Project Management

Part III

Presented by ZweigWhite
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 Seminar Overview

• Introduction and Logistics

• Headaches and Learning Objectives
• Facts, Figures, and Things to Consider
• Skills and Abilities of Today’s Project Manager
• What we need to do, when, why and how
• Project Phases
• Key Concepts
• Excellence in Project Leadership
• Objectives in Motion
What We Need to Do, When,
Why, and How
Project Lifecycle
Project Completion
 Project Completion

• Commit to closing • Review

• Closeout checklist • Celebrate Successes
• Commissioning
 Closeout and Substantial Completion

• Almost there:
– When and what
• Finishing all the little details so we can get our final
payment and the client can move in
• Committing to closing
– Why
• The longer we are active on a project, the more it
costs us $$
• The client has waited for this day
• We owe it to the client to stay committed
 Closeout and Substantial Completion
• Almost there:
– How
• Stay focused
• Design and use a closeout checklist
• Delegate if necessary – good training
• Leveraging that we are organized; using technology
• Start assembling paperwork early
• Lock in dates for training as soon as possible
• Realistic punchlists
• Negotiate remaining change orders or close them out
• Verify paperwork – warranties, liens, other required docs
• Process final pay request swiftly
• Closeout project numbers in accounting
 Project Review

• Taking a Look Back:

– When and what
• Let’s consider if we should work for this client again
– Why
• Working for a not so ideal client prevents us from working for
an ideal one!
– Ideal Clients
• Add value to our firm
• Reward with fees that value our expertise
• Meet obligations of the contract
• Are responsive
• Give a great reference
 Project Review

• Taking a Look Back:

– Not So Ideal Clients
• Do not add value to our firm
• Take issue with budget/scope and do not
acknowledge our expertise or what we can do for
them
• Do not meet their obligations of the contract
• Are unreliable
 Sub-Consultant Reviews

• Should we work with this consultant again?

• Considerations:
• Was it worth the lower cost?
• Was it worth the delay in delivery?
• What were the actual costs and benefits?
• Do we all make a great team?
• Do I have the authority to hire a different consultant?
• Why not a competitive assessment? Who wants to work with
us and why?
 Celebrate Successes!

• At Milestones and Completions:

– Document what went right
– Document what didn’t go right
– Thank the entire team for hard work
– Share lessons learned among the project team
– Publicize project achievements: internally and
externally
– Never stop improving
 Key Concept: Feedback

• Deliver Feedback to Individuals:

– First: highlight effective performance
– Second: highlight areas for improvement
– Everyone receives feedback after every project – PMs
should also get feedback from project team
 Key Concept: Feedback
• Give directly—with real feeling– based on trust
• In a timely manner—use recent examples to support it
• Ensure the individual / group receiving the feedback is
prepared to discuss it
• Make it valid and limited to areas the individual can
control or change
• Small, well thought-out doses of feedback are better
than large dumps of information
Project Capitalization
 Project Capitalization

• Lessons learned – what to improve

• Leveraging the marketing opportunity
• Checking in on the client
• Nurturing all relationships
 Leveraging our Expertise

• We’ve got this down….now what?

– When and what
• Expertise in project type / client type / sector
– Why
• These are important skills– we need to take advantage of it
• We did an excellent job– we need to showcase it
– How
• Do it really well
• Repeat
• Make sure it appears in our marketing material
 Knowledge Transfer

– How
• Develop standards for retaining and maintaining
project information and work product
• Collect and archive project records
• Make files and records easy to access
• Establish responsibility for maintaining
institutional knowledge
• Hold periodic firm-wide lessons learned sessions
or lunches
 Marketing Activities

– How
• Continue to build and strengthen relationships
with clients even when they don’t have
projects for us
• Work with clients to publicize projects
• Follow up with clients every six months
• Be innovative and different
 Benchmarks

• Project Management Benchmarks:

– Number of new and repeat clients
– Total gross and net revenues
– Repeat, additional, and special service revenues
– Billing and collection periods
– Amount of rework and write-offs
Project Leadership
 Excellent Project Leadership

• Fundamentals to remember and practice

Everyone brings value to Stay focused on project

the team; Purpose objectives

Egos do not make you a Talk it out; sometimes off to

client hero; Unimpressive the side; never in public

Exert leadership even when Constant communication in all

others are not directions
 Costs of Bad Project Management

•Scope creep, write-downs, write-offs

Expensive •Uncollected additional services
•Legal fees incurred at closeout

•Time spent correcting errors & omissions

Time •Time spent in finger-pointing battles with team
Consuming •Schedule lapse from untimely communication

•Marks against the firm’s reputation

Embarrassing •Marks against the PM’s reputation
•Loss of repeat business from client

•Personal stress
Wearisome •Group stress from kick-off to close-out
•Team burnout, sub-consultant burnout, PM burnout
 Successful Projects

• Must Haves:
– Common vision
– Mutual trust and respect
– Commitment to client and project goals
– Commitment to superior outcomes
– Ownership of project responsibilities
– Trainable team and willing to learn
– Fair delegation of work
– Communication in all directions
 Excellent Project Leadership
• What do I do from here?
– Understand the critical role of projects
– Establish a solid, sharp project delivery system
– Ensure every team member knows the role they play within
a project, within the firm, towards the vision
– Everyone thinks more strategically about the way projects
enter the firm, move through the expertise of the firm, and
are delivered successfully to the client
– It takes time to develop good project management habits but
it must be done
– Lead by example; expect accountability at all levels
– Empower and motivate your teams
 Project Leadership

• What do I do from here?

– Understand the importance of projects to our firm
– Establish a solid, sharp project delivery system
– Ensure every team member knows the role they play within a
project, within the firm, towards the vision
– It takes time to develop good project management habits but it
must be done
– Lead by example; expect accountability at all levels
– Empower and motivate your teams
– Never stop improving
 Objectives in Motion

• Identify three things you will implement on your

next project based on what you have learned in this
course:

1. _____________________________________

2. _____________________________________

3. _____________________________________

• Work with your manager to build these

competencies
 Thank You!

Christine Brack, PMP

Principal
239-280-2300 x2902
cbrack@zweigwhite.com
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