SWOT Analysis

I'm finding myself working through a strategic planning process. I've known executives who would just use gut instincts when doing their strategic planning.  But when you're dealing with someone else and their money, don't be so gutsy.  Just do a SWOT analysis.  What does SWOT even mean!? During strategic planning, upper level managers, directors, or executives ask a series of questions.  That's known as a SWOT analysis because they're trying to identify a organizations's strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T).  Because I think a picture is worth a thousand words, please see the Pictofigo enhance grid below.

SWOT

• What are your major strengths? These are internal. How can you capitalize on them in the future?

• What are your major weaknesses? These are also internal. How can you overcome them?

• What are your major opportunities? These are external to your organization. How can you take full advantage of them?

• What are your major threats? These are also external to your organization. Is there anything you can do about them?

Zombie Meeting

One of the things I like about the zombie metaphor is people get it.  We all know a zombie when we see it.  It doesn't matter if it's a zombie project, customer, vendor, co-worker, or...a meeting.  Oh yes, the dreaded zombie meeting.  But what if you're on the fence when it comes to identifying zombie meetings?  I've written a few posts of what makes a good meeting.  It's time to now list what makes a bad meeting. But wait!  Why the negativity?  Isn't this blog mostly positive information?  Sure, but I recently read, on Dan Pink's blog, an explanation of why you should come up with at least one bad idea today.  I found that the idea really worked.  I would say I decline around 80% of meeting invites.  But, why do I decline so many?  Here are a few reasons why.  Each reason identifies a potential zombie meeting.  If you go to these meetings, you risk being sucked into the horde already attending.  Take a moment to review the list.

You may be in a Zombie Meeting if...

[1]No purposed reason for the meeting, with actionable events in mind. e.g. “Provide an updated status, identifying risks and opportunities, and identify new action items.”

[2] No defined attendee list, mapped to the actionable events listed in step 1.  There is a difference between an attendee list and a communications distribution list.  I get meeting invites sent to a program level distribution list.  My name isn't even on the email.  It just states "If you're interested in attending, the meeting..."

[3] No agenda. Never schedule a meeting without a written agenda. A meeting without an agenda will just wander aimlessly, until you run out of time or someone kicks you out of the room.

[4] No predefined leader, is running the meeting.  Zombies don't have leaders.  They usually group into a horde.  If there is no leader, the meeting will just drift.

[5] No predefined note taker, identified to document action items or take notes.  It should not be the same person.  Both [4] and [5] should know their roles before the meeting begins and it can't be the same person.  Ever go to a meeting with the intent of being an active participant only to be asked to take notes or lead the meeting, a few minutes into the meeting?  It will totally change your focus.

[6] Discussion points do not align to the agenda. This part is challenging because you are already in the meeting.  You had no idea it was going to turn into a zombie meeting, before accepting.  These is no easy way out.  If the conversation drifts off topic, either recommend taking the discussion to another forum or start thinking of an exit strategy.

[7] Meeting ends without having the note taker read back discussion points and the action items. Make sure there is a consensus before the meeting ends.  If you see meetings ending without a review, add it to the agenda.

[8] Meeting minutes are not sent out within one to two days. Did the meeting even happen?  If the minutes are not distributed and approved, then it is like it never happened. Use a distribution list to ensure all necessary people get a copy.

[9] Meeting starts late. If you don’t start on time, you can’t finish on time.  Zombies are in no hurry.  Those who will arrive late should just call in, rather than disrupt the meeting.  I'm not saying you should board up the room entrance with plywood or anything.  It's just rude to arrive late to a meeting.  If you stick to a schedule and you know the meeting will be a zombie meeting, calling in or use something like GoToMeeting to help shield yourself from the zombies.

[10] There is food. I'm not referring to a cup of coffee or a scone.  If there is a food, get it distributed and get it out of the room.  Whenever I go to a meeting where there is some kind of food tray, there are always a few attendees who will graze.  They're thinking more about the food than they are about the meeting.

Like the drawing?  You can find the original for free at Pictofigo

The Forest Through the Trees

I'm coming down to the wire on the first installment of my Zombie Project Management book.  I look at my Kanban and all of the activities are one-by-one making it into the Done column.  It's actually quite exciting! I think back to reading several of Seth Godin's books and him writing "Pick a budget. Pick a ship date. Honor both. Don't ignore either. No slippage, no overruns."

I know that is easier said than done.  But halfway through writing my book I saw the forest through the trees.  This idiom personified what I'm trying to communicate.  I became a "writing" zombie.  I thought of those who came before me, puting pen to paper.  They had ideas but how many were able to actually offer their works to the general public?  What roadblocks stopped them from making their dream a reality?  To just accept the status quo without question is your first step to becoming a zombie.

Something in the book publishing business didn't seem right to me.  I didn't know what was bothering me until recently.  See, I don't like to ask permission and I don't like inefficient processes.  If a process doesn't seem to make sense to me, I want to change it.

Lightbulb Moment

Doesn't the book publishing process sound a lot more 

Waterfall than Agile

? As the Product Owner, I take issue with that.

• Step one was to not ask for permission. I decided to use Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.

• Step two was to pick a ship date and ship whatever I thought would have the greatest value first.

• Step three is to ship more content, once a month, until I feel the body of work is comlete.

Why release the book in a series of sections or chapters rather than the entire book at once?  You all know I’m a strong proponent of Agile approaches.  When I looked at the publishing process, I compared it to tradition project management methods.  Traditionally, you plan it all out, you build, and then deliver the finalized product.  One thing I’ve learned is you can deliver value earlier, if you establish a series of deadlines and ship something at each deadline.  In that way, you lower your risk of not reaching your overall goal, by ensuring you deliver something regularly.  This will also allow you to produce something of value others can benefit from, at a lower cost.  One of my favorite books,

Agile Project Management with Scrum

by Ken Schwaber, has 9 chapters and 155 pages.  When I purchased the book at a Borders bookstore some 6 years ago, it cost me $39.99.  Though I recognize the value in reading a physical book cover to cover, I would now be willing to purchase an electronic version of the book, by the chapter.  Give me the chapters of greatest value first at a price relative its cost of production.  At $39.99, each chapter would have cost me just under $4.45.

So, with that in mind, I will "ship" a series of sections or chapters each month for $2.99.  I may even bundle a few chapters at a time and offer them as printed copies.

HT: Zombie drawings by

Pictofigo

HT:

Zombie PM website

Yes, the link to the Scrum book by Ken Schwaber is an Amazon affiliate link.

Meeting with GAO

After finding out the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was coming to pay our program a visit, I was also told to work with a small cross-functional team to collect all of the data to meet their requests.  There was a list of recommended executive actions and we had to prove how we were satisfying those recommendations.  To visualize our progress of collecting the data, I used a physical task board and sticky notes.  I would call it a Kanban but we really didn't have any work in progress (WIP) limitations.  The board was comprised of 4 columns:  Backlog, WIP, Blocked, Done.

As of last night, everything was in the done column and I even had one team member come up and shake my hand.  For some reason, I think there may have been a lack of confidence that we could identify and collect the data requested.  With some leadership, inspiration and clear goals, we got it done.  Though I'm not at liberty to say exactly what we supplied them, the requests they made were not unreasonable.

I've been through a SOX audit before so I understood how an audit works.  Provide proof that you do what you say you do.  Be able to explain why you do it.  Now, what you do and how it aligns with how others think you should do it is another story.  But, if the auditor is not satisfied with how you do it, they will make a recommendation on how you can meet their expectations.  Here is the important thing.  An auditor does not care what you say you are going to do.  They care what you say you've done or do.

Don't be a Lumbergh

I'm plugging away on my presentation "Breaking the Law of Bureaucracy" for the upcoming Great Lakes Software Excellence Conference. Though I know I should be focusing on how to break this law, I can't help but think of the organizational bureaucracies we all deal with.  Two types of people within our organizations come to mind, the Zombies and the Bill Lumberghs (from Office Space).  Yeahhhh, you know that guy or gal.  They're heavy on style and light on substance.  They are more concerned about you having a coversheet on your TPS (Total Project Status) report than they are of refining the process so you no longer need a TPS Report or a coversheet.  He or she sits in a corner office telling you how much time you have to complete the work they have estimated and committed for you.

Yeah, I'm going to need you to come in on, ohh, Saturday. We need to play catch up. Oh, and you might as well come in on Sunday too. Thannnkkss..

Now that you know the type of person to look for, think of a way to lower the amount of bureaucracy you're dealing with every day.  I'm not suggesting you change the world.  Just look for one small change that is a pain-point or bottleneck for you, your team, or the organization.  In the case of being asked to come in on Saturday or Sunday, you're going to have to take control of who does the estimating.  If the people who are doing the work are the ones doing the estimates, there's a lower probability the estimates are going to be off and the team being over-committed.  Empower your team...and for the sake of us all, don't be a Lumbergh.

Understanding Zombie Leadership

As I work furiousness to complete the first installment in my Zombie PM series, which I plan to release at the end of March, I'm also working on my presentation for the Great Lakes Software Excellence Conference, which I will be appearing at in April.  Both are linked in an interesting way.  What do you think is the opposite of Servant-Leadership?  You guessed right: Zombie Leadership. The figure above will be included in the Zombie PM series and perhaps my presentation in Michigan.  Though servant-leadership is altruistic in nature, zombies are their own special classification.  They are beyond the polar opposite of an altruist.  Even the worst of egotists are no match for the zombie.    I can't even include them on the chart!  So, I had to change this classic chart.   Everyone wants to know their place in the world.  I'm sure zombies are no exception.  Oh, who am I kidding!?

Reading about Process Improvement

Over the weekend, I found myself trying to read a physical book about systems analysis while listening to a book on operational process improvement.  I'm not going to go into the physical book because I am so impressed with the audio book.  I guess it wouldn't matter if it was physical, digital, or audio.  It's just a really really good book! It's titled: The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt (yes, if someone clicks on that link and buys a book, I would get credit)

Though the story reads like fiction, in its introduction of characters and story, it does an amazing job of introducing concepts to the reader.  The main character manages a production plant, where everything is always behind schedule and things are looking pretty bad. (Sound like any projects you know?)  The production plant is doing so poorly, the company has given the main character an ultimatum.   With a threat of closure, the plant has three months to turn operations from being unprofitable and chronically late on deliveries to being profitable and successful.  In the book, we are introduced to the Socratic method. Throughout the book, a character poses questions to another or a member of a team, which in turn causes them to talk amongst themselves to come up with a solution to their problem.

Because the book revolves around manufacturing and not application development or project management, there are a few dotted lines that need to be drawn.  But, overall, it really got my wheels spinning.  It doesn't matter if you're using Kanban or if you're in any type of management position, I would recommend this book.

One quote really stuck with me

Intuitive conclusions (common sense) are commonly masked by common practice

Process Improvement

The following lists some of the ways that processes can be improved.

• Reduce work-in-process (WIP) inventory to reduce lead time
• Add additional resources to increase capacity of the bottleneck
• Improve the efficiency of the bottleneck activity to increase process capacity
• Move work away from bottleneck resources where possible to increase process capacity
• Increase availability of bottleneck resources to increase process capacity
• Minimize non-value adding activities to decrease cost and reduce lead time

Like the drawing? Get it free from Pictofigo

And so the Party Begins

I'm sitting backstage, enjoying the show.  Ty Kiisel and Raechel Logan are onstage and doing an awesome job.  The Keynote today, at the conference, is actually going to be the Talking Work podcast.  There's a live band, several hundred people in the audience, and the stage looks like the set of The Tonight Show.  I'm sitting backstage, sipping my water and listening to Donna Fitzgerald speak.  I wonder to myself, what is Ty going to want to talk about?  Before I answer my own question, I notice one of the people backstage approaching me, as he mouths something into his radio. He smiles at me and says, "They're about ready for you, Derek.  If you would please, got ahead and get into position."  I remember from the rehearsal the night before that I was to go stand on an X and wait for the lights to come on.   ...and so the party begins. The entire WorkOut 2011: TalkingWork Keynote lasted about 1 hour and 26 minutes.  I modified the embedded YouTube link so that it would advance to just before I came on.  But, I would really recommend you go back to the beginning and watch the whole thing.  Donna had some excellent talking points. I don't want to say what anyone talked about.  It's so much better letting them speak for themselves, via the video.  Ty and Raechel were amazing hosts and AtTask blew me away by the level of quality this event had.

So, sit back and enjoy the show.  And could someone please tell me where the hell that green feather went!? (Don't worry, you'll find out) Since this post was written, the Keynote video has been changed to "private".  It looks like each of the interviews will have their own video on YouTube.

I have a quote by Seth Godin that has recently become my mantra. He wrote

Go, give a speech. Go, start a blog. Go, ship that thing that you’ve been hiding. Begin, begin, begin and then improve. Being a novice is way overrated.

Thank you again to Ty and Raechel for inviting me out to Utah, to enjoy your event and share in the wonderful conversations.

What I've heard Ty say rings true.

It doesn't matter what we do.  It doesn't matter what industry we're in or even what our role is.  We all share one thing in common.  And that is we all work.

---