Guy Hindley: My life in planning, hints & tips

Editor's Notes

• #4: Harvey Jones, ex Head of ICI, then business “troubleshooter”.
• #6: Creating a Plan is an “event” . It’s Magic In reality it is dynamic and evolves over time Many people think planning just happens, they need educating as to what proper planning is. Also what proper Planning can do for them.
• #7: Project Planning, Project Control is the building block of good project management. It’s provides the essential building block from which project management can deliver. It’s the foundation for Project Mgt. Without solid robust project planning then the project is on shaky foundations from the start. This then has implications on how troubled the project will be in later life.
• #8: Talk through slide. Emphasise how everything integrates. Engine room of Project Mgt. All interconnected systems and the centre of it all is Integrated Planning/ Project Control.
• #9: Say this talk focuses on the People side of planning as distinct from Toolsets and Processes Processes and Toolsets are very important. Without People there would be no effective Planning. People add value. They bring the toolsets and processes to life and make them hopefully useful.
• #11: Empathy with all the project Engagement with all the project Communication
• #12: How do you understand an elephant? Break the work down into the WBS
• #13: How do you understand an elephant? Break the work down into the WBS
• #14: Dictionaries can help to unambiguously help to define the each of the wbs blocks/ elements. This then helps to ensure a consistent and coherent approach to the project from all. They will specify assumptions and exclusions. This will help to ensure consistency across the project team. WBS dictionaries can also be used with the Customer to ensure agreed scope content of the work to be undertaken, taking particular note of any assumptions and exclusions. Ensure the Customer agrees to what the project defines as exclusions and assumptions – if not they are a point of debate before setting the project baseline. When project is up and running then need “Change” control/ management of the work content, the wbs and associated dictionaries.
• #15: 16 The “V” diagram. Although from systems engineering the principles are applicable to all projects. Talk through the hierarchical decomposition of the work and then then the testing of each element as the project starts to deliver, till the end point which is the overall project is validated against the top level requirements.
• #16: Get to the bottom of what the Customer really wants. Talk to the Customer. Get the requirements bought off with the Customer On more complex projects do “Requirements Analysis”. Tools such as “Doors” can help with this process in providing a structured method to understand and break requirements down.
• #17: Get your requirements correct Have them agreed with a form of words we all understand.
• #18: What does it mean What do we understand by PCB? Different industry, educational backgrounds, sporting interests, etc. can all provide us with different ideas of what an acronym means. In this example PCB could be: Poly Chlorinated Biphenyl Printed Circuit Board Pakistan Cricket Board Project Control Board Penelope Charlotte Black Don’t assume we all think the same. We most definitely don’t!
• #19: Singing from the Same Hymn Sheet. While Shepherds Watch carol has: 2 main tunes. The traditional which was Ilkley Moor, Victorians being very conservative changed the tune to Bethlehem. Words are the same, but Ilkley Moor tune has a chorus, so cannot just swop the tune over, without it causing an issue or two! Make sure we all start from the same place and are going there together.
• #20: Different backgrounds unless managed can and do lead to different solutions. All need to be co-ordinated.
• #21: All work should have a purpose Take an interest in what others do – be nosey Take an interest in what all Customers need/ want All work should have purpose An enabler for others The output of your work should be a requirement for others Real logic is needed. Help others to understand the interactions
• #22: Organisation – beware of who is responsible for the work, as distinct from the organisation(s) that my physically deliver the work. Prime contractor is still responsible, but delegates, sub contractors actually “doing” the work, part of the job. Use a RAM - responsibility assignment matrix.
• #23: What do you require? A toolset jockey or a Planner? Many can work wonders with a computer toolset, but can then also plan? Unfortunately there are many who cannot. Take care.
• #24: Switch off the computer Capture the activities. Define the activities/ task Join the dots Structure the work, group things together Link the activities/ tasks logically together. Identify gaps?
• #26: Start to Finish links are only used by a very special type of person --- They are often referred to as “ Plonkers ” A check on network quality is not to have SF links. If they exist if quickly and easily helps to assess the competence of planning on the project.
• #27: Critical path just in case! Not all understand or would instantly recognise.
• #28: Requirements: 1 Logical free flowing network. One start and one finish. Critical path through the network. No target dates. No constraint dates Progress is up to date. Respects timenow. Take with any “out of sequence” activities.
• #29: Don’t Paint a Picture – understand thoroughly the work. Don’t just draw bars to meet a requirement date. Plan the work out and see if you can logically meet that requirement date. Build on solid foundations Understand the work and thoroughly plan the work out Take time getting the foundations correct, robust and solid.
• #35: Keep off – “its my plan” Make it “our plan” Make the plan convey useful information to those helping to build it. Establish “true” ownership, then you are in with a chance of success when it comes to delivering the content of the pla, Strong personal connections are critical to the successful delivery of the schedule
• #37: The smallest detail counts Details need to be correct No gaps in the logic The “devils” in the detail Don’t relax till you are home. Manage till the end.
• #38: Get beneath the surface - Understand the Real issues - Communicate Talk to people - Engage with people - Involve all the people Iceberg – shows the depth planning required to go to fully understand the scheduling issues and the Project/ Programme. Scheduling influences the complete lifecycle. Time is the foundation for project control and project management. Do look for similar activities and understand what happened on those activities: Was it a success? How is it comparable or different? Which elements of the task are similar? At what level can this be done?
• #39: My experiences: Furniture industry. Planning was 3 shifts a day. If product is not in the shops your competitors win. Emphasises the importance of timely delivery Post Office. Colour charts to reflect organisational responsibility Prison, Strangeways. Leant masses from the Trafalgar House planner Rail Industry- how to plan, long term, short term, down to minutes. Regular SRA required Hawk – parallels from similar work in the past. Other colleagues at work, etc. Have we done the job before or similar that is worth comparison? Do we look for a similar activities and understand what happened on those activities – Was it a success or what caused the delay ? How is it comparable or different ? Which elements of the task are similar ? At what level can this be done ? Overall project level or down at a detailed task level . Be prepared to Analyse the next level down may provide a different story. Is there one part of the programme that is problematical ?
• #40: To do any Schedule Risk Analysis need a good network. To reduce the schedule risk on any project/ programme the trick is to have a good schedule.
• #41: Is this the best way to describe schedule for your audience. What about this chart which has extracted data from the schedule. Maybe it will word better with a non project Mgt audience
• #42: Often people want to just draw bars to meet certain dates. In other words they are planning to fail. Projects need proactively managing.
• #46: It’s only when we work together that we become a team. The team delivers the performance. The collective effort makes the team and is greater than the sum of the individual parts.
• #50: Coming soon from the APM Planning, Monitoring and Control Sig.
• #51: If it is not adding value why are you doing it.