Bringing Order to “Project Chaos”
By Denise DeCarlo, PMP

Are you trying to make sense of today’s hectic business environment? Does each day seem to get more out-of-control? As project management professionals our job is to be organized, plan the details to avoid surprises, and deliver a product that meets the expectations of our customer. However – planning seems to be the last thing organizations are willing to invest in. Instead, the “fire of the day” seems to be the normal mode of operation. Let’s examine five essential elements to help a project manager maintain some semblance of control and to try to stay sane as well!

1) Define your boundaries - It will be essential for YOU to define what the boundaries are for yourself and your team members. For example, are you willing to accept “x” hours of work each week with the stipulation that team members are allowed to telecommute “x”% of the time? Boundaries should be defined and written down as project standards or guidelines. Keep in mind, however, that standards must be adhered to and guidelines are recommendations. So if it needs to be a “must follow” rule – then it should be established as a standard to enable you to communicate with management if the standards are being violated. The project standards and guidelines need to be signed off and agreed upon with management. Ideally you should have your core team members help define what they think are reasonable boundaries to propose to management. This can help re-enforce buy-in with the team members – especially when things start to get rough.

Additional areas of consideration for boundaries are: Number of change requests allowed for the project, the minimum percentage of time you will receive from key team members each week (it could be different per person), prioritization of the triple constraints (scope, time, and resources) or the ability for the project manager to control one of the three triple constraints.

Having boundaries defined and documented will enable the project manager to understand what areas of control they DO have – as opposed to focusing on the things you don’t have control over. Defining boundaries is in everyone’s best interest. It is the responsibility of the project manager to monitor the boundaries and inform management if they are being violated (or about to be violated!) The ultimate goal is to have a quality product delivered and if boundaries are being violated it is highly likely the quality of the product will be compromised. If you don’t know what your limits are – then management will continue to request work from you and your team and you’ll have no basis to negotiate with them!

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