Perspectives & Strategy

We would all like to say “Hold your horses we are only running 1 project this year” however this simply does not meet business reality. For the IT manager as soon as they have defined the annual list of priorities, there is pressure to add new projects, or to change the scope of existing authorised projects.

It is simply not possible to say ‘NO’ to every request, eventhough this word is one of the most powerful within the IT Manager’s vocabulary. The pressures of these competing priorities can result in the splitting of attention, loss of focus, and inability to complete tasks and projects in a timely manner. In today’s business climate there is immense pressure for projects to succeed, yet we know that each additional request reduces the chances on-time delivery

We may moan that the business community has no concept of the impact of a change in scope. Yet in the time it takes to deliver the average project business needs have changed and IT cannot ignore the evolving needs. Organizations need to reliably deliver projects in shorter and shorter intervals, and some of the pressure include:

• Many projects and few clear priorities
• Demands to multi-task
• Procrastination,
• Poor planning,
• Personal disorganization

Lack of clear priorities will cause inefficiencies in the day-to-day utilisation of project resources. If a Mary finishes a milestone ahead of schedule does the project manager or Mary know what they should be doing next?  As we have multiple projects Mary may think they can get a head-start on a new project, yet this may not be the wisest course of action at this time.

It is not a matter of whether or not to prioritise. It is largely a question of who is the most appropriate person to do a specific task and providing clear priorities within the context of the overall priority list. In the absence of priorities, team members will use their own prioritisation methods. First in first out (FIFO) is rarely the best form of prioritisation, yet it is the method that most people will fall back-on in the absence of any other method.

Multi-tasking (or overloading) is recognised as one of the biggest obstacles in a project for a team member, yet an IT manager is expected to do this with consummate ease. For the IT manager it is essential to gain control of their workday,  The key to doing this effectively is in ensuring that the “do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it” rule is effectively applies to every item in your inbox (and I don’t just mean the Outlook Inbox, I include the physical and mental inboxes as well) click here for an earlier article on this topic. Once you have control on your inbox, you can control the competing priorities. You therefore increase your personal productivity by gaining control of your workday.

By Peter B. Giblett