Approach to Mentoring Project Managers

A while back I was asked about my approach to mentoring project managers. I thought this was a very insightful question.

I feel that I'm qualified to answer it. I have mentored over a dozen Six Sigma Green Belts (continuous improvement project managers), mentored many IT project managers, and reviewed 100s (maybe 1000s) projects for quality deliverables. I feel confident that I know something about providing praise, direction, and feedback when it comes to projects; which, in my opinion, should be the key tasks of mentoring.

The first step is understand the gaps. These gaps could be at the micro-level (with the individual) or at the macro-level (with the organization). As a tool for determining gaps, I like to use the knowledge areas in the PMBOK. Think about these knowledge areas as a way to guage the level of the PM. For instance, there might be three topics within Cost Management that your company values: tracking costs, project benefits, and earned value. PMs that can show proficiency at one might be red and all three might be green. Keep in mind that red doesn't mean "bad"; we'll cover that more later. Identifying gaps at the macro-level is a little more tricky. These are the gaps between the PM and the organization. For instance, you organization may value financial benefits in the way of saving money for the company. PMs may struggle tracking the benefits, finding benefits, etc.

Step 2 is developing a plan. We really should approach individual mentoring plans just as we would a project. State the objectives, put together a list of tasks, and execute. When addressing objectives, in very rare instances has a PM been able to make significant improvements in multiple areas. The biggest challenge i have found is repetition. Most projects are long in duration and some development items are once per project. The last thing is transitioning ownership of the plan to the PM. My job as a mentor is to provide direction; it's up to the PM to execute.

Step 3 is the final step. Steven Covey describes a step as" sharpen the saw" and I really like that phrase. Other people may say "rinse, wash, repeat." The idea is that mentoring can go for as long as needed. There are several drivers that may influence mentoring. Organizations or organization priorities may change. Business conditions may change.

In a quick note about feedback. As the mentor, you must work to build report with the person you are mentoring. You must achieve a level of comfort at the same level as the feedback you are providing. Take my comment earlier about being "red" if they only master a single topic within Cost Management. Not everyone is open to seeing their name with any red associated with it. As a mentor, we should never focus on how much red there is; rather focus on reducing the red. Part of mentoring is building a trusting relationship. Trust that some things will be shared outside the mentor relationship but some things will not.

In a final note, mentoring is what you make it; for both the mentor and the mentoree. Both or either in the mentoring should feel free to take charge of the process. I can tell you that I have never heard a mentor get mad for someone being too in control of the process. If anything, it is refreshing to mentor someone that is engaged verses someone that is just going through the motions.

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Marketing Projects

As a PMO, we should be looking for projects all over the company that add value. Regardless of risk, complexity, resources, etc, if the business case makes sense, we must find a way to get them done on-time and within budget.

Here are several projects ideas that I came up with for Marketing a business. The profile of this business is an older manufacturing company struggling in a poor economy and trying to change their business model. The following are several marketing projects that are focused on getting our image, brand, name, etc out there:

• Embrace social networking and launch a project to merge corporate culture with social presence.


• Develop an iPhone or Android app. It doesn't have to be big. Look at putting a game with your company's image out there. Who cares who downloads it, when people have the opportunity to


• Launch a research project to better understand your customer's perception of the company. You can also use this to ensure you are provide products they are looking for. Careful not to survey your customers to death. There are indirect methods to find this information.


• Scope a project to research some keywords used by your customers to find your site and potential keywords that new markets may be using

There is a lot of different ways to scope marketing projects. The key is to follow a project process: state your objectives, build a plan, record the results, and close the project. I would suggest paying close attention to scope creep/change management. It is easy to draw out marketing project because of their nature. Fight the urge. Big change to the scope might need to be looked upon as additional iterations of the project.

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Everything is fun and games until someone misses a requirement

The project is moving along quite well. The team has been assigned and requirements have been gathered from several key stakeholders. To improve the likelihood of success for the project, a couple of high-value consultants have been brought in. The consultants have reviewed the requirements and validate them for the solution. Up until now, this describes a standard process for a generic project.

Now a during a project review, one of the key stakeholders interviewed at the beginning of the project reveals a new requirement. Now what? The construction of the solution has begun and the schedule continues to get tighter and tighter. Thank goodness for that integrated change management process that was defined as part of initiating the project.

This project uses a standard integrated change management process. The first step is to document the description of the change and evaluate the impact to the project; in terms of scope, time, and cost. Second, review the change with the assigned change management review board. The change management review board may be the project champion or sponsor or it may consist of a steering committee if the project is relatively large or part of a program. The third step, based on an approval of the change, is where the “project integration” theme comes into play. Based on the nature of the change, what components of the project plan are affected? In other words, does the change impact the schedule, resources, costs, etc.? If so, what is the plan to integrate the change? For example, does the change constitute re-baselining the schedule? The fourth and final step is to communicate the change. It is very important to keep everyone on the same page regarding the project in terms of scope, cost, and timeframe.

Recap:

1. Document & Evaluate the Change.
2. Seek Approval to Make the Change.
3. Integrate the Change.
4. Communicate the Change.

PMO Advantage Website Mission Statement

There are several functions that a PMO can serve: Governance, Resource Control, or Best Practices Knowledge Store. Most full-service PMOs utilize all three.

• Governance - The PMO manages methodologies/processes, prioritization, and investments that flow through the organization.
  
• Resource Control - The PMO assigns the resources to the investments and manages the execution.
  
• Best Practices Knowledge Store - The PMO manages and distributes the best practices related to project management, program management, and portfolio management.
  

PMO Advantage is focused on information distribution related to effectively managing the components of a PMO:

• People
• Process/Methodology
• Technology, Training & Communication
• Measurement Systems

Likewise, there is significant value to aligning the PMO with the Objectives of the Business. In other words, there are benefits to tie a PMO to effectively manage the Assets, Operations, & Enhancements within your business.