Effective Project and Planning Managements Skills.

Some of Dr. Syed’s life tips and tricks in 30 minutes
For participants of PETRONAS CoP 21st January 2009


A project at any cost is still a project. Managing a 1 million dollar or a 100 million dollar projects will still have the same sets of problems. Only the scale or magnitude of the headache differs.

One thing that I ALWAYS adheres to is keep the work to its elemental. Sophistication will breed confusion.

A project runs on resources, everybody in the field knows that. You need the 4M features (Manpower, Machinery, Materials and Money), these need to be done it a set time frame. OK, that is simple enough. Managing it is actually simple too.
*if you want your solution to be simple, keep your tool simple too*

I have always relied on simple tools of the trade to assist me. In 1983 when I first came into the rat-race, I relied on massive amounts of paper to put things in order and at the same time allows me access to any information that I need, fast. These are some of my methods that I adopted thru the years.

When I get a project to run, manage and complete, I will look at it in 3 areas.
1. The Resources that I need and have
2. The interfacing that need to be done and
3. The financial issues that it will have.

The Resources that I need and have
This is a case of needs and availabilities. Most of the time the person who created a work implementation program is NOT the person doing the job, thus the “feel” of the job requirements is not there. The amount in the submitted workforce histogram is for most of the time inaccurate. (Further explanations and examples in forum)
The interfacing that needs to be done
This is the most important link in Project Management – The human interfacing. The catalyst to the implementation of 4M is Human. Know your team, and know them well. (Further explanations and examples in forum)

The financial issues that will happen
My initial habit is to do a financial analysis of the project before it starts. I will load my Implementation program with the 4M and then do a Resource versus financial comparison; this will give me a feel of the work contribution to the cash flow. I will next do a Financial versus time, which will assist me for payments and claim by the time intervals I set (Further explanations and examples in forum)

One important format I used is putting information that can be read by ALL, from the Planner Up AND Down.

The situation today is quite scaring, the Planner creates a very detailed looking program and upon completion, the program is distributed to all parties in the project.

The problem here is the tool of the planner is very sophisticated software and beyond a planner, not many understand these data. The Management just asks the planner the overall status and standard questions in the areas of progress, delays etc.

The missing link here is the ones implementing the work physically. Some are tradesmen who IT knowledge is quite minimal (or none at all). Are these implementers briefed on what is expected from them daily?

Information not understood by ALL in the team is not worth churning out.

The simple facts
a) The Management needs the important gist only. When they ask for a progress report give them what they really need to see to know the problems. Their report therefore must be summarized to these data.
b) The Implementers needs to be given the daily TO DO list, based on their individual skills and trade. Filter out the relevant details, distribute.
c) The Consultants, in most cases the consultants work progress is minimally monitored. There is very rarely any Progress monitoring works program for Consultants
d) Authorities (if ever) should be given their required involvement time frame tables or List.

Pre-Implementation
I had always looked at a Development/Construction program as a “Diary that has yet to happen”. This made me put things in perspective to get it done, Period.

I adopted a reality check mindset
-Weekly values
-Big Job Bigger Detailing
-Downsize in documents, upgrade in field
-Resource list is always first before program

Weekly values
Rethink to add in reality. I week is 5 Working days (or 5.5 or 6 in some cases), NEVER 7 days

Bigger Jobs Bigger Detailing
For a $1,000,000 job, you could be happy with a proposed implementation plan of 500 activities but with a $100,000,000 job, it would be safer to detail out as much as possible in order to really have a good feel and better zeroing to the area of delays etc.
The rest will be explained in the forum

I identified the Productivity of each resource; I had the foresight then to keep in a data base. With such productivity Index, I was able to make a fairly accurate time frame requirement to do a particular work. I always use FOS on my targeted time frame values. Nothing in reality is sure. Follow this simple rule. New People- Low Productivity, Old (experienced) People better productivity. New Machineries – Higher Productivity, Old ones – Low.
(Some “elderly” people can behave worse then some new ones.)

I use the FOS on each of the resource available for me
Say a 5 year old excavator whose productivity of work is 20m3/hour, due to its age I will devalue the 20m3/hour by say 20% and use a value of 16m3/hour

Pre-Implementation requirements always involves 3rd party. However this is rarely addressed to effectively

In most project Plans, most activities identified for Pre-Implementations are never thought out carefully. In most case, their durations are impossible to be done in real life. (Examples in the forum)

Areas of shortfalls
Understating duration of approval,
Can the allocated resources do it in that duration? We need to really know the output of each of the resources we are inputting into the works program. Don’t assume.

Human and work environment interfacing allowances not given, especially across different regions
- Example given in Forum

Availability of authorities in the set timeframe
Can the authorities concerned come and attend at the time you set in your implementation plan?
Failure to identify and inform external parties/authorities, Utilities providers

Lead time should never be assumed
Lead time estimates are one of the common contributors to project progress delays
- Explained in forum
Implementation Stage
a) Observe the progress at the ground; always audit 3rd party information gathering (if possible)
b) When you track progress, keep the tracking to a reasonable duration interval.
c) Audit the targeted (proposed) workforce

Item (a) bring your laptop or PDA (it must have at least Pocket Excel), collect it yourself (if you have a progress reported submitted by your team/implementers (soft copy is better), use it as a point of reference but never final, you decide.

Item (b) tracking a project progress must be done a regularly as possible; a delay event noted early gets rectified or addressed to earlier. A week’s delay can be addressed to on the weekend. Too long a delay and the float time of weekends and public holidays will never be enough.
Note.
Productivity during Overtime works (after the normal 8hours output) is only at 75% efficiency. You will be paying more for less. (See attached Productivity Data Analysis char above)

Item I when you do your walk-about, talk with the implementers. Ask them and visually check if possible, the quantum available. Simple logic will show you that if there are not enough resources, then progress too will be less. Use your tools of PM (Software- MS Project or Primavera), list out/filter the following –
I. What work is on-going today
II. Who is doing what (and quantum)

*try this tip*
Using PM software, do a system projections or update of the progress by a certain date, then filter the program for works or activities on-going items
That will be your look-ahead program.

Post Implementation
Close project documentation as fast as possible. This will free up management and administrative resources. One thing I observe, site documentation is for most of the time badly stored.
Instruction, Correspondences, Addendums etc are always kept in the legacy format. Adapt a better or simple filing system. This will help in many issues e.g. Extension of time claims, Litigation, financial variations etc. For the last 15 years I utilized Microsoft ODBC and the Microsoft Office family to do this for me. I get a scanner and convert all relevant documents into JPEG format and cross link these document to Activities in my Project Plan document, upon completion, I will burn the entire works program and its related scanned documents into a CD (JPEG documents will degrade in quality if left in a magnetic media for a long time)

This is only some of the approached that I have been doing in my 20plus years in the field of Project Management, in the event that you might like some second opinion on some of your daily work issues related to PM and planning, do pop by and participate in my Project Management web blog