Good Projects, Like Crime, Pay - May 2009
Good projects, like crime, pay! by Amanda Brown - Matchett Senior Consultant.
Project management is all about planning and execution of a key objective. Whilst it is important that milestones are achieved and key performance indicators are met, the most important thing is that a project is worthwhile for the organisation supporting it.
Take a look at a project where the management of the planning and implementation stages are critical. If you don't do it right you could end up in jail or, perhaps worse... dead! This is not so wide of the mark - when you are a project manager your career could end up dead if you have not done the planning and execution of your project well.
The best way to illustrate this is by looking at an example of a well executed but dangerous project. So... introducing a model example of a life changing project... let's look at the casino robbery in Ocean's Eleven.
Initially, I thought that it was just a good film, now I realise that it is a case for the well organised project, following the stages of a project life cycle.
The Concept
"You have a plan already"*
"You kidding? I just became a citizen again!"
Of course Danny Ocean has a plan, but then he's had plenty of time to think about it. His concept - the perfect project, the heist of all heists. This is the job which is going to allow him to retire for good.
One slight problem - first he needs to get out of prison!
Once he does, he seeks out Rusty, the one person he knows and trusts to help him plan and manage the project he has in mind. They run through the concept checking the feasibility against plans and then present it to the Project Sponsor, Reuben. Stakeholder analysis helps them to understand just the hook to reel him in - the casinos they want to rob belong to Reuben's biggest enemy - a classic case of using the WIIFM (what's in it for me) principle. For Reuben now the money is a bonus.
Some high level risks are identified at this stage, previous lessons learned from past casino robberies and the final justification is outlined - getting the money from the casino boss without letting him know who they are so that they will not suffer consequences. The financial return is $150 million dollars. The business case is presented verbally, but becomes the promise of benefit which Danny, the Project Manager, is going to deliver and that the Sponsor is ultimately going to support.
The Planning/Definition
At this point the team is picked. As is often the case, Danny and Rusty recruit some of the team who they have worked with before. They go looking for specific skills linked with their anticipated elements of the project - those people they don't know they select from watching them in action and knowing their reputation. This minimises the risk of using a large team and increases the likelihood of success, i.e. their skills are a success factor for the project.
Whilst the attraction of their cut of $150 million is attractive, the team are also motivated by the challenge of the job which tests their expertise and working together.
"It will be nice to work with proper villains again".
Once the team is formed the high level outline of a plan is communicated through a detailed presentation. Plans of the buildings have been obtained and some of the risks are identified:
"Say we get into the cage, and through the security doors we can't open and down the elevator we can't move and past the guards with guns, what then?"
Contributions from the specialists help to flesh out how to reduce or minimise these risks. Further risk analysis is done by creating a model of the entire vault that they are going to rob and reviewing the various "what ifs" the plan implies.
The project is then divided into tasks and clear outputs and responsibilities assigned to each of the team members (responsibility matrix)
Learning the routes around the casinos
Power - sorting out how to cut the power
Surveillance - being able to tap into the casino viewing systems
Construction - building a working replica of the casino vault
Intelligence - following the owner and finding out his habits
Transport - procuring vehicles for the getaway
The team then plan their own parts for the job and the project plan is ready.
Implementation
Now the plan has been agreed by the project team, the Project Manager and the Sponsor, the pieces start to be put together. The team is briefed more fully over a model of the casino. Timings are put together for all the component parts of the project - including timing how much air there is for their man smuggled into the vault.
During implementation their first issue crops up. Plans to cut the power have been thwarted by an accident which was not foreseen. Immediately the project is reviewed on a go/no go basis. The issue can be dealt with, it is just going to cost some extra effort and risk to overcome it (but on the time, cost, quality triangle, the time is fixed as the robbery must be done during the boxing match as this is when all the money is in the vault).
Another issue is that Danny, the project manager, has been banned from the casino. Once again this is assessed and dealt with by the team and Rusty takes the lead.
Instead of a Gantt chart to review progress, one of the team is monitoring progress with their surveillance systems and a microphone and communicating with the team. In this way they manage small glitches in the plan and circumvent minor issues. In addition, they have several layers of backup in the plans to reduce the risks of failure further.
Handover and Close
The end of the project is clearly defined by conducting a successful robbery on the correct day when the maximum take is in the casino vault, with each of the team taking their share.
However, to realise the benefits and be able to define success, a final requirement is that the owner of the casino is not able to pin the theft on the team. Otherwise, they will be pursued by the casino boss and his goons. So the final layers of the project aim to deal with this, as Danny sets up an alibi and also gets his benefits - the girl!
The final closure is the after project party - the team assemble outside the casino and watch the fountains before being disbanded.
Final thoughts
So next time you have a project try thinking of project planning by film. Think of the benefits to you and the team of making it a success and how you can make it work.
And if you have any doubts about this one, try watching The Italian Job!
*all quotes from the film Oceans Eleven, Warner Bros 2001
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