Monday, July 29, 2013

Advice for Data Analytics Implementations

A recent article by Mitchell (2013) discussed the top twelve mistakes organizations make when implementing a predictive analyics project.  The mistakes are as follows:
  1. Begin without the end in mind
  2. Define the project around a foundation that your data cannot support
  3. Don't proceed until your data is the best it can be
  4. When reviewing data quality, don't bother to take out the garbage
  5. Use data from the future to predict the future
  6. Don't just proceed, but rush the process because you know your data is perfect
  7. Start big, with a high-profile project
  8. Ignore the subject matter experts when building your model
  9. Just assume that keepers of the data will be fully on board and cooperative
  10. If you build it they will come: don't worry about how to serve it up
  11. If the results look obvious, throw out the model
  12. Don't define clearly and precisely within the business context what the models are supposed to be doing
Reading the article and looking at these twelve mistakes, it is clear the same considerations we give most information system implementations apply to analytics projects too.  We need to have a plan, involve the end users, practice iterative implementations, ensure we are using and applying good data, use risk-mitigating staged or pilot implementations, and evaluate our results.

I still think this is a very good article but we need to keep in mind that this advice is the same type of advice we should heed for all of our system projects.  If we apply the same mature IT implementation practices to our analytics projects, we will have an increased rate of success.  The article provides us with a good reminder of what we should do in all of our projects.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Benefits of Knowledge Management

Preparing for a new class in intellectual capital I have been studying the benefits of knowledge management.  Below is a summary of my findings.

Mature knowledge management practices provide many advantages to the organization.  These advantages include effectiveness, innovation, performance and growth, diversification, agility, and quality.

Effectiveness:
First of all, organizations that establish quality knowledge management practices tend to be able to acquire and respond to new information and knowledge more quickly (Darroch, 2005). This means that these organizations make better use of their knowledge workforce and knowledge assets and are better able to build new knowledge. This also leads to increased innovation.

Innovation:
Organizations with effective knowledge management practices that are able to quickly acquire, build, and respond to new knowledge are more innovative. These organizations can quickly and frequently design and deploy new products and services to respond to changing demand (Darroch, 2005).

Performance & Growth:
The effective and innovative firms possessing solid knowledge management practices realize higher performance. These organizations, through their application of knowledge to deliver innovative products and services, experience higher profits, increased growth, and a greater market share than organizations that are not able to leverage their knowledge assets (Huang, Shih, Huang, & Liu, 2006).

Diversification:
Additional diversification occurs as a result of the organization’s capacity to build expertise in multiple areas. This leads to the ability to expand to into multiple domain areas and is observed through formalization of additional business units. Each business unit represents an area of expertise for the firm. Effective knowledge management practices enable the organization to develop expertise in new domain areas and therefore grow the firm’s expertise into additional business units (Huang, Shih, Huang, & Liu, 2006). 

Agility:
The effective knowledge management practices also results in increased agility. This agility is related to the firm’s ability to quickly acquire and apply new knowledge (Khalifa, Yu, & Shen, 2008). This can come from discovering and applying existing knowledge found in the knowledge repositories. The agility may also be derived from strongly supported collaboration efforts where employees build new knowledge from the knowledge acquired from other specialists in the firm. 

Quality:
The final benefit is improved quality. Using knowledge of current processes, best practices, customer needs, and processes of other departments, the organization is able to implement improvements to the design and delivery processes as well as to create and deliver new products and services that better meet customer needs (Lee, Yang, & Yu, 2001; Stewart & Wadell, 2008). This increase in quality is a direct result of knowledge management practices because the knowledge is leveraged to build innovation into the existing processes and support customization for changing needs. 

While knowledge management supports the needs of the knowledge worker, the results are very apparent and measurable to the organization. These benefits must be identified and measured in order to help the firm justify the costs of knowledge management initiatives as well as the ongoing effort to support and improve the knowledge management practices.

References
  • Darroch, J. (2005). Knowledge management, innovation and firm performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 9(3), 101. 
  • Huang, H.W., Shih, H.Y., Huang, H.W., & Liu, C.H. (2006). Can knowledge management crate firm value? Empirical evidence from the United States and Taiwan. The Business Review, 5(1), 178. 
  • Khalifa, M., Yu, A., & Shen, K. (2008). Knowledge management system success: A contingency perspective. Journal of Knowledge Management, 12(1), 119. 
  • Lee, Yang, & Yu. (2001). The knowledge value of customers and employees in product quality. Journal of Management Development, 20(7/8), 691-704. 
  • Stewart, D., & Wadell, D. (2008). Knowledge management: The fundamental component for delivery of quality. Total Quality Management, 19(9), 987-996.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Evaluating the Value of Knowledge Management

Past experiences have proven knowledge management KM systems to be costly, difficult to deploy with meaningful knowledge, and challenging to achieve satisfactory levels of adoption.  Organizations struggle to properly evaluate KM initiatives and may be somewhat hesitant to pursue initiatives when past efforts failed to deliver the desired benefits.

Justifying a KM initiative can be tricky.  We need to have a sound method to determine the effectiveness of a KM solution for the organization.  While a magical ROI algorithm may not exist yet there are other methods to evaluate the benefits of a KM solution.

I recently came across an article that included a quantitative method for evaluating the relative effectiveness of social business and collaboration solutions.  This model uses rated evaluation factors to determine a relative scores for business value and strategic alignment.  This relative rating system is then applied to each functional area in the organization to determine which areas benefit the most from this type of KM solution.

Although this proposed evaluation criteria does not provide any insight into the actual savings or new revenue from the KM solution it does help prioritize KM efforts for organizations that see value in social and collaborative systems.  While this method helps provide some structure in determining a focus for the KM efforts, I'm not satisfied with the premise for using social and collaborative systems.

I can buy into the benefits of collaborative systems but the author of the article did not help me appreciate tangible benefits to the organization.  The author acknowledged the challenges in measuring success and then tried to use the logic that everyone is doing it so you should too.  This competitive disadvantage argument is only valid if it is proven that competitors adopting social/collaborative systems have an appreciative competitive advantage.

The article provides evidence that we need still need to find a way to demonstrate, quantitatively, the benefits of KM solutions.  By doing so, we can better justify the expense and then we can use this new model to determine the priority for our KM efforts.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Project Management Workshops

Over the past several weeks I gave a three-part workshop on project management topics.  These workshops were held at The College of St. Scholastica's Brainerd and St. Cloud campuses.  Below are the three sets of slides from the workshops:

The Value of Project Management



10 Ways to Increase Your Project's Success



Maximizing the Impact of Your Projects


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Project Failure Source 10 - Insufficient Resources

Note: This posting is the final contribution to the topic posted on June 24th and relates to my project management workshop titled "10 Ways to Increase Your Project's Success". In this post I discuss one of the sources of project failure and how we may mitigate this risk to our projects.

Source 10 - Insufficient Resources
This final source of project failure addresses an issue that every project manager faces; insufficient resources. While we will always complain of the lack of resources given to our project, at some point this shortage does indeed prevent us from meeting our project goals. This shortage may be due to lack of adherence to the initial project estimates and commitments or may due to some organizational changes that result in budget cuts, more urgent need for the project deliverables, or availability of project team members. This may also be caused by lack of commitment from the functional managers in making their staff available for the project, providing individuals without sufficient experience, or providing individuals without the needed skill set.

Effect on Project
Without sufficient resources or improper resources, the project is at risk of failing to deliver the expected scope, completing on time, and staying within the financial budget. Additionally, the project team members experience added pressure to achieve unrealistic goals with the lack of resources.

Actions Taken by the Project Manager
If the lack of resources is going to significantly restrict the project performance, the project manager must engage the stakeholders. The project manager should immediately communicate the issues and the influence the issues have on the project outcomes. Working with the functional managers and project owner to gain sufficient resources or redefine the project scope is where the conversation should begin. If the project manager is not able to negotiate with the functional manager or project owner, the project manager must then escalate the issue to the project champion to seek assistance in resolving the resource issue. The project manage must focus on balancing the change with the project variables. Don't seek to remove the change but rather seek to be provided the opportunity to adjust the remaining project variables to react to the change. We must welcome change and be able to negotiate the project variables to adopt the new changes.

Conclusion
While this list of the 10 sources of project failures is not an exhaustive list, it does represent a common set of project issues and how we can address these issues. We can see communications, balancing the project variables, and proactive planning address many of these issues.

Project Failure Source 9 - Adapting to Change

Note: This posting is a continuation to the topic posted on June 24th and relates to my project management workshop titled "10 Ways to Increase Your Project's Success". In this post I discuss one of the sources of project failure and how we may mitigate this risk to our projects.

Source 9 - Adapting to Change
The project variables (scope, schedule, budget) and the project environment are almost never consistent throughout the project. Almost every project will experience changes in organizational priorities, organizational processes, or changes to the initial project variables. In fact, the one thing we can count on as project managers is change occurring in our projects.

Effect on Project
Changes to the project environment often influence our ability to deliver the project scope and may also impact our ability to continue to hit the target date and stay within the project budget. These changes may make us alter our processes, transition new project team members, or completely redefine the project goals.

Actions Taken by the Project Manager
Project managers need to acknowledge change occurs and must be diligent in recognizing changes that influence the project. As potential changes are recognized, the project manager must be able to respond and develop plans to address the new changes. Keep in mind these changes may be challenges to the project such as budget cuts or requirement changes or these changes may be new opportunities such as scope expansion or new optimizations. The project manager must respond to change and guide the project through the changes by adjusting the project variables to accommodate the change. Also, the project manager must be sure to proactively communicate the influence new changes may have on the project and the new plans the project will apply to respond to the change. All of this can be accomplished through effective risk management techniques and tools.


Next Source: Insufficient Resources

Monday, July 8, 2013

Project Failure Source 8 - People Management

Note: This posting is a continuation to the topic posted on June 24th and relates to my project management workshop titled "10 Ways to Increase Your Project's Success". In this post I discuss one of the sources of project failure and how we may mitigate this risk to our projects.

Source 8 - People Management
Project managers are often promoted within the organization and are commonly former engineers, programmers, or other technical professionals. This progression provides plenty of project experience before becoming a project manager but it creates a dilemma for the new project manager. As a former technical professional, the project manager may have a tendency to revert back to their former experiences and get involved in solving the technical problems that occur in the project. Interests in solving technical problems come at the expense of guiding the project, removing organizational hurdles, and leading the project team.

Effect on Project
If the project manager spends too much time engaged on the technical side of the project the project manager will then neglect the project leadership role and the project suffers. Communications with stakeholders, navigating organizational hurdles, evaluating and reacting to risk and change, and providing guidance to the project members are neglected. As a result, the project spins out of control and fails to deliver the defined scope, meet the target dates, and stay within budget.

Actions Taken by the Project Manager
First of all, the project manager needs to realize the project manager role does not provide sufficient opportunity to be deeply engaged in solving technical issues. Delegation must take place so the project manager may focus on leading the project. Secondly, the organization must be sure to develop new project managers so they may appreciate the role of the project manager and the value project leadership has on the project and the organization. In other words, a new frame of reference needs to be developed for the project manager and adopted by the project manager.


Next Source: Adapting to Change

Project Failure Source 7 - Resource Assumptions

Note: This posting is a continuation to the topic posted on June 24th and relates to my project management workshop titled "10 Ways to Increase Your Project's Success". In this post I discuss one of the sources of project failure and how we may mitigate this risk to our projects.

Source 7 - Resource Assumptions
Believe it or not I have been faced with this issue many times (fortunately, I knew better). This source of project failure is based on the concept articulated by Brooks (1975) of the Mythical Man Month. This is the assumption that adding additional people to the project will directly result in a shorter schedule. For instance, if a project of 10 team members is scheduled to take 6 months to complete, adding another 10 people should reduce the schedule to 3 months. This of course is false. In fact, sometimes adding project members may actually result in longer schedules.

Effect on Project
If a project team is under the assumption that adding additional team members directly results in an equal decrease in schedule, the project will inevitably not meet the target schedule. The additional team members may reduce the project schedule but not to the same extent as anticipated. The new project members may require further training, project orientation, and the work may not be able to be divided sufficiently to take advantage of the additional team members.

Actions Taken by the Project Manager
Anytime the project manager is faced with a situation where a schedule reduction is proposed with the solution of adding additional resources, the project manager must assume this is not an equivalent relationship. A careful analysis of the project plan must be made to determine the actual impact adding additional resources will have on the schedule. We cannot assume this is a 1:1 ratio.


Next Source: People Management

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Project Failure Source 6 - Optimism

Note: This posting is a continuation to the topic posted on June 24th and relates to my project management workshop titled "10 Ways to Increase Your Project's Success". In this post I discuss one of the sources of project failure and how we may mitigate this risk to our projects.

Source 6 - Optimism
Optimism is a tricky challenge. In order to make it through each day, project managers need to be optimistic. Projects always seem impossible to complete with the resources and schedule allocated. However, using the project management approach these projects end up getting done. As a result, project managers tend to be more optimistic. However, problems arise when this optimism clouds perceptions of reality. Project managers and the project team need to be sure to acknowledge risk in the project an observe the true impact of the risk on the project without assuming the risk will go away or can simply be absorbed by the project.

Effect on Project
Being blinded by optimism results in a project that will take on too much scope, will end up over budget, and will extend beyond the target completion date. Too much optimism creates a project environment where risk is ignored and results in the project team needing to react to many environmental changes and take on additional work. This additional work then extends the project timelines and consumes more budget. The project team does not have time to plan for the changes and negotiate changes to scope, schedule, and budget and therefore must absorb these changes.

Actions Taken by the Project Manager
Project managers and the project team must be aware of their optimism and take risk seriously. A risk management plan must be in place and risk continually monitored. While maintaining optimism is very important for the project team, the optimism should never influence risk evaluation.

Next Source: Resource Assumptions

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Project Failure Source 5 - Estimating Techniques

Note: This posting is a continuation to the topic posted on June 24th and relates to my project management workshop titled "10 Ways to Increase Your Project's Success". In this post I discuss one of the sources of project failure and how we may mitigate this risk to our projects.

Source 5 - Estimating Techniques
Estimating technique errors arise when the project time estimates are based on guesses rather than experience with the activities and techniques used in the project or by actual results from similar projects. Issues arise when these estimates are not based on some prior experience. Additionally, issues arise when individual task estimates include padding to make sure each task includes contingency time and the entire project schedule is then based on these padded task estimates.

Effect on Project
Poor estimating techniques result in a project schedule that is unrealistic. Either optimistic guessing is used and the project does not have sufficient time to execute or padded estimates are used and the project is given too much time to execute. While the latter does not sound like an issue it actually is. If projects include too much, the resource estimates and schedule may be too large for the project to be approved.

Actions Taken by the Project Manager
All project estimates should be based on some type of educated guess. The educated guess uses experience in previous projects extrapolated to the proposed project environment. While this results in a guess, the guess is based on some form of reality and will be much closer to the actual times than simply throwing out an estimate that sounds good. Another very important aspect of estimates is to delegate this activity. Estimates should be formulated by the individuals doing the work. First of all, these estimates are more likely to be based on experience and also, the individuals will be more likely own to these estimates and therefore will work in a manner that ensures the work is completed within the estimates they provided. If the project manager provides the task estimates, they may not be based on experience and the individuals completing the work will not feel as committed to meeting the schedule than if they provided the estimates themselves.

Next Source: Optimism

Monday, July 1, 2013

Project Failure Source 4 - Variable Lock-In

Note: This posting is a continuation to the topic posted on June 24th and relates to my project management workshop titled "10 Ways to Increase Your Project's Success". In this post I discuss one of the sources of project failure and how we may mitigate this risk to our projects.

Source 4 - Variable Lock-In
Variable lock-in is closely related to the previous issue of expectations management but addresses issues that occur early on in the project. When projects are first evaluated and approved these projects are commonly based upon very rough estimates for the scope, budget, and schedule. The project stakeholders do not know enough details to provide a refined estimate early on in the project and must rely on approximations. The project variables (scope, budget, and schedule) may appear on the project charter or statement of work and become visible to all stakeholders. As result of this visibility, these initial variables are often used as the baseline expectations for evaluating the project's success.

Effect on Project
Quite often the initial scope and level of effort required for a project are underestimated during the initial project definition. The initial budget and schedule are based on the scope and level of effort estimated and therefore, if the scope and level of effort are underestimated, the corresponding budget and schedule are also underestimated. This initial lock-in leaves the project team to complete more work without sufficient resources or enough time. While the project may still execute successfully and deliver the project variables, these projects will most likely be deemed as over budget and late.

Actions Taken by the Project Manager
There are two approaches that should be taken to deal with variable lock-in. The first is to have the organization come to an understanding that the variables defined in the statement of work or project charter are simply approximations. These variable approximations allow the organization to compare projects using relative variable values but the organization should not accept these variables as final. The project team should be required to conduct a more detailed analysis to provide more accurate estimates of the scope and level of effort and the corresponding budget and schedule. The second approach should use the same further analysis concept but rather approve the project based on the initial approximations, provide only approval to conduct the detailed analysis to formulate a more accurate scope, budget and schedule. The results of this analysis can then be evaluated for full approval of the project. Either approach considers the first estimates as guesses and require further analysis. The second approach allows the organization a creeping commitment to the project in order to understand the needs before fully funding and approving the project.

Next Source: Estimating Techniques

Skills to Look for in Project Managers

Today I read a brief article describing the eight skills to look for when hiring an IT project manager. The headlines caught my attention...