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  • 1.  First Project Goal: "Sharpen The Saw!"

    Posted 06-29-2020 11:59 AM
    Edited by William Hayden 09-16-2020 09:29 PM
    A quote attributed to President Abraham Lincoln:

    "If I had been given 6 hours to cut a log,
     I would spend the first 4 hours sharpening the saw!"

    Reflecting on Lincoln's insight, I ask you to consider your real-world project/program experience,
    as well as those others have provided for the good of all who are directly and indirectly
    impacted through three (3) phases of a project's life:
    I. Client Selection, Proposal, Negotiations, & Contract Execution.

    II. Project Startup Dialogue & Documented Requirements (within the first 3 to 5% of the Project's Life Cycle).

    III. Project Resources Provided. . . People, Process, Technology, and Leadership . . . to 100% complete.

    Stay Healthy!

    Cheers,
    Bill

    ------------------------------
    William M. Hayden Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CMQ/OE, F.ASCE
    Buffalo, N.Y.

    "It is never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot 1819 - 1880
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: First Project Goal: "Sharpen The Saw!"

    Posted 07-03-2020 01:15 PM
    Hi Bill, 

    I think it would be helpful to the discussion if you could state your aim and underlying thinking.

    My own view is that the reasons that projects fail (e.g., over budget, delayed, wrong functional requirements, or flat out fail) are well known. Furthermore, a good part of the cause can be attributed to a failure to learn.

    Regards,
    Mitch Winkler

    ------------------------------
    Mitch Winkler P.E., M.ASCE
    Houston, TX
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: First Project Goal: "Sharpen The Saw!"

    Posted 07-06-2020 11:01 AM

    Hi Mitch,

    Thanks for reading and evaluating my initial post.

    My initial response to your points follows:

    • "I think it would be helpful to the discussion if you could state your aim and underlying thinking."

    My underlying thinking is to learn from respondents to the post what their level of understanding and experiences are, focused on specific phases of a real project(s) life cycle.

    1. Thinking about it;
    2. Chasing it;
    3. Owning it;
    4. Working it; and,
    5. Delivering it on time, budget, and client delight![1]

    My intended aim is to, following the receipt of feedback by project life cycle phase, with 20/20 hindsight, what factual evidence we have that "Sharpen The Saw" was implemented prior to commencement of each of project phases of the work.

    • "My own view is that the reasons that projects fail (e.g., over budget, delayed, wrong functional requirements, or flat out fail) are well known. Furthermore, a good part of the cause can be attributed to a failure to learn."

    Mitch, your feedback here falls short of what I sought to learn. Such generalizations are quite popular at ASCE conferences, seminars, and the like.

    Frankly Mitch, such common snippets stand in the way of learning that may be translated into useful processes to get the right thing right the first time, every time.

    For example, you note that the generalized reasons projects fail "are well known."

    Then you assert that the "Failure to learn" is a good part of the cause of the failures.

    And who do you think ought to be responsible to turn this well-known snippet of failure around?

                                           "It's the system, not the people."[2]

                                                                         -W. Edwards Deming

    This quote identifies that at the very least, 94% of the root-causes of such failure sits in the executive's suite. They are, in fact, the only ones who can lead the way back from such amateur project management practices without asking permission from others.

    We learn that while many organizations price their services at 15 to 30% profit, at the end of their work if they actually make 2 to 5%, they celebrate.  Really?

    Mitch, thanks again for your questions.

    I look forward to a continuing dialogue and ask you invite others to participate.

    Stay Healthy!
    Cheers,
    Bill

    [1] Not "Satisfaction," but "DELIGHT!"

    [2] https://www.deming.org/deming/deming-the-man  downloaded 03JUL2020



    ------------------------------
    William M. Hayden Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CMQ/OE, F.ASCE
    Buffalo, N.Y.

    "It is never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot 1819 - 1880
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: First Project Goal: "Sharpen The Saw!"

    Posted 07-11-2020 12:09 AM
    I think one of the things that we overlook is risk management. I would be interested in that we consider adding this to our college's curriculum and future learning certifications and have the opportunity to learn from successful case studies. Maybe there could a course where case studies of successful projects can be brought to light.

    ------------------------------
    [Oanh] [Le] [She/Her]
    [Rochdale] [MA]
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: First Project Goal: "Sharpen The Saw!"

    Posted 07-11-2020 11:35 AM
    Thanks Oanh for adding emphasis to this critical subject for the management of programs and projects.
    FYI, over the last number of years, the PMI has continued to add details to this subject in their PMBOK.
    While I have not verified this next point, not only in engineering programs, but now part of University programs
    in management project management is offered at least as an elective.

    My opinion is that the first-best location for the application of Project/Program Risk Mgt. is in the selection of the client you are considering submitting a proposal for consideration. Perhaps for some, the best risk management decision may be NOT to submit!
    Some resources are provided below.
    Stay Healthy!
    Cheers,
    Bill
    <>===============================<>=====================================<>

    ·       Practice Standard for Project Risk Management [1]

    Through the use of project risk management, organizations can minimize the negative impacts of threats to its projects and maximize the upside impact of opportunities.

    The practice involves planning risk management; identifying and prioritizing risks before they occur; conducting a quantitative risk analysis to estimate overall project risk; responding to identified high-priority risks; and monitoring and controlling for those risks and responses to them.

    The Practice Standard for Project Risk Management provides a benchmark for the project management profession that defines the aspects of project risk management recognized as good practice on most projects most of the time.

    What could possibly go wrong? As a project manager, it's your job to know that, as well as each risk's probability and impact. There are many tools and techniques available to plan for and evaluate risks and how to mitigate them.

     

    ·     A FORMULA FOR MANAGING RISK [3]

     

     

    Journal of Construction Engineering and ManagementDecember 2002 Volume 128, Issue 6 (473 - 485)Online publication date: November 15, 2002

    [1] https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/framework/practice-standard-project-risk-management

    [2] https://www.pmi.org/learning/featured-topics/risk

    [3] https://videos.asq.org/a-formula-for-managing-risk



    ------------------------------
    William M. Hayden Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CMQ/OE, F.ASCE
    Buffalo, N.Y.

    "It is never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot 1819 - 1880
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: First Project Goal: "Sharpen The Saw!"

    Posted 07-11-2020 06:40 PM
    Haha, maybe. You are incredibly resourceful and I appreciate it.

    ------------------------------
    Oanh Le (She/Her)
    Rochdale MA
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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