Wild enthusiasm and project phases
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1) The document outlines typical phases a project goes through from initiation to facing reality, including initial enthusiasm, shock at problems, anger over lack of planning, and depression before ultimately developing a formal plan. 2) It describes the grief cycle the project team experiences, progressing from denial to bargaining to acceptance that normal project management processes were not followed. 3) The phases illustrate how without proper planning from the beginning, projects can descend into chaos and confusion, but developing a formal plan and audit can help put the project back on track for successful execution.
Wild enthusiasm and project phases
- 1. GRIEF CYCLE / PROJECT PHASES / FACING REALITY PROTRACTED PROJECT INITIATION (Quite often more true than many people realise, or would like to admit) A HARD LESSON IN REALISING & FACING REALITY PROJECT STAGES PLANNING EXECUTION ASSUMPTION THAT NORMAL PROJECT MNGMNT WILL OCCUR UNCRITICAL ACCEPTANCE ASSUMPTION Excessiveness THAT ALL WILL BE happiness, new job, WELL excitement. DENIAL SHOCK ANGER (I) ANGER (II) Kick-off Meeting, Press Release, Party, Announcements Team assembled and given a deadline, Work Starts - Just Do It WILD ENTHUSIASM "It's early in the Project" "All jobs start of badly" "Things will get better, they can't get worse…" N/A New people working together, Use of last job experience/systems/processes/methods No time planning just doing - "action without a plan is a nightmare"/ fail to plan - plan to fail Borrowing previous methods and 'adapting' to suit, no project plan developed, Wading into the swamp rather than planning how to drain it DISILLUSION MENT "How did this happen' "Surely we have a process/procedure for this" "But all these experienced people, surely we can…" "What did we do on the last job?" CHAOS, CONFUSION DISORDER "Who put the bid/contract/proposal together?" "Who costed / resourced / negotiated the job" "Who was meant to be reporting / managing / checking this project" Senior management made to be made aware. DEPRESSION BARGAINING / DIALOGUE / DISCUSSION "We need to do an audit, compliance matrix" "I will need to send a report to the Board/Director" "What do we need to do and what contingency do we have' "Can we provide some alternative solutions?" "What experienced people are out there who can fix this" ACCEPTED NORMAL PROJECT BEHAVIOUR PLANNING AS PER Requirements, Work B'down Structure, Organisational B'down Structure, Cost B'down Structure, Risk B'down Structure RECOGNISED Schedule and Sequence, Dependencies, Formal Plan and Baseline NORMS EXECUTION AS PER NORMS IN A HOLE DO IN A HOLE AND DIGGING Client / Team sense that problems occurring. Inconsistencies SEARCH FOR THE in work, targets not being met, quality not being met, resources CHECK not being provided. GUILTY Senior management ignoring issues PUNISH THE INNOCENT Execution using Plan - Do - Check - Action / Milestones (Inchstones to put job back on-track) NOT WELL BEGUN NOT 1/2 DONE DO Client complaints as no visible order process. Duplication of effort, gaps in work, Somebody, Everybody, Anybody and Nobody blame each other. Work is not being done and absence of a tangible plan becomes evident "Why didn't Mr. X raise this issue earlier / before" "Who reported this…why didn't they make it more apparent there was a problem" "The report should have been sent formally, not just by email / verbally / in a meeting" REMARKS DO (No formal RUSHING TO Plan) WAIT Finding that you are surrounded by alligators rather than draining the swamp. Lack of Admin support / No process for reports-documents-purchases-etc No start up plan - new people 'lost' in the aftermath of the initial wild enthusiasm "We have to do what?!" "How on earth can we explain this to the Management" "We need who on the team/…do you know there charge rate!" "They want what, when, " "You mean all of this is deemed to be included" "They want what codes/standards/methods used" 'GOOD' PROJECT MANAGEMENT DEMMING CYCLE PROJECT PHASES (Sad but true of many Projects, the time frame can be short or long depending on when reality is faced) GRIEF STAGES CHECK DEFINITION OF Reading of contract, CHECK REQUIREMENTS requirements PROMOTION OF NON-INVOLVED HERO TRIES / EGOTIST HIDES HERO DIES, EGOTIST BLAMES REALITY FACED ACTION (I) AUDIT BY NEW STAFF WITH A MANDATE PLAN (II) FORMAL PLAN (7Ps) RECOVERY PLAN DO NEW BEGINNING