What are you holding?
Image credit: Pix Tresa on Unsplash
How often does it go like this?
The ideal, when starting a new project, is that we use the momentum from an envisioning session to launch into the work which then proceeds at a good pace, right from the off.
When to compromise on time, cost or quality
Of course, at some point in the project, timelines go a bit awry and the team manages to complete only a portion of what they had hoped to achieve. In project management terms this often comes down to challenges related to time, cost or quality. And something we’ve noticed at Fairisle is that time is often the aspect that comes under pressure most. For many of our clients, costs are fixed and quality is non-negotiable, so that leaves time as the aspect for potential flex.
Overcommiting
The thing is we all have a funny relationship with time; with estimating what we are able to achieve and how much effort tasks will take. We quite often find that teams, driven by enthusiasm for the work that they are doing, take a lot of work into the first few sprints. Sometimes the work all gets completed. More often, though, some is left undone at the end of the sprint. This is because the project is new, and fitting it into the flow of other activities means that it takes a while for a team to hit its stride with the work.
Is it about time?
I sometimes wonder if part of the challenge here is that we get caught up in thinking of time as the number of hours we have to allocate to something. This is where the idea of capacity is more helpful. The origin of the word comes from the Old French ‘capacite’ which means ‘ability to hold’. Further back, its roots are from the Latin ‘capacitatem’ meaning ‘breadth, capacity, capable of holding much’ and ‘capare’ or ‘to grasp’.
What we can hold
So when thinking about the work that we have to do, is it helpful to think about what we are able to hold at any one time? Taking as an example delivering a workshop, there is the time needed to prepare, hold and follow up the session. Those are all quantifiable. And this goes for the project as a whole. Tasks can be planned and tracked so that as the project progresses you have a better understanding of the team’s capacity, and how long it will take them to achieve their objectives.
When a project is working particularly well, however, it’s often because those leading it - the project sponsor or product owner - have enough space to reflect and process what’s going on in the project - to make sense of it as the team forms and work progresses. This is less easy to quantify, but in our experience, it makes a significant difference to the direction of the project and quality of outcomes.
Who’s holding what?
So if progress has stalled on a project you’re working on, or if the team has lost focus a bit, take a look at the different roles people have on the team. Maybe ask yourself:
Is it clear who is holding the ‘vision’ for the project? For knowing what you are all trying to achieve and why? Does that person have sufficient capacity to reflect on what’s being done and do they have sufficient time to sense what's going on and 'keep in touch' with the project?
Is it clear who is leading the management of delivery for the project? Do they have enough time to make sure tasks are clearly scoped and outcomes defined?
Are they holding too much?
And do both these people have enough time together to make sure they’re both on the same page as the project changes over time? What else are they carrying? Are there ways of making sure they are not full to capacity so that there is space for reflection, learning and adapting as change takes effect? What are the limits of their focus? Because there are limits to what any one person can hold in mind at any one time and this is often the hardest lesson.
Worth taking the time
The benefit of investing the time in exploring these questions is that you'll focus on the work that you’re trying to progress and regain lost momentum.
Try it out and let us know how this works for you.
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Email: sarah@fairisleprojects.co.uk
