Being a Project Manager - Part II

So, the last time we all gathered, I discussed the Project Manager.  We spent some time exploring the responsibilities of the Project Manager and dove in to things like planning, budget management, time management, resource management, risk identification and mitigation, quality, documentation and team leadership.  These traits and activities are important, but they are only one-half of the full equation.  If you look closely at the previous posting and the items just mentioned, you'll see that they point down or flow horizontally through the team and the organization to promote activity that will allow the project to succeed.

Managing down and across the organization is important.  However, there is one piece of the puzzle that I didn't mention.  And, those of you that have been in the business for a while, already know what's coming.  What was left unmentioned and what I'd like to cover in today's discussion is the fact that effective and successful Project Managers must learn to manage up!  Manage up?  Shouldn't the Project Manager be relying on senior leaders in the organization to act as their escalation point and provide cover when needed.  Unfortunately, the answer is more subtle than that - it is more of a yes and no depending on the situation. 

Any organization is full of politics.  Some organizations manage it better than others, but in any organization there is an underlying game that gets played.  And the Project Manager is left to ensure that the project gets completed within the constraints originally identified while trying to keep all the players happy.

1. First up in batting order is the Project Sponsor.  This is the player that went to bat to champion the project.  They fought for the priority, the budget and the resources to make it happen.  It's the Project Managers job to make sure that the sponsor is kept in the loop, has a proper understanding of what is and isn't in scope and how well the project is aligned to the overall timeline, budget and resource requirements.
2. Moving through the batting order we then go through the Senior Management Team.  Each of these individuals represent competing interests and will lobby to see project changes that benefit their slice of the organization.  Once scope is approved, it's the Project Managers job to maintain order and limit scope creep.  While there is always room for minor adjustments in the overall scope and project activity - it's the Project Mangers job to ensure that these changes do not impact the budget, timeline or resources.  Additionally, if the Project Manager feels the change is justified, then they must keep the Project Sponsor in the loop.
3. Next up is the Project Manager's boss and the Project Management Office.  They've set the constraints around all project activity and they are the keepers of the approved SDLC process.  They have the keys to the overall portfolio and the Project Manager must be sure to align project activity with all of the other company initiatives.
4. Then there are the Resource Managers.  The Project Manager has assembled a short term tactical team to execute against the overall tasks and activity of the project.  These resources don't belong to the Project Manager, they've been borrowed.  Their Resource Manager is going to want to pull them back at times to work critical production problems, fill in for a resource that is suddenly gone or for any number of other reasons.  The Project Manager will need to manage these diversions.

As you can see, life just got a whole lot more complicated.  In a perfect world, the Project Manager would never have to worry about things going wrong.  Unfortunately, for any project of any size, things will go wrong, contingencies will need to be identified and keeping everyone in the loop will become a necessity.

You have this particular job at this particular time due to the Project Sponsor.  They've placed some portion of the success of their career on the project that is winding it's way through the organization.  If they weren't passionate about the results of the project they would not have lobbied to make it happen.  As the Project Manager, you may not fully understand the full reasoning of why it is important to the Project Sponsor - but trust me, it is.  As the Project Manager, it's your job to keep this individual fully informed of  what is happening within the overall project.  That's not saying you have to update them on every decision, every risk that gets identified or small shifts in resources.  That's what they expect you, as Project Manager, to do - it's your job!  What they do want to be made aware of are the big things - and each sponsor will have their own definition of what the "big thing" is.  Most times you can focus on the following:

1. Identifying others in the organization that are attempting to change the approved scope of the project - thereby causing ripples throughout the project that will potentially change the product that is delivered or impact the budget, timeline or resources involved in the project.
2. Identifying when 3rd parties are not meeting the expectations identified at the beginning of the project or as documented when the contracts were signed and they engaged on the project.  And expectations means that they are either performing or not performing in a way that could impact the quality of the delivery, the budget, timeline or resources involved in the project.
3. Identifying items that surface throughout the project that insert risk in to the overall activity and could cause the project to derail and go over-budget, increase the time necessary to deliver the product or alter the number of resources needed to complete the identified activity and tasks associated with the project.  It's the Project Managers job to mitigate risk - and the Project Sponsor will expect that activity to be done, however, they will want to know when these risks or issues are identified and what the team is doing to resolve the risk.
4. Identifying when production issues or shifting priorities impact the overall project.  These are issues outside the control of the Project Manager, but the Project Manager better be communicating these up and across the organization.
5. Identifying what issues need to be escalated and then managing those items so that they do not impede the progress of the project team.

The Project Manager should meet with the Project Sponsor early in the overall project to establish the ground rules.  What are the specific items that the Project Sponsor is worried about?  What does the Project Sponsor want to see in project updates?  How does the Project Sponsor want issues escalated?  How often does the Project Sponsor want to be updated on the overall progress?  How does the Project Sponsor want to see items that need to be escalated?  As issues arise in the project - what are the give points?  Is there a commitment date where the product must be delivered by a specific date and that means more resources need to be pulled in when needed?

The difference between a good Project Manager and a great Project Manager is the ability to understand that it's not just managing activity within the Project Team - but managing across and up through the organization to ensure that the project can stay on track and be a success.

Tags: Project Manager, SDLC, Project Management, Project, Management, Manager, Lifecycle, Software Development, Development

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