FAQs for Leading Projects

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers for Leading Projects

1. What makes a project successful?
   • Meets or exceeds expectation
   • Optimizes resources, and
   • Builds team confidence and morale for future projects
   • PEOPLE + PROCESS = SUCCESS
     • The entire team, not just the project leader, is responsible for the project's success. While the project leader is responsible for managing the process, more importantly it is also to inspire the people. 
     • People are important to the project. "It won't matter how good your process is if you can't engage a group of good people to run it." Enforcing project management techniques can never substitute for motivating and empowering people to implement them themselves.
     • Project Management Proverb - "A cadence of visibility and accountability produces not only reliable results again and again, but also a high-performance team."
2. What is involved when leading a project?
   • Managing things - deliverables, deadlines, schedules, and scope
   • Leading people - team members, customers, consultants, and "higher-ups"
3. What is a project leader's job?
   • Clarify expectations
   • Clearly communicate how each person's role contributes to the whole
   • Communicate progress to the team and stakeholders
4. Is a project leader expected to do the project work and send all the communications?
   • No. Sometimes the person leading the project is responsible for coordinating most of the project efforts, but is not a subject matter expert in the work required. In this scenario the project leader relies on the subject matter experts on the project team to complete the tasks needed. It also may be appropriate for communications to be written and/or sent by someone else, such as a subject matter expert or someone on the leadership team. 
   • In the case where the project leader is also a subject matter expert in some of the work required, they may also be assigned some tasks for project completion. This depends on how the roles of the project team have been defined. 
5. Do you need to be on the leadership team or part of management to lead a project?
   • No. "Informal authority" can actually be more powerful than formal authority because it inspires people to want to play on your team and win.
6. How do you earn "informal authority"?
   • The "Four Foundational Behaviors" will help you earn the informal authority you need to engage people fully to achieve the expected project outcomes:
     1. Demonstrate respect
     2. Listen first
     3. Clarify expectations
     4. Practice accountability
7. How do you simplify a project and establish a reliable routine for repeated success?
   • Follow this 5 step process EVERY time:
     1. Initiate
        • Get as much input as you can from stakeholders.
        • Make sure everyone is clear about how project success will be measured.
     2. Plan
        • Figure out exactly what needs to be delivered.
        • Based on your deliverables, create a well-defined budget, timeline, and project schedule.
     3. Execute
        • Engage the project team regularly to make sure everyone is on track.
     4. Monitor and Control
        • Monitor and control progress in every phase of the project. Make sure everything is going as expected, and if something gets off track, handle the required changes.
        • Communicate progress to stakeholders.
     5. Close
        • Check the results against the desired outcome.
        • Recognize the team.
        • Document lessons learned.
8. What is the "scope statement"?
   • The scope statement is like a compass for the project. It is the why, what, when, and how of the project. It provides guidance for deciding what to do and what not to do. It clearly describes what success looks like.
9. What are the most common reasons for project failure?
   • Lack of commitment/support
   • Unrealistic timelines
   • Too many competing priorities
   • Unclear outcomes/expectations
   • Unrealistic resources
   • People pulled away from the project
   • Politics/legislation
   • Lack of a "big picture" for the team
   • Poor planning
   • Lack of leadership
   • Changing standards
   • Lack of or mismanaged budget
10. How do you manage scope creep?
    • Stay neutral while gathering the facts:
      • What is the intent of the change?
      • What is the impact?
      • What would be required to make the change happen?
    • Clarify expectations with change proposer.
    • Document change request and review with project team to identify possible constraints, risks, etc.
    • Share with stakeholders so it may be approved or denied.
    • Remember: The project change request process is no intended to avoid change but to evaluate proposed changes so that you make only those changes that give you better results.