Marketing Projects: Costly, Complex, Critical, and Often Career-Limiting
By Alan G. Hammersmith
Presenting Partner: Rigorous Program Management Group
Presenting Partner: Rigorous Program Management Group
Throughout your career as a senior marketing executive, you have seen projects fail, a few succeed, but the vast majority could have achieved better results. The purpose of this article is to help you improve the success rates of your projects.
Marketing organizations will continue to focus on the customer, and projects will get bigger, more complex, and more expensive. Customer Relationship Management (CRM), new product introductions, and campaign management (just to name a few) require higher success rates. Not an easy task, but as a senior marketing executive you can significantly influence the outcome of these marketing projects.
Do these questions sound familiar?
- How do you set up, manage, and leverage large customer databases?
- How do you get people with diverse skills to achieve a common goal?
- How do you avoid other projects negatively impacting your project?
- How do you keep critical resources on your project?
During our 25+ years of managing major projects in some of the largest global U.S. companies, we have identified the top 10 actions you can take to make sure that the projects under your supervision are delivered successfully.
1. Participate
You have to actively participate from start to finish. Participation includes:
You have to actively participate from start to finish. Participation includes:
- Scope definition
- Scope control
- Team leader and team member selection
- Removal of team obstacles
- Definition of accountability
- Support of team members in identifying potential delays, cost overruns, or business risks
- Communication of project goals, scope, and status reporting
- Creation of mentors for project teams
2. Create a Project Structure
Create a clear and simple project organizational structure that assigns accountability. This structure normally consists of a steering committee with the project sponsor as its head, project manager reporting to the steering committee, project management office (discussed later), team leaders, and team members.
Create a clear and simple project organizational structure that assigns accountability. This structure normally consists of a steering committee with the project sponsor as its head, project manager reporting to the steering committee, project management office (discussed later), team leaders, and team members.
3. Hand Pick the Steering Committee
Create a steering committee if the project will require frequent management intervention and the balancing of business priorities. As a senior marketing executive, you need to populate the steering committee with executives and managers to support your initiative. Look at the project resources and the impacted organizations. This will dictate whom you will need on the steering committee. In a large, global CRM initiative, we needed the Chief Information Officer (CIO), key regional marketing and sales executives, and customer service representatives. Initial buy-in is easier than ongoing support. Real issues arise during the project as conflicting priorities for resources surface. Make it clear at the beginning that resources are not removed from your project without your approval.
Create a steering committee if the project will require frequent management intervention and the balancing of business priorities. As a senior marketing executive, you need to populate the steering committee with executives and managers to support your initiative. Look at the project resources and the impacted organizations. This will dictate whom you will need on the steering committee. In a large, global CRM initiative, we needed the Chief Information Officer (CIO), key regional marketing and sales executives, and customer service representatives. Initial buy-in is easier than ongoing support. Real issues arise during the project as conflicting priorities for resources surface. Make it clear at the beginning that resources are not removed from your project without your approval.
4. Get Experienced, Accountable Resources
We once reviewed the projects for a large organization and could not identify the person responsible in over 70% of the projects. Do not let this happen to you. The project manager is the person responsible for the success of your project. Take great care in selecting an experienced individual with many "project management stripes." An experienced project manager will know how to select and get the right team leaders and team members.
We once reviewed the projects for a large organization and could not identify the person responsible in over 70% of the projects. Do not let this happen to you. The project manager is the person responsible for the success of your project. Take great care in selecting an experienced individual with many "project management stripes." An experienced project manager will know how to select and get the right team leaders and team members.
5. Create a Project Management Office (PMO)
This is normally one or two people responsible for tracking timelines, budget and risk. We like to describe these people as "diplomatic pit bulls." Provide PMO people with strong, continued support. They are your "eyes into the project."
This is normally one or two people responsible for tracking timelines, budget and risk. We like to describe these people as "diplomatic pit bulls." Provide PMO people with strong, continued support. They are your "eyes into the project."
6. Rigorously Track Time, Cost, Risk
Track these three items, and your chance of success increases. This is why we recommend a project management office. Remember the "diplomatic pit bulls?"
Track these three items, and your chance of success increases. This is why we recommend a project management office. Remember the "diplomatic pit bulls?"
7. Define and Control Scope
The scope of your projects needs to be well defined and communicated throughout the organization. A small scope with multiple projects is better than a large scope and a single project. Your chance of failure increases exponentially with the length of the project. Keep the project time as short as possible. Create a rigorous process to evaluate changes in scope. A word of caution: Scope changes always increase time, budget, and, thus, risk.
The scope of your projects needs to be well defined and communicated throughout the organization. A small scope with multiple projects is better than a large scope and a single project. Your chance of failure increases exponentially with the length of the project. Keep the project time as short as possible. Create a rigorous process to evaluate changes in scope. A word of caution: Scope changes always increase time, budget, and, thus, risk.
8. Conduct a Kick-Off Meeting
Every project has a START and a FINISH. The kick-off meeting is the official START of a project, and you must play a major role in this meeting. This is when you present "The Project Story" to the entire team. It includes items such as background, objectives, business value, team organization, accountabilities, budgets, timelines, scope, business risks, contact list, accounting, and HR guidelines, and how the project is going to be managed.
Every project has a START and a FINISH. The kick-off meeting is the official START of a project, and you must play a major role in this meeting. This is when you present "The Project Story" to the entire team. It includes items such as background, objectives, business value, team organization, accountabilities, budgets, timelines, scope, business risks, contact list, accounting, and HR guidelines, and how the project is going to be managed.
9. Create an Issues Log — Red, Yellow, and Green
An important management tool once the project has started is the issues log. Issues are classified using red, yellow, or green. Green issues are under control and do not need to be discussed. Yellow issues are items that have the potential of increasing time, budget, or risk. Yellow items need to be tracked carefully and turned back to green. Red issues are items that have a strong potential of increasing time, budget, or risk. These are your critical "early warning" items that need to be carefully managed. It is important that the team understands it is OK to move items from green to yellow or from yellow to red. In fact, you should go out of your way to encourage this behavior in order to identify and fix problems as soon as they surface.
An important management tool once the project has started is the issues log. Issues are classified using red, yellow, or green. Green issues are under control and do not need to be discussed. Yellow issues are items that have the potential of increasing time, budget, or risk. Yellow items need to be tracked carefully and turned back to green. Red issues are items that have a strong potential of increasing time, budget, or risk. These are your critical "early warning" items that need to be carefully managed. It is important that the team understands it is OK to move items from green to yellow or from yellow to red. In fact, you should go out of your way to encourage this behavior in order to identify and fix problems as soon as they surface.
10. Use "Keep It Simple" Tools
Reporting on projects often can get out of hand with excessive overhead and lots of non-value-added effort. Use a "Keep It Simple" project management reporting mentality to share information and track project status. Ten key reporting areas include:
Reporting on projects often can get out of hand with excessive overhead and lots of non-value-added effort. Use a "Keep It Simple" project management reporting mentality to share information and track project status. Ten key reporting areas include:
- Project Information (The Project Story);
- Assumptions;
- Key Business Risks;
- Key Contacts;
- Work Breakdowns;
- Deliverable-Based Timelines;
- Travel Schedules;
- Issues Log (Red, Yellow, Green);
- Implementation Plan; and
- Post-Implementation Plan.
Summary
If you have a major project that is "out of control" ... act now to get it back on track.
If you have a major project that is "out of control" ... act now to get it back on track.
If you have an ineffective project manager ... get a new one.
If you have ineffective team members ... replace them.
Delaying taking corrective action will only compound the problems. Our experience has taught us ...
Not a Guaranteed Job — Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
At the beginning of a project, everyone has to be told this is "not a guaranteed job." People will get replaced if they do not deliver or if they negatively impact the ability of the team to deliver.
At the beginning of a project, everyone has to be told this is "not a guaranteed job." People will get replaced if they do not deliver or if they negatively impact the ability of the team to deliver.
May all your projects be OnTimeOnBudget and deliver the anticipated business benefits.
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Alan G. Hammersmith is the managing director of The Rigorous Program Management Group, a program management consulting organization that publishes the OnTimeOnBudget newsletter. Alan was an executive on the General Motors account at EDS. He had global responsibility for all systems that touched the customer including all customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Prior to that, as a principal at A.T. Kearney, some of his clients included Federal Express, Bell South, The Limited, AT&T, Hershey Foods, and New York Life.
