First Stop on the Tour

What Gets Measured Gets Done

Welcome to your special guided tour. I am very excited to be your guide. On the first stop of our tour, I will explain why I believe that monthly measuring was the missing link to assuring project success.

In 1998, when I began developing the statewide partnering program for Caltrans (which has been adopted by many other states), I understood that what gets measured gets done. Back then there was much resistance to the concept of partnering; many people felt that it was a “give away program”. The adversarial atmosphere made it impossible for effective communication and problem solving to happen. Far too often, projects were in conflict and completed with many unresolved issues. So, I reasoned, if you want to change the behavior of the people in the field, then you must measure the behavior that you want.

As part of the Caltrans partnering program, we developed a system that measured those behaviors we wanted to change. We also ensured that Caltrans and contractor personnel knew that these behaviors would be measured. I would say that the only error we made in implementing this concept was not making monthly measurement mandatory. The changes we brought about would have been more significant and would have happened more quickly had we required monthly measurement.

The critical Lesson Learned was to measure what it is that you want to have happen. If you want to change a behavior or culture, then measure it! If you want to achieve a far reaching goal, then measure it! If you want to make sure your team stays together, then measure it! If you want to make sure a deadline will be met, then measure its progress!
 

ACCOUNT-ABILITY

What is missing on many projects is account-ability. We have a schedule, budgets, and production times, but they are really only part of the story. People may sit in meetings and say they are going to do something by a certain date, but often they then leave the meeting and never follow through. The rest of the team becomes frustrated. What is missing is regular feedback - so that if someone does not follow through it becomes known by everyone and dealt with promptly. If something has changed to prevent following through, then the team needs to know that and figure out what is needed to make a course correction. Even the best project leader can’t manage things they don’t know about! The Monthly Scorecard provides a tool for the project team to be accountable to one another, giving them the ability to share their frustrations, concerns, successes, and, most importantly, their ideas, so that the project leaders can steer the project toward success – not in a vacuum, but with the best information possible.

Mega Projects Need Mega Feedback

If you are working on very large or complex projects  or programs, then your need for regular feedback is exponentially greater. The newspapers are filled with stories about failed mega projects. So many mega projects have failed that Congress enacted special oversight provisions for the owners’ representatives. In the aftermath of one failed mega project, the Denver International Airport, one researcher stated that perhaps projects of this magnitude were just not feasible! There is a great opportunity for chaos to break out on mega projects and the need to keep your finger on the pulse of the project and all of its inherent stakeholders is next to impossible to achieve.

I’ve heard over and over again, when talking to those who worked on failed mega projects, that the fundamental problem was the fact that no one was willing to tell the truth. If you had only been able to honestly talk to the people working on the project they could have told you that things were messed up. If you had talked to the people responsible for performing the work they could have told you that the project was in trouble. If you had talked to the senior level people they would have told you that all was well and that the project was going to come in on time and on budget. Regular, truthful, FEEDBACK, from all of the project stakeholders, is essential for you as a project leader to know what is going on and to know what needs to be done.

This is why I believe that MEASURING is the missing link, and why I developed the Scorecard Program. But it is only a part of the story.

Our Second stop on your tour includes even more lessons learned and how I’ve incorporated them into the Scorecard Program. Just click on the link below to go on to the second stop on the tour.

Second Stop of the Tour