What Can Go Wrong?

Well-run projects balance people, process, and tools (as well as other things). You don't achieve a good balance by focusing one-third of the emphasis on each area, as shown in Figure 3.1. Instead, consider the parallels to a well-balanced diet. You need to eat some amount of protein, fiber, and fat every day. The exact amount varies with each person. Similarly, the right balance of people, process, and tools varies with each project.

Figure 3.1. A misinformed view of balance

True balance occurs when you emphasize the factors in a way that helps you deliver value to your customer in a predictable, timely manner. Your project team members are working hard, enjoying their work, and gaining knowledge and satisfaction. You have a process that helps each person know their responsibilities, provides help when needed, and is minimal, or the right size, for the team and the project. You have tools that support the process and the people to help them get their job done.

What can go wrong? Usually you can either pay too much attention to one of the items or too little. In both cases, you will find that your team is not making progress. Whenever this happens, you and the team must determine the reasons for lack of progress and address them as soon as possible. This is where a project manager earns his or her salary. A good manager can accurately measure progress and determine if the team is performing at a less than optimal rate. The manager can then work with the team to communicate the problems and establish a plan for getting back on track.

In the remainder of the book you will find some problems the PSP Tools team encountered and things we tried to correct our problems. Some of them worked. Some did not. They will all give you something to think about and determine if they are appropriate for your team.