Tools: Project Teams Need 3 Things
07:25
Posted by jason tratch
3 things that greatly impact how well your team performs include:
1. Belonging
2. Significance
3. Boundaries
Then have a formal plan (include within the project plan and manage it like a deliverable) to help integrate those three
things to form the basis of your Project Culture. Finally, overlay that culture to continuously be Goal Oriented.
1. Belonging
Can be described as knowing where they fit within
the team and also organization. Both
are critical and will overlap, so one easy way to understand if there is an
issue is to ask the question out-right…. “how are you feeling in terms of
comfort and security with your overall position within the project and the company”. If this is not positive, you also need to have a strategy to address it as best you can (since likely you will not
have the time or the resources available – so be creative and let them know you will do your best)
Other aspects of belonging include understanding how each
team member is connected to others, every person wants to fit in and have
positive interactions and attention and this leads to trust, which leads to
strong communication/interaction and thus productivity & performance.
2. Significance
Can be described as the ability to have each
stakeholder understand how their capabilities are aligned with the project
demands. How can the project leadership
team enable all team members to make a difference in the project through
meaningful contributions – providing a sense of personal power. All humans are hard-wired with a need for
personal power and growth of their internal confidence that leads to
independence and essentially self-acutalization. No person wants to be
micro-managed and far too often a manager falls into the trap of:
- Tell a person what to do
- Tell then show a person how to do it
- Monitor the person while they are doing it and constantly
get involved
- Approve/Reject/Criticize then take over near the end
3. Boundaries
Every project has a plan. Although we want each team member to have self-independence and empowerment,
they must be working together and following the same path. We must allow small mistakes to occur and learn from and things will never be perfect and must have paths and culture for optimization. Too often companies establish high levels
rules, policies and excessive administration – which turns employees into
robots. Creativity and innovation are depleted, self pride and accountability become minimized and true value from the employee is lost. It is a fine balance as
to when do you micro-manage and when do you provide freedom to achieve work that you can see was your own and take ownership, pride and self-learnings from.
Tools to enable the 3 parameters include:
Belonging – org chart (diagrams for multiple levels), roles
and responsibilities (customized for each project), RAM (Responsibility and
Assignment Matrix), Communication Plan (swim lanes as to who to go to for what
and when), team building events
Significance – Transparency on Role Accountability and the
assigned person’s Capability (this is key and can leverage concepts fro
Requisite Organizational Design or Elliott Jaques methodologies), check point reviews
(what has been completed – celebrate milestones), recognition culture (do not
need to have tangible awards/gifts we all have a job to do and positive
recognition culture can be instilled into a team without a physical cost to the
project), alignment of project achievements with personal learning or growth
plans
Boundaries – Sponsor’s Vision charter, guidelines, codes of
conduct, plans, objectives, Constraints (money, time, scope, quality, HR), plans, scope statements, requisite organizational design models, work capability models, trust, measurement and monitoring systems, stop or red/yellow/green or go/no-go systems, informal reporting systems (simple/fast social media style updates), trust
Goal Oriented
All of this then must be combined
under a project culture that is Goal Oriented, tools that can help with that include: org design clarity (charts/structure), communication and accountability swim lanes, milestone visuals, bar charts (gannt charts), graphs,
spreadsheets, KPIs, CSFs, objectives, deliverables (ideally you can
have both tangible, concrete goals but do not forget to include the intangible,
subjective goals) and also the excerpts from specific documents such as: Concept, Proposal, Charter, Scope Statement, Project
Plan, etc.
Tools: Project Teams - Robots vs Innovative Problem Solvers
11:40
Posted by jason tratch
Every team needs a strong, strategic platform (foundation) to stand on.
Three things to establish within your team environment in order to make collaboration and risk management faster, easier and more successful, includes:
Three things to establish within your team environment in order to make collaboration and risk management faster, easier and more successful, includes:
- Belonging
- Significance
- Boundaries
1) Belonging
This can be described as knowing where they fit within the team and also the organization. Both are critical and will overlap, so one easy way to understand if there is an issue is to stop and ask the simple question …. “how are you feeling in terms of comfort for your position within the company”. If that is not addressed you must have a strategy to address it as best you can (likely there is a shortage of resources – so be creative J)
Other aspects of belonging include understanding how everyone is connected to others, every person wants to fit and have
positive interactions and trust, which leads to
strong communication, productivity and performance. A great mentor once told me, do you understand how you "fit the click".
2) Significance
This can be described as the ability to have every single person understand how their capabilities are aligned with work demands. How can leadership enable all team members to make a difference in the project through meaningful contributions – delivering a sense of personal power. All humans are hard-wired with a need for personal power which leads to growth of confidence that leads to independence and self-actualization. No person wants to be micro-managed.
However, do not get caught int he trap, since far too often a manager will create robots within the project team, and the team also starts to want to act this way, and thus an approach starts to form such as:
- Manager tells the employee what to do
- Manager tells how to do it
- Manager monitors the work and checks and gets involved
- Manager has to approve continuously
3) Boundaries
A plan must exist that sets the boundaries of the work to be completed. Every project must have a plan, Although we want each team member to have self-independence and empowerment,
they must be working together and be on the same journey. Multiple paths could be taken but they are all climbing the same mountain. Too often companies establish high levels
rules, policies and excessive administration – which turns employees into
robots. Thus, it is a fine balance as
to when do you micro-manage and when do you provide freedom to achieve the work and put your own mark on it. This is more of an art than a science and must align with the corporate values, vision and culture.
Tools
To help enable the three parameters listed above, tools that can be utilized include:
- Belonging – org chart (diagrams for multiple levels), roles and responsibilities (customized for each project), RAM (Responsibility and Assignment Matrix), Communication Plan (swim lanes as to who to go to for what and when), team building events
- Significance – Transparency on Role Accountability and the assigned person’s Capability (this is key and can leverage concepts fro Requisite Organizational Design or Elliott Jaques methodologies), check point reviews (what has been completed – celebrate milestones), recognition culture (do not need to have tangible awards/gifts we all have a job to do and positive recognition culture can be instilled into a team without a physical cost to the project), alignment of project achievements with personal learning or growth plans
- Boundaries – Sponsor’s Vision charter, guidelines, codes of conduct, plans, objectives, Constraints (money, time, scope, quality, HR)
- Priorities - always know AND understand the expecations and the level of importance (priorities) for your work and then also the work that is to be done by your organization
- Hiring - don't hire by the resume only, know and understand the personality, they need to fit, it will be a great benefit and win-win for both the person and the company
- Overall: ensure the Project Team has established a Goal Oriented Culture (environment, theme, feel) that works collaboratively towards achieving measurable goals. Tools to help with goal management include: strategies, KPIs/CSFs, objectives, deliverables, schedules, bar charts (gannt charts), graphs, spreadsheets, milestones, (ideally you can have both tangible, concrete goals but do not forget to include the intangible, subjective goals) and also the excerpts from specific documents such as: Proposal, Charter, Scope Statement and Project Plan
Thoughts: Get it together with "personal responsibility"
10:59
Posted by jason tratch
Read a blog where this guy has so much energy and passion it is amazing! He also links that energy/passion to a structured approach, thus he is highly successful.
I wanted to share his blog (descriptive words below) and a link to his video.
Brendon Burchard Blog Post...
I wanted to share his blog (descriptive words below) and a link to his video.
Brendon Burchard Blog Post...
Life blooms when we take responsibility for our full human experience. To be personally responsible and self-reliant means we have to get our sh*t together and decide to have command over these five areas:
1. Our Aim. What is our goal, our direction, our purpose? What is it that we are moving toward and organizing our lives to achieve and contribute? These are questions of the motivated and purposeful human.
2. Our Attention. Are the things we continually focus on bringing us joy, success, connection, growth? Or are we being distracted by a bunch of garbage and gossip in life?
3. Our Attitude. The power plant doesn’t have energy, it generates energy. Similarly, we don’t have an attitude, we generate one. When we choose to generate a negative energy and attitude, life is horrible. But when we choose to generate and broadcast a joyous, loving, and positive energy, life opens up to us, people feel something new from us, and our entire life blooms and grows.
4. Our Affections. Are we connecting with those we love and sensing the beauty of this life? The emotional quality and connections we feel in life are also a choice, and we should choose to feel again, to love again, to become passionate and emotionally open, giving, strong and vibrant.
5. Our Actions. Our destiny is dictated by our disciplined actions - what we do each day, the habits we develop, our purposeful efforts. Take no action, have no life, no adventure, no progress. But overcome apathy and fear and get going and soon there is magic and momentum and what we love to call, the charged life.
Link to his video that aligns with this topic:
His video really talks to personal responsibility and self-reliance!
When looking at your project successes and failures look first to yourself :)
Tools: Org Structure Clarity = Success in Project & Business
08:08
Posted by jason tratch
A system rapidly gaining popularity in projects and business is from Elliott Jaques. A Canadian psychoanalyst and organizational psychologist, known for developing the notion of Requisite Organization from his 'Stratified Systems Theory'. (Wikipedia, see Elliott Jaques).
The more I study this, the more I realize how complex people and system interactions are within both business and project environments (you cannot have one without the other - so must link both with common platforms).
He continues to help remind us and clarify organizational structure with statements such as..... To be employed is to have an ongoing contract that holds you accountable for doing work of a given type for a specified number of hours per week in exchange for payment. Your specific tasks within that given work are assigned to you by a person called your manager (or boss or supervisor), who ought to be held accountable for the work you do.
These basic concepts and definitions can be simple, yet they can be sensitive and may lead to people having different understandings. Another reason as to why so many businesses and projects fail. Much stress is due to mis-understanding of roles, accountability and management interaction".
Can an organizational theory help us manage failure and risk (and Stress!!!)?
The requisite organization theory in its entirety is a great tool that can be leveraged. It can be quite complex, but two core insights can be considered, as taken from the article:
The requisite organization theory in its entirety is a great tool that can be leveraged. It can be quite complex, but two core insights can be considered, as taken from the article:
Insight 1
The first, is about potential capability and has to do with an innate quality of human nature: the amount of complexity that we can handle when we make a decision. This is complex to assess and often takes 100s of interviews and training to accurately assess, but is something objective and scientific when compared to most HR methods and practices. One of the simple indicators is the length of time span that the person works on (how long does the job or task take to be completed, is the person working on 1 day, 1 week, 3 month, 1 year, 7 year, 15 year jobs). So thus people can be placed into strata, e.g. levels 1 to 7, based on the type of work they do.
The first, is about potential capability and has to do with an innate quality of human nature: the amount of complexity that we can handle when we make a decision. This is complex to assess and often takes 100s of interviews and training to accurately assess, but is something objective and scientific when compared to most HR methods and practices. One of the simple indicators is the length of time span that the person works on (how long does the job or task take to be completed, is the person working on 1 day, 1 week, 3 month, 1 year, 7 year, 15 year jobs). So thus people can be placed into strata, e.g. levels 1 to 7, based on the type of work they do.
Insight 2
The second is about managerial accountability. Every boss is accountable not just for overseeing subordinates, but for their results. It means that if people who report to you "screw up," you can't blame them. You either have to give them the support and coaching they need, or have the authority to rotate them to other posts, because you will be held responsible. A couple interesting aspects of this, is that a manager can refuse an employee that reports to them (have them moved to another job/position), and also the employee should have a Formalized Review Process (development & future growth) which should be managed by the manager once removed (two levels up) and not by the direct manager.
The second is about managerial accountability. Every boss is accountable not just for overseeing subordinates, but for their results. It means that if people who report to you "screw up," you can't blame them. You either have to give them the support and coaching they need, or have the authority to rotate them to other posts, because you will be held responsible. A couple interesting aspects of this, is that a manager can refuse an employee that reports to them (have them moved to another job/position), and also the employee should have a Formalized Review Process (development & future growth) which should be managed by the manager once removed (two levels up) and not by the direct manager.
Granted, this type of system should have one key thing..... Trust with Positive Intent. In the end, establish that as much as you can, then remember to create a formal plan (roll out plan) as to how you will integrate systems such as Elliott's (as per above). Understanding and balance of Systems and Psychology will always create new opportunities for learnings and less stress and thus keep project management exciting!!!
Thoughts: Embrace New Technologies and Re-Frame how we think
07:57
Posted by jason tratch
Humans love routine and comfort in what they know and how to do things. Humans often associate change with stress and think that learning new things was meant to be done back in the days of school/university or the occasional course that the company pays you to attend and is outside work.
How can we embrace the fact that things are changing at faster and faster rates!
In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide. Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and became bankrupt. Did you think in 1998 you would never take pictures with a roll again?
Yet digital cameras were invented in 1975. The first ones only had 10,000 pixels, but followed Moore's law. So as with all exponential technologies, it was a disappointment for a long time, before it became superior.
This will continue to happen with Artificial Intelligence, health, automation and electric power, 3D printing, agriculture and education/jobs.
Some are calling it the 4th Industrial Revolution and the Exponential Age.
Couple quick points that are against the normal way of thinking when you build a business:- Uber is just a software tool, they don't own cars and are now the biggest taxi company in the world. - Airbnb is now the biggest hotel company in the world, although they don't own any properties.- Law firms are operating without lawyers (get legal advice within seconds, with more accuracy) - computers are assisting doctors/nurses diagnose diseases
How about cars...
The complete industry will start to be disrupted. You don't want to own a car anymore it can be shared (social media style) or rented. You will call a car with your phone, it will show up at your location and drive you to your destination. You will not need to park it, you only pay for the driven distance and can be productive while driving. Our kids will never need a driver's licence or own a car. It will change the cities, because we will need 90-95% less cars for that. We can transform former parking space into parks. 1,2 million people die each year in car accidents worldwide. We now have one accident every 100,000km, with autonomous driving that will drop to one accident in 10 million km. That will save a million lifes each year.
Take a look at the link below to see innovative architects, engineers and water experts that are designing brand new communities that are already aligned with this:
http://www.ccgazette.ca/wp/?p=7280or see full video athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BpGo0rs99c
Most car companies might become bankrupt. Traditional car companies try the evolutionary approach and just build a better car, while tech companies (Tesla, Apple, Google) will do the revolutionary approach and build a computer on wheels.
How about 3D printing...
The price of the cheapest 3D printer came down from 18,000$ to 400$ within 10 years. In the same time, it became 100 times faster. All major shoe companies started 3D printing shoes. Spare airplane parts are already 3D printed in remote airports. The space station now has a printer that eliminates the need for the large amout of spare parts they used to have in the past.
Project and Business opportunities:
If you think of a niche you want to go in, ask yourself: "in the future, do you think we will have that?" and if the answer is yes, how can you make that happen sooner? If it doesn't work with portable devices, forget the idea.
How about projects and work:
70-80% of jobs will disappear in the next 20 years. There will be a lot of new jobs, but it is not clear if there will be enough new jobs in such a small time. Take control of your projects and ensure they are solution based and align with value not only today but into the future (which is coming fast).
Q - How can we manage our stress and be able to work on projects and continue to maximize success.?
Hopefully we are open to new innovations, excited to learn new things, learn how to live with change and step outside our routines.
This article has been edited by Jason Tratch but the framework was taken from a series of thoughts in a Facebook post by: Udo Gollub with Messe Berlin, April 22, 2016 (Berlin Germany)
Tools: every project must have a WBS
12:22
Posted by jason tratch
It is key to break down your work into packages that make sense to the team.
The smaller you break it down, mis-communication and risk can be managed easier.
It is a balance though - as to how much time and effort is spent on breaking it down during the planning stage. Thus be aware and align with the risk tolerance or risk thresholds that exist within the project.
Decomposition is the breakdown of project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components until the work and deliverables are defined to the work package level. The work package level is the lowest level in the WBS. Generally, the hierarchy of the breakdown levels include:
1 - Phases
2 - Deliverables
3 - Sub Deliverables
4 - Work Packages
Note: the next beakdown level is to focus on a verb-noun format and is now at a much greater level of detail but Project Management Institute (www.pmi.org) considers this a separate part of the work plan, essentially an Activity List is a sub-set of a Work Package (however some people consider this to be an extension of the WBS which is common business practice).
5 - Activites
6 - Tasks
The most bottom level (work package) is the point at which the level of cost/effort and amount of time for the work can be estimated with a strong level of confidence. The level of detail will vary with the size and complexity of the project, knowledge/experience of the team and timeliness of project deadlines. The adequate level of detail is often when the work can be easily delegated to an owner who can complete the task with little risk of misinterpreting of what work needs to be completed.
Some deliverables may not have enough details, information available, or clear understanding of the scope so detailed breakdown can be delayed until later in the project. This technique is sometimes referred to as rolling wave planning.
As the work is decomposed to lower levels of detail, the ability to plan, manage, and control the work is enhanced. However, excessive decomposition can lead to non-productive management effort, inefficient use of resources, and decreased efficiency in performing the work. The project team needs to seek a balance between too little and too much in the level of WBS planning detail.
A good way to support this concept is to always use Nouns in the WBS. There should be no action words (verbs). A verb generally indicates you have broken down the work too far. The level that utilizes verbs will be discussed in the Activity List section.
It is critical to have a strong facilitator conduct the WBS sessions. Generally the Project Manager will act in this role. The first priority is to ensure the correct stakeholders are involved at the most efficient and effective levels that are being broken down. For example invite higher up management to breakdown the highest levels of the WBS and lower level managers, more hands on to breakdown the lower level more detailed work. Ensure all stakeholders understand the sum of all the work before starting and at the end of each session.
It is generally more effective to focus on smaller areas of the WBS at a time (not the entire WBS), unless it is the first session and you have a diverse group of stakeholders that can address all areas of the project. If you are breaking down the work and are not successful at getting to the detailed levels, reassess the invitation list and ensure the correct roles are involved in the next session.
To have a team identify and agree upon all the
work that is required to complete the project requires patience,
cooperation and very strong analytical thought processes. Structuring and
organizing the project work into a WBS that can meet requirements of the
project management team and the key stakeholders requires great effort and
commitment. Any opportunity to leverage work that has been done before is
highly recommended.
Although each project is unique, a WBS from a previous project can often be used as a template for a new project, since some projects will have certain areas of work that are similar. Many organizations have standard WBS templates for the specific area of work (functional departments).
The resulting structure can take a number of forms, such as:
An easy way to further understand the WBS concept is to view the numerous types that exist and can be leveraged as "boiler templates" for your work. One can easily conduct a search on the web for WBS Templates or check out the link below:
WBS Sample Templates
The smaller you break it down, mis-communication and risk can be managed easier.
It is a balance though - as to how much time and effort is spent on breaking it down during the planning stage. Thus be aware and align with the risk tolerance or risk thresholds that exist within the project.
Decomposition is the breakdown of project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components until the work and deliverables are defined to the work package level. The work package level is the lowest level in the WBS. Generally, the hierarchy of the breakdown levels include:
1 - Phases
2 - Deliverables
3 - Sub Deliverables
4 - Work Packages
Note: the next beakdown level is to focus on a verb-noun format and is now at a much greater level of detail but Project Management Institute (www.pmi.org) considers this a separate part of the work plan, essentially an Activity List is a sub-set of a Work Package (however some people consider this to be an extension of the WBS which is common business practice).
5 - Activites
6 - Tasks
The most bottom level (work package) is the point at which the level of cost/effort and amount of time for the work can be estimated with a strong level of confidence. The level of detail will vary with the size and complexity of the project, knowledge/experience of the team and timeliness of project deadlines. The adequate level of detail is often when the work can be easily delegated to an owner who can complete the task with little risk of misinterpreting of what work needs to be completed.
Some deliverables may not have enough details, information available, or clear understanding of the scope so detailed breakdown can be delayed until later in the project. This technique is sometimes referred to as rolling wave planning.
As the work is decomposed to lower levels of detail, the ability to plan, manage, and control the work is enhanced. However, excessive decomposition can lead to non-productive management effort, inefficient use of resources, and decreased efficiency in performing the work. The project team needs to seek a balance between too little and too much in the level of WBS planning detail.
A good way to support this concept is to always use Nouns in the WBS. There should be no action words (verbs). A verb generally indicates you have broken down the work too far. The level that utilizes verbs will be discussed in the Activity List section.
It is critical to have a strong facilitator conduct the WBS sessions. Generally the Project Manager will act in this role. The first priority is to ensure the correct stakeholders are involved at the most efficient and effective levels that are being broken down. For example invite higher up management to breakdown the highest levels of the WBS and lower level managers, more hands on to breakdown the lower level more detailed work. Ensure all stakeholders understand the sum of all the work before starting and at the end of each session.
It is generally more effective to focus on smaller areas of the WBS at a time (not the entire WBS), unless it is the first session and you have a diverse group of stakeholders that can address all areas of the project. If you are breaking down the work and are not successful at getting to the detailed levels, reassess the invitation list and ensure the correct roles are involved in the next session.
Although each project is unique, a WBS from a previous project can often be used as a template for a new project, since some projects will have certain areas of work that are similar. Many organizations have standard WBS templates for the specific area of work (functional departments).
The resulting structure can take a number of forms, such as:
• Using the major
deliverables and subprojects as the first level of decomposition;
• Using subprojects where the subprojects may be developed by organizations outside the project team. For example, in some application areas, the project WBS can be defined and developed in multiple parts, such as a project summary WBS with multiple subprojects within the WBS that can be contracted out. The seller then develops the supporting contract work breakdown structure as part of the contracted work;
• Using the phases of the project life cycle as the first level of decomposition, with the project deliverables inserted at the second level;
• Using different approaches within each branch of the WBS, example feasibility, analysis, design, actual product, service or end result, testing, pilot, training, support/warranty, etc.
• Using subprojects where the subprojects may be developed by organizations outside the project team. For example, in some application areas, the project WBS can be defined and developed in multiple parts, such as a project summary WBS with multiple subprojects within the WBS that can be contracted out. The seller then develops the supporting contract work breakdown structure as part of the contracted work;
• Using the phases of the project life cycle as the first level of decomposition, with the project deliverables inserted at the second level;
• Using different approaches within each branch of the WBS, example feasibility, analysis, design, actual product, service or end result, testing, pilot, training, support/warranty, etc.
An easy way to further understand the WBS concept is to view the numerous types that exist and can be leveraged as "boiler templates" for your work. One can easily conduct a search on the web for WBS Templates or check out the link below:
WBS Sample Templates
Tools: "Business" Success in Project & Business Management
13:47
Posted by jason tratch
Project & Business Management have many technical aspects that can easily follow logic. This can also thus be easily learned (business school, conferences, books, memorization).
This leads to many people that understand detailed project methodologies and systems, but don't really know how to link it to Business Success.
They lack understanding in the difference of getting the job done - so you can check off your requirements box VS delivering high performance value that leads to making a business impact.
Many businesses identify and assign project/business goals (quarterly/annually), then go into a zombie type of work mode that focuses on "working hard, putting in time, checking the boxes and then getting a bonus once it gets done" attitude. This gets work done and can be perceived as success, but then so much "is left on the table".
The opportunity is that typical businesses lack clarity on definitions of business value and performance and focus too much on requirements. I also think this can in part be attributed to the fact that projects and business involve people and people sometimes do not follow logic.
Solutions evolve and risk events occur continuously (small, large and are cumulative). People are the greatest influence on risk management and they themselves can be very unpredictable month over month based on many, many variables including:
- things at home,
- personal conflicts,
- lack of trust,
- past history,
- variance in knowledge/skills/experience,
- culture,
- expectations,
- vested interest,
- personal strengths/inhibitors,
- capability performance index,
- etc
This is why so many businesses are turning to smaller, more modular projectized environments. To help get work done try to break down the work and then also the definitions of value/success and performance into smaller, simpler, more manageable pieces. Take shorter term views (temporary with a distinct start and finish) with staged, formal milestones from the very start to very end. Understand there will be uniqueness to the project based on variables of the people and the risks at that given time. Draw upon the past, leverage a common platform from which to work from, but then be agile and open since if a business process is not working, persist, persist, adapt and overcome.
Sample tools include:
1) Intangible Assessment: once you have the requirements, step back and reassess from the higher level (put your CEO hat on) and question the theory side of things, the value definitions, the justifications. Clearly formalize how you define value, success and performance. Then understand a process how to adapt if those definitions start to change as the project gains clarity (so if the project changes, then revisit and adapt the definitions as needed - be realistic).
2) Tool Re-Assessment: re-assess the concrete systems, tools, templates and technical practices, confirm if they are well aligned with both the work and the team, understand the difference between policies, procedures and guidelines (which are which)
3) Org Design Assessment: assess the team in place, do not be afraid to change it, it is nothing personal, tooooo often we do not properly allocate the people to the prioritized work, we set the people into their jobs, then new jobs take who ever is available, ensure the culture is open that people will be moving around based on the business priorities and the fit between the job and the people
4) Milestone Check Points: schedule far in advance (entire project) the milestone checkpoints that focus on critical success factors (CSFs) and have a formalized process to do so. Try to avoid pure gut-feel decisions and utilize graphs to supplement the progress. Some checkpoints may take days to prepare and execute, other checkpoints may take hours. If things are not working to plan, do not be afraid, you need to understand why (not only what) and then understand who are the right people to involve. Often the opportunity for improvement (OFI) is with the people and how they understand and respect the processes and technologies they have available - in order to help everyone achieve "Business Success".
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