Back to Basics, Part 8: Execution

Execution is the heart of successful project management.

Execution is where we build and deliver products and services, creating value for our stakeholders. We spend 60% to 80% of our time and budget on this phase.

During the Planning Phase, we set expectations—how the project will be managed, the expected scope, schedule, and cost, as well as the desired level of quality and risk. In execution, we manage these expectations. In standard terms, we monitor and control the project.

Execution is where things can go terribly wrong. The project had a compelling business case. The scope, schedule, and cost were clearly defined. The requirements and design were approved. Everything was great until development started. Design changes were accepted without review. Resources were hired without regard to the staffing plan or budget. The only surprise was nobody realized the project was “off the rails.”

Project managers are accountable for the outcomes, but generally not responsible for doing the work. Their role is to oversee the process and ensure everything stays on track. However, it often feels like trying to teach your child to drive. You want to grab the steering wheel or press the brake. But you cannot reach.

“Back to Basics” is a series of articles that highlights the project management practices that lead to better, more reliable outcomes. Prior articles covered the state of the industry, the importance of establishing guiding principles, and advice for choosing an approach. The series then described an operating framework, the processes for initiating and planninga project.

Manage the System

Project managers play a critical role in shaping the processes, systems, and environment of how work is performed. Deming believed that the system determines 94% of performance.

Systems thinking recognizes that a project is a complex ecosystem with unpredictable actions and interactions. What may initially seem insignificant can have a profound impact.

Consider status reporting. It is often said, what gets measured gets done. What we choose to measure. How we measure it. When we measure it. All these decisions impact project operations, team morale, stakeholder expectations, and many other system components.

There is an intentional overlap between the Way of Working domain and the Execution Phase. Managing stakeholders, risks, actions, issues, change, and quality is necessary throughout the project, with particular focus during execution.

Manage Execution

The unique nature of each project becomes clear during execution. Planning methods follow similar patterns. For example, iteration planning is industry agnostic, and the same principles apply to creating a good Gantt chart for both construction and software projects. However, remodeling a house is not the same as constructing a bridge, and basic scientific research is different than bringing that product to market.

While the project’s content may differ, the project manager’s role during execution largely remains the same. They must track progress, communicate status, manage change, ensure quality, and engage stakeholders. The specific practices will vary, but the core role remains consistent. A construction project manager “walks” the site to confirm completion, while a technology project manager also needs to check progress but walks fewer steps.

Monitor Performance

Project performance extends beyond just scope, schedule, and cost. It also encompasses the softer, less measurable, but equally important areas, such as executive support, stakeholder engagement, communication effectiveness, team performance, vendor reliability, quality, and risk—to name a few. Gaps between expectations and reality are early warning signs and predictors of trouble.

Performance expectations are defined during the Planning Phase. More traditionally managed projects will formally define a baseline scope, schedule, and cost. Other performance measures may also be identified. The metric, the method for measuring it, acceptable variances, etc., should be documented in the project management plan or a similar document.

Scope, schedule, cost, and quality are primary performance domains of every project. However, the tools and practices for managing performance will vary. Predictive projects use Gantt charts, critical path analysis, and (sometimes) earned value to track the schedule. Excel is the default for integrating budget, forecast, and actual data into a consumable analysis.

Agile teams focus on the product backlog to manage value delivery and use burn-up/burn-down and velocity charts to track team performance. Agile prefers visual management tools. As Jeff Sutherland said, Scrum is meant to be self-reporting.

The importance of managing scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk varies by project. When I managed software projects, the typical priority order was schedule, cost, scope, and then quality. External factors often set deadlines. Cost and scope needed to be reasonably close, and quality just had to be “good enough to ship”—we could fix minor bugs later. When we renovated our home, quality was the primary focus. Scope and cost were secondary, and schedule was the least important. We wanted it done right.

Communicate Status

Clearly articulating status is critical to maintain stakeholder support and engagement. Many project managers have a detailed understanding of progress, issues, and risks, but struggle to communicate effectively. They get lost in the minutiae, and what should be a 5-sentence highlight becomes a 10-minute discourse.

Communicating status is an art that takes time and practice to perfect. It starts with understanding the stakeholders’ primary concerns. Organizational leaders and customers’ primary concern: “Is the project OK?” Or, do they need to worry? Finance people focus on the money; they want to know whether you are going to be over budget.

A straightforward template for communicating status is:

At a high level, is the project on or off track? If your organization uses RAG (red, amber, green) indicators, use them.
What are the critical issues? And what steps are being taken to address them?
What are the primary risks? And what are the planned response strategies?
Is the project expected to be completed within budget?
What “asks” do you have for leadership? What help do you need?

Manage Quality

Quality includes both “product” and process. What we deliver and how we produce it matter. In the Planning Phase, we should determine how to manage the process and control output quality. In execution, we execute these plans, measure the outcomes, and adjust as needed.

Product quality ensures that outputs meet technical specifications and customer needs. History is replete with popular products that did not meet safety or regulatory standards. Technically beautiful products that fail to be adopted often do not address a customer need—for example, the Segway Scooter.

When creating physical products, process quality generally refers to adherence to safety and regulatory requirements. For services, it may refer to adherence to standards and process guidelines. Regardless of the project type, continuous improvement and refinement are strongly encouraged.

Manage Change

All projects are subject to change. The objective of change management is to ensure an orderly process for identifying, assessing, deciding, approving, communicating, and confirming changes. Creating an orderly, well-understood, and generally agreed-upon process is the key to successful change management. This includes changes to the process and the product or service being delivered.

Predictive and Agile projects manage change very differently. Predictive projects scrutinize change requests to avoid adverse impacts to schedule or cost, and to ensure the desired change adds value. Agile embraces change. Changing priorities are managed through the product backlog. Changes in the current iteration are discouraged, but accommodating them in upcoming iterations is encouraged.

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