Staying Agile Part 1: Calling the Play
BY ANNA LEITHER – DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES
Seven of us walked to the once-crisp white line, pounding the painted strands of grass into soft curls with our spikes, and looked across the field at seven opponents. One of them held a bright orange disc high in the air, signaling that they were ready to start play. Our captain called out a game plan: “Steven and I will handle. Cutters set up a vertical stack. Lauren, you have first cut. Shiraz, go long. Man-on-man defense on a turn; stick with whoever is covering you. Everyone good?” He raised his hand in answer to the disc handler on the other team, and the orange saucer came hurdling across the field. This is Ultimate Frisbee.
The opponents unexpectedly played with cup defense. Bob ended up being in the best position for taking the first cut in for the disc instead of Lauren, and we had to switch from a vertical stack to a horizontal stack because the cup defense forced us to swing the disc back and forth across the width of the field. Shiraz found that the opponent playing long could outrun him, no contest, and decided to cut in for shorter passes. Our captain’s game plan kept us organized, but we all had to adapt in response to conditions on the field.
Can you see how this analogy relates to project management? “Plan the work, work the plan” is a favorite catch phrase in the project management world. It implies that we should define a series of steps needed to accomplish some objective, and then make sure that each step happens according to plan. In reality, working the plan often means planning the work all over again as we adapt to changes in the environment, business priorities, and new insights. Particularly for longer-range and more exploratory projects (Elicit’s bread and butter!) an agile approach to project management is essential. But that doesn’t mean we throw planning out the window.
How can we be agile, yet keep the team aligned to an organized plan and hold everyone accountable? Let’s start by examining two principles project managers can use to set up a strong and flexible foundation for project success before the work actually begins.
1. START BIG
While the thought may be horrifying for most people, it may be tempting for some project managers to get pulled into extremely detailed planning exercises. I’m not saying that detailed planning is bad; on the contrary, it’s often needed—particularly when working on a highly collaborative project with a short timeline. But don’t let yourself get sucked into a black hole of planning; something’s wrong if you’re spending more time managing project plan minutiae than you are communicating with the project team, reviewing deliverable progress, coordinating next steps, etc.
Start big! Focus on mapping out high-level milestones first and gain alignment with your project team on those activities and associated timelines. Then start to break down the first milestone into major sub-tasks and get everyone aligned at that level. Next, focus on the major steps that need to take place in the following 2-4 weeks. Lots of detail doesn’t need to be planned any further in advance; you’ll end up spinning your wheels since the potential for change is so high.
2. USE A PROJECT CHARTER TO GAIN ALIGNMENT
Getting your internal team aligned to a milestone plan is just the beginning of the socialization needed to ensure your project is set up for smooth sailing. A project charter (which complements your project plan by reiterating the milestone plan and adding context on the project objectives, deliverables, assumptions, roles/responsibilities, and communication plan) can be a really effective tool for communicating with all stakeholders and ensuring that everyone is aware of the project purpose and plan.
The charter development exercise can sometimes feel like a waste of time for project teams. By the time we start circulating charter drafts, major milestones have typically been agreed upon by those responsible for the work. However, it’s the job of the project manager to review objectives with both internal and external stakeholders. In my experience, 80% of the time we go into a charter review feeling like we’re already well aligned, and 99% of the time we leave the review meeting with new insight or expectations. It’s worth the extra effort to get everyone on the same page (quite literally!) at the front end of a project.
These first two steps are essential to setting up your project structure and team with a foundation for success. In my next post, we’ll talk about three more steps we can take to adapt to the inevitable change that occurs when a real-world project is underway.
Check out Staying Agile Part 2: Jack Be Nimble
Staying Agile Part 1: Calling the Play
BY ANNA LEITHER – DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES
Seven of us walked to the once-crisp white line, pounding the painted strands of grass into soft curls with our spikes, and looked across the field at seven opponents. One of them held a bright orange disc high in the air, signaling that they were ready to start play. Our captain called out a game plan: “Steven and I will handle. Cutters set up a vertical stack. Lauren, you have first cut. Shiraz, go long. Man-on-man defense on a turn; stick with whoever is covering you. Everyone good?” He raised his hand in answer to the disc handler on the other team, and the orange saucer came hurdling across the field. This is Ultimate Frisbee.
The opponents unexpectedly played with cup defense. Bob ended up being in the best position for taking the first cut in for the disc instead of Lauren, and we had to switch from a vertical stack to a horizontal stack because the cup defense forced us to swing the disc back and forth across the width of the field. Shiraz found that the opponent playing long could outrun him, no contest, and decided to cut in for shorter passes. Our captain’s game plan kept us organized, but we all had to adapt in response to conditions on the field.
Can you see how this analogy relates to project management? “Plan the work, work the plan” is a favorite catch phrase in the project management world. It implies that we should define a series of steps needed to accomplish some objective, and then make sure that each step happens according to plan. In reality, working the plan often means planning the work all over again as we adapt to changes in the environment, business priorities, and new insights. Particularly for longer-range and more exploratory projects (Elicit’s bread and butter!) an agile approach to project management is essential. But that doesn’t mean we throw planning out the window.
How can we be agile, yet keep the team aligned to an organized plan and hold everyone accountable? Let’s start by examining two principles project managers can use to set up a strong and flexible foundation for project success before the work actually begins.
1. START BIG
While the thought may be horrifying for most people, it may be tempting for some project managers to get pulled into extremely detailed planning exercises. I’m not saying that detailed planning is bad; on the contrary, it’s often needed—particularly when working on a highly collaborative project with a short timeline. But don’t let yourself get sucked into a black hole of planning; something’s wrong if you’re spending more time managing project plan minutiae than you are communicating with the project team, reviewing deliverable progress, coordinating next steps, etc.
Start big! Focus on mapping out high-level milestones first and gain alignment with your project team on those activities and associated timelines. Then start to break down the first milestone into major sub-tasks and get everyone aligned at that level. Next, focus on the major steps that need to take place in the following 2-4 weeks. Lots of detail doesn’t need to be planned any further in advance; you’ll end up spinning your wheels since the potential for change is so high.
2. USE A PROJECT CHARTER TO GAIN ALIGNMENT
Getting your internal team aligned to a milestone plan is just the beginning of the socialization needed to ensure your project is set up for smooth sailing. A project charter (which complements your project plan by reiterating the milestone plan and adding context on the project objectives, deliverables, assumptions, roles/responsibilities, and communication plan) can be a really effective tool for communicating with all stakeholders and ensuring that everyone is aware of the project purpose and plan.
The charter development exercise can sometimes feel like a waste of time for project teams. By the time we start circulating charter drafts, major milestones have typically been agreed upon by those responsible for the work. However, it’s the job of the project manager to review objectives with both internal and external stakeholders. In my experience, 80% of the time we go into a charter review feeling like we’re already well aligned, and 99% of the time we leave the review meeting with new insight or expectations. It’s worth the extra effort to get everyone on the same page (quite literally!) at the front end of a project.
These first two steps are essential to setting up your project structure and team with a foundation for success. In my next post, we’ll talk about three more steps we can take to adapt to the inevitable change that occurs when a real-world project is underway.
Check out Staying Agile Part 2: Jack Be NimbleTags: