Project Leadership ­ Step by Step Part II Svein­Arne Jessen Download free books at Svein Arne Jessen Project Leadership – Step by Step: Part II A Handbook on How to Master Small- and Medium- Sized Projects – SMPs Download free eBooks at bookboon.com 2 Project Leadership – Step by Step: Part II 1st edition © 2010 Svein Arne Jessen & bookboon.com ISBN 978-87-7681-597-4 Download free eBooks at bookboon.com 3 Project Leadership – Step by Step: Part II Contents Contents Background 8 Introduction 10 9 How to Lead SMPs 13 S tepstone # 9: The SMP’s Kickoff Meeting 13 9.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 9 13 9.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 9 14 9.3 Conclusions about Stepstone # 9 16 9.4 Stepstone # 9 Used on the Conference SMP 17 Stepstone # 10: The Daily SMP Operations 18 10.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 10 18 10.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 10 26 10.3 Conclusions about Stepstone # 10 35 10.4 Stepstone # 10 Used on the Conference SMP 36 III jjjoooiiinnneeeddd MMMIIITTTAAASSS bbbeeecccaaauuussseee ���eee GGGrrraaaddduuuaaattteee PPPrrrooogggrrraaammmmmmeee fffooorrr EEEnnngggiiinnneeeeeerrrsss aaannnddd GGGeeeooosssccciiieeennntttiiissstttsss III wwwaaannnttteeeddd rrreeeaaalll rrreeessspppooonnnsssiiibbbiiillliii��� wwwMMM.daaaiseeecrrrosssvkkke...cccrmooommmita///MMMs.iiictttoaaamsss I joined MITAS because �e Graduate Programme for Engineers and Geoscientists I wanted real responsibili� Maersk.com/Mitas MMMooonnnttthhh 111666 IIIIII wwwwwwaaaaaassssss aaaaaa cccooonnnssstttrrruuuccctttiiiooonnn Month 16 sssuuupppeeerrrvvviiiIIsss wwooorrraa iiissnnn aa construction ttthhheee NNNooorrrttthhh SSSeeeaaa supervisor in aaadddvvviiisssiiinnnggg aaannnddd the North Sea hhhhhheeeeeelllpppiiinnnggg fffooorrreeemmmeeennn advising and RRReeeaaalll wwwooorrrkkk IIIIIInnnnnntttttteeeeeerrrrrrnnnnnnaaaaaattttttiiiiiioooooonnnnnnaaaaaaaaallllll oooppppppooorrrtttuuunnniiitttiiieeesss ssssssooolllvvveee ppprrrooobbbllleeemmmhhssseelping foremen ������rrrrrreeeeeeeeeeee wwwwwwooooooooorrrrrrkkk ppplllaaaccceeemmmeeennntttsss Real work IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaaall opportunities ssolve problems ��rreeee wwooorrk placements Download free eBooks at bookboon.com 4 Click on the ad to read more Project Leadership – Step by Step: Part II Contents Stepstone # 11: Daily SMP Technical Activity 38 11.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 11 38 11.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 11 39 11.3 Conclusions about Stepstone # 11 42 11.4 Stepstone # 11 Used on the Conference SMP 42 Stepstone # 12: The Daily Social Performance in SMPs 49 12.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 12 49 12.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 12 59 12.3 Conclusions about Stepstone # 12 64 12.4 Stepstone # 12 Used on the Conference SMP 65 Stepstone # 13: The SMP Completion 69 13.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 13 69 13.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 13 71 13.3 Conclusions about Stepstone # 13 73 13.4 Summary of Chapter 4 75 www.job.oticon.dk Download free eBooks at bookboon.com 5 Click on the ad to read more Project Leadership – Step by Step: Part II Contents 14 H ow to Improve the Chances of SMP Success Stepstone # 14: Measuring an SMP’s Success 76 14.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 14 76 14.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 14 77 14.3 Conclusions about Stepstone # 14 77 Stepstone # 15: Measuring SMP Support Success 79 15.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 15 79 15.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 15 81 15.3 Conclusions on Stepstone # 15 84 15.4 Summary of Chapter 5 86 16 Appendix A Stepstone # 16: Detailed SMP Planning 87 16.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 16 87 16.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 16 88 16.3 Conclusions about Stepstone # 16 90 16.4 Stepstone # 16 Used on the Conference SMP 91 Study at Linköping University and get the competitive edge! Interested in Computer Science and connected fields? Kick-start your career with a master’s degree from Linköping University, Sweden – one of top 50 universities under 50 years old. www.liu.se/master Download free eBooks at bookboon.com 6 Click on the ad to read more Project Leadership – Step by Step: Part II Contents 17 Appendix B Stepstone # 17: Agile SMP Control 97 17.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 17 97 17.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 17 100 17.3 Conclusions about Stepstone # 17 101 17.4 Stepstone # 17 Used on the Conference SMP 102 18 Appendix C Stepstone # 18: SMP Risk Assessment 104 18.1 Theoretical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 18 104 18.2 Practical Reflections behind the Statements in Stepstone # 18 106 18.3 Conclusions about Stepstone # 18 108 18.4 Stepstone # 18 Used on the Conference SMP 108 19 Endnotes 111 20 L ist of Key Words and Expressions 117 21 About the Author 119 Work Experience 120 (cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2) (cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:2)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:2)(cid:7)(cid:9)(cid:5)(cid:10)(cid:2)(cid:11)(cid:12)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:13)(cid:10)(cid:14)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:6)(cid:13)(cid:15)(cid:10)(cid:13)(cid:13)(cid:2) (cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:14)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:13)(cid:15)(cid:16)(cid:10)(cid:17)(cid:18)(cid:10)(cid:19)(cid:7)(cid:20)(cid:3)(cid:12)(cid:17)(cid:5)(cid:17)(cid:21)(cid:16)(cid:10)(cid:20)(cid:17)(cid:12)(cid:22)(cid:23)(cid:20)(cid:15)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:8)(cid:7)(cid:9)(cid:7)(cid:4)(cid:8)(cid:20)(cid:3)(cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:12)(cid:22)(cid:10)(cid:7)(cid:22)(cid:23)(cid:20)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:13)(cid:17)(cid:12)(cid:10)(cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:10)(cid:7)(cid:12)(cid:21)(cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:7)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:24) (cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:21)(cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:12)(cid:22)(cid:10)(cid:12)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:23)(cid:8)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:10)(cid:9)(cid:20)(cid:13)(cid:7)(cid:12)(cid:20)(cid:7)(cid:9)(cid:25)(cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:8)(cid:20)(cid:3)(cid:13)(cid:15)(cid:7)(cid:20)(cid:15)(cid:23)(cid:8)(cid:7)(cid:25)(cid:10)(cid:15)(cid:7)(cid:20)(cid:3)(cid:12)(cid:17)(cid:5)(cid:17)(cid:21)(cid:16)(cid:24)(cid:8)(cid:7)(cid:5)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:7)(cid:22)(cid:10)(cid:6)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:7)(cid:6)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:13)(cid:20)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:10)(cid:9)(cid:20)(cid:13)(cid:7)(cid:12)(cid:20)(cid:7)(cid:9)(cid:10) (cid:4)(cid:12)(cid:22)(cid:10)(cid:12)(cid:4)(cid:23)(cid:15)(cid:13)(cid:20)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:10)(cid:9)(cid:20)(cid:13)(cid:7)(cid:12)(cid:20)(cid:7)(cid:9)(cid:26)(cid:10)(cid:27)(cid:7)(cid:3)(cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:22)(cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:5)(cid:10)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:10)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:20)(cid:20)(cid:17)(cid:6)(cid:28)(cid:5)(cid:13)(cid:9)(cid:3)(cid:7)(cid:9)(cid:25)(cid:10)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:7)(cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:13)(cid:6)(cid:10)(cid:28)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:13)(cid:9)(cid:15)(cid:9)(cid:10) (cid:18)(cid:17)(cid:8)(cid:10)(cid:20)(cid:17)(cid:12)(cid:15)(cid:8)(cid:13)(cid:29)(cid:23)(cid:15)(cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:21)(cid:10)(cid:15)(cid:17)(cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:10)(cid:9)(cid:23)(cid:9)(cid:15)(cid:4)(cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:4)(cid:29)(cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:10)(cid:18)(cid:23)(cid:15)(cid:23)(cid:8)(cid:7)(cid:10)(cid:30)(cid:10)(cid:29)(cid:17)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:10)(cid:12)(cid:4)(cid:15)(cid:13)(cid:17)(cid:12)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:5)(cid:16)(cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:12)(cid:22)(cid:10)(cid:21)(cid:5)(cid:17)(cid:29)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:5)(cid:16)(cid:26) (cid:31)(cid:13)(cid:9)(cid:13)(cid:15)(cid:10)(cid:23)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:17)(cid:12)(cid:10)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:9)(cid:7)(cid:10)(cid:17)(cid:8)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:7)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:14)(cid:15)(cid:13)(cid:16)(cid:17)(cid:14)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:17)(cid:12)(cid:10)(cid:18)(cid:4)(cid:20)(cid:7)(cid:29)(cid:17)(cid:17) (cid:26)(cid:10) Download free eBooks at bookboon.com 7 Click on the ad to read more Project Leadership – Step by Step: Part II Background Background This book is Volume II in a series of two books on how to master Small- and Medium-Sized Projects – SMPs. These projects are those that seldom receive serious attention in the regular project literature of today. For better or worse, it is the large, costly, complicated projects that are written about, researched and discussed in the media. But as previously stated in Volume I, the popularity of the project approach means that many smaller, “everyday” tasks can be performed as projects. These smaller projects, whose goal and purpose are often very different from those of the bigger projects, also need a different type of assistance than the large and more complex projects. Preliminary studies are typical. They are short-term investigations put in motion to pave the way for a larger project, and require much less in terms of personnel for the actual project work. The two books are written as a continuation of the Norwegian book, Prosjektledelse Trinn for Trinn (Jessen, S.A., 2005, 2008),1 though it has a different format. While the Norwegian book’s flyer idea is retained, in this book called Stepstones, the traditional tools for planning and controlling projects are replaced by much simpler tools. The new book further elaborates on what a project leader should do when confronted with everyday problems, things that happen outside strategic plans and tactical project dispositions. The focus is on how to lead people as much as it is on how to lead systems. The picture on the front of this book is a simple illustration of what a Stepstone is. The photo was shot in Pompeii, and shows how people 2,000 years ago had to move about to cope with flowing rain water in the streets. They “stepped on stones” to get to their destination – in this case the other side of the street – and then they used their “Stepstones” in front of their doors in order to enter their houses. Project work is really much the same – finding a way to reach your destination and fulfill the project’s mission. In order to address these challenges, the books systematically reviews the “Stepstones” any project manager needs to negotiate, but primarily concentrates on the small- and medium-sized projects – the so-called SMPs. Every Stepstone begins with some theory before we explore the practical features. Our example project is to organize a small conference. The sections on theory include remarks on what has to be done in any project, regardless of size. Illustrations in the practical tools section refer to the conference project example. Download free eBooks at bookboon.com 8 Project Leadership – Step by Step: Part II Background In Volume I, the “upstream” steps in SMPs are presented, i.e. from Stepstone # 1, identifying the SMP, until Stepstone # 8, signing the contract and agreeing on starting up the project. Volume II presents the “downstream” steps in SMPs, i.e. from starting up the SMP, Stepstone # 9: The Kickoff Meeting, through executing, following up, controlling, completing and measuring success in Stepstone # 15. In addition, Volume II has three Stepstones on how to plan, control and manage risk in more detail, if it is found necessary to do so in the SMP. The Norwegian version of the background book can be found at www.universitetsforlaget.no/smp/ (ISBN 978-82-15-01365-7) – that is the book Norwegian students and people engaged in project work in general should preferably buy, following the Norwegian Løpesedlene for support in their project endeavors. An important message to the reader: The books are meant for continuous updating by both readers and users! The field of Project Management is developing so rapidly that what was good theory and relevant practice yesterday may well be different today. For that reason, I would very much appreciate comments and ideas from everybody interested in improving this field. Please use the e-mail address below for any comments you have! [email protected] Svein Arne Jessen Professor, PhD Slependen, April 2010 Download free eBooks at bookboon.com 9 Project Leadership – Step by Step: Part II Introduction Introduction As already contended in Volume I, most practical books and manuals deal with large, complex projects, which is not unnatural. Using projects to solve problems has never been more popular than it is today. By the end of the last century, 25% of the world’s spending was managed through projects according to some reports, and many projects are clearly very large and very costly. Keeping track of them requires good management and good tools. Project planning and project organization need to be sound, and every step must be controlled down to the last detail.2 If a large project starts going off the track and is heading for failure, it will cost the organization dearly and have many other adverse effects as well.3 But most projects are not enormous. Today, the project approach is equally used for smaller and simpler tasks.4 To run these projects, which we in this book will call SMPs – Small- and Medium-Sized Projects – the tools and methods we need are much simpler. When projects are small, mistakes are often not as serious. And even if they end up doing something else than what was originally envisaged, lessons can be drawn and we can look at them as exciting experiments in new ways of thinking and acting. As the proverb says, “only those who get lost, discover new ways.” One probably forgotten benefit of many SMPs is the excitement, not to mention the opportunity to learn. Indeed, a project may have unexpected benefits for its participants, clients and users. While rigidity can be stifling, too little formality can easily create a mess. It is easy to go from flexibility to chaos or to lose sight of things when too much change is taking place at the same time. The best way of working on both large and small projects is to always ensure a good mix of formality and creativity. It takes rules and creativity for people to work well together in an innovative and effective manner, and the same goes for respecting each other and maintaining a sense of enthusiasm in order to help, support and stimulate cooperation. These books have two main purposes: 1. They are recipes showing how small- and medium-sized projects, SMPs, can be run from start to finish so that better results are achieved. But many of the books’ principles are also appropriate for larger projects and are intended to be universal regardless of the size and complexity of the project. 2. They are reference books that point to many common pitfalls at all stages of SMP management and leadership. Many of the pitfalls are specific to SMPs, but many are also found in large and complex projects. The books should therefore be useful as a work of reference for people involved in large and complex projects. Download free eBooks at bookboon.com 10