Page 78 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

Have you ever looked back at a failed IT Project and identified something that you could have done
differently? It’s eye-opening, isn’t it?! Post mortems are great for learning for the future, but so
much better to get in at an earlier stage when the project can be saved – hindsight is great but
foresight is better!

When we’re asked to help save a failing project with resources from the Project Management as a
Service (PMaaS) universe, one of the first things we do is assess the current state. Like my firefighter
friend, there are times when what’s before you is a small chip pan fire and there are times when the
whole kitchen is alight. And, again like my firefighter friend, we’re left wishing you’d called us
sooner.

Prevention is better
Of course, in an IT Project, you have the wonderful opportunity to actually have the firefighter with
you all the time. PMaaS talent makes a great emergency service but, actually, they are an even more
potent incident prevention resource.

Often, IT Projects flounder because of a capability gap. Something happens and you have to react
but you don’t have the experience, the people or the tools to meet the demands of the situation. Or,
even worse, you DO have the resources and subject matter expertise in-house but you failed to
deploy them.

The best IT Project Managers I know see asking for help as a strength, not a weakness – and the
greatest ones know who to ask and when.

The inevitable football analogy
As regular readers will know, I love a football analogy.

So, here we go (here we go, here we go).

In the FA Cup recently Liverpool (world and European champions, and runaway league leaders) were
coasting to a two-nil victory over Shrewsbury (who, as I write this, are in 16th position two divisions
below).

The manager identified a need and, an hour into the match, made a substitution. On came Jason
Cummings who scored twice within ten minutes to force a replay.

Now, imagine if Shrews manager Sam Ricketts had made that call ten minutes sooner or fifteen
minutes later or decided to play Cummings from the start … would have been a different story.

So it is with IT Projects. Having a PMaaS resources partner sitting on your bench is a no brainer but
knowing when to call on them to take off their tracksuit bottoms and warm-up is a judgment call and
a skill.

Of course, with PMaaS you have a distinct advantage over a football manager – you have a whole
universe of talent on your bench waiting for the call.

So, the question is, when do you make that call? The answer is aaS soon as possible (sorry, not
sorry).

aaS soon as possible (still not sorry).
Take Business analysts (BAs). They deliver considerable value to IT Projects by bridging the gap
between IT and the business. They engage with business leaders, stakeholders and IT end-users to