Status Your Project with the WBS

The WBS serves as a perfect framework for project status reporting

Your WBS is the list of everything that needs to get done to complete the project.  It’s a ready-made framework for monitoring and statusing the project.

Let’s begin with the basic structure of the WBS:

WBS Code	WBS Description
100	Project Management
200	Product
200.1	Product Requirements
200.1.1	Stakeholder Requirements
200.1.2	System Requirements
200.2	Product Design
200.3	Product Build
200.4	Product Testing
200.5	Product Deployment

If we are going to use this for reporting, we need to include who’s in charge of delivering each WBS Item.  Generally, this can be the Project Manager for that piece of work.

WBS Code	WBS Description	Responsible
100	Project Management	PM
200	Product	n/a
200.1	Product Requirements	n/a
200.1.1	Stakeholder Requirements	Bill F
200.1.2	System Requirements	Jane T
200.2	Product Design	John X
200.3	Product Build	Mary G
200.4	Product Testing	Keith D
200.5	Product Deployment	Sara S

The updated table above shows which manager or lead has responsibility for delivering the work described in each WBS entry.  The items 200 – Product, and 200.1 Product Requirements have no designated responsible person because all the work under them are parcelled out to the work subitems under them.

Now we need to update the table to show the status.

WBS Code	WBS Description	Responsible	Status
100	Project Management	PM	n/a
200	Product	n/a	Started
200.1	Product Requirements	n/a	Started
200.1.1	Stakeholder Requirements	Bill F	Completed
200.1.2	System Requirements	Jane T	70%
200.2	Product Design	John X	NYS
200.3	Product Build	Mary G	NYS
200.4	Product Testing	Keith D	10%
200.5	Product Deployment	Sara S	NYS

In the above update, we see that item 200.1.1 has been completed, 200.1.2 is 70% completed, some of the work are Not Yet Started.  Work 100 – Project Management will have no status because it is ongoing work, while 200 and 200.1 will have only Started at their level. They will become Completed when all the sub-items under them have been completed.

The problem with the above is that it says nothing about whether the project is going according to schedule, going ahead, or being delayed.

For that we can use Earned Values to show the status of the work.

And because the status date of each individual work item may differ, it might be useful to add another column to indicate the as-of status date for that piece of work.

The Project Manager as Disciplinarian

If your project does not have a strong a central organising individual, it will flounder, atrophy, and then collapse.

A project is a collection of talented individuals from many disciplines, individuals with their own agendas and their own visions and their own priorities. This collection falls down into disorganisation without someone providing the structure for the group to act.

Hence it is critical that the project manager be a disciplinarian.  I mean that in the sense that he or she imposes discipline to the group. 

The PM acts as the catalyst that energises the group.  The PM articulates the single vision of the project, makes everyone turn their heads toward that vision, and makes them march together toward that vision.

The PM must be forceful, not necessarily in the sense of overbearing or overpowering but in the sense of being the force that pushes the project forward day by day, prevailing over forces that will tend to rend the group apart into many directions, and keeps it – herds it - aimed in the right direction.

Writing Potent Copy

I borrowed this post’s title from David Ogilvy, arguably the most famous advertising professional. Many professional people who are not in the advertising profession have heard of him, and as a testament to his ability to promote, a lot of these people would find it difficult to come up with another name associated with advertising (I can’t, off the top of my head).

Ogilvy was a great believer in research and in using the knowledge gained from   research to develop successful advertisements. To him, advertising had only one purpose – to get people to buy the product. He claims to have little patience for ‘artistry’, ‘creativity’, ‘novelty’, all of which he considers an exercise in self-amusement by the advertiser at the expense (financially and otherwise) of their client. Sales was of paramount importance.

In the chapter ‘How to Write Potent Copy’ from his book, ‘Confessions of an Advertising Man’, he gives some advice about how to make your copy more memorable. I’ve picked out below some of the most reusable ideas.

The Headline

Advertisements without a headline is an absolute no-no. He calls it ‘the wickedest of all sins’. The reason? Most people read only the headline. If you don’t have one, you automatically give up your chance of hooking your readers. The headline is your tool for grabbing hold of your reader they scan the pages.

Know who it is you are writing for (which is never EVERYONE; it is always a subset of the readership), and use the words that address what they are looking for. His example: if you are selling a product for people with bladder weakness problems, use ‘BLADDER WEAKNESS’ in your headline.

But be careful not to exclude a good number of the people who are not your target. If your product is targeted for senior people with bladder weakness, don’t write headlines addressed to females only. Why risk alienating male readers with bladder weakness?

Always include the brand name in the headline, because most people read only the headline. If that’s all they will read, make sure the product name makes it way into their head. How many times have I seen witty slogans like the one from a moving company: ‘You will be moved by our service’. I remember the slogan, but do not know what their company name is.

The headline should invite the reader to read the body of the advertisement. Make them curious. Make them want to read on. But since you do not have any assurance you’ll succeed in pulling the reader in, make sure the headline stands on its own. It must make sense even without reading the body of the advertisement.

The Body

His advice with regard to the body of the advertisement is simpler less wide ranging. First, be specific and be factual. Avoid superlatives, generalisations, platitudes. Especially in these times when people are swamped in information. Just tell the truth, but make it fascinating (his words).

Testimonials are your best friend. Use them when you can. Ogilvy wrote these words in the early 1960s and notice how prescient they are. How many times do you look for testimonials before buying a product (testimonials and reviews from strangers on the internet!)

Give helpful advice the reader can use. Readers appreciate this.

Write plainly and avoid the temptation to produce ‘literature’. Use simple words so that you don’t fail to communicate what you want to say to the reader. Ogilvy says he once used the word ‘obsolete’ only to discover later that many of his target readers did not know what that word meant.

Transferable Advice?

Is his advice transferable? Many of us are not in the advertising business, but we are all in the sales business. Can you use his insights in the forms of communication you use? I believe so, and I certainly will try.

Market Share, Market Risk

Even as Company A owns and enjoys the biggest share of demographic market for teens, it begins to direct a zealous eye towards another section of the market, the one dominated by competitor Company B. 

Company A looks at the sales and profits of Company B and decides: “we’d like that share”.

Company A undertakes a campaign to grab market share from B.  A few expensive months of marketing begins to make substantial progress.  After a couple of years, Company A is swamped by regulatory demands which were never a problem with their other market.  Consequently, the profit margins end up far far less than originally expected, and the headaches far, far more.

Companies do this all the time.  They notice a market share and say: “we’d like that”. 

But they forget that markets are characterised not only by profits: they also come with market costs, market responsibilities, and market risks.

It seems company B was more adept at managing the risks of that market, hence its profits.  Company A did not have the experience managing the risks of that market, hence its headaches.

Negotiation Bibliography / Library

 General Negotiation

Adler, Bill. How to Negotiate like a Child: Unleash the Little Monster within to Get Everything You Want. 2006.

Asherman, Ira, and Sandy Asherman. The Negotiation Sourcebook. Amherst, MA: Human Resource Development, 1990.

Beasor, Tom. Great Negotiators: How the Most Successful Business Negotiators Think and Behave. 2006.

Billings-Yun, Melanie. Beyond Dealmaking: Five Steps to Negotiating Profitable Relationships. 2010.

Brams, Steven J. Negotiation Games: Applying Game Theory to Bargaining and Arbitration. New York: Routledge, 1990. Print.

Cohen, Herb. Negotiate This!: By Caring, but Not T-H-A-T Much. New York: Warner, 2003.

Cohen, Steven P. Negotiating Skills for Managers. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print.

Cohen, Steven P. Negotiate Your Way to Success: 24 Steps to Building Agreement. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.

Dietmeyer, Brian J., and Rob Kaplan. Strategic Negotiation: A Breakthrough 4-step Process for Effective Business Negotiation. Chicago, IL: Dearborn Trade Pub., 2004.

Donaldson, Michael C. Fearless Negotiating: The Wish-want-walk Method to Reach Solutions That Work. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Evans, Eric. Mastering Negotiations: Key Skills in Ensuring Profitable and Successful Negotiations. London: Thorogood, 1998.

Fisher, Roger, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving in. New York, NY: Penguin, 1991.

Kolb, Deborah M., Judith Williams, and Deborah M. Kolb. Everyday Negotiation: Navigating the Hidden Agendas in Bargaining. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2003.

Lax, David A., and James K. Sebenius. The Manager as Negotiator: Bargaining for Cooperation and Competitive Gain. New York: Free, 1986.

Fells, R. E. Effective Negotiation: From Research to Results. Cambridge [England: Cambridge UP, 2010.

The Harvard Business School Publishing Guide to Smart Negotiation. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Pub., 2003.

Holden, Reed K. Negotiating with Backbone: Eight Sales Strategies to Defend Your Price and Value. 2012.

Karpov, Anatoly, Jean François. Phélizon, and Bachar Kouatly. Chess and the Art of Negotiation: Ancient Rules for Modern Combat. 2006.

Karrass, Chester Louis. "In Business as in Life-- You Don't Get What You Deserve You Get What You Negotiate" 1996.

Korobkin, Russell. Negotiation Theory and Strategy. 2002.

Lax, David A., and James K. Sebenius. 3-D Negotiation: Powerful Tools to Change the Game in Your Most Important Deals. 2006.

Lewicki, Roy J., Alexander Hiam, and Karen Olander. Think before You Speak: The Complete Guide to Strategic Negotiation. 1996.

Lewicki, Roy J., and Alexander Hiam. Mastering Business Negotiation: A Working Guide to Making Deals and Resolving Conflict. 2006.

Low, Patrick Kim Cheng. Successfully Negotiating in Asia. 2010.

Lum, Grande. The Negotiation Fieldbook: Simple Strategies to Help Negotiate Everything. 2005.

Mulholland, Joan. The Language of Negotiation: A Handbook of Practical Strategies for Improving Communication. 1991.

Nikolopoulos, Andreas. Negotiating Strategically: One versus All. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Oliver, David. How to Negotiate Effectively. London: Kogan Page, 2006.

Raiffa, Howard, John Richardson, and David Metcalfe. Negotiation Analysis: The Science and Art of Collaborative Decision Making. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2002.

Saner, Raymond. The Expert Negotiator. 2008.

Thomas, Jim. Negotiate to Win: The 21 Rules for Successful Negotiation. 2005.

Watkins, Michael. Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox for Managers. 2002.

Young, H. Peyton. Negotiation Analysis. 1991.

 Interesting / Important Works Which I Don’t Have

Ross, George H. Trump-style Negotiation: Powerful Strategies and Tactics for Mastering Every Deal. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2006.

Ury, William. Getting past No: Negotiating with Difficult People. New York: Bantam, 1991.

Bazerman, Max H., and Margaret Ann. Neale. Negotiating Rationally. New York: Free, 1992.

 

Action is King

Nothing happens without action.  Change produces benefits.  Only action produces change.

You can spend years studying how the stock market works, but unless you take action, you will not reap the benefits.  You can spend a lifetime studying how to swim, but without diving into the water, you would not acquire the skill.  You can spend a lifetime thinking about a decision, but without taking the decision, and acting upon the decision, nothing will happen.

There are a few exceptions. You might receive a rich inheritance from a relative who passes away.  You might be born into a rich and wonderful family.  Another exception. but for most other things, if we want improvement in our life, we need to take action.

Why don’t we take more action?  There are two reasons.  First, deciding the right act is hard, for action can bring benefits, but it can also bring disaster.  This fear prevents many people from taking action.  I think buying stocks of ABC will increase my money, but it can also lead to losses, so I will not act for now and think more about it.   I think this more senior role will give me more satisfaction in my work, but I might fail and lose my job, so I will remain content in my current position.

That is why thinking behind an action is important.  What are my options?  Which one should I choose?  What are the rewards?  What are the possible consequences?  Can I survive these consequences?  What are my options if the consequences occur?  Is it worth it?  These are questions for which thinking and information gathering is required in order to set the right course of action. 

But without the action, knowing the right course of action produces nothing.  It is no different from not knowing the right course of action.  So, only study the right course of action if you will take the next step to act on it. Otherwise, it is all just a waste.

The other reason is that it is hard to take action. You want to write a book, but it takes a lot of effort and sacrifice, so you don’t do it. You want to get a better job, but it takes a lot of rejection, so you don’t do it.  There is no shortcut here. You just have to do it.  These most successful inventors worked very hard.  Many of the most successful people work very hard.  The top employees at Goldman Sachs are famous for being wealthy and for having to work very very hard and for very very long hours.  Why should you be an exception? 

But here you can get some help with tools.  Tools like computers and software and reduce the tediousness of work.  Writers from an earlier generation had to write their books using typewriters, and do their research from libraries.  You can write your book using your word processor, and do your research through Google.  The work require is not as hard as before.  It could be that you are just lazy.

Mission Requirements

Clarity in Mission Requirements is critical concept to successful solutions.

People in the solution delivery profession are generally informed about requirements.  Business Analysts, Software Developers, Solution Architects, Project Managers, know about the terms business requirements and system requirements, as well as functional requirements and non-functional requirements.

But seldom heard is the term ‘mission requirements’, which is interesting because it is the most essential of all the requirements of a system. Mission requirements are the raison d’etre of the system, its reason for being, the purpose for which the system is being produced.  All other requirements are subordinate to the mission requirements, and are derived from the mission requirements. 

The reason for the total absence of mission requirements in enterprises is undoubtedly because the word ‘mission’ itself is not part of the business vernacular.  One hears of the ‘vision’ for the enterprise, and its ‘mission’ but that is something quite different.

The phrase ‘mission requirements’ comes from the military and aerospace community.  A mission refers to the intention of the system, often a weapons system.  For example, a fighter plane’s mission is to shoot down enemy aircraft.  A Patriot missile battery’s mission is to shoot down incoming missiles. 

A system is assigned a mission because the super-system (the system which contains the system of interest), has objectives, and they perceive that to achieve the objectives, the system must be able to meet the mission requirements.

Mission requirements focus on the external system, not the system being built.  It is no surprise that mission requirements are measured using metrics called ‘Measure of Effectiveness’ .  This is about how well the solution is impacting the super-system and helping it achieve its objectives.

Think about a car.  A car with a top speed of 100mph.  It is impossible to say whether such a car is suitable or not without considering the mission for which it will be used, the part it will play.  If the car is to be used for transporting kids to and from school, then it’s perfectly suitable.  If it’s to be used to win a race, then it’s probably inadequate.

There is a hierarchy of requirements, and not the simple categorisation into just two: business,  and system requirements, is not rigorous enough. 

At the top of the hierarchy is the mission requirements.  All other requirements are derived from it, or in support of it.  These requirements must be set out very clearly.