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Before a recovery phase can be formally mandated and endorsed there needs to be a comprehensive strategy for how to turn the troubled project around. This is part formal document, part action template, and part checklist – to be used to create a new project plan. As all projects are different, so too are the project recovery strategies that might be deployed. The uniqueness of what can go wrong is far beyond the uniqueness of how each project might go well. Thus, we cannot easily define a set of steps, procedures, and methodology for formulae for recovering projects in a general sense.
What we can do is create a strategy that adds relevant tools and approaches based on the nature of the project’s type of failure. These strategies take their form from the nature of the problems and threats as we have already discussed. Even when a project faces multiple problems from multiple sources we can combine these strategies into one that will be tailored to the situation we are in.
The strategy needs to cover everything that is special about a project’s current situation, its revised goals, and its most prominent changes. It is not a plan, but it needs to have enough detail to convince stakeholders of what the Recovery Manager intends to do. It is the core statement that defines the recovery strategy as a whole, and it needs to give hope that it can succeed.
Project Recovery is not a separate methodology that stands alone from others. Rather, it is a set of ideas that work directly within various methods and techniques to help rescue any project. We still need to understand and work within those methodologies whilst embarking upon any recovery efforts.
Each major methodology has its own attributes that create a conduit for project recovery to function within. They can vary greatly and the recovery manager must be just as familiar with this as they are with all the other elements and activities relating to project recovery.
When things go wrong people often tend towards their more habitual, instinctive or reactionary responses. Troubled projects can bring out many reactions in stakeholders, ranging from the mild and inadequate to the wildly over-reactive. Such projects do not become troubled overnight, and often part of their challenge lies within the way in which these troubles have been responded to thus far.
Knowing how to respond to a troubled project begins long before things become disastrous. Even if we cannot easily see the signs of a failing project, sometimes we can see the responses to them which hint at the darker issues underneath. Understanding the types of responses, and how to handle them, can help us maintain a realistic and relative response to a troubled project at each stage.
Entering a recovery phase for a project is an all-in decision that will reshape almost everything about the project and how stakeholders interact with it. The decision can be momentous, and the preparation for making it must be thorough, balanced and accurate. A decision to recover based on a flawed analysis can be even more damaging than the original project may have been.
Stakeholders in any project are always going to be a key factor in determining its success. In a troubled project some stakeholders may have become more agitated and expressive, others are tuning out, whilst some may be actively working against it. In a troubled project the stakeholder situation is usually more dynamic, dramatic and challenging.
A project leader will need to go beyond the normal tools for stakeholder management as there is likely to be more to deal with and at higher levels of intensity. Even if the project’s trouble is not due to the stakeholders, the usual methods of managing them are likely stretched thin or already broken. Something more might need to be done for a successful recovery phase.
The various methodologies that guide project management have existed and evolved for decades. What these frameworks and practices attempt to do is help us to avoid the worst of what can go wrong with any “temporary endeavour”. From these, we can learn various detailed methods of getting projects done right, or at least done well. However, when these methods fail we are often left with few options amid the chaos.
Then we read the statistics that we already know in our hearts – that so many projects are considered a failure. Even those which appear to succeed for some are often riddled with negatives, criticisms, and poor outcomes. Often our favourite project management methods offer little to help a project that has gone so far off the rails. Serious problems need a serious response, and project recovery is exactly the kind of drastic measure that might save the day – sometimes when nothing else can.
Projects struggle for many reasons, and some are more likely than others to lead to serious trouble. Identifying which problems to worry about first is a natural part of project management. However, identifying the unresolved issues which are more likely to lead to a recovery situation is even more important. The signs are usually there well in advance of a project going red.
Individual project challenges can vary, but how they affect project recovery decisions can be divided into certain categories. Some categories of problems affect a troubled project in particular ways, which are often predictable or patterned enough that we can formulate a response before they reach their worst state. What the smoke smells like can often tell us what is probably on fire.
The investigation of a troubled project must be held to a certain high standard. Audit techniques, interviews, exploration and avoiding assumptions are part of the process. The role of the recovery manager begins here, discovering what is really going on within the project to allow the creation of a recovery strategy.
The traditional project constraints are adequately dealt with in many methods, processes, and models. However, the full impact of these goes far beyond what can be covered by process. Many project managers are keen to get their projects underway fast and start getting into the action and delivering results. We love to get into the thick of things. Effective project leaders know that this early stage of our project is often the make-or-break phase for the entire project.
Knowing what our project is, how its components all affect each other, and what makes this project special – are all things that are wrapped up in the scope discussion. The integration and interrelationships between all project constraints mean that we cannot allow focus on some to cause inattention to others.
The scope and its value are inextricably linked but both sides of this coin must be covered. Most projects cannot focus entirely on building to specification, there is usually some element of being fit for purpose.
Managing time and cost in a project involves some of the most complex decisions and analyses we are likely to face. These constraints have many factors, many elements, and many possible traps. Despite this, they are often overshadowed by the demands of quality.
A project overdue or over budget might be a failure by degrees, but a project that doesn’t do what it needs to might be a 100% failure. In this way, quality is often the dominant restraint that modern project managers are now dealing with differently.
Projects are a solution to a problem, need or opportunity. How well the project can potentially yield benefits depends on how well we understand that need. A project deployed on a fanciful or ill-conceived basis may deliver something – but it may not be valued, appreciated or even wanted. This is a common definition of project failure and one that can create tremendous waste.
Every project needs a business case for the financial justification of its investment. This business case depends on a clear and deep understanding of the underlying need that the project’s results will fulfil. This is where the practices of Business Analysis, needs analysis, and solution design play a significant role in defining the business case.
Without a strong basis, any business case might be challenged on its weaknesses and cause risks to the project's success. Stakeholders will bring their needs into the equation later, and the project leader may face existential challenges. This is a common source of project pain.
Project pain is the earliest sign of misalignment that a project leader must deal with. Knowing where and how this arises – knowing project weaknesses – is important to the leader’s control of success factors. Pain leads to conflict, and the project can be pulled in different directions by different stakeholders.
Ultimately this can become the type of trouble that a project may need to react to with drastic measures. Trouble leads to failure, and this then leads to either project cancellation or to significant rework during a project recovery phase to try and rescue it. Knowing where and how all this arises from the business case is an important part of project leadership.
Projects are usually a direct result of a higher plan within the organisation. The intention, support, funding and expectations are driven by strategic goals defined by an executive strategy. The project is a means to achieve that strategy by creating non-ordinary outcomes. Thus, the connection between projects and their parent strategy is usually unshakable.
Governance is then the mechanism used to ensure that any project remains on track to support its original (or evolving) role within that strategy. These are mechanisms that create a conduit between project leadership and the strategic executive leadership on the trajectory of the project. Governance is all about making sure, and in particular, ensuring that the project continues to faithfully execute the its purpose in the strategic plan – or to assist with feedback that helps modify that strategic plan as needed.
This is where governance is on the lookout for the risks and troubles that lead to project failure. The strategic executives are usually less concerned about small issues like shifting constraints. They really need to understand the major pain points and conflicts that lead to real trouble.
As a governance function, project leadership must therefore focus some attention on the major sources of pain that can lead to serious conflict for the project. The cause and effect that eventually leads to real project trouble is the core concern for governance and the executive. A failed project is a disaster for the strategic plan – and this is where leadership must keep their eyes on the prize.
Among all of these are various sources of existential risk to the project. Some of these remain hidden due to the frailties of human thought, others come from outside of the project bubble. All of these must be addressed and compared to our clear and unambiguous definition of project success which we must always protect.
Projects rely upon the people who deliver them – the teams of people. Project leadership has a crucial role to play in how the people involved contribute to team success. There is no simple formula for this, the specifics are as varied as the people themselves. However certain norms and ideas can be applied across many different projects that come from the roots of human behaviour. The principles of team leadership, the use of EQ and their effect on culture form part of these.
A good leader must first be able to lead themselves. Knowing our own minds, our emotions and our motivations is a precursor to successfully understanding these things in others. This is a measure of our EQ, and it is a starting point for our ability to socially influence others. We are our own laboratory experiment, our own case study in human behaviour and response.
The challenges we face as a leader are often more acute when our interactions become difficult. Conflict is common, even among ordinarily harmonious teams. How we address team management and the conflicts that arise will determine how well we can influence our team to build success.
Any business will usually contain interesting and diverse personalities. Sometimes people will bring political conflict, alternate agendas, power plays and personal ambition into our project sphere. These must be anticipated and managed to allow the team to focus on the productivity goals. Juggling all of these issues with patience, understanding and wisdom is a key function for any leader.
As leadership is a social and subjective element of human behaviour, it is usually a reflection of the personality and behaviour patterns of each person. Whilst humans are infinitely unique, our behaviours do fall into ways that can be described, recognised and analysed. This is also true with our styles of leadership.
We distil leadership down into categories mainly to help us understand how to engage with them. We are not trying to simplify or constrain leadership methods, nor do we wish to enforce stereotypes or create behavioural norms or expectations. However, having some idea of how some leaders behave can give us a way to interpret and engage with them. It can also give us a starting point for how to emulate or strengthen our leadership traits.
Project leadership has some unique responsibilities upon its leaders, but it has more in common with other generic forms and applications of leadership than its differences. Studying these traditional leadership styles and ideas can give us insights into how these might apply in a project context.
Leadership within projects can have patterns or domains of behaviour. There are many project challenges, but they can be effectively categorised into domains that describe or define differences in how our leadership might apply. These domains often have competing interests and represent a balancing act that leadership must find a pathway through.
The basics of project management might appear to lie in the coordination of resources using a chosen methodology for a defined outcome. However, at the top of the profession lies a broader range of skills and demands that stretch well beyond anything under the definition of management. The difference between outstanding professional project managers, and those who are merely capable, lies not in their hard skills but in their soft skills and their understanding of these subtleties.
Project Leadership is leveraging all the technical, practical, and functional skills within project management. It is about taking any project by the scruff of the neck and dragging it, kicking and screaming if necessary, through to eventual success. It is also about being a shining example, a beacon of excellence that ushers a willing project forward to its ultimate shining glory.
More often, the harsh reality of current projects is that they face myriad obstacles, threats, and challenges throughout their lifecycle. Some arise before the project begins with flawed business justification, unmanaged stakeholders, and conflicting strategic goals. Others, such as resource competition, scope creep, political headwinds, and always-changing external factors, occur along the way. The result is that many projects get into deep trouble.
A great project leader cannot just keep their project on the narrow road to success. They are also equipped and capable of turning it around when it gets into trouble. Troubled and failing projects need an approach that the current how-to methodologies do not help us with. In these situations, we need far more than a process.
The final sections of the Standard revolve around the need to evaluate and improve ITSQM. With so much of the earlier portions of the Standard being part of planning and creation of the SMS, it is these final areas that may have some of the most impact on the day to day functions of the IT department. Here is where we monitor and respond to the daily grind.
This brings into focus the need to have a strong integration with other models that are relied upon during that daily grind. With ITIL being the close cousin to the Standard there is a strong need to integrate the two ideologies so that they can support each other. Whilst more senior stakeholders may understand and work with the Standard, most IT staff will live and breathe only ITIL. There needs to be an effective bridge between these.
Section 8 of the Standard details the operation of the service management system. This is the bulk of the document as this lays out all the key activities needed to run the SMS. Section 8 is the heart of the Standard and the part that most closely resembles ITIL in both form and function. It uses the same language and has the same structure.
However, Section 8 is both practical and explicit. Here we finally have elements that relate directly to day-to-day IT operations and which clearly specify what must happen according to the Standard. This functions as a guide to inform ITIL adoption on exactly what must not be overlooked, undercut, or compromised. This section could also be viewed as a Standard for ITIL execution.
Sections 5-7 of the Standard are those which deal with the preparations an organisation must go through before they can effectively operate their SMS according to the Standard. This sets out the obligations on leadership, in particular the decisions that leadership must make to properly plan and prepare for the SMS, as well as ensuring it is effectively resourced.
These sections underpin the main operations clauses which come later. This also sets out the relationship that the organisation as a whole needs to have with ITSQM in order for the Standard to be successful. Like most of the Standard, these sections do not reveal much of how to achieve its goals – but if anything were to be missing then operation of the SMS would be fatally flawed.
The ISO/IEC 20000 standard represents a significant milestone for any IT service team. More than this, it demonstrates that an important quality benchmark can be reliably met on an ongoing basis. This standard is becoming a de-facto requirement of large modern IT business. What was once a powerful differentiator is becoming an expected qualification for major organisations.
This standard has recently evolved and been updated, growing in scope and modernising to integrate more effectively with the evolution of other standards. Getting things done right in IT service is often challenging, getting it right consistently is much tougher. Proving you can get it right consistently is what this standard is all about. No exceptions, no excuses.
Here we get to the specifics of operating effective services under ITIL 4. These practices relate directly to the requirements, decisions and activities that need to be effectively managed to be able to deliver value from IT services. This is what many would consider to be the core of IT operations.
The mechanics of IT service delivery have been honed over decades of improvement and are now aligned with the best practices and the latest technology trends. This is not a “how to” but is a checklist of all of the areas of ITSM that need to have proactive decisions made about them. Successful ITIL 4 will not miss any of these. This topic is comprehensive and students should allow additional time to explore it.
The functions of ITSM usually operate in an organisational context. That is, there is usually an organisation around (and above) the ITSM function which includes all of the mechanisms, processes, forces and expectations that any organisation would face. These are not unique to ITSM and are generic and applicable to any business or operational objectives.
The ITIL 4 general management practices are aimed at these non-technical, and even non-IT challenges to running the generic portion of ITSM. The knowledge here is derived from general management and is a pre-requisite for any successful outcome – including successful ITSM. These things may be familiar to those who manage almost any other industry or profession, and yet are equally vital to ITSM.
The conversion of raw inputs into valuable outputs within IT service delivery is usually far more complicated than it sounds. Within ITIL 4 it is the Service Value System that offers guidance on this vast and complex set of interactions from all areas of the organisation. This is a fundamental and structural system that describes the key factors that will impact value creation.
It is here we find the ITIL guiding principles. These are concepts that are intended to guide our broader decisions on IT service management and serve as a form of thought leadership to create a good approach to ITSM. This also includes the value chain – a broad action model that serves as a revised life cycle for the creation and management of IT service value.
The delivery and maintenance of sound IT services relies on far more than just some clever people with good processes. Any IT service organisation needs to have many aspects of their operation working in tandem to support the goals and outcomes of IT service delivery. ITIL asks us to have a holistic perspective of the various forces that all work together to influence the results.
Within ITIL there are four dimensions of the IT service organisation that span the entire delivery of IT services. These represent the big picture, and all of these areas must be not only maintained but must work in close harmony together to deliver the best results. Interdependencies are the key to success, and any mature service provider must harness them effectively.
ITIL has undergone many iterations over the years. Whilst some of this has involved changes to the core guidance, some of the more profound changes have been in the key concepts that ITIL espouses to IT Service management. These key concepts underpin the ways in which ITIL (and indeed ITSM in general) is intended to be embraced and used.
These concepts are aimed more broadly than within IT, and they encompass the perspectives of business leadership and strategy, down to the ways in which the services are consumed. There has been a paradigm shift in the understanding of value and the role that IT services plays in achieving it. Understanding this alternative view of value creation is critical to understanding how to use ITIL.
This topic will introduce students to the modern concepts of ITSQM. We will explore the history and evolution of IT Service Management, and examine the forces that have led to the creation of the practices and standards we have today.
Things do not always go to plan in our professional communications. Despite our best intentions and efforts, we can find ourselves in conflict either directly, or between others. Navigating the tricky pathways to a successful outcome depends not only upon the situation and stakeholders – but also upon our ability to apply our communications skills to conflict resolution.
When the subject or context of the communications becomes confronting our ability to communicate effectively often suffers – just when we need to be at our best. When our emotions rise we often seek expression more than communication, we need to be heard more than understood. Understanding how these challenges affect human communications is a first step towards improving outcomes.
Most professional environments rely extensively on the need to get individuals working as a team. Helping these professionals to have an aligned understanding is only the first part of this challenge – the real obstacles often begin when they need to turn out collective results. Effective teamwork is the culmination of many of the elements of professional communications we have covered so far.
However, there is more to being a team than simply having aligned goals and synergistic inputs. True collaboration is where the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. This is the lofty goal of getting the best and the most from any team in terms of outcomes and success. This relies upon every trick, tip, tactic and skill we can muster from everything we know about professional communications.
Getting people to participate in the same conversation is one challenge, getting them to productively contribute to a higher purpose is quite another. Even when we achieve that, getting that gathering to yield long term value is often in the realm of minor miracles. Despite this many of us invest (or lose) countless hours in meetings, workshops, or discussions that fail not because they shouldn’t happen, but because they should happen better. People will continue to convene together to try to achieve results – whether they succeed usually depends upon the effectiveness of the leadership of that gathering.
Leadership is often talked about in the professional world, but is less often understood, and only rarely embraced. Leadership lies at the core of our professional relationships with others. It is not something we either have or don’t have, but something that we all do to a greater or lesser extent. Understanding what makes for effective leadership can help us all to improve our own leadership outcomes and add to our professional character. It also helps us more effectively recognise, follow and support good leadership around us for mutual benefit.
No matter how well we can create ideas, solutions or plans – at some point we will want to share those with others. It may be a single powerful decision maker, a small focus group, or a vast audience. It may be delivered in person, live and online, or as a video recording. Regardless, we will need to draw upon a set of skills and knowledge to deliver our message effectively. Getting our point across is only half the battle, as our main goal is ultimately to influence the decisions and actions of others that shape our world.
Presenting in person involves an understanding of human interaction at all levels. It is challenging for some of us as it invites judgement and can make us feel nervous. Delivering using technology can have the opposite problem, as well as adding new ones. Without other humans in front of us we might forget these basics of human interaction as we talk blandly to an impersonal camera. However, if we can keep track of the cause and effect of human interaction, we might overcome these obstacles to success. When we can consistently present a compelling message in all situations we can truly be in command of our own destiny.
Slide presentations are a mainstay of our professional life and a popular tool to get a message across to an audience. They have evolved over the years, and they vary as greatly as those who use them, but there are some fundamental principles upon which good presentations can be created. A slide presentation is merely a tool, but one that must not merely be used well, but designed and built well.
The most important component of any presentation is still the message, not the medium. Design is always important, but now we must consider the visual components of our communications. A good slide deck can propel a good message, but it cannot make up for a poor one. It can amplify a good presenter but cannot rescue a weak one. On the other hand, a poor slide deck can still ruin the best message and the most capable presenter.
Social networking is one of the forces that has helped define the past decade. Since the rise of Facebook, LinkedIn, and the various alternatives that have since sprung up, most of our connected population have been confronted with the challenges of an online life. This has had a profound effect on how we communicate with each other, in practical, emotional and psychological ways. It is no longer effective for professionals to ignore these forces, tools and situations.
Using social networking as a professional communications tool means navigating the etiquette as well as the technology. It means dealing with new influences and cause and effect. New paradigms and concepts. Just getting through it all can be challenging, but to leverage it for our personal success can seem like a form of wizardry. Fortunately, we are still human beings, and we still follow enough of the basic rules of interaction to allow us to make sense of it all – and to have a plan.
The widespread adoption of email back in the 1990s revolutionised much of the way we communicate in business. Since then other tools such as instant messaging, internet voice chat, web site text chat, and video conferencing have all added to the electronic options available to us. Whilst these tools can often be very convenient, it is often this very fact that can make them intrusive, annoying or overwhelming to some. These types of communication also suffer from a wide range of reactions depending on the familiarity (and age group) of the people they are aimed at.
Despite the challenges, the benefits of effectively adopting and leveraging digital communications can be profound. Organisations and professionals who can make the most of these tools are well positioned to leverage their own potential success. However, as the technology evolves so does the culture, etiquette and usage of these technologies. Despite this rapid evolution there are some fundamentals of the human digital experience that are consistent, and which can guide and inform us as we tackle the complexities.
The etiquette of business communication is a complex amalgam of tact, formality, practicality, accuracy and culture. This is the minefield of not just what we say, but how we say it. Knowing and observing the unwritten rules of business language can make a tremendous difference in how your message is received, perceived and therefore responded to.
Since the goal of all business communications is about the outcomes it can influence, our use of business language should be appropriate, precise and therefore carefully chosen. Making these careful choices requires us to understand the nuances of language when used for professional outcomes. We have to “talk the talk” whilst negotiating the tricks and traps of human interaction.
This topic will provide a basic understanding of the core elements of proper business language in a professional context. Students will learn about the psychological effects of spelling and grammatical errors, sentence construction, punctuation and how to change the phraseology for maximum effect. We will discuss the purpose of language and how to shape it as a tool using intent, focus and purpose. This topic also looks at the fundamental rules of communication, especially in written formats. We look at the relationships between those involved in any written exchange.
Questions to Ponder Consider the following questions as a guide to understanding this topic. Ask yourself how well you understand these principles and how satisfied you are that you can explain them.
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What effect does spelling and grammar have on our perceived credibility as an author?
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What is the effect of exaggeration, dramatic or emotional language in business writing?
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How might saying too much undermine our attempts at conveying understanding?
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What do we mean when we say that all reading of authored writing is actually a dialogue?
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What are the roles of a sentence, paragraph and section/page in the creation of a message?
Considerations As we explore business language take these considerations into account when forming your own opinions.
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Opinion should be carefully used in business and in a factual and controlled manner.
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The reader is constantly judging the message and the author whilst reading, including judging whether or not to keep reading.
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It is entirely the author’s responsibility to write with the intention to remove all obstacles to the understanding of the reader.
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We generally want to strike a fine balance between emotional engagement and intellectual engagement within a reader.
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The purpose of a message is to create an alignment of understanding in the reader.
The core concepts of communication theory are as varied and as complex as the human mind upon which they are based. There are many elements worthy of consideration, but a few of those stand out among them. Most communication is instinctive and subconscious, but like the rest of the human mind it still follows patterns, models and causality which can be explored and leveraged.
These are the principles that give us both a reason to make the effort to understand them, and the tools with which to improve how we use them. Once unlocked, the basic ideas behind why communication works (or doesn’t work) can reveal surprising ways to quickly and effectively improve our own.
7A - Process Model & EDM
7B - Process Model APO
7C - Process Model BAI
7D Process Model DSS and MEA