Project Landscape May 2008, Vol. 2, No. 5
Message from the Communications Team, p. 2 • Upcoming Events, p. 2 • Problem Solving with Cats, Peter de Jager, p. 3 • Do you have the greatest PM ability, Dr. James T. Brown, p. 5 • FWPMI PMP Update, p. 9 • Board of Directors, p. 9 • Registered Company Coordinators, p.10 • Nomination Announcements, p. 11 • PMO Symposium, p. 11 •
grassroots thought leadership
Message from your Communications Team Project Landscape is a collaboration of PMI Chapters to deliver a high quality newsletter by combining talents and input. FWPMI is particularly grateful for Dotti Patton, Garry L. Booker and all of the PMI Region 6 Chapters participating and sharing in this newsletter initiative. FWPMI also wishes to thank Amber Chacko and our Blue Cricket team (www.gobluecricket.com) for their creative and technical support. We hope that you will find the articles and chapter information useful as you seek to provide results of value through project management in your own organizations. FWPMI realizes that the rapid changing business climates, our desires to exceed customer expectations, and the need to implement timely solutions challenges each of us to constantly add to our toolkits. It is our goal to furnish our members with new problem solving techniques and enhanced soft skill practices for better decisionmaking. If you have any questions or if you have been thinking about submitting a feature article, book review, or news article, please do not hesitate to contact
[email protected]. We also have AVP openings for anyone wishing to join the Communication Team. Any suggestions you might have for improvements are always appreciated. Looking forward to seeing you at our next event… Barbara Sharpe, PMP Vince Chacko, PMP
Project Landscape
Upcoming Events Meetings… Marriott DFW South (4151 Centerport Blvd, 76155) •
Thursday, May 15 - 6:00p — Understanding Thought Processing and Leadership Thinking
Workshops… Texas Health Resources (611 Ryan Plaza—Arlington) • •
Saturday, May 17 - 8:30a-12:30p — Project Quality and Impact Understanding Saturday, July 12 - 8:30a-4:30p — PMP Exam Day Review
*** SPECIAL JUNE OPPORTUNITY *** Mid-week Workshop Siemens Energy & Automation (1401 Nolan Ryan Pkwy—Arlington) •
Thursday, June 5 - 8:30a-4:30p — Gywnne Dawdy, Ph.D presents… Time Tested Methods to Communicate Better, Understand Others, and Coach Your Team and Project to the Top
Teams are a critical element with project success. Project managers constantly face a great team challenge: to successfully achieve project deliverables while creating and maintaining positive work relations. This interactive workshop explores phases of team development, leadership, conflict resolution, sabotage, motivation, communication and performance. Tools and skills to manage these issues for a more productive team are also explored.
2008 May , p. 2
Problem Solving with Cats So? What do you Know? Peter de Jager
P
Without getting into the correct answer now, let’s talk about this approach. It seems right and seems to consider all the facts, however, it doesn’t. It’s got the ‘two cats’ part correct, but the ‘At least one of the cats is male’ is almost overlooked.
roblem solving… there’s no real way to talk about how it applies to our daily activities, without actually solving some problems. So, to get us started, here’s a simple puzzle.
Fact #1: A Man has two Cats. Fact #2: At least one of the Cats is Male. Question: What is the probability that both of the Cats are Male? To get the most out of this little exercise, try solving it before reading any further. I’ll just wait patiently until you’re ready to proceed. Ok? Good. You’re ready. The most common mistake is to think along these lines. ‘Well then, one cat is male, there are only two other options available, male or female, and therefore, the probability is 1:2.’ Wrong
Project Landscape
And this is where things get interesting. Problem solving, whether we’re talking about a trivial puzzle, or working with a client to deliver a need, requires two things from us: 1) A precise understanding of what we know, and 2) Having the proper ability to understand what the other person is trying to communicate to us.
In this puzzle, the first fact is simple. The man has two (2) cats. Neither one cat nor three, two cats. The next fact is a little (a lot?) more complicated. It sounds simply enough when we combine it with the first fact, we get this… at least one of the two cats in his possession is male. In the first [wrong] attempt, we’re doing something very subtle… we make the statement, ‘Well, one cat is male…’ and using that as a starting point, examine the leading possibilities. Fair enough… except what about another possibility. What other possibility you ask? The possibility that the cat we’re looking at is female.
2008 May, p. 3
At this point, there is often confusion, disagreement, and a general wailing and gnashing of teeth. The objection is we don’t have to consider that possibility… it’s obvious by the assumed possibility that the other cat is female in our first attempt at analysis. This confusion arises out of a disagreement as to what we think ‘At least one of the two cats is male’ really means. Here’s one way to see what’s going wrong… Grab one of his cats by the scruff of the neck. Pretend this cat is the male cat. What could the other cat be if we have established the first fact? Either male or female, which leaves two [1:2] possibilities? Now, couldn’t it also be possible that the cat you’ve grabbed isn’t the male cat… remember, we don’t know which one is male, all we know [that we know] is that at least one of them is male. So, if it’s not male, then it’s female, meaning that the other cat must be the male… it can’t be female since we know that ‘at least one of the cats is male’. Therefore the cat in hand is female and the other cat is male… That makes a third possibility. Now, out of those three possibilities, how many were male/male? Only one, therefore the probability that they’re both male is 1:3 and not 1:2. Ironically, problem solving has less to do with problem solving than it does with problem definition. And problem definition is mostly about agreeing on what the problem is [knowing what we know that we know], before we head off in ten directions trying to solve it. For any project manager, our starting points are the project specification / requirements, which include not just a description of what
Project Landscape
we must do, but also a description of what resources we have at our disposal. If the two simple facts given in our puzzle, can cause confusion as to what the problem is, how certain are we that we understand what the user means when they hand us a set of specs? How much time do we spend testing our understanding of the specs? Do we make a concentrated effort to find problems with the specs? Do we understand the value of finding a problem at this stage, rather than after two years of development? Here’s a problem solving technique worth its weight in scars; assume that your understanding of the problem / project is incorrect from the start. ***** © 2007, Peter de Jager – Peter is a Keynote Speaker, Writer and Consultant. Read more of his work at www.technobility.com and contact him at
[email protected].
2008 May, p. 4
Do you have the greatest project management ability? Ability to anticipate is by far the greatest PM ability
Dr James T. Brown
T
he ability to anticipate is by far the greatest project management ability. Anticipation is an ability that is a culmination of knowledge, experience and skill. The ability to anticipate is not only what separates great project managers from good project managers; it is what separates great from good in most professions. The best hitters in baseball have the ability to anticipate what kind of pitch will be thrown to them and where the ball will be when it is time to swing the bat. The best soccer goalies have the ability to anticipate where the ball will be kicked so they can block it. This really comes into play during penalty kicks and this ability to anticipate will determine the goalies success or failure. What the baseball batter and the soccer goalie have in common is that they cannot be successful trying to cover every possible outcome. The batter cannot possibly hit the ball with power and control trying to protect the entire strike zone. He has to limit the strike zone to maximize the chances of getting a hit. The goalie cannot possibly guard the entire net. He has to determine what part of the net he will defend and what part will be left unprotected. The batter and goalie that can most effectively anticipate and plan their response to the future circumstances get the best results. This is also true of project managers.
Project Landscape
The challenge of project management is so daunting that the project manager’s ability to anticipate and plan has a direct correlation on their ability to execute. A lot of project management books will state that everything needs to be planned in detail and every risk needs to be covered with a risk plan. This is good in theory and for a very small percentage of projects it is good in practice. However, most project managers live in a world characterized by uncertainty. Uncertain requirements, resources, risks, etc. The role of the project manager is to minimize or eliminate this uncertainty, but it is rare when uncertainty doesn’t exist at significant levels. Therefore the best project managers anticipate. They are able to visualize and plan through the fog. They make aggressive decisions based on what they anticipate. The average and poor performing project manager waits on the fog to clear. They complain or whine constantly about the uncertainty and it becomes an excuse for inaction. The great project managers anticipate then act. The great baseball hitters sometimes swing and miss wildly. The great soccer goalie sometimes leaps to the wrong end of the net. They make mistakes just like the great performing project manager will make mistakes. To anticipate and act means that you will occasionally make mistakes. Over the course of a project, program or career these mistakes will be small compared to the number of good decisions that were made due to excellent anticipation. The successful project manager is a continual learner, not afraid to make decisions based on what they know to be true and what they anticipate to be true.
2008 May, p. 5
The ability to anticipate can really be summed up with one simple phrase: “TOP” (Training, Observation, Practice). The combination of these three activities aggressively deployed provides the ability to anticipate and the confidence to act. Training – There are always rare exceptions, like someone born with a gift that can play the piano masterfully without training. As a rule though, expertise and even basic proficiency cannot be achieved without training. If it wasn’t so prevalent and sad, the number of companies that expect their project managers to be successful without training would be amusing. Do you know any project management quacks (PMQ's)? Would you go to a medical doctor who had no formal training but said “I have been doctoring on people for 15 years”. Most would quickly identify this doctor as a quack. There are a lot of project management quacks out there. The doctor without training may indeed be able to practice medicine with minor or perhaps moderate success but certainly not at the level of someone that is a trained physician. What would you think of the football coach who told his team we’ll learn as the game goes along because we don’t have the time or budget for training? Part of what makes Tiger Woods the golf champion that he is, was training from an early age. In the absence of that training he would not have been a child prodigy or dominating golf as he does today. In fact, he still values training and still submits himself (even at his level of expertise and accomplishment) to coaching. I am always amazed when I come across project managers who don’t feel the need for training. Projects involve lots of variables including technology, resources and the most complex variable of all – people. Project management is so complex it is worthy of life long study if you choose to excel at it. There is a marked difference between proficiency and excellence.
Project Landscape
A PMP doesn’t make you or anyone else a good project manager! Yes, the basics are easily acquired. PMP certification is in fact readily acquired with effort. A PMP certification by itself does not make you a great project manager or even capable of managing a challenging project. Greatness in any endeavor is the application of the basics and the summation of a large number of little things done well. This is what characterizes the masters in any field of endeavor. When I go to training (and I do) I am looking for the little things that take the basics to another level. The importance of continuous training to maintain the ability to anticipate is only one piece of the puzzle. The next component is Observation. Observation – Going beyond the basics to the collection and mastery of little things also involves observation. Once you accept the fact that there are little pieces of knowledge that can be applied strategically together you are always on the hunt for them. People often make the mistake of limiting their hunt for knowledge to whatever field or discipline their in. If you take one thing away from this newsletter take the following point. Excellence is worthy of your careful observation and study. Opportunities abound to study excellence. Books are a very good tool for studying excellence. Autobiographies of people who have achieved greatness are worthy of your time. Personal interviews are worthy of your time. You are panning for gold. Occasionally I will stay at the Ritz-Carlton. Their service is usually extraordinary and when there I will inquire about their excellent service with anyone from the bellman to the manager. What they view
2008 May, p. 6
What good is knowledge and theory without application?
as a conversation is in fact an interview, for I am always on the hunt for tips that contribute to excellence and achievement at high levels. This year while in South Florida I came across the famous jazz guitarist George Benson sitting alone at the hotel bar prior to an evening show. I introduced myself and once he was done laughing at my name (he said he had been good friends with the late singer James Brown), I asked him what he did to play guitar at such a high level? How did he practice? What and who influenced him? We had a nice twenty minute conversation as he played air guitar and talked to me. George Benson probably doesn’t know much about project management, but he knows a lot about excellence. Excellence has common threads Obviously you should talk to every project manager you view as excellent, but achievement at high levels goes beyond a particular discipline. If the grocery store you shop at is well run, talk to the employees and the manager. Not only are there common threads in excellence but often you will identify parallel applications or inspiration from what you learn from an expert in any unrelated field. Now that we have discussed Training and Observation and their role in obtaining the skill of anticipation, we will discuss Practice, the third and final element of TOP.
Project Landscape
Practice –A leader whose style and methods I hold in high regard is Ron Dittemore. Ron is a former Space Shuttle Program Manager who is now a Vice President for Morton Thiokol. Before he left NASA I interviewed him and here is one of many valuable things I took away from our conversation. He stated “You know, I have been a counselor of people, of youth and youth groups, of adult organizations and most of my experience in how to deal with people comes from those situations and not from work. I apply all the lessons that I have learned through 27 years of that experience to deal with a lot of the challenges that I face in the work place.” I marvel at young professionals who say they want big project leadership opportunities at work yet take no opportunity to lead outside of work. They say they just can’t get good experience when we have a world crying out for people willing to lead. Take Every Opportunity to Lead If you can lead people and projects to success in a volunteer setting, where people are not getting paid, you can certainly do it in a work setting (where some act like they are not getting paid). Identify an issue you are passionate about and take the opportunity to work and lead for the benefit of your passion. It will be a direct carry over to your effectiveness in the work environment. Excellence – A lot of little things done right As you work projects (practice) you must try to apply the little things you have garnered through training and observation. Some will work very well others may not. Keep track of what succeeds and don’t abandon what fails or what seems to have failed to soon. Analyze, analyze, analyze. Trying different things is a form of stretching yourself.
2008 May, p. 7
Do not be afraid of change. Any golfer can tell you how Tiger Woods has changed what was a very successful swing to a new one while getting a lot of “He shouldn’t have messed up a good thing” from pundits before they were proven wrong. Tiger also practices a lot. Tiger is not afraid of change, practices and analyzes his performance. He also sets the expectation that he will be better next year than he is today. I come across many people who are content with their leadership ability to the point they have zero initiative when it comes to self development and improvement. Change, initiative and self evaluation are also necessary to your continual growth to ever exceeding greatness as a project manager or leader. Once you start to develop great anticipation skills I guarantee others will marvel at how effectively you succeed in the uncertain environment of projects. They will marvel because they won’t be able to nail it down to just one thing and the results will be the summation of a lot of little things you have honed to a sharp edge through training, observation and practice over time. The wise observers of your success will engage you in a conversation that is really an interview because they know excellence is worthy of careful observation and study. ***** Dr. James T. Brown, PMP is president of SEBA® Solutions Inc. (http:// sebasolutions.com) a Registered Education Provider with the Project Management Institute and is the author of The Handbook of Program Management published by McGrawHill. He provides project management training and keynote speeches worldwide and may be reached at
[email protected].
Project Landscape
Credits To the contributing editors of the Project Landscape, THANK YOU ! Amarillo: Austin: Baton Rouge:
Coastal Bend: Forth Worth: Houston: NW Arkansas: Oklahoma City: Tulsa:
Karen Taylor Kathy Nugent-Arnold Teresa Norris Becky Kim Chauvin HarrisNina Renee Cloyd Walter Coumbe Barbara Sharpe Amber Chacko Quang Ton John Solliday Dotti Patton Harriet Ervin Garry L. Booker Randy Tangco
2008 May, p. 8
PMP rates are climbing in Fort Worth! The rate of Fort Worth PMI chapter members attaining their PMP credential has climbed to 32% over the same time last year. We attribute the double-digit growth in our PMP’s to the variety of educational workshops and chapter meetings topics which offer focused exploration in areas of project management throughout the year.
Jan-Apr 2007
PMP trends for Fort Worth PMI
2008 FWPMI Board of Directors Jan-Apr 2008
Jan-07
Jan-08
Feb-07
Feb-08
Mar-07
Mar-08
3
08-Jan
4
Lloyd
07-Feb
3
08-Feb
11
Gail
07-Mar
9
08-Mar
10
David
07-Apr
13
Dominic
07-May
8
07-Jun
Christensen Brooks
Gail
Caillouet Hicks
Steven
Phillips
Ighedosa
Howard
Hopkins
Patrick
Appel
Richard
Meadors
1
Eric
Bresie
Gayle
Waitman
07-Jul
4
Murray
Scheibe
John
Howard
07-Aug
12
David
Grimes
Sharyl
Gulledge
07-Sep
3
Bryan
Cancel
Peter
Tuchscherer
07-Oct
19
Tammy
Zeptner
Cathy
Bixler
07-Nov
6
Monte
07-Dec
8
Gregory Mark
Project Landscape
Dillow
Carroll
Mann Ray
Gavriel Mark
Past President Jonathan Overton, PMP
VP Programs Nikki Choyce, PMP
[email protected]
AVP Programs Open position
VP Education Matt Solodow, PMP
[email protected]
AVP Education Open position
VP Finance Mercado, PMP
[email protected]
New PMPs for 2008
07-Jan
President Dick Walz, PMP
[email protected]
Zoarets
Victor
AVP Finance Lisa Gray, PMP
VP Marketing John Bartkus, PMP
[email protected]
AVP Marketing Open position
VP Membership Lorraine Leonard, PMP
[email protected]
AVP Membership Lynn Robbins, PMP Jan Moye, PMP
VP Communication Barbara Sharpe, PMP
[email protected]
AVP Communication Vince Chacko, PMP
RCC (Registered Company Coordinators) Program Educating members and potential members about PMI Tom Sheives, PMP
[email protected]
Vaughan
Burns
2008 May, p. 9
2008 Registered Company Coordinators The Fort Worth Chapter Registered Company Coordinators (RCCs) help the Chapter with membership and chapter marketing activities within their organizations. Organizations with at least 50 employees and five PMI chapter members may establish an RCC. Interested in volunteering as an RCC for your company? Submit a volunteer application on the www.fwpmi.org website under the Membership tab to get more information. RCC Program Chair — Tom Sheives, PMP
[email protected]
Project Landscape
Alcon Laboratories
Open Position
American Airlines
Jim Leefers
[email protected]
Siemens
Lynn Robbins
[email protected]
Texas Health Resources
Gerald Stanford
[email protected]
Jacobs Carter Burgess
Kim Arnold
[email protected]
Sabre
Don Springer
[email protected]
IBM Corp & Global
Mark Nixon
[email protected]
Verizon
Ernest Kish
[email protected]
Lockheed Martin
Open Position
City of Fort Worth
Eric Epperson
Tarrant County
Open Position
BNSF Railroad/Railway
Open Position
[email protected]
2008 May, p. 10
Announcement
PMO SYMPOSIUM 2008 ADVANCING THE PMO
Fort Fort Worth PMI Board Elections - June 2008 Every year an opportunity arises to give back to the Project Management community by serving in a board position. In addition this provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about Project Management, interact with peers and other Chapter officers and set the direction for the future of Project Management for the local area. In addition, to these outstanding benefits you can earn up to 10 category five professional development units per year. The commitment depending upon the position could be two meetings per month with an additional one to six hours of work for that month. In addition, a one day planning session is held on a Saturday in January. To determine the level of commitment please speak with a current officer or contact the current Past President (listed below). A board meeting is held each month on a Monday evening for two and half hours and then attendance at the monthly Chapter meeting. Commitment of the board position is two years. The Chapter understands that there are work and family commitments in which all the board meetings and Chapter meetings can't be attended. There are minimum requirements as outlined in the by-laws. A link below will direct you to the by-laws in which a general description of the positions and commitments are listed.
NOVEMBER 9-11, 2008 THE HYATT REGENCY HOTEL SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, USA PMO SymposiumTM 2008, presented by the PMI Program Management Office SIG. This dynamic, two and a half day event provides opportunities for PMO practitioners, project managers, organizational leaders, and others with an interest in establishing or growing the value of a PMO an opportunity to:
• • •
Open positions slated for this June's election include:
Learn from an engaging group of recognized speakers. Over 20 sessions are scheduled during the event. Wrap-up panel discus sions offer an opportunity to ask questions of speakers even if you can't attend their presentation! Ask questions and get answers--sessions are designed to provide time for formal re marks from speakers and dialogue with the audience, discussion, and Q&A. Sunday Forum sessions allow participants to share experiences, knowledge, and challenges with fellow attendees in an engaging, moderated discussion format. Network with colleagues. Registration includes two networking receptions plus meals and informal breaks allow plenty of time to meet fellow atten dees and speakers. Discuss important issues, share insights, and learn.
President - Open to anyone that has served as an officer for any PMI organization including other Chapters and SIGs. VP Education - Open to any FW PMI member in good standing. VP Membership - Open to any FW PMI member in good standing. VP Communication - Open to any FW PMI member in good standing.
•
Link to Chapter by-laws: http://www.fwpmi.org/File/FWPMI%20Bylaws.pdf
More information is available at www.pmosymposium.org Be sure to check out information on the agenda, location, and accommodations. The PMO Symposium 2008 team looks forward to welcoming you to the premiere PMO event of 2008!
If you have any questions or interest in a particular position, please contact Jonathan Overton, Past President at
[email protected].
Project Landscape
•
2008 May, p. 11
