This month features a post on the competitive advantage of aligning talent management and organizational strategy.

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"Earned value" is so attractive because the term conjures positive visions, emotions and expectations on what earned value metrics will do. But in reality, if a project manager does not measure and then present the metrics properly to project sponsors, the numbers can produce unpleasant mood swings, premature celebrations and raging arguments.

I have found that project managers who successfully track project progress with earned value metric share a common practice: They allocate the same effort to the meaningful presentation of earned value and its implementation. Consider these basic tips for making earned value actually mean something: 

1. Qualify activities that earn value. One of the quickest roads to failure is to include all project activities in determining earned value. This can set up the false indication of true progress by incorporating administrative tasks like the kick-off meetings, project status meetings and other activities that are not central to actual progress. To avoid misleadingly optimistic earned value, include only core items when determining earned value — for example, high- effort and -risk activities, and external dependency milestones.  

 

2. Set standard earned value ranges. Another common trap in calculating earned value is allowing optimistic or downright untrue declarations of progress. You've all probably heard, "We are 99 percent complete, and all we have left to do is..." time and time again. 

To avoid this trap, set up conservative ranges of progress completion. For example, you may set a conservative percentage-complete tier of 75 percent if a deliverable is completed, and designate the remaining 25 percent to the approval process by the project sponsor.

3. Clearly communicate earned value to project sponsors. Speaking of project sponsors, one of my all-time favorite earned value moments occurred recently during the first progress status meeting. After several weeks of high expectations around earned value, the project manager stood up and said, "Our SPI is .92." Needless to say, this abbreviated report of the schedule performance index caused a long silence, puzzled looks and furrowed brows among project sponsors. Avoid such tense moments by communicating to project sponsors, in terms they understand, what earned value can and cannot do. Add relevance and context by combining earned value with other project readout content, and tailor your communications to sponsors through visualization techniques. For example, present a graph showing the schedule of planned value against the actual earned value of these deliverables for the project. 

Earned value can be one of the most powerful and revealing indications of true project progress — as long as it is properly determined and presented.

How do you measure earned value? What are your tips in presenting earned value to project sponsors?

This disconnect is often rooted in weak sponsorship, and that's often a result of project sponsors not knowing their roles. When that happens, they aren't able to support projects in a way that aligns a portfolio to the organization's grand strategic plan. Project sponsors are instrumental in a project's selection and categorization, allocating resources, and monitoring and communicating its progress to the highest rungs of an organization. As a high-level decision-maker, an effective project sponsor gives the portfolio more agility and flexibility to adapt and absorb changes.

While fostering the right kind of project sponsor won't happen overnight, it can start right away. To do so, executive-level management — many of which could be sponsors — should:

Project managers can also help sponsors support projects better by communicating in the same language. Project managers should translate technical issues (such as scope and deliverables) into tangible business results (i.e., return on investment, profit, revenue and costs) for sponsors. In this manner, sponsors and project managers together can handle the internal environment (project team and processes) and the external environment (organizational structure, strategy and market demands).

Do you have strong project sponsorship in your organization? In your experience, can effective sponsorship boost the entire portfolio's performance?

Mayday is a Taiwanese rock band with a massive worldwide following. In fact, two concerts promoting their 2012 album, Noah's Ark, were held in the world's largest sports venue, Beijing's National Stadium. Those two performances alone drew 200,000 fans — an astonishing feat for any band, anywhere in the world. 

Believe Music manages Mayday — and staged the larger-than-life concerts in Beijing last year. For the music management company, performance — and particularly, passion for performance — is the key to industry success. In fact, the company's success comes from harnessing and managing passion for live music as a program.

The focus on passion as a business driver starts at the top. CEO Yung-Chi Chen believes in the power of live music, and that success comes if you just do what you're good at, and do it properly. Artists and bands that write and perform with passion will naturally attract a dedicated audience large enough to help sustain them in a career.

Believe Music's head manager, Yiu-Yang Chou, has the interesting title of "Creator of Satisfaction." This reflects the company's emphasis on live performance — as long as audiences demand performances, try to satisfy them. 

Mr. Chou manages over 100 concerts every year. His managerial level is that of a program manager, rather than a project manager. So when asked how he balances project constraints like scope, time and cost with quality, he says: "You can tell from the sofa bed in the meeting room that our management concepts on time and cost are very weak! But the most important requirement to work in this job [and industry] is enthusiasm. With enthusiasm, you dedicate yourself to creating something that'll make an impact. Time and money will be spent, but something great will be produced."

Across the board at Believe Music, passionate employees define cost control as "surviving" and risk management as "we've still got next time." And although that approach might seem like unsound business sense, the company's faith in passion for performance counts on a major stakeholder — the audience.

Believe Music considers audiences not just passive viewers, but also as appreciative co-producers of the live event. Their enjoyment is a key measurement of the performance's success. It is what Believe Music, and their artists, define as a successful result with each concert (i.e., project). Such word-of-mouth and long-term audience growth cannot be bought overnight, and that is why passion — and satisfaction — is so important in Believe Music's business.

Believe Music team members attribute enthusiasm over any business model for their success. When their specialized experience and passion is combined with a mature concert management system, the power of live performance becomes a money-making enterprise. 

How do you apply non-traditional business drivers — such as passion — in your programs and industry? Share your experiences below, and Voices on Project Management will publish the best response as a blog post. 

An "inspiring vision" is not simply finishing your project, either. A great example of this was one put forth by London's Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) responsible for building the facilities for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The ODA set a much-publicized "zero harm" goal.

The London Olympics construction program completed the work on budget, ahead of schedule, to a high standard — and with no fatalities. Not only that, but the overall accident frequency came in at 58 percent below the UK construction industry average. This is a remarkable achievement, given that a total of 40,000 people worked on the projects.

After creating the inspiring vision, make sure your team can commit to and communicate it effectively. To do so, each member must:

Framing your vision in the right context is a big part of communicating it effectively to your team and to all that touch the project. The London Olympics construction program knew that "on time and on budget" was not an exciting rallying cry to many people. (Project managers notwithstanding.) So it framed the project around the idea of looking after workmates, which was an easier concept for securing widespread buy-in. 

Looking after co-workers meant achieving a safer worksite. And for that, construction had to be well-planned, well-managed, clean and tidy — coincidentally, all the same facets for achieving a high-quality, on-time, on-budget outcome.

After framing your vision, preferably working with team members so they own it, the hard work starts. The vision needs to be communicated and reinforced at all times. No compromises. As soon as you stop living the vision, it will fade. 

In London, for instance, safety was always the first agenda item at meetings. It was continuously policed, communicated and enforced. But more importantly, safety success was celebrated. Major milestones — such as 1,000,000 hours worked with no accidents — were big occasions. There were also smaller, more personal celebrations of people contributing to the vision. 

Enforcing and celebrating the vision created a culture focused on safety and achieving the vision of an accident-free project daily.

What is the inspiring vision you can create for your team to help achieve your project objectives? How will you communicate and maintain that vision?

And as organizations continue to expand into emerging markets, the pressure is on project professionals to build a keen understanding of how different cultures operate.

For starters, they must get past the "us versus them mentality," said Mr. Chandarana. "We consider our culture to be normal and others to be abnormal."

Instead, project professionals should acknowledge the values and even the stereotypes of other cultures, which he broke into three categories: 

This is powerful knowledge as linear-active U.S. and European organizations launch more projects in emerging markets, which tend to fall into the multi-active and reactive categories. Only those countries and companies that bridge cultures and geographies will succeed, Mr. Chandarana said.

"What measure are you going to take to go beyond just having surface-level knowledge of other cultures?" he said. "This is the question you must ask to hone relationships in a  multicultural environment."

The three panelists on the "Project Management in Emerging Economies" panel tackled a different kind of cultural challenge. "In the Middle East, there is a lack of awareness of the value of project management," said panelist Imran Malik of du Telecom in Dubai.

"Practitioners need to educate decision-makers by translating the tangible benefits of using best practices in the context of business."

Organizations view project management as a "magic pill" and temporary fix, added panelist Puian Masudifar of VIRA Co. in Iran. "They don't look at the long term."

Still, the project management cultural revolution can start with baby steps. "Bring upper management and executives to the kitchen and teach them what projects are," said panelist Adnan Metin of Turkish Airlines in Turkey. 

As a growing regional power, Turkey needs project managers, particularly in the defense sector, said Murad Bayar, Turkey's Undersecretary for Defence Industry. 

In his long tenure in the sector, Mr. Bayar says he's rarely seen a project completed that met the original plan, mostly due to the long timelines.

"A combat aircraft takes 15 to 20 years to complete," Mr. Bayar said. "By the time the project is finished, the requirements have changed. We have to be better at managing projects." 

To that end, the department encourages its project professionals to go through training, including earning the Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential. 

But Mr. Bayar also acknowledged his country could use a little help.

"We need people with a deep understanding of strategic organizational, commercial, industrial and political environments. Is there someone in the room that I can hire today?" 

Free market capitalism no longer dominates, said Nader Mousavizadeh, CEO, Oxford Analytica, keynote speaker at PMI^® Global Congress 2013 -- EMEA. 

Emerging markets such as Nigeria, China and Turkey are redefining power on their own terms. By combining capitalism with strong state support, they are experiencing economic growth and stability while many developed markets struggle. 

Just as emerging economies are breaking from traditional business models, consumers too are redefining their expectations. "Consumers expect legitimacy and accountability from those in power ... whether it's government or a corporation," said Mr. Mousavizadeh.

 

Consumers are also becoming more global, while demanding goods and services that feel authentic and local. Those countries and companies that bridge cultures and geographies are the ones that will succeed, Mr. Mousavizadeh said.

And they will succeed in great part by planning for the long term and setting an agenda that helps others.

 "Look at where leadership is making decisions that benefit the broader population," he said. "China, for example, has 200,000 Chinese citizens studying in the United States. That's a country focused on developing a high-end talent pool." 

PMI president and CEO Mark A. Langley shared a similar message on leadership and talent management. "Organizations are not looking for individuals to manage projects; they're looking for project managers to lead projects," said Mr. Langley during the opening remarks. 

What's clear is that organizations are embracing project management. The EMEA region is expected to create approximately 3 million new project management jobs between now and 2020. The question is whether project professionals are prepared to meet the demands of a new business landscape. "Organizations are not waiting for you to step up -- they're going to expect you to," said Mr. Langley.

In my experience, project managers who choose work over training often expect the same from team members. So when a project is running, learning all but stops. But here's a thought: Upgrading skills and project execution can -- and should -- take place in tandem.

Consider these two scenarios:

In today's fast-changing world, it is necessary to continuously upgrade skills beyond what you can learn on the job to overcome future challenges. In the first scenario, the project manager consistently misses opportunities to upgrade skills. After some time, the organization finds it difficult to provide better and more challenging assignments due to lack of skills. The organization will very likely lose a frustrated project manager. In the long term, both the organization and project manager are in lose-lose situation.

In the second scenario, the project manager not only focuses on efficient execution but also prepares himself or herself and team members for current and future challenges. Due to time constraints, this is the hardest option for a project manager, but it's also the most rewarding. The key is developing a plan that combines learning and execution. 

For example, a project manager might enroll in a training session that pulls him or her away from the workplace. This forces the project manager to delegate his or her tasks to team members. In turn, that gives team members an opportunity to lead during the project manager's absence -- and experiment and learn what they will do in future. The net result is a positive cascading effect that upgrades the skills of everyone on the project.

With a firm training schedule, you and your team members can feel at ease to attend trainings. And since training sessions directly enhance skills for all roles, everyone can feed their newfound knowledge into the project.

Do you prioritize training over execution, or vice versa? How are you ensuring you advance your skills in the face of project work? 

In recent projects, I have noticed recurring instances of "stoplight overkill." Project status reports now include all manner of stoplights, such as how the last status meeting turned out or the happiness level of every single customer group. In fact, I have even seen a stoplight indicator that, through a complex calculation, was intended to show the aggregate status of 40 stoplights. The colors on that report made my head spin.

Beyond avoiding a headache, here are three major reasons why project managers should limit stoplights:

I favor more progressive and consistent modes of status presentation that indicate position, direction and pace. 

For example, use a remaining budget marker to show the position of budget against a broader range of tolerances. For deliverables, you can show a scatter plot of projected and actual completion dates to reveal pace and true progress. Highlighting customer satisfaction on a timeline is a good way of showing the impact of a project on a sponsor's business.  

What do you consider the limitations and dangers of project stoplights? What alternate methods have you used on project status presentations? Share your thoughts below along with your Twitter handle, and Voices on Project Management will publish the best response as a blog post.

 

Naturally, he was concerned about how these changes would be received. My advice: 

Communicate with everyone affected as a result of the disruption. Host meetings to explain the factors behind the need for change, such as out-dated processes, unsatisfactory performance, expansion plans or executive directives. The reasons should be transparent, easy to understand and supported by relevant facts. Follow up with details on employee and organizational benefits to the changes. Above all, the vision for change should be realistic and believable. 

Plan for time to collect and acknowledge reactions to the proposed changes. Expect both positive and negative reactions, and be prepared to hear and answer questions. In this specific case, concerns included: fear of increased work hours or workload, uncertainty over the size and management of the disruption, nervousness toward new systems and job security.

Create avenues where people can freely voice these concerns -- publicly via workshops and meetings, and anonymously via surveys. This helps the project manager understand the sources of any resistance and support.

Recognize adjustments. In the case of my colleague, the majority of individuals in his department had been with the organization for over 15 years. That means they probably formed the present systems and culture, and therefore it was expected that this group would be more skeptical toward change. In this sort of situation, describe how and what type of training and support can or will be provided. Identify who will be responsible for managing the change and how the process will take shape (i.e., the immediate first steps).

Manage emotional and psychological stress by being supportive of and empathetic to team members as they adapt. Plan for active team and stakeholder involvement -- for example, brainstorming meetings. It may be necessary to plan for some of the team to visit another organization or department that has recently undergone similar changes. Visibly involve executives and other departments, such as human resources, for rewards and incentives to encourage the adoption of change.

Plan for and implement changes using project management techniques, such as risk assessments, stakeholder analysis and progress measurements. Prepare for frequent reporting of successes and setbacks so everyone knows how the change is progressing and what achievements or adjustments have been made.

Enforce the change. Look for quick wins and be prepared for some to slip into the old way of doing things -- and perhaps sabotage or reverse the change. Check that everyone is adhering to the new plan. In the event of strong resistance, it may be necessary to respond decisively with disciplinary action. While it is important to be open and inclusive, there should also be a clear understanding that change is not optional.

Wrap up like a project. Once the changes are complete, close, celebrate and reward the team. Don't forget to list lessons learned.

What advice would you add? How have you helped a project team adopt change?

The following three-pronged approach helps in creating such a schedule: set up a schedule planning framework, master schedule basics and run the project avoiding the classic schedule planning pitfalls.

In this post, I will shed some light on a simple schedule planning framework. Effective schedule planning boils down to five basic steps: 

What are your must-do steps when creating a project schedule? What scheduling framework has been successful for you?

The payoff can be huge, according to PMI's Pulse of the Profession™ In-Depth Report: Talent Management. On average, 72 percent of projects meet their original goals and business intent at organizations with significant or good alignment between their talent management and organizational strategies. Now put that up against the 58 percent rate at organizations with moderate or weak alignment. 

Despite the potential ROI, only 10 percent of organizations report significant alignment. That stat takes on added significance when you consider what's shaping up as a true talent crisis. 

Pulse data revealed four in five organizations report difficulty in finding qualified project management candidates to fill open positions. Some organizations are resorting to some serious poaching -- check the battle for project talent between Silicon Valley tech titans Apple, Google, Yahoo! and Facebook. China Road and Bridge Corporation is adopting a more long-term approach, according to China Daily. Looking to build talent in a strategic market for its projects, the company is sponsoring a group of Congolese students to study engineering and project management in Xi'an, China. 

In this case, organizations that align talent management and strategy have an edge, reporting less difficulty in filling open positions. 

Organizations that align talent management to organizational strategy are also more effective at implementing formalized career paths, with 83 percent moving new hires to advanced project management positions. Among organizations with weak alignment, that number drops to 62 percent. 

The MD Anderson Cancer Center, for example, clearly outlines the path up. It requires 10 years of experience (including five years of project management) and a Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential for senior project managers who manage highly complex strategic projects that span three or more organizational boundaries. Establishing a career path not only makes employees feel like the organization has a vested interest in them, it also helps the organization spot -- and close -- any skills gaps that might prevent it from delivering on its business goals.

Recruiting and retaining top talent will only get organizations so far. They need to measure results, too. Across the board, organizations with strong alignment are more likely to measure outcomes such as staff turnover, learning development, and employee engagement, retention and productivity. 

U.S. space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), for example, tracks the effectiveness of its professional development courses by assessing enrollment numbers and feedback from senior leadership. Armed with that information, the PMI Global Executive Council member knows what's working -- and what's not. 

No doubt, creating a talent management program comes with a hefty price tag. But consider the danger of skimping: On a US$1 billion project, organizations with significant or good alignment of talent management programs to organizational strategy put US$50 million fewer dollars at risk than organizations with moderate or weak alignment.  

With those kinds of numbers on the line, the bigger question is: Can an organization afford not to make the investment? 

With that in mind, I developed a basic set of email communications rules called the Project Communication Decalogue. I require everyone on my team to adhere to it when emailing each other, and I introduce it the first time I meet with a new team or member. When everyone is on the same page, it makes for leaner, cleaner communications.

From experience, the adoption of these rules takes a few weeks. But once you get buy-in from all team members, email communications become a smoother process, freeing up time to focus on much more important project tasks.

What are your basic email communication rules? How do you get your project team to speak the same language via email?

Read her thoughts on realizing change from lessons learned below:

You're feeling really good because you took the time to gather your project team and key stakeholders, to reflect on what went well during your project and what did not go so well. You even took the critical step of leaving the meeting with an action plan, with clear ownership to pursue the actions you identified. But are you getting the most out of your lessons learned?

If you don't have a simple process to build improvement into your next project, then you're not reaping the full benefits. Many project managers are familiar with W. Edwards Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. It's meant to be a continuous cycle. Our lessons learned is the "check" stage, where we review results and identify learnings. But we can't stop there -- we have to move into "act" to get the true value of a lessons learned. Here are some ideas for how to do that. 

First, define "project portfolio." A bunch of independent projects does not make up a portfolio — it is simply a group of projects. A portfolio is composed of multiple projects aligned to help the organization execute its strategy. 

Second, define "portfolio management." Portfolio management enables organizations to identify, select and prioritize the investments that will maximize business value. The major components of portfolio management include supporting strategic objectives, ensuring value creation, prioritizing projects based on their relative importance, managing the flow of benefits and integrating stakeholders around business objectives. Here are a few questions to help determine how well your organization is managing its portfolio:

If some of your answers were "no," don't worry — you are not alone. But implementing good portfolio management can be a great challenge. Enterprise project management professionals usually joke that it is a "simple" three-step process:

Step three, in particular, is very difficult — yet it is the core of portfolio management. Portfolio management is the art of getting more than the sum of its projects' results. 

To do so, corporate strategies must be laid out clearly. This helps portfolio managers to measure value that would not be generated by any individual project. 

While software tools make it easier to simulate portfolios to help in decision-making, portfolio management ultimately depends more on governance and appropriate processes than on calculations. 

The portfolio also needs to be flexible enough to cope with changes in strategy and environment, which is why portfolio managers must perform regular check-ups — a portfolio that fits your organization needs to link to its strategy at all times.

How healthy is your organization's portfolio? How do you monitor it?