Project Management, Theory and practice, 3. udgave, 1. oplag, 2020

Bjarne Kousholt

Theory and practice Project Management, theory and practice is a unique combination of a student’s textbook and a practical handbook for the professional project manager.

Project Management, theory and practice covers the five phases of a project: • • • • •

Opportunity identification Planning and specification work Execution, control and monitoring phase Product handover and project evaluation Operations and maintenance

It is worth noticing that this book gives comprehensive coverage of the Opportunity identification and Operations and maintenance phases which is often overlooked by other books on project management.

Bjarne Kousholt holds a MSc degree from The Technical University of Denmark and has been working as project manager and CEO internationally for more than 30 years – beside being the author of a great variety of books.

In 2004 he founded his own consultancy firm (www.research-firm.dk).

Project Management

The Knowledge Bank – the core part of the book – is structured around the principles founded by Project Management Institute (PMI) – the world’s biggest organization for project management. Thus, the book covers the curriculum expected of an internationally working project manager.

Theory and practice

Basically, project management is a practical subject. This is mirrored in this book which is based upon 200 cases presenting problems and solutions taken from real life experiences.

Bjarne Kousholt

Project Management

Project Management

Theory and practice Bjarne Kousholt Kousholt Bjarne 3. edition 3rd edition Praxis––Nyt NytTeknisk TekniskForlag Forlag Praxis

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Bjarne Kousholt

Project Management Theory and practice

3rd edition

Praxis – Nyt Teknisk Forlag

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Project Management, theory and practice

By Bjarne Kousholt © The author and Praxis, 2020 Third edition, first impression 2020 Editor: Pia Barnholdt Kristoffersen, pkr@praxis.dk Translated by Gary Lewis Puckering Layout and dtp: Anne von Holck Cover: Anne von Holck Illustrations: Henrik Stig Møller p. 30, 87, 151, 411, 462 og 487 Photos: Colourbox p. 49, Søren Madsen/Sund & Bælt p. 169, Scanpix/Henning Bagger p. 178, Colourbox p. 312, Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Angers, Frankrig, Creative Commons p. 332, Bjarne Kousholt p.351, Henrik Stig Møller p. 352, Det Kongelige Bibliotek, kort- og billedafdeling p. 451, Pelle Rink/Metroselskabet s. 461, Dragør Luftfoto p. 470, Scanpix/Bandphoto p. 491 This book is set in: Charter ITC og Adelle Sans Printed on: Artic matt 100g Printed by: Grafisk Produktion Odense ApS Printed in Denmark 2020 ISBN 9788757129953 Order no. printed version: 64011-1 Order no. E-book version: 64011-9+

Mechanical, photographic, electronic, or other reproduction of this book or parts thereof is not permitted pursuant to the Danish Copyright Act. All rights reserved.

Praxis praxis.dk webshop.praxis.dk

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Foreword

“

Tell me – I forget Show me – I remember Involve me – I understand

Chinese proverb

This book is based on storytelling. That is, I attempt to illustrate what I mean with the help of short stories – case histories. The stories – I hope – will perhaps also strike a chord or two that will encourage you as a reader to come to grips with your everyday routine and take steps towards our common goal – better projects.

My aim with this book is precisely to improve projects!

Many books about project management are based on the method described in the first line of the Chinese proverb above. In this book, I attempt to place my pedagogical knowledge somewhere between line two and line three. If you now and again feel that this “too much”, that I am “preaching” attitudes and behavior so you feel it is rather provocative – that is quite alright by me as such because it means you have become involved!

I know from the courses I hold that some project manager candidates feel that technical matters should be kept quite separate from attitudes and behavior.

I am incapable of doing this, so you have been warned, dear reader.

If we define competence as follows:

Competence = knowledge + experience + personal attitude

… then the purpose of this book is quite briefly: To help heighten readers’ competence as project managers.

Research shows that talent and personal characteristics are an individual foundation for the individual, who is highly susceptible to influence. Competencies, on the other hand, can be developed, and this is what we will do in the following.

I have collected knowledge from many sources and put it down on paper in this book in what I hope is a systematic, clear manner.

I have had a great deal of experience of project management and have attempted to pass it on to readers with the help of case histories, among other things.

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Foreword

“

Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you.

Aldous Huxley

I have also attempted to influence readers’ personal attitudes – your out-look – with the help of the way I write, quotations, case histories, etc.

The book is divided into seven parts:

1

Part 1: Projects and project management is about what a project actually is.

What project management is in general – the phases a project contains – its lifecycle – its stakeholders – its organization, and the framework and surroundings a project has… in other words: new project managers begin here!

This part is therefore intended to be read as a whole – not as a reference work or a text to skim. If you have a fair amount of experience as a project manager – and want to get to the “real thing” in a hurry, you can just skip Part 1.

2

Part 2: Standards and norms for project management provides an overview of the most widespread international standards and norms for project management. You can also skip this part if you are in a hurry – otherwise, Part 2 is suitable as a reference work if you want to know something about one or all of the four standards or norms I have described.

3

Part 3: Do not skip the part about The Project Manager. This is where I take a look at the project manager’s personal qualities and tell stories about how you should handle various situations – and stories about what not to do.

Part 3 is also about how to become a project manager – on education, experience, and accreditation schemes. There are also a few ideas about how to become a better project manager.

My basic approach is that we can muster any number of methods, standards, and procedures for project management – but once the dust has settled, the most important thing in a project – is the project manager and his or her ability to manage the project.

This makes Part 3 important!

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Part 4: The Knowledge Bank is the longest part of the book and constitutes its core, together with all the tools, and this is where I divide a project into five phases: • • • • •

4

Opportunity identification Planning and specification work Execution, control and monitoring phase Product handover and project evaluation Operations and maintenance

Opportunity identification

Planning and specification work

Execution, control and monitoring phase

Product handover and project evaluation

Operations and maintenance

… and in each phase I review – depending on their relevance to the phase of the project in question – the ten main areas that you as a project manager must master: • • • • • • • • • •

Project integration management Project scope management Project schedule management Project cost management Project quality management Project resource management Project communications management Project risk management Project procurement management Project stakeholder management

This matrix structure makes it possible for you to look up precisely the area you currently need to know something about. You also have the opportunity to read Part 4 “from the other direction” – i.e. to read all five sections on project cost management from one end to the other.

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Foreword

Opportunity identification

Planning and specification work

Execution, control and monitoring phase

Product handover and project evaluation

Operations and maintenance

Project integration management

Project scope management

Project schedule management

Project cost management

Project quality management

Project resource management

Project communications management

Project risk management

Project procurement management

Project stakeholder management

Figure 1.1 How to read Part 4

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OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION

PLANNING AND SPECIFICATION WORK

EXECUTION, CONTROL AND MONITORING PHASE

PRODUCT HANDOVER AND PROJECT EVALUATION

OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE

Integration management p. 172

Integration management p. 247

Integration management p. 334

Integration management p. 452

Integration management p. 492

Scope management p. 175

Scope management p. 250

Scope management p. 338

Scope management p. 456

Scope management p. 497

Schedule management p. 195

Schedule management p. 262

Schedule management p. 347

Schedule management p. 462

Schedule management p. 501

Cost management p. 200

Cost management p. 280

Cost management p. 357

Cost management p. 467

Cost management p. 504

Quality management p. 208

Quality management p. 284

Quality management p. 367

Quality management p. 471

Quality management p. 507

Resource management p. 216

Resource management p. 288

Resource management p. 375

Resource management p. 473

Resource management p. 513

Communications management p. 219

Communications management p. 291

Communications management p. 399

Communications management p. 479

Communications management p. 519

Risk management p. 226

Risk management p. 299

Risk management p. 422

Risk management p. 482

Risk management p. 521

Procurement management p. 233

Procurement management p. 313

Procurement management p. 427

Procurement management p. 483

Procurement management p. 523

Project Stakeholder p. 235

Project Stakeholder p. 318

Project Stakeholder p. 437

Project Stakeholder p. 486

Project Stakeholder p. 525

Summary p. 241

Summary p. 327

Summary p. 447

Summary p. 489

Summary p. 526 Figure 1.2 How to read “from the other direction”

There is an ongoing discussion among the many people who teach project management about whether to present the literature divided by subject matter or in accordance with the phases a project goes through. Both options are made available by this book as illustrated in figure 1:

• Divided by subject matter: the subject Project Cost Management can be chosen and the five sections dealing with this can be read.

• Divided by phases: the phase Execution, monitoring and control can be chosen and the corresponding chapter of the book can be read.

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Foreword

Part 4 is therefore primarily intended – and optimized as – a reference work.

The attentive reader will also discover that the structure I have chosen for Part 4 is very similar to that chosen by the Project Management Institute (PMI) (see page 87) in its Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide (the PMBOK Guide) – the world’s most well known project management guide. My approach was that instead of inventing yet another way of presenting this subject, I would make use of a recognized division. As you know, our lives are moving in the direction of increasing globalization and internationalization.

The choice of the PMI method as a point of departure should not be understood to mean I am in absolute agreement with the method and follow it slavishly.

For example, PMI pays little attention to operations and maintenance, but takes the common view that the project manager can take a muchneeded holiday after a successfully completed handover. Instead, I have written a solid section precisely about operations and maintenance. I also pay more attention to the “softer” things than is the case with the rather stringent and process oriented the PMBOK Guide… so I have taken my point of departure in the PMBOK Guide’s subject division – neither more nor less.

The price for the structure I have chosen for the book is that you as a reader may find there is a certain amount of overlapping. Some of the subjects I take up in Part 3, The Project Manager, for instance, are inevitably mentioned again in Part 4. There is also a certain amount of overlapping in the individual sections of Part 4 in order to ensure that the book can be used as a reference work.

5 6

Part 5: Projects in organizations Deals with a number of the problem complexes that arise in an organization where several projects are being carried out, e.g. project culture in an organization, how to make decisions, etc. There is also a review of models for and measurements of project maturity and decisionmaking models.

Part 6: Project management in the future Some ideas about what we can expect of project management in the future.

… and there are naturally appendices, a bibliography, a list of case histories and a subject index.

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Finally some practical information This book – the 3rd edition of Project Management, theory and practice – corresponds with the Danish edition no. 8.

I have taken the liberty of reusing some of the case histories several times – but from different angles. Instead of referring to a case history in another section, I have chosen to repeat it in the few places where I reuse one.

As case histories are an important element of the book, there is a register of them all at the back of the book with an indication of their more important points. This makes it easy to find a case history illustrating an example of preparing a risk analysis, for instance.

I will draw your attention to my book of project management tools: Project Management, theory and practice – toolbox.

This book is also available in a Danish edition. In this book, an icon is placed in margin with the number of the tool in the toolbox that can be used in connection with the current topic, see eg page 229 where we have placed the icon in margin with reference: 2.29, which just refers to the Risk Analysis tool in the toolbox.

You cannot learn how to perform projects by reading books. This can only be done by performing them yourself and through your own experience. What works for me? What doesn’t work for me?

To balance things out, I will end this foreword with three quotations which speak for themselves.

“

There’s nothing else for it. You can gain inspiration by reading about projects. By talking to others about projects. By preparing yourself by writing about projects. You can also learn techniques through courses, seminars, and lectures. They are all excellent – but you must also learn from your own experience!

Michael Karvø and Lars Bo Pedersen in the book Projektledelse – i tværfaglige teams

“

Follow those who are seeking the truth and shun those who believe they have found it.

Jens Martin Knudsen (Danish astrophysicist, 1930-2005)

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Foreword

“

How pleasant it really is to have a chat on paper so one can talk without anybody interrupting.

H.C. Andersen (Danish author, 1805‑1875)

I hope you enjoy reading the book. As a teacher you can contact the publisher in order to get access to the digital versions of the book and tools.

Questions, good ideas, criticism etc. are very welcome. Through dialogue, everyone gets smarter, and we can continuously make the book even better.

Bjarne Kousholt, January 2020 bjarnek@researchfirm.dk researchfirm.dk

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Contents Foreword

3

1. Projects and project management What is a project? 16 Material and immaterial projects 25 Why projects? 31 Project management 35 Project phases and lifecycle 39 The Project model – waterfall and agile 44

15

3. The project manager

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) 116

Belbin’s team roles 118

Adizes’ four roles 119 Blake and Mouton – managerial grid 121 Situational management – Hersey and . . . . .

The stage-gate-model 53

Scrum 56

Why use a project model? 59

Blanchard 122

Project stakeholders 60 Organizing the project 63 Project surroundings and framework 70 Programs, portfolios and projects office 73

Delegating responsibility 125

Emotional intelligence 129

Motivation and primadonnas 132

Primadonna management 137

Program management 73

Cultural understanding 141

Project portfolio management 78

Political competencies 143

Project Management Office – PMO 81

Political correctness 144

Summary 84

Commitment 146

2. Standards and norms for project management 85

Coaching 151

Mentoring 152

PMI 87 ISO 92 IPMA 93 PRINCE2 95 Summary 102

103

The project manager’s tasks and challenges 103 The project manager’s competencies 113

Project management as a career 150

Setbacks 154

Summary 159

>

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4. The knowledge bank

161

Opportunity identification

167

Project Integration Management 172 Project Scope Management 175

Checklists 206

Project Quality Management 208

The purpose of the project 177

ISO 9000 210

Brainstorming 179

PDCA 214

Brainwriting 180

Six Sigma 215

Project Resource Management 216 Project Communications Management 219

The six thinking hats 181 Workshops 183 Product description 184

The project charter 220

Project Risk Management 226

Cost-benefit analysis 189 Sensitivity analysis 192

SWOT analysis 227

The GAP analysis 193

Introductory risk analysis 229

Project Schedule Management 195

Project Procurement Management 233 Project Stakeholder Management 235

WBS 195

Project Cost Management 200

Preliminary stakeholder analysis 235

Summary 241

Successive calculation 203 The Delphi method 204

Project planning and specification

244

Project Integration Management 247 Project Scope Management 250

Project Resource Management 288 Organization 288 Distribution of work and responsibility 289

Method for determining objectives 251

The personnel plan 289

Prioritizing objectives 258 Work Breakdown Structure/Product

Project communications management 291

Breakdown Structure (WBS/PBS) 259

Project Schedule Management 262

The project’s internal communication 297

Project Risk Management 299

Defining the activities in the project 262

SWOT analysis 299

Establishing the sequence of tasks 266

Risk management planning 301

Estimating the resources available for the

Risk identification 302

Qualitative risk analysis 305

activities 269

Estimating the duration of tasks 271

Quantitative risk analysis 308

Preparing the schedule 274 The critical path 277

Risk response planning 309

Project Procurement Management 313

Milestone planning 279

Project Cost Management 280

Planning purchasing 313

Project stakeholder management 318

Estimating costs 281 Budgeting 283

The stakeholder analysis 318

Summary 327

Project Quality Management 284

The execution, monitoring and control phase Project Integration Management 332

329

Project Scope Management 338

Realizing the project management plan 335

Validate scope 338

Coordinated change management 336

Control scope 340

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Project Schedule Management 347

Reward and appreciation systems 394 Coaching and sparring 397

Time management 347

Project Communications Management 399

Project Cost Management 357 Project cost management (earned value

Distributing information – rhetoric 399

The communication process 404

management) 357

Project Quality Management 367

Conflict staircase 411

Performing quality assurance 367

Chairing meetings 412

Performing quality control 369

Negotiating 413

The Pareto diagram 370

Openness 414

Review 371

Performance reporting 415

Tests 374

The project’s brand 416

Project Resource Management 375

Change management – and communication 418

Project Risk Management 422 Project Procurement Management 427

Establish project team 375 Belbin’s team roles 377 The intelligent team 379

EU rules for requesting bids 427

The virtual team 380

Select sellers 429 Contract administration 434

Develop project team 381

Project stakeholder management 437 Summary 447

Manage project team 389 The kick-off meeting 390 Team identity 393

Product handover and project evaluation Project Integration Management 452 Project Scope Management 456 AB18 457 K01 459

Project Schedule Management 462 AB18 463 K01 466

490

Advantages of preventive maintenance 494 Disadvantages of preventive maintenance 494

Project Scope Management 497 Project Schedule Management 501 Project Cost Management 504 The maintenance budget 504

Quality circles 472

Project Resource Management 473 Project Communications Management 479 Project Risk Management 482 Project Procurement Management 483 Project stakeholder management 486 Summary 489

Project Integration Management 492

Project Quality Management 507

Project Quality Management 471

Contract close-out 483

Project Cost Management 467

Operations and maintenance

450

Project Resource Management 513 The supplier’s maintenance organization 513 The customer’s maintenance organization 517

Project Communications Management 519 Project Risk Management 521 Project Procurement Management 523 Outsourcing 523 Insourcing 523

Project stakeholder management 525 Summary 526

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5. Projects in organizations

529

Project culture 530 Maturity – models and measurements 536 CMMI 536 OPM3 539 P3M3 and MSP 541

Summary 544

6. Project management in the future

545

Bibliography 547 List of case histories and exercises 549 Index 558

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1 “

Projects and project management

At the principle level, we must ask ourselves whether we have fully recognized and understood the nature of project work. For what is many years now, ingenious people involved with education, research, and consultancy have helped to document the pitfalls and guidelines connected with good project management. Unfortunately, practice shows, as all readers of this magazine will know, that a large majority of the projects we implement at our companies and public institutions end up in the failed project department.

Civil engineer Jan Bendix in the magazine Dansk Projektledelse no. 3 1999

The quotation above is a good beginning to the first part of this book. The fact is that there MUST be something or other we have misunderstood or failed to understand completely – regarding projects – as they continue to cause us problems.

My view is that it pays to spend some time on learning to understand the nature of project work. This is why I devote some energy to the subject on the courses I hold for young engineers and begin by asking the question: • What is a project? … and then • Name three examples of “non-projects”

The groups work on this for about ten minutes before I interrupt and demand answers. The first question does not cause them too much difficulty, even though there are always principle discussions of the type: • Is it still a project if only one person is involved?

But the second question really puts them to the test and I have often been able to playfully conclude that all work must be project work.

The basic understanding of what a project really is – as Part 1 should hopefully convey to the reader – can help us to understand why it is difficult and where the pitfalls are – and in the final analysis help us to become better project managers and project organizers.

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Part 1 Projects and project management

What is a project?

“

I am about to begin a project – I hate that word – but we get hold of some youngsters who are way off track, are poorly adjusted and have had too many educators running after them all their lives, and make them do some physical training with boxers, then they have to cook a meal, no hierarchy or tall hats, quite simple.

Søren Gericke (Danish chief, etc. 1947-)

The word project comes from Latin and means to make a draft or a plan.

Project is the Latin word for planning.

When I wrote Projektlederbogen in 2000, I listed the following project characteristics: • • • • • • • • •

a clearly defined purpose a date when it must be completed unknown factors and risks limits on costs and resource consumption new experiences new results challenges to thinking in grooves challenges to a static organization interdisciplinary cooperation

I still think these characteristics constitute a good definition, but I naturally defer to the fact that various international organizations have also provided their own definitions. I have therefore listed them below (There is a more detailed review of the individual organizations in Part 2 and Part 5 where CMMI is concerned).

International project management organizations

* PRINCE2 is a trademark owned by AXELOS

• • • • • •

PMI: Project Management Institute ISO: International Organization for Standardization IPMA: International Project Management Association PRINCE2: Projects In Controlled Environments* CMMI: Capability Maturity Module Integration APM: Association of Project Management

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ORGANIZATION PMI1

A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique pro­ duct, service or result. Temporary means that every project has a definite beginning and end. Unique means that the product, service or result is different in some distinguishing way from all other products or services.

ISO 215002

A project is a unique set of processes consisting of coordinated and controlled activities with start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objective.

IPMA3

A project is an a unique, temporary, multidisciplinary and organized endeavour to realise agreed deliverables within predefined requirements and constraints. Project management typically involves personnel from project management associates up to senior project managers.

PRINCE24

A temporary organization that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed business case.

Figure 1.3 What is a project according to international project management organizations?

1 1 2 3 4

PMBOK (2017) ISO 21500 (2012) ICB (2015) PRINCE2 (2017)

I will just mention a final definition:

“

A project is a goal-directed enterprise involving the integrated deployment of people to achieve success.

The Organizational Engineering Approach to Project Management

In this connection, the emphasis is on people and teamwork.

The elements that constitute a project can be illustrated in the form of a triangle as shown in figure 1.4, where we also pinpoint the ten knowledge areas of a project (PMBOK (2017):

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Part 1 Projects and project management

INTEGRATION

E TIM

STS

SCOPE Quality

Risk KEHOLDER S STA

CO

EHOLDERS AK T S

Communication

KEHOLDER S STA

RESOURCES

Procurement

KEHOLDERS STA Figure 1.4 Elements of a project

1.1

In the center of the triangle, we have the two knowledge areas, project scope and project quality. The greater the scope of the project and the better its quality – the bigger the area of the triangle.

The three knowledge areas time, costs, and resources constitute the sides of the triangle. The longer the sides, the bigger the area of the triangle, i.e. costs (money, time consumption, fuel consumption, computer hours, etc.), the more duration and personnel consumption increase.

The three arrows in the figure illustrate a further three knowledge areas in the project: communication, risks and purchasing. Outside of the triangle, the element ’stakeholders’ is illustrated by a ring. Purchasing in this connection is conceived of in a very broad sense, from purchasing standard products to the preparation of bidding material, managing bids and the selection of the right supplier.

Surrounding it all is the tenth and last knowledge area: Integration.

Another way of defining projects is to look at what contrasts with them – at what is not a project. The answer here is: operations.

Operations are repetitions of what is already familiar, while projects contain unique tasks that have not been tried out before.

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d –

A number of examples of project tasks and operational tasks respectively are shown in the table below.

PROJECT

OPERATIONS

Build a new company headquarters.

Maintain a park.

Develop or acquire a new or modified IT system.

Manage a quality assurance system.

Implement a new business procedure or process.

Assembly line work.

Develop a new pharmaceutical product.

Work on a check-out counter at a supermarket.

Redirect and reorganize the municipality’s home care.

Drive the municipality’s home care.

Arrange a major international sports event.

Work at a company reception desk.

Low sales and marketing campaign for new underwear collection.

Sell underwear in a store or via the internet.

Write and publish a book.

Answer customers’ inquiries in a sales department.

1

Figure 1.5 Project

or operations?

f s e

e t d n

t

n

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Part 1 Projects and project management

EXAMPLE

EMIGRATING TO THE USA During the years from 1864 to 1914, 300,000 Danes – out of what was a population of two million – emigrated to the USA. I have taken the following excerpt from the book “Amerikas danske indvandrere” (America’s Danish Immigrants), which I wrote in 1995.

Inger, Langeland 1882: Mother was sewing while Inger and Ole played on the floor. Inger was piling building blocks on top of each other and each time, Ole knocked them over and laughed out loud. Inger began from the beginning. Father was reading the newspaper. He read a passage aloud for mother by the light of the candle.

– Tickets for the crossing at the lowest price, departures from Copenhagen.

– It’s a big decision, Anton. Mother looked at father.

– It certainly is, but what can this amount to?

Thirteen acres, a couple of pigs and some chickens. With what we earn on the estate and the price of land here, we’ll never get on. There’s still land available in America.

Tranekær was the biggest estate on the island of Langeland. Father was a small holder and both mother and father worked on the estate.

Inger looked at her parents.

– What are you talking about? Ole knocked over another pile of building blocks.

– Father is talking about going to America, my dear.

– America, what’s that? Inger looked at her father.

– America is a country that’s much big ger than Denmark. In America, the soil is rich and good and the government gives it away free to those who want to cultivate it. There are no kings, counts, barons, or big landowners in America. Over there, they judge people by what they can do, not who their parents were. America is the land of freedom.

– Inger wanted to know if there were any other children there.

Father smiled.

– Lots of children. Children are the future of America.

– If we sell this place, we’ll have enough money for the journey, and enough to get us started.

– I really don’t know, mother hesitated.

– Listen here, Maren, father was getting excited and leaned forward.

– We’ll get almost 165 acres of land free. The best soil in the world. It will be like a gentleman farmer’s place. What would you say to being a gentleman farmer’s wife?

– Oh, go on with you Anton!

– Go on, you say? Father was getting agitated.

– We’re nothing here. Smallholders. When the children grow up, they may be able to get a job on the estate if they’re lucky. More and more children are coming along. We’ve only got two, many of the others have seven or eight. What’s to become of them? There are children every where and they can’t live on a smallholding of this size.

– We’ve managed, mother smiled at father’s agitation.

– Listen to this. Mother knew what father was going to do.

He unfolded the letter carefully and read.

Wisconsin 3 March 1882 Dear brother, I’m writing to you to say that I have now set up a homestead over here in America in the state of Wisconsin. The soil is the best I’ve seen and we already have about 40 acres under the plough.

There are more free home-steads if you want to come over here. It would be wonderful if we could share the future together with our families in America.

Love from Johan Inger remembered the strange feeling she had when father told her she might never see her cousins again. Never, thought Inger. Never. It was almost as if somebody had died.

– Think about Inger and Ole. What will they do for a living? And their children? Inger could see that father had given mother something to think about.

Two months later, the smallholding had been sold. The tickets had been bought, and the journey had begun.

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Anton and his family were in an operational situation when they decided to take on a project: emigrating to America. A project that would totally change their lives and those of their descendants. When the project had been performed and the soil of their new homestead had been brought under the plough, they could return to operations. The project changed their lives and was a unique event.

Homestead refers to the Homestead Act that was adopted in 1862. In accordance with the act, all immigrants over 21 years of age were entitled to a grant of 160 acres of land and this was the US government’s way of enticing people to cultivate the prairie.

“

1

When the winds of change blow, some people build windbreaks. Others build windmills.

“

Chinese proverb

Project management has been described as: The process of converting vision into reality.

Adesh Jain (member of IPMA’s management)

As we saw in the case history about emigrating to America, a project is something that changes a situation. I have also seen the expression change engine used in a book about a project. A project can also be understood as a change engine, as illustrated in figure 1.6.

Knowledge

People

Money

NGE CHA INE ENG

A product A service A changed state etc.

Figure 1.6

Equipment

A project can be understood as a change engine

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The little family from Langeland puts knowledge – including the brother’s letter – money, and themselves into a change engine and obtains the output they want: a homestead in America.

Another dimension that is important to include in learning to understand the nature of a project is that it is a “one-time shot” – unlike operations, which are repetitions of the familiar.

Before we round off this section, in which we have attempted to discover what a project actually is, it might be reasonable to ask whether the amount of effort devoted to a project has a bearing on whether we can actually talk about a project. The answer is naturally, yes.

Let us look at an example.

EXAMPLE

CHOPPING WOOD A man is chopping wood. The sweat is pouring down his face and it is clear that the job is almost more than he can man age. Just as his neighbour walks past, the axe bounces off the wood and the man barely avoids hitting his own leg.

His neighbour says laconically, – That’s quite a project you’ve got on your hands!

As misplaced as his remark may be in the given situation – as such it is appropriate.

There is every sign that this is a unique task that the man has probably never at tempted before. The neighbour who – we can assume – has had many years’ experience of chopping wood, would probably regard it as an operational task.

It is implicit in the project concept that we are challenged to the limit of (perhaps beyond) our abilities. Sending a plane to Los Angeles is an operational task for SAS, for an individual it would certainly be a project. When I am asked on courses: is it a project if only one person takes part? I answer that it could well be a project if the task involved is sufficiently demanding for one person – an examination project, for instance!

There is therefore no absolutely sharp distinction between operations and project, and it must naturally be reasonable to carry out a classification of projects. The figure below is an attempt to illustrate these circumstances.

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Increased number of task

Increased costs

Increased change

Ongoing operation

Increased duration

Repetitive tasks

Increased value

Modified task (similar to previous tasks)

One-Time Shot

Less unfamiliar

Increased complexity

Very unfamiliar

Greater degree of knowledge

PROJECT

1 Figure 1.7

OPERATION

Operations and project

The figure is intended to be used as a tool for classifying projects. A project can be examined for each of the eight criteria:

• One-time shot?

• Added value?

• Increased duration?

• Increased complexity?

• More changes?

• Heightened degree of unfamiliarity?

• Increased costs?

• More tasks?

At the lower end of the scale, we approach “ongoing operations”, while at the upper end we are looking at (more extensive) projects. The eight criteria can also be used to prioritize the important projects in relation to those that are less important.

I hope I have succeeded in providing a fairly clear picture of what a project is through the comments above. Finally, an example from a production company.

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EXAMPLE

THE PLANNING SYSTEM Things at the factory had been developing at a tremendous pace over a period of five years.

The amount of work that had been coming in, and thereby turnover, had increased dramatically with the result that the foremen began to find it difficult keeps tabs on all the orders that were being produced at the same time.

After a couple of incidents involving defects and delays, the director decided that something must be done. It was quite clear to him that the foremen and production personnel needed help. It was also clear that they had more than enough to do to keep the factory running and would not be able to cope with a comprehensive restructuring of working methods. The director therefore decided to establish a project to address these

matters. Ole was appointed project manager and his project involved selecting and implementing a new planning system at the factory. Ole and his project group had been looking at the market for planning systems, had carried out analyses of what was needed at the factory, and finally chosen the most suitable system, which he then bought and implemented. The project had been responsible for all elements of the process, including training users and maintenance personnel.

When the system was commissioned and the last employees had been trained, the director said to Ole, – We’ll close out the project now and turn the system over to operations.

Space station

Oil exploration

Normandy invasion

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Company acquisition Shooting a film

Examination Moving assignment

Wedding Market survey

Airport Electioneering Shipbuilding

Channel tunnel Olympic Games Dam

Motorway construction

Little

System implementation

Atomic power station

Some

APPLIED RESEARCH Exploring the Antarctic

Uncertainty regarding costs, time, and results

Manned Mars expedition

A lot

Star Wars Project

BASIC RESEARCH

A great deal

The figure below shows one way of illustrating project types.

Group

Tens

Individual Hundreds

Figure 1.8 Projects can be many different things

Organization Thousands

Millions

Multinational

Billions

MAN-HOURS

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I have drawn up a list – which is not exhaustive – of some types of project below: PROJECT TYPE

DESCRIPTION

Change project

The purpose is to change conduct, procedures, etc., in an organization.

Technical projects

Building a house, for instance.

Software development project

Developing completely new software from scratch.

Analysis project/ feasibility study

The project involves analysing something in depth. Used as a preliminary project, for instance, before going all out on the task itself.

Delivery project

Delivering equipment of some kind to a customer.

Adaptation project

Adapting a standard IT system to meet a customer’s needs.

Roll-out project/ implementation project

Rolling out an IT system, a given production method, a standard shop layout, etc., at the customer’s premises. The IT system, production method, standard shop layout, etc., was developed in a previous project.

Development project

A project that creates something new such as a new washing machine.

The work requires innovation and new thinking.

Construction project

Performing a task specified in advance.

Negotiation project

Finding a solution among several potential solutions. Agreeing to a compromise and a political decision-making process. Example: committee work.

Strategic project

A project with a strategic goal, i.e. one that creates the conditions for future results. A project that involves management and staff development, for instance.

Operative project

A project with an operative goal, i.e. creates results here and now, such as rationalizing production at a company.

1

Figure 1.9 Project types – an overview

Material and immaterial projects As mentioned in the foreword, projects are not only connected with the creation of material products such as buildings, roads, IT systems, space shuttles and so on. Projects are also used to an increasing extent in connection with organizational changes – what are known as change projects. In this section, we attempt to clarify the difference between the “oldfashioned”, material projects and the immaterial projects that “only” deal with human behavior.

1.6

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In this book we use a model that illustrates how a project undergoes the following five phases. (More on this in the section Project phases and lifecycle, p. 39f):

– Opportunity identification, during which feasibility studies or preliminary studies can be carried out with the aim of investigating the basis for a project more thoroughly before we begin. This could also be a bidding and sales phase where we request bids or perform sales work with regard to the customer. Where inhouse projects are concerned, we carry out an investigation and prepare a draft for management approval during this phase. The phase ends with a decision being made whether or not to perform the project. (go/no-go).

– Planning and specification, where the basis of the project (Scope), a budget, and a schedule are drawn up. A contract must be drawn up if the project involves supplying an external customer.

– Execution, monitoring and control, during which the project itself is performed and, among other things, schedules and budgets are followed up.

– Handover and evaluation. If this is a question of supplying a customer, a handover meeting is held. Finally, there is an internal evaluation of the project so that we can learn from it – for the next time.

– Operations and maintenance, where the project – in one way or another – takes responsibility for the remainder of the product’s life.

When we are “only” thinking about people who must change, we could, for instance use the following model for an immaterial project that operates with a high degree of employee involvement during a change: – Attention, where we become aware that there is a problem we must look at.

– Persuasion, where we attempt to convince.

– Decision, where we make a decision.

– Qualification, where we prepare for the change and work to implement it.

– Confirmation, where we seek acknowledgement that we have made the right decision, recommend it to others and further develop it.

The case history below illustrates the course an immaterial project could take – from attention to confirmation.

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EXAMPLE

THE CAR Didde was thoroughly tired of waiting for a bus, traveling on it, waiting for the metro and traveling on it, waiting for another bus and traveling on it until she reached the bus stop that was a 15minute walk from the company she worked at. And she was just as tired of the journey in the opposite direction when she was on her way home – and exhausted.

The problem was partly due to the fact that, as newlyweds living in an expensive apartment, she and her husband did not have “money to burn”, and partly that Tom Didde’s husband – didn’t feel that owning a car was that important.

Of course, you would say that, thought Didde, because Tom rode his old motor bike to work, which was only a tenminute drive away.

It also irritated Didde that Tom brushed aside the business of the car when their friends, William and Michael, came to visit them. Tom always said cars are for old people and did everything he could to make fun of car owners. The two friends willingly went along with this, and Didde often felt very much alone with her dream.

But as the months passed, Didde gradually got Tom to pay attention to her problem.

There had been rows and many discussions that had sometimes even interfered with their more intimate life. All of these factors meant that it was now clear to Tom that he would have to consider Didde’s desire for a car in earnest as it was certainly not a passing whim.

Didde began to look at various cars, financing, insurance and so on. She com pared the costs of having a car with her existing transport costs by bus and train. When she also included all the time she would save and calculated this at a given hourly rate, the comparison was not at all unfavorable.

In her efforts to persuade Tom, she

put forward a large number of arguments about how much time she would save if they had a car.

She would be able to sleep an hour longer in the morning, which would mean she wouldn’t have to go to bed so early, which would again mean that they could be together longer in the evening so they could watch a film or do something else.

She would get home an hour earlier, which would mean she would be able to shop and cook more often.

Slowly but surely, Tom’s defenses began to crumble.

Didde played her trump card by inviting Tom to go with her to the local Toyota dealer, which she had visited several times already.

The salesman was well aware that he would also have to do his bit to persuade Tom and did so by giving him the keys to a brandnew, lightblue metallic Yaris.

After a brief trip and a subsequent chat about financing, the little family made its decision. The Yaris would be delivered in four weeks.

Didde, who didn’t have a driver’s license, went all out to qualify for the great moment.

Tom was also looking forward to their new acquisition and took great pains to find the best insurance policy for the car.

The day arrived and the couple went to fetch the car from the dealership. They took a long drive together, taking turns at the wheel. As they pulled up at the curb, William and Michael were waiting for them.

Tom rolled down the – electric – window and looked proudly at his two friends.

Well, what do you think? Do you like the birthday present I bought for Didde? Absolutely the best car on the market!

The town friends nodded in confirmation.

1

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The case history illustrates a miniversion of the reality we encounter when we must perform a project: there is a material, hardandfast element – in this case buying a car – but there is also an immaterial element, which involves people – in this case Didde persuading Tom to support her in buying a car.

Every project contains elements of a change project, where people must change and elements of an “ordinary” project, where a number of activities must be performed.

We get the following figure if we arrange these elements in a system of coordinates (Kousholt, 2014): Opportunity Identification

Confirmation

Planning and specification

Execution, monitoring and control

Hand over and evaluation

2

Operations and maintenance

3

Qualification Decision Figure 1.10 Change

projects and ordinary projects

Persuasion Attention

1

The table shows three examples of projects: 1. This project has arrived at the handover and evaluation phase, which means that the project’s activities have been performed. The people involved, however, have got no further than paying attention to the change that the project will introduce. An example of this could be an IT system for which the software has been developed; but users, customers, maintenance people, etc., are not ready to use the system.

2. The people involved in this project have made good progress. They are ready for the change but the project is only just coming into existence. An example of this could be an organization in which work must be carried out in a completely new way. Staff are ready, motivated and have received training but the tools they need have not even reached the planning phase.

3. In this case, the project has been performed, handed over and evaluated – and is now in operation. The people involved are convinced, have made their decisions and received training, so this an ideal situation.

As we saw in the previous section, changing people requires leadership. However, not all projects require an equal amount of change in people. A project that involves renovating the facade of an office block will hardly need major changes

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in the way people work. There will be little need for change management and we would call the job a normal project management task.

On the other hand, a project that involves developing and implementing an ERP system at a bigger company would require many people to change the way they work. The project naturally includes a IT planning element proper, but the element of change that must motivate and teach the many people to use the new system would be considerable. We would call a project of this kind a change project.

Change management is thus management that involves changing the way people work – and changes in culture and attitudes. A change project is a project that includes a comprehensive change management task.

The table below shows the difference between “ordinary” projects and change projects.

1

‘ORDINARY’ PROJECT

CHANGE PROJECT

Will change the way that many people work

No

Yes

Challenges the primary stakeholders’ expectations

No

Yes

Success depends on many people’s good will

No

Yes

Must be expected to meet resistance from many people

No

Yes

Primarily involves the project group and to a lesser extent the stakeholders outside it

Yes

No

The project group performs the project’s activities, but it is primarily the stakeholders outside the group that are affected by the project

No

Yes

As previously mentioned, the change management of projects is often the element that causes the greatest problems. There can be many reasons for this, but one reason that immediately springs to mind is that the technicians who are responsible for projects often underestimate the human aspects – not least the extremely important communication task. Building, IT and engineering projects are usually planned and managed by people with a strong technical profile and less by people with experience of how people can be influenced and changed.

Finally in this introductory chapter, something about extent. What is an extensive change project? How extensive must it be for us to call it a change project at all?

Figure 1.11

“Ordinary” projects and change projects

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We will not attempt to provide a concrete answer to these questions but simply state that an extensive change project comprises many small elements, each of which must be handled in a professional manner in order to make a success of it. Extensive change projects often fail because the management behind them have not acknowledged that this is the case. Change projects involve people and in order for a change project – also an extensive one – to become a success, everybody involved must understand the necessity of the change and make a positive contribution to the whole. Anybody who must manage, or simply work with, change projects therefore needs to understand their mechanisms in detail – out there where the individual must change – in practice.

One method of graduating change projects is to talk about the depth of the change. This is illustrated in the figure below.

Figure 1.12 The

depth of the change – remember to look behind the façade

The tangible and visible changes are on the facade, i.e. the changes that are relatively easy to perform. Examples of this are the appointment of a new managing director, other replacements in the management group, moving to new headquarters, changing from open plan offices to smaller offices, changes in strategy (on paper) and so on.

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It is far more difficult to carry out the changes that are more deeply rooted – behind the facade. These include major (fundamental) reorganizations (which, it should be noted, must be able to function in practice), the realization of a new vision and mission (which employees and management believe in and comply with) and finally, and very difficult: changes in company culture, ways of thinking, behavior, self-perception, etc.

It is naturally important from the beginning of a project to think about how deep the changes required are, and the metaphor of the facade can be used as a tool in this connection.

1

Why projects?

Now that we have a rough idea of what a project is, it must be relevant to investigate why we need projects. I have never seen a survey that provides an account of the performance of projects down through time, but we can probably trace them back to around 2500 BC, the time when the great pyramids were built in Egypt. From then on, the general understanding is that projects became more and more com mon, and that more and more of us became involved in them.

This development is hardly surprising when we consider some of the tendencies that are quite clear today: • Technological developments have accelerated, and we can and will do far more than previously. The great leaps forward in connection with space travel, communication, genetic technology, IT, etc., have required and still require a host of projects.

• More demanding consumers. Product life is decreasing and we no longer accept the same products year after year – we require new car models, etc. We also want a far greater range of products as consumers. A black model T Ford will no longer do if you want to stay in the automotive industry, we must now be able to choose between many models in a wealth of colors and varieties. Fulfilling these demands means that companies must always have a large number of development projects in progress.

• The entire world has become our market and global competition presses us still further to make new and better products, at the same time as prices must fall. Marketing and product development must be adapted to many different cultures, norms, and environments. >

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• The constant demand for improved processes and rationalization forces companies and public authorities to carry out changeover projects in which people must learn to work faster, and where new, advanced IT systems are implemented. Outsourcing is more common than ever before and all these organizational changes require projects.

Let us look at a couple of examples, first the influence of globalization on our business world:

EXAMPLE

GUT DRESSING By the autumn of 2004, globalization had made such headway that guts were no longer dressed at Danish slaughterhouses, or anywhere in Denmark for that matter. Instead, the guts were put into containers and sent to China where they were cleaned and

repaired if they were split at a price of 4 Danish kroner an hour. The cleaned, inspected, and repaired guts were then sent back to Denmark where they were used in sausage production.

Then an example of how technological developments have led to projects, that again have led to projects, that again…

EXAMPLE

APOLLO 11 On 25 May 1961, US president John F. Kennedy spoke to Congress about launch ing a project that would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. In the years preceding his speech, the then Soviet Union had humiliated the USA time after time by making more and more progress in space. On 12 April 1961, the “Russians” succeeded in sending the first human into orbit around the earth – Major Yuri Gagarin – who, when he had landed said, – I looked an d looked, but I couldn’t see God.

When Kennedy held his speech, the experts at NASA (National Space Agency) had no idea at all whether it would be possible to send a man to the moon, or how it could be done. Many of them felt that the speech had been rash, but the best and brightest minds applied to NASA where the project would be carried out. This was the chance of a lifetime!

On 21 July 1969, as Neil Armstrong climbed out of Apollo 11 and became the first man to stand on the moon, he said the famous words, – That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

Projects are therefore necessary if we are to get ahead – and get ahead we must.

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“

Everything is flux – we cannot bathe twice in the same river.

Heraclitus (Greek philosopher, 544 – 483 BC)

1

Or, to take another metaphor from nature: projects are just as important for organizations and institutions as leaves are for trees.

The development toward a greater need for projects is expressed in this – now quite famous – quotation:

“

Any manager who spends less than 70 % of his time on projects is living in the past.

Peter Senge (American scientist, 1947-)

We know that this is the case and this is why we call our organizations projectized and claim that our companies have a project culture.

Yet, as mentioned, things go wrong time after time. Projects fail to succeed.

One of the reasons for this is naturally that they are precisely “one-time shots”.

When we saw the Challenger space shuttle exploding on our TV screens on 28 January 1986, killing its crew of seven, there was no way out: the project had failed. Many things also fail to succeed in day-to-day operations, but that is life and we have become accustomed to the fact – certainly there is not such sharp focus on them.

The fact is that it was the space shuttle’s tenth mission, so we might equally well say that it was not a project at all, but belonged under operations. But most people would still probably agree that the tenth – ill-fated – mission was a project – launching a space shuttle is so complex and comprehensive. And there is no extensive media coverage every time British Airways sends a Boeing 747 to New York.

Challenger or Titanic: technical projects often fail because they rep resent something new and untried, border on the impossible.

But other types of project also fail to succeed. A merger of two major companies miscarries, a new IT system is never used as intended, the great turnaround designed to get a company back on its feet again falls through. Why?

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We could also look to the Italian politician and author, Machiavelli (1469-1527), for the reason why projects are so difficult to make a success of: There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nothing where success is more doubtful, nothing more difficult to direct than the introduction of a new way of doing things. For the initiative-taker finds hostility in everybody who wishes to profit from retaining the old system, and only lukewarm defense from those who want to profit from the new.

The same man – a spokesman for absolute monarchy – also wrote: … and men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.

But that is another story!

So: projects change things, create new things, and ensure that we develop.

They encounter opposition because this is their nature.

Contemporary writers have also realized this:

“

The more extensive a change is, the greater the amount of new learning that is necessary, the more opposition there will be, and therefore the greater the danger for those who lead.

Ronald Heifetz & Marty Linsky, Harvard University, USA

An older – publicly employed – Danish engineer who had read my book Projektlederbogen, told me the following in his rather grating voice: – It’s all very good – and probably correct – what you write. But if I take the initiative and come up with new ideas, they will fire me – it’s as simple as that. I have suggested other ways of doing things on several occasions, but my suggestions either got buried under stacks of paper or I was called in by my boss and told that if I wanted to keep my job, it would be best if I withdrew my suggestion.

An attempt should always be made to see things from two sides – at least – and perhaps the boss in question might say something like: “That man Karl you spoke to is so brainy and such a knowall. He criticizes everything and everybody and if I listened to him, we’d never get anything done.”

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I am not sure – but it is true that Machiavelli’s 500 year-old statement still holds water. Changes mean opposition and we must therefore always make use of able, dedicated project managers to head our projects.

1

Project management

“

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

And God looked upon the earth and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower second and third stories shalt thou make it.

And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die.

But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Genesis, chapter 6, verses 11-22, where Noah is given his project by God and performs it to the letter

Project management is naturally all about managing a project, but let us see what the international organizations have to say about this:

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Figure 1.13 Interna-

ORGANIZATION

DEFINITION

PMI 1

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and tech niques to project activities to meet project requirements.

ISO 2

Project management is the planning, organizing, monitoring, controlling and reporting of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives.

IPMA 3

Project management is the planning, organization, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all involved to achieve the project objectives safely and within agreed time, cost and performance criteria.

PRINCE2 4

The planning, delegating, monitoring and control of all aspects of the project, and the motivation of those involved, to achieve the project objectives within the expected performance targets for time, cost, quality, scope, benefits and risks.

tional organizations’ definition of project management 1 2 3 4

PMBOK (2017) ISO 21500 (2012) ICB (2015) PRINCE2 (2017)

A more detailed review of these international organizations follows in Part 2.

As the overview shows, the project manager discipline contains many elements of ordinary, general management. This is not least obvious when we remember Peter Senge’s statement to the effect that a manager should spend at least 70 % of his time on project management (page 33). In general, it is difficult to argue that there are any management areas that a project manager should not be involved in – so I will refrain from doing so.

So there are no few demands on a project manager, and we will look more closely at this in Part 3. But by contrast, it is often far easier to become a project manager than a line manager. Many people have almost had the title of project manager thrust on them without having the ability to do the job. I have seen project management called the “accidental profession” in American literature on the subject.

“

You must pass tests and attend refresher courses to be allowed to drive a truck around a warehouse, but the management of a multi-million project can be entrusted without ceremony to somebody who has received no training in project management at all.

Anonymous project worker

Why is project management such a difficult discipline? Because, among other things, as we discussed in the previous section, projects mean changes and people are opponents of change. But there are many other reasons:

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• People from widely differing backgrounds must suddenly work together towards a common goal. This requires considerable leadership ability and human insight on the part of the project manager.

• Project staff have often had another manager before the project manager (a departmental manager, for instance). Under any circumstances, they know that the project will come to an end. This means that the project manager does not have the authority that a line manager has, but must create an aura of authority on the basis of his or her personal qualities.

• Resources and time are in short supply and have almost always been established before a project begins, which is problematic by definition – actually a contradiction in terms – because the project must provide something unique, something that has not been tried before.

1

All of which means that the demands on a project manager are high – almost overwhelming – but, as mentioned, we will return to this in Part 3 (page 107ff).

As another illustration of the major task that project management actually is, this is perhaps a good place to offer ten useful tips on IT projects, and 29 tips on how to ruin an IT project respectively.

EXAMPLE

HOW TO RUIN AN IT PROJECT 1. Carry out a rapid, short-term needs analysis.

2. Draw up a vague, superficial specification of requirements.

3. Make sure that the two phases above are carried out at top speed and prefer ably with little time for reflection.

4. Keep future users well away from the project – and especially from the work on phases 1 and 2.

5. Make sure there is confusion and, even better, disagreement about the project’s objectives, methods, and sequence. The very best thing would be to ensure there is disagreement between the supplier and the buyer.

6. Draw up a lengthy, incomprehensible system description.

7. Create a confusing division of roles and responsibilities.

8. Choose completely untried techniques.

9. Keep the management well away from the project. They need not actively support the work as long as they pro vide the money.

10. If there are conflicting interests among system developers and users, side with the system developers – every time.

11. Delegate responsibility without delegating power and influence.

12. Hide the purpose and consequences of the project from all members of staff – especially about those things that concern them.

13. Give those responsible for the project many different tasks to perform and let them continue to do their normal work at the same time.

14. Make sure that a feeling of solidarity and team spirit do not arise.

15. Leave all responsibility to the project management. The ordinary staff must just do as they are told. >

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Part 1 Projects and project management

16. Put an inexperienced project manager in charge of the most critical, complex projects – and replace him regularly.

17. Choose a supplier that has no experience of the industry, has no documented reference installations, and lacks the ability or is unwilling to listen to users.

18. Agree willingly to all requests for changes and additional requirements and maintain the original schedule and financial plan. Do not make any changes to the contract in this connection.

19. Begin development work as soon as possible, preferably before the specification of requirements has been drawn up.

20. Always be extremely optimistic where time and resource plans are concerned.

21. Keep your problems to yourself – and always paint a rosy picture for your opposite party.

22. Forget all about new technology requiring a new organization, new working methods, a new division of work, and new training.

23. Draw up prognoses for the future of the company based on the principle that there will probably be very few changes in the market or technology.

24. Underestimate the complexity of an IT project, and overestimate the ability of technology and suppliers to solve all problems.

25. Choose an IT supplier according to your personal and private sympathies, and not according to a professional and technical yardstick.

26. Keep all information to yourself. Give only the most necessary information to as few people as possible. Don’t tell personnel anything at all, especially about the organizational or job-related changes that will occur.

27. Make sure you choose a technical system that nobody else has tried before and that will bring the company way ahead of everybody else. And volunteer to be the first in the entire country to try out the system. This will also give the supplier an opportunity to finally try it out himself.

28. When someone asks you what the purpose of the IT system is, tell them a white lie. This is also known as having a hidden agenda. Never tell your staff what the real purpose of the project is.

29. Draw up a muddled contract with a confusing division of responsibilities and no clear rules for handing over and testing the final system.

Drawn up by Christian Barnholdt in 1993

HOW TO AVOID IT SCANDALS – 10 GOOD PIECES OF ADVICE 1. Prepare a preliminary analysis and plan, a professional specification of requirements, a realistic budget and a risk analysis.

2. Draw up a conscientious, qualified contract.

3. Perform modular projects. Only implement a new module when the preceding module has been completed. This will make it possible to change the course of the project under way.

4. If the qualifications possessed by the project group are inadequate, use professional advisers.

5. The customer, the user, must be provided with adequate information before a major project is implemented.

6. Agree on realistic objectives in advance, and make sure they are politically acceptable.

7. Establish a permanent, highlevel steering group for the project.

8. Use standard contracts and standard rules for bidding.

9. When choosing a system, note that risks can be reduced by basing it on a standard system or a minor adaptation of an existing, wellfunctioning system rather than starting from scratch and developing a customized system.

10. The project management must ensure that users have been adequately trained and recognize the importance of organizational adaptation.

These items were compiled from a work performed for the Professional Board for Organization and IT under the Danish Data Association (now: the Danish IT Society)

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Bjarne Kousholt

Theory and practice Project Management, theory and practice is a unique combination of a student’s textbook and a practical handbook for the professional project manager.

Project Management, theory and practice covers the five phases of a project: • • • • •

Opportunity identification Planning and specification work Execution, control and monitoring phase Product handover and project evaluation Operations and maintenance

It is worth noticing that this book gives comprehensive coverage of the Opportunity identification and Operations and maintenance phases which is often overlooked by other books on project management.

Bjarne Kousholt holds a MSc degree from The Technical University of Denmark and has been working as project manager and CEO internationally for more than 30 years – beside being the author of a great variety of books.

In 2004 he founded his own consultancy firm (www.research-firm.dk).

Project Management

The Knowledge Bank – the core part of the book – is structured around the principles founded by Project Management Institute (PMI) – the world’s biggest organization for project management. Thus, the book covers the curriculum expected of an internationally working project manager.

Theory and practice

Basically, project management is a practical subject. This is mirrored in this book which is based upon 200 cases presenting problems and solutions taken from real life experiences.

Bjarne Kousholt

Project Management

Project Management

Theory and practice Bjarne Kousholt Kousholt Bjarne 3. edition 3rd edition Praxis––Nyt NytTeknisk TekniskForlag Forlag Praxis

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