Project Management: Are We There Yet?

Start. Stop. Start. Stop. That is how the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Skills session started. We had sat through some class room training and read about motorcycles and riding. They had made sure we had our gear and taught us how to start the bike. The next thing we all had to do was learn how to start the bike out and then learn how to stop it safely. Start. Stop. Start. Stop.

There were a number of helpful hints that we were taught when taking our riding training. They taught us was to squeeze the brake, not to grab it. Grabbing a brake on a motorcycle can lock the front or the rear wheel since the brakes work independently on most bikes. Locking the tires can easily take a motorcycle with rider to the pavement. We learned that the bike should be upright when trying to stop. There is less traction in a turn and when you slow down you create less traction and the bike could go down. We learned there was an art to stopping, it wasn’t just mechanical.

When I was a music student I frequently had to play pieces of music from memory. When I first started memorizing, I’d start at the beginning and when I forgot or made a mistake, I’d restart the piece from the beginning. I was told by my teacher that I better learn how to finish a memorized piece well. What an audience remembers is the end of the piece much more so than how it started. I was learning how to start the piece, not how it should finish. I changed how I memorized by starting at the end of the piece first and then work toward the beginning.

When learning how to manage a project I learned how to start one long before I learned how to stop. Most of my learning was around starting. To be sure, starting a project can be a bit of a challenge, much like using a clutch on a motorcycle, there is a place where the engine becomes fully engaged. If you let out on the clutch too quickly the bike will stall, too slowly and you won’t go anywhere. Starting out isn’t any easier than stopping. I would suggest that starting and stopping occur throughout the project and the grace with which we do those two things makes a great deal of difference in the project.

I’m not talking about just the start and the end of the project. Every project is filled with beginnings and endings throughout the project life cycle no matter what the delivery method. We have to learn how to gracefully start and stop analysis, planning, architecting, designing, developing, testing and every other aspect of delivery. Learning the answer to “Are We There Yet” is a critical skill that isn’t reserved for the end of the project. It is rooted in Six Sigma, Lean, TQM, and every other method. “Are We There Yet” is not just the mantra of the kids in the back seat wanting to get out of the car.

Learning how to stop is critical to keeping a project on track. Here are a few tips from motorcycling.

Keep Your Head Up – If you look down at the pavement you can’t see what is coming down the road. The same is true for managing a project. If you are only looking at what is right in front of you it is possible to miss what is coming down the road. It doesn’t matter what method you are using – it is a matter of focus

Check Conditions Frequently – Be aware of where you are in the plan, what risks you are dealing with, and where you are compared to the agreed upon stopping place. Scan for new risks or issues and stay in constant contact with the team (stakeholders and clients are part of the team). Use a near term, medium term and longer term view (in motorcycling it is a 2 second, 4 second and 12 second interval). Checking the conditions to see if stopping is needed is the most critical aspect of stopping. It is what prevents most accidents

Be Ready To Stop (“Cover the Brake”) – When you sense that you will need to stop “cover the brake”. Prepare the team for stopping, don’t just think it in your head, take an action and make it clear that stopping may happen. Check the conditions frequently

Stop in a controlled manner (“Squeeze the Brake”) – Don’t stop suddenly. It is in the gradual deceleration of the project, the slowing down in unison.

Get the Project “Upright” – Don’t stop while maneuvering through a curve. Make sure the project is in position to stop without running into problems. Tying up loose ends, closing down contracts, making sure it stops in a good place is important.

Starting a project, a project phase or a project deliverable can be challenging. Stopping at the right moment and in the right way may be more difficult. We learn by starting when we should learn how to stop well. Our teams will remember how well a project ends, whether through cancellation or through benefits realization, much more so than how it started. Even if we start out quite well, falling down at the finish is what is remembered.

Ride On, Manage On