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| the first-ever transaction in MegaLink |
I do not have any project management certification, be it PMP, CAPM, or CSM. Still, I have ensured that the job gets done in every assignment. I have used two tried and tested guiding principles in managing projects.
The first is to clarify the project goal and then pursue it doggedly as a team. The second is to take a long view and to make project outcomes sustainable. Here are the practical implications of both.
Getting
the Job Done
There are two
parts to getting the job done. The first is clarifying the goal. The second is pursuing
it doggedly as a team. The two are intimately connected.
In MegaLink, the Board's goal was clear: Launch ahead of BancNet. There was no time
to waste, and the process of deciding when to launch had to be implemented from
the very start. At monthly meetings with the Board, I reported about the
technical bugs that were still present and the risks associated
with launching with those bugs. It became their decision to launch.
The BIR was
also straightforward: Ensure the agency automation is widely supported. Acceptance
must be so widespread throughout the organization that there would be no chance
of sabotage. The change management dictated broad and targeted buy-in campaigns at all
levels.
Only when a
project goal is crystal clear will the entire team doggedly pursue it. Everyone
on the team can quickly appreciate it. It gives you more time to explain why that
is the goal rather than what it is. When they know why, they will do their part
well. No one wants to derail a meaningful project.
This is
especially true if the significance of your project is not readily apparent. Every project has meaning, and it can be traced to the organization's
broader goals. You must find the connection and articulate it. When the meaning
is thus exposed, it is easier for everyone to be motivated.
Making
Outcomes Sustainable
This begs
the question of ends vs. means. More is needed than getting a job done (ends). Every
project manager has to ensure that the goal is achieved in such a way (means)
that the sustainability of project outcomes is achieved.
This
involves three aspects: ensuring the users' continued use of the system, safeguarding
the organization's wealth to do more, and protecting the team members' health
for continued work.
In MegaLink, we could have launched ahead of BancNet but done a sloppy job that
the ATM cardholders discontinued using it soon after. Or we had to throw so much money into the project that the business of operating the switch could not be sustainable in the long run. Or the team members burned out that they left
right after the launch (if not before), taking their knowledge and expertise
with them. Maintenance becomes more problematic.
Similarly,
BIR could have been launched with widespread initial support because of the
buy-in campaigns. But what if it dissipated because the system proved too cumbersome? Given that the BIR project was the automation of a largely
graft-ridden bureaucracy, widespread support must include the user’s enduring acceptance
and use long after the launch.
In other words, how the system is built around the user's convenience will ensure sustainability. It is as important as the special change management programs to get buy-in or minimize resistance.
Getting
the job done is the stuff of project management. However, ensuring
sustainability has become increasingly important as well. The principles that
make these two happen remain front and center in my project management mind. Anyone
on my team must do the same. They must dictate all our project decisions and
actions.
