Comments on: Over Thinking the Project? http://blogs.capella.edu/projectmanagementroundtable/2010/02/01/over-thinking-the-project/ A Community for Project Management Research and Practice Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:48:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Dr. Loran Walker http://blogs.capella.edu/projectmanagementroundtable/2010/02/01/over-thinking-the-project/comment-page-1/#comment-123 Dr. Loran Walker Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:48:58 +0000 http://blogs.capella.edu/projectmanagementroundtable/?p=306#comment-123 Yes, I agree that too much detail or agonizing over a project plan can prove to be counter productive. It is the age old problem of "Analysis Paralysis"! In regard to team members or stakeholders losing focus, this is where one should have an agenda and a time limit on weekly or team meetings. I know of one organization where they do not sit down but gather in a circle and pass around an item and when you have the item it is your turn to speak and/or ask questions. The strategy is to get the information out so that the team can move on with the day's work. I have been in organizations where the weekly meeting was a "must have" even if there was nothing on the agenda! To me a meeting needs to happen when there is something to talk about that is impeding the progress of the project or there needs to be clarifications made or coordination of efforts. Yes, I agree that too much detail or agonizing over a project plan can prove to be counter productive. It is the age old problem of “Analysis Paralysis”! In regard to team members or stakeholders losing focus, this is where one should have an agenda and a time limit on weekly or team meetings.

I know of one organization where they do not sit down but gather in a circle and pass around an item and when you have the item it is your turn to speak and/or ask questions. The strategy is to get the information out so that the team can move on with the day’s work.

I have been in organizations where the weekly meeting was a “must have” even if there was nothing on the agenda! To me a meeting needs to happen when there is something to talk about that is impeding the progress of the project or there needs to be clarifications made or coordination of efforts.

]]> By: Stan Emelander http://blogs.capella.edu/projectmanagementroundtable/2010/02/01/over-thinking-the-project/comment-page-1/#comment-122 Stan Emelander Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:26:56 +0000 http://blogs.capella.edu/projectmanagementroundtable/?p=306#comment-122 I walk the line between too much and not enough analysis fairly often. Many times in meetings I carry out internal what-if discussions, trying to sort out my own perspective. I have to be careful about speaking out loud in these circumstances. If there are more than two variables to consider at one time for a specific topic, I lose half the team members if I to mash things together too quickly. It is like the process of “chunking” – if you are familiar with concepts you can cover a lot of ground. If not, you have to take your time. Also, if I push for too much detail coming out of single meeting, people can get tired or confused, lowering our overall effectiveness. A variation on this topic: I do encounter managers that plan to [seems to me] unnecessary to detail for certain events. An example is stage-gate reviews that become highly choreographed affairs planned to excruciating detail. Some reviews are “staged” rather than “stage” meetings. There is no avoiding some charts and tables to display performance information, but I prefer discussion-centered meetings to power point-centered shows. I walk the line between too much and not enough analysis fairly often. Many times in meetings I carry out internal what-if discussions, trying to sort out my own perspective. I have to be careful about speaking out loud in these circumstances. If there are more than two variables to consider at one time for a specific topic, I lose half the team members if I to mash things together too quickly. It is like the process of “chunking” – if you are familiar with concepts you can cover a lot of ground. If not, you have to take your time. Also, if I push for too much detail coming out of single meeting, people can get tired or confused, lowering our overall effectiveness.

A variation on this topic: I do encounter managers that plan to [seems to me] unnecessary to detail for certain events. An example is stage-gate reviews that become highly choreographed affairs planned to excruciating detail. Some reviews are “staged” rather than “stage” meetings. There is no avoiding some charts and tables to display performance information, but I prefer discussion-centered meetings to power point-centered shows.

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