Chapter 18: Statistical Process Control

Recommendations

Recommendations fall into two main categories:

1. Recommendations to improve the metrics identification and collection process itself

2. Recommendations to improve actual performance on projects

Recommendations to Improve the Metrics Identification and Collection Process Itself

The number-one, overall recommendation is to automate the process and make it seamless and simple. If it's too hard, people won't do it. Other recommendations include:

• Involve your project managers and process owners in designing the metrics to be collected. Help them understand why metrics are collected and how to use them to help run their projects.

• Collect metrics that the project managers need. Other metrics (i.e., corporate-level metrics used for executive reviews) can be generated automatically, based on the project-level data, and rolled up into a corporate report.

• Metrics should not be used punitively. They should be used to help assist the project managers in running their projects more effectively, and to help improve estimating and tracking techniques.

• Facilitate workshops to derive meaningful metrics. Involve the project managers, directors, supervisors, metrics team, quality assurance personnel, process improvement specialists, technicians, budget and finance representatives, and any other interested individuals. Try to map your project-level and senior managementlevel metrics to the business objectives and problems the organization faces.

• Provide feedback to the project managers and staff on the metrics collected so that they can see how they are doing compared to other projects in the organization and to other projects throughout the different business units.

Recommendations to Improve Actual Performance on Projects

Train the project managers and anyone else who generates, collects, reviews, or uses the metrics. First of all, make sure your project managers (PMs) have received detailed, effective training in basic project management. Some managers simply do not have the skillsets required for the increasingly sophisticated tasks that their jobs require. For example, it is not uncommon to find PMs who are not really administrative-type managers concerned with costs and budgets . They more closely resemble technical leads. These PMs do not focus their energies on administrative tasks such as documentation, planning, tracking, and reporting. They mostly concentrate on the technical fixes required for design and coding. Therefore, training on Earned Value what it is, how to use it, how it can work for them must be undertaken, as well as true training in how to do the job in your organization.

Metrics must be used. Instruct your staff ( especially the PMs) in how the metrics can be used to help them manage their projects. Basically answer the following question: "What's in it for me?" Just mandating that the metrics be used, and to follow the procedures, will not work.