About this Video

• Video Title: How to Manage an Urgent Project | Episode 318
• Channel: CorneliusFichtner
• Speakers: Cornelius Fichtner, Professor Steven W.
• Duration: 00:30:36

Introduction

This podcast episode discusses managing urgent and unexpected projects. The host interviews Professor Steven W., an author and project engineer, to gain insights into handling such projects effectively. The discussion explores defining urgency, distinguishing it from fast-tracking, and the importance of considering cost implications. The episode also touches upon organizational preparedness for unexpected events and the role of incident management.

Key Takeaways

• Defining Urgency: The discussion clarifies the difference between normal projects, fast-tracked projects, and truly urgent projects where cost is not a primary constraint. Urgent projects necessitate speed as fast as is physically safe.
• Cost Implications: A key takeaway is that determining the true urgency of a project involves evaluating the willingness to pay whatever it takes to achieve the necessary speed. Simply labeling a project as "urgent" doesn't automatically justify unlimited spending.
• Organizational Preparedness: The interview emphasizes the importance of organizational preparedness for unexpected events through incident management systems. Learning from smaller surprises helps prepare for larger, more significant urgent projects. This preparedness should be a corporate responsibility rather than solely the project manager's.
• Lessons from Unexpected Projects: The conversation highlights the value of learning from both successes and failures in managing urgent and unexpected projects. This learning process can improve an organization's overall ability to handle surprises, be they positive business opportunities or negative emergencies.
• Three Best Practices: The episode concludes by recommending three best practices: 1) Quantify urgency by providing cost and time options, showing the trade-off between speed and cost; 2) Avoid blame and focus on problem-solving; 3) Ensure sufficient support and accountability for the project's cost and actions.

Listeners will gain insights into how to manage urgent and unexpected projects. Key takeaways include clarifying the definition of urgency (distinguishing it from fast-tracking), understanding the cost implications of truly urgent projects, recognizing the importance of organizational preparedness through incident management systems, and learning from both successful and unsuccessful urgent projects to improve overall organizational resilience. The podcast also offers three best practices for handling such situations.

Based on the podcast, urgent and unexpected work is defined as situations where speed is paramount, even if it means disregarding typical cost constraints. It's characterized by the need to proceed "as fast as is physically safe," and the willingness to pay whatever is necessary to achieve that speed is a key distinguishing factor. The podcast emphasizes that simply declaring something "urgent" does not automatically justify limitless spending; a true evaluation of urgency considers cost alongside the need for speed.

The podcast suggests the chances of any one person managing a truly urgent and unexpected project are small, except for those in emergency services. However, the interviewee argues that all project management involves handling surprises, and the ability to manage smaller surprises is key to handling larger, more unexpected urgent situations. Therefore, while the chance of a major urgent project is low, the skills to manage urgency are applicable to all projects.

Organizations can prepare for urgent projects by establishing incident management principles. This involves learning from smaller, unexpected events and developing systems to efficiently respond to larger crises. The podcast suggests that having a well-defined incident management system allows organizations to quickly assemble temporary project teams dedicated to addressing the urgent situation, improving their response time and effectiveness. Ultimately, preparedness is a corporate responsibility involving business continuity planning, data backups, role redundancies and resource fallback plans. The organization needs to define at what level of urgency the incident management system is activated.

The podcast argues that preparing for urgent projects is not solely the responsibility of project managers or a dedicated disaster management department. Instead, it's a corporate-level responsibility. The entire organization needs to consider business continuity and develop plans to handle various unexpected events, mirroring preparations for disasters or emergencies. The chief executive ultimately decides at what level of urgency the incident management system is activated.

The book's title, "Managing the Urgent and Unexpected," directly reflects its core subject matter: providing guidance and frameworks for handling projects or situations that demand immediate attention and were not anticipated through standard planning processes. The title highlights the book's focus on addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by unplanned, time-sensitive events.

During the construction of a British nuclear power plant in Japan, a significant amount (thousands of tons) of specialized steel for the main containment vessel was found to be imperfect after it had already been shipped and partially processed on site. This required the urgent replacement of the flawed steel, presenting a major challenge given its critical role and place on the project timeline.

Regarding the hydropower project, Professor Steven W. notes that there's little the engineering team could do if a customer chooses to make such a significant change late in the project. While it could have been done more cheaply initially, the customer's priorities (public relations or other business considerations) changed. He doesn't believe it's reasonable to budget for such unpredictable customer-driven alterations.

The three best practices for handling urgent and unexpected work, as summarized in the podcast, are:

1. Quantify Urgency with Numbers: Don't just use descriptive terms like "urgent." Instead, present options with associated costs and timelines. For example, "We can deliver in six months for this much, five months for that much, or three and a half months for this much—the latter being the fastest it can be done safely." This allows decision-makers to understand the trade-offs involved.

2. Avoid Blame: Focus on problem-solving rather than assigning blame for the unexpected situation. This promotes a more collaborative and efficient response.

3. Ensure Support and Accountability: Confirm that there's support for the proposed actions and that someone is accountable for the costs involved. This ensures alignment and reduces the risk of conflicting priorities or resource limitations.