June 2012

Jun 12 2012

Project Management – It’s about reducing risk

Project Management is the art/science of defining, planning, executing and completing an endeavour in a structured and organized way. The purpose of project management is to reduce the risk of that endeavour.

When to use it?

the endeavour has a finite beginning and end
the endeavour is high risk or highly strategic

Project management has existed in some form or another as long as humans have been around. Clearly the Romans had some level of project management or else their structures would not have stood the test of time! If you’ve ever engaged in planning for a family road trip by calculating distance, hotels, budget per meals etc. you have been doing some level of project management too.

In the 1950’s project management began to be applied in North America in industries such as engineering, military and aerospace where the risks of not using a structured project management approach could be fatal. For more information on the background of project management see the Wikipedia article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) began in 1969 and is the leading proponent organization in North America for project management. The PMI publishes the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) which is a framework of principles and practices for project management. Please note that the PMBoK is not a methodology. It is a framework upon which a methodology can be based.

The PMI also has multiple certifications in project management the most well known being the PMP or Project Management Professional.

Links

IPMA – http://ipma.ch/
PMI – http://www.pmi.org/
PMAJ – http://www.pmaj.or.jp
Prince2 – http://www.prince-officialsite.com/
Project Smart – http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/

By Craig "hachiroku" Mercer • Project Management (Macro) •

Jun 11 2012

Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) originally came from the Toyota Production System (TPS) where it is known as “material and information flow mapping” and is the defacto current state mapping method for lean design (product and service based).

When to use it?

Use VSM for process mapping that is low variability AND high volume. In my experience it is the high volume that is the more important of the two. If you have low variability in a process but the volume is quite low the value from doing a VSM and Kaizen event is greatly diminished.

When NOT to use it?

In disjointed product development processes
Where there is no “product” to follow
Where there is high variety/low volume

Value Stream Mapping – Current State

Select a Product/Service Family
Form a Team
Understand Customer Demand
Map the Process Flow
Map the Material Flow
Map the Information Flow
Calculate Total Product Cycle Time
Detail Off-Line Activities

By Craig "hachiroku" Mercer • Process Improvement (Micro), Tool Box •

Jun 10 2012

Sticky Sessions – Brainstorming on a mission

Once you’re nearing the end of the initiation phase of a project, you’ve identified your sponsors, your scope and your subject matter experts now you are going to have to figure out how to deliver.

Project planning can be pretty daunting when you think of the enormity of it all. After all you are going to break any given project down into its most granular of parts so that you can plan out exactly how to deliver it. The question comes to mind: “Where to start?”. One technique that I have used many times, is the sticky session. Simply put it is structured brainstorming with brightly coloured 3M Post-it® notes and a big a** sheet of paper.

What you need:

High level list of deliverables which will help you identify which subject matter experts you will need
A group of subject matter experts (SMEs)
A sheet of paper 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide and 1.2 meters (4 feet) high
sticky notes that are 3×5 inches (other sizes can be used but are either too small to read at a distance or too large they waste space)
A room big enough to hold 10-20 people that can accommodate the paper on the wall (NOTE: it’s also nice to have a projector available so participants can refer to the meeting goals through out the session)
A brainstorming facilitator (typically the project manager but in some circumstances a third party can be used)

The goal of the sticky session is to facilitate the subject matter experts in brainstorming (to the required level of detail) what will be needed to complete the deliverables.

The stickies will give the project manager the embryonic pieces of the work breakdown structure (WBS) that will eventually give birth to the project schedule (once the activities have been identified and sequenced and the resources and budget have been identified).

By Craig "hachiroku" Mercer • Project Management (Macro), Tool Box • • Tags: Brainstorming Techniques

Jun 8 2012

It doesn’t matter how you start…it matters how you finish.

Back in the 90’s I worked at a summer camp called Sylvan Acres. The camp did not own its own property so it had to rent the Cowichan Lake Education Centre or C.L.E.C. to run camps. The camp director was a man by the name of Wayne Stewart. Wayne had what I consider to be one of the best approaches to camp and staff development. Wayne’s approach was to invest in his staff rather than the program. I remember him saying: “I don’t need to focus on ensuring the campers enjoy their time at camp. I need to focus on the staff and in turn the staff will ensure that the campers enjoy camp.”. It was somewhat revolutionary for a camp director to not focus on the program. Many other camps focused heavily on program; the water sports, wide games, campfire etc. Wayne however focused the vast majority of his attention on the staff. He believed that an investment in the staff would reap huge benefits for the campers. But I digress…

Each summer was eight weeks long. One week of staff training followed by seven weeks of summer camp which completed just before Labour Day weekend. Each camp ran from Sunday to Saturday so there was just about 24 hours off for staff between camps. As you can imagine after 5 weeks or so people are tired, emotions are frayed and staff are thinking “Will this ever end?”. I know I was certainly feeling this in the summer of 1996. One day Wayne took me aside and shared with me a life axiom that I now share with you. He said “It doesn’t matter how you start. It matters how you finish.”.

reunion_campfire — Wayne Stewart speaking at a staff reunion in 2008.

Working at camp is not a sprint…it is a marathon. You begin all full of energy, you look your best, you are on your best behaviour. As the summer progresses your true colours begin to shine through whether you like it or not. It is then that you begin to understand what you are really like. It is in these times that we have a choice to make. You can be one of the following:

a) part of the solution
b) part of the problem
c) part of the landscape

Now I know some of you are asking yourselves: “Craig what does this have to do with project management or process improvement?”. It’s simple. We will all come across projects that are difficult. Projects that don’t go the way we want for one reason or another. The question should be “How are we going to finish?”. Are we going to throw in the towel? Are we going to raise the white flag and signal our surrender? In the end each of us must choose how we are going to finish. Finish our school, finish our work, finish our life.

How you finish says a lot about your character.

By Craig "hachiroku" Mercer • Maxims •

Jun 7 2012

Dude…where’s my quality?

w_edwards_deming — W Edwards Deming (1900-1993).

I think most people want and appreciate quality. Quality products (e.g.: a coffee maker) and quality services (e.g.: a blood test). However most businesses whether product or service based fail to understand that quality is part of a system. A system for producing widgets or a system for producing service. The quality of that system can only be as good as the system allows it to be. In other words if you do not build quality into the system there won’t be any.

“Quality can not exceed the capability of the system. Quality can not be inspected into a product or service; it must be built into it.” – W. Edwards Deming “Out of the Crisis” (Page 227)

You CANNOT achieve quality in a system by:

Slogans
Such as one on a mirror that says “The person you see in the mirror is responsible for your safety”. Which is completely wrong. The system is responsible for your safety.
Inspections
Inspecting a product or service after the fact to see how much quality is there (typically measured by defects) and while necessary in some cases will never actually increase the quality.
Performance Targets
This is one of the most ridiculous in that it does the exact opposite of what it is supposed to do. It ascribes to the employees what should be ascribed to variation within the system. In every group there will always be someone at the top and someone at the bottom which is normal.

All of the above items will only succeed in highlighting how bad the system is and then blame it on the employees who are not responsible for the system (management is) and furthermore destroying morale and pitting employees against each other

Dr. Deming’s 14 principles are:

Constancy of purpose
Create constancy of purpose for continual improvement of products and service to society, allocating resources to provide for long range needs rather than only short term profitability, with a plan to become competitive, to stay in business, and to provide jobs.
The new philosophy
Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age, created in Japan. We can no longer live with commonly accepted levels of delays, mistakes, defective materials and defective workmanship. Transformation of Western management style is necessary to halt the continued decline of business and industry.
Cease dependence on mass inspection
Eliminate the need for mass inspection as the way of life to achieve quality by building quality into the product in the first place. Require statistical evidence of built in quality in both manufacturing and purchasing functions.
End lowest tender contracts
End the practice of awarding business solely on the basis of price tag. Instead require meaningful measures of quality along with price. Reduce the number of suppliers for the same item by eliminating those that do not qualify with statistical and other evidence of quality. The aim is to minimize total cost, not merely initial cost, by minimizing variation. This may be achieved by moving toward a single supplier for any one item, on a long term relationship of loyalty and trust. Purchasing managers have a new job, and must learn it.
Improve every process
Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production, and service. Search continually for problems in order to improve every activity in the company, to improve quality and productivity, and thus to constantly decrease costs. Institute innovation and constant improvement of product, service, and process. It is management’s job to work continually on the system (design, incoming materials, maintenance, improvement of machines, supervision, training, retraining).
Institute training on the job
Institute modern methods of training on the job for all, including management, to make better use of every employee. New skills are required to keep up with changes in materials, methods, product and service design, machinery, techniques, and service.
Institute leadership
Adopt and institute leadership aimed at helping people do a better job. The responsibility of managers and supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality. Improvement of quality will automatically improve productivity. Management must ensure that immediate action is taken on reports of inherited defects, maintenance requirements, poor tools, fuzzy operational definitions, and all conditions detrimental to quality.
Drive out fear
Encourage effective two way communication and other means to drive out fear throughout the organization so that everybody may work effectively and more productively for the company.
Break down barriers
Break down barriers between departments and staff areas. People in different areas, such as Leasing, Maintenance, Administration, must work in teams to tackle problems that may be encountered with products or service.
Eliminate exhortations
Eliminate the use of slogans, posters and exhortations for the work force, demanding Zero Defects and new levels of productivity, without providing methods. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships; the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system, and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.
Eliminate arbitrary numerical targets
Eliminate work standards that prescribe quotas for the work force and numerical goals for people in management. Substitute aids and helpful leadership in order to achieve continual improvement of quality and productivity.
Permit pride of workmanship
Remove the barriers that rob hourly workers, and people in management, of their right to pride of workmanship. This implies, among other things, abolition of the annual merit rating (appraisal of performance) and of Management by Objective. Again, the responsibility of managers, supervisors, foremen must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.
Encourage education
Institute a vigorous program of education, and encourage self improvement for everyone. What an organization needs is not just good people; it needs people that are improving with education. Advances in competitive position will have their roots in knowledge.
Top management commitment and action
Clearly define top management’s permanent commitment to ever improving quality and productivity, and their obligation to implement all of these principles. Indeed, it is not enough that top management commit themselves for life to quality and productivity. They must know what it is that they are committed to-that is, what they must do. Create a structure in top management that will push every day on the preceding 13 Points, and take action in order to accomplish the transformation. Support is not enough: action is required!

Dr. Deming – You Tube Documentary

This following three part video was originally broadcast in 1992 as part of the BBC’s “Business Matters” series. The episode is called “A Prophet Unheard”.