Project Management = People Management
Tom Gavula
Director - AM/FM/GIS Project, Providence Gas Company Marina Havan-Orumieh, Senior System Analyst PlanGraphics, Inc. Introduction Projects are successfully implemented if goals are clearly defined and project managers acknowledge their role as people mediators. A project, whether it's about implementing a new technology or constructing a pipeline, ultimately is about managing people and their tasks. This article is focused on recognizing that people fall in different categories, requiring tailored management and communication. The following paragraphs provide a history of the AM/FM/GIS project at the Providence Gas Company (ProvGas), and the specific 'tailored' management and communication steps we use for specific groups of people we have identified that are impacted or impact the project success. Project History The AM/FM/GIS project at ProvGas has had a long history. Information about the specific location of all its main and service pipes was contained in a multitude of paper files dating back to 1875. Because the information was not consolidated in any practical way, the shear volume of paper made it impossible to keep it all up-to-date. Consequently, the records contained much conflicting information. Because there were no rigorous procedures regarding who had access to the records, over time, many documents got misfiled and lost. Over the years, a few databases were created, paper files were created to serve the needs of specific departments, and AutoCAD was also introduced as a drawing tool. Though the complicated data maintenance was recognized at ProvGas it took a lot of lobbying to initiated formal discussion in the early 1990's. The more recent history related to AM/FM/GIS is listed in the following table:
The long history of the project resulted in many individuals in the various levels of the company having exposure to AM/FM/GIS, at each stage developing their own perceptions of its benefits and functionality. The company, in anticipation of deregulation affects, was going through major changes, implementing best business practices and new technologies As a result, key individuals rotated in and out of the process of getting the AM/FM project introduced, developed and implemented. The role of clarifying the goals, and its impact on the various groups within the company has become the most challenging task for the AM/FM/GIS implementation at ProvGas Five key groups have been identified that were impacted and/or had impact on the ProvGas project, they included the project team, executives, regulators, end users and vendors. Each group is critical to the success of the project but their vision of success, their expectations, their needs; their understanding of the technology and their potential impact on the project has varied greatly. We will look at each of the five groups mentioned above with regards to their expectations, understanding of AM/FM/GIS, impact on the project's success, and their affect on the focus of the implementation. The discussion will also include the action steps that we found to align the groups with the project goals, and progress. The Project Team Even though the ProvGas project had a clear kickoff date at the start of fiscal 1998 there was considerable instability in the makeup of the project team. The core team that we eventually fielded consisted of six roles. The Project Director has an operations background and doubled as the Director of Engineering for the first year while playing the key project management role. Also, on the operations side we have had an Operations Technical Manager role. Initially this was filled by an individual with Engineering, Construction & Maintenance and Marketing Research experience. He was followed by a manager with a background in auditing, budgeting, DigSafe and Drafting process management. A Project Assistant with a Construction & Maintenance background is also assigned to the project. On the Information Technology (IT) side we have an IT Technical Manager whose background is in mainframe applications, a System Analyst with a similar background, and a Database Administrator (DBA) proficient in Sybase with exposure to Oracle. The team's project design and development has been supported by extensive involvement from the end user community with backgrounds in drafting, construction, and research of the existing paper record system. Expectations The expectation of each team member has varied considerably. Personality, natural MO for approaching tasks, individuals past experiences with our paper records, and the particular business related skills drove their expectations. People come onto a team not only with expectations regarding how they will contribute but also how their teammates should contribute. It is guaranteed that at the start the team members' expectations will not all be in sync. With regard to the functionality of the new system, some want to design the perfect system with all the bells and whistles, others want to focus on a particular application, and still others may have ease of use as their prime expectation. In our particular case the project schedule had been established prior to the team being created. Because the team was not involved in setting the schedule, some came to the table not expecting us to achieve our goals. The schedule was unrealistic in their minds. Some expectations are virtually universal. Team members expect to be kept informed regarding what is going on with all aspects of the project. They expect to be given clear direction and to be rewarded for their efforts in support of the project. They also expect to be given the training and information required to fulfill their role on the team Understanding As a project manager it is important to assess the level of understanding of the members, address the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed and develop a team where the knowledge differences become complimentary, not adversarial. On the ProvGas team, the Project Director was initially the only member with a fair understanding of AM/FM/GIS. The IT team members had little or no understanding of gas operations or the existing paper record system that AM/FM/GIS was going to replace. In addition, most of the Operations team members had little knowledge or understanding of computer technology in general. Impact Certainly the project team will have a great impact on the success or failure of the project. Their impact will be felt in three basic ways. Their performance relative to their particular tasks is the most obvious way that members effect the attainment of project goals. Second, how they interact with and support their teammates will influence how other members perform. Third, how they communicate project-related issues outside of the team will have a significant impact on the perceptions of the various stakeholders. Comments made by team members will greatly effect the expectations of the end users, the acceptance of the new system, and the perception of whether the project or team was successful. Focus The ProvGas project was planned as a four-year effort. Due to the corporate culture and the continuous personal changes, the team members in general have been focusing on short term milestones. Managing the short-term milestones for the long-term goal is the critical role of the project manager. The action steps listed below have been useful to make sure that the short term focus is aligned with the long term goals and they are compatible amongst the various members of the team. Action Steps
The executive group in ProvGas has also evolved from a 2-tier model to 1 to 2 tier. Initially the project's executive exposure consisted of a layer of sponsors (Operations, IT VPs), and through them to the Enterprise Technology Steering Committee (all senior VPs including the President). Over the course of the project there were changes in the executives as well as their management of IT projects. In mid-1998 the company established an Enterprise Project Office to address the surge of IT projects by monitoring their progress and quickly resolving their issues (VP of IT, IT director, HR director, and three consultants focused on project management, communication and system architecture). Due to the completion of most of the IT projects the EPO was dissolved and we are now back to the 2 tier executive model. Expectations Like any other group, the expectations are not going to be consistent among all the executives. That executives expect a project to be on time and on budget at all times is an untrue stereotype. Some may have schedule issues as a priority, some may focus more on cost issues and others may be concerned about the approach taken or functionality delivered. In the ProvGas case, specific commitments were made to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) regulators as part of an innovative three-year agreement. This helped to unify the executives in that the yearly milestones set forth in the agreement with the PUC became a common focus. Even so, they all have had different expectations on what exactly AM/FM/GIS would deliver and how progress toward the milestones would be measured. One expectation that has been clear is that it would be built as a stand-alone system. Understanding Some of the ProvGas executives have had a basic understanding of AM/FM/GIS, mainly from discussions with counterparts in other companies. This naturally meant that they built impressions that may or may not be accurate or relevant to the current technology. There was little to no understanding of the process that needed to be established in order to get from our paper world to the new digital world. They need to be continuously updated both on the basics of the current technology and the process issues we face. Impact Naturally the executive group can impact the project in many ways. They are not likely to impact the day-to-day details of the project but they can determine the project's success or failure. Their support is required to ensure that the project's needs are met relative to funding, allocation of resources, physical space, etc. They can also greatly impact end user support for the project based on what they say or don't say. It is critical that the project manager has full executive support. It is great to have an executive champion but it is even more critical to have a unified message being delivered by the executives relative to the project effort. Focus Remember that the executive focus is long term. Don't bog them down in the day-to-day problems and issues. They are focused on issues such as overall cost, overall benefits realized, overall schedule, overall relations with the regulators. Make sure that communication about the project meets their needs. If in doubt, ask them. Action Steps
The main regulating body we are concerned about is the State of Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The PUC has also gone through their fair share of changes and it is our expectation that by the end of our project all the initial members would have been changed. Though the project team's interaction with them has been minimal ultimately the team felt that the goals have been set by the PUC and they are the ones that will dictate the success or failure of the project. Expectations On the ProvGas project the regulators have general expectations. They expect that the targets for percent complete each year to be met. They probably have different expectations among them as to what that meant exactly. Also, since the project was proposed to help the Dig Safe process, they have formed basic expectation regarding system functionality. Their mandates are associated with assuring the safe and efficient delivery of utilities to the citizens of the state. As it relates to the project they will focus on the balance of process change to improve safety with the cost affect of the new process to the citizens. Understanding Their knowledge of AM/FM/GIS technology has been minimal at best. This has been the basis of building our message when communicating with them. Impact Once they gave approval to the project they have had little impact on how the project proceeded. Of course it was critical to manage their expectations so that they would perceive the project to be a success in the end. The project was mapped with a four-year life cycle but the agreement with the PUC encompassed only three years. Therefore, it is critical that the PUC view the first three years favorably so that funding for the final year can also be approved. Focus The regulators' focus is long range. Their overall concern has been that the three-year project goal be achieved. To set expectations however, it is critical to expose them to the complexities faced in the day-to-day execution of the project. Action Steps
Though everyone in the company will eventually be an end user, the focus of the first 3 years has been on people who access the paper records today. The main users being the people directly involved with the DigSafe process. Expectations Because of the diversity in end user job functions there is typically an equivalent diversity in expectations. Each user group expects the system to meet their "needs". Of course what they "need" is based upon their own prejudices and paradigms. Some may be looking to duplicate the existing information and processes in the new environment. Others may see AM/FM/GIS as an opportunity to fix all the ills of the existing system and remedy all current shortcomings. These diverse expectations pose a particular challenge for the Project Manager. On the ProvGas project, an initial expectation was that jobs would change or be reduced. This had to be addressed up front and honestly. An expectation that we did not initially anticipate was that users would expect all the data in the new system to be correct just because it looked pretty. Users were intolerant of erroneous data even if the records used to create that data were erroneous. User expectations are best managed by user involvement. To manage expectations you must communicate, communicate, communicate. Understanding Most of the ProvGas end users had little understanding of AM/FM/GIS tools. The drafter end user at ProvGas, proficient with AutoCAD, has not been intimidated by technology but they have had their difficulty with understand the fundamental differences between creating AutoCAD drawings and maintaining a GIS database. Impact The end users of the data and the end maintainers of the data have tremendous impact on the perceived success of the project. As a result it is critical to manage their expectations and ensure that they understand the reasons for any compromises made in the design and development of the system. Ultimately the end users will determine how well the system is utilized and how well the data in maintained. These are critical factors. You cannot afford to alienate the end users but neither can you afford to cater to their every whim. Communicating the bigger picture, the reasons for decisions made, the long-range plans, and the political realities that may be involved will all help to keep their support. Focus End-users' focuses are typically on some very specific issues. They focus on questions like, "Will I have a job when the system is completed?" and " How will I do my job in the new system?" Their questions and concerns must be addressed honestly. Action Steps
The vendor group in our project consists of vendors for hardware, software, landbase development, data compilation, data conversion, QA/QC, training and implementation. Other than the hardware vendor, the other onsite vendor has been our implementation consultant and one of our two data compilation teams. Expectations The client/vendor relationship is not a one way street. If you as a client adopt the attitude that the vendor is only there to meet your expectations then you are heading for trouble. Vendors have legitimate expectations of their clients. From the very beginning the vendor expects that his obligations and responsibilities will be clearly and completely documented. This is beneficial for both parties. The more clearly and completely responsibilities are documented the fewer problems the Project Manager will have to deal with down the road. Vendors need to be able to plan ahead and manage their workforce in order to provide the level of service that the client expects. Vendors realize that things change but constantly trying to accommodate a moving target is costly as well as frustrating. The vendors expect to make a profit and the client should not begrudge that. Lastly, the vendor probably expects that the client knows what he wants. I think more and more vendors are starting to realize that is not necessarily the case. Understanding Most vendors and consultants in the industry have a great understanding of AM/FM/GIS. What the Project Manager needs to realize is that they all have different areas of expertise, and even within one company the level of knowledge will vary greatly among employees. What the vendor does not have a good understanding of are the customer's needs, priorities, and project scope. Making this clear to the vendors is a key role of the Project Manager. Impact Certainly this group can make or break the project so it is critical to chose wisely and develop a good working relationship. Focus Focus will vary from vendor to vendor. Some companies are very customer focused, some may be focused on aggressively growing their business, some may be consolidating their operations, some may be more profit focused, and others may be focused on developing their internal staff or staying current with the latest technology. Vendors may also focus on serving particular market segments or supporting particular products. Their focus can change due to market conditions, management changes, and other factors. It is important for a Project Manager to recognize the focus and make sure they align with the project progress. Action Steps
It has been our goal to demonstrate that a significant part of project management consists of working with people, and managing their expectations. It is important to identify the stakeholders who impact the project and tailor action steps to focus their energy and tasks on achieving the project goals. As discussed in the body of the text this can best be achieved by clear definition of the project goal and communication. A major role for the project manager and his/her team is to tailor the message and means of communicating by incorporating the stakeholders' focus, their expectations, their short-term milestones, and their individual modus operandi. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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