Learning from a Project "Post-mortem"

An experience that comes to mind is the 2009 Commencement Ceremony of my former institution. Commencement is a major event in the calendar year of any institution. Thus, in order to ensure that the team has enough time to complete activities, the committee is commissioned in March of each year and commencement is scheduled for the penultimate Tuesday in November. The project manager is selected by the Principal and approved by senior management. The team consists of senior administrators and faculty representatives from across the five (5) divisions (schools) of the college. Project team members and other senior faculty also chair sub-committees. My role was mainly that of a driver and, to some extent a sponsor as I authorized resources for the project Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. , 2008 p. 84). Challenges  Although the team was commissioned in March, in 2009, project work began mid September. There was no initial planning stage; instead the team began to work immediately premising important decisions on a template of a list of activities from Commencement 2008. The team met weekly but by October, the project seemed to be limping along, and many team members seemed to have lost interest in the project. From my perspective as driver and sponsor, I was not invited to meetings and, looking back, I can remember feeling anxious, wondering if the team would deliver in time for the scheduled date. I lacked information on the progress of work being done and I also felt that the team was making decisions that they were not authorized to make. In addition, the project manager had no authority over members of faculty and was neither skilled in the arts of "negotiation" nor creative problem solving ( Portny, S.et al, 2008 p. 17). Thus, the work of the project was fraught with many interpersonal conflicts . Crisis  Less than a week before the event, cognizant that I had received no budget requests from some sub-committees, I decided to have a chat with a few sub-committee chairs, about the status of their particular activity. It was at that eleventh hour that I discovered that the sub-chair of the decorations committee had not met with members of her committee, and as a result, there was no theme or budget for the event. In fact, it was at that point that she informed me that she did not wish to work on that committee. The project manager seemed blissfully unaware of this. Immediately, I contacted a former member of faculty who was a floral decorator. We agreed on a theme for the event and she created the floral arrangements. On the morning of the event senior administrators, my secretary, the bursar, our children and other senior members of faculty pressed and hung curtains, decorated the gazebo and ensured that the campus was beautifully decorated for the event. Neither the sub-committee chair nor her team members assisted in this task. Lessons Learned Lesson 1 A project by definition is unique. Therefore, each project must have its own initiation, planning, monitoring and controlling and close out stages. One cannot apply a plan meant for Commencement 2008 to Commencement 2009 because each project has its own set of variables. For example the availability of resources or even the fact that team of members work together for the first time will influence the operations of a project. Each project must be individually planned. This initial planning is critical because the framework for the project is developed during this phase. In this regard, Allen et al (2008) posit that if this initial stage is omitted or "passed lightly over. the rest of the project will likely feel (and be) disorganized and haphazard (Allen, S., & Hardin, P. C. ,2008, p. 80). An important product of this phase is a communications plan. This would have ensured that stakeholders like myself would have been kept informed throughout the life of the project. Allen et al (2008) also explain that a communication plan: "ensures that stakeholders receive the right information at the right time in a format that is best suited to their needs. protects all the stakeholders in a legal contractual sense. provides documentation for times when previous decisions are questioned, or referenced, thus maintaining positive relationships among participants and speeding up the decision-making process" (p. 80) Lesson 2 The project must undergo a second phase where it is defined. This involves documenting a rationale, purpose and goals and objectives of the project. The project scope document clarifies for everyone the objectives of the project, what the project will deliver, and the resources required for its successful execution (Cox, D., 2009, p. 69). The work break down structure (WBS) is a product of the planning stage. At this point, the the order of activities determined and each activity is broken down into its smaller tasks. The WBS to create a linear work responsibility charts, estimate budgets and assign tasks. In fact, the linear responsibility chart is a matrix which maps the various project task, the persons responsible for carrying out each task, and the person/s who will approve the tasks ( Portny, W, et al, 2008, p9. 93-95). If Commencement project 2009 had had a linear responsibility chart, everyone would have been aware of the persons authorized to approve decisions. Lesson 3 I have also learned the value of documentation, and how it contributes to the success of a project. For example, the outcome most certainly would have been different if the sub-committee chair of the decorations committee had signed a document agreeing to undertake the work of that committee. I now realize also that project planning permeates almost every aspect of life, as events- professional and personal, are ubiquitous. An understanding of project management tools will certainly redound to greater success in the projects that we undertake. References: Allen, S., & Hardin, P. C. (2008). Developing instructional technology products using effective project management practices. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 19(2), 72–97.   Cox, D., (2009). Project management for instructional designers, a practical guide. IN: iUniverse Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.