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Geese and Program Management An Analogy to Working Together for Successful Program Management David L. Davis, PMP Introduction Implementing Program Management is much more of a journey than an event. The care and feeding of the projects is a constant demand for successful program / portfolio management. This paper will use an analogy of geese and their migratory habits to describe the interrelationship of various components of program management. Basic Assumption The benefit of an integrated program management system is to ensure information is communicated through current, consistent, clear, concise, and comprehensible content for all projects and portfolios in the program. Abstract Like programs, geese have a well defined life cycle / year and are dependant on flock maturity to survive. Both undertake long journeys laden with risk and uncertainty. The members of the flock must work together. All geese benefit from each other’s flapping of wings – in program management each must use the strength of the other projects. Finally, the geese survive on communication; a program must survive by clear, concise, current communication across the portfolio. Just as geese survive by maximizing the skills and condition of each member, a program must utilize the skills and conditions of each project / project manager to survive. A basic philosophy of mine is that the IPMS should be structured logically so data is only entered once. The thought being that duplicate entry points can lead to discrepancies and other time wasters. If the project plan is baselined, then the project is baselined. That means that all tasks in the WBS and all major milestones are defined, assigned, and agreed to. So if all the tasks are baselined, then the system can easily roll that up to the entire project being baselined. However I still encounter resistance and hear, that if there was just a check box, I could quickly indicate its baselined and not have to mess with the whole project thing. I firmly believe that putting in capabilities that promote discrepancy is a major cause of failure in IPMS implementation. At times it seems that a 5 minute fix is all that’s needed and a more integrated solution is over-engineering. However, over time, the quick fix starts to haunt the IPMS credibility and the time required to synch up all the pieces ends up costs hours and hours. Plus, every time the IPMS shows inconsistency, the overall adoption of the tool is compromised. Exhbit 1 Why Geese First and foremost, I am a practitioner of project/program/portfolio management. As such, I have daily exposure to positives and negatives. I also have the honor of providing application administration for several organizations implementing Integrated Portfolio Management Systems (IPMS). I remember a Thursday afternoon in 2005 in which I had implemented what I thought was a simple process for organizations to follow to identify a project plan as baselined in the application and that a subsequent report would use that information to identify the baseline status of the project schedule. To me it was quite simple, use MS Project to baseline the project and then upload the project file to the IPMS. The report would use the baseline start date to determine if the project was baselined. Simply put, if there was a value in the field, it was baselined, if the field was null, the project was not baselined. To say the least, one group grasped this quickly and understood the relationship. They were able to implement this process immediately. Another group did not fare so well. They couldn’t understand the relationship – they wanted a field on the project page they could check as baselined (Exhibit 1) On one of my introspective moments I was contemplating why some organizations were “better” at portfolio management than other organizations. I thought it maybe had to do with skill sets, aptitude, knowledge. Just about then, a good friend sent me an email with the subject of how Geese are able to succeed in their long migrations © 2007, David l. Davis, PMP Originally published as a part of 2007 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Seattle 1 because of how they work together. So I introspected some more and started to realize the relationship – thus this paper. More of an analogy from a practitioner, than a self-proclaimed silver bullet guaranteed to solve all your problems in one swell foop. What Do I Know About Geese? As I started to put this paper together, I started to think what do I know about Geese. Quite frankly I realized it wasn’t much. I scratched down my thoughts and was able to determine what the following: I grew up in the Western Lake Erie basin and every year there were large migrations of Canadian Geese. These geese flew in a V formation and made a lot of noise. Their honks could be heard from a long distance and their migration had a majestic flair. Our corporate headquarters had many geese living around it and they would walk around the sidewalks and make a large mess. They could fly a long distance for a relatively large bird. They were better at protecting property than a watch dog. As teenagers, we were going to toilet paper a classmates yard and their geese made such a ruckus – we were chased away. Geese bite, and it hurts. Life expectancy about 20 years, Weight: 20-25 pounds Migration is a learned process Migratory geese flight range 2 – 3 thousand miles Migratory geese become resident geese if they are injured. Mating season: February to March Geese mate for life and will stay together during all seasons., but Geese will find a new mate if mate dies. Nesting Season: Mid March to mid May, Age of geese when they begin to nest: 3 years Geese return to the general area of their birth each year to mate and nest. Sometimes the exact site, sometimes a nearby pond or other body of water. Migratory geese fly 2,000–3,000 miles to return to these sites. Geese prefer isolated sites near water to nest. Islands are their favorite location. When egg laying begins the "Father" goose will stand sentinel watch nearby, but not so close as to give away location of nest to a predator. When a solitary goose is seen during nesting season a nest is somewhere in the vicinity. The eggs in a nest are called a "clutch", Average number of eggs in a nest: 5 Mother goose lays 1 egg approximately 1 day apart until full clutch is obtained., Incubation time: 28 – 30 days All geese eggs in a single clutch hatch on approximately the same day Baby geese are called "goslings". Natural predators of geese are foxes, raccoons, owls and snapping turtles Goslings can fly approximately 2-3 months after hatching. During June adult geese lose wing feathers and are unable to fly. This is called molting. Geese can fly again approximately 6 weeks after molting. During the molt geese need to be near water (any water) for easy escape from predators The next step was obvious, if I were to learn more about Geese and how they work together, then I needed research and did my quick jump to www.google.com. I found some pretty amazing facts which I list in exhibit 2. As I looked over this list of Exhibit 1 Facts About Geese facts I realized that there are many similarities between people and geese. The main similarity is the relationship to the individual and the flock. In a goose gaggle, the survival is dependant on a relationship of learned behavior and individual instinct. Each group performs specific tasks to protect the other members of the team, each is capable of incredible physical performance, each is part of a tem, but needs space alone to complete their tasks, each has predators and competitors, and finally, each has engrained patterns that they will not abandoned until forced to change. A light bulb suddenly went off during my introspective moment as I was reading my goose email. Successful Program Management is a behavioral issue, not a technical issue. So the key to successful program implementation is a support structure across the organization, so the challenge becomes how to get members of the same team to work together and gain efficiencies. © 2007, David l. Davis, PMP Originally published as a part of 2007 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Seattle 2 Behavioral Issue Using the premise that the success of a portfolio management is a behavioral issue and not a technical issues is the foundation of the analogy between geese and program management. In the simplest sense, behavior is the reaction of an individual to various stimuli. Behavior can either be acquired or instinctive. This paper looks at the acquired aspects of behavior and how the influence of other members of the team, and the survival of the team is dependant on this behavior. Appendix 1 contains a copy of a posted entry to my blog on ITTOOLBOX http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/dldavis/ comparing Maslow’s Hierarchy to Program Management. This model defines an escalating level of individual behavior based on the needs of the individual project manager. These needs are cultivated and nurtured by peers, coaches, and organizational culture. Thus there is a direct correlation between individual performance and the team of which the individual is a member. One of the largest challenges to adoption that I have encountered is related to team members ‘baselining’ artifacts within the Portfolio Management Tool. I have had to deal with claims such as: “It’s a project management tool and I don’t have time to access another system” or the infamous, “I wrote the document, or filled out the spreadsheet form, why do I need to go into a system and baseline it?” What do you want me to do? Sell to customers or do busy work in a system?” The simple answer is yes, I do want you to spend a small amount of time indicating concurrence to an artifact for the project. The time commitment is minimal and the value of a time stamped baselined document is invaluable. It represents an agreed to snap shot in time contained in a central repository. Other stakeholders can access this document if necessary, and permissions allowed, and the overall process can be analyzed with empirical data to determine opportunities for improvement. In a true team environment that spans multiple organizations (sales, operations, development, etc.) adherence to a policy and agreement that the IPMS contains the business information for all Work In Progress, the baselining expectation is easily understood and encounters little resistance. Executives need to demonstrate the need for attention to this minutia so there is consistent process and data across the enterprise. Compliance to process cannot be handled from the bottom up. By looking at how geese work together, a Exhibit 2 IPMS Rant 2 program management process can significantly increase the productivity of each project manager in the team. The attitude and aptitude of members of the program management team is critical to the success of the program. There is a relationship between projects, project managers, artifacts, and risk items. One of the expectations of a program management tool is to allow a PMO manager to be able to scan across down and into each component of a project. The challenge of a Portfolio Management Organization involves how to keep each project current, how to cross reference components, how to insure compliance of the team members, how to help other areas of the business adopt the tool, how to assist wounded projects (think goose shot by a hunter) and how to encourage each other. Also, the goose has a family unit that teaches new goslings the rules of survival and how to gain efficiencies from each other – how do project managers train each other and gain efficiencies from the tool? Geese Behavior and Program Management Geese think and behave as a group in order to survive, we can learn from the goose on how to better manage the projects within the program. The remainder of this paper will look at how, and inspire you to look at opportunities to better identify and capitalize on the power of the team and the tool in program management. Why do Geese fly in a V formation? Geese migration is an example of where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The email stated that by flying in a V formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flies on its own. A common direction and sense of community helps the geese get to their destination quicker and also allows an organization to realize the benefits of portfolio management earlier. One of the intrinsic benefits of a portfolio management tool is the capability it provides to track and timestamp various artifacts and steps within the defined project process. This audit trail capability may not have a day-to-day use, but provides a wealth of information regarding timeframes for various phases and information to conduct lessons learned. This audit trail will also provide detail for Sarbanes Oxley audits or other legal reporting needs. © 2007, David l. Davis, PMP Originally published as a part of 2007 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Seattle 3 Falling Out of Formation Whenever a goose falls out of foundation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone. Everybody has the best of intentions, but taking care of the low level minutia that makes up a portfolio management system is cumbersome, time consuming, and some people may see it of little value. A basic premise of a portfolio application is that executive levels of information can be gleamed from multiple projects at one time. However, to get that executive level, the lowest of details must be there and many project managers will not put it in, unless they are hounded to put it in, or they are ‘punished’ if they don’t. Excellence is a mindset and the middle manager MUST maintain vigilance to insure compliance. This represents a behavioral issue for both the project manager and the coach. There will be a large amount of energy required to make sure all the details are nurtured to make the executive view accurate and usable. If its not in the tool – it doesn’t exist There is a tendency among project managers, and their associated coaches to take action prior to documenting the real issue. I try to practice the rule that if it isn’t in the tool, it doesn’t exist. I believe that by taking the time to think through the issue, writing it down, and documenting it in the tracking tool is actually a time saver instead of immediately calling a conference call to discuss the issue. Many items are lost and time wasted by not having the discipline to use the IPMS and defined processes to track issue. Now that the PPMS tracks all aspects of the project, the project manager’s attention to detail is now exposed to Yes there are times when the scramble approach peers and managers. In the past, a project manager had works, but it is not a sustainable approach. Pretty control over when information about the project was soon it becomes a ‘chicken little’ approach and the shared and available for all members of the project team urgency of a true emergency is lost. and for executives. The project manager could mask blemishes and possible lapses by controlling when information was shared. For example, if the project manager led a project status call every other Thursday, they could possibly wait until Wednesday night to update their issues report. If an issue was due a week before, the report might not get updated until before the review. Now with a portfolio management system, the day the issue becomes past due it can be flagged in reports. The PM might now have to do daily management of the issues. The Project Manager that refuses to use the IPMS tool will eventually find it too much work to go it alone. The social needs of the individual will drive behavior to conform to the processes imposed by the IPMS. The team will benefit from the commonality. Lead Goose Gets Tired When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates to the back and lets another one fly point. In the behavior patterns of a successful program, there needs to be a balance among team members of leadership, exposure, and recognition. Every organization has its top rated members, and that is acknowledged by members of the team. The coach needs to make sure that all members of the team get recognized for their contribution and individual growth. There really is nothing within an IPMS tool to enforce support structure. This is where the art of managing a team comes in. The good coach, will be able to find ways to recognize team members and help them learn from each other. An item I have found successful in the past is to have shared learning’s among the team to promote an aspect of project management and demonstrate that to the team via a web meeting or other collaborative environment. This also implies the members of the team are willing to People Will Blame The Tool For Their Own Defects It’s a rule of human nature. People will blame the tool to hide their own insecurities and lack of knowledge. No matter what tool is created, it will have its own set of idiosyncrasies and there will be some things the application will require that make no sense at all, but the application requires it. Be thick skinned and prepared for people to blame the tool for their problems. One of our frequent tool blamers does a lot of work via a dial up connection instead of the office on the intranet or from home via broadband. This tool (as most server based applications) does not perform well over dial up. It is slow, even on the network, and with dial up it might even time out on requests. Thus it is a great excuse for the PM not paying attention to the previous mentioned minutia. Exhibit 4 IPMS Rant 4 © 2007, David l. Davis, PMP Originally published as a part of 2007 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Seattle 4 share the spotlight. Its important for all members to realize when they need help and ask for it. Leadership is more effective among peers when teamwork is demonstrated day in and day out. The other aspect of this goose point is the relationship it has to team members going on vacation or other times when a backup is needed. By having all members of the team rotate to the point, there is better coverage while an individual is on vacation. The Goose Honk From Behind to Encourage the Point to Keep Up Speed This item is directly related to the previous point. In a long migration, all members of the team work together to encourage each other. The same behavior is important for overall success in program management. Each member must encourage each other and feel they can contribute to the team, the process, the tools, the consistent reports, and the capability for enhancement. The individual’s must be able to improve the IPMS and not be regulated to data entry tasks just to meet the consistent reporting. When a Goose Gets Sick or Wounded The last bullet point in the email of my illumination involves how geese react when a member gets sick or wounded. Granted, Canadian Geese are hunted in many points along their migration path and have many predators that are out to kill them. Although this survival tactic is not socially acceptable in a business environment, there are still pockets of people who are vengeful and un-accepting of others. The team needs to stick together until the crisis is resolved. The team needs to be able to have a safe area to vent frustrations and commiserate with fellow project/program managers. The important part here is team work and social support structure. A Program Management team genially cares for each other and are there to help each other through the rough times. Conclusion Successful program management is a state of mind. In order for an Integrated Portfolio Management System to be successful, there must be team-oriented behavior by the project managers. The team must work together and learn together and thus will be able to sell the benefits of the program office. There is no silver bullet, only through hard work, encouragement, and sharing the point, will a team succeed long term. © 2007, David l. Davis, PMP Originally published as a part of 2007 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Seattle 5 Appendix 1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Program Management Every introduction to psychology class, every introduction to management class, and every teaching degree program stress the importance of the Maslow Hierarchy for attaining self-realization. The fundamentals of this hierarchy is that physical needs must be met prior to any success on psychological needs like performance and innovation. This model should not be compared to the maturity models. This looks at individual “needs” and how attainment of certain needs allows the individuals to attain higher performance. The needs of the individual, combined with the maturity / social structure of the organization work concurrently to attain higher levels of organizational performance and consistent reporting of all projects across the portfolio. This hierarchy applies to the concept of implementing any program management tool into an organization. Maslow’s Tier Physiological Security (Safety) Needs Maslow Definition Needs such as air, warmth, food, sleep, stimulation and activity. This need concerns biological balance and stable equilibrium (homeostasis). These needs can be very strong because if deprived over time, the person will die. Program Management Tier Tool Access This includes living in a safe area away from threats. This level is more likely to be found in children as they have a greater need to feel safe User Type Physical needs are fundamental for any success. I assume that if an individual is involve in utilizing a IPMS that their physiological needs, food clothing, shelter, are met and the physical issues are related to a need for access and permission to the tools. This level involves skills and knowledge related to the Understanding of Project Management Knowledge Areas and integration of the various components. It also involves a work atmosphere where teams know their roles and responsibilities and the expectation of their deliverables. They know which reports are used to measure project status and also how individual performance is monitored. © 2007, David l. Davis, PMP Originally published as a part of 2007 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Seattle Discussion In an IPMS, this means the individual needs to have access to the tool itself. Most tools are hosted on a server available to all members of the team. Access to the tool from the PC Is there high speed connectivity to the tool. Are they allowed behind the firewall Do they have the proper browser settings (Active X allowed, Java allowed, etc.) Do they have a login to the system Appropriate permissions with their user type. Security Personal data protected Is their user profile developed properly Right type of user Email and phone configured. Do they have permission to the right reports. Training User guide for the tool User guide for the process. 6 Maslow’s Tier Social (Love and Belongingness) Needs Esteem / Status Self Actualization (Fulfillment) Needs Maslow Definition Humans want to be accepted and to belong, whether it be to clubs, work groups, religious groups, family, gangs, etc. They need to feel accepted by others. Humans have a need to be respected, to self-respect and to respect others. People need to engage themselves in order to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution and self-value. Self-Actualization is described by Maslow as an ongoing process involved in a cause outside their own skin. People on this level of need, work at something very precious. This is a vocation or a calling in the old priestly sense. These people are very fine, healthy, strong, sagacious (that is, very smart) and creative. Program Management Tier Team This level is the social net for project managers. It includes acceptance of their role within the organization and the ability to be part of a team that delivers value to the business. Project Performance / Assignment This is a dangerous level for an IPMS implementation as it deals with the tender balance between self-confidence and arrogance. This level usually represents assignments to high profile projects and other mission critical events that require attention and reporting to corporate executives. Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem, inferiority complexes, an inflated sense of self-importance or snobbishness. Expansion of IPMS into new areas This level is reserved for the true IPMS application administration junkie. This level involves implementation of IPMS into multiple organizations and identification with the individual with the tool. © 2007, David l. Davis, PMP Originally published as a part of 2007 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Seattle Discussion Is there consistent understanding of the process, methodology, and deliverable within the program for all projects. Do all individuals use the capabilities of the IPMS to stakeholders inside and outside the Portfolio Organization. From an IPMS perspective, this level involves creative and innovative uses of the IPMS tool and its capability to control and execute projects. It may involve definition of new templates, IPMS modules, reports, or process. It might involve a specialization of the tool for the specific project being tracked and reporting of inter-dependant projects. This role should be seen as a mentor to other project managers and other organizations utilitarian an IPMS tool. This level involves the process, people, and technology evolution into multiple organizations within the enterprise. The individual that reaches this level understand Portfolio Integration to the highest level. This level should be seen as an evangelist for an IPMS. 7