Lean Project Execution
Lets have a look at how a Lean approach to running a project, where we deploy a physical product.
From "success assured" to launch.
Decentralized Planning
In project management timing is everything. Having the right information available to the entire project team at the right time is critical. In this way, project teams can make timely decisions that move projects forward, avoiding unnecessary delays.
How does an 18-month project become 6 months late? One day at a time.
Let’s say we are sailing from point A to point B in the least amount of time, we monitor our current position and continuously correct our course so as not to stray too far from the optimal path. The more frequently we monitor our position, the less we deviate from the optimal path, the faster we arrive at our destination.
Timely, fast information-sharing is what team planning is all about!
If the team creates the plan, it will become more accurate, the team's commitment to the plan increases, and, in addition, the project leader spends less time updating the plan and has the information on hand in real-time to proactively find ways to keep the project on track.
Team planning and real-time distribution of project information means:
Daily operations are delegated to the team members with the project leader managing the big picture.
Feedback is quicker and team members are more informed which allows the project team to make better decisions faster – they don’t have to wait for information to go up and down the chain of command.
Teams react quickly to situations where fast action can mean the difference between gaining or losing time.
Project Kick-Off: Main Plan
WHY?
Not even the best laid plan will guarantee success, but without a plan you are guaranteed to fall short of your goals. The best, and most accurate way to plan is that the people who does the actual work creates the plan. This motivates them to become a High Performing Self Organized Team.
WHAT?
A visual, result-based and Stepwise approach for a Cross Functional Team to plan a Product Innovation Project.
WHEN?
As quickly as possible after a business opportunity decision has been made
INPUT?
This should be defined by the business opportunity screening process.
HOW?
Individual Planning:
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Individually create a first rough plan, spend 10-30 minutes
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Start from the end
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Identify important deliverables, results, sub-results. Write on green post-its
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Sequence them on a flip chart paper, your proposed main plan
Team Planning:
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Ask all team members for deliverables, results and sub-results
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Start from the end
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Sort and cluster the individual deliverables
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As parallel and independent as possible
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Rewrite and clean up
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Organize in steps and define synch points
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Save all ideas, problems, risks, questions and decisions in an action list
Estimate work- and calendar time:
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Identify critical path
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Calculate calendar time for each synch point
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Not OK?
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Challenge the team to re-group and find more things to do in parallel
Finish, complete and clean-up
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Relate Gateway decisions to Synch Points.
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Review Steps and Synch Points – can we do it?
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Define dates for Synch Points & Gateway decisions
Project Kick-Off:
Identify Risks
WHY?
Managing risks is a key element for success. If we do not act on risks, they become problems that’s causing delays, cost increase and frustrates the team.
WHAT?
Risk management is the practice of identifying, evaluating, and preventing or mitigating risks that have the potential to impact the desired outcomes.
During the Project Kick-Off run a workshop to identify, and assess potential risks and problems.
WHEN?
A pre-mortem is best conducted at the project’s kickoff, with all key team members present and after the goals and plan have been laid out and understood.
INPUT?
To effectively manage risk there must be a clear understanding of the objectives so the team can identify any possible barriers that could impact the team’s ability to produce results.
HOW?
The exercise starts with a simple question:
“What could go wrong?” or “How will this end in disaster?”
The team members document the risks they see based on their own experience.
Place them on the Risk Matrix and ensure that the team members agree on the impact and probability.
Use the priority dictated by the matrix and define the actions need to be taken to address the highest-ranking risks.
Actions are added to the team's backlog
Project Kick-Off: Step Plan
WHY?
Visual planning enhances commitment and collaboration around the plan. It helps break down large deliverables in manageable milestones and facilitates frequent joint follow-up.
WHAT?
Visual planning is a visually oriented planning method which is carried out by all the project participants by placing personal milestones in the right sequence on a board. It is an operational plan which covers the next step of the main plan, reaching the next Sync-point.
WHEN?
The workshop held at every synch point
INPUT?
Main plan and identified risks
HOW?
Build the plan
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Each team member (or function) have a horizontal track on the board
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Individually, team members write down milestones in a logical sequential flow on sticky-notes and place them on the board
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One milestone per week at the minimum, but not so many that you lose the overview
Together, the team goes through the entire plan from the top and checks all dependencies and adds milestones which may be missing
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Each “track owner” presents his/her track
If reaching key deliverables on time is a problem, the team discusses possible ways of accelerating the plan.
Project Kick-Off:
Detailed Plan
WHY?
Understanding the progress of the activities performed gives us two advantages:
It allows us to understand, on a daily basis, if we are going to reach the next synch-point. And ultimately the project delivery date.
It reveals underlying problems that we need to act on to reach time, cost and quality targets.
WHAT?
Detailed activities sorted in columns for what’s left to do, what’s going on right now, and what has already been done
HOW?
Break down each milestone in the Step Plan into activities
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An activity is between a half and two days in duration
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Note, almost all activities can be broken into this small pieces, there are exceptions, but they are very few
Place them on the board, under to do, for the respective team
WHEN?
A detailed planning session should be held every 2-4 weeks
INPUT?
The step plan, main plan and risk matrix
