Simple Project Management Methodology (SPMM) is a simple approach to managing projects with less than a five million dollar budget. There are countless project management frameworks and methodologies within the industry and most of these are extremely process intensive. The problem with intensive process methodologies is that when the project manager and project team are focused on process, they usually lose focus on managing the critical tasks of the project. What many PMO's, often, do not realize is it isn't process that delivers a project, rather, it is the completion of tasks and keeping the team focused that results in the completion of a project.
I have witnessed projects stall and fail, time and time again, because the project team was too focused on process, discovery, and methodology instead of delivery. So what is delivery exactly? In project manager terms, it is the standard where all projects and project managers are judged. So focusing on intangibles instead of deliverables will, almost certainly, result in failure. This is one reason why I have not subscribed to any specific methodology. Most methodologies, typically, focus on process and meetings, which are the two largest impacts to schedule and budget on a project. Process and meetings equate to less productivity, and can add a layer of unnecessary complexity to a project. If project staff are in meetings or working on process, they are not working on deliverables.
So, do I believe all methodologies are wrong or bad? Not at all. I believe that anything in moderation often has its place. However, the belief that one methodology will fit every scenario may not be realistic when it comes to project management.
So what does SPMM entail? It is a list of tools below utilized efficiently:
1) Global Contact List (Distributed upon updates - Containing Team Members, Sponsors, Distributors, or any other key personnel)
2) Team Contact List (Name, Title, Company, Phone, Cell Phone and Email)
3) Project Statement of Work (No more than 8 pages - 4 or less preferably)
4) Simple Document Repository (Discovery Folder, Project Folder)
5) Communication Plan (no more than 1 page)
6) Milestone Calendar (4 or less entries per month with alerts - Accessible to all Project Members)
7) Weekly Status Report (1 page or less, Overview, Risks & Issues and Milestones, CPI/SPI and or Burn Rate)
8) Discovery
a. Network Diagrams (Hardware Implementation)
b. Mockups and Wireframes (Software Implementation)
c. Workflow Diagrams - (Used when necessary)
9) Project Schedule (Updated twice a week)
a. Project Schedule Baseline
10) Budget Spreadsheet
a. Personnel Costs Sheet
b. Non-Personnel Costs Sheet
c. Budget Baseline
11) Risk and Issue Log Spreadsheet (Current R&I at top, closed R&I at the bottom)
12) Meetings (2 or less 30 Min. Standing Team meetings a week - Published Agenda)
13) "One on One" meetings with Task Owners (5 Min. 3 or less a week via Email when possible)
14) Transition Document and Signoff (No more than 5 pages)
The SPMM methodology is about efficiency and is a great technique to effectively manage a project. Further, it is also helpful when projects have stalled or failed because it increases all project team members bandwidth exponentially.
My personal experience has reflected that project budgets could be reduced by as much as 50% utilizing this method. Why? SPMM boosts productivity while reducing process and documentation, which can attribute to as much as 50% of a project's total cost, in some cases. Moreover, this methodology requires less staff. Many may ask, "Why less staff?" This is due to a reduction in work load where the team is effectively focused on tasks, instead of time wasted in meetings and writing documentation that is almost never read or archived properly. If staff is working effectively, it saves the schedule and budget because there is less effort within the project.
In conclusion SPMM = less tasks = less work = less points of failure = better chances for success.
I have witnessed projects stall and fail, time and time again, because the project team was too focused on process, discovery, and methodology instead of delivery. So what is delivery exactly? In project manager terms, it is the standard where all projects and project managers are judged. So focusing on intangibles instead of deliverables will, almost certainly, result in failure. This is one reason why I have not subscribed to any specific methodology. Most methodologies, typically, focus on process and meetings, which are the two largest impacts to schedule and budget on a project. Process and meetings equate to less productivity, and can add a layer of unnecessary complexity to a project. If project staff are in meetings or working on process, they are not working on deliverables.
So, do I believe all methodologies are wrong or bad? Not at all. I believe that anything in moderation often has its place. However, the belief that one methodology will fit every scenario may not be realistic when it comes to project management.
So what does SPMM entail? It is a list of tools below utilized efficiently:
1) Global Contact List (Distributed upon updates - Containing Team Members, Sponsors, Distributors, or any other key personnel)
2) Team Contact List (Name, Title, Company, Phone, Cell Phone and Email)
3) Project Statement of Work (No more than 8 pages - 4 or less preferably)
4) Simple Document Repository (Discovery Folder, Project Folder)
5) Communication Plan (no more than 1 page)
6) Milestone Calendar (4 or less entries per month with alerts - Accessible to all Project Members)
7) Weekly Status Report (1 page or less, Overview, Risks & Issues and Milestones, CPI/SPI and or Burn Rate)
8) Discovery
a. Network Diagrams (Hardware Implementation)
b. Mockups and Wireframes (Software Implementation)
c. Workflow Diagrams - (Used when necessary)
9) Project Schedule (Updated twice a week)
a. Project Schedule Baseline
10) Budget Spreadsheet
a. Personnel Costs Sheet
b. Non-Personnel Costs Sheet
c. Budget Baseline
11) Risk and Issue Log Spreadsheet (Current R&I at top, closed R&I at the bottom)
12) Meetings (2 or less 30 Min. Standing Team meetings a week - Published Agenda)
13) "One on One" meetings with Task Owners (5 Min. 3 or less a week via Email when possible)
14) Transition Document and Signoff (No more than 5 pages)
The SPMM methodology is about efficiency and is a great technique to effectively manage a project. Further, it is also helpful when projects have stalled or failed because it increases all project team members bandwidth exponentially.
My personal experience has reflected that project budgets could be reduced by as much as 50% utilizing this method. Why? SPMM boosts productivity while reducing process and documentation, which can attribute to as much as 50% of a project's total cost, in some cases. Moreover, this methodology requires less staff. Many may ask, "Why less staff?" This is due to a reduction in work load where the team is effectively focused on tasks, instead of time wasted in meetings and writing documentation that is almost never read or archived properly. If staff is working effectively, it saves the schedule and budget because there is less effort within the project.
In conclusion SPMM = less tasks = less work = less points of failure = better chances for success.
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