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By Michael Greer
Project managers must fight for time to do things right. In our work with project managers we often hear this complaint: "We always seem to have time to do the project over; I just wish we had taken the time to do it right in the first place!" Projects must have available enough time to "do it right the first time." And project managers must fight for this time by demonstrating to sponsors and top managers why it's necessary and how time spent will result in quality deliverables.
Responsibility must be matched by equivalent authority. It's not enough to be held responsible for project outcomes; project managers must ask for and obtain enough authority to execute their responsibilities. Specifically, managers must have the authority to acquire and coordinate resources, and make appropriate, binding decisions, which have an impact on the success of the project.
Project sponsors and stakeholders must be active participants, not passive customers. Most project sponsors and stakeholders rightfully demand the authority to approve project deliverables, either wholly or in part. Along with this authority comes responsibility to participate in the early stages of the project (helping to define deliverables), complete reviews of interim deliverables in a timely fashion (keeping the project moving), and help expedite the project manager's access to members of the target audience, and essential documentation.
Projects typically must be sold, and resold. There are times when the project manager must function as salesperson to maintain the commitment of stakeholders and sponsors. With project plans in hand, project managers may need to periodically remind people about the business need that is being met and that their contributions are essential to help meet this need.
Project managers should acquire the best people they can and then do whatever it takes to keep the garbage out of their way. By acquiring the best people -- the most skilled, the most experienced, the best qualified -- the project manager can often compensate for too little time or money or other project constraints. Project managers should serve as an advocate for these valuable team members, helping to protect them from outside interruptions and helping them acquire the tools and working conditions necessary to apply their talents.
Top management must actively set priorities. In today's leaner, self-managing organizations, it is not uncommon for project team members to be expected to play active roles on many project teams at the same time. Ultimately, there comes a time when resources are stretched to their limits and there are simply too many projects to be completed successfully. In response, some organizations have established a Project Office comprised of top managers from all departments to act as a clearinghouse for projects and project requests. The Project Office reviews the organization's overall mission and strategies, establishes criteria for project selection and funding, monitors resource workloads, and determines which projects are of high enough priority to be approved. In this way top management provides the leadership necessary to prevent multi-project log jams.
This article by Michael Greer is an excerpt from "Chapter 6: Planning and Managing Human Performance Technology Projects," Handbook of Human Performance Technology, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
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