steve wake earned value sets you free
DESCRIPTION
This is one of many excellent presentations given over the last three years of the eVa in the UK series. They can also be found in the archive at: http://evaintheuk.org/archive along with back-copy video footage in http://evaintheuk/pmchannel EVA19, the long established Earned Value conference, has this year described its theme as looking at a project management ‘ABC’ – Agile, Benefits and Complex. The four day event, which returns to the Armourers Hall, runs from the 19th to 22nd of May with the flagship conference being held on 20th and 21st May and workshops before and after. The conference will look at how this ‘ABC’ can be made to work within a portfolio and how agile fits into major and minor projects. It will investigate how to manage the relationship between portfolio benefits and project budgets, and whether complex projects even exist. Conference organiser and APM chairman, Steve Wake says: “Currently there is little evidence that this ‘ABC’ is being effectively deployed and managed. This conference aims to address that concern through EVA’s trademark blend of learning and professional development. Case studies and unusual presentations, delivered by top-notch speakers and experienced practitioners, will again engage and entertain the audience. We’ve used string quartets to illustrate points in the past and this year we will be using a Blues band for the first time.” Speakers across the two days include many familiar faces from the APM events programme including; Adrian Pyne of the APM ProgM SIG ‘Changing the project wasteland with a portfolio culture that works,’ APM Honorary Fellow Tim Banfield Director at the Major Projects Authority and Stephen Jones, Sellafield and Planning Monitoring and Control Specific Interest Group (PMC SIG) and Carolyn Limbert of the APM PMC SIG to talk about agile, benefits and complex. Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager will be presenting on “The project manager who smiled” and the ever popular Stephen Carver will present the leadership lessons that can be learnt from Alfred the Great. In addition, there will be speakers from AIRBUS, TfL, Bloodhound, Heathrow T2 and London Tideway Tunnels. The conference will be supplemented by a number of workshops being held at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Bloomsbury Square on Monday 19th and Thursday 22nd May 2014. 'eVa in the UK' http://evaintheuk.org is building a reputation, brand and a learning legacy for the Project Management Profession. The event series is now in its nineteenth year. It is almost as if it all kicked-off when Steve Wake was in short trousers and knights roamed the land on their chargers! #eva19 is an excellent example of Listening, Learning and Leading #apmLLL in action, and great opportunity for professional development. I would encourage anyone who is interested in 'Building a better Project Manager,' to take a look at the web site, and book your place and get involved.TRANSCRIPT
Steve WakeEarned Value Sets You Free
maybe.
What do we all want our projects to do?
SUCCEED!
How many projects failin the uk?
What is a project failure?
Who has the influence?
Politics is the art of the possible.And so is project management.Focus on what you can influence.
14
StakeholdersEnablersDisablers
Who is?
SponsorCompetitionCustomerProject ManagerChampionHealth and SafetyRival team
Remember this from PMI Portugal 2003?
What can we do?
Pay attentionThis is the only slide with any practical
advice!
Project Management nearly always appears on the WBS.It is normally shown as level of effort (NVA)
RENAME that WBS box “COMMUNICATIONS”.Define them as with any other deliverable.Place these communications on the schedule.And Project Manage them.The reason we communicate poorly is because it’s not in
the plan!
Can I go home now?
What makes a successful project?
Widespread agreement that it is a success
What is the reality of Consensus?
What is success for us?
Realisation of the benefits.Financial and/or Social.Commonly agreed.Even if you are not a beneficiary.
How do we do this with projects?
We clearly define the benefits.
primeiro
segundoWe Program the changes requiredto achieve the benefits.
terceiroWe clearly define the projects needed to achieve the changes.
What have I just described?
The Problem with P3
• We just don’t do it!(properly).• Projects are created without reference to
benefit.• Portfolios do not retain their dynamic links with
the projects they created.• The Board and senior management just look at
the Portfolio and assume the links with the project are there.
The Result is project failure
Lots of effort. No result.
Portfolios today are generally houses built on sand,and that is why projects continue to fail.
We live in a world where we accept this as normal behaviour
We lie or cheat to win business
We have to decide who we are
or
We must become Professional
In English Professional can mean ,Someone who acts with integrity.Someone who is mercenary and cynical.
Integrity 1
Integrity 2
Integrity 3
Interestingly for leaders
We have to become trusted for the accuracy and reliability of the data under our control.ThenManagement can manage.
But always remember…
there are some you can never trust!
What is Project Management?
Cost Time ScopeQualityTo Budget
What is the best project management
can do?
Status
•It tells us where we are•How much we’ve done
How do we work out where we are?
What if we can’t?
•Build a plan•Freeze the plan•Measure progress
1. DEFINE THE WORK SCOPE
2. SCHEDULE THE WORK
3. ALLOCATE BUDGETS TO SCHEDULE
EVM: Performance Measurement Baseline
100
40
60
80
PMB
PMB
TIME
£
CONTRACT BUDGET BASE
MR
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F
Actual Costs
Budget (Plan) Reporting Cut-off Date
Where are we?
?
Total Project Budget
•Build a plan and baseline it.
•Calculate physical progress
Physical progress
•How much do I want to spend?•How much have I spent?•What have I got to show for it?
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F
Work Performed (Earned Value)
Actual Costs
Budget (Plan)Reporting Cut-off Date
Cost Variance
Schedule Variance(Currency)
What does this tell us?
Total Project Budget
• I planned to spend £1300• I spent £1500• I’ve achieved £1100• I am completing 73p of work for every £1 planned.• It is costing me £1.36 to earn £1of work.
The Earned Value line
• Is an additional line• Tracks physical completeness. What has been done.• It should not be treated as a discretionary add-on.• It is not possible to manage a project well without it.• And yet some project managers say they don’t need
earned value.
Earned Value is the best way to determine the status of a project.And yet….
If you don’t know where you are.
How do you manage?
If a portfolio manager does not know the true status of the projects which drive the portfolio.
Is this OK?
Earned Value sets you free
Because• With poor status data your job is to fix and defend the
data.• With good status data you and your stakeholders can
make good solid management decisions.• Earned value is not a miracle but it does make good
managers better.
EVOr notEV?
Conclusion
• If project managers focus on becoming professionals with integrity they will always be part of the solution.
• Earned Value status provides the firm foundations portfolios need for effective delivery of benefits.
• If project managers remain ‘pragmatic’ then projects will continue to fail at 73%. And project managers along with their stakeholders will continue to perpetuate the mess this planet and its macro economy is in now and for the foreseeable future.
May 2014