Interview with J. Chris White , President of ViaSim Solutions

Please enjoy the podcast of a conversation between J. Chris White and Gina Abudi. The podcast focuses on one of Chris’ chapters in Project Pain Reliever by Gantthead, but also discusses project management in general. The transcript is provided below.

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Today we are interviewing J. Chris White, President of ViaSim Solutions and a contributing author to Project Pain Reliever by Gantthead .

Chris has a passion for helping companies move their plans “from paper to performance.” All plans look great on paper. Making them reality is often very difficult. Chris is the President of ViaSim Solutions, the makers of pmBLOX, a simulation-based project planning tool that goes beyond the traditional Critical Path Method (CPM) of the 1950’s and uses the Dynamic Progress Method (DPM) as its foundation. He co-authored Strategic Quality Management (ISBN 0-87393-416-4)
and has written and presented numerous papers in the fields of leadership, management, and simulation. Chris is also a Six Sigma Lean Master Black Belt (MBB).

One of the chapters written by J. Chris White for the book focused on “I don’t know how to test to ensure things will work.” We are going to focus on this chapter in this interview.

Gina: Chris, one of the things that project managers find so difficult is working on a development-type project – whether it be software or hardware related. Why is that?

Chris: Unfortunately, the nature of “development” means that it’s something new. And anything “new” always comes with additional problems that haven’t been seen yet. So, for projects like this, there are the common problems associated with any project. But, in addition, there are other problems that come from “paving the way,” so to speak. On top of that, the development projects today are more technology-related than the development projects a decade or two ago. This can make it even more difficult for a project manager if they don’t come from the specific technical world related to the development project.

Gina: You wrote a number of chapters for Project Pain Reliever, what about this particular chapter excited you? Why do you think this chapter is of importance for a project manager?

Chris: I chose this chapter because this is a common problem and one that I experienced personally, so I really felt the need to share my experience. Let’s just say that the example story in the chapter is not too far from reality. What makes the chapter on testing so important is that testing can have a significant impact on project success. Yes, having good project management skills is necessary. And, yes, having sufficient resources is necessary. But, if you’re not testing the right things in the right order, you’ll have a lot of rework on your hands. No matter how good your management skills and your resources, a lot of rework can kill a project pretty quickly. Not to mention the negative impact on the end customer.

Gina: In general, what do you find are some of the biggest challenges project managers face today and why?

Chris: Wow, that could be a pretty long list. Let me just highlight a couple. For new project managers, I think the biggest challenge is understanding the value of upfront work. They hear about all the planning activities that should happen at the beginning of a project, or even before a project begins. But, because they haven’t experienced it repeatedly in real life, they tend to doubt the consequences that everyone says they’ll suffer if they don’t do a good job upfront. So, instead, they suffer a few times and find out the hard way that, hey, people actually knew what they were talking about when they said to be diligent upfront. At the other end of the spectrum, for more experienced project managers, I think the biggest challenge is being able to adapt. You can’t get stuck in your ways. Just because something worked on a previous project doesn’t always guarantee that it will work on the current project or future projects. Now, those two challenges are pretty generic. I’d like to get more specific and a little technical. This is a subject I’ve been researching lately and focusing on. For all project managers, a huge challenge is resource-loading your plans. We all know that resource-loading our plans to estimate durations for tasks is much better than just putting durations. But, getting that resource information is sometimes very difficult. Sometimes, let’s admit it, we’re just lazy and don’t feel like putting in all that effort. We’d rather address resource issues as they unfold as the project moves along. But, that’s a huge risk. So, the challenge is taking the time and effort to build a better estimate upfront, while everyone is breathing down your neck to get going.

Chris: Of course, these are from my perspective and they’re biased by what I’ve seen. In your consulting practice, I’m sure you’ve seen a lot, too. Do you agree with my comments? What else would you add?

Gina: Oh I completely agree with your thoughts on the challenges project managers face. I know that often clients don’t want me to spend any time planning – just “get to it!” So I appreciate your comments on taking time to do effective estimates.

I’d add to it, based on my experience, understanding how the project fits into the big picture – the strategic objectives of the organization. Too many project managers don’t really understand where their project fits into the scheme of things. To be fair, they rarely get this information from the leadership team. The best project managers however are those looking to get that information from their sponsors

Another challenge I’m seeing quite frequently these days is how to manage virtual teams – people working on your project you are never going to meet in person – clear across the world. The challenge goes above and beyond figuring out time zones and convenient times to “meet,” and includes understanding others’ cultures and how they work. You can so easily offend others when you don’t stop to think about what is acceptable to them.

Gina: What do you think is the most rewarding part of being a project manager?

Chris: For me, I would say “success.” It’s a great feeling when you put in all the time and effort to develop a good plan, put together a good team, build a good relationship with the end customer, fully understand the customer requirements, communicate with all the project team members, all the things you hear about in project management. And, you cross the finish line successfully. It’s like the validation someone gets from working out or going on a diet. It’s a lot of work and you don’t see results immediately. But, then you run into someone you haven’t seen in awhile and they notice right away and compliment you. At that point you realize it was worth it.

Chris: Now, let me ask you a slightly different question. What do you think is the most difficult part of being a project manager? And, based on that, what advice would you give someone on how to alleviate or minimize that difficulty?

Gina: I’d have to say influencing others to get things done when you have absolutely no power or direct authority over them. Project managers really need to be great communicators and influencers. And I mean influence in a good way. You need to, as a project manager, know how to influence others to meet the goals of the project. It would be so easy to just tell someone to do something and expect they will do it because they report to you. Doesn’t happen! Frankly even when people do report to you it’s hard to get them to do what you need done! Those who “order around” others are never effective. Particularly for project managers it is important to understand how to get your project team member to agree to work with you and support your goals (which is to complete the project on time and on budget) when they have other things to do and others depending their time and commitment. Your ability as a project manager to develop strong working relationships with others enables you to communicate effectively with them and influence them to meet the project’s goals. I tell project managers who are struggling with getting their team to do what needs to get done on the project to step back and understand their team members. What are their challenges? What pressures are they facing from others (likely someone they report to directly)? And above all, I ask the project manager to be sure he/she is not just assuming that he/she is the boss and can demand work get done. Reminds me of one particular project manager I was speaking with a while ago, he was complaining that he couldn’t get people to do what he wanted. After asking him a few questions, it was obviously he basically felt that as project manager he was the boss and therefore the project team members should do things the way he wanted. Big problem! Needless to say, he didn’t last long on that particular project and no one really wanted to work with him on other projects. He certainly wasn’t collaborative! This guy learned the hard way that he doesn’t always have the right answer and he needs to work with the others to reach the goals! The best project managers work well with others – they collaborate with others and through effective collaboration and communication are able to influence others also.

Gina: If you could tell a new project manager one thing based on your own experiences – what would you tell him/her?

Chris: I would say that the role of project manager is sometimes a thankless job. No doubt it’s a very important job, but be prepared to take some criticism along the way. The technical subject matter experts on the team believe that they are doing all the valuable work and that you’re just in your office shuffling papers and drawing Gantt charts. They have their own way of doing things and they often see the project manager as a nuisance. From the top, the executives driving the company just want to see results no matter how hard people have to be pushed or overworked. And the project manager is stuck in the middle trying to balance the push for results with the people who will hopefully create the results. That’s a very tough balance, considering that time and cost factors are thrown in there, too. Oh, yeah, and don’t forget about the end customer that keeps changing requirements or the salesperson that keeps promising the moon. It’s left for the project manager to orchestrate all these different pieces. It’s kind of like my kids. It’s difficult to make everyone happy because most of the time the objectives of the different groups compete. As a result, the project manager is stuck making the tough decisions and enforcing them. However, this must absolutely be done. Just be prepared for a little kicking and screaming along the way. You know, like a family road trip.

Chris: How about you? What would you tell a new project manager? What’s the one thing that you wish someone would have told you when you got started?

Gina: Perfect point you make Chris. When you think about how much the project manager has to do – it seems like he/she performs miracles half the time! And not everyone does recognize the role the project manager played in coordinating everything – soup to nuts!

I’d also tell a new project manager to get to know the project team members. I mean really get to know them. Know their strengths and the skills they bring to the project. Know areas where they need to build their skills and try to give them opportunities to do so. And listen to them – they are the experts in their areas. Remember that as a project manager you don’t know everything and you are not expected to know everything. Rely on others on the team to help you get the job done.

It has been fantastic talking to you Chris. I have enjoyed the conversation and I have no doubt your experience will provide quite a bit of insight for project managers. Thanks again!