Introduction
Implementing Program Management is much more of a journey than an event. The care and feeding of the projects is a constant demand for successful program / portfolio management. This paper will use an analogy of geese and their migratory habits to describe the interrelationship of various components of program management.
Basic Assumption
The benefit of an integrated program management system is to ensure information is communicated through current, consistent, clear, concise, and comprehensible content for all projects and portfolios in the program.
Exhibit 1
Abstract
Like programs, geese have a well defined life cycle / year and are dependant on flock maturity to survive. Both undertake long journeys laden with risk and uncertainty. The members of the flock must work together. All geese benefit from each other’s flapping of wings – in program management each must use the strength of the other projects. Finally, the geese survive on communication; a program must survive by clear, concise, current communication across the portfolio. Just as geese survive by maximizing the skills and condition of each member, a program must utilize the skills and conditions of each project / project manager to survive.
Why Geese
First and foremost, I am a practitioner of project/program/portfolio management. As such, I have daily exposure to positives and negatives. I also have the honor of providing application administration for several organizations implementing Integrated Portfolio Management Systems (IPMS). I remember a Thursday afternoon in 2005 in which I had implemented what I thought was a simple process for organizations to follow to identify a project plan as baselined in the application and that a subsequent report would use that information to identify the baseline status of the project schedule. To me it was quite simple, use MS Project to baseline the project and then upload the project file to the IPMS. The report would use the baseline start date to determine if the project was baselined. Simply put, if there was a value in the field, it was baselined, if the field was null, the project was not baselined.
To say the least, one group grasped this quickly and understood the relationship. They were able to implement this process immediately. Another group did not fare so well. They couldn’t understand the relationship – they wanted a field on the project page they could check as baselined (Exhibit 1)
On one of my introspective moments I was contemplating why some organizations were “better” at portfolio management than other organizations. I thought it maybe had to do with skill sets, aptitude, knowledge. Just about then, a good friend sent me an email with the subject of how Geese are able to succeed in their long migrations because of how they work together. So I introspected some more and started to realize the relationship – thus this paper. More of an analogy from a practitioner, than a self-proclaimed silver bullet guaranteed to solve all your problems in one swell foop.
What Do I Know About Geese?
As I started to put this paper together, I started to think what do I know about Geese. Quite frankly I realized it wasn’t much. I scratched down my thoughts and was able to determine what the following:
I grew up in the Western Lake Erie basin and every year there were large migrations of Canadian Geese. These geese flew in a V formation and made a lot of noise. Their honks could be heard from a long distance and their migration had a majestic flair.
Our corporate headquarters had many geese living around it and they would walk around the sidewalks and make a large mess.
They could fly a long distance for a relatively large bird.
They were better at protecting property than a watch dog. As teenagers, we were going to toilet paper a classmates yard and their geese made such a ruckus – we were chased away.
Geese bite, and it hurts.
Exhibit 1 Facts About Geese
The next step was obvious, if I were to learn more about Geese and how they work together, then I needed research and did my quick jump to www.google.com. I found some pretty amazing facts which I list in exhibit 2. As I looked over this list of facts I realized that there are many similarities between people and geese. The main similarity is the relationship to the individual and the flock. In a goose gaggle, the survival is dependant on a relationship of learned behavior and individual instinct. Each group performs specific tasks to protect the other members of the team, each is capable of incredible physical performance, each is part of a tem, but needs space alone to complete their tasks, each has predators and competitors, and finally, each has engrained patterns that they will not abandoned until forced to change.
A light bulb suddenly went off during my introspective moment as I was reading my goose email. Successful Program Management is a behavioral issue, not a technical issue. So the key to successful program implementation is a support structure across the organization, so the challenge becomes how to get members of the same team to work together and gain efficiencies.
Behavioral Issue
Using the premise that the success of a portfolio management is a behavioral issue and not a technical issues is the foundation of the analogy between geese and program management. In the simplest sense, behavior is the reaction of an individual to various stimuli. Behavior can either be acquired or instinctive. This paper looks at the acquired aspects of behavior and how the influence of other members of the team, and the survival of the team is dependant on this behavior. Appendix 1 contains a copy of a posted entry to my blog on ITTOOLBOX http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/dldavis/ comparing Maslow’s Hierarchy to Program Management. This model defines an escalating level of individual behavior based on the needs of the individual project manager. These needs are cultivated and nurtured by peers, coaches, and organizational culture. Thus there is a direct correlation between individual performance and the team of which the individual is a member.
Exhibit 2 IPMS Rant 2
By looking at how geese work together, a program management process can significantly increase the productivity of each project manager in the team. The attitude and aptitude of members of the program management team is critical to the success of the program. There is a relationship between projects, project managers, artifacts, and risk items. One of the expectations of a program management tool is to allow a PMO manager to be able to scan across down and into each component of a project.
The challenge of a Portfolio Management Organization involves how to keep each project current, how to cross reference components, how to insure compliance of the team members, how to help other areas of the business adopt the tool, how to assist wounded projects (think goose shot by a hunter) and how to encourage each other. Also, the goose has a family unit that teaches new goslings the rules of survival and how to gain efficiencies from each other – how do project managers train each other and gain efficiencies from the tool?
Geese Behavior and Program Management
Geese think and behave as a group in order to survive, we can learn from the goose on how to better manage the projects within the program. The remainder of this paper will look at how, and inspire you to look at opportunities to better identify and capitalize on the power of the team and the tool in program management.
Why do Geese fly in a V formation?
Geese migration is an example of where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The email stated that by flying in a V formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flies on its own.
A common direction and sense of community helps the geese get to their destination quicker and also allows an organization to realize the benefits of portfolio management earlier. One of the intrinsic benefits of a portfolio management tool is the capability it provides to track and timestamp various artifacts and steps within the defined project process. This audit trail capability may not have a day-to-day use, but provides a wealth of information regarding timeframes for various phases and information to conduct lessons learned. This audit trail will also provide detail for Sarbanes Oxley audits or other legal reporting needs.
Falling Out of Formation
Whenever a goose falls out of foundation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone.
Everybody has the best of intentions, but taking care of the low level minutia that makes up a portfolio management system is cumbersome, time consuming, and some people may see it of little value. A basic premise of a portfolio application is that executive levels of information can be gleamed from multiple projects at one time. However, to get that executive level, the lowest of details must be there and many project managers will not put it in, unless they are hounded to put it in, or they are ‘punished’ if they don’t. Excellence is a mindset and the middle manager MUST maintain vigilance to insure compliance. This represents a behavioral issue for both the project manager and the coach. There will be a large amount of energy required to make sure all the details are nurtured to make the executive view accurate and usable.
If its not in the tool – it doesn't exist
There is a tendency among project managers, and their associated coaches to take action prior to documenting the real issue.
I try to practice the rule that if it isn't in the tool, it doesn't exist. I believe that by taking the time to think through the issue, writing it down, and documenting it in the tracking tool is actually a time saver instead of immediately calling a conference call to discuss the issue.
Many items are lost and time wasted by not having the discipline to use the IPMS and defined processes to track issue.
Yes there are times when the scramble approach works, but it is not a sustainable approach. Pretty soon it becomes a ‘chicken little’ approach and the urgency of a true emergency is lost.
Now that the PPMS tracks all aspects of the project, the project manager’s attention to detail is now exposed to peers and managers. In the past, a project manager had control over when information about the project was shared and available for all members of the project team and for executives. The project manager could mask blemishes and possible lapses by controlling when information was shared. For example, if the project manager led a project status call every other Thursday, they could possibly wait until Wednesday night to update their issues report. If an issue was due a week before, the report might not get updated until before the review. Now with a portfolio management system, the day the issue becomes past due it can be flagged in reports. The PM might now have to do daily management of the issues.
The Project Manager that refuses to use the IPMS tool will eventually find it too much work to go it alone. The social needs of the individual will drive behavior to conform to the processes imposed by the IPMS. The team will benefit from the commonality.
Lead Goose Gets Tired
When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates to the back and lets another one fly point.
In the behavior patterns of a successful program, there needs to be a balance among team members of leadership, exposure, and recognition. Every organization has its top rated members, and that is acknowledged by members of the team. The coach needs to make sure that all members of the team get recognized for their contribution and individual growth. There really is nothing within an IPMS tool to enforce support structure. This is where the art of managing a team comes in. The good coach, will be able to find ways to recognize team members and help them learn from each other. An item I have found successful in the past is to have shared learning’s among the team to promote an aspect of project management and demonstrate that to the team via a web meeting or other collaborative environment.
Exhibit 4 IPMS Rant 4
This also implies the members of the team are willing to share the spotlight. Its important for all members to realize when they need help and ask for it. Leadership is more effective among peers when teamwork is demonstrated day in and day out.
The other aspect of this goose point is the relationship it has to team members going on vacation or other times when a backup is needed. By having all members of the team rotate to the point, there is better coverage while an individual is on vacation.
The Goose Honk From Behind to Encourage the Point to Keep Up Speed
This item is directly related to the previous point. In a long migration, all members of the team work together to encourage each other. The same behavior is important for overall success in program management. Each member must encourage each other and feel they can contribute to the team, the process, the tools, the consistent reports, and the capability for enhancement. The individual’s must be able to improve the IPMS and not be regulated to data entry tasks just to meet the consistent reporting.
When a Goose Gets Sick or Wounded
The last bullet point in the email of my illumination involves how geese react when a member gets sick or wounded. Granted, Canadian Geese are hunted in many points along their migration path and have many predators that are out to kill them. Although this survival tactic is not socially acceptable in a business environment, there are still pockets of people who are vengeful and un-accepting of others. The team needs to stick together until the crisis is resolved.
The team needs to be able to have a safe area to vent frustrations and commiserate with fellow project/program managers. The important part here is team work and social support structure. A Program Management team genially cares for each other and are there to help each other through the rough times.
Conclusion
Successful program management is a state of mind. In order for an Integrated Portfolio Management System to be successful, there must be team-oriented behavior by the project managers. The team must work together and learn together and thus will be able to sell the benefits of the program office. There is no silver bullet, only through hard work, encouragement, and sharing the point, will a team succeed long term.
Appendix 1
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Program Management
Every introduction to psychology class, every introduction to management class, and every teaching degree program stress the importance of the Maslow Hierarchy for attaining self-realization. The fundamentals of this hierarchy is that physical needs must be met prior to any success on psychological needs like performance and innovation.
This model should not be compared to the maturity models. This looks at individual “needs” and how attainment of certain needs allows the individuals to attain higher performance. The needs of the individual, combined with the maturity / social structure of the organization work concurrently to attain higher levels of organizational performance and consistent reporting of all projects across the portfolio.
This hierarchy applies to the concept of implementing any program management tool into an organization.
| Maslow’s Tier | Maslow Definition | Program Management Tier | Discussion |
| Physiological | Needs such as air, warmth, food, sleep, stimulation and activity. This need concerns biological balance and stable equilibrium (homeostasis). These needs can be very strong because if deprived over time, the person will die. | Tool Access Physical needs are fundamental for any success. I assume that if an individual is involve in utilizing a IPMS that their physiological needs, food clothing, shelter, are met and the physical issues are related to a need for access and permission to the tools. |
In an IPMS, this means the individual needs to have access to the tool itself. Most tools are hosted on a server available to all members of the team. Access to the tool from the PC Is there high speed connectivity to the tool. Are they allowed behind the firewall Do they have the proper browser settings (Active X allowed, Java allowed, etc.) Do they have a login to the system |
| Security (Safety) Needs | This includes living in a safe area away from threats. This level is more likely to be found in children as they have a greater need to feel safe | User Type This level involves skills and knowledge related to the Understanding of Project Management Knowledge Areas and integration of the various components. It also involves a work atmosphere where teams know their roles and responsibilities and the expectation of their deliverables. They know which reports are used to measure project status and also how individual performance is monitored. |
Appropriate permissions with their user type. Security |
| Social (Love and Belongingness) Needs | Humans want to be accepted and to belong, whether it be to clubs, work groups, religious groups, family, gangs, etc. They need to feel accepted by others. | Team This level is the social net for project managers. It includes acceptance of their role within the organization and the ability to be part of a team that delivers value to the business. |
Is there consistent understanding of the process, methodology, and deliverable within the program for all projects. Do all individuals use the capabilities of the IPMS to stakeholders inside and outside the Portfolio Organization. |
| Esteem / Status | Humans have a need to be respected, to self-respect and to respect others. People need to engage themselves in order to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution and self-value. | Project Performance / Assignment This is a dangerous level for an IPMS implementation as it deals with the tender balance between self-confidence and arrogance. This level usually represents assignments to high profile projects and other mission critical events that require attention and reporting to corporate executives. Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem, inferiority complexes, an inflated sense of self-importance or snobbishness. |
From an IPMS perspective, this level involves creative and innovative uses of the IPMS tool and its capability to control and execute projects. It may involve definition of new templates, IPMS modules, reports, or process. It might involve a specialization of the tool for the specific project being tracked and reporting of inter-dependant projects. This role should be seen as a mentor to other project managers and other organizations utilitarian an IPMS tool. |
| Self Actualization (Fulfillment) Needs | Self-Actualization is described by Maslow as an ongoing process involved in a cause outside their own skin. People on this level of need, work at something very precious. This is a vocation or a calling in the old priestly sense. These people are very fine, healthy, strong, sagacious (that is, very smart) and creative. | Expansion of IPMS into new areas This level is reserved for the true IPMS application administration junkie. This level involves implementation of IPMS into multiple organizations and identification with the individual with the tool. |
This level involves the process, people, and technology evolution into multiple organizations within the enterprise. The individual that reaches this level understand Portfolio Integration to the highest level. This level should be seen as an evangelist for an IPMS. |