Not only they facilitate alignment towards common goals, but also minimize confusion as the team progresses. 

As long as everyone sticks to the agreement, chances for misunderstandings become minimal. 

So what are team agreements, why are they important, and how do you create one? Keep reading. 

What is a team agreement? 

Team agreements are guidelines or principles that team members agree upon and bow to in order to facilitate collaboration, communication, and productivity within a team. 

These working agreements establish a common understanding of how team members will interact, make decisions, and handle various aspects of their work together. 

Here’s an example of where a team agreement is applicable: 

We agree to utilize Slack as our primary communication channel for daily updates, quick questions, and sharing progress. We will hold weekly stand-up meetings to discuss project status and any blockers.

Below, we’ve described the types of different team agreements and what they mean. 

Types of team agreements

Team agreements can cover a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:

1. Communication norms: Establishing preferred channels of communication, response times, and guidelines for respectful and effective communication.
2. Meeting protocols: Defining expectations for meeting agendas, participation, timing, and decision-making processes.
3. Roles and responsibilities: Clarifying each team member’s role, tasks, and areas of expertise to avoid confusion and ensure accountability.
4. Work processes: Outlining how tasks will be assigned, deadlines will be set, and progress will be tracked to maintain efficiency and transparency.
5. Conflict resolution: Providing strategies and protocols for addressing conflicts and disagreements constructively to maintain a positive team dynamic.
6. Respect and inclusion: Promoting a culture of respect, diversity, and inclusion by establishing guidelines for treating all team members with dignity and valuing their perspectives.
7. Feedback and continuous improvement: Encouraging open and honest feedback, both giving and receiving, to foster personal and team growth.
8. Confidentiality and trust: Establishing boundaries around sensitive information and fostering an environment of trust and confidentiality among team members.

Team agreements are typically created collaboratively, with input from all team members, and are revisited periodically to ensure they remain relevant and effective as the team evolves and new challenges crop up. 

By establishing clear expectations and guidelines, they help teams work more cohesively, minimize misunderstandings, and ultimately achieve their goals more effectively.

The benefits of having a team agreement

If you’re still not bought as to why team agreements are essential, here are numerous benefits to teams and their members, including:

1. Clarity and alignment

Team agreements provide clarity on expectations, roles, and responsibilities, ensuring that all team members are aligned and working towards common goals.

2. Improved communication

By establishing communication norms and protocols, team working agreements facilitate more effective and respectful communication among team members, reducing misunderstandings and conflicts.

3. Enhanced collaboration

Clear guidelines for collaboration, task assignment, and decision-making promote a more collaborative and cooperative team environment, where members support each other and work together towards shared objectives.

4. Increased accountability

Team agreements help hold team members accountable for their actions and commitments, as expectations are clearly defined and agreed upon by all members.

5. Conflict resolution

By outlining processes for addressing conflicts and disagreements, team agreements enable teams to resolve issues in a constructive and timely manner, maintaining positive relationships and productivity.

6. Fostering trust and respect

Establishing norms around respect, inclusivity, and confidentiality fosters a culture of trust and respect within the team, where members feel valued and supported.

7. Greater productivity

With clear guidelines and processes in place, teams can work more efficiently and productively, minimizing time wasted on misunderstandings or unproductive interactions.

8. Continuous improvement

Team agreements encourage a culture of feedback and reflection, enabling teams to continuously evaluate their performance, identify areas for improvement, and make necessary adjustments to enhance their effectiveness.

Overall, team agreements contribute to a positive team dynamic, improved performance, and increased satisfaction among team members, ultimately leading to greater success in achieving the team’s objectives.

The last question is, what are some best practices  and steps to creating team working agreements?

How to create a team agreement

Now that we know the types and benefits, it’s time to get started on creating our first team agreement. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Initiate the process

Start by explaining the purpose and importance of establishing a team agreement. Emphasize that it will help improve communication, collaboration, and productivity within the team.

Invite participation

Encourage all team members to actively participate in the creation of the team agreement. Make it clear that everyone’s input is valuable and will contribute to the success of the team.

Identify key topics

Brainstorm and discuss the key areas that the team agreement should cover. These may include communication norms, meeting protocols, roles and responsibilities, conflict resolution, and others based on the specific needs of the team.

Facilitate discussion

Facilitate open and honest discussions around each topic, allowing team members to share their perspectives, concerns, and suggestions. Encourage active listening and respectful dialogue to ensure that all viewpoints are heard and considered.

Draft the agreement

Based on the discussions, collaboratively draft the team agreement, capturing the agreed-upon norms, expectations, and guidelines for each topic. Use clear and concise language to ensure understanding by all team members.

Review and refine

Review the draft team agreement as a group, paying attention to clarity, completeness, and alignment with the team’s goals and values. Make any necessary revisions or additions based on feedback from team members.

Finalize the agreement

Once everyone is satisfied with the content, finalize the team agreement. Ensure that all team members have the opportunity to review and endorse the agreement, either verbally or by signing off on it.

Implement and revisit

Put the team agreement into practice immediately and encourage all team members to uphold its principles and guidelines. Periodically revisit the agreement as a team to assess its effectiveness, make any necessary updates or revisions, and ensure ongoing alignment with the team’s needs and objectives.

How often should a team revisit and revise the team agreement?

Revising a team agreement should be a dynamic process, reflecting the evolving nature of the team and its projects. Teams should schedule regular check-ins, perhaps quarterly or semi-annually, to assess the agreement’s relevance and effectiveness. These revisions allow for adjustments based on new members, changing project scopes, or shifts in the team’s working environment, ensuring that the agreement remains aligned with the team’s current needs and objectives.

Final thoughts

By following these steps and fostering a collaborative approach, you can create a team agreement that reflects the collective values, expectations, and commitments of the team members, ultimately fostering a more cohesive and productive team environment.

The post What is a Team Agreement & How to Create One appeared first on PM Column.

I’ve been in a situation where unclear roles caused tension and challenges. It’s tough when everyone’s unsure about their tasks, leading to misunderstandings and frustration. I want to extend my support to anyone who’s experienced this, as I understand firsthand how unsettling it can be. You’re not alone, and it’s okay to seek clarity and support in such situations.

That’s why this article was born, to shine a light on why roles and responsibilities are sometimes left to chance and how to turn this ship around. Here’s what I’ll cover:

• What are roles and responsibilities?
• Why roles and responsibilities are sometimes left to chance
• The importance of defining roles and responsibilities
• The danger of not setting roles and responsibilities
• How to define roles and responsibilities
• Roles and responsibilities best practices

But first things first, let’s look into what is meant by roles and responsibilities. 

What are roles and responsibilities, exactly?

In essence, roles and responsibilities define the specific functions, tasks, duties, and authorities assigned to individuals within an organization or a project. They provide clarity on who is accountable for what, ensuring that work is efficiently distributed and executed. Here’s a breakdown of each:

Roles:

• Roles refer to the positions or titles that individuals hold within an organization or project. Each role typically has a specific purpose and set of responsibilities associated with it.
• Example roles in a project might include Project Manager, Developer, Designer, QA Engineer, Business Analyst, etc.
• Roles are defined based on the skills, expertise, and functions required to achieve the objectives of the project or organization.

Responsibilities:

• Responsibilities outline the tasks, duties, and obligations that are associated with a particular role.
• Responsibilities are specific actions or outcomes that individuals are expected to accomplish within their role.
• Responsibilities can vary depending on the nature of the project, the organization’s structure, and the individual’s expertise.
• Example responsibilities for a Developer role might include writing code, debugging software, attending code review meetings, and collaborating with other team members to deliver features on time.

Now that we’ve explained what roles and responsibilities mean, here goes my favorite part on why they can be overlooked in the process. One thing I can tell for sure, no one forgets about them on purpose. 

Why roles and responsibilities are sometimes left to chance

Assigning roles and responsibilities within organizations sometimes takes a backseat for several reasons:

1. Lack of clarity

Sometimes, there is a lack of clarity about what roles and responsibilities are needed within a team or organization. Without clear guidelines or understanding of who should do what, individuals may take on tasks based on personal preferences or assumptions, rather than strategic alignment.

2. Informal structures

In some environments, especially smaller or newer organizations, formal structures for assigning roles and responsibilities may not be established. This can lead to ad-hoc decision-making and informal delegation based on whoever takes initiative or has the most expertise in a particular area.

3. Rapid growth or change

Organizations experiencing rapid growth or undergoing significant changes may struggle to keep up with defining and assigning roles and responsibilities. In such dynamic environments, priorities may shift quickly, making it challenging to establish and maintain clear role definitions.

4. Limited resources

In resource-constrained environments, particularly in startups or small businesses, there may be limited capacity to dedicate time and effort to formalizing role assignments. As a result, responsibilities may be distributed based on immediate needs or whoever is available to take on tasks.

5. Lack of skills or expertise 

In some cases, there may be a lack of expertise or understanding about the importance of role clarity and delegation within the organization. Leaders or managers may not have the necessary skills or knowledge to effectively assign roles and responsibilities, leading to a more informal approach.

6. Organizational culture

Organizational culture can also play a role in how roles and responsibilities are assigned. In some cultures, there may be a preference for flexibility and autonomy, leading to a more laissez-faire approach to role assignment where individuals have the freedom to define their own responsibilities.

7. Avoidance of conflict 

Assigning roles and responsibilities can sometimes lead to conflicts or disagreements within teams or among stakeholders. To avoid conflict or confrontation, leaders may choose to ignore role assignments rather than engaging in potentially difficult conversations.

Regardless of the reasons, organizations need to recognize the importance of clear role definition and delegation for effective teamwork and productivity.

The importance of defining roles and responsibilities

Clear roles and responsibilities provide several crucial benefits:

• Clarity: Everyone knows what they’re supposed to do, reducing confusion and the likelihood of stepping on each other’s toes.
• Efficiency: When tasks are clearly assigned, there’s less time wasted on figuring out who should do what, allowing the team to focus on execution.
• Accountability: With defined roles comes clear accountability. Team members know who is responsible for what, making it easier to address issues and celebrate successes.
• Team cohesion: When everyone understands their role within the team, it fosters a sense of belonging and unity, crucial for effective collaboration.

The danger of not setting roles and responsibilities

When roles and responsibilities are not defined, chaos ensues. Here’s what exactly can happen:

Confusion reigns supreme 

Imagine a game of soccer where players scramble around the field with no positions assigned. Chaos, right? Similarly, in a team without defined roles, confusion becomes the norm. Who’s supposed to tackle that critical task? Who should provide feedback on the project? Without clear answers, productivity takes a nosedive, and frustration levels skyrocket.

Duplicated efforts, wasted resources

Ever witnessed two team members unknowingly working on the same task because nobody communicated who’s responsible? It’s a common tale in teams plagued by role ambiguity. Not only does this lead to duplicated efforts, but it also wastes valuable time and resources that could have been allocated elsewhere.

The blame game begins

In the absence of clear accountability, finger-pointing becomes a favorite pastime. When something goes wrong, there’s a flurry of excuses and accusations, but little resolution. Without defined roles, team members are left in the dark about who’s responsible for what, creating a breeding ground for resentment and discord.

Stagnant growth and missed opportunities

When team members are unsure of their roles or feel disconnected from the team’s objectives, motivation takes a nosedive. Innovation takes a backseat, and opportunities for growth and improvement slip through the cracks. Without a clear roadmap, the team meanders aimlessly, missing out on chances to excel and thrive.

How to define roles and responsibilities

Now that we’ve established why it’s important and considered all the related dangers, let’s talk about how to actually define roles and responsibilities within your team.

The best way to define roles and responsibilities is to put your heads together with a team and set expectations on what everyone will be doing on a project, recording it in a manner that works best for you. Let’s look at the example from a software development team: 

• Project Manager: Overall project planning, scheduling, budget management, risk management, and stakeholder communication.
• Developers: Writing code, implementing features, and ensuring code quality.
• QA Engineers: Testing software, identifying bugs, and ensuring product quality.
• Business Analyst: Gathering and analyzing requirements, documenting user stories, and ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Deployment Specialists: Managing the deployment process, ensuring smooth rollout, and providing post-deployment support.

For the sake of even better alignment, the best advice would be to use a RACI matrix. A RACI matrix helps clarify who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task or deliverable.

Roles and responsibilities best practices 

The process of identifying roles and responsibilities is quite straightforward, but you may want to consider the following best practices: 

Start with the big picture

Before diving into the nitty-gritty details, take a step back and define the overarching goals and objectives of the team. This provides context for individual roles and helps ensure alignment with the team’s mission.

Identify core functions 

Break down the team’s responsibilities into key functions or areas of expertise. This could be based on skill sets, knowledge, or specific job roles. 

Clarify expectations

For each function or role, clearly outline the tasks, duties, and expectations. Be specific about what success looks like and any performance metrics or deadlines associated with each responsibility.

Assign roles strategically 

Take into account each team member’s strengths, interests, and expertise when assigning roles. Strive for balance and ensure that everyone has a meaningful contribution to make.

Encourage collaboration

While individual roles are important, emphasize the interconnectedness of the team and encourage collaboration across functions. Clearly define communication channels and expectations for sharing information and updates.

Regularly review and adjust

Roles and responsibilities aren’t set in stone. As the team evolves and projects change, be prepared to review and adjust roles accordingly. Solicit feedback from team members to ensure that roles remain relevant and aligned with the team’s objectives.

Frequently asked questions

How do you handle overlapping roles and responsibilities?

Overlapping responsibilities occur when more than one individual is responsible for one task. It’s more efficient to assign a single person to each activity to avoid it. When responsibilities overlap, it can result in tasks being neglected as each person may assume the other is handling it, ultimately harming work relationships and productivity.

To manage overlapping roles and responsibilities effectively, clear communication and documentation are key. Establishing a framework for collaboration that includes regular meetings and updates can help team members understand their shared objectives and how their work intersects. 

Managing work using Kanban software or any other task management tool where everyone has a card assigned to them with a task description is usually enough to avoid the confusion. If there’s a task that involves multiple individuals, it’s best to split it into subtasks with clear assignees and set dependencies. This is especially important when you work remotely. 

Final thoughts

Defining roles and responsibilities is not a one-and-done task. It’s an ongoing process that requires communication, collaboration, and adaptability. By investing the time and effort upfront to establish clear expectations, you’re setting your team up for success and laying the groundwork for a cohesive and high-performing group. So, roll up your sleeves, gather your team, and start defining those roles. Your future selves will thank you for it!

Continue reading:

• What Successful Project Managers Do Differently
• Understanding 5 Different Types of Teams
• 7 Project Scheduling Tools of the Highest Calibre

The post How to Define Roles & Responsibilities: The Essential Guide appeared first on PM Column.

Benefits of using workstreams in project management

Workstreams offer distinct advantages to project managers as compared to traditional task-based management approaches. By leveraging the power of workstreams, projects can move forward with faster progress and clarity. Workstreams can help projects stay well organized, quickly address unforeseen challenges, focus on the target outcome faster, and better adjust for changes in scope. Additionally, with clear expectations for contributors and stakeholders, successful adoption of these structures leads to greater trust and commitment from all those involved in a project.

Workstreams also provide project managers with the ability to easily track progress and identify areas of improvement. By breaking down projects into smaller, more manageable tasks, project managers can easily identify areas of improvement and make necessary adjustments. This helps to ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget. Furthermore, workstreams can help to reduce the risk of project failure by providing a clear roadmap for success.

Types of project management workstreams

Typically, there are four common types of project management workstreams that enable managers to delegate specific tasks and responsibilities effectively. These include Analyze, Decide, Develop and Deliver. 

• Analyze workstreams focus on research, gathering key data and creating strategies to achieve pre-determined outcomes. 
• The Decide workstream looks to take the data gathered in the Analyze stage and use it to make informed decisions within the project. 
• In the Develop workstream, the team applies the strategies generated in the Analyze stage and works on executing them. 
• Finally, the Deliver workstream focuses on guiding the process of delivering the plans created in the previous workstreams.

Note that each of these workstreams are interdependent and must be managed in tandem to ensure the successful completion of the project. Additionally, each workstream should be monitored and evaluated regularly to ensure that the project is on track and that any potential issues are identified and addressed quickly.

Developing an effective workstream

To create an effective workstream structure, project managers should start by gathering the necessary input from team members. This includes task descriptions, required resources, and schedule estimates to ensure feasibility. Additionally, understanding each team members analytics and preferences for sharing information can be hugely beneficial in smoother task assignments and help prevent sources of conflict. Once input has been collected and collated, established best practices suggest breaking down larger tasks into more focused, manageable objectives. This allows more efficient utilization of team resources and helps hone in on problem areas quicker.

It is also important to consider the project timeline when developing a workstream. Establishing a timeline with clear deadlines and milestones can help ensure that tasks are completed on time and that the project is progressing as expected. The timeline should be realistic and achievable, taking into account the resources available and the complexity of the tasks. Finally, make it a staple in your routine to regularly review the timeline and adjust it as needed to ensure that the project is on track.

When setting up a successful workstream for your project, ensure that roles are clearly defined initially; this will allow for more effective collaboration further down the line and prevent miscommunication issues when tasks move from one workstream to another. In addition to this, it is essential to establish what will constitute a successful end result in order to track progress objectively and keep the team from getting lost in minor details or other distractions. Automation can be incredibly helpful here for tracking and organizing multiple milestones for a given task or goal.

Make sure the team is aware of the timeline for the project and that they are aware of any deadlines that need to be met. This will help to ensure that the project is completed on time and that any potential issues are addressed quickly. Additionally, it is important to ensure that the team is aware of any changes that may occur during the course of the project and that they are able to adjust their workstreams accordingly. This will help to ensure that the project is completed in a timely and efficient manner.

Recommended reading: What Successful Project Managers Do Differently

Common challenges faced with workstreams in project management

Even with clear expectations, objectives and breakdowns, challenges remain when managing complex projects under workstream structures. Poor communication is often a key issue due to conflicting interests between internal and external stakeholders, resulting in time delays, inefficiencies and additional stressors on team members. What’s more, integration challenges can arise when incorporating multiple tools into one workflow or when different vendors require different processes. Lastly, some teams may find it difficult to navigate through the changing project landscape due to lack of clarity or trust between contributors or a more rigid style of working than is conducive to collaborative projects.

Best Practices for Utilizing Workstreams in Project Management

In order for project managers to maximize the benefits offered by workstreams, there are a few best practices that can help ensure success. To start with, clear roles should be established for each individual involved in order to help promote informed decision-making and resource budgeting. It is also important to regularly review progress; this helps identify where resources are being over-utilized or where team members are being stretched too thin with multiple responsibilities. Finally, effective communication is essential; this includes tasks details, requirements, expected outcomes and potential risks that may arise during execution.

The post The Power of Workstreams in Project Management appeared first on PM Column.

Here we’ll discuss the rolling wave planning principle and how it works in project management.  

What is rolling wave planning in project management?

Rolling wave planning is a project management technique that breaks the work planning process into smaller waves or time periods, which makes it easier for the team to accommodate project changes. It focuses on iterative work and frequent updates. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) provides the following definition of rolling wave planning:

“Rolling wave planning is an iterative planning technique in which the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while work further in the future is planned at a higher level.”

According to PMBOK, rolling wave planning is possible with various levels of details depending on what point of planning you’re at. At the early stage of strategic planning, there is a little amount of defined information, so the work package can be decomposed into smaller levels of known details. As the situation becomes clear, these levels of details can be transformed into actual activities; and as the project progresses, the list of these activities can be updated.

Rolling wave planning example

A good example of rolling wave planning could be a situation when you are expected to finish your project in one year but the planning can be done only for the first three months – because you do not have a visible final goal, or you’re unsure about the resources, or because you don’t have enough information.

At this point, you cannot say for sure what the daily work of the team members will look like after the first three months pass. However, using the rolling wave technique, you can plan these first three months, and then add more details as the project unfolds. This way, project managers can use rolling wave planning to estimate costs and risks, reducing uncertainties and allowing more flexibility.   

However, for this technique to be productive, project managers must provide a list of milestones and assumptions.     

Rolling wave planning can be very helpful for the following projects:

1. On agile projects since agile project management is based on an iterative approach to planning.
2. For projects without specific goals or timelines. Working by phases, you can naturally get to see the bigger picture, without forcing the events.  
3. When planning data is not available. This is why it will be appropriate for software development projects, as well as for research and development projects (since they are focused on exploring and discovering new products and services).
4. For innovative projects as they require the ability to look for hidden opportunities and respond to challenges.

Progressive elaboration vs rolling wave planning

The terms “rolling wave planning” and “progressive elaboration” can sound confusing. So let’s explain what exactly each of them stands for.

Progressive elaboration is a process of making a plan more specific, continuously improving it and adding new details as information becomes available. As the project evolves, it becomes more elaborate. According to “The PMBOK Guide”, there are two forms of progressive elaboration – rolling wave planning and prototypes. In other words, progressive elaboration is just a broader term that covers rolling wave planning as one of its expressions.

In rolling wave planning, details are planned for work that is going to be done in the near future, and the details for future work are planned only at a higher level (managers). What concerns prototypes, this is a technique which consists in getting feedback on requirements providing a model of the future product when the product is not actually built yet.  

So as we can see, despite some misunderstanding, progressive elaboration and rolling wave planning are not opposite to each other – they are rather interdependent.  

Benefits of rolling wave planning

1. Establishing priorities. In rolling wave planning, you can see all the tasks and milestones. This allows everyone working on a project to clearly understand the immediate priorities, this way letting them see the correlation between short-term tasks and the overall final goal.
2. Creating accountability. Detailed information about short-term phases develops transparency between the team and stakeholders, which increases accountability. Team members know what they are expected to do every day.
3. Shortening timelines. With rolling wave planning, the team does not have to wait for the managers to plan each and every phase of the project. Besides, completing the project phase by phase makes the whole project more manageable and long-term goals – more achievable.
4. More opportunities for innovation. Getting new information in the course of work, the team may see new creative solutions which they would probably not notice working to a stable plan. This also encourages adaptability, since innovation often means new challenges.
5. Flexibility while managing risks. Planning the whole project from the beginning till the end, it’s impossible to predict all risks that may arise in the process of work. This may cause a lot of confusion. Rolling wave planning gives you some control – risks are easier to handle if you assess them by iterations.

Disadvantages of rolling wave planning

A serious disadvantage of the rolling wave planning method is the possibility to face huge unexpected challenges which you are not ready to deal with. Even though rolling wave planning can help with risk management, in some cases, it can also increase the risks and cause issues.

This is why you should not use this technique working on very important and huge projects: a mistake can lead to the losses of money invested, and even worse, impact the environment or even safety.

Eduardo Levenfeld, a CEO at bitPerk.io, provides the following example: 

“If you have to build a huge nuclear plant, it’s safer to spend much money and effort on planning the whole project, because you have no right for mistake – a wrong move could cause horrible problems, both for the environment and for human lives.”

How to do rolling wave planning

Rolling wave planning is conducted in the following steps:

1. Identify project requirements. Build a work breakdown structure (WBS) – split the project into work items, identifying project priorities and requirements, as well as roles and responsibilities. It also involves discussing budgets and connections among tasks.
2. Divide the project into phases. Consider the milestones – completed tasks that demonstrate the progress. Estimate the length of each phase to determine the expected overall timeline. 
3. Plan the first iteration (also called a “wave”). Make a list of tasks team members are expected to do during this phase. Establish deadlines to let people know how much time they have. Allocate resources for the first phase.
4. Plan future phases. The team starts working on the first assignments, and managers must control their work, making sure all the requirements are met. To do so, they can hold meetings to discuss issues and offer suggestions, recording the progress and identifying the risks. While the team is still working on the first project phase, managers can plan future phases, determining the scope, budget, and timeline for future phases. As they get more information, managers should reduce uncertainties in the later project stages.
5. Continue the iteration process. Once the first iteration is completed, come back to step one to work on the second iteration – this way, the project is continued in circles. Complete the tasks by phase till you achieve the project goals.    
6. Honestly evaluate your strategy. Discuss the things that worked for you and things that didn’t. Ask team members to provide some feedback (which could be in the form of anonymous surveys). Compare your expectations with actual results. By analyzing the strategy, you can learn important lessons and avoid mistakes in the future, improving your product and the way you produce it.

The level of detail

The work breakdown structure you build at the very start of the project will not contain many details about future phases. The more remote in time the phase is, the less detail you will be able to predict. It can even happen that some phases will not contain any detail at all. However, as you get closer to each next phase, the amount of details will increase, so you will be able to review the phases.  

As we can see, rolling wave planning provides a very realistic level of detail – the possibility that you will achieve what you expect is very high.

Projects can be different, and there is no strategy that would work for every single one. To choose the strategy that would work best for you, think about all the materials, resources, and information you initially have at your disposal. If you already have all the details, feel free to use the traditional planning method. And if you lack some information, you can use the rolling wave principle, working by iterations. Choosing the right strategy, you increase your chances to successfully complete the project.     

The post What is Rolling Wave Planning? Definition, Example & Benefits appeared first on PM Column.

The Six Hats method is a great instrument of thinking – constructively, quickly, and in a conflict-free way. It’s similar to playing a game: you take a role, you follow the rules, with the only difference that to win means to find the best solution.

In this article we’ll explain the main principles of the Six Thinking Hats concept.

What Are the Six Thinking Hats?

Thinking is our natural ability, but we don’t really know how to use it wisely. Making a decision or a judgment, we get overwhelmed with the kaleidoscope of facts, emotions, intuition, and ideas, which confuse and exhaust us. This makes the thinking process harder and lowers the quality of our decisions. But what if we start thinking differently?

The Six Thinking Hats method gives us this chance. It consists in focusing on a specific thinking type, one at a time. Like you can put a hat on (and then take it off), you can apply a specific thinking type, and then easily switch to another one.

The colors of the hats are not random – they symbolically represent the types of thinking, and these symbols are obvious and memorable. We’ll describe them a little later.

Who Created the Six Thinking Hats Method?

The concept of Six Thinking Hats was created by Edward de Bono, a Maltese physician, psychologist, and philosopher. Initially, this technique was developed for government agencies, but it turned out to be very practical and got to be used in everyday situations.

The Six Thinking Hats technique is an example of “lateral thinking” – an approach to problem-solving that uses creativity and thinking out of the box, also introduced by de Bono. This approach is opposed to the Western type of thinking, based on argument, which originated from ancient Greece. 

So let’s go over each of the hats and learn more about them:

The White Hat

White is the absence of color, and the white hat represents information – which is pure objective facts. This excludes feelings, intuition, impressions, and any other things that leave space for interpretation:

“Give me your broad white hat thinking on unemployment” – you’re asking to provide only facts and figures, and do it in the most neutral way.

Unfortunately, what we call facts is often just our beliefs or a likelihood. This is why before putting a white hat on, you should verify the information. If you see that it’s likely to be true, you can still provide it – but only in the right frame: “occasionally true”, “usually true”, “been known to happen” etc.

The Red Hat

Red is the color of fire, and fire means feelings and emotions – anger, unhappiness, doubt, frustration, etc. In a business environment, expressing emotions is seen as ill-mannered. But emotions are real, and the red hat lets you openly discuss them:

“I do not like him and I don’t want to do business with him. That is all there is to it” – this may sound a bit too harsh, but pretending that everything is fine when it’s not will only make the situation worse.

We should never underestimate the effect of emotions on our thinking. The red hat brings them to the surface and helps us realize why we feel a certain way. Sometimes our reaction is colored by a long-lasting first impression, sometimes – by our overall attitude. In any case, it’s very useful to understand your own “illogical” self.

Like what you read? Check more articles in PM Column:

• What Successful Project Managers Do Differently
• 4 Ds of Time Management Explained
• What is the Tuckman Ladder Model? Learn 5 Stages of Team Development

The Black Hat

Black stands for danger. The black hat makes you consider anything illegal or unprofitable, anything that may put you at risk. This type of thinking is an evolutionary mechanism of self-protection – without being vigilant, humankind wouldn’t have survived in the wild.    

“I am all in favor of appointing Peter to this post. But it would be sensible to have some black hat thinking first” – in other words, you want to know the downsides of your possible decision, to make sure they don’t prevail over the benefits.

The black hat is about risk assessment: we think about possible problems and obstacles in advance, to not let them catch us off-guard.

Note: de Bono says that the black hat is the most important one – and at the same time, it’s the most overused. Many people tend to think negatively, finding “dark sides” in virtually everything. This is when putting on other thinking hats comes in handy. If your typical thinking style is looking for negativity, you may be very surprised with your own ideas developed, for example, on the basis of facts or out of creativity.      

There is one more way to overuse black hats. People can intentionally criticize someone else’s ideas, only to appear more expert and this way demonstrate their own self-importance. Unfortunately, a single negative comment can diminish the value of generally good ideas, since it will be the part people will focus on – again, because of our natural urge to protect ourselves.

The Yellow Hat

The color of sunshine, yellow represents optimism. Wearing the yellow hat, you’re supposed to deliberately look for positive things – and find value where you normally don’t see it:

“There is abundant water in the mountains fifty miles away. Would it be feasible to put in a pipeline?” – yes, you don’t know if this works out for sure, but here is an opportunity, so why not give it a try?

Speaking about optimism, de Bono underlies it shouldn’t turn into foolishness. The yellow hat is not about pink unicorns. Your ideas must be practical so that you can benefit from them. Over-optimistic hopes that a miracle will save your business have nothing to do with yellow-hat thinking. But if you start looking for opportunities to save your business yourself – then it’s exactly how the yellow hat works.

The Green Hat

Like green leaves symbolize growth and energy, the green hat symbolizes creativity. You come up with totally new ideas, no matter how absurd they seem at first glance:

“Here is a suggestion for working on Saturdays and having a midweek break on Wednesday. Can you green hat it for me?” – this idea sounds unusual, but you never know – some people at your office can still accept it.

With the green hat on, you’re open to experiments – and protected from being called a clown. You can use provocations, and you can make up literally silly suggestions because there is a chance they will turn out brilliant.

To make provocations even more provocative, de Bono invented the word “po” – a symbolic indicator of a crazy idea that follows it:

“Po planes should land upside down.”

“Po” ideas are absurd, of course, but they plan an important role. Forcing you out of your ordinary thinking pattern, they also force you out of your habitual perception. This way, you can come across another idea – the one you’d never think of otherwise.

The Blue Hat

The blue sky above is clear – and your thoughts under the blue hat are clear as well. The blue hat is about control. It helps you organize your own thinking.

“We do not have much time to consider this matter… would someone like to suggest a blue hat structure for our thinking?” – when you are time-constrained, or just feel at a loss, a structure is the best thing you can use.

To put on the blue hat means to pick an algorithm of thinking. For example, in some situations, it’s more appropriate to use red hat thinking, while others require neutrality. As an option, you can provide a plan to follow: first, we put on white hats, then green ones, and then – black ones. The better you organize your thinking, the more effective your results will be.

The Benefits of Six Thinking Hats

So what are the benefits of the Six Thinking Hats technique? De Bono speaks about the following ones:

Power. Like the focusing of the sun rays can burn holes in metal, focusing your mental effort can solve a most serious problem. Putting on the hats, one by one, we use our abilities to the fullest. And when it’s done in a group, where all players share their experience and knowledge, the result can be truly outstanding.

Time Saving. A meeting can take a ridiculously huge amount of time, only because participants argue, stand for their own thoughts – but not really hear each other. With the Six Thinking Hats method, people think in the same direction, accumulating ideas. This saves a lot of resources, both time and money, since hours spent in meetings can be used on actual work.

Removal of Ego. A huge advantage of the Thinking Hats is that they give everyone a chance to speak  up. Very often people are shy to openly express their opinions, especially if there is someone else with a naturally louder voice and bigger ambitions. The Hats make everyone in the room equal. They don’t let you disagree only because you personally don’t like the speaker.

One Thing at a Time. What does our thinking process normally look like? We look for new ideas; we are full of emotions; we look for facts… and eventually, we feel confused and probably exhausted. It’s hard to handle all of this at the same time. The Thinking Hats clear our mental labyrinths.    

How Do You Use the Six Thinking Hats?

There are several ways how to use the Six Thinking Hats:

1. Single use. This is simple – you decide to think under a specific hat or ask others to do so.

2. Sequence use. Here the hats are picked in a certain sequence, which you agree on beforehand. With the sequence use, there are some rules to follow:

• Discipline. A facilitator (usually the boss) must decide which hat is being used, and no one can change the order. You cannot say whatever you want – you must stick to the order.
• Timing. For each hat, allocate a certain amount of time. De Bono recommends allocating 1 minute for each person per one hat – so if there are 4 people in a group, one hat session will take four minutes.
• Guidelines. Different situations require different approaches, so the combination of hats will not be the same in each particular case. Use the blue hat in the beginning and at the end of each situation. Be careful with putting the red hat right after the blue one in certain cases – sometimes it’s not appropriate. Doing the assessment, put on the yellow one before the black one.

3. Group and Individual Thinking vs. Individuals in Groups. This technique brings the most impressive results when used in group discussions, but of course, it can also be applied by a single individual.

Individual thinking can as well take place in discussions and conversations: a leader can ask to pause to come up with ideas. This is very useful with the green, yellow, and black hats.

The Six Thinking Hats method is very simple but incredibly effective. Of course, there is no need to apply it at every moment of our thinking – after all, we cannot voluntarily control it all the time. However, when it comes to solving complicated issues or just work issues, it can prove really helpful. 

The Six Thinking Hats help make better decisions, relieve stress, and save time – these are the reasons why this technique has become a routine in many organizations worldwide. So give it a try, and see how easier it will get for you to think.

The post The Six Thinking Hats: Elevate Your Critical Thinker Game appeared first on PM Column.

It makes you feel like you don’t have the full information about your project, let alone the bigger picture of what’s going on within your organization. And if you’re feeling this way, then it’s likely that your colleagues are feeling it too.

This type of silo mindset, rooted in the company culture, can be harmful to the business. If you don’t have collaboration between departments, teams aren’t able to work together smoothly, and this can negatively affect projects, schedules, and even client relationships.

What Exactly is Silo Mentality?

Silo mentality is what happens in a company when each department becomes so focused on its own work that it doesn’t make time for or properly communicate with the rest of the organization.

This is the ‘us versus them’ mentality, where teams are almost pitted against each other. For instance, let’s say that there’s a disconnect between sales and customer service teams at your company. Your sales team promises customers that they’ll receive free expedited shipping on their orders—but there was no communication with your customer service team about the need to offer this option. So when customers call in asking why their orders haven’t shipped yet, your customer service agents are flustered because they weren’t informed about what was promised in the first place. Customer satisfaction takes a hit, chaos ensues…and nobody wins!

Silo mentality comes in many forms, but you need to watch out for the following two signs:

• Innovation. Top-level executives in one department could come up with a new idea for a great product, only to find out that it’s impossible to create because their company lacks certain capabilities. Another example would be if marketing and sales teams don’t collaborate on developing materials for selling products, which leads to them both having separate campaigns with very different messaging—all because they didn’t communicate with each other or share information about what was already being done under another name or label.
• Communication. When departments aren’t communicating effectively, it can lead to confusion about who owns what responsibilities within an organization; for example, if there are multiple groups working on customer service but no one understands how each group fits into the overall structure of responsibility or accountability (or if any group actually has authority over others). This lack of clarity means that customers may not get consistent answers when calling in with questions about products or services offered by your company due to miscommunication between departments who operate like individual silos without knowing anything else going on outside their own walls.”

The lack of communication that defines silo mentality often leads to wasted resources and unnecessary repetition of work. It also creates a very fragmented workplace culture that leaves employees feeling isolated and less likely to cooperate with each other.

Why Silo Mentality Occurs

There’s a natural tendency for people to work independently and to protect what they own. Silos are created when people have a strong sense of ownership over a particular project or department, and they don’t share information with others. When this happens, communication breaks down and the different groups within your organization no longer work together as a whole.

It’s a “me-first” mentality where people are driven by their own position and what they need to accomplish rather than working as a cohesive unit to achieve a common goal. In many cases, this behavior stems from company values where employees feel like they have to look out for themselves instead of thinking about the greater good.

To combat this problem, leaders should consider their own role in creating an environment where silos exist. They need to understand that everyone plays an important part in making the organization successful and shouldn’t be made to feel less valuable than others based on their position within the company hierarchy.

The best way for them to do this is by encouraging open dialogue about how each person feels about their job duties, responsibilities, and relationship with other employees so there’s no confusion as to what is expected from them or why they should care about these things at all!

How to Address Silo Mentality in Business

So how does one go about eliminating silo mentality?

While silo mentality is certainly toxic to your organization, there are ways you can fight it. Creating a company culture that fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing can help break down the barriers between teams.

Here are some steps you can take to address silo mentality in the workplace:

1. Establish core values for the company

To begin building a culture of openness and inclusion, leaders must take the time to define and communicate their values. It’s easy enough for employees within each department (or silo) to get caught up in the minutiae of their day-to-day. Establishing company values will help them bounce back. When everyone in the company has the same set of values, they’ll be less likely to compete with each other or exclude those who are “different.” They’ll understand that every person has a unique background and diverse skill set that they can learn from.

This will help people feel more connected, which will lead to greater engagement. By establishing these values, employees will be more able to recognize what’s important about their work—and why it matters for the business as a whole. A clear understanding of these principles helps guide decision making so that when conflicts arise between departments or teams, there’s something more than just personal feelings at stake: There are shared values guiding everyone in their actions.

2. Encourage collaboration between teams

Make sure employees know they’re part of a bigger mission, even if it’s not their specific department’s goal. For example, if your marketing team is focused on generating leads for sales, let them know that customer support is working hard to make sure those leads turn into customers. The more people understand how their work contributes to the company’s overall success, the more likely they’ll be willing to collaborate with others who are focused on different areas of expertise.

3. Create an environment where it’s OK to bounce ideas off each other

Many employees may feel like they’re stepping on toes if they try to share ideas or ask questions outside their own department. This can make them reluctant to communicate with others outside their silo — which means important information might not get shared as quickly or thoroughly as possible. 

4. Recognize achievements from other departments

Actively acknowledge when other people have done good work so that everyone feels valued and appreciated for their contributions to the company’s goals, not just their own department’s objectives. A healthy culture is one where people feel valued, appreciated, and heard. And where they can add value to the greater good because they work together as a team.

5. Encourage knowledge sharing

Create opportunities for employees from different departments to be able to come together on projects, such as cross-department training days or workshops where they can learn new skills which will benefit them in their roles within their own teams but also across all areas of the business too!

6. Combine teams for projects with overlapping goals 

If there are two groups who have similar goals but don’t know what each other does then get them working together! For example, marketing might need design elements while designers would love some input from marketing professionals – so why not let them collaborate instead? This is an easy way to break down walls between departments by getting people talking directly instead of through hierarchy (who could be making decisions based solely on what’s best for themselves).

Final thoughts

While it’s common for various departments or groups in an organization to maintain their own sense of identity, it can be problematic when those identities are so strong that the groups become silos. Generally speaking, silos occur when departments or groups don’t communicate well with each other, and this lack of communication can result in a loss of trust and efficiency. Fortunately, you can address silos by improving communication among departments and individuals, giving employees additional training opportunities, and making company culture your top priority. By encouraging collaboration and teamwork at every level of your organization, you’ll eliminate the possibility that a silo mentality could harm your business.

The post Understanding the Silo Mentality in its Tracks appeared first on PM Column.

That’s the idea anyway. People who work in IT will also testify that project management does not always run smoothly, and IT projects still come in over budget, under-resourced, and not always delivering the value initially promised. Sometimes they are not even finished. Despite this, project management remains very popular, especially within enterprises.

However, a shift is emerging. For several years now, product management has grown more popular as a discipline. This trend has accelerated sharply recently, and product management is increasingly viewed as the most effective way to manage internal products, allowing for iterative improvements, delivering more value, and keeping them aligned to business outcomes.

The rise of product management

The rise in the use of product management very much reflects the fact that we live in a hugely product-centric world. Customers expect brilliance and innovation in their products – whether digital or physical, B2B or B2C – and are prepared to go elsewhere if those product expectations are not met. 

This has given way to a shift towards defined product propositions that are mapped closely to the evolving priorities of customers. There is a keen focus now on product-led growth where product development teams assume more of a strategic, high-profile role in their organizations. The success of this has led to the application of product manager strategies and approaches to internal IT project management.

Utilizing Agile

IT teams are now applying much more of a product management approach. This ties in with Agile methodologies, which also have a more iterative approach and have facilitated the use of product management. With Agile, a team works within set periods to deliver incremental solutions meant to improve products while keeping customers’ needs – whether external paying customers or internal business user ‘customers; at the forefront. 

For digital transformation – and for internal product management too – the key stakeholder that would be considered is the business going through the digital transformation, with the ‘customers’ being the different business departments, for example. In a competitive environment with steep competition, Agile enables businesses to continue to offer the right solutions and constantly iterate to provide improvements for their key stakeholders.

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Many companies utilize Agile software development rather than thinking in a fully Agile way; they do not embrace Agile 100%. For example, it is common to follow a Waterfall approach until they are ready for development and will then move towards utilizing Scrum to complete development.

Product management enables IT teams to be more Agile, which results in greater efficiency, aligns all their activities with measurable business outcomes, and supports market-facing products, internal-facing products, and strategic objectives.

There are other key differences between a project management and a product management approach, including:

👉 Success based on value generation

With project management, success is defined by completing the project according to the time and resources allocated. With product management, success is solely determined by the value generated – far more in keeping with the demands of modern business.

👉 Focus on the entire product lifecycle

Project management has defined timelines that teams work on accomplishing. The result of this is that IT teams focus less on performance once the initiative is complete. However, with product management, there is a focus on the entire product lifecycle, which includes regular upkeep and improvement of the product over its entire life.

👉 More effective prioritization

With IT projects, the focus remains on delivering projects according to the defined scope and requirements. Product management employs constant hypothesis testing and roadmaps and focuses on the value provided by the various features. This means that the scope can and will change when needed, and as long as there is a clear and beneficial reason.

👉 More stable team structure

With a project management approach to IT, individuals work on many projects at once, and they are frequently reassigned mid-project. This is very common and can be disruptive to ultimate success. A product management approach utilizes cross-functional teams to manage one product at once with permanent teams. The benefit here is more focus on the product they are working on as well as stability.

👉 More aligned with business users

Any IT project success ultimately lies with business user adoption. If people aren’t using it, then the project has not worked. Project management defines the scope, builds it, and then delivers it months later without further interaction with business users, resulting in poor adaptation. 

Product management allows continuous interactions with business users allowing them to refine the product to their specific needs and helping shape better results. Frequent interactions with stakeholders supports success.

👉 Align IT investment to business outcomes

Perhaps the most significant benefit to a product management approach is the ability to align IT investment to business outcomes. IT teams have traditionally been viewed as a cost center, but now they are transformed and seen as delivering value back to the business.

Most enterprises have multiple IT projects ongoing at any time. These are often pivotal to the long-term success and growth of the organization, so should be approached with the appropriate focus. Product management is increasingly influential in achieving this, signaling a shift from project to product management.

Malte Scholz, CEO and founder, airfocus

Continue reading other articles on the topic of product management:

• Backlog Grooming: The Linchpin of Project and Product Management
• How Wireframing & Prototyping Can Help Product Managers Find Balance

The post Why Organizations Transition From Project to Product Management appeared first on PM Column.

Fortunately, there’s Monroe’s Motivated Sequence approach, for everyone looking for a quick and understandable way to structure their speech, presentation, or article. Using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence outline, you can achieve a compelling result in just five simple steps. But what is Monroe’s Motivated Sequence? How do you use it in practice? Let’s start with the basics. 

What is Monroe’s Motivated Sequence?

The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence approach is a 5-step persuasive speech outline that helps you organize your ideas and show them in a logical sequence. This sequence is: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization and action.

It was developed in the 1930s by Alan H. Monroe, a Purdue University professor who studied the techniques of influential speakers and found common patterns in their arrangements.

This approach is based on the way people think; it takes into account that people must first be made aware of a problem before they will accept a solution for it. Therefore, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence breaks the act of persuasion into five steps:

1. Attention: Capture your audience’s attention.
2. Need: Establish a need for change.
3. Satisfaction: Present your solution as the best way to address the need.
4. Visualization: Describe how things will be different if your audience adopts your solution.
5. Action: Call your audience to action.

Monroe found that speeches organized around his sequence were more effective and memorable than the traditional “introduction, body, conclusion” approach. Speech coaches continue to train professional speakers, debaters and sales professionals in this method today. Let’s go through each step to better understand how to use this method of persuasion. 

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When is Monroe’s Sequence useful?

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence can be used in a variety of situations. The most obvious examples of situations where it would be useful are speeches, videos, and other presentations to groups of people.

When you’ve got an important message to get across, it’s helpful to have a format that makes it easy for your audience to understand the information you’re presenting. Monroe’s Motivated Sequence can take the guesswork out of presenting your information, and help you put together a speech that will be effective and impactful.

Here are five ways you can use this approach when presenting to a group:

1. When you need everyone on board with a big change.
2. When you have new goals to set up for success.
3. When you want people to pay attention right away.
4. When you need everyone to take action on something important.
5. When you’ve got new ideas or products.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence outline: The five steps

In essence, with Monroe’s motivated sequence, you begin your speech with an attention-getter to catch the audience’s eye and ear. Then you explain the need for action and give information to support your argument. Next, you offer a plan to solve the problem and describe the benefits of taking your suggested action. You then ask the audience to imagine what would happen if they followed the plan, and finally, make a clear call to action that defines exactly what you want them to do. Let’s take a look at each step.

1. Attention: Capture your audience’s attention

Capture audience attention with a meaningful story, interesting quote, shocking statistic or personal experience.

The first step of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence pattern is to gain the audience’s attention quickly.

This is what you say to grab the attention of your audience and compel them to listen to you. It’s important for your attention getter to be informative without being boring, as well as relevant to the topic at hand. Some examples of attention getters include:

• asking a rhetorical question
• using a quote from someone famous
• recounting an interesting story
• telling a joke
• using an image

2. Need: Establish a need for change

Provide a simple and clear statement of the problem or need.

Once you have gained their attention, talk about the problem or need in relation to your topic. Sometimes it helps to use an interesting quote related to your topic to emphasize the importance of this need. Then tell how this problem affects someone personally such as through an anecdote or personal experience (this establishes credibility as well). If possible, include some kind of shocking statistic that relates back to this problem so they will fully understand how important it is.

When crafting your speech, it is important to understand the exact problem that you are trying to address with your proposal and communicate this to your audience. If you do not make this clear, then it will be more difficult for you to convince your listeners that the five-step plan that you propose is a viable solution. 

For example, if World Vision USA came in front of an audience and said the following: “We believe in bringing clean drinking water and hygiene education to impoverished communities around the world,” that would not be enough information because it does not show how things wouldn’t improve without their intervention. 

However, by adding a few additional words they can transform this statement into a definite problem: “The lack of access to clean drinking water has left many impoverished communities around the world vulnerable.” This sentence allows us to see that there is a problem and motivates us to want to help solve it.

3. Satisfaction: Present your solution as the best way to address the need

Propose your solution to the problem or need.

Now that they know there is a need for change and why it needs to happen, the next step in Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is proposing your solution to the problem/need. Let them know how they could solve this problem if they take action on your cause/topic/idea. 

In this phase, you’ll also want to make sure that your proposed solution is clear, simple and easy to implement.

You can do this by asking yourself how do you know the solution will work? What is the benefit of your solution? How will it solve the problem? How will it make their lives better?

By answering these questions for yourself, you’ll be able to come up with a simple and clear solution that people can easily understand and act on.

In other words, explain clearly what steps could be taken now and what concrete benefits would come from taking these steps in detail so that they can visualize themselves benefiting from taking action on the issue at hand.

You should briefly describe your solution and then explain why it is effective in meeting that need or solving the problem.

• Provide an overview of your solution.
• Explain why your solution is effective.
• Provide examples of how the solution will work.
• Provide evidence to support your solution (concrete facts and figures). If possible, include a timeline for its implementation.
• Explain the benefits of the solution: how will it improve things?

Once this is done, you can jump to the next step – visualization. 

4. Visualization: Show them what will happen if they accept your proposal

Describe how things will be different if your audience adopts your solution.

This step is self-explanatory. Here, you show your audience what will happen if they accept your proposal. You can use vivid sensory descriptions of how people’s lives could improve or become easier if they follow your plan. The more oomph you have in this step, the more likely people are to follow the lead. Only after visualizing what will happen, can you call your audience to action. 

5. Action: Call your audience to action

Call your audience to action so they’ll feel empowered to make the desired change.

The final step is a call to action – a statement telling the audience exactly what you want them to do as a result of hearing your message. Your request should be specific and reasonable given the circumstances. Tell them the steps that they need to take in order to implement your solution.

All in all, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a great tool for any speaker who wants to convince an audience to take action. By following the five-step pattern – attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action – you can construct an effective persuasive speech. 

The post Understanding Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Approach appeared first on PM Column.

However, traditional does not always mean better. Despite its popularity, the traditional Waterfall process has some inherent issues that can be problematic for teams and projects. So what are some downsides of using Waterfall?

In Waterfall projects, cost and schedule overruns are common. Waterfall is a sequential process where each phase must be completed before the next one can begin. This lack of flexibility means that delays in one phase can cause delays throughout the rest of the project.

Because of the linear nature of the process, the team first builds a base product and then moves on to higher-level features. When requirements change or new features are demanded, the entire project must be re-baselined, which creates schedule delays and increased costs.

Because the customer is not involved until late in the project, they may not like what they see and change their mind about requirements. When this happens, the project will go over time and budget as developers scramble to fix it.

On the grounds of its rigid format, Waterfall is unable to accommodate changing requirements or address problems that have cropped up during development. This results in a product that does not meet client needs (or market demands) since it was developed based on an outdated set of specifications.

Considering the above, there are some more lessons that surface.

1. Waterfall is not suitable for projects where requirements are at a moderate to high risk of changing.

Waterfall does not easily accommodate changes in requirements like new features or a change in the target market. Changes require rework and may impact the entire project plan.

You can’t iterate and get feedback. One of the best ways to make sure you’re building what your client wants is to have the client review your work at the end of each sprint (or iteration). The waterfall approach assumes that you can nail down all requirements upfront, which is often unrealistic. The last thing you want is to run over budget and miss deadlines because you have to throw away a lot of what you’ve done due to changing requirements.

You can’t change course once you commit. Once you get into the implementation stage of a waterfall project, it’s far too late to shift gears based on business needs or market changes. Your one chance to make critical design decisions has come and gone, so be sure that everything was correct in the analysis phase before moving forward!

2. The Waterfall approach does not allow for much reflection or revision.

Because the client is unable to see progress until a phase is completed, it does not allow for much reflection or revision. If you’re looking for something specific and there’s no room for adjustments, this may be an issue. Some clients require a lot of feedback and would benefit more from an agile approach. Agile also allows teams to be flexible in their schedule and lets them adapt to any changes that need to be made along the way.

The waterfall method is more rigid than agile, so if you have someone who likes control over their product, they’ll probably enjoy this method best. However, if your client wants a more hands-on approach during the process of creating the product, they might prefer agile over waterfall because of its ability to change as needed throughout the project.

3. The client tends to end up with a product that doesn’t meet their needs.

While there’s nothing wrong with being decisive and knowing what you want, that can be a problem for the programmer that has to create something for you. Requirements change all the time, even on small projects. This is just a fact of life in software development. It’s impossible to know everything about a project at the beginning. New information is uncovered when work begins and as a result, requirements must shift over time to reflect this new knowledge.

Because of this, the client tends to end up with a product that doesn’t meet their needs if they have been unwilling to change their mind or they were unrealistic in expecting things not to change during the course of a project.

4. It can be a waste of resources if the product is useless to the client, who then needs to start over from scratch with a different vendor.

Because the client cannot assess the product until it is presented to them during the final stage, there is a risk of building something that may not be what they wanted or needed. This can be a waste of resources if the client rejects the finished product, as it means starting over from scratch with a different vendor.

5. It’s expensive and slow because you need to get sign-off from the client after each phase of the project, which often leads to rework and wasted money and time.

One of the biggest disadvantages of using a Waterfall approach is that it’s expensive and slow. How? If you’re using this method, you need to get sign-off from your client after each phase of the project. But what happens if there are problems with the product? Then you have to go back and fix them!

This often leads to rework and wasted time/money.

In addition, when it comes to software development, Waterfall relies on extensive documentation and rigid plans that can be difficult to maintain in an agile environment.

These problems associated with Waterfall led to its replacement by agile methodologies which offer greater flexibility and faster results.

Have you considered Agile instead?

Agile is actually an umbrella term for a few different methods. These include Scrum, XP (extreme programming), Kanban, and Lean. It’s important to note that these are not new software development methodologies—they’ve been around for years. Agile simply provides a framework for thinking about software development as a whole in a more holistic way than Waterfall does.

Compared to Waterfall, Agile is much faster and less expensive because the team has the opportunity to learn from their mistakes as they work through a project instead of at the end of it all when it’s too late to do anything about them. Plus, Agile allows client input early on in the process so there are fewer surprises as you go along. The result is that teams can adapt quickly if things go wrong or change along the way—and they will change!

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The post What is the Downside of Using the Traditional Waterfall Approach? appeared first on PM Column.

What is a resource breakdown structure? (RBS)

A resource breakdown structure (RBS) is a hierarchical outline of the resources needed to deliver a project. Project managers typically use it to create a complete list of resources needed, while estimating costs and timeframes.

In essence, it’s the blueprint for what your project will require in terms of human and financial resources. Oftentimes, a resource breakdown structure is drawn in the form of a tree to highlight a systematic breakdown of the work and resources required for a project.

The RBS can be developed as an independent activity by the project manager, or in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as the project team or the customer. It can also be built from existing documentation or information that has been generated during the planning process.

Creating an RBS ensures that the project manager and stakeholders have a clear picture of all project requirements and how they’ll be met. This helps to prevent expensive changes or delays later on in the project.

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The importance of an RBS in project management

The idea behind the RBS is to give project managers a detailed insight into their project’s resource requirements prior to starting the project – and thereby helping them to avoid resource-related risks once the project has been started.

A resource breakdown structure can help you and your team:

• Plan for the resources you’ll need to deliver a successful project
• Identify missing resources and develop strategies for sourcing them
• Identify risks associated with acquiring required resources
• Manage budgets, as you’ll know exactly how much money is being spent
• Give stakeholders confidence in your ability to meet project deadlines

All in all, building an RBS is an important part in the resource planning process and resource management in general.

How to create a resource breakdown structure

Creating a resource breakdown structure (RBS) is simple. All you need to do is make a hierarchical list of all resources in your project and link them to the activities they’re working on.

The first thing would be to identify all the work packages in your project. Then brainstorm all the resources needed to carry out these work packages. This could include people, equipment, facilities or material.

In order to create an RBS, you generally have to know your requirements, which means you need detailed information on:

• Activities that have to be performed and when they have to be completed
• The resources you need to complete those activities
• How much of each resource you will need in order to complete each activity on time

Once you’ve completed your initial RBS, you can use it to build a Gantt chart or a PERT Chart that will help you allocate resources not only to the project, but also to individual tasks within your project. By using a RBS, you set up one of the most important foundations of any project: knowing what resources your project needs, and how they’ll be used. Just like lists are the foundation of any good PowerPoint presentation, creating an RBS is a foundational task for any important project.

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