We’ve all seen the advertisements for the latest gadget that will give you six-pack abs, or a wonder drug that will help you shed kilos in days. Every year there are new hacks on the market, to help you lose weight, tone up and/or improve your muscle gains. And along with the new are the steadfast tools, such as gym memberships, fitness classes, and the very many diet books, websites, and apps out there.
And, so often, people hang on to the hope that – if they just find the right tool, app, or hack – they will get the body of their dreams.
Just like people, companies often also believe, that if they just have the right tool, it will jump-start their project success. And just like people, companies often have the same dismal results. This hope for the best tool is what keeps software vendors and the diet industry skipping all the way to the bank.
So why does it work for some, but not for everyone? Are all of those ‘before and after’ images faked?
We do know it does work, otherwise famous companies would not allow software vendors to list them as customers. The difference is that those successful people and companies have the fundamentals in place.
This is particularly true of project management software. It does not matter if you use MS Project, Smartsheet, Monday.com, Jira, or any of the other tools available. If you do not have the basic project management skills in place, no software will be a miracle cure for a failing project.
There are 7 fundamentals that you have to have in place, regardless of which software you are using, which project management methodology you use, or what your body conditioning tools are.
Fundamental 1
The first hack to ensuring your software works for you is to know what the ultimate project goal is. Using our previous analogy: your goal may be to build muscle mass. Part of having this goal is to know why you want it, and why you want to do it now, as opposed to, say, next year. This is because having two or more goals generally means you will achieve neither. For instance, you cannot have a goal to bulk up, and to run a marathon; you have to pick one to focus on.
With projects, it is the same: you need to have a SMART goal. For more information on this, please read this article.
Fundamental 2
The next fundamental is making sure you know what the root cause of the problem is. So, if you are overweight, is it because of your diet, or is there another cause, such as medication, or a hormonal issue? Only by determining exactly what the root cause is can you solve the problem permanently.
A good hack for these two fundamentals is to write all this down: clearly state what the goal is, the root cause of the problem, and why you want to resolve it now.
Fundamental 3
Once you have your goal and the reasoning behind it written down, you next need to ring-fence your project. This would mean that if you decide you want to build muscles, you know that certain types of training, such as long runs, are less likely to help you hit your goal, whereas if your aim is to lose weight, running is in, but doughnuts are out.
Any project needs this strict boundary. Ask anyone who has been part of a project, and they will let you know that scope creep is the biggest single reason project fail.
Fundamental 4
The subsequent two fundamentals are usually the ones people erroneously start with. The first is having a plan.
People love to plan a project: how often to go to the gym, how heavy the weights should be, all while imagining the results. This kind of mental work may give us a dopamine hit, but success really needs a little more than pie-in-the-sky thinking!
Your plan should be detailed, showing what the tasks are, who will perform each one, and how long it should take. A good plan must also show task dependencies, in other words, which task must be completed before the next can start, as well as which can or must happen concurrently.
Fundamental 5
The ensuing fundamental is having the right resources. Once again you may be tempted to run out to get a new workout kit, gym membership, or the new fitness app, but you need to ensure it is the right type of resource to achieve your desired goal.
In much the same way, by knowing what you want to achieve, and how you are going to achieve it, you can ensure you have the best resources for your project. These resources could include the right people with specific skills, access to specialised equipment and technology, or even time on capital assets to run experiments.
Fundamental 6
This fundamental is the rewarding one: measuring and tracking progress. Remember fundamental 1, where you set a clear goal? This is how you show progress towards that goal.
Tracking your progress, and sharing that progress with your project team, is a great motivator for all involved. There is, though, another important reason to do this: it is an early warning mechanism, in case things start going wrong. It will allow you to course correct quickly, ensuring you achieve your desired outcomes.
Fundamental 7
Even if you have all the other fundamentals in place, something is bound to go wrong, or change. Perhaps you are injured, or your gym closes down. This last fundamental, which is specifically important to ensure a successful project, is to know what risks your project could face. Not only should you know what the potential risks are, you should determine what the likelihood is of these happening, what their potential impact would be, and – where possible – mitigate to either prevent them from happening, or to lessen the impact, should they occur.
And, like building strength, if you feel like you have hit the wall, see an expert. That means a personal trainer for your strength goals, and me for your project management and governance fundamentals.