Project Manaverse

Summary:

• Poor stakeholder management.
• Bad planning and a poor project plan.
• Not creating a good team atmosphere.
• Not using and maintaining the project plan correctly.
• Being a project monitor but not a project driver.

In my 12 years in change management I have witnessed many IT projects. Not just mine, but also those of other project managers. I have come to learn the themes in projects that fail, and the project manager mistakes that cause them. Here are the top 5 project manager mistakes I have witnessed time and time again.

Number One: Poor stakeholder management

A stakeholder is anyone who has an interest in your project. Stakeholder managment could be described as how you manage your relationships with your stakeholders. Poor stakeholder management will lead to problems, if not disaster, for your project. Some examples of poor stakeholder management include –

• Not identifying all the stakeholders.
• Not keeping stakeholders well informed.
• Not including the correct stakeholders in the key decisions.
• Not securing approvals from all required stakeholders.

These mistakes can lead to problems on your project. Some of these problems include –

• Stakeholders trying to add work to your project (scope creep).
• Creating an unachievable project plan.
• An underperforming team with little drive or desire to work together.
• Gaps in your design.
• Blockers to achieving your key milestones on time.

Number two: Creating a poor project plan

The project plan is a project manager’s number one tool. Without a robust project plan, the project is likely to be unsuccessful. The project plan represents and summarises the entire project scope. It is the ‘answer’ and ‘path’ to how the project goal will be achieved. It clearly shows all the key activities in the most efficient sequence, and the timeline to which they need to be completed. Common mistakes that lead to a poor project plan include –

• The project manager trying to create the project plan alone.
• Not fully impacting assessing the feasibility of key activities and milestones. For example, are the test environments available? Is the resource available? Are there conflicts with other projects?
• Not seeking buy in and sign off from all stakeholders.
• Not identifying key dependencies that may prevent work from starting.
• Not highlighting the critical path. That is, the longest sequence of activities that bring you to your final delivery milestone.
• Not allowing for any contingency in the plan.
• Not presenting the plan in a clear format that all stakeholders can follow. For example, a clear plan on a page.

Number three: The project manager does not create a team spirit

A good team spirit or atmosphere will make a tremendous difference in the project. I believe it is the project manager, as the leader, who has the responsibility of creating it. Hallmarks of a project with great team spirit include-

• Team members enjoying the project and their tasks.
• Team members clearly understand the project goals, the project plan, and particularly the critical path milestones.
• Team members feeling they are in a safe environment where they are eager to share their opinions and not afraid to admit mistakes.
• There is very little or no blaming when things to wrong.
• There is occasional fun and laughter.
• Team members will go above and beyond what is expected of them (e.g working late or on weekends) without being asked to.
• Each team member truly cares about the success of the project.

Here are some common ways that project managers fail to create a team spirit –

• No project working group. This is a regular project meeting where all stakeholders are invited. It is the perfect place to discuss the plan, risks and issues, and ensure all voices are heard.
• The project scope and by extension the project plan are not crystal clear. Ambiguity leads to hesitation and procrastination. Your team members cannot fully embrace something they do not understand.
• The project manager does not show any enthusiasm for the project outcomes, or communicate any sense of urgency to get things done.
• The project manager is not in control of the project. In order for the project team to feel confident they are being lead to victory, they must feel confident in their leader. If they sense the project manager is not in control, it can be difficult to stay positive and optimistic.
• The project manager does not say thank you or praise their team members for good work. They do not share positive feedback to their stakeholders.
• The project manager overreacts and blames when mistakes are made. They do not show patience or encourage people to be open with and learn from mistakes. This can lead to errors being hidden which can lead to big problems down the line.

Number four: Not using the project plan correctly

A lot of work goes into creating a high quality project plan. However, it is extremely rare that a project plan will stay exactly the same throughout the duration of the initiative. Therefore, project plans need to be continually worked on. They need to be updated constantly. Moreover, they need to be used. A project manager should be using the plan daily to ensure that the correct tasks are being completed on time, and that the team is getting ready for the upcoming activities. Here are some commons ways a project manager will fail to use the plan correctly-

• Not assessing the risk status of each milestone (RAG status). It is essential the project manager is aware of any milestones that may slip.
• Not creating and executing a clear action plan to ensure any milestones at risk of slipping do not slip.
• Not constantly looking ahead to upcoming activities on the plan to ensure the required resources are ready to start them.
• Not sharing the plan with key stakeholders who may identity risks and issues with the plan.
• Not reassessing (from time to time) the feasibility of the overall plan to ensure it still holds together.

Number five: Not being a ‘driver’

In my experience many ‘projects managers’ are in reality project monitors. A project monitor will track the project, rather than drive the project. They will will be largely reactive, rather than proactive. They will log risks, rather than stop them becoming issues. They will report issues, rather than resolve them. A first class project manager must be a driver. They must have the desire, energy, urgency, and confidence to drive the project ever forward and ensure the plan is executed.

A difficult project will invariably fail if a driver is not leading it. If the project manager does not truly care about the success of the project, they will not bring fire and energy to the project. If there is no fire and energy, the team will not reach peak performance.

I believe there are two key reasons a project manager will not drive the project. Number one is that they do not a have the confidence because they do not have the experience. Number two is that they simply do not care enough. A project manager must find a reason to care enough about the success of the project to justify taking personal responsibility for the success of the project.

Conclusion.

As I said at the start, these are the most common mistakes made by project managers in the IT space. I encourage you to read the more detailed article I have linked to each mistake to learn more and ensure you avoid it!

Thanks for staying with me until the end of the article. I look forward to sharing more tips with you next time!