Type Project Management Putting Type on the

Type & Project Management: Putting Type on the Critical Path Presented by: Jennifer Tucker, PMP Consulting Director OKA (Otto Kroeger Associates) (703) 591 -6284 x 111 jtucker@typetalk. com www. typetalk. com

Agenda • Introduce key elements of the project life cycle – and the language that drives project managers and their teams. • Explore how type can be seen across projects of all sizes and kinds, and used as a diagnostic tool. • Discuss and share type-related training designs that type professionals can use with project teams. www. typetalk. com 2

Project Management Talk • The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) describes a project as: – A project is a temporary endeavor, undertaken to create a unique product or service. This means that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end. – A project team – as a team – seldom outlives the project. Once the project is complete, they are disbanded, and members move on to other projects and other teams. – Projects are first and foremost outcome driven – it is the ultimate product or service, assessed against performance measures, which determines project success. www. typetalk. com 3

Project Management Activities Initiation Planning Execution, Monitoring & Control Closing Needs Statement Milestones Organization & Integration Resources Final Products Project Charter Schedule Communication (Internal/External) Quality Project Review Scope Definition Cost Estimates Schedule/Cost Management Risk Close-out Activities Outcome Measures Resource Needs Human Resources (People) Contracts/ Procurement Knowledge Library Work Breakdown Structure www. typetalk. com Project Management Plan Deliverables & Performance Measures 4

What Makes Projects Succeed? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. User Involvement – 19 Executive Management Support – 16 Clear Statement of Requirements – 15 Proper Planning – 11 Realistic Expectations – 10 Smaller Project Milestones – 9 Competent Staff – 8 Ownership – 6 Clear Vision & Objectives – 3 Hard-Working, Focused Staff - 3 Source: Standish Group – “Unfinished Voyages - A Follow-Up to The CHAOS Report” (http: //www. standishgroup. com/sample_research/unfinished_voyages_1. php) www. typetalk. com 5

And Why Do They Fail? • • • Inability to succinctly communicate overarching goals Poor client management and communication skills Failure to manage scope creep Failure to differentiate between customer groups Team ramp-up time complicates early activities Lack of team and meeting management skills Over-emphasis on risk management – dampening creativity Project team burn-out; no “buffer” time for crises Failure to maintain upper management support www. typetalk. com 6

Learning Quickly About A Project Charter Developed by the project’s sponsors and establishes the project’s driving goals, scope, boundaries and objectives. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Outlines the work packages to be performed, resources assigned against work, the time projected to complete the work, and the milestone deliverables that will result. Organization Chart Draws the roles and relationships between people on the project, revealing both power and communication dynamics. Stakeholder Communications Plan Describes how relationships and communication with internal and external interests are to be managed. Risk Management Plan and Risk Matrix Reveals project’s approach to risk – and can reveal how project faces both internal and external threats and change. “Day in Life” Observations Watching “work happen” and attending team meetings is one of the best ways of learning about how the project ticks. www. typetalk. com 7

Bringing in Psychological Type • Just as there are individual types and team types, there are project types – project characteristics that align with the eight preferences. • Examples – Projects are often: – – Externally Facing OR Internally Focused Fact Driven OR Possibilities Driven Product Focused OR User Focused Ruled by Milestone OR Reactive to Change Reference: Tucker, J (2008) Introduction to Type and Project Management. CPP, Inc. www. typetalk. com 8

Bringing in Psychological Type www. typetalk. com 9

Extraversion and Introversion on Projects Preference Signs of Preference & Possible Overuse Extraversion • May be more open to reaching out to external stakeholder groups to get more data or test decisions. • May spend lots of time in meetings – with possible confusion between discussion and action. • May have more difficulty with expectations management – both internally and externally. • Risk: Over-communication, wasting resources. Introversion • Project team may like to have things “figured out” before sharing with those outside program. • May have more structured and limited communication by e -mail and other written communication tools. • Functional areas may be more silo-ed, with people “assuming” that others know what’s going on. • Risk: Under-communication, risking “assumed buy-in” www. typetalk. com 10

Sensing and Intuition on Projects Preference Signs of Preference & Possible Overuse Sensing • May have clear set of performance measures that define success, and actually measure progress against them. • May break scope into such a fine detail that coordination of “inch-stone” schedule becomes a project unto itself. • May build requirements from the ground up, and struggle with succinctly stating the project’s overarching vision. • Risk: Too much “here & now” - may miss new opportunities Intuition • May craft a project that solves tomorrow’s possible problem – and – by coincidence - eliminates today’s practical one. • May rely on set of general “signs” of progress and not be able to point to clear tactical outcomes or products. • May under-estimate effort involved in individual “packets of work” and over-conceptualize scope rather than delivering it. • Risk: Too much theory – not enough action. www. typetalk. com 11

Thinking and Feeling on Projects Preference Signs of Preference & Possible Overuse Thinking • May have clear set of objective criteria for decision-making and tradeoffs in scope, budget and schedule. • May engage in logical cause-and-effect analysis with formal decision tools, and “manage by risk” approaches. • May miss need to “emotionally sell” to audiences/users, and may miss the impacts of change on the ultimate customers. • May over-objectify “users” into one faceless group. • Risk: Too much product focus may leave the people behind. Feeling • May guide decision-making by the premise that the project is unsuccessful if the sponsors and users aren’t happy. • May consider team cohesion to be a measure of project success overall; may discourage dissent – even if it may yield better outcomes. • May use prefer consensus decision techniques, which can add time. • May deliver against the desires of a representative user, rather than objective specifications driven by scope & resources • Risk: Too much people focus may bury tough tradeoffs. www. typetalk. com 12

Judging and Perceiving on Projects Preference Signs of Preference & Possible Overuse Judging • May use the work breakdown schedule as a central management tool, and define incremental progress in binary terms. • May mistake project management as an end unto itself. • May discourage innovation (intentionally or not) by overemphasizing schedule performance. • Risk: May resist tasks that add time now, but save time later. Perceiving • May be better at responding and adjusting to shifting market needs and evolving requirements. • May use schedule as a guide, but more likely to react to emerging needs rather than executing against a fixed plan. • May see the process of the project as important as its outcome, and may act on decisions without overly stating them • Risk: May risk future completion by exploring new options now. www. typetalk. com 13

Getting Things Back on Track: One Conversation at a Time • • • Communication and Information Flow Alignment of Authority, Accountability and Responsibility Structural and Role Clarity Balancing Process and Product Balancing Procedural Clarity with Flexibility and Trust Effective Conversations and Giving Frequent Feedback www. typetalk. com 14

Exercises 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. “Project in Progress” Ranking Exercise Case Study Exercise Function Pair or Temperament Exercise Z-Model Decision Making/Problem Solving SWOT Analysis Construction Project Each of the following slides proposes exercises for exploring type and project management. The slide presents the exercise set-up – the trainer or facilitator’s debrief depends on the content generated. The primary goal is to reveal insights that lead to concrete action plans that the team can carry forward after the workshop. www. typetalk. com

1. “Project in Progress” - Ranking Exercise Rank the following project management activities in order of importance: _ _ _ _ _ A - Conducting regular project reviews and “lessons learned” meetings B - Assessing progress of activities against work breakdown structure and adjusting as needed. C - Monitoring and updating risks, and implementing risk mitigation plans as needed. D - Meet with project sponsor and external stakeholders to report on progress and solicit feedback E - Conduct one-on-one meetings with key project members to give feedback. F – Respond in real time to emerging project crises or emerging needs/requirements. G – Review financial status (including staffing levels and budget) of project spending against plan H – Conduct formal reviews of work deliverables and products and introduce corrective measures I – Conduct team meetings to share updates and do cross-project problem solving. J - Revisit Project Charter and Needs Assessment to identify current activities that are out of scope Source: Tucker, J (2008) Introduction to Type and Project Management. CPP, Inc. - PAGE 11 www. typetalk. com 16

2. Case Study Exercise • Establish eight total stations around the room – four have the preference pairs (E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P); and four have case studies (select mini-case studies from “Introduction from Type and PM”). • Instructions for Preference Charts: For each preference, give: (1) Examples of what it “looks like” on a project where preference is deployed well. (2) Example of what it “looks like” on a project where a preference is either over-used or under-used (too much, not enough) • Instructions for Case Studies: Write concrete actions or approaches you would take to address the challenges in each case study. • Visit as many or as few charts as you want. www. typetalk. com 17

3. Function Pair or Temperament Exercise • Split groups into either function pairs (NT, NF, ST, SF) or temperament groups (NF, NT, SJ, SP) depending on group distribution and workshop design. • Question (2 parts): (1) Identify the one problem or need that your group thinks is the most important for this project to fix or address. Present to the group in the form of a problem or need statement. (2) What initial approach or options would you propose to begin to address this? • Each group debriefs to full group. www. typetalk. com 18

4. Z-Model Decision Making/Problem Solving • This exercise can either immediately follow Exercise 3 above, or can be done on its own. If done after #3, have the group pick one of the problems/needs identified during the exercise to work on. If done on its own, you should work with the team’s leader to determine what problem or need the group will work on. • Introduce the Z-Model to the group, and then in small groups, have the group apply the model to approach the problem or need identified/selected (If using OKA’s MBTI Introduction Workbook, see page 35). Variations include: (1) Individuals monitor the amount of time spent with each function – what is missed, if anything? (2) Structure the time such that each function MUST receive a certain block of time before proceeding. www. typetalk. com 19

4. Continued: Z-Model SENSING • • • Describe the “As-Is” - What facts describe where we are? What past experience can we learn from? What are the important details on which to focus? What are the practical realities with which to contend? What should we keep that works? INTUITION • • • THINKING What are the criteria that will determine the best goals and decisions? What are our best alternatives, with their respective pros and cons? What are the most logical solutions and directions? How will we objectively assess progress and success? www. typetalk. com • • What are the patterns or themes in the “As Is” data? What’s the big picture view of the future? What’s “To Be? ” Are there relevant models or concepts to help frame our future? What are the possibilities or options ahead of us? What could we do? FEELING With whom do we need to collaborate and in what ways? How will the proposed options and goals impact the various people (both internal and external stakeholders) in the situation? Which solutions will promote maximum acceptance and ownership? How will we communicate our plan to others? 20

5. SWOT Analysis • Establish four total stations: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Ask the question, “As a project team, what are our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? ” (You can modify the question depending on interest – examples: “As we launch the xyz initiative, what are our SWOT? ” or “As we move from the requirements to design phase of the project, what are our SWOT? ”) • Each person gets a marker, and in open space format, takes 15 -ish minutes to visit all charts to put up ideas. You can check ideas you agree with, or write a question mark if you don’t understand. You may not cross others’ ideas out. • You may want to follow with a voting exercise to narrow down to a subset on each chart. • Follow with a discussion about how the group’s preferences play out in its SWOT – what is Sensing, Intuitive, etc about the charts? www. typetalk. com 21

6. Construction Project • This is the most complex and time consuming exercise, but also often the most fun, and can lead to LOADS of data about the team if done at the beginning of a workshop. • Requires: Some kind of construction toy, a set of requirements and evaluation criteria, and a time limit. Examples: Lego Mindstorm Robot; Marble Run Toys. www. typetalk. com 22

6. Continued: Construction Project • Sample Instructions (Time can be variable): – Team given a Lego Mindstorm Robot Kit and the following specifications: "Construct a robot that moves around the dark circle within 30 seconds, stops, reverses direction, and goes around the dark circle in the opposite direction, also within 30 seconds. Creativity and elegance of design count. Time: 25 min. ”S – Team given a Marble Run Kit and the following specifications: “Construct a structure that is free-standing, at least 2. 5 feet tall, and capable of delivering at least 10 marbles from top to bottom in one minute. You must use all pieces in the kit. Creativity, complexity and stability of design count. Time: 25 min. ” • Key points to debrief: Degree of planning done; how group interpreted and defined the requirements and what success “looked like”; how this mirrors their project work; role of type in exercise. www. typetalk. com 23

Questions, Comments, Contact! Presented by: Jennifer Tucker, PMP Consulting Director OKA (Otto Kroeger Associates) (703) 591 -6284 x 111 jtucker@typetalk. com www. typetalk. com 24