Missing Manual Project Management

What has your project earned lately?

2008-04-17T03:05:55Z

Earned value analysis was a popular topic at the PMI Rocky Mountain chapter 2008 Spring Symposium. People in the audience nodded knowingly as presenters chanted the EVA mantra. But I’ve heard plenty of folks managing projects ask what earned value analysis is all about. The first step is understanding earned value measures and how they convey project performance. Then, if you use Microsoft Project, there’s the challenge of making the program report earned value the way you want.

Those pesky project sponsors, customers, and stakeholders are always asking where a project stands. Earned value analysis is the darling of project management circles because it goes a long way toward providing answers. And if you analyze earned value before you’re asked, you may be able to correct course and sidestep delivering bad news.

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Quick Intro to Earned Value Measures

In the earned value analysis universe, progress is measured by how much of the project value (project cost, not the value that the completed project provides) has been earned (that is, completed) so far. Let’s look at an example.

Suppose you’re running a ferret roundup to move the herd to their summer legging quarters. The roundup project schedule calls for four weeks and a cost of $10,000. Here’s how the basic earned value measures play out:

•Planned value is the original estimated (baseline) cost for the work that was scheduled to be complete as of the date for which you are calculating earned value, a.k.a. the status date. If the ferret project cost is allocated evenly over the duration, after two weeks the planned value is $5,000. In Project, the field for this measure is still called BCWS for budgeted cost of work scheduled, but the title you see in a table covers all the bases: Planned Value - PV (BCWS).

•Earned value is the project cost you’ve earned by completing work as of the status date. If you’ve rounded up only 25% of the ferrets after two weeks (quick little buggers), the earned value is only $2,500. The Project field is BCWP (or budgeted cost of work performed) and the title is Earned Value - EV (BCWP).

•Actual cost is easy; it’s what you actually spent as of the status date. For example, say you shelled out extra money for ferret-bite-resistant work gloves, so your actual cost at the two-week mark is $3,000. The Project field is ACWP for actual cost of work performed and the title you see is AC (ACWP).

I’ll go into more detail about earned value calculations in a later post, but the quick and dirty analysis is this. Earned value greater than the planned value means the project is ahead of schedule. That’s because you’ve completed more work (earned value) than you planned (planned). In the example, you planned for $5,000, but the earned value is only $2,500; the project is behind schedule.

Earned value greater than actual cost means the project is under budget. You’ve actually spent less on the completed work (actual value) than you budgeted for the completed work (earned value). In the example, the actual value is $3,000 and the earned value is $2,500, so the project is, alas, also over budget. Sounds like it’s time to hire a professional ferret herder.

Getting Project Ready for Earned Value

To evaluate earned value in Project, you have to set up several things.
Before you can calculate earned value measures, you have to a save a baseline of your original values in your Project file. Otherwise, you won’t have any planned values to compare to. If earned value fields equal zero, you know you forgot this step. You have to enter actual values, too. To calculate earned value correctly, you have to save the baseline before you enter any actual values!

Project uses the status date for earned value calculations. Choose ProjectProject Information. In the Project Information dialog box, set the date in the “Status date” box.

Project uses values in the Baseline fields to calculate earned value measures. If you want to calculate based on a different baseline, choose ToolsOptions. In the Option dialog box, select the Calculation tab, and then click Earned Value. In the “Baseline for Earned Value Calculations” drop-down list, choose the baseline you want and then click Close.

The PMI Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) recommends two different ways to define “complete” for earned value calculations: “all or nothing” or “unstarted, started, complete”. With all or nothing, a task is considered complete or unstarted, the equivalent of 100% and 0% in Project. The other option is to leave unstarted tasks at 0% and completed tasks as 100% with tasks in progress set to 50%. Although these two approaches are inaccurate, you’re never off by more than a few days if you keep your work package tasks to a maximum of two week duration.

Always the over-achiever, Project offers three definitions for complete. Out of the box, Project calculates earned value based on the % Complete field. One small problem with using % Complete is that this field represents the percentage of duration that’s complete, not the percentage of work.

If you want to use PMI’s recommendations, you have to tell Project to use the Physical % Complete field to calculate earned value. Physical % Complete is a value you enter, so you are in total control. For example, you can set Physical % Complete to 0%, 50%, or 100% depending on whether tasks are unstarted, in progress, or complete. Or, you can copy the values from the % Work Complete field into Physical % Complete cells.

To use Physical % Complete, choose ToolsOptions. In the Option dialog box, select the calculation tab, and then click Earned Value. In the “Default task Earned Value method” drop-down list, choose Physical % Complete and then click Close.

Changing this setting applies to only tasks you add in the future, when what you really want is to apply that method to the ones you want to evaluate. You can add the Earned Value Method field to a table and then change the values in the cells to Physical % Complete.

Confessions of a Project Management Junkie

2008-03-17T20:29:55Z

To the planning-adverse and even some project managers, project-managing a vacation is over the top. I’m a die-hard organizer so project management creeps into even what I do for fun. This approach isn’t as sick as it might sound. Really. I just got back from a ski vacation in Steamboat, so I had a chance to examine this peccadillo of mine.

]]> Just like managing a business-oriented project, managing a vacation is all about objectives. For full-bore relaxing vacations, my objective is total spontaneity once the vacation begins. I decide what I fell like doing when I wake up or at any time during the day. The solution in this case is thorough upfront planning for flights, lodging, and so on. Needless to say, package vacations with pre-defined itineraries are right out.

Other vacations have different objectives, for example, my recent Steamboat adventure. Here are some examples of vacation objectives and how I attained them with fun-based project management:

Planning for spontaneity. Before any friends showed up, my objective was to ski during the day and then be free to decide what the rest of the day would offer. When I arrived on Saturday, the cleaner hadn’t finished vacuuming the cheerios from the previous week’s kids, so I wrote up a check list and ran my errands: lift ticket, ski lesson vouchers, ski locker, food, movie DVDs. Five minutes of list-making and I was all set for my five solo days.

Planning for time constraints. The shuttle bus to the slopes waits for no one and ski lessons start at a specific time. My objectives were to not wait around for the bus any longer than necessary and to ski as many runs as possible before my lessons started.

Sunday was a ski-only day and my dry run. My gear was in a locker at the gondola base, so started the clock with a liberal amount of prep time, got dressed, packed my ski backpack, and walked to the bus stop. A time check showed that 20 minutes took me from bed-head to bus stop. (Clearly, I don’t care what I look like whilst skiing.) From then on, I made sure to give myself 25 minutes (for unanticipated glitches) and arrived at the bus stop with a few minutes to spare.

With hours of skiing before a lesson, I could go with the flow. But, less than 90 minutes to go, some planning and tracking was required. I timed a cycle of getting on the lift and skiing back down. Let’s say 25 minutes. Then, I checked my watch near the bottom of each run and headed back up for another run if I had more than 25 minutes left.

I rechecked the cycle time every so often, because my skiing sped up after a few lessons and fewer rest stops.

To head down the mountain at the end of the day without joining the hordes on the easy runs, hitting specific lifts before they closed was key. A time trial for the lift and runs of choice and then a time check after each run was all I needed. Of course, the objective could change from maximizing ski runs to getting to the bottom before the leg muscles ooze out onto the slopes, which means a new plan.

All-around management and lessons learned. Successful evening management comprises the use of lessons learned, planning, and task dependencies. For example, one lesson learned is that a soak in a hot tub turns the chances of driving anywhere from slim to none. Therefore, errands must finish before the soak begins or dinner could be the Count Chocula left over from the previous renters. On this trip, I skied my first ever black diamond run -- not pretty but I’m here to write about it. The plan was to celebrate with mimosas. My advance planning fell short because the run was on a Sunday, leaving the champagne locked away in a darkened store, and delaying the celebration by a day.

Closing phase. My objective for the last day was to ski a full day, zip back to the house, pack the car, and get home before 8 PM. The second to last day, I grabbed anything I wouldn’t use the next day and tossed it into a duffle. (I do NOT fold dirty clothes to conserve luggage space.) By the last morning, all but my ski clothes, toothbrush, and refrigerated food were safely ensconced in luggage, piled where I couldn’t help but see it. The plan worked perfectly and I was home by 7PM with plenty of time to unload, start laundry, and go online to book next year’s fun.

P.S. I used to go for maximizing vacations by coming home the day before I had to go back to work. Perhaps I’m heading for old age and a Type-B personality, but, I now come home two days before I have to function in the real world. That way, I have a day to unpack, do laundry, catch up on email and bills, and ease myself into reality.

Let’s Make a Deal

2008-02-12T03:05:09Z

With any project, it’s important to know what you’re getting into. Otherwise, the experience could end up a lot like that blind date with the guy who was long on body odor and short on charm. The problem is clients sometimes want answers but they don’t want to hear any questions.
A good spanking might seem like a satisfying response, but chances are that won’t go over well with your client and it won’t help you define the project scope either. Here’s one solution that came to mind one day:

Client: We want to build a Web site so our customers can get all the information they want without calling our customer support line. How much would that cost and when can you have it done?

Monty P. Manager: I’ll need some background on the information for the site. For example, do you have a list of the questions your customers ask? Which ones do they ask the most? How many times per month? Do you have customer satisfaction surveys or feedback? How much information do you have to publish on the site?

Client: We don’t know any of that. I thought you’d figure all of that out. We just know that we don’t want to hire more customer support people. So, how much would that cost and when can you have it done? The executives are breathing down my neck.

Monty P. Manager: OK. Got it. You want cost and schedule. Just pick door number one, two, or three.

Client: Huh?

Monty P. Manager: It’s easy. Behind each door, there are project costs and dates. Pick a door and that’s the cost and schedule for your project.

Client: But, how can I pick when I don’t know what’s behind the door? And what do I get for that cost and schedule?

Monty P. Manager: That’s how it works. I don’t know what’s involved in the project. And you don’t know what you’re picking. I figure, it all evens out in the end.

Client: But, I can’t do that! My management team has to approve the budget and we’ve already picked the launch date.

Aside from Bonnie: Do NOT get me started on pre-determined project finish dates. Some arranged marriages between people work out. But an arranged marriage with a finish date is doomed to failure.

Monty P. Manager: I can help you with that. How about we work on defining the project? I can give you an estimate of cost and schedule for this first step. And then, when we know what we’re dealing with, we can estimate the whole nine yards.

What Customers Want

2008-01-04T14:01:32Z

The assignment seemed clear-cut. Now, no matter what I deliver, the client says it’s not what he wants. All he says is that he’ll know it when he sees it. Arrrgggh! I want out!

So began the sad saga of one of my associates. The dreaded IKIWISI (I’ll Know It When I See It) is the fastest way to drive project managers and team members off a project faster than rats from a sinking ship--assuming they have an escape route.

Trying to complete a project successfully is almost impossible if you don’t know what the customer wants. Extracting that key piece of information is fraught with problems. People tend to describe solutions rather than goals--because they’re easier to visualize and, thus, put into words. But many folks can’t describe anything. Yup, I’ll Know It When I See It is an all-too-often refrain.

It’s tough to describe what you want. Perhaps you have friends who tell stories about their disastrous online dating experiences. Despite all sorts of psychological expertise and tests, most online dating matches are completely off the mark. For me, the best example of the challenge is the movie Bedazzled (the original with Dudley Moore and Peter Cooke). Dudley Moore’s character sells his soul to the devil (Peter Cooke) and then asks for what he wants. Time after time, the devil gives him exactly what he asked for in a way that is completely unsatisfactory. Of course, here we’re talking the devil, not your current customer.

So, what to do? Well, if you’re already managing the project from hell--so to speak--all your choices require fancy footwork and smooth interpersonal skills. The basic course of action is to go back and redefine the objectives (or define them if you skipped that step). One way to convince management to do this is

The team has lost sight of what we’re trying to accomplish. Can we sit down and talk about the mission and objectives so I can help the team understand the project purpose?

If you are an employee, the sad truth is that you may need an outside consultant to deliver the advice, which means you have to convince management to hire a consultant to deliver the advice you could give for free. (For some reason, the high price tag of a consultant often makes management think the advice is better than the in-house expertise of salaried employees.)

The preferred approach is avoidance, as in, don’t start a project unless you understand what it’s all about. Take time to meet with stakeholders to hash out objectives, define the mission statement, the scope, and so on. You’ll probably be pressured to rush these tasks, but you must hang tough. If you’re up against IKIWISI, ask the customers if they’ve seen something like what they have in mind--a similar Web site, a magazine article with the right tone, or a police artist's sketch. A research or pilot phase is can give you a nudge in the right direction.
Special note for contractors, consultants, and third party vendors: avoid fixed price contracts if the objectives and scope are nebulous. Fixed price contracts place the risk on the deliverer; and that risk is so high, the fixed price is bound to knock you out of the running. An alternative is starting with time and materials until the project is defined and then switch to fixed price for the remainder.

If you can’t reach an accord with the customer on what the project is about, walk away. Yes, you are risking your next paycheck, an assignment, a contract, or your job. But being trapped on a poorly defined project can make you desperately wish you had. What was supposed to be a two-week assignment could eat up months of your time and earning potential. Or, the failed project could become an unsightly blemish on your reputation.

I'm managing a project? Now what?

2007-06-18T01:36:46Z

Whether I'm cooking a sumptuous Indian dinner, trying to run five errands while I'm in town for a client meeting, or preparing for two weeks of sun-drenched, rum-punch-filled vacation, I can't help but plan things in detail and check things off until everything is perfect. During darker moments, I assume people call me a perfectionist, hard to please, obsessive-compulsive, or any number of less complimentary terms. When I'm full of myself, I think I'm organized, get the seemingly impossible done, and herd cats with the best of them. The rest of the time, I accept that I'm simply a project manager.

I know lots of people who are organized and get things done. So I'm not surprised when they, like me, end up with projects to run. I assume that they have their own crises in confidence and ask questions like Why does my boss think I can do this?, What am I supposed to do?, and Now, what the hell do I do? I empathize with the guy who supervised the construction of the Great Pyramids when he found out what he was doing the rest of his life.

Project managers have bigger problems than moving 20-ton stones, keeping thousands of slaves productive, and making sure the Pharaoh approves of his eternal resting place. We have to learn how to manage projects as well as how to use Microsoft Project to do so. It's hard enough when the person sponsoring the project isn't quite sure about the desired result. It's darn-near impossible when we're knee-deep in Project wondering what effort-driven scheduling is, exactly, and why we can't assign people to tasks the way we want.

I've figured out the answers to some of these questions. However, I know that whenever I think I know all the answers, something blindsides me without fail. So, I plan to share a few things I've learned about managing projects successfully and enlisting Project in the effort--with appropriate humility and deference to the project management gods.