A key question that do justify a TurnAround and influence how to manage the crisis and the TurnAround.

projects are going through crisis at some point in time. If you do not agree, you might live an ideal world or might not sense the crisis as such. How ever, projects do fail and will go through crisis or major TurnArounds.

There are various studies and perceptions out there, that try to analyze the reasons.

GPM (Gesellschaft für Projekt Management) released the results of a survey back in 2006. Here are the key reasons they outlined:

Project Start:

• unclear requirements and targets
• missing resources at the start of the project
• inadequate planning

Soft Factors:

• lack of skilled resources
• politics, question of authority
• poor communications
• missing project experience at the leadership level
• missing or inadequate Project Management Method and Processes
• insufficient stakeholder management
• lacking of top management support

Others:

• technical requirements to ambitious
• Others 

Aaron Shenkar, one of the influencing leaders in project management and co-author of the book ‘Reinventing Project Management‘ is highlighting the following reasons:

• scope creep 
• underestimated the effort
• unexpected problems
• weak communication, collaboration, motivation
• fail to meet business requirements

From his perspective it could be combined in the level of uncertainty that he is trying to capture and identify before hand in his diamond approach.

Kevin Baker from AIRBUS shares some insights why projects are going through crisis in his organization:

By looking at their projects, A&D Projects do fail in time and budget, that was the overall situation a couple of years ago. Different drivers have been identified:

• Project Management Challenges
• Technical Complexity
• Talent Shortage
• Supply Chain Challenges
• Politics

A Hays survey published in December 2012, highlighted by Lars Sudmann during the Project Zone Congress 2013 in Frankfurt, came to to following conclusion:

1. Missing Objectives
2. Decision Process
3. Unrealistic Planning
4. Implementation not …
5. Standards Missing

What is my conclusion:

Do not look for patterns !

How ever, there are three main clusters and the conclusion or consequences out of that:

It’s all about the START
Good stuff, as you cant change that Once your are in the project

It’s all about the PEOPLE
Good stuff, so lets focus on them and our self

It’s all about the COMPLEXITY
Good stuff, lets reduce it and learn how to manage crisis along the way

Bottom Line: Projects will fail and will go through crisis. The challenge is, how to manage the crisis and be able to turn the situation around.

Projects do fail. Whether they are big or small. At some point they will go through crisis and major challenges.

During my attendance at the Project Zone 2013 Congress in Frankfurt I was also up presenting on the recent insights and realisings of my / our book project www.turnaroundpm.com

At my presentation focuses on how to recover troubled projects and answers the following questions:

• Why do projects fail?
• What are the 5 phases of a TurnAround
• What Tools / Methods / Approaches to use to help you recover
• Understand the concepts by applying them to actual living cases
• Learn how to apply them in your own environment

Content is based on the book project www.turnaroundpm.com which will be published in May / June this year.

See the presentation below, the video will be added soon. As part of the presentation I went through the 5 phases of a TurnAround myself, as the Flipper broke down. :-)

As part of our book project ‘TurnAround - wenn Projekt Kopf stehen und klassisches Projekt Management versagt’ - www.turnaroundpm.com we have been looking for an approach, a supportive tool and structure to describe and plot a project.

The project square was invented and clusters a project in 7 building blocks

• Mind-Set
• Project-Charter
• People
• Resources
• Target Audiences 
• Damages
• Benefits

Based on these building blocks every project could be described.

Now, no matter what project you are working on, whether its a real IT project, or you are moving places or planning your vacation.

What if some asks you, what project you are working on. What would you say and describe to answer his or her question?
Usually you are replying in an unstructured, inexplicable way.
By applying the story telling principles to the project square this challenge becomes a lot easier.

So what are the story telling principles and how could they be applied to the project square
Story telling is general based on the following key components:

1. The Problem that I faced (with a Date)
2. What didnt worked
3. What worked
4. Benefits of the solution
5. What did I learn

How ever, Pixar’s way of story telling is based on a different approach:

1. Once upon a time there was ….
2. Every day …
3. One day …
4. Because of that …
5. Because of that …
6. Until finally …

The project square is the perfect structure to apply the story telling principles.

By touching and looking at every building block the major components of your story will form.
By making sure every aspect of your project is been touched and looked at you are certain that you do not miss a point that is relevant to describe which project you are working on.
It doesn’t matter where you start, which building block you mention first, which comes next and after that.
The point is that you should touch on every building block, even if it doesn’t hold any content at this point in time. mention it.

Usually a good approach and to train what I am trying to get across is to start with the project charter, the scope and time and budget involved, go into the people required and involved, touch on resources needed and the target audiences addressed. Now looking to the benefits you projects tries to deliver and the damages that may be caused. And last but not least look into the mind-set applied to the overall project.
Thats a simple and engaging way how to transform your project into an compelling story that addresses every aspect of your endeavor.

Of course there are alternative ways to start and finish. Depending on what point you are trying to get across, the building blocks that are most important for your or your audience listening yo you, you can either start or finish where you thinks its most relevant, important and required.

The approach how to present story could be based on the following approach by Peter Beck from DasScrumTeam:

1. Be clear about your message
2. Have a true story
3. Prepare it well
4. Deliver it well

Try and use the project square to get your project across as a story and apply the principles above.

Looking forward to your feedback.

Next day, new talks, and it was hard to get any better. Aaron Shenhar was up next. Author of the Book ‘Reinventing Project Management‘ and for an opinion leader for project managers. A person who has inspired me years ago to adapt the diamond approach for process and change projects which is now part of the ‘Kompendium für ITIL V3 Projekte‘ and in the extracted chapter version ‘Polygon für Prozess Projekte‘. It was great, and one reason why I attended the conference beside presenting, to see Aaron in action.

As one of the key notes speakers and master class facilitators there were two opportunities to see him in action. His keynote was titled ‘Leading strategic projects and still having fun’. His focus was to outline 5 pillars for successful leading strategic projects. To accomplish them he outlined to ‘Take and Make the Power’, as you, as a project manager, are a mini CEO and the leader to deliver the business results. As projects are done to deliver business results, and you in charge, you need to combine the human sides with specific goals. 

It think, this is a very strong statement, that if you do not follow that, is an obvious reason why projects fail.

Many project managers do not request the power or to be empowered. Because, if you do have the power you have the responsibility, and when you have the responsibility, you need to deliver. You are on the spot.

How ever, if you love to deliver and love to have the responsibility and power, claim it and make it happen:

Take & Make the Power.

In regards of my current book project ‘Turn Around - Wenn Projekte kopfstehen und klassisches Projekt Management versagt‘, he mentioned some other interesting topics. He outlined, why in his opinion projects do fail. From my perspective projects do fail. They fail big or small and they are going through crisis. Full stop. So be ready. How ever, here are his reasons:

1. scope creep 
2. underestimated the effort
3. unexpected problems
4. weak communication, collaboration, motivation
5. fail to meet business requirements

From his perspective it could be comined in the level of uncertainty that he is trying to capture and identify before hand in his diamond approach.

In every project the knowledge curve is going up during the journey, and there for the higher the level of uncertainty you need to revise prior phases in your projects (Initiation, Planning and Execution) to reflect the better knowledge you have. The number of specification and design phases. Very interesting approach as in projects in my world you do not see that very often.

Just some thoughts from my view. Here are the sketch notes:

The next talk up that afternoon, March 18th, as part of the project zone congress, is another one by Lars Sudmann, who already gave an inspirational keynote this morning. So worth going.

He was talking about ten ideas how to engage and manage virtual teams.

Co-Located teams are outperformed by virtual teams.

but … this needs specific arguments and measures to apply. Lars speaks about ideas to make that statement happen.

In the area of Virtual Management, the overall management of virtual teams working in a virtual environment can be brought down to the following 5 ‘ideas’:

1. Proactive interaction - by having virtual coffees for example. To plan and structure communication that usually happens as part of a coincident, in the coffee area for example.
2. Reflect on your virtual image - How are you being perceived, are you eating, are you typing or otherwise distracted ?
3. Over-sahre with your virtual team - Share more than you usually would.
4. Performance Management - Measure the performance
5. Virtual Team Building - for example yearbook yourself (a website where you can do that online and create your personal yearbook of your team, have virtual kick offs or christmas parties if you want to drive it to the extreme.

In the area of Virtual meetings, the following ideas yould apply according to Lars:

1. Over Visualize - by using net meeting or other tools, draw pictures to support your message and share them, create your project logo together and so on.
2. Make Mini Movies - Use state of the art technology to share stuff and information in a different format
3. Speak like a Radio DJ - by standing up for example while you are in a telefon conference (higher your table, have a headset and speak free standing. You will realize that there will be a different attitude that you are getting across.
4. Interact - aks questions to engage your team and draw pictures together
5. Co-Create - whatever can be co-created have it co-created by the virtual team

and there is one final note he is giving:

Bring in the human side by ‘Sing Happy Birthday to Robert’

All this can or could be applied to your virtual team to make them work together more efficiently and outpace the co-located workers. Go an enjoy if you have the opportunity.

and enjoy the sketch note for the stuff that resonated:

Change is key, this is the title of a presentation by the current PMI Frankfurt Chapter President. Based on his experience he is giving us 10 Impressions what for him is important and gave him a balance between that ‘hard job’ project management and his overall life.

Under the term Project Management an Zen these are the 10 Impressions:

1. Identity - Who am I ? and Who are you?
2. Timeliness - What to DO at the right TIME?
3. Vision - Visualize your FUTURE?
4. Simplicity - What is Priority -> Focus on the Top 3?
5. Overcoming Worries - Accept Responsibility and Relax!
6. Hierarchy and Individualism -> You own your career!
7. Team Play - Players win Games and Teams win Championships
8. Missed number 8
9. Motiviation
10. Passion

Bottom Line for him its about the inner Balance, Know your Destination by looking at your way down and going back home.

Projects are people.

His last words in an engaging presentation. Thanks.

Resonate here:

1. The project became a TurnAround candidate
2. You’re bored
3. The project has been delivered but you have’nt realized 
4. Learning has ceased
5. Your health is declining
6. You’ve found something new
7. You’re having nightmares about your project
8. You’re gut says ‘go’
9. You can not deal with the sponsor any longer
10. The project is going nowhere

… how to speak in front of an non existing audience or in an empty room.

Just arrived at the conference center in Orlando, Florida, for the NASA Project Management Challenge and Conference one day ahead of the game and registered. Beside that, all the rooms were set up already and equipped, but empty. So I took the chance to sneak into my room that I am going to speak in tomorrow. Small projector wall (not seen on the picture and 200 spare seats. How ever, 950 people attending, aprx. 15 parallel streams (average of 60 to 70 participants for each presentation) and about 140 to 150 presentations during the day.

This is the room I am presenting in

and this is the benchmark, the Carribean Ballroom where the keynotes are taking place. May be next time.

A small little dream came true, I must say. I am not just attending the conference this year, taking place at the Caribe Hotel & Convention Center at the 22nd and 23rd of February, but I am also presenting.

950 delegates attending and about 140 to 150 presentations mostly held by NASA staff. I applied last year in August and got accepted on the back up list and 3 weeks prior to the conference got a spot.

It’s a delegate program with plenty of new impulses and project management practices applied at NASA and companies close to the program.

Just check out the program and you will see what I mean why I a proud to be contributing part of the conference.

Topics like ‘Lessons Learned from the Challenger Launch Decision’ and ‘Managing Space Projects in a Changing Global Environment’ are just two examples I am looking forward to.

How ever, if we think our projects are complex, think about the Apollo Program, yes, the one that went to the moon between 1969 and 1972, they have a Project where the goal is to manage the build, test and assemble of 2 million systems, not parts, but systems. Unbelievable and Impossible…. ? No, just scrap this out of your dictionary. Can’t wait.

In a project sometimes it might feel that your are flying with almost max G-Force and you are getting dizzy because of whatever situation and reason:
Close to go live the momentum accelerates and everybody is spinning like hell to make it.
or
In the middle of a project you have to go back from red and find mitigation measures and trying to juggle everything.
or
The team building exercises are so successful that you team feels like an unorganized ants hill
and there are many more situations you might feel dizzy
like when you forgot to drink throughout the day because you are so busy.
So here is a simulator (G-Force Trainer) to make sure you are prepared for those kind of situation and fit enough to not pass out. This simulator can be tested at Sky Club Austria in Austria close to Schladming.

Thanks Walter, for pointing this out to me and make it happen.