Results Without Authority: Controlling a Project When the Team Doesn’t Report to You

Results Without Authority: Controlling a Project When the Team Doesn’t Report to You

by Tom Kendrick PMP
Released August 2006
Publisher(s): AMACOM
ISBN: None

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Book description

How to take control of teams and projects even when you're not the boss.... Project leaders these days supervise few if any of the people that they rely upon for project success. Getting projects off to a good start and then maintaining control of them is an enormous challenge for a project leader who has little or no formal authority.

But there are many proven, powerful techniques a strong project leader can employ to keep projects and teams on track. Results Without Authority explores a wide range of effective methods and tools for leading a diverse team, and includes clear, insightful examples that demonstrate how they work in a variety of situations.

Packed with invaluable guidance for controlling projects of all scopes and in any field, Results Without Authority will help novice and experienced project leaders get the best from their project teams.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. 1. Control of Projects
    1. Who’s in Charge Here?
    2. Structure of This Book
    3. Elements of Project Control
      1. Project Processes
      2. Influence
      3. Metrics
    4. No One Ever Said that Projects Are Easy
  4. 2. Control Through Process
    1. Project Management Processes
      1. Life Cycles and Methodologies
        1. Life Cycles
        2. Methodologies
      2. Project Definition
      3. Contract and Procurement Management
      4. Project Planning, Execution, and Tracking
      5. Change Management
        1. A Robust Process
        2. Accept/Reject Decisions
      6. Risk Management
      7. Quality Management
        1. Adopted Standards
        2. Specific Quality Planning
      8. Issue Management
      9. Decision Making
      10. Information Management
    2. Project Infrastructure
      1. Fine-Tuning Your Infrastructure
    3. The Project Office
  5. 3. Control Through Influence
    1. Appropriate Leadership Styles
      1. Operating Style
      2. Communication
      3. Motivation
        1. Motivating Factors
        2. Hygiene Factors
    2. Getting Through Giving
      1. A Process for Influencing
    3. Enhancing Influence
      1. Building Influence Within Your Team
      2. Building Influence with your Manager, Project Sponsor, and Stakeholders
        1. Asking Revealing Questions
        2. Collaborating with Peers—Strength in Numbers
    4. Maintaining Relationships
  6. 4. Control Through Project Metrics
    1. Desired Behaviors
    2. Types and Uses of Project Metrics
      1. Predictive Project Metrics
      2. Diagnostic Project Metrics
      3. Retrospective Project Metrics
    3. Measurement Definition and Baselines
      1. Determining Objectives and Desired Behaviors
      2. Designing Individual Metrics
        1. Goal Question Metric Approach
        2. Balanced Scorecard Approach
        3. Process Measurement
        4. Behavioral Methods
      3. Documenting the Metrics
      4. Obtaining Support for Data Collection and Use
      5. Developing a System of Measures and Evaluating Potential Adverse Consequences
        1. Sole Focus
        2. Reward and Evaluation System Consistency
        3. Environment Consistency
      6. Testing the Metrics and Resolving Problems
      7. Setting a Baseline for the Measures and Establishing a Normal Range
      8. Using the Metrics
    4. Potential Problems and Measurement Barriers
  7. 5. Beginning Control with Project Initiation
    1. Sponsorship
      1. Managing the Project Environment
      2. Active Involvement in Project Start-Up
      3. Support for Robust Project Management Processes
      4. Initial Validation, Baseline Setting, and Revalidation as Required
      5. Protection for the Project
      6. Organizational Learning
    2. Project Vision
      1. Value Analysis: Why Does This Project Matter?
      2. One Size Does Not Fit All
    3. Project Launch
      1. Project Charter
      2. Project Priorities
      3. Return on Investment Analysis
        1. Getting a Return on ROI
      4. Initial Scoping
        1. Defining Deliverables
        2. Verifying Requirements
        3. Testing the Limits
        4. Validating Initial Scoping
      5. Project Staffing
    4. Start-Up Workshops
      1. Justifying the Start-Up Workshop
      2. Creating the Agenda
      3. Selecting Participants and Confirming Attendance
      4. Handling Logistics
      5. Opening the Workshop
      6. Reviewing Project Information
      7. Confirming Roles
      8. Digging into the Project
      9. Having Some Fun
      10. Capturing Issues and Closing the Workshop
      11. Following Up After the Workshop
    5. Working with Cross-Functional, Distributed, and Global Team Members
      1. Establishing Your Team
      2. Conducting a Long-Distance Project Start-Up Workshop
  8. 6. Building Control Through Project Planning
    1. Plan Collaboratively
      1. Project Infrastructure
      2. Breaking Down the Work with Your Team
        1. Up Against the Wall
        2. Minimizing Missing Work
        3. Long Duration Projects
        4. Multiteam Projects or Programs
        5. High Innovation or Investigation Projects
        6. Documenting Results
      3. Individual Goals
        1. Defining Clear Objectives
        2. Discovering Individual Preferences
        3. Delegating Ownership and Responsibility
        4. Gaining Two-Way Commitment
      4. Collaborative Estimating
        1. Developing a Detailed View
        2. Learning from History
        3. Estimating as a Team
      5. Outsourced Activities
        1. Your Reasons for Outsourcing
        2. Managing the Timing
        3. Minimizing Sources of Conflict and Confusion
        4. Contracting for Control
      6. Interface Management
      7. Constraints and Plan Optimization
        1. Critical Path
        2. Minimizing Schedule Complexity
        3. Resource Overcommitments and Leveling
        4. Opportunities and Plan Optimization
        5. Putting Your Project in a Box
      8. Risk Identification and Assessment
        1. Doing a Plan Review
    2. Measure Your Plan
      1. Defining Predictive Project Metrics
      2. Using Predictive Metrics
    3. Set a Realistic Project Baseline
      1. Preparing Your Information
      2. Negotiating
      3. Setting the Baseline
    4. Use Your Plan
  9. 7. Maintaining Control During Project Execution
    1. Deploying Status-Based Metrics
      1. Defining Diagnostic Metrics
      2. Control and Earned Value Management (EVM)
        1. What Is EVM?
        2. Should You Adopt EVM?
        3. Ensuring Useful EVM Results
        4. An Alternative to EVM
      3. Selecting and Setting Baselines for Diagnostic Metrics
    2. Status Collection
      1. Implementing Your Diagnostic Measures
      2. Collecting Inputs
      3. Verifying and Analyzing Project Variance
      4. Saving and Using Project Variance Information
    3. Informal Communication
      1. Management by Wandering Around
      2. Conversations
      3. Notes and E-Mail
    4. Maintaining Relationships
      1. Building on Common Interests
      2. Using Team Activities
      3. Tailoring Your Interactions
      4. Staying Positive and Loyal
      5. Interacting Socially and Feeding People
      6. Using Humor and Having Fun
  10. 8. Tracking and Monitoring for Project Control
    1. Scope and Specification Change Management
    2. Overall Control
      1. Performance Problems
      2. Schedule Control
      3. Cost Control
      4. Quality Control
      5. Outsourcing and Contract Administration
      6. Risk Monitoring and Control
      7. Issues Management
      8. Loss of a Project Sponsor
      9. Taking Over a Project
    3. Formal Communication
      1. Project Status Reports
      2. Project Meetings
      3. Presentations
    4. Rewards and Recognition
      1. Intangible Rewards and Recognition
      2. More Tangible Rewards and Recognition
    5. Project Reviews for Lengthy Projects
      1. Planning Your Review
      2. Conducting Your Review
      3. Following Up After Your Review
    6. Project Cancellation
    7. Control Challenges
      1. Dealing with Barriers
      2. Resolving Team Conflicts
  11. 9. Enhancing Overall Control Through Project Closure
    1. Delivering Your Results and Getting Sign-Off
    2. Employing Retrospective Project Metrics
      1. Defining Retrospective Project Metrics
      2. Deploying and Using Retrospective Metrics
    3. Administrative Closure
      1. Closure for Outsourced Work
      2. Final Project Reports
    4. Celebration and Team Rewards
    5. Capturing Lessons Learned
      1. Preparing for the Retrospective
      2. Meeting to Review Project Results and Processes
      3. Documenting and Following Up on Recommendations
  12. 10. Conclusion
  13. A. Example Project Infrastructure Decisions
    1. Planning Questions
      1. Project Initiation
      2. Project Plan Development
      3. Outsourced Work
      4. Planning Deliverables
      5. Planning Participants
      6. Planning Tools
      7. Planning Measures
    2. Execution Questions
      1. Project Status
      2. Status Metrics
      3. Project Management Information System (PMIS)
      4. Project Meetings
      5. Team Concerns
      6. Informal Communications
      7. Life Cycles, Methodologies, and Other Organizational Requirements
      8. Process Management and Quality Assurance
    3. Control Questions
      1. Project Reporting
      2. Scope and Specification Control
      3. Overall Control
      4. Individual Performance Problems
      5. Project Reviews and Baseline Management
      6. Project Cancellation
      7. Project Closure
      8. Retrospective Metrics
  14. B. Selected References
    1. Books on Project Management
    2. Books on Influence
    3. Books on Metrics

Product information

  • Title: Results Without Authority: Controlling a Project When the Team Doesn’t Report to You
  • Author(s): Tom Kendrick PMP
  • Release date: August 2006
  • Publisher(s): AMACOM
  • ISBN: None