Breaking Through the Project Fog: How Smart Organizations Achieve Success by Creating, Selecting and Executing On-Strategy Projects

257 Pages·2008·1.25 MB·English

by  James Norrie

BREAKING THROUGH THE
PROJECT
FOG
BREAKING THROUGH THE
PROJECT
FOG
How Smart Organizations Achieve
Success by Creating, Selecting and
Executing On-Strategy Projects
JAMES NORRIE
Copyright © 2008 by James Norrie
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Norrie, James, 1965-
Project fog : how smart organizations achieve success by creating, selecting and
executing on-strategy projects / James Norrie.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-470-84071-9
1.Project management. 2.Strategic planning. I.Title.
HD69.P75N67 2008 658.4’04 C2008-900609-7
Production Credits
Cover design: Ian Koo
Interior text design: Natalia Burobina
Printer: Friesens
John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
6045 Freemont Blvd.
Mississauga, Ontario
L5R 4J3
Printed in Canada
1 2 3 4 5 FP 12 11 10 09 08
This book is dedicated to Paul, Lia and Jillian, whose gift of
time and patient understanding allows me to indulge my pas-
sion for writing and sharing knowledge with others. I am grate-
ful for your love and affection; my life is fuller because of our
life together. And to Bev and Derek Walker (thesis supervisor),
great colleagues and now good friends without whom this book
would not exist.
Table of Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
CHAPTER 1: SPOTTING PROJECT FOG 1
How the Fog Rolls In 3
The Fog Thickens 7
The Research Participants 9
Defining a New Starting Point 12
The Link Between Current Practices and “Better Practices” 16
CHAPTER 2: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING STRATEGIC 19
Is Your Organization Aligned for Results? 19
Current Project Selection Methods 20
The Strategic Implications of Limited Resources 22
The Role of the Project Management Professional 26
Selecting the Most Strategic Projects 29
Understanding the Origins of Portfolio Theory 31
On-Strategy Project Management: The Fourth Dimension 33
The Final Word In the Real World of Practitioners 37
CHAPTER 3: NAVIGATING THROUGH FOGGY STRATEGY 39
Balanced Performance Measurement and Management 44
Building a Strategic Project Scoring Model 46
Benefits and Costs of Revising Your Current Methodology 52
Putting the Proposed Changes into Practice 54
CHAPTER 4: MANAGING PROJECT RISKS, RETURNS
AND RESOURCES TO MAXIMIZE BENEFITS 59
Maximizing Your Project Management Efforts 59
Managing Project Risk 61
Internal Project Risk Assessment 62
Resource Management Approaches in PPM 67
Integrating PPM with Other Core Business Processes 69
viii
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 5: CREATING SMALL, SMART AND
MIGHTY PMOs TO STEER THE WAY 73
Getting Off to a Good Start! 74
Defining or Re-Defining the Purpose of the PMO 77
Strategic PMO Processes 81
Key Success Factors 83
Supporting Strategic Project Selection 85
Improving the Project Submission Process 85
Establishing Standard Methodology (Ours or Yours) 88
Summary of Do’s and Don’ts of an Effective PMO 90
CHAPTER 6: THE ROLE OF THE BOARD: INTEGRATING
MEASUREMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR
PROJECT RESULTS 93
All Boards Are Not Created Equal 95
For Profit or Non-Profit Board: What’s the Difference? 98
Elected or Appointed? 99
Board Committees 101
The Board as Project Sponsor 103
The Board as a Project Resource 104
The Board as Project Manager 105
Final Thoughts 110
CHAPTER 7: GOOD LEADERSHIP IN FOGGY
CONDITIONS 113
Personal Leadership Style 115
Why Should You Care So Much? 115
A New Leadership Model 117
The Three C’s for Project Management Professionals 120
The Three A’s for Executives 127
The Forecast for Relationships 138
A Parting Reflection 140
CHAPTER 8: SWEEPING AWAY THE FOG IN
THE PRIVATE SECTOR 143
Clarifying Strategy and Reducing Non-Strategic Projects 144
Improving Project Selection Methods and Processes 148
Training as a Tool of Strategic Change 153
Table of Contents ix
Integrating Resource Management into PPM 156
Summary of Results 159
CHAPTER 9: TWO CASE STUDIES: CLEARING UP
THE FOG IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR 161
Case Study Candidate 1 162
Step 1: Clarifying the Strategy 164
Step 2: Consolidating Effort 167
Step 3: Reinforcing What Works 170
Step 4: Staying the Course 172
Interesting Data Points from Participants 173
Case Study Candidate 2 174
What Was Done Differently 175
Connecting Individual and Corporate Performance Management 180
Interesting Data Points from Participants 181
Continuous Improvements 183
Why PPM Really Works 186
CHAPTER 10: WHERE TO GO FROM HERE? 189
Next Steps 190
APPENDIX: REVIEW OF RELEVANT RESEARCH AND
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 193
Strategy References 194
Project Management References 198
Leadership and Change Management References 204
Finance and Portfolio Theory References 207
BSC and Performance Management References 210
Bibliography 214
Index 237
Preface
The writing of a book begins with an idea, and in this case, its origins
belong to my many academic and consulting colleagues, incredible cli-
ents and the talented project management practitioners I have had the
pleasure of working with over the course of two decades together. The
field of project management is quite young; consequently, as “professional
pioneers” we are all still figuring it out as we go!
This book is based on over 20,000 project hours; hundreds of on-
line survey responses; and multitudes of case study interviews, training
sessions and focus groups, conducted while completing my Doctorate in
Project Management (achieved in 2006) under the able supervision of Dr.
Derek Walker at RMIT. This book’s genesis was my thesis for that degree.
In addition, my consulting work in leadership and strategic project man-
agement within organizations continues as part of an ongoing research
initiative at Ryerson University, where I am an Associate Professor in the
Ted Rogers School of Management.
This book was written for the following audiences:
(cid:127) Executives and Board Members in the Private and Public Sectors
This group is ultimately responsible for strategy, governance, and
an organization’s overall performance. We know that the build-
ing blocks of executing any strategy take shape initially as projects,
whether a new product or service development project, a new or
improved business process project, or the installation of new IT
or Web-related capabilities. We also know that organizations are
investing millions, even billions, of dollars worldwide in projects
and project management-related activities. For those tasked with
selecting strategic projects or ensuring that investments in proj-
ect management pay off for their organizations, this book provides
practical help and insight into proven practices that work.
xii
Preface
(cid:127) Project Managers and Program Leaders
Whether you are a sole practitioner, are part of a team inside an
organization, or are at the top of your game and leading a global
Project Management Office (PMO), all project managers need to
continually challenge themselves to think about their ability to
add value to their organizations. Within this book you will find a
multitude of suggestions aimed at helping you become a strategic
business partner to senior management, which is, in turn, deeply
engaged in your organization’s strategy and in the selection and
execution of the strategic projects that really matter. You will also
learn more about why some of what you have learned along the
way may be limiting your professional contribution, success and
career mobility. In short, you will learn how to clear up the project
fog and excel as a respected professional contributor at the highest
levels of your organization.
(cid:127) Consultants, Educators, Association Leaders
If you are responsible for shaping the future of project manage-
ment and have an influence on this profession, this book will
challenge you to think differently about the project management
context and its place in business. You will also develop an under-
standing of what C-suite executives really want from their project
management investments. This knowledge can help you develop
and implement better project management practices globally that
will ensure strategic results and executive satisfaction with your
advice and contributions.
I have included many ideas directly contributed from individuals in
exactly these roles—executives and practitioners from Canada, the United
States, Europe, Australia and Asia, who shared their experience by anony-
mously answering online questionnaires.
I hope this book will free project managers to bring even more value
to their organizations and move on to become part of senior management.
When I talk with you at conferences, in training seminars, or while work-
ing with you in your organizations, I often hear your desire and willing-
ness to contribute and your frustration at the lack of acknowledgement
of the value of your potential contribution to strategy and its successful
execution.
This lack of recognition must change, and it will over time. But
it requires that we rethink our assumptions about strategic project
management to ensure that they are relevant to the CEO and his or her