However there is no one size fits all solution. Every Project Manager and every project develops its own style, some like to keep it loose and vague taking the approach that “you can’t be hit if you can’t be seen”, while others see real benefit in tailoring and controlling messages sent outside of the project team.  Whatever your approach, project stakeholders, particularly the ones paying the bills will insist on seeing regular reports.

In PRINCE2 this is the Highlight Report.  The report facilitates the regular communication between the Project Manager and the Project Board and is used to monitor progress and track issues / risks.  It draws heavily from the internal checkpoint reports and the project logs and its an important perception management tool for the Project Manager.

HINT: project teams usually find reporting painful as they are usually focused on what their believe they were recruited for – delivery of products -  however a little bit of regular reporting can set the stage for a strong defence if and when the project comes under fire – if an environment where profit is at stake – these PRINCE2 Highlight Reports, when done correctly, are usually worth more than their weight in gold.

The Six Fundamentals of Success

I only carry one professional development book in my briefcase…

…and its not a book on project management lore. It’s looking a little tatty these days but it’s been around the world with me, in airports, planes, trains, trams and taxis. I don’t read it all the time, just occasionally when i’m in a reflective mood and feel the need to reflect on my professional work.

The full title of the book is “The Six Fundamentals of Success: The Rules for Getting It Right for Yourself and Your Organization”, by Stuart Levine. It’s a small, notebook-sized, common sense book with short, sharp and targeted rules to remind you of the professional fundamentals you needs to get right on a daily basis to achieve the bigger picture.

I love the structure of the book, each rule (there are about 20 per fundamental) is presented in a short 2-3 page brief, which is the perfect format for the time-poor, thoughtful project manager. One of my personal favorite take-away is “Stop Financial Hemorrhaging” which is under “Fundamental #1: Make Sure You Add Value”, golden advice for project managers and a worthy reminder when you have some spare time on the plane.

If you’re not currently toting a book like this around and in the market for one, I can recommend this one.

• Publisher: Doubleday Business; Rev Upd edition (February 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• Cost: USD $13.57
• Available from amazon.com – The Six Fundamentals of Success

The OODA Loop is a concept originated by military strategist Col. John Boyd of the United States Air Force and has become an important concept in both business and military strategy. According to Boyd, decision-making occurs in a cycle of observe-orient-decide-act. An individual or an organization can process this cycle quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than an opponent, can thereby “get inside” the opponent’s decision cycle and gain a military or business advantage.

In terms of project delivery, the OODA loop can be applied to keep the project flexible and responsive to a ever-changing environment by ensuring that planning occurs throughout the project lifecycle. While detailed planning prior to starting stage 1 is always a good idea, the plan needs to remain flexible in order to remain adaptable to changing or new requirements that appear mid-project or from lessons learned from the previous stage.

By using stage plans in your project, this allows the PM to review previous planning, Observe the current environment, Orient the project team, Decide on the best course of action and finally Act (thereby returning to observe the new environment created by the previous action).

This constant refining on the project plan through the stages enables a more controlled outcome.

Best Project Management Solution

Awards the software solution that best automates the management of project-based business activities.

• Winner: @task (was also a 2007 finalist)
  
• Runner Up: Daptiv PPM
• Runner Up: QuickArrow PSA

Best Collaboration Solution

Awards the software solution that best facilitates group interaction via the Internet, this includes groupware, real-time conferencing and collaboration over the Internet.

• Winner: Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional
• Runner Up: Central Desktop
• Runner Up: Citrix GoToMeeting
• Runner Up: Clearspace
• Runner Up: SightSpeed 6.0

I had a good response from readers and vendors alike to my previous 2007 post, so please feel free to let us know what you’re using currently, or if you’ve had experience with the software solutions above, let us know what you think!

How much am I worth?

There are many ways to derive your consulting rate. Usually during times of high demand it’s a gut decision based on the number of offers you receive and who wants you more. However this article is less about using bravado and ego to set your rate and more about using logical market-driven concepts to derive a minimum rate that ensures you keep ahead of where you would be if you were ‘staff’ and are sufficiently rewarded for taking the plunge.

Project contractors will proudly extol the many and varied reasons for why contractors rates are different to staff salaries but the discussion usually boils down to one simple concept – risk & reward.  The more risk you take, the more you should earn to offset the downside not to mention a little reward for all this hard work! 

Where to start?

The opportunity cost of contracting is the baseline for this calculation – What can you earn as a staff member in the same position?  Staff members generally enjoy a significantly less stressful work life.  Aside from the occasional paper-cut, job longevity is generally measured in years rather than months and priority is usual given to staff when new opportunities come around.  So the staff salary level is usually a sound baseline from which to derive your rate.  After all why would you work as a full time contractor earning less than as full time staff member? 

So let’s begin by assuming you’re a senior project manager earning 100,000 (currency units) ‘in the hand’ (that’s cash after tax).  Obviously the figures below will change with the country, industry and organisation but its a good rough guide for our purposes: 

• Add 25% marginal tax (25,000)
• Add 9% pension contribution (9,000)
• Add 4 weeks leave (7,700)
• Add 7 days sick leave (2,000)
• Add provision for long service leave (1,666)
• Add health insurance (1,500)

The cost to the business for that staff member, not including operations costs such as floor space etc is approximately 147,000.  This figure also doesn’t include any access to company bonus schemes or other entitlements such as maternity/paternity leave and training allowance. 

Now factor in the cost of contracting risk

Contractors, by their very nature, may only work 50% of the time.  If they are busy then this may rise from 70%-80% of the time, the rest of the time is spent “on the beach” unemployed or looking for new work. 

At a micro level, contracts are generally measured in months with very short termination clauses (ranging from 1 day to 1 month) so depending on market conditions it would be safe to say that a consultant isn’t going to be working the full year.  However the risk premium doesn’t stop there. 

At a macro-level, over a period of 5-10 years, it would be safe to also factor in a major down turn in the employment market (we’re going through one now) which usually hit the contractors first.  The reality of this could mean being out of work for 6 to 12 months while the market recovers.  So let’s assume a 10 year cycle, working 60% per year and spending 1 year out of work.  All these costs need to be factored into the rate to ensure you aren’t penalised for changing from a staff position to a contractor/consultant. 

• $147,000 * 40% (annual unemployment premium) = 205,612
• $205,612 * 10% (10 year cycle unemployment premium) = 226,173

Here is your baseline income required for a consultant to be on par with a staff member earning $100,000 in the hand per annum after working for a 10 year period (not including inflation of course).  At this level you’re consulting rate would be $135/hr (or $942 per day) based on a 7 hour day of productive work (you don’t get paid for lunch) over a 48 week year (you don’t get paid for holidays). 

Obviously at this rate there is no real financial benefit to being a contractor as your salary, benefits and risks balance out.  While there are still many other benefits to being a contractor, if you’re just after a paying job, you might as well be a staff member and not have to worry about your next gig. 

So the next step is to calculate the “get-of-out-bed” factor, you’ve managed to calculate your equivalent rate, now ask yourself, how much more do you need to be paid to make this all worth while? 

To answer this question let’s now look at the HR or management consulting markets who typically use profit margins of 10% to 150% ranging from HR body hire to expert consulting.  This obviously depends on your industry, demand and skill level but you get the picture. 

So the big question is.. are you selling yourself short?

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?

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

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