Once a plan is forecast to exceed its tolerances, the red flag needs to be sent up the pole.  This template is the red flag and so it is built for speed, and not intended to be a repository for in-depth analysis.  It seeks to put the critical information in one place for the key decision makers to select the most appropriate option to move the project forward.

Raising the red flag of exception mgt

The first part of the template deals with defining the deviation and its consequences. The key here is to accurately describe the problem and communicate it well to the reader. The second part is a very straight forward analysis of the courses of action available to the decision maker a brief analysis on their impact on key areas of the project such as the business case, risks and tolerances followed by a recommendation.

A couple of tips for creating effective Exception reports:

• Use bullet points
• Summarise the deviation into a picture
• Summarise the recommendation into a picture
• Try to strike a balance between keeping it brief and having sufficient information for the decision maker to do a full appreciation, particularly if the exception is sizable.

The key here is to communicate the problem and the solution quickly, smart managers will make the connection between the bullet points and won’t require detailed analysis.  Executives also love pictures so try to use them to drive home your analysis.  They tend to be a smart bunch who like to think quickly on their feet, accurate pictures help them make the right decisions quickly.

Hint: I always try to make sure I have someone with a creative background in my PMO.  These people are invaluable in their ability to create and communicate messages using many different media such as video, print, graphic design, photography, multi-media and the internet (to name a few).

Finally, its worth noting that this method isn’t new to the world of management, military officers around the world are taught the same method, some armies refer to it as the “individual estimate” which involves a quick appreciation of the situation, development some courses of action (COA), a quick evaluation of the COAs (do nothing, most likely, most dangerous) then selection and execution.  So when you’re on a good thing why change it?

This one is for the PM who travels too much, being one myself I can relate to the quest to find the perfect travel kit, taking up the smallest possible space and weighing next to nothing.

As a avid hiker in a previous life, I could be found the night before cutting my toothbrush in half, packing the famous “fred” tool (a 2×5 cm flat tool that was part spoon, part can opener, part knife (v blunt) and part bottle opener) and squeezing out anything liquid to only take the precise amount required for one week’s walking.

Fortunately in the business world you don’t need to be so dramatic but the quest for travel kit utopia persists!

So while I was cruising around the productivity blogs I came across “Building the Perfect Dopp Bag” by Brett from “The Art of Manliness” (Sorry girls, I really struggled with researching what the girl travels with tho Beth did help out with her blog post “How I Pack for any Length Trip in under 10 pounds“). Brett’s suggestions made me review my efforts and in doing so I thought I might add my two cents worth…

Dopp Bag Contents

• A couple of small zip-lock bags
• Shampoo (in FAA Compliant Travel Bottles)
• Shower Gel (not as messy as solid soap)
• Toothpaste (pick the smallest tube size, squeeze half out if you’re keen)
• Deodorant (go the small, light, mini option)
• Lip Balm

Note for liquids and gels: Consider putting these bottles into a zip lock bag to stop leakage but also to show airport security officials

• Toothbrush, Floss (again go the small travel option)
• Small electric razor (Life is too short to shave with a blade :)
• Multi-vitamin tablets and Berocca (for general health, jet lag and hangovers, use a small pill case instead of the whole bottle)
• Mini scissors, nail clippers (careful with airline travel)
• Ear plugs & eye mask (for sleeping just about anywhere!)
• Band-aids
• Hotel Sewing Kit, Safety Pins (thanks to the Le Meridien hotel chain)
• Ibuprofen (headache, pain)
• Imodium (anti-diuretic)
• Small lint roller or brush
• €20 (or USD) in small notes
• Pegless clothes line (try a outdoors store, very cool for emergency washing)
• Mini mag-light

It seems like a lot but if you focus on buying the smallest and lightest product or using samples you’ll be surprised how much space your Dopp bag still has. Now you just have to ignore the temptation to put more stuff in there!

In upcoming posts I’ll be dealing with it in more detail but for now I’m going to assume that you’re full bottle on Project Risk Management practices just so we can kick off with the Risk Log Template (or the Risk Register for those of you with a predilection for alliteration) and provide some tips on implementing it.

The PM who didn’t manage risk.

The risk management process is based on an keen awareness of your environment and the changes that (can) occur in it but all too often the risk management box gets ticked at the start of the project then shelved. One quick and dirty tip for successful risk management is to actually do it which means incorporating your risk assessment throughout your project lifecycle. From the project mandate to the project brief to the PID, the stage plans and the closure, risk happens! The depth of your assessments depend on your context. They can be done formally or informally, but the key is to do it regularly or whenever there is a fundamental shift in your environment.

I’ve actually incorporated it as a weekly consideration to reflect on in the Friday Afternoon Checklist which is aimed at keeping your project on course but I’ll leave it to you on how to best approach this cycle.

Stay tuned for more on Risk Management and some Tools and Templates (we’ve only just scratched the surface)…

Related Resources

• PRINCE2 Templates
• The Friday Afternoon Checklist

The PRINCE2 product itself isn’t that practical for me but I’ve found if you’re running an effective personal time/task management system that includes note-taking or journaling, it can be a very powerful tool in the Project Manager’s toolkit.

Why use a Daily Log?

There are a couple of good reasons for capturing daily log information.

Your memory isn’t perfect…

Project management systems are great at capturing issues, risks, defects etc but you still need to have a place to record bits and bobs of information that aren’t captured in these logs because let’s face it, your memory isn’t perfect and it was you’d be making a living as a texas hold’em player. A couple of uses for a log or diary could be to record:

• Staff member performance notes
• Interview notes
• Meetings notes
• Telephone conversations

Recording notes while they are fresh in your head is a good idea as it can be a day or so before you get the chance to write up the notes or meeting minutes and in the meantime life happens, you get distracted by the next fire and you end up forgetting some key information.

…neither is theirs…

Another reason to keep a daily log is because the people you work with also don’t have perfect memories and sadly, sometimes less than perfect motives. Aside from fail aspirations of late night poker championships, project life is busy and people can quickly forget important details to important discussions.

…notes are a record of history.

And finally there is also one other very good reason to keep notes - court. Sadly some projects end up in court, so keeping a professional diary can work in your favour. Obviously this will depend on what country and/or jurisdiction you are operating in but your original notes can be considered documents produced during the course of the project and maybe considered admissible in court. If prepared correctly your notes can even be considered factual over that of a witness.

Is My Daily Log Admissible in Court?

If you’re working in a particularly litigious environment, seek legal advise on what information you have to keep and in what format. For example some of the following components maybe required to make a legally admissible paper-based daily log.

• Use a book style note book (so the page order is maintained)
• Start writing on a new page
• Identify names, date, time and topic of discussion
• Use the same pen throughout the entry
• Cross out empty space with a “z” line (so you can’t add further notes later)
• Sign or initialise and date bottom of page

So to help you, the Project Manager, keep an eye on the “engine” of your project try using a weekly checklist to reflect on the key operational activities / considerations that will keep your project on track.

In this checklist I’m going to suggest using a five day work week as it’s a convenient ‘packet’ of time to plan for and report against. However you don’t have to use the work week as your unit of measure as it is highly dependent on your context.

For example, in some critical projects the Project Manager may mentally run through this checklist daily. Alternatively I’ve seen some organisations talk about this information in months and quarters although I wouldn’t recommend it. As always, you will need to adapt this to suit your own time frame.

The suggested headings are listed below, but you can download the MS word version of the checklist here.

• Progress to date and against plan
• Resource Forecast (rolling 30 day)
  • Human Resources
  • Equipment & Services Forecast
• Project Team
• Communications
• Issue Management
• Change Control
• Risk Management
• Quality Management
• Knowledge Management

Others gleefully tap their fingers together at the prospect of creating more detail and more control. The answer, fortunately for the more reasonable of us, lies somewhere in the middle.

Put simply, documenting and communicating a Work Package is a really good idea. After all how can you ask someone to deliver something if you can’t write a brief plan for it? And what happens if it all goes pear shaped and everyone is running for cover and point fingers at each other? How do you measure performance against plan?

The good people at OGC (the makers of PRINCE2) have made mention of the potential problems resulting from requiring too much information in the work package. The PRINCE2 handbook recommends that the “…process needs careful implementation to avoid being over-bureaucratic” and “For small projects … the link between this process and Controlling a Stage (CS) will be much less formal”.

However given the potential ramifications on the team’s morale and the PM’s reputation, I’m going to drive home the point to ensure new project managers, who are trying their best to get their heads around the processes, think before they leap.

The Work Package Template isn’t about creating more work…

How much and what kind of information you require from your team managers is contextual. To find the right balance you really need to understand the project, the organisation(s) involved and the team manager personalities / relationships (both up and down the food chain) to ensure you are customising your Work Package template to suit your team’s actual information requirements and not the other way around.

For example, if you have already established “Standard Operating Procedures” or SOPs in your project for quality checking, project reporting and problem handling and escalation, you don’t really need to reinvent the wheel so you can drop some sections or just reference the relevant SOPs. If you have a small team or a larger experienced team who have been working together well for a number of projects you won’t need to document the work package to within an inch of its life.

Unfortunately the recommended template that has been floating around the internet is a little cumbersome for my liking. In the Work Package Template I’ve added to this article, I’ve retained most of the section titles but added a little more structured and focuses on key “what do I need to know / what is going to hurt me” information at the top and less important information at the bottom of the document.

Compare the two and let me know what you think!

There is a tremendous collection of Project Management Templates (and their related methods/processes) available on the web - some good, some bad, some ugly - but instead of encouraging you to copy large slabs of someone else’s project management methodology or template resource, which is not only a breach of copyright but will lead to you trying to implement a disjointed method, it would be worth noting that this easily accessible resource presents an excellent opportunity to do some benchmarking of your own methodology and templates/tools.

The depth of the analysis is really up to you and how much time you and your team have, however even a quick scan will prompt some ideas and possible improvements. As you review their sites, ask yourself some questions - How can I make my execution faster, better, cheaper? What have my competitors done better? Are they more usable? Do I have the right templates to support my own processes?

I’ve started with the public sector and have selected some organisations from different countries for you to compare. I’ll be adding more sectors as I come across them, however it’s important to note that if you are not a public sector organisation, benchmarking yourself against a completely different industry/sector does have its dangers and drawbacks. For example a state government project management office will be very different to a mission critical finance sector project delivery organisation and light years apart from an advertising design project team.

The key is to view what has been produced in the context of your projects, their performance, your organisational culture and staff personalities and go from there. Enjoy.

Public Organisations

	Method	Process	Templates	Tools
Tasmanian Gov’t (Aust.)
Queensland Transport Ministry (Aust.)
Texas Dept of Info Resources (USA)
Cornell University (USA)
Washington State DIS (USA)
Dept. of BERR (UK)

Table Legend

• Method - has the method been fully defined?
• Process - are the processes of the method defined?
• Templates - have the PM templates been created?
• Tools - have additional tools and templates been created?

- Full Tick indicates sufficient information is present

- Half Tick indicates some information is present however not fully defined.

NOTE: The tick does not provide a qualitative assessment of the Project Management Templates and Methodologies, instead it simply indicated the level of information provided.

Apart from spending time pulling together (hopefully) useful templates for you, i’d like to also reach out and pat the backs of some fellow bloggers out there who are putting in the effort and burning the midnight candles to push the good word out there.

The first entry for my “Leading PM Blogs” series is dedicated to the “Projekt Management Blog” - www.pm-blog.com

Written in German by Stefan Hagen, it’s content covers the broad spectrum of Project Management issues from software, to methodologies to general PM news (and even keeps an eye on PRINCE2). Unfortunately the vast majority of PM information available on the web is dominated by english so its great to see blogs like this in another important language! Check him out.

Don’t know german? try google language tools!

btw does anyone know of a french PM blog?

Duardo.

Your team members have the experiences and knowledge and it’s your job as the Project Manager to regular extract this information and log it throughout the course of the project. (To make life a little easier I’ve added a Lessons Learned Log to download at the top of this page.)

PRINCE2 and other project management methods are generally pretty good at prescribing when you should do this (for example PRINCE2 does this when completing work packages and stages) but to effectively extract this information from your team you need good workshop skills, good interpersonal skills and some street smarts to decode office/project politics.

Workshops are a good (and fun) way for formally collecting lessons learned from the team. All the usual fun workshop techniques apply here, book a place outside the project office, use coloured paper and pens, encourage people to speak their mind, do some go-carting afterwards to celebrate the end of stage.

However many PMs will also note that not all lessons learned are discovered through formal channels. Lessons are like icebergs, 10% are visible and 90% lie hidden beneath the surface. So look beyond the project spam email requesting everyone to pass lessons learned back to the project administrator, or the dull 2pm lessons learned meeting where everyone is trying to combat the lunch food coma. Try to be innovative, you’ll be surprised what you can learn at a water-cooler conversation, turning up to the suppliers Friday afternoon drinks or even chatting to the nerds while they are on their cigarette break outside.

Learning from the past is the key to getting it right in the future but its more than just writing a lessons learned report that will gather dust in the filing cabinet. Hard won lessons learned, like the stories grandpa use to tell, need life beyond the end of project party. They need to be retold to others (and yourself) so that they too may avoid the same pitfalls. In a world where the pitfalls cost money, the value of lessons learned can mean the difference between profit or loss or in the worst case scenaro life and death.

Like many components of project management, lessons learned is a process. Fortunately it isn’t hard to make the lessons learned process work, PRINCE2 does a pretty good job of it. (You can also download a educational template here.) The hard bit is ensuring this information is distilled into key messages and communicated effectively to others - something PRINCE2 doesn’t teach you.

To start with you need an audience. There is no point gathering up all this experience if no one is going to read it. Identify key parties within your organisation or even your key suppliers who will be interested in your experiences. These can be other project managers, the audit team, PM methodology team, quality assurance staff or even senior managers who will play the role of Project Executive in the up and coming projects.

Next you importantly need to make your point heard. If you think simply writing a report will do the trick, don’t be surprised to find your organisation making the same mistake again and you writing that “I told you so” email as you forward your lesson learned email no one actually read. So be proactive and setup a meeting with your standards teams, senior managers and colleagues to present and discuss your lessons learned report and make sure the key people required to action them are present.

Finally you need to follow it up. They may have heard you but did they actually put it into practice? If not why not?

The lessons learned report is a key part of an organisation’s (and Project Manager’s) knowledge management function, if you are putting in the effort to facilitate change, put a little more in to make sure it goes through.