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AOS492- Select Topics-

Leading Projects

UNIT SIX

Project Execution & Conflicts

Dr. Christine Pigsley, Associate Professor Applied Leadership Program (AOS)

Welcome to Leading Projects. This is unit six, project execution and conflicts and I am Dr. Christine Pigsley, your professor for the course.

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Agenda

Phase 3- Execution of the project

Monitoring project status

Developing project status reports

The role of hard and soft data

Variance in project monitoring

How to calculate earned value

Revisiting float/slack’s role in performance management

Change control vs. change management

The role of conflict and negotiation in project management

This unit is all about the phase 3 execution of the project. We will start with how a PM monitors project status and also how to develop a project status report. Then we look at the differences between hard and soft data and why each is important. Next up is variance analysis which is vital to project monitoring. And along with that we need to explore how earned value is calculated and what the calculations tell us about the project status.

As we begin to talk about what to do when a project is not performing a planned, we need to revisit float or what is called slack to see how it can be helpful in performance management. We will also explore the differences between change control and change management. And to wrap us up, we are going to dive into conflict and what you are likely to see as a project manager or leader and how negotiation may be helpful in coming to a resolution and positive outcome when there’s conflict.

It’s a lot to cover so let’s get started.

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The Project LifecycleWhere we are on the Project Lifecycle

The planning phase is now complete, and you have a project design, a schedule and workflow, a budget, and you have the team in place. While it seems like you’ve done so much planning and scheduling that the project should almost flow along on auto-pilot. If only that were true.

This is the phase that involves the actual project execution or the doing part. I realize that the chart on the screen probably reads a bit manufacturing in its description, so let’s go back and revisit the example we used in the first assignment on the project lifecycle. If you are developing a new website for the organization, you need to procure materials, this isn’t just software apps, but it also includes the collateral like the pictures and narrative that the various stakeholders want on their part of the site. Once the consultant or design team responsible for creating the webpages has some their work done, there will be back and forth exchanges between stakeholders and the team as they produce beta versions of the website and look for mistakes or edits. Sometimes the stakeholders discover seeing what they asked for on the screen, they realize it doesn’t work. As project manager you will also want to get external stakeholders like the customer or the public testing the site to see how adoption of the new site is likely to work in the real world.

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Running alongside all of this activity is your project schedule and budget. I hope by now you realize that the micromanager PM isn’t efficient because this just adds significantly to the labor cost, not to mention the team’s morale. So, let’s look at how we can lead but not smother.

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Monitoring and Project Status

Communication and data collection • How will you get the info?

• E-mails • Telephone/Video conferencing • One on One meetings (in person) • Team meetings • Paper or Online forms/PM systems

• What’s the frequency? • Who’s the author/reporter? • Who is the recipient?

As project manager you need to monitor the project and have a feel for the status of a division of the project. What I mean by that is that you may have reporting by work packages, or it could be arranged by the team championing each part of the project. This could be engineering, marketing, consultants, quality control, etc.

As you gather data and communicate data and project status to other stakeholders you should determine which is the optimal channel for that communication. You also need to think about the direction of the communication. For example, you might want to receive data or status reports via paper or online forms through your project management system (think Smartsheet or other collaboration apps) so that you can track when they came in, from whom, and have a central repository that can crunch the data into canned reports. Other types of reporting may be suitable for verbal updates at team meetings or on conference calls or video platforms like Zoom. If there are problems or you need to have more two-way communication, you may need to email or have one on one meetings. Thinking about this before the need arises is helpful.

The same is true for communication of the project status out to the stakeholders.

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Often there is alignment between the type of communication and the frequency and who the audience is. For example, if you are sending out weekly updates, you want to find the communication method that is timely, efficient and appropriate for the audience.

Some considerations you may want to think about are: 1. Who is the author or reporter? In some cases, the report is going to be

delivered by your superior and you are simply the processor of the information who produces the report.

2. The second consideration is who the recipient of the report because you need to “right size” the amount of detail and how to frame some of the results for clarity and action. And

3. The channel you want for feedback on reports outside project reporting and what could happen if there is no clear manner for that rebuttal.

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The Power of the Project Status Report

Design reporting in to meet your management/health evaluation.

Design reporting back to stakeholders that isn’t “oversharing”.

Use a simple visual code to signify status without having to dig into the details. (Red-Yellow-Green)

Budget or financial status is important.

The deliverables completed and what is going to happen between this status report and the end of the next reporting period.

Project status reports are powerful but only if they are designed well, delivered regularly, and contain good data and useful information to the stakeholders. You should develop both a communication strategy and data collection loop as well as the format for your report. Fortunately, there are tons of free examples you can use out there as a template to get you started. And if you are using a PM software app, they will often have the reporting function built in so all you have to do is edit the format for your project or organization’s needs.

A key thing to remember in project reporting is not to overshare. Why you might ask? The additional information can take away the message you want to send to the stakeholders or team members or worse, it can be fuel for the naysayers who aren’t in favor of the project. I don’t mean to say that you don’t want to put in any negative information, but you need to curate that content for the reader not for forensic investigators.

I really like to provide an infographic or visual code for the project status is using a stoplight type system with red meaning it’s a problem with no clear pathway to resolution, yellow meaning that there may be a problem or that you have the problem under control, and green to indicate that the project is on track.

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In your report design you will want to provide some level of financial status reporting. This will tell the stakeholder that there may be additional resources required, that we need to conserve resources, or that we are working at a surplus. Be careful to identify which stakeholder audience gets the financial details so they are appropriately familiar with the project and can work with the information provided and not be overwhelmed by it.

In all, your status report should tell the reader what deliverables have been completed thus far, what is going to happen between now and the next reporting period, and if there are any additional announcements about the project.

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Watch this video on project status reports

Note their advice on what not to include in a status report the PM sends out to stakeholders (including the team).

• Don’t throw shade or play the blame game- directly or subtly.

• KISS principle- keep is simple. • Don’t ask questions in the report-

this is one way communication.

https://youtu.be/U1oSjjNervA?si=0qJlDLBcqfWY_o55

Let’s go ahead and click on the video hot spot now and watch this 11-minute video and then come back to the lecture and we can talk more about project status reports.

Welcome back. Did you take note of the presenter's advice on what not to include in a project status report? We definitely don’t want to play the blame or shame game, even if you are doing it subtly. It only makes you look bad as the PM. Ever heard of the KISS principle? Yep, keep it simple stupid. And last but very importantly, don’t ask questions in your status report. This is what you do to get the data to put in the report and you can take feedback after the report is distributed. The report is one-way communication- out from you and into the reader.

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Steps to create a status report

1. Gather the data.

2. Determine if the light is green, yellow or red and why.

3. Get the details from the team- that which lies beyond the data.

4. Use a template to make life easier.

5. Outline your report’s key segments • Key milestones • Financial info • Report summary • Notes & links

6. Write an “ugly” first draft. “word vomit”

7. Take a break from it and then come back to edit it.

8. Make edits to tighten up the information and check spelling and grammar.

9. Finishing touches- highlight accomplishments of the team and thank them.

10. Get ready to send- make sure that the attachment is there and put in a read receipt if available or ask for that in your communication. 24 hours is standard practice.

11. Make sure you include a feedback mechanism and follow up on those who didn’t read it yet.

Let’s just go through and revisit the recommendations from the video. First, gather your data. Then you will determine for the project status, the green, yellow or red light to indicate quickly where the project is at right now. Number 3 is to make sure to go back to the team for any last-minute updates that may not have been captured by the PM app or info that lies outside the traditional project data reporting. I like to ask if there’s any good news.

4. Make your life easier by using a template. You might even try and enter it into AI like Gemini and see what it does for the formatting. In step 5 you want to develop and outline of the key segments of your report so you have a map to follow. Then you are ready for step 6 the word vomit. This is the ugly first draft of your report than has everything you know about the project status in there. Don’t worry, you’ll clean up the vomit before you send it.

7. This is a mandatory break from the report. This is why it is critical not to leave the report to the last minute. You need to give it some separation so when you go back to edit, your eyes aren’t tricking you into thinking this is what I meant not what is written. As part of the process of editing you will also want to make edits that tighten up your language, remove jargon, and of course, check spelling and

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grammar, on everything not just what you wrote, but on the stuff that comes out of the PM software because garbage in- garbage out as the say.

9. The finishing touches are to add in some highlights that demonstrate that your team is doing good work, and it is also a morale booster. 10. When you prep your report for dissemination, make sure that you have actually attached the report or any additional materials. Doing a recall of the email or worse sending a new report that highlights your lack of attention to detail is not a good look. And when you set up the report for the send, make sure you are sending it to the right people, review a list for anyone who is no longer receiving them and there can always be a couple John Smiths in an organization. The habit I see when an email report goes to someone wrong is that they hit reply all and then tell everyone that you made a mistake- yeah, the shame game. Above and beyond the basics of who is getting it, you need to set up a notification of read receipt. You want to communicate in your transmittal that a read confirmation is requested within 24 hours or what ever time is appropriate for your audience.

And finally, your report isn’t asking questions, but you do need a feedback loop that allows people a communication pathway if the want to get in touch with you. For most PMs this is as simple as emailing me with any feedback, but on highly complex projects that involve many stakeholders, you can set up a survey or other automatic offering of a feedback mechanism that you can track and log for future use. Once you get to the magic number of hours you will want to follow up with those who haven’t read it yet to make sure they aren’t having trouble accessing it or to re-engage a stakeholder that may be off track or under performing.

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Hard Data vs. Soft Data

HARD DATA • Quantifiable • Factual • Objective in nature • Examples include project

schedule, budget utilization, KPI’s, and milestone achievements.

SOFT DATA • This is important to tell us the

why that is behind the what. • Qualitative • Subjective –perceptions • Examples include customer

feedback, risk assessments, team morale, and stakeholder satisfaction.

Now let’s talk about data. There are two types- much like quantitative and qualitative data. Hard data is quantifiable and factual in nature. It feels a lot like quantitative data. It will be objective in nature and examples of this could include the project schedule, the budget utilization or resource allocations, as well as KPI’s and milestone or deliverable achievements. This is the “what” of the project data.

On the other side we have soft data. This is more qualitative in nature and is subjective because it is all about perceptions. The reason we need soft data is because it often tells us the why behind the what is going on. Some examples of soft data include feedback from customers or stakeholders that are gathered by surveys, focus groups, or simply by interviews. There can also be assessments of the risk, the team’s morale, and stakeholder satisfaction.

A good project status report cannot be devoid of either of these.

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Variance in the Project

Variance Analysis is the quantitative investigation of the difference between actual performance and the plan.

Your plan’s benchmarks or KPI’s and the schedule and budget are key to identifying variance.

Variance can be positive or negative.

Answers the question “how’s the project going?”

PM’s use a calculation called Earned Value Analysis

• Planned work (PV) • Actual cost (AC) • Earned value (EV)

Variance focuses on difference and is the quantitative look at the difference between what you projected in your plan and what you are seeing in actual performance. This is a key part of your project performance management because we can’t fix what we don’t know. The plan for the project included things like a budget, a schedule, and key performance indicators or KPIs.

PMs use a mathematical calculation called Earned Value Analysis to measure this variance to answer the question- how’s the project going?

There are three things you will be looking for. The first is planned value also known as planned work, the second is actual cost, and the third is earned value.

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Calculating Earned Value

• Cost Variance CV=EV-AC

• Cost Performance Index CPI=EV/AV

• Schedule Variance SV=EV/PV

• Schedule Performance Index SPI=EV/PV

https://youtu.be/I9zQNdBTdaA?si=BRoqimerwSLAisKi

I am going to ask you to watch this short 5-minute video about how you calculate earned value in projects. We aren’t going to spend a lot of time on this but as a project leader, perhaps not the actual project manager, you need to understand this concept to understand the project status report. So, click on the hot spot to watch the video and note you may need to watch it more than once if this is a concept you are not familiar with.

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Performance Management

If CPI (cost performance index) is less than 1 and a

negative CV (cost variance)- it means we are performing less

than planned.

If the SPI (schedule performance index) is greater

than 1 and a positive SV (schedule variance)- it means that you’ve completed more

work on the project than planned.

Think about the video you just watched. These indices are the calculation of project performance. It is used to identify an early warning of project problems. It is likely that you will be using some sort of software or at least an Excel spreadsheet to gather data on your project’s budget spend, schedule, and achievements that will calculate the CPI and the SPI show here on the screen. Let’s just talk a little bit about what each tells us and why you need to understand this when talking about project performance and it can help you to identify what to do to improve project performance or in rare cases to celebrate being so incredible awesome.

The CPI measures the cost efficiency of a project. There are three possible outcomes- If it’s one, then that is good news, spending is going as planned. If it’s less than one, then it means you are overspent on your budget, and if it is greater than one, celebrate because your funds are being used more efficiently than planned.

The SPI measures the timeliness of the project as compared to your schedule. Again, there are three possible outcomes. The first is one and that means you are right on schedule. The second is an SPI of greater than one which means you are

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ahead of the planned schedule. And finally, there’s an SPI of less than one which means you are behind and the progress is slower than planned.

All of this is measuring the efficiency of your project not always the efficiency of the people working on the project. There can be many things outside their control. This is where a PM would be looking at how to employ aspects of the contingency plan to right the ship and get us on our way again.

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Float or Slack The amount of time a task

can be delayed without impacting the project’s

overall completion date or subsequent tasks.

FREE FLOAT- The amount of time delay of a task that

won’t impact the subsequent task.

TOTAL FLOAT- The amount of time delay of a task that can

be delayed that won’t impact the overall project completion date.

I want to revisit a term we looked at way back when we were scheduling the project. Float or slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed without impact the project overall completion date or the subsequent tasks.

So why does this matter now that the project is up and running? Hopefully in your project design you built in some float as part of your contingency plan. Monitoring the SPI and CPI can help you understand whether your built in enough float and how that float is helping or hurting the project’s progress.

As a PM you should be monitoring total float as part of your performance management. If total float is close to zero, then there’s the potential to speed up the process and finish the project early. If the total float is less than zero, you likely have a problem on your hands because the project is now likely to miss its overall projection for completion date.

You’ll also be monitoring the free float which will help you prioritize tasks in the project. Remember that free float is a measure of flexibility. If an aspect of the project was anticipated to have a higher degree of free float, then you were expecting that the tasks could be done independent of one another. But if this

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has changed, you need to recognize the impact downstream in the schedule.

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Change Control vs. Change Management

Your plan was developed to control the number of,

scope, and impact of changes to the project (schedule and budget).

• Performance changes • Cost changes • Procurement/Process changes

When you see negative CPI and/or SPI you

realize that you need to make changes.

First you ask questions and then you look at root

cause analysis.

Your project design including the schedule and budget, was intentionally set up with potential risks in mind and gates to hold back changes that could wreck your plan. This is the change control because you want to make it difficult to go rogue because there are so many dependencies in the schedule that have been resourced for particular reasons.

However, as the project progresses, and you are monitoring variance you find that your cost and/or schedule performance indices tell you that something needs to done to get this project completed on time and within your resources. This is where change management comes into play. The changes you may need to make include performance changes, cost changes, and procurement or process changes.

1. Is the performance of the team and individuals- why aren’t they timely or on budget?

2. Note that cost changes can also come with performance issues, but they may be separate and due to issues outside your control. If they were unknown unknowns, then this is where you have justification to use those managerial contingency funds to resource those changes.

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3. And finally, there are procurement and process issues that require changes. This is that supplier that isn’t timely or is now charging a higher price than was originally negotiated. There may be processes that aren’t working as planned and need to be adjusted.

The worst thing you can do as a PM is to focus only on the team and their performance and not look deeper into what is impacting their work. If you only deal with the people part, then you will most likely demoralize the team or push them into a competitive culture where they no longer trust one another and most of all you as the PM.

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What can you do?

• Improve time management where there are performance problems.

• Become a bottleneck buster. • Be flexible enough to listen to ideas on

what can be changed. • Use positive reinforcement and coaching

before punitive methods. • Play the bad cop in some cases. • Listen for the language of conflict.

Once you have an idea of the root causes of the problem then you need to take action so the project doesn’t get more off track because remember those dependencies, this is the domino effect if one part of the project goes off the rails.

If it’s performance of team members you can help them to improve time management, but don’t micromanage. You may also need to be the bottleneck buster when one part of the project is holding up the rest of the team members. With both of these, you need to be open to the ideas of the team for changes. They are often the closest to the problem.

Make sure to stay positive and only use punitive methods like performance improvement or taking someone off the project as a last resort. This is where your coaching skills need to shine.

If the performance problem is with external players, don’t be afraid to be the bad cop some of the time. For example, if a team member needs to work regularly with a vendor and they are behaving badly, it may be better for the PM to play the heavy and allow the team member to play the good cop and preserve the

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relationship.

All along the way make sure that you are listening for the language of conflict. Too often it is conflict that is the enemy of performance.

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People-Focused Conflict

Conflict is very likely to happen in project where there are multiple and diverse stakeholders. Size matters.

Personal conflicts are often emotional and are based in a lack of understanding of the various personalities/values of other team members.

• Related to culture, communication, and unresolved prior conflicts

Give people an opportunity to express their opinions/perspective.

The PM needs to foster team building and trust, as well as coping strategies.

The reason I mention listening for the language of conflict is that as soon as we have performance management/change management on a project, it brings to the surface if there are underlying conflicts between team members or between your team and stakeholders. As the PM you need to deal with these to the extent possible and mitigate the damage before it further impacts the project’s progress and success. I hope that you have already read the article I linked in the reading, so you have some broader understanding of the nature of conflict. Know that this week’s tools quiz will be all about conflict.

There are two main types of conflict in projects- people and tasks. People focused conflict is more likely when it’s a bigger project and there are more diverse stakeholders. For example, if you are working on a website redesign in the organization that will be less complex than a multinational corporation with offices in 12 countries and across 8 time zones. Suffice it to say that size does matter.

Personal conflicts are indeed personal. That means emotions are involved and there’s a likelihood that the parties involves may not understand the personalities, culture, or values of some of their fellow stakeholders. Because of

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this you may need to sort through several different types of conflict including communication, culture, and even unresolved prior conflicts that came in with the team members selected.

As a PM you need to up your game as an active listener and make safe spaces for the individuals to express their perspective without the urge to shut them down and get on with the business. If you’ve got a people conflict on a team, then as their leader you need to foster greater trust and team-building. In some cases, you may need to bring in some additional training on coping strategies and effective communication.

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Issue or Task Conflict

This conflict is directly related to the project’s end and performance requirements.

It is mostly positive because it generates new ideas, and it is a rational approach to conflict.

This is where trust and negotiation are required by the PM.

It can also be related to goals, values, authority- based conflict as well as task interdependency.

Be mindful of the presence of groupthink.

Next is issue or task conflict. This is directly related to the end of the project and the performance requirements to get there on time and on budget. This type of conflict has a greater return on investment for the project because it can generate ideas and is a rational approach to conflict.

Even with rationality, there’s still the need for trust and in this case, you also need to negotiate changes in processes, costs and performance. In addition to task conflict there may be goal conflict, values conflict, authority-based conflict and task interdependence at play. Depending on these variables you may adapt how you address the conflict, but one thing is true across them all is that you need to be observant for groupthink. This negates the innovative value of task conflict as everyone falls in line and team members don’t feel safe expressing a divergent opinion or idea.

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Is it the team or is it the organization?

• Solving goals and priorities conflict and associated conflict comes from communication and clarity but the organization or the project may be the problem. • PM’s may not have enough authority to make changes

or the power to punish. • Role incompatibility is real, and the organization’s

structure may limit change. • Institutional conflict and environmentally induced

stress can impact the project because it’s bigger than the project and also leads to unreasonable expectations from some stakeholders.

We know people are involved in every aspect of the conflicts that arise, but have you ever thought that it might be more than an individual problem, it may just be the organization or the project design at fault. Some common examples of this are when the organization doesn’t give the PM enough authority to make decisions about the project or they don’t have the power to punish so affecting change is difficult at best.

In addition, I can say for sure that role incompatibility is real. The organization in an effort to save money or time, may have put stakeholders on the team that are underqualified, they might be disinterested, or otherwise be encumbered by other responsibilities. This means they can’t fulfill their responsibilities in a timely manner. In some organizations where there are issues like unionized labor your PM may not have had a choice on who to put on the team.

There are two types of conflict that lend credence to the idea that the organization or project is to blame. Institutional conflict and environmentally- induced stress are bigger than the project, but they can impact it just the same. The result is often unreasonable expectations for project progress from certain stakeholders. I’ve put an example of this in the form of a funny video at the end of

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this lecture. See if you can spot the environmentally-induced stress.

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Negotiating for PM’s

There are 5 phases 1. Investigate 2. Each party determines

BATNA 3. Presentation 4. Bargaining 5. Closure

Now let’s dive into negotiation as a way to solve project conflicts. There are whole courses on negotiation, but we are going to focus on the specific negotiation skills you need as a project manager or project leader. Negotiation is most effective in task-related conflict. Certainly, there’s room in people-focused conflicts but because they are so linked to one’s perspectives and beliefs, negotiations tend to produce less.

In negotiations there are 5 phases to the process. The first is that you should investigate the conflict. Knowing what type of conflict is involved can help you develop a strategy. The second step is called determining the BATNA or best alternative to a negotiated agreement. Here each party or person will have in their mind what they would be willing to agree to if they can’t get their way.

The third step is called presentation, and each party will present their position and what they are seeking. If there are multiple parties involved, then the PM can serve as a mediator offering structure for the process and keeping everyone on track and professional.

Step 4 is bargaining where each party try to reach a mutually beneficial solution.

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This is where that batna comes in handy, so you have a potential fallback position. In positive conflict the negotiations process can provide innovative solutions especially if each party values something different as their primary need or want.

And then step 5 is the closure. Once both parties have agreed to a negotiated position, the closure involves verifying the agreement, so everyone understands the terms of the deal.

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If only it was as simple as working through the 5 steps and each party gets what they want, and everything is perfect. This negotiation matrix by Lewicki and Hiams lays out graphically how each part may play in the bargaining phase to get their batna.

At the center is compromise that sweet spot where everything works great but rarely is it that easy so look at the two axes there’s the importance of the relationship on the left and at the bottom is the importance of the outcome. If one party really wants their outcome and doesn’t care about the relationship, then you have the competing. If you want what you want and yet value continuing the relationship you are likely to be ready to collaborate on a solution. Likewise, if you are more interested in maintain the relationship but are not as committed to your outcome then you will be accommodating to the other party.

And then there’s conflict avoidance which is where you just want to make it go away. Chances are if this is the case then you aren’t negotiating because it got settled way before that as you acquiesced to the other party’s want.

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Negotiation Strategies for

PMs

Silence- this prompts the other party to speak more and reveal their vulnerability or additional wants.

Flattery- Make the other party feel values but be authentic.

Deadlines- setting a deadline for a resolution will force the parties to get on with the process.

Delays- sometimes dragging out your negotiation will tire the other party, and they may give in to move things forward.

Integrative Negotiation- seeking the win-win by developing shared values or objectives.

Distributive Negotiation- dividing up the pie

So, what kinds of negotiation techniques can you use as a PM. Silence is one of the most popular because it isn’t aggressive, and the other party is likely to fill that space with more details about their wants and needs. Flattery is also commonly used but make sure that you are authentic because if you aren’t then it goes really poorly.

Then there are the timing techniques. Deadlines can force the parties to get on with it and just give a little to get it done. Likewise, delays are also used but know this; in waiting out the other party, you are likely hurting the project timeline, and it may defeat the purpose because the project is now worse off than it was before.

Integrative negotiation works rather well because you are working with the other party to develop shared values or objectives. Once you agree on your values, the details get easier to achieve. And finally, there is distributive negotiation that is just as it says, distributing the outcomes among the parties in a manner they see fit. The best example in a project is where you and a department director are fighting over that highly experienced technician you need to work on the project. He needs the tech to stay and work on his production run and you need him on

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your troubleshooting for a problem with production of the new part. If the director has to pay overtime to keep the tech working on the line and you need him on a more flexible basis then you two can negotiate that you will pay the overtime rate and you get the ability to negotiate a schedule for the next month. In the end, you have the contingency funds to pay the overtime rate, the director doesn’t have to pay the overtime out of his budget, and the tech is getting overtime pay so he can go fishing in Canada.

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The Bottom Line

You might recognize the comedian Larry the Cable Guy who’s famous saying is get r done. As the project manager or leader, everyone is looking at you to be the one who makes it happen, solving the problems, dealing with the conflicts, and keeping the project on schedule and on budget to the extent possible. When you read articles on project failure there’s a consistent message that stakeholder perceptions are critical elements in why it happens.

On one end of the spectrum there are stakeholders like your leadership in the organization who have unreasonable expectations and may have little understanding for the challenges on the ground that impact project completion. On the other end of the spectrum the team working on the project may have unresolved conflicts despite your intervention and negotiation skills, and communication of project status can help to alleviate the conflict that arises. And then somewhere in the mix can be the customer. Sometimes the customer is an internal stakeholder like when an IT project is being done for the organization and sometimes the customer is external and there are limits to what you want to share about the project’s progress, so your customer has a realistic idea of how the project is going in comparison to the project estimates.

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I liken the role of the project manager to a juggler. Most of us can juggle two balls without any trouble, but when you add 3-4-5 balls the challenge is exponential. The same is true with projects. If you have variance, you should tackle them as quickly as possible and not let one task problem spread across the schedule. Don’t forget that when the project was planned there were contingencies identified and using them isn’t a sign of bad project management, it means the contingency plans were well worth the time and resources.

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Watch this video…see you in unit 7 https://youtu.be/u8Kt7fRa2Wc?si=Lue2rOu-6dzPMr8Y

Since Larry the Cable Guy’s humor doesn’t really fit with our topic, to close us out today I thought I’d leave you with a humorous look at project management status reporting. I promise it is worth the watch so click on the hot spot to access the video.

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