Launching Projects Successfully
With Front-End Project Planning
by Philip A. Himmelfarb, Ph.D.
Projects begun with a clear, detailed plan and a truly
cohesive team will stand a better chance of succeeding.
Manufacturing and service companies depend on a steady stream of successfully
completed projects of all types for their growth and survival. Projects
are most likely to succeed when launched using good project plans, executed
by highly motivated cross-functional teams.
Unfortunately, many companies do not plan projects with discipline. Teams
often don't know that they need a project plan. Even when they do, they
lack the skills needed to develop a good plan. Teams are expected to deliver
on poorly clarified objectives, but they cannot. Projects are often completed
late with disappointing results, and teams lose their motivation.
When properly executed, facilitated front-end project planning is an excellent
vehicle for creating a high-performance team. The project plan is the first
of many objectives that the team will be required to achieve. The operation
and interaction within the team in accomplishing the project plan will set
the tone for future team performance.
Despite modern management know-how, many managers still believe that the
creation of a multifunctional team amounts to simply assigning people to
the team. Unfortunately, when just formed, such teams often have neither
the necessary skills to write a plan nor the ability to reach a consensus.
A skilled project launch facilitator is invaluable to help guide teams through
planning process details and for concurrently forging a team.
Companies that invest the time to properly launch projects with a clear,
detailed plan and a truly cohesive team are more than repaid by faster project
completion, better achievement of project objectives and more highly motivated
teams.
The planning process
Projects differ widely in both type and scope. Excellent plans require innovation
and customizing for the particular project. As a result, the complexity
and content of a project plan varies from project to project. At a minimum,
however, the plan must clearly articulate the following:
Project mission and objectives.
The mission is the entire reason for the team's existence, while the objectives
are specific targets that support the mission. If the team drafts its own
mission and objectives, it will take ownership of the project and be more
likely to succeed. The team must also decide if it has the right people
to accomplish its mission.
Tasks. These are the actions
required to accomplish specific objectives. This is where the team must
answer the what, who, how, when, where, how much and how long components
of each task. A critical path chart (computer-driven is recommended) is
necessary to flush out the critical tasks. Parallel tasking is used to shorten
schedules wherever it makes sense.
Risk analysis. Project risks
are those things that, if they appear, can derail or slow down the project.
Team members must identify them and take steps to prevent or reduce their
occurrence.
Resource requirements. Teams
need to estimate the total required resources for the project and ensure
the resources will be available for the work. They must also be able to
manage human and financial resource expenditure as the project proceeds.
Team presentation. This is made
to senior management to assure that senior management and the team are both
in complete agreement with the project plan.
Of course, the plan elements listed above are only the basics. The precise
content of the plan will depend on the complexity and nature of the project.
The facilitator is best able to work with the team to determine the plan
content and help the team achieve its goals.
The time required for project planning varies depending on the complexity
and scale of the project. Five or six team meetings over a two-to-three-week
period is typical for major projects.
The facilitator's role
Although the planning process outlined above appears straightforward, its
implementation can be difficult without a skilled facilitator to guide and
coach the newly emerging team. The quality of the project plan depends directly
on the quality of the information and discussion occurring during planning,
and therefore on the interaction within the team. Not using a skilled facilitator
amounts to a haphazard approach that wastes a lot of time and can hurt subsequent
team performance due to poor planning and a lack of true teamwork.
A project launch facilitator should not be confused with a teamwork facilitator.
The idea is not to explicitly teach teamwork but to use the project plan
as a mini-project to enable the team to develop an effective mode of operation.
This intensive process helps the team gel into a cohesive and motivated
group.
Because all projects (and teams) are different, a key facilitator attribute
is the ability to work with the team to elicit the critical issues in each
project plan and to customize it to best suit the project and the team.
The facilitator should not be a team member and should only remain with
the team until there has been a senior management presentation and plan
approval.
Case studies
In each of the following cases, facilitated front-end planning launched
the project. Using their project plans as a road map, these highly motivated
teams rapidly accomplished their objectives. These products also went on
to become commercial successes for the respective companies.
Case study No. 1
This was a very complicated project for a major battery manufacturer because
it involved team members from many parts of the country and from the Far
East. The facilitated project planning approach was used to help pull these
people into a cohesive and energized team. The objectives were to develop
a new line of rechargeable batteries of all sizes and a family of battery
chargers. Market research had revealed that any such products would clearly
be better than the NiCad batteries currently on the market. They had to
be environmentally friendly, fully rechargeable for many charging cycles,
cost-effective and readily manufacturable. This was a tall order for the
team.
With the help of an outside facilitator, the team took about three weeks
at the beginning of the project to develop its plan. After management approved
the plan, the team divided the project into two components: developing the
batteries themselves and, at the same time, developing the battery chargers.
Developing the technology for the batteries was particularly complicated
because it involved using chemical reactions that had not been used in a
manufacturing context before. The battery charger development was complicated
by the fact that it involved the simultaneous creation of software, computer
chips and hardware. Coordinating the elements of the battery and the charger
subprojects was difficult because different skills were required for each
task.
The team completed the project in less than two years, a remarkable achievement
considering its complex nature. Company management attributed the team's
success to the fact that they formed a clearly articulated plan at the beginning
of the project. The new batteries are now in nationwide distribution in
major retail stores and have been a big hit in the consumer market. As planned
by the project team, the product is cost-effective, powerful, long-lasting
and environmentally friendly.
Case study No. 2
A manufacturer of amusement rides for traveling carnivals needed to develop
a new ride that, when disassembled for transport to another location, would
fit on one trailer bed instead of two. This unique feature would save amusement
park owners considerable expense because they would only have to pay for
one driver and one truck trailer when transporting the ride from one location
to another. The team (which included a customer representative) used facilitated
front-end project planning to develop a detailed project plan and to help
gel the team into a cohesive and enthusiastic group.
In addition to being shippable on only one trailer, the ride also had to
be exciting, fun and safe. Company management also wanted the team to develop
the product in time for its annual trade show nine months from then. The
project was further complicated by the fact that, unlike most development
projects, the team could only make one prototype.
The project team followed its plan and, despite technical difficulties,
delivered a workable final product in time for the trade show. The new ride
attracted a great deal of attention and has been very successful at amusement
parks nationwide.
Case study No.3
Not every project is a product-development project. Sometimes, companies
use cross-functional teams to develop a new or improved manufacturing process.
This project, the design and installation of a new materials-handling system
for a major manufacturer of consumer products, was a stunning success story.
The company assembled a cross-functional team that was augmented with software
engineers from outside the company. The project team, which consisted of
all the key functional company representatives, developed a detailed project
plan with the aid of an experienced facilitator.
The team worked well together on this very complicated project. Because
materials handling impacted virtually every function within the company,
care had to be taken to identify the needs of every internal customer and
to work with outside suppliers to make sure that the new system also met
their needs and capabilities. The team was able to design a new system,
debug the software and install it at all key sites within 10 months. The
new system has reduced manufacturing costs, improved line efficiencies and
helped outside suppliers work more closely with the company. The new process
has been in place for several years now. It continues to meet all the company's
needs.
True teamwork
Disciplined and facilitated project planning as outlined here will help
any major development project get under way with the greatest clarity and
ease, especially if facilitated by an experienced person. First, a true
team will be formed, united by a clear plan that will help it work together
to achieve a common purpose. Second, senior management will also be clear
about the team's purpose and will support and recognize the team's efforts.
Finally, both the team and senior management will be clear about what the
project will accomplish, who will do the work, how much it will cost, what
the key milestones are, when approvals will be needed and what the major
risks are. They will work together in a cooperative venture that will promote
empowerment and teamwork to enable the achievement of project objectives.
Facilitated front-end project planning, though not a guarantee, is an absolutely
necessary precursor for project success.
About the authors
Philip A. Himmelfarb, Ph.D., is president and founder of Philip Adam &
Associates, a Milwaukee-based consulting firm specializing in the evaluation,
fine-tuning and strategic planning of new-product development, the presentation
of in-house training seminars and the facilitating of development projects.
Gary R. Maharaj has eight years of experience in successful project management
and hands-on research and development of new global products. He is vice
president of Philip Adam & Associates. Maharaj also manages and operates
Project Launch Services, a unique program that guides project teams through
front-end project planning.
