Assess Constraints
Every project has constraints. These may include time, money, or the availability of resources. Identify the constraints at the outset and ensure that each member of the team is prepared to work within them.
Don’t Make Change for the Sake of Change
If something is working, it may be better to continue using it. Even if you identify an area that could be improved, it may be better to leave it to a later project. It is particularly important not to change your financial targets halfway through a project as part of a general improvement.
Make Change Gradually
If you change a lot of things at the same time it can become difficult to measure the outcome against the target because you cannot be sure which change produced which result. If you are running a business that has a very low profit margin, making too many changes at the same time could worsen your position and you may not realize which change activity has actually caused the decline.
Case Study: Managing a Time Constraint
Larry was the project manager for a satellite television company that made available live television broadcasts to people flying in the customer’s aeroplanes. The main constraint on the project was a tight budget.
When Larry realized that the Olympic Games were taking place some six months before the planned delivery date, he approached the customer and explained that they could deliver in time for the Olympics if more budget were made available. The customer saw the opportunity and agreed to increase the budget.
By seeing that there was value to the customer in a faster project timescale Larry increased the value of the order, and overcame the problem with the budget.
He improved his organization’s reputation for creativity with a major customer.
Look at Time Constraints
Frequently, a fast-moving business environment gives projects a specific window of opportunity. If a competitor is going to deliver a new line into the shops for the summer season, you will have to work within that time constraint. There will be no benefit from working to deliver a competitive product if you cannot launch it in time. Don’t accept an artificial constraint. If you can produce more value by adding three months to your deadline, make a case for having that constraint removed.
Industries such as fashion retail are often driven by time constraints – in this case the importance of getting a new range into the stores in time for the start of the new season.
5 Minute Fix
If you are under a time constraint, decide what you are not going to include in the project.
Make a list of side issues that you are going to ignore.
Send the list to stakeholders for their agreement.
Tell the team that the decision about which issues to ignore has been made and that no more time should be spent on them.
Understand Resource Constraints
All organizations work with limited resources and budgets, and they have to pass on these constraints to their project managers. A big, complex project may require a huge number of resources, so find out early on if these will be available, and at the right time. If your project depends on a level of resources that is unlikely to be forthcoming, change the objectives. If your organization is very keen on the achievement of the project’s objectives you may come under a good deal of pressure to agree to try to achieve the current objectives with fewer resources than the minimum you think will be necessary.
Hold your ground and prove your case to avoid getting into a situation where the project will fail.
Volunteer a tight timescale if that will improve the outcome for the organization.
Double-Check Your Resource Requirements
Project managers tend to push for the maximum amount of resource that they can get to make sure that they can complete their projects on time with the best possible result. If they use more resources than they actually needed to complete the project the financial benefits of the project are reduced. Double check that you really need a resource by:
Making sure that each resource is “mandatory” to the project – that it will be impossible to complete the task without having access to that resource.
Looking at the non-mandatory resources with a view to finding an alternative way of completing their tasks or managing without them.
Asking that people to be held on standby rather than joining the team; they can be brought on board when it becomes obvious that their role has become mandatory.
Think Smart
Customers can be a resource, too – if your project has a tight budget, and the objectives of the project will benefit one of your internal customers, look for ways in which that customer may be able to help.
Work out the value that the benefits of your project will bring to your customer. Discuss this with your customer and agree how much money the project will save her in the long run. See if she will make a contribution to your budget that will provide you with a small contingency fund. You can take the same approach with regard to other managers in the organization who may benefit from your project.
Use Existing Resources or Solutions
Look hard at the current situation. Other departments in your organization may have plans for change in an associated area so, in order to reduce the duration and cost of your project, you could capitalize on the plans and work of others. Perhaps you could use a shared component in your product design rather than engineering a new one, thus reducing design and production costs. It is important to reuse as much as possible. If, for example, the project includes a new business process, see if any other process software could be adapted to your situation. It is rarely a good idea to start from scratch, even if sharing in other people’s work means making compromises. Once again it comes down to the cost of the project against the benefits it will produce. Using an already designed website, for example, may improve the cost/benefit analysis.
Tip
Limit the size of your team. People will be impressed with the outcome of the project, not with the number of people you have on your team.