#047 - Why we all need a little Project FIRST AID

I recently attended an Outdoor First Aid course at Camp Waingaro, which is an old scout hall nestled in 19 hectares of New Zealand bush. Quite a long way from anywhere - or at least it felt like it when I found that I could no longer get a cellphone signal. It was a beautiful site, surrounded on three sides by a creek that wound its way down the valley.

I initially thought it would be something of a refresher course, as I had attended first aid courses before, but in many respects this was an entirely new experience.

Granted, the last in-depth First Aid course I took was over 30 years ago - but as it turned out I had remembered most of the basic concepts I needed to know over all of that time. The first day of the course was a lot of theory - with some practical exercises using CPR dummies, various bandages, how to deal with choking and so on. Of course, some practices and techniques have changed over the years - in fact, some first aid practices seem to change every few years as they learn more and best practices change.

On occasion, I have had to use my first aid skills in the past - beyond the basics of blisters, small cuts, splinters and burns. One was a full-out mountain rescue involving a victim 200 feet (61m) down a steep slope, his near-vertical evacuation and the treatment for scrapes, lacerations and embedded gravel. Years after that, I had to deal with a victim who had become engulfed in flame. It was a long drive to hospital as we worked to cool and protect his burns. Fortunately, both victims fully recovered.

As it had been a long time since my initial training, I was nervous when I first arrived at the course, but I grew progressively more confident throughout the day as we covered familiar topics. However, things changed when we got into the practical outdoor scenarios the next morning. 

(c) 2012 Mathew Frauenstein

When it all hit the fan, I felt like I knew almost nothing.

 Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.  

#038 - Have YOU Exploited your Project Team Today?

Let me ask you an important question:

Have you Exploited your Project Team Today?

Wait a minute, Exploit your Project Team? You are probably thinking - He can't be serious. That's a horrible, evil thing to do, right?

You probably also have visions of unfair wages, an evil boss, overworked and under-appreciated staff, things like that. Unfortunately, that does happen - but it is not what I am talking about.

You really should exploit your team - and a trip to the toy store made me come to view this as a viable management approach. 

Wisdom from the Toy Store

While shopping for a birthday present for one of my children, I came across the following toy that you first assemble, and then play with:

"Exploiter"? My initial reaction was to take offense at the words on the box. My second reaction was to take a photo. Translated instructions from a foreign country are often quite humorous, but it is less common to have the label or name of a product be so obviously "wrong". It was one of those you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it moments.

I paced around the store, agitated, thinking about what a poor message this was giving to our children - nobody wants to be exploited, and if you exploit someone, you are obviously a bad person - right? 

Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.    

#037 - Your Fifteen Minutes of ... Productivity?

Fifteen minutes of Fame - we all seem to want it, and according to some we are all due our fifteen minutes in the limelight. Well, maybe, or maybe not. I am sure that the law of averages has something to say about that, and more likely some celebrity out there is using up a whole lot of other people's 15 minutes. I am sure mine has already been used up somewhere, maybe yours too. Who knows?

We all day-dream about what might be. However, instead of making the dreams a reality, we often squander countless minutes musing about a possible future - while instead we could have been doing something more productive towards that (or any other) goal. 

Other times, we are either delaying work on an unpleasant task, trying to put off the inevitable, or simply waiting until we "have enough time" to get the task done.

The truth is that it is far more rewarding (and practical) to apply those extra minutes towards the things that you need to get done. Even better, apply the time towards the things you need to get done, and you will find you have more time to do the things you want to do.

For some, this seems hard to do, particularly if the task is difficult or unpleasant, or you are simply procrastinating. We all procrastinate - some more than others, and I will admit I have had my fair share over the years. Usually, it just takes some butt-in-seat glue to stay and get focused on the task, and it gradually starts to take shape - and soon enough you find the task completed.

Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.   

#036 - Roadside Checkup: How Clear is your Project Vision?

When I was fifteen, I spent the summer visiting my relatives in Alberta. Nothing unusual about that, as we did that most summers. We would usually drive the nearly 14 hours to Calgary and then spend a few very enjoyable weeks visiting the grandparents, exploring the farmyard and visiting our many aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives in the area.

What was different about that summer is that our family divided up the visits, allowing us kids to each spend more time with our relatives, one-on-one. I spent a few days with my grandparents, and then one of my Aunts came to pick me up and drive me up to their farm an hour and a half to the north. My parents were going to pick me up later in the week to take me to the next relative.

It was a hot, dry summer, which was not uncommon in the prairies. Her car was brown. Actually, it might not have been brown, it was just coated in so much dust you couldn't see the colour underneath. My grandparents waved from the front steps of the farmhouse as we rumbled away down the gravel driveway, dust rising high behind the car. It was a little hard to see, but I didn't think too much of it. Everything was dusty that summer.

As we drove down the main gravel road and onto the stretch of pavement before we reached the main highway, my Aunt said she needed to stop and get some gas. We pulled into a little gas station and the attendant started to pump the fuel. 

"Just need to clean the windshield," she said as she hopped out of the car and grabbed a squeegee from the bucket beside the gas pump. I remained seated in the car.

She dragged the wet spongy side across the top of the window, and rivulets of mud tracked down the glass. She re-wet the squeegee several times as she progressively sponged and cleared the dust and mud off the outside of the window. 

She looked at the window, frowned, and then leaned into the car to have a look out of the windshield. "You might want to get out," she said as she walked back around the car towards the squeegee bucket. 

I unbuckled myself and got out of the car just as she stepped forward and proceeded to drag the wet squeegee across the inside of the windshield. It, too was covered in dust, and trickles of mud ran down the glass and dripped onto the dashboard. Slightly flustered, she quickly cleaned the inside of the window, paid the attendant and then we got back into the car.

As we drove down the dust-free highway, windows still down but now able to see ahead of us more clearly, I asked her why the car was so dusty on the inside. She replied that the car did not have air conditioning, so naturally driving with the windows down was a good substitute.

However, living on a farm (with no air conditioning), you had to keep the windows down to cool off, but of course that let the dust in. With the manual window winders and only one person in the car, it was hard to put the windows up and down as you regularly went from asphalt to dirt or gravel - so she mostly left them down.


Thus the coating of dust throughout the car, inside and out.


Driving with clear visibility in front of you is obviously important - that is why my Aunt cleaned the window once we were off the dusty road. But ask yourself this - how many of us truck on ahead with our projects, "just getting the work done", but with no clear vision of where we are going or what is up ahead?


It might just be time to pull off the road and check those windows.

 Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.  

#033 - Do you have enough Rope? A Lesson in Being Prepared

Have you ever saved a life?

In an emergency, can you do what it takes to help someone? Could you rescue them from a life-or-death situation? Perhaps you might think I am being a bit dramatic, but it's a serious question.

Are you prepared? 

In July 1983, the 15th World Scouting Jamboree was held at Kananaskis, Alberta, in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies.  

In December 1981, several members of our Venturer company were selected to attend the HikeMaster training camp in July 1982. If we passed the tests - physical and written, we would be part of a dedicated group that would be leading scouts from around the world on hikes and camps in the Rockies at the World Jamboree the next year. We were given plenty of warning so that we had time to prepare - and prepare we did.

At 15 and 16, we were becoming reasonably experienced campers, and we all attended a St John's first aid course. We also had to do a weekend "solo" hiking pre-camp (no adult leaders), to help prepare us for being self-reliant and leading groups of scouts - including their adult leaders.

Little did we know we would be testing our skills, teamwork and those First-Aid lessons in earnest in only a few short months - in a real life-or-death situation.

 Listen to the podcast or read the full article on Gazza's Corner Blog.

#031 - New Year, New Project - Don't forget the PARTY!

Happy New Year - and welcome to your new project! 

The start of the calendar year often marks the start of new projects; the old year is done, the new year is fresh and full of potential. Everyone is rested from the break and raring to go...ok, perhaps recovering is the right word. However, it is still a great time of year to kick off new projects, with most people full of energy and optimism. Who knows - your New Year Resolution might even have been about your project. (Ya, right!)

Many people finished up the calendar year with a lot of social activities and parties; the closer you got to the end of the year it seems the less work was done, or at least it was harder to get work done. I know exactly how tough it was - I was in the first month of ramping up on a new project, looking for information, while everyone else was winding down from the year and starting to disappear on holiday.

Now it is a new year, people are returning from holiday, refreshed or recovering, in any case coming back to work to hit the ground running (or at least at a moderate walking pace).

So what do we need to do to get our new projects off on the right foot, to help make sure they are successful?

Quite simple, really. What we need is...a Project PARTY.

Listen to the podcast, or read the full article on Gazza's Corner blog.   

#021 - Lather, Rinse, Repeat - Why We Need to Re-Plan Projects

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

You will find these instructions (or some variation) on most shampoo bottles. Why include these instructions in the first place? Does it mean that the shampoo is actually not that good and you need a double dose? Or, could it possibly be they think you are extra dirty and need the extra round of cleaning (which might be kind of insulting)?

Actually, it is neither of those reasons.

The shampoo is not necessarily faulty, nor are you likely that gamey. The reason they put those instructions on the bottle is that they know the secret of doing a job effectively. The first round cleans most of the pollution, grease and dirt out of your hair - the next round does a final pass to make sure your hair is actually clean, and not just "less dirty".

Other two-part solutions abound - floss before you brush your teeth; your teeth will be healthier if you loosen up the stuff that is stuck between your teeth and then brush and rinse it away.

Painting a room? Don't ever believe the "one coat" label on the can or the brush. Every good painter (DIY or professional) knows that you need (at least) two coats for a good finish. One time round is simply not enough, unless you are freshening up the room with the same exact colour within a couple years. But if you change colours, you will need two coats, and possibly a primer/sealer before that to help hide the old colour. And the bigger the colour change between old and new, the more coats you are likely to need to cover it.

Not surprisingly, the same approach applies to Project Planning, however we are not limited to just a second pass; depending on the length of your project you may end up doing multiple rounds of re-planning to make sure that things are going to get done effectively.

Because - as every Project Manager knows, your project plan becomes obsolete the moment you save it or print it out.

Listen to the podcast, or read the full article on Gazza's Corner blog. 

#019 - Once Upon a Time: Your Project is a Story

On July 1, 2012, my teenage son and I went to a book signing. My son's first time going to one - and it was for one of his all-time favourite authors. The author was in Hamilton, NZ for the last stop, and last "show" on his tour for the final book in the series. The next day, he was flying home.

Dragons, Magic, Dwarves, Elves, Wizards, dark forests - the core elements of every good fantasy novel are in his books.

The author spoke with the crowd for nearly an hour, telling of his journey of writing. It was quite an interesting story, and he was a dynamic speaker. At the end, during Q&A one of the members of the audience asked "how do you go about writing a book"?

The answer was insightful. His answer was that it was in exactly the same way as every other author he had met started to write their stories. The authors all started with Questions. "What if...?", "How about if the character did this...?", "Why can't we just...?" and so on.

That got me to thinking about Projects. Doesn't every project start the same way - with a lot of Questions?

Listen to the podcast, or read the full article on Gazza's Corner blog.

#016 - Developing Exceptional Requirements: Lessons Learned from Ice Cream and the Spice Girls

One of the things I looked forward to most on my business trips from Canada to New Zealand was a little town called Pokeno, south of Auckland on the edge of the Bombay hills.

Pokeno is famous for two things: Bacon and Ice Cream, most definitely not in that order. Pokeno used to be right on SH1, and everyone travelling to or from Auckland and the Waikato went through it - right beside the butcher and two of the busiest ice cream stores you have ever seen, summer or winter. And even though these ice cream shops are literally side by side, neither of them suffers in the least. Today, even though the SH1 is a newer road bypassing Pokeno, it is still as busy as ever, with people making sure to take the off-ramp into the little town.

There is nothing special about the ice cream itself - you get the same brands in the grocery store. Nothing special about the service either - and you only get the one tiny napkin wrapped around the cone, and no spares on the counter.

What made Pokeno famous - and still does today - is that they have the cheapest, largest scoops in the country. And 42 flavours to choose from! Not only that - you can have up to 11 scoops at once (on one double cone base) - for only $8. I am not kidding. It would be literally about a foot high at least, above the cone. I haven't tried it myself, as 2 scoops is plenty for me, but you can be sure my kids have been sizing it up as a worthy challenge.

These are by no means tiny scoops either - in Canada and the US you generally get a modest scoop most places you go, except perhaps the "premium" shops, with premium prices. Here you get good, honest scoops, twice as wide as the cone itself - for once, actually bigger than the pictures suggest.

I am getting hungry just writing about it!

Anyway, this article is about writing Excellent Requirements - and yes, it does relate to the Ice Cream. One of the challenges in Pokeno is there is a lot of choice - 42 flavours, 11 configurations (1 to 11 scoops at once). That is a lot to wrap your head around, and don't forget the Sundaes.

We have similar issues with eliciting and documenting requirements on projects - we need to get down to the details of what is exactly needed by the customer. When everything is shiny and new, sometimes customers simply want it all...and sometimes they kind of know what they want but can't commit to a specific choice and option.

Chocolate, Dutch Chocolate, Dark Chocolate or Triple Chocolate Chip?

Cookies and Cream, Gold Rush, Peppermint or Goodie Goodie?

Wait, let me look at the other 34 flavours first...

And which one goes best next to Liquorice?

It is so hard to choose...we need some help!

What we need is...a good Requirements Definition Process.

Listen to the podcast or read the article on Gazza's Corner (www.gazzascorner.com)

#009 - Project Planning 1.1: Project Tracking - Plan for it Now!

Project tracking is an important element of control on any project. During the project, you need to be able to measure and report on progress against project deliverables, and roll-up that information into higher and higher levels, until you often end up with a high-level dashboard for the Project Sponsor and other executives (red light, green light, yellow light). And in the long run, you need to be able to know when you have actually finished the project, and if you have succeeded in achieving the project goals.

Sounds straightforward, right? But as you probably already know, it is not quite so simple. There are many projects that do not track enough information, and others that track too much. All of this tracking requires effort, by the individual team members, their team leaders, the Project Manager, and those who receive the status reports.

Asking people to spend "overhead" time on activities like status reporting when they do not see any direct relation to what they are doing, and how it is used can be another big problem - if they do not see value in doing it, it becomes a "chore" that they would rather not do - so they may delay doing it, not do it at all, or worse, "fake it".

Sometimes all that effort results in only a cursory glance at the highest levels. So why bother with it? Or the information can become so disassociated due to poor structuring when it is rolled up that it becomes effectively meaningless. This problem can be a related to how you have structured your Project Plan, and also your approach to tracking. That, of course helps nobody.

So what do we track, how do we track it - and most importantly, how do we plan for it and what do we do with it?

In this session we will explore the essentials of Practical Project Tracking - what you will need to manage your project, satisfy the reporting needs of your stakeholders, and be able to tell, in the end, if your project was successful.
 

Listen or read the full article on Gazza's Corner (www.gazzascorner.com)

Gary Nelson, PMP www.gazzaconsulting.com

#007 - Project Planning 1.0: The Importance of the Project Kickoff

You cannot underestimate the importance of the Project Kickoff. It sets the tone for the rest of the project, and it is often the first time all of the key players on the Project will be face to face. In some cases, it may be the only time they all get together - so make it count!

It may also be the first time that you get to review the project objectives as a team, and it is where you will build the collective understanding of what you are trying to achieve - and the first stage in Project Team Development.

But what exactly is a Project Kickoff, and why do we really need it? In this session we will explore what it is - and why it is so important.

Listen or read the full article on Gazza's Corner (www.gazzascorner.com)

Gary Nelson, PMP www.gazzaconsulting.com