Change within a project, however, is often the source of great consternation among project managers and stakeholders, particularly as it relates to scope. 

Why do we get so frustrated with scope change on projects?  It’s hardly avoidable that our projects will look different tomorrow, next week, next month.  

Perhaps it’s not that change, per se, is the problem.  Maybe it’s that unmanaged change is the problem. 

What does it mean to manage changes on projects?  Four things should happen to changes on projects.  They should be: 

Reviewed
Project changes need to be reviewed by the appropriate stakeholder as defined in the change management plan, however formal or informal that may be.  Someone needs to understand the change and be able to assess the impact to the project. 

Approved
Once reviewed, changes need to be approved…or declined.  Someone needs to make the decision as to whether or not the change should be included.  Either way, an authority defined in the change management plan needs to give the thumbs up or down. 

Documented
The decision needs to be documented as does the change itself.  All aspects of the project impacted need to be updated, including the PM plan itself. 

Communicated
Finally, the change needs to be communicated to all stakeholders per the communications plan.  In particular, people in testing, training, or other areas downstream need to be informed so the change can be included in their work on the project. 

The complexity of any of these steps needs to be scaled appropriately and, of course, can be considerable on a large, cross-functional project with stakeholders in many areas.  

Scope changes that are not managed, however, make for creepy projects.  Scope creep, that is. 

Every project manager is familiar with scope creep: those little things that get added without review, approval, documentation, or communication. 

Is it ever OK for things to creep a bit?  Probably.  Some changes really are dinky little tweaks, variations, or changes by any other name, that don’t merit much fuss in trying to manage.  It would take more time to try to manage the change than it would to do it.  Implications for the project may be, in fact, relatively minor. 

If a PM does decide to allow for small unmanaged changes, or finds out about a change that somehow got added without much in the way of review or approval, it’s best to try to range in and get the documentation and communication done as much as possible.  Anything to minimize surprises downstream is called for regarding the degree to which changes will be managed. 

Change is what projects are all about.  Change also happens within them.  Review, approve, document, and communicate to manage it.  If the change isn’t always managed as much as you’d like, just be careful to not let it get too creepy.

Manage Scope Change or Let It Creep? was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

Q: Would you mind reviewing the 4 types of Consultants and their posture with the business – Expert, Order Taker, etc.?

A: The four types of consultants mentioned in the webinar include:

• Influencer – collaborates with the business expert, “pulling” their needs and recommending solutions.
• Expert – “pushes’ their expertise on the business and recommends the best way to implement their advice based on their expertise.
• Order Taker – collaborates with the business and figures out the best way to implement a solution (which is often provided by the business).
• “Persona Non Grata” – “pushes” their ideas and because of low credibility, has little influence. This type can’t last long in a consulting role.

Q: What were the poll results for the types of consulting roles?

A: The three types of consulting roles came out this way in our poll. They are fairly consistent with our other, similar polls on the subject:

Order Taker 41%

Influencer 34%

Expert 25%

Q: Do we have any stats on how many independent BA or actual Management Consultants there are today?

A: I don’t know of any myself, and would be interested in seeing some. Anecdotally, there are a number of consulting firms that specialize in providing contract BAs as consultants. Even though these consultants are externally contracted to an organization, my guess is that most of these are not “experts” as much as Influencer or “order taker” types of consultants

Q: What was the name of the movie you referred to in the presentation? The one that had the good example of an influencer?

A: The King’s Speech has a great example of an influencer type of consultant. For those who didn’t attend the webinar, I used Lionel Logue as a real-life example of a consultant with tons of influence over King George VI of England back in the 1930s. Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush, used a combination of personal and expert power to help the King overcome his speech impediment enough to give an inspirational speech at the beginning of World War II. Logue did his preparation, built trust, and showed courage as he influenced the King to change the way he spoke.

The three elements, trust, preparation, and courage, are part of our “influencing formula.” We believe those three variables are key ingredients that BAs can work on to improve their influence with stakeholders. My wife and collaborator, Elizabeth, has a great presentation and article on this topic.

Q: Hi Rich, among the 3 ingredients of PIP, which one do you value and recommend most to evolve as a successful Management Consultant?

A: The PIP this question refers to are “Process” which every consultant needs to guide his or her consulting, “Influence” which a consultant requires to convince the client to do the right thing, and “Principles,” which are guidelines that set management consultants apart from ordinary workers.

To give the consultant’s favorite answer, “it depends.” Of course, you need all three of these things. If you don’t have a process, that is a good place to start. The SARIE model is simple, practical, and scalable, and relies on standard consulting/BA tools to support it. Influence takes time to develop and is a lifelong journey. I’ll never stop working on ways to build trust with people, or to increase my courage. The five principles I mentioned in the webinar are good philosophies for consultants and BAs. I think you need all 5 of them to be effective as a management consultant. If you wanted to focus on only one of the PIP ingredients to help you evolve, you’d be wise to choose the Principles.

Q: Could we access this presentation through the Watermark website?

A: The first place to check is the IIBA website. IIBA webinars including audio and the PDF of the PPT are archived on their website within 5 business days under iiba.org | PD pages | webinars | archived. Watermark Learning also has a number of recorded webinars available at www.WatermarkLearning.com/Resources that you may be interested in. They are free and require a simple member registration.

Q: One dynamic in “The King’s Speech” is that his wife realized there was a serious problem and wanted to do whatever it took – even trying unconventional approaches. Often business owners hire “consultants” because they want an “outside source” to provide support for to the path they’ve already settled on. I’ve been replaced by “consultants” that were really “yes-men” and took the company or division down a path that management wanted, and any consultant with integrity would have advised against. How do you keep your job or contract when you’re really not being asked to consult honestly?

A: You raise an excellent point about the movie and its analogy to real life. The ideal is for management to bring in outside consultants to take a fresh, objective look at the organization, and to recommend solutions that may not have been thought of before. Sometimes the opposite happens like the questioner mentions, and the consultants are hired to provide justification for what management wants to do anyway.

If you are in one of these situations and feel a client is taking advantage of you or asking you to act “outside of integrity,” you have a tough decision. If you need the contract to pay the bills and have no immediate alternative, my advice is to keep working, but start looking for the next contract. Better yet is to avoid these kinds of gigs in the first place. You might get fooled, thinking you were hired to be objective only to find you are asked to be a “yes-person.” It then takes substantial courage to speak up and tell the client “no.” You might get shown the door, but you also might succeed in being influential if you have built up enough trust. Either way you retain your sense of integrity. Stay practical, though, and don’t be foolish without any job prospects in sight when you speak up. Continued employment is a good thing!

Q: Do you have any tips or exercise to uplift “courage”?

A: The first thought that comes to mind is to focus on “doing the right thing” for the business or your client. That means knowing the organization’s strategy, goals, and objectives and focusing all my work around those things. Keeping the needs of the organization in mind and avoiding my own personal agendas gives me courage. The decision makers may not agree with you, but they will respect you, especially if you ask your questions or make your recommendations professionally.

The second thing that gives me courage is my preparation. It could be researching a new client, or gathering needed data to build my case, or touching base with the right stakeholders. In my experience, the better you develop your BA skills and actually use them and don’t cut corners, the more courage you will feel.

There are several other tips and ideas about courage in our recorded webinar, “The Influencing Formula: Three Steps to Influencing When You Don’t Have the Authority.” Visit www.WatermarkLearning.com/Resources to view that recording.

Q: I feel I am a generic BA, do you think it’s important to gain expertise in one area. That is, become a specialist before getting to management consulting?

A: It depends (there goes that favorite answer again!). If you want to be an “expert” type of consultant, then I think you definitely need to go deep into one area. It might be a specific industry like retail or banking. It could be a specialized area of business analysis such as business architecture or data modeling. If you want to be the “expert,” then you need to specialize.

On the other hand. I think of a management consultant as being a generalist, much like BAs are. If you want to be a management consultant, my advice is to keep working on your general BA skills. They will help you to transition to the consultant role.

Q&A for: The BA as Management Consultant Webinar – 4/17/2012 was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

What about someone that keeps backing away every time you get close? Was that Howie Mandel Syndrome (mysophobia a.k.a. germaphobia) that you just encountered, or did you forget to use deodorant again? It simply may be that they are not ready to take you seriously yet. Distance can make the heart grow fonder, but it can also be a trust barrier. Body language is a very useful social skill and a powerful tool that can really help increase the success of your efforts. I know many people who are able to read and use body language with ease; they have an instinct for it. Conversely, I know people that, unfortunately, are completely unaware that there ever was an issue to be noticed, and that they could have prevented it if they had read it in the body language around them. Think of the power this can give you in the work environment!

I am a notorious people watcher. I love to take a break from shopping at the mall (or wherever I am) and sit down on a bench and just watch people. I look at their body language, and I try to figure out their story. Some stories are beautiful, like the couple sitting together, drinking their coffee but not speaking. Initially I think, are they angry? Who didn’t take out the garbage? No, they are simply comfortable, and they are communicating volumes as they reach out and gently touch each other’s hands in understanding. Some stories are sad and some are hysterically funny but each one tells me something that I can use. I use it constantly at work every day.

My boss just crossed his arms. My colleague just tilted her head. My VP just mirrored what I did when I crossed my legs. The SME on my project keeps twirling her hair. My developer keeps tapping his feet. The Architect is pacing. The sponsor keeps opening and closing their laptop. These ALL mean something and it is your job to figure out how to read it and use it to increase your success.

How about a demonstration in reading body language? You are trying to sell your boss on a new approach for your project and he just crossed his arms. What does that mean? He could be shutting down and not willing to hear what you have to say. He could be cold (if so, I say put on a sweater!). He could just do it out of habit. If he is shutting down you are probably better off to wait it out and try another day on this new approach. You need to influence your boss without authority and he is giving you a potentially strong signal that he is not ready to listen. Result? You have read body language correctly to avert a crisis, and your idea lives to be told another day in another way.

You are now walking by your VPs office who does not appear to be busy so you stop in and say hi (yes, it really is okay to bond with your VP from time to time). You sit down and, as you are talking about your project, you cross your legs out of habit. Guess what? Your VP just did the same thing. Coincidence? Probably not. This is usually a sign of comfort or respect so you need to use this opportunity. Tell the VP about the new idea for the project approach! Result? You have read body language correctly which allowed you to influence without authority and get your idea circulating that will give you a greater chance of success.

So, take some time out to do some people watching next time you are at the mall or your favorite restaurant. Figure out their story and what their body language is saying. It could be very helpful the next day at work. Body language – it does a body good to know how to read it and use it. What do you think?

For more information on body language and influencing without authority:

• Attend our class “Influencing Without Authority.”
• Read the book Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands (The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More than 60 Countries) by Terri Morrison
• Read this article: Influencing Without Authority: Rev Up Your Internal Consulting Skills: Part 1 (Why Don’t We Have More influence) by Elizabeth Larson and Richard Larson (A member login is required to access this article)

Body Language: Social Skill and Powerful Tool for Success was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

If you think the cost of technology is still more than you can afford, consider this: In May 1992, the cost of 4 gigabytes of flash memory was approximately $500,000, meaning that today’s iPod Nano would cost about $1 million if it existed back then!

Here are some other significant news items from May 1992:

• May 13 – Three astronauts simultaneously walked in space for the first time.
• May 19 – The 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, prohibiting Congress from raising its own salary.
• May 20 – India launches its first space satellite without assistance from other nations.
• May 22 – Johnny Carson’s final appearance as host of the Tonight Show; three days later Jay Leno becomes permanent host of the Tonight Show.

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In honor of our anniversary, receive 20% off all live training courses (in-person and virtual). The discount will be applied at the time of registration. Use promotion code WML20 when registering.

View our class schedule

Cost of Technology Is A Real Bargain Now was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

I don’t doubt it. The relentless battle cry to reduce waste and increase productivity has many project managers feeling like they are expected to build a bridge over the Mississippi River with one team member and a box of toothpicks. By tomorrow. 

How much of this challenge is exacerbated by the lack of clear organizational priorities to guide how those precious resources are allocated? 

Imagine this: Starting tomorrow you and everyone in your organization will be greeted as you arrive with a documented list of organization priorities. You will be able to take this list to your cube, post it on your monitor and let it guide how you spend your time. Presumably, the list won’t change daily, but it will likely change. That’s OK. The important thing is that you have it. 

Each day, you will be expected to look at your list and if you have something to do on item #1, you work on that. When you finish work on #1 or are no longer able to keep working on #1, you move to #2. When you finish that, you move to #3. If, while working on #3 you are able to resume work on #1, you go back to that. Etc. 

Imagine if you and everyone around you were working from the same list. How different would your work day be? 

I worked on a team for a number of years where we did this. We were collocated in a team room and in the upper right corner of the white board in our space, our managing director listed our project priorities. 

Sometimes it would change, but that was fine. That list was the compass for our collective journey. No one ever had a question about what they should be doing. We all had a sense of how our time and everyone else’s should and was being spent. 

We finished everything on that list and it was exhilarating. 

How many organizations actually do this? In my experience, I only need half a hand to count the number of organizations that I know of that have such a list that is published and communicated. 

I am amazed at how many people really don’t get much top-down, documented organizational guidance in terms of project priorities. Often, project managers, functional managers, and even team members are left to come up with their own interpretation of priorities. Those lists tend to be pretty fluid and change daily or maybe hourly depending on whose bark is the loudest at the moment. This inevitable conflict over resources can contribute significantly to a distorted perception of how scarce the resources really are. 

It’s worth mentioning here that prioritizing does not mean labeling multiple projects priority #1. Doing so, of course, means that none of them is priority #1. Project owners do this because they fear that a designation of anything other than priority #1 means it won’t get adequate attention or won’t get done. 

The opposite is true, however. If something is priority #2, 3, or 4, you can be sure it will get done – just as soon as the items before it are finished. On the other hand, if a project is one of several #1 priority projects, it’s anyone’s guess as to when it will get done because multiple people will come up with their own decision about how to prioritize it. Team members, in particular, bear the burden of the resulting conflict over competition for resources. 

Unfortunately, management is often reticent to come up with the list. There are all sorts of reasons, personal and political, that go into organizational prioritization. People often don’t realize that if all projects are given a unique number on the list, all projects will move through the cue and eventually become priority #1. Everything gets to be priority #1 – just not at the same time. 

What does your priority list look like? Can you document it and hang it somewhere in your work space? If not, how quickly can your manager help you with that? How about your project team members? Do you know what their priority list looks like? Do they know what their project priorities are? 

And if all of those lists were collected – from you, your manager, your team members, and their managers – how consistent would they be? How certain would you be about their consistency with senior management’s list? 

The project manager’s greatest challenge will always be the management of resource constraints. 

Project managers owe it to themselves, their stakeholders, and their organizations to make sure they are working with clear, shared, and communicated priorities to make the best use of those resources.

Is there a Resource Shortage or a Priority Shortage? was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

If you are an employer, you should consider checking your job candidates against the list to verify they are actually certified. You could also use the list for networking purposes. As you get certified, you can also find out how many of your colleagues in your country are already certified.

Our CBAP and CCBA Online Study exams have subscribers from over 40 countries. Check out our world map showing where subscribers around the world are studying for their exam.

I recently tallied the numbers of CBAPs and CCBAs, and compiled these numbers. They were accurate when I did my count In April 2012, and won’t be exact as of the time when you read this. I found out some interesting results for CBAPs and CCBAs around the world. Here are the rankings:

CBAP (1767 total in the world):

CCBA (110 total in the world):

For more information about CBAP and CCBA preparation, visit our CBAP Resources page.

CBAP and CCBA Around the World was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

You have just encountered the project bully. The bully is pushing your buttons and smells of passive aggressive behavior. The bully praises their own efforts on the project in a meeting and at the same time brings your abilities and analysis efforts into question. Hmm… So what do you do? Often it is human nature that takes over and unfortunately, we give them exactly what they want – a big reaction. This reaction just makes them feel more important and powerful than ever. It rewards them for bad behavior. What can you do? STOP!

STOP!
In “stop” the first thing you need to do is simply be still; physically and emotionally. Get calm and do not fan the flames of the bully. It will just make the fire grow faster. It also can handcuff those we work with who might actually be able to help in that situation. If you simply remain still it will give you the time you need to develop a plan of action and respond appropriately. The “stop” piece makes sense. Now what? DROP!

DROP!
In “drop” when you are on fire you literally drop to the ground, lying down if possible and cover your face to prevent injury. In the case of our bully, you must protect yourself as well. You can do this by first not taking the bait. When we take the bait we look like the monster not them. Secondly, just don’t take it personally. I know it is hard not to, but if you do, you might react in a way the bully wants. Recognize that it is their behavior, not yours. Create a temporary shield that deflects the bully’s attempts. Once you drop you must ROLL!

ROLL!
In “roll” the fire victim rolls around on the ground extinguishing the fire by depriving the fire of oxygen. In the case of your bully you cannot literally deprive them of oxygen (we know how that story ends and it is not pretty), but you can do some things to extinguish their inappropriate behavior. Strong agendas with clear objectives and goals leave them less wiggle room. Ground rules to manage behavior works quite well. Give them meaningful tasks in meetings that keep them productive and active with no time for passive aggressive behavior.

Stop, drop and roll can be a powerful habit to form and a great tool for your toolbox. It can be even more powerful when you combine it with other tools too! So next time you meet the bully, STOP! DROP! ROLL!

STOP! DROP! ROLL! was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

Watermark Learning was founded in 1992. Besides our founding, a lot was going on that year. Here are some noted firsts and other happenings in April of 1992.

MICROSOFT LAUNCHES WINDOWS 3.1

REDMOND WA  – April 6 – Microsoft announced the release of Version 3.1 of the Windows Operating System. It was the first version of Windows to be DOS-mouse compatible and to feature drag and drop capability.

These two user-friendly features, along with the introduction of True Type fonts, made windows a viable platform for desktop publishing on DOS-based personal computers. This contributed significantly to the explosive growth of Windows as the operating system of choice for PCs.

Other significant events from April 1992 include:

• April 12 – The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland. The resort and its park’s name were subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.
• April 15 – The National Assembly of Vietnam adopts the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
• April 23 – McDonald’s opens its first restaurant in Beijing, China

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In honor of our anniversary, receive 20% off all live training courses (in-person and virtual) for registrations through April 30th. The discount will be applied at the time of registration. Use promotion code WML20 when registering.
View our class schedule.

Headlines from April 1992: was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

I hear this sentiment often from students who are new to project management or working in organizations that are new to project management. 

The good news is that no one suggests that project management best practice means implementing every best practice on every project. Considering that many organizations expect project managers to manage projects and be a team member and, often, the SME, that wouldn’t be feasible.  And, frankly, it probably wouldn’t be good project practice.

The intention of learning best practices in project management is to become familiar with what they are in order to know which ones make sense and how to scale them appropriately for your project in your organization.

This may be self-evident to people who have been in the field for awhile, but it can be liberating for those trying to get the reins on unmanaged or poorly managed “projects” and who can become quickly overwhelmed with that should be done to manage projects correctly.

Which of the best practices are applied and the degree of rigor around them should start with an honest assessment of what’s not working and causing the most pain.  If, for example, an organization hasn’t acknowledged the role of sponsorship and doesn’t have people willing to take on that role, getting excited about developing a lengthy risk register may not be time well spent.

To get a sense of where to begin, listen to the frustrations of stakeholders, pay attention to problems causing the most noise, and ask key stakeholders what they wish they could change most about how projects are handled. Then work with them to prioritize those frustrations.

If the primary obstacle to project success is that key decisions don’t get made, maybe it is a sponsorship issue. A reasonable place to begin might involve a discussion around sponsorship and defining roles and responsibilities.

Maybe stakeholders complain most that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, in which case maybe communications planning is a good place to start. 

Perhaps it’s confusion about the purpose of the project which might suggest that introducing a charter and/or scope statement would be a good investment of organizational resources.

Of course, these things are interrelated. But the response to the inquiry “what are we doing wrong?” can’t be to start doing it all.  Many a project management journey begins like any other – with one step at a time.  

Work with others to figure out the one or two best practices you can start with.  Then identify your champions and advocates and work together to show small successes.  As you accumulate those successes, add to your best practices toolkit as necessary, draw others in and let the results speak for themselves. 

The journey may not take you exactly where you’re expecting, but that’s OK.  There will be stumbles and detours along the way.  Sometimes project management is messy.  The important thing is to be able to get to the end and recognize that you learned something together that you can take with you to the next project.

Best practices in any discipline are important to understand.  What’s not important is doing them all.

Good luck on your journey!

Doing It Right Doesn’t Mean Doing It All was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

In a recent webinar on CBAP/CCBA Certification, I mentioned the re-cert requirements would be much the same for CCBA as it is for CBAP. Like the CBAP, the CCBA credential requires 60 CDUs in a 3-year period to maintain it. If you are a CCBA and don’t have enough hours to qualify for the CBAP when your 3-year cycle ends, it makes sense to renew your CCBA.

Download your re-certification package on the IIBA website:

http://www.iiba.org/imis15/IIBA_Website/Docs/Certification/CCBA/CCBA_Recertification_Package.aspx

IIBA Provides this information about the CCBA renewal:

• The current renewal fee for IIBA members is $85 USD and $120 USD for non-members.
• Fractions of CDUs may be reported in quarter (¼) hour increments after one full hour. If the activity is less than one hour, the activity does not qualify for any CDU credit.
• Earned CDUs must be reported using the CCBA® CDU Reporting Form and subject to maximums in various categories.
• Compare and refer to our table of maximums within each category:

Summary: If you have a CCBA, start tracking your re-certification hours by category. A simple spreadsheet format will work just fine for this. By the time you need to re-certify, hopefully the IIBA will have an online form for us to enter our hours. (I would love that by 2013, actually, when my CBAP is up for renewal!). Download the IIBA’s re-certification package referenced above so you get all the facts.

IIBA Releases CCBA Re-Certification Package was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog