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Happy Thanksgiving!

On behalf of all of us at c. myers, we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

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5 Musts Of An Effective Project Manager

72% of all projects fail.¹ Effective project management can be a strategic differentiator. One of the most important keys to the success of a big project is the project manager.

Equally important is the senior support necessary to allow an effective project manager to get the job done – even when the project manager isn’t saying what others want to hear, put any misgivings aside and take advantage of the skills the project manager brings to the table. In the end, the project implementation will be better, which can ultimately enhance your members’ and employees’ experiences.

An effective project manager should:

  1. Not be a “yes” person. Your project manager should require that any mid-project changes be thoroughly vetted, even if those changes are coming from senior people. This involves an objective assessment from the project manager of whether the changes are out of scope and how they will affect timelines, budgets, and other resources, so decisions can be made with more complete information.
  2. Ask pertinent questions and drill down for their own understanding of why something is being included in the project plan.
  3. Think creatively to get the job done, on time, with quality, and on budget – all while appreciating that the project team members have their real jobs to do, as well.
  4. Without hesitation, give weekly frank assessments on how the project is progressing (i.e., it is on track, at risk, or in trouble) in a way that keeps stakeholders informed of progress, or lack thereof.
  5. Be comfortable asking the business owner to step in, when necessary, to help light a fire and/or reallocate resources, budgets, or adjust timelines.

It can be easy for a project manager to blindly accept a business owner’s requests, especially if that business owner has a more senior position in the credit union. Further, it can be infinitely more difficult for a project manager to push back if questioning leadership is not part of the credit union’s culture.

Effective project managers are able to think deeply, ask tough questions, provide pushback, and say “no” when needed – even if it means saying “no” to the boss. So the next time you are thinking “I wish our project manager would just say yes,” think again, and appreciate that an effective project manager is striving to have projects that are well planned, well executed, on time, and within budget.

For more on project management, browse our previous blogs.

 

¹The Chaos Report, Project Management Institute

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Don’t Let Poor Project Management Set Your Go-Live Dates

Three. The typical number of bottlenecks when it comes to credit union project management:

  • IT,
  • Marketing,
  • Compliance.

These three departments are tasked with to-do lists for many projects within the credit union – on top of their own projects and priorities.

A huge concern is if go-live dates are set on a case-by-case basis, instead of from an enterprise perspective.

Think of it this way. Imagine your credit union is planning to enhance its existing ATM network. This project is being managed by the IT department with the assistance of a third party. The IT department takes care of installing the hardware and software required. The IT department takes care of testing. The third party suggests an implementation date, and the IT department agrees with the date and time, which happens to be a Friday, the first day of the month, at 9 am.

Sounds harmless, except…

  • The launch requires full network downtime of 45 minutes and the 45 minutes must happen at 8 am
  • The 8 am downtime is actually right when the credit union opens
  • The 8 am downtime was chosen for launch because that’s when the vendor said worked best for them but the IT department never pushed back and asked if other days or times were available
  • It’s a Friday, and the first of the month. This means there are typically more members wanting to get cash because they just got paid
  • Compliance was not aware of the project until a few days after the implementation which increases the risk of a significant compliance exposure for the credit union
  • The IT department did not know that, on the same day, marketing was launching a new promotion that pays members a materially higher interest rate on their savings. If the marketing promotion gets the planned traction and the ATM enhancements don’t go as planned, member service will suffer. Not to mention the avoidable stress on employees had there been better coordination and management of the project
  • This is not the only key deadline IT has to meet on this day

Poor Project Management Hurts More Than Just The Project

If individual departments manage their own go-live calendars, without discussion or feedback from their fellow departments, and without consideration of the membership, the impact it could have on the membership – and employee morale – is no joke. According to recent research, a consumer’s most significant factor for annoyance with the banking experience comes from annoyance with the branch experience, and the biggest reason for banking loyalty includes delight in the mobile and online experiences. Additionally, other research reports that 36% of Millennials said they will probably switch financial institutions in the next 12 months.

Now might not be the time to make members angry.

If your credit union isn’t discussing high-level project timelines, with the right people, in one room, and with a visibility of how department resources and calendars are going to be affected, then you are playing a game of roulette.

The discipline to appropriately manage a portfolio of projects is no longer optional in this fiercely competitive environment. Smaller credit unions without the ability to designate someone to manage the portfolio of big projects can still find ways to work the conversation into staff meetings and daily huddles. But this still requires that everyone be on the same page and paying attention to the overall picture.

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Project Management Tip #9: Ideal Mapping

Creating an ideal process map is a critical part of project planning. This process is well worth the effort, as it helps stakeholders to solidify and reach clarity on objectives.

For instance, if the credit union is implementing a new loan origination system, the ideal mapping can serve as a guideline for what the project will accomplish when successfully completed, long before an RFP is sent out for submissions. The ideal map should be drafted with representatives from each area of the credit union, including stakeholders, someone to represent the end users, and a representative from marketing, legal, and compliance.

In launching a project, it is not uncommon for each person in the room to have a different idea of the end result, even if they believe the end result is clearly articulated. An ideal map greatly reduces the number of times you will hear, “I thought we were doing _____.” Or, “I thought we meant _______.” The ideal map is a great tool to help the project team think through what areas of the project plan need special attention. It’s also a great visual aid for everyone to see what they are working toward, and why their work is important.

For more project management tips like this, please click here to read our c. notes article, Project Management Tips from A to Z.

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Project Management Tip #20: Time

Time focuses on how much time is allotted to complete a project. Time is a resource that project teams can wield in their favor by building out a timeline as part of their project plan. The time it takes to complete tasks in a project should be reasonable, and can best be estimated by seeking feedback from stakeholders and subject matter experts.

Key events that are often missed when building a plan include project team vacations, vendor liaison vacations (if applicable), holidays, and other credit union projects. Effective project teams consider non project-related events when providing time estimates, and schedule these vacations and holidays into their project timeline. They also get time scheduled for the project onto the team’s work calendars, so that the appropriate time is reserved for the project and not usurped by other meetings and duties.

If there is a heavy reliance on IT resources for the project, their available time commitment must be understood and agreed to in advance. If third-party tasks are required, time should be scheduled to inspect the work provided.

In addition, if there are process changes required as a result of the project, appropriate time will need to be set aside for training, and communicated in advance to trainers so that they can prepare for their role in the project. If time is not appropriately controlled, an increase in costs and decrease in quality, or non-compliance could result. Creating, communicating, and achieving stakeholder buy-in to a timeline is critical, as is making sure each stakeholder understands the threats to cost and quality if the timeline is compromised.

For more project management tips like this, please click here to read our c. notes article, Project Management Tips from A to Z.