Projects in Less Time

Implementing CCPM

CCPM practitioners have shown that significant gains are possible with Critical Chain. They stress that implementation must be swift. Once you decide to implement Critical Chain, it is important to forge the new system while the iron is hot. If you don’t start getting results in two to three months, the implementation will become difficult.

Below are the key lessons from the implementations.

IMPLEMENT THREE RULES, NO MORE NO LESS!

Implementation challenges fall under either achieving buy-in or establishing robust mechanics. It is very easy to spend a lot of energy in those areas by educating everyone thoroughly, tweaking data endlessly, customizing reports etc.

To not get overwhelmed, we must remind ourselves that Critical Chain is about implementing its three rules:

1. Pipelining: Stagger project start dates

2. Buffering: Shorten cycle times and include 50% buffers

3. Buffer Management: Follow task priorities and don’t waste buffers

It is impossible to implement these rules piecemeal. All three have to be implemented from the start, without compromise. Any concession will only show up as either resistance to change or forcing cumbersome mechanics.

For example:

· Organizations doing large projects tend to implement Critical Chain one project at a time. They compromise the PIPELINING rule. When projects are not staggered, resource conflicts are bound to arise. Buffers get consumed and commitments are missed. Project Managers do not cut cycle times. Task Managers cannot follow task priorities. Very quickly, faith in the new system is lost.

· Many times organizations initially aim to just deliver projects on time without increasing speed and throughput. They compromise the BUFFERING rule (cycle times are not cut, but buffers are added). When cycle times are not cut, PIPELINING rule also has to be compromised because staggering the projects would cause all due-dates to be pushed far out. When projects are not pipelined, BUFFER MANAGEMENT cannot be done. The entire system falls apart.

· Some managers compromise the BUFFER MANAGEMENT rule because they feel it is "micromanagement". In reality, without management, buffers get wasted which creates a feeling that shorter cycle times are unrealistic. Sooner or later the organization reverts to its old ways (not staggering project starts; hiding safeties in project plans, and setting priorities ad hoc in execution). Instead of reacting to symptoms when we hit roadblocks, it is better to diagnose which of the rules has been compromised.

IMPLEMENT IN EIGHT SIMPLE STEPS

The following eight simple steps keep everyone focused on the three rules, while achieving buy-in and establishing robust mechanics:

Create management consensus on business needs: Do not pursue Critical Chain for the sake of adopting a "best practice". Use business needs to drive the implementation.
Get buy-in on improvement potential: Managers have to be convinced about the waste before they will adopt new rules. A useful technique is to enumerate and quantify the losses from Interruptions and Parkinson’s Law.
Get buy-in on the 3 rules and set ambitious targets:

To ensure that managers are not just paying lip service to the three rules but are committed, they should be asked to set ambitious improvement targets.

Design the solution: Mechanics cannot be perfect in the beginning, but a few items must be figured out up-front: roles of master scheduler, project managers and task managers; project architecture; and policy-type changes. Everything else can be adjusted later on.
Create pipeline plan and validate it: Check that the overall pipeline plan meets throughput targets. If it does not, re-evaluate the targets or cut cycle times across-the-board.
Establish Task Management: Task Management is the cornerstone of Buffer Management in multi-project environments. Task Management is monitoring remaining duration; and allowing tasks to be executed with minimal interruptions and in the right order of priority.
Establish surrounding processes: Put in place the pipeline, project and resource management processes.
Use Buffer Diagnostics (and ToC’s 5 Focusing Steps) to continue improving: Only ongoing improvement can guarantee a sustained implementation. Use Buffer Diagnostics to guide local improvements, and the Five Focusing Steps to guide business-level improvements.

TOP MANAGEMENT MUST PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE

Sponsorship is not enough. Even though the top managers' role is to set policies and make planning-time decisions (execution is delegated to middle mangers and frontline managers), in successful implementations the top managers play a more active role for the first 6 to 12 months by:

· Setting Aggressive Goals: Only when aggressive goals are set that substantial improvements happen. An organization is more easily galvanized around ambitious goals than incremental improvements. For example, though people were overloaded and projects running behind, HP Digital Camera group set an audacious target of going from 6 new cameras in a year to 15. They actually achieved their target, delivering all projects on time with an implementation that went live in six weeks.

· Creating a Habit of Managing Buffers: Close oversight by top management is necessary until Buffer Management becomes second nature. For example, the senior leadership in Warner Robins ALC go on daily rounds and personally get involved in resolving issues.

· Not Delegating the Implementation Until Transition is Complete: Only top management can proactively identify and eliminate policy obstacles. For example, John Quigley, VP of Engineering at the rapidly growing Airgo Networks, stays involved in pipelining, task management and even training new managers. By implementing the three rules in eight simple steps, with top management playing an active role, it is possible to achieve success swiftly and surely.

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