Ready for Predictable - Eliminate Project Surprises
|
|
| Freedom from
Project Surprises Newsletter - Issue #53 |
September 2009 |
|
|
|
What would enable every
member of a new product development team to produce at such a level
that
projects flowed forward with negligible backtracking? You know, the
backtracking that comes from failing to do it "right" the first time.
The
backtracking that silently eats into project efficiency, increasing
costs and
delaying revenue. Look back at those project surprises that caused a
frenzied
attempt to recoup what was lost. Why did they happen? Was it destiny,
possibly
fate, or was it because of a flawed assumption that should have never
been
made?
Jeff Jorvig, The IC Coach
|
|
News of Interest to New Product
Development Teams
- Global Chip Sales Increase 5.3 Percent month on
month - Reuters
- Coaching Excellence blog post: Management of Projects - Is it really
working?
- Is synchronization
of
register information between firmware, design, verification
and documentation a huge headache? I have a solution that will remove
the pain - contact me for details.
- In need of a simple yet effective way to
develop, manage and monitor your new product workflow? Check out this web 2.0 based solution to managing your
NPD/NPI process here and be in control of your
development activities.
- Check out our quick
start instant downloads for managing design
projects.
Leadership Quote of the month:
"Leadership
is the special quality which enables people to stand up and pull the
rest of us over the horizon."
-- James L. Fisher |
Understand the Source of
Project Surprises and Eliminate Them
The last time a negative impact surprise made it's way into
a project, what was the source? In most cases we will immediately
conclude
"something that was not planned, should have been". Although that
possibility
is certainly valid, it should not be assumed to be the end of the
investigation. A project surprise usually means there will be
backtracking to a
previous task to rework something. It is essential that the root cause
is
uncovered whenever the project sequence is rewound to an already
completed
task.
More often then not when a task needs to be revisited it is
due to a flawed objective of the task, the output or deliverable did
not meet
downstream expectations. That's
not
a timeline estimate issue; it's a task
clarity issue that impacted the timeline! As dates for a project
are
developed, clarity is assumed, although often not ensured. Clarity of
expectations will only result when two people (task deliverer and
receiver)
have consensus on when, what, how and where something will be provided.
Reaching this agreement is a people thing, one where we can't depend on
technology to make it happen.
 In addition to a thorough
project plan there are two crucial
items that must routinely be addressed to keep surprises under control.
The
first one is to always consider the people aspect of a project's
dynamics.
Avoid a pure reliance on technology and methodology as the only
guidance
mechanism for a project. People know their function and are clearly
capable of
identifying an issue that impacts their productivity, if they are asked. The
second one is related to investigation. If a project surprise occurs
that
causes negative impact to a project, it must be investigated to the
root cause.
Once uncovered, changes in the process must be made to ensure it will
never be
repeated on a future project.
The simple formula for eliminating negative
project surprises is this - when something breaks the planned project
flow, find out why by talking to
the people involved and then do something about it. Technical tools and
methodologies will be no help here, so put them away for this
assignment. This
one depends purely on people skills, so brush up on the one on one
investigative skills that enable discovery of root cause. Do this well
and enjoy a "Freedom from Project Surprises" that will lead to
predictable and streamlined new product releases.
|
Guiding
the
Team Through
Surprise Free Execution
When effort is put into finding the reason for a project
surprise it is essential to make sure that future projects do not
repeat the
same mistake. Work through solutions with the team, gain consensus and
add them
to the library of actions to be used for future projects. Some would
call this
library best practices, I choose to
call it same practices to
signify that things are done the same way, project after project. Many
may argue
about something being the best but no one will argue the benefits to a
project
of doing things the same way, with the same expectations and
deliverable
requirements.
Where are these same practices kept and how do you make them
available to the team without becoming a burden to the users? The least
effective implementations tend to be those that have a best practices
document
on a shared project drive on the network. It's far better than nothing
but it's
not optimal for the team. The best implementations are those that are
web 2.0
based and contain the process sequence, the people, the plan, the
schedule
and the documentation all in one simple point and click user interface.
 In simple terms the same
practices library objective is in
reaching absolute clarity of the who, what, when, where and how of
every
activity. To be clear - this is not a guide for project tasks like a
project
plan, it is the nuts and bolts details of activities and deliverables
for every
project action. Think of it as the source of information necessary to
enable
full clarity of tasks and deliverables for everyone working on the
project.
Where there is an ineffective atmosphere in
place to guide the development process and same practices, project
surprises
should be expected. The magnitude of surprises will be reduced with an
emphasis on a comprehensive process sequence and deliverable
expectations along with a simple environment used to relay this
information to users. When full clarity of
individual objectives and deliverables are met, surprises will fade. This is
not rocket science; it's people science!
|
| How I
can Help
"Providing solutions to the systemic project challenges that
quietly steal early revenue opportunity"
- Development
Process & "Same" Practices Management
- If you are looking for a solution to project surprises, this is it.
Anywhere from design guide documents to a full web 2.0 interface can be
implemented to manage the who, what, where, when and how of a project.
The absolute clarity this provides will snuff out project surprises.
- Discovery
& Solution - Do
you need to find and remove the the barriers to a predictable and
streamlined new product flow? Maybe you need to understand the history
of past failed project activities. Our Discovery & Solution
services provide the results you need.
- Requirements
workshops
- I will facilitate the timely closure of a high quality set of
requirements for a specific product. If you have a complicated project
where requirements closure is critical, this would be an ideal
candidate for a workshop. More information can be found here.
- NPD team one day workshop to improve planning, execution and monitoring skills for
design projects.
- Web based NPD workflow management.
- Ready made downloads:
schedule, checklist, analog design guide.
- Increase management bandwidth via Virtual Design Manager.
- Full listing of common services here.
Contact me today via email, 480-895-0478 or
877-895-0478 |
|
Feedback
To increase the value of this newsletter for you I would like
to hear your comments.
- What do you like or not like about this
newsletter?
- What subjects would you like to see covered in
the future?
- How is the format?
- Ask me a question related to new product
development and I will anonymously post and answer it here in this
section.
Please email me here with any questions,
comments or suggestions that will help me better serve my readers. I
would enjoy hearing from you.
|
|
|
