelines. To ensure promises are kept and customer expectations are exceeded, accountants should use a visual representation of their project timelines to come up with flexible solutions. Ideally, this will happen before issues arise. Either way, having a project management plan will make teams agile enough to handle common accounting issues without derailing their entire assignment. Finally, choose a project management system for accountants that fits your needs. A specialized tool is helpful for dealing with unique issues that only financial teams face. What features are essential for project management accounting software? Like any profession that deals with professional services management, accounting teams need a project management accounting software that can achieve big picture goals. With the right project management accounting software, firms and individuals can easily maximize milestone billing, streamline processes, and impress clients. Here are some features to look out for: Custom template options Visibility into all active projects Time and resource management Communication tools Data tracking and forecasting Easy to use dashboards and visual charts As you can probably already tell, the best project management accounting software is a comprehensive one. It should serve as the foundation for all of your work. Teams will use it to plan, manage, and finalize deliverables. You’ll also use it for invoicing and other services you provide to clients. In a nutshell: Look for a tool that can act like a Swiss Army knife for your entire accounting business. How to choose project management software for your accounting firm So you’ve found a few great platforms with similar features. Now how do you choose which project management software is best for your unique business? The answer is simple: consider your goals. For most accounting firms, the point of adopting a project management software is to increase productivity. Consider whether or not the solution you’re interested in will expedite everyday deliverables. Can you really see your team using this tool to communicate with one another and stay on schedule? What about external clients? If you’re like most accounting services, your work is dependent on forms and information you receive from outside sources. The right project management software will give collaborators easy access to files while also protecting the privacy of other, unrelated projects. And if you’re getting closer to crunch time, it’s important to consider how your project management software will work side by side with your other tools. Make sure you check out what app integrations are available for each tool you consider. Doing so now will help your team smoothly transition while keeping up with current workloads. Last but not least is privacy. No matter what your goals may be, data privacy is a big concern for every accounting firm. Project management software is yet another outlet that needs to be as secure as possible. So if you have a number of solutions to choose from, make sure you prioritize the ones that make privacy a key feature. Why Wrike is the perfect task management software for accountants Accounting firms are busy all year round, not just at tax time. Wrike offers accountants support for ongoing projects, one-off requests, and heavy workload seasons all in one platform. How? By empowering teams to manage their internal processes as efficiently and effectively as possible. Here are some of the unique features Wrike includes to solve problems for project management for accountants: Wrike Blueprints: If you offer a variety of different services and price points, Wrike Blueprints can help you outline tasks for each one, structure the projects, and track all plans across every service. Microsoft Integration: Combine tools you already know and use with Wrike to automate your team assignment process. Create automated triggers that respond to completed Microsoft forms by creating a new file, adding the new customer data to it, and more. Zendesk Integration: Add Zendesk to Wrike so that all customer tickets that are assigned as tasks are recorded and added to individual to-do lists if and when the chosen employee has availability. Wrike Spaces: Create custom hubs that serve as a communication and document sharing platform for individual clients right within Wrike. That way there is full transparency without compromising the privacy of your other clients and projects. Wrike Resource: Balance workloads realistically and effectively within Wrike. You can track the time it takes to complete certain tasks plus how much availability individuals and teams have to take on new work. Ready to streamline operations and increase client satisfaction? Get started with Wrike’s professional services guide and a two-week free trial of our project management software.
Project Management Methodologies: A Quickstart Guide (Part 2)
Now that you’ve mastered the lingo and have a firm grasp on our first 8 common Project Management methodologies, you’re starting to settle into your new PM role. You’re gearing up for your first project kickoff, and the boss is back in your office: “So, let’s talk methodologies. What do you think is the best strategy for our company?” Gulp. Don’t panic — you’ve got this. We’ll give you the rundown on 8 more PM methodologies so you can choose the winning approach every time. Here are the next 8 project management methodologies: 1. Lean PM"Waste not, want not!" Lean project management is all about finding the path of least resistance to get the results you want. You identify and cut out waste (or mura), starting by examining your full work-process breakdown to find and eliminate bottlenecks and delays. Teams focus on the project's true customer value, and on continuous process improvement. The goal is to do more with less: deliver high value, high quality work with less manpower, less money, and less time. PRO: This approach is especially helpful if you need to find ways to cut your budget, meet quick deadlines, or get big results with a small team.CON: Since the ultimate goal is to get things done faster and cheaper, stakeholders need to make prompt decisions and be prepared to stick to those decisions -- weighing options for 2 weeks interrupts the Lean process. 2. PRINCE2Not to be confused with the first Prince. Also known as "PRojects IN Controlled Environments." The project must have a business justification, so the first step is identifying a clear need, targeted customer, realistic benefits, and thorough cost assessment. A project board owns the project and is responsible for its success, while a project manager oversees day-to-day activities. PRO: The extensive documentation involved in PRINCE2 projects can be very helpful with corporate planning and performance tracking.CON: It can be difficult to adapt to project changes, since a lot of effort goes into creating and maintaining those documents and logs at each stage of the process. 3. PRiSMWant to go green? PRiSM (PRojects integrating Sustainable Methods) blends project planning with environmental sustainability measures. PRO: Aligning corporate strategy with social responsibility can bolster a company's reputation, plus you could benefit from reduced energy, waste management, and distribution costs.CON: Environmental responsibility must be a priority at every level of the company -- from executives to managers -- for it to be truly successful. 4. Process-Based Project ManagementIt's all about "mission accomplished." Every project is defined by your company mission or vision statement, whether that be "Feed the Homeless" or "Improve Global Collaboration." Before project kick-off, the plan is analyzed to see if it will live up to your mission statement; if it won't then all strategies and goals are adjusted in order to meet that objective. PRO: This approach helps ensure that every project aligns with, and adds value to, the organization's strategic vision.CON: Adjusting every team's projects and processes to fit the mission can be very time-consuming. And it doesn't allow for side projects, so if your company wants to take on tasks unrelated to your values you'll have to revisit your company mission statement first. 5. Scrum"Productivity" is the name of the game. Small teams are facilitated by a scrum master, whose job is to remove any barriers to team progress. Work is typically done in a series of two-week sprints, and team members are in constant communication through daily scrum meetings. PRO: New developments can be tested quickly and mistakes are fixed right away.CON: Scrum projects are prone to scope creep. Because the team is a close unit, one member leaving can also disrupt the whole project. **Confused about the difference between Scrum and XP (from Part 1)? XP teams tackle tasks in a strict customer-determined order, whereas Scrum teams can determine their own timeline. Additionally, XP allows similar tasks to be swapped within a sprint, but Scrum tasks are meant to be set in stone until the end of the sprint. 6. Six SigmaWhat's your sigma rating? Six Sigma is a quality-improvement process aimed at reducing the number of defects in manufacturing and industrial sectors, or the bugs in software development. A rating of "six sigma" indicates that 99.99966% of what is produced is defect-free. PRO: Six Sigma is a very proactive methodology, and it examines the entire production process to identify process improvements even before defects appear.CON: This holistic approach may also lead to rigidity in the planning process, which could limit your team's creativity and innovation. 7. Lean Six SigmaIt combines Lean's efficiency with Six Sigma's statistics-based process improvement. It corrects workflow problems and eliminates waste by helping you understand how work gets done and identify which aspects of your project are most valuable to the client or customer. PRO: In addition to making your projects more efficient and cost effective, Lean Six Sigma keeps employees actively engaged in process improvement, leading to a sense of ownership and accountability.CON: Lean Six Sigma usually involves major change to the way work gets done, so make sure you -- and company execs, stakeholders, and other managers -- are prepared for the amount of time, effort, and resources needed to be successful with this method. 8. WaterfallImagine the path of a waterfall: The river runs from the top and flows down to the bottom without steering away from the main course. It's the same in project management. With clearly defined goals and a set timeline, teams work through tasks in sequence, completing one before moving on to the next in line. PRO: Extensive planning goes into this approach, and this thoroughness often results in more accurate timelines and budgets.CON: It is difficult to adapt to any project changes — or modify and correct previous steps (water can't run backwards!) — so you'll need to be proactive in anticipating problems before they can affect your flow. 16 methodologies later, and we're confident that you have the knowledge you need to confidently lead your team to success. Now it's time to decide which is best suited for your company and projects, and get things done! Which PM Methodology does your company use? Share your first-hand pros and cons in the comments below. See this next: All 16 Project Management Methodologies in One Simple Infographic