Page 20 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

Project Management Lessons learnt from Holiday Disruption

This time of year is normally a bit of a nightmare for
project coordination. Holiday Season!

Ever tried to organise a meeting in August or early
September? I recently tried, of the five invited
attendees, two replied they could dial in remotely as
they were working from home, two would be away on
their holidays and the last to reply, Sue - the key
decision-maker (and not her real name) – was stuck in
quarantine after Spain was removed from the UK’s
Covid travel corridor list…

It has been a strange summer period this year for
everyone, adapting, dealing with holiday cancellations,
disappointments, and rain. Many families were all
packed up to head to the sun, jumping on planes and ferries headed overseas, but we had to adapt
to staycationing - holidaying in England. Making the most of the British summer and maximising the
potential of, for many of us, a different kind of holiday. Will rust become the new tan?

The very definition of Holiday (Noun - an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one
spent away from home or in travelling), is an entirely flexible parameter to work within, so how do
we adapt? And what Project Management lessons are to be learnt from this summer?

Adapting to change

Holidaymakers have had to rapidly flex and change holiday plans to keep in line with Covid travel
restrictions and quarantine requirements. So too have businesses, long drawn out planning
schedules have had to be cast aside, for rapid results and streamlined project processes. Project
teams have never needed to be more agile, business change and business process change have
been the most common drivers for projects at this time, with businesses working to cut costs, enable
remote working and battle recessionary trading levels.

Thinking outside the box

Holiday Package deals and long-term plans have had to be shelved, and holidaymakers have had to
assemble their own summer breaks, booking travel and accommodations. With projects too, this is
the case, larger transformational projects that had been planned or scheduled may have been paired
down or carved into bite-size deliverables or re-evaluated for cheaper quicker wins. Project Teams
may need to cast aside any historical practices within the company, to shake up the project
processes and speed up delivery time.

Reset expectations

Many holidaymakers have had to reset their holiday expectations, swapping out some swimwear to
make room for a raincoat, just in case. Fast-paced, high impact projects have come to the fore, but
with this, has come the need for your Project Team to manage internal customer expectations, and
“resell the benefits of new or adjusted project plans.