The basics to successful project management for civil engineers.

Project management is a familiar and important subject in engineering firms. It’s at the very core of the work, the heart of the civil engineer’s delivered value. For most firms, along side design, it’s "what we do."

Many engineering companies could benefit substantially from a fresh look at their organizations, and the structures, systems, and processes employed in delivering the firm’s project work. Most could also gain considerably from improving the capabilities of project managers through training and mentoring in the basic skills. There are numerous (some good) books on the subject, and many opportunities for training. The Project Management Institute (www.pmi.org) alone lists several hundred registered project management training providers. Some of these providers (including ZweigWhite) focus exclusively on education for practicing engineers and AE professionals.

Along the way I’ve gathered and developed the following list of project management success "secrets," concepts, and approaches that highlight the key areas of success, and for focus and improvement:

1) Project management is a role, not a title. Yes, most firms have a number of individuals with the title of project manager—that’s how these individuals think, what they do, and what’s printed on their business card. Still, this focus on title is often limiting and potential disempowering. Many others in the firm, at all levels and in most roles, can and should benefit from the basics of a project management focus. From the CEO, whose project is managing the firm itself, to each and every associate in the organization (doesn’t a receptionist have an important project to manage handling and receiving clients?). And what of all those young, up-and-coming, aspiring project managers? They should be encouraged and mentored in project management basics. After all, the easiest path to promotion to project manager is simply to start acting more like one today. So a first point is to consider project management more broadly, as a more disseminated and inclusive role description for more people in the firm.

2) Management or leadership? Both matter. The successful project manager is often both a good manager of resources, assets, processes, and systems and a good leader of individuals and teams. Neither management or leadership is more important than the other. Both are critical, involving the innate talents of staff, as well as those skills and competencies which can be taught and improved through practice. Enhancing basic managerial skills (planning, budgeting, scheduling, delegating, negotiating, and such) and leadership (communicating, team building, coaching, and counseling, among others) aid the existing or aspiring project manager in his or her work.

3) There’s no such thing as too much communication. In a recent training seminar, a participant disagreed with me on this point. He felt that you really could overdo it, wasting time of the client and the staff. I don’t know. In an industry (and frankly a world) where so many individuals and organizations are lacking in effective communications focus and effort, my friend’s point of view seems almost theoretical. Maybe it is possible to communicate too much, but then again this becomes a worthy goal for the firm, finding this point of over-communication. Most of us (ask your spouse, for instance) could benefit greatly from a return to the basics—communicating with greater frequency, additional active listening, providing more frequent project updates, checking in with former or idle clients, and yes, talking more with our spouses.

4) Plans are nothing, planning is everything. This Dwight Eisenhower quote (pretty fair project manager, running WWII) serves to remind us that it’s the process that counts as much as the plan itself. Many times, project managers become frustrated and disenchanted with planning because they don’t have all the necessary information, have misjudged the underlying assumptions, lack the authority to compel others, or simply can not properly react to the inevitable changes in the project landscape. But these are not reasons to stop planning, they are the compelling reasons to do even more of it. It’s the process that allows project managers and their teams to ask better questions, consider alternatives, and establish contingencies. Yes, the plans will likely be wrong, but the eventual solutions will often be better indeed.

5) Without a schedule, utilization is too low. Like planning, scheduling is a basic project management tool designed to match up resources with requirements. Again some project managers and project management systems discourage active scheduling because "things are always changing" or "it’s wrong as soon as we publish it." Yes, this too is true, but the real value of the scheduling exercise is in the process, asking the questions, looking at current work loads, considering sustainability verses peaking, backlog levels and trends, current and future resource needs, and individual and team utilizations. Project management is a messy process, and the project load is always evolving and moving within the firm. The project manager’s job is to manage this process and its constraints as best as he or she can. An active, and even aggressive, focus on the project schedule will likely result (in most all firms) in better efficiency, staff utilization, and productivity.

6) No budget, can’t be on budget. Planning, scheduling, and budgeting are the key tools in the project manager’s battle chest, matching available resources to project and program needs and requirements. Lots of firms report that they use these tools, but further assessment often leads to a more accurate picture, where these tools and concepts are employed unevenly, inconsistently, or infrequently. They are used best when they have to be, on the largest, most complex, or most important projects. But these types of projects are generally not the bread and butter of the firm. Much of the organization’s work (and thus success) comes from smaller, less visible, less unique projects. These smaller projects are the ones that really demand higher utilization, efficiency, and project management effectiveness. These projects (often with less than 200 or so hours total billable) require more control, better planning, and budget objectives or constraints. Without a budget and managerial control, the organization’s natural instinct toward better design or to make it perfect will usually lead to loss of profit. In business, the goal must be the best design for the budget, or the best job possible within the workscope, and without a budget this simply isn’t possible. As Peter Drucker said, "If you want it, measure it. If you can’t measure it, forget it."

7) Execution is the heart of success. Successful project managers understand that the systems, processes, organizational structure, and tools used in project management are all designed to get the work done. It’s delivery of the project that ultimately matters most—on time, on budget, and as the client expected. Super successful project managers add extra value, flair, and panache to the effort—that is better communication, added value, improved deliverables, a unique experience—that not only meets but exceeds the client’s (and internal team’s) expectations. They have fun with the work but get it done, delivering on their commitments. Successful project managers are "doers," and they invest continuously in improving their bias for action and accountability in themselves and their teams.

8) Feed the firm and you’ll always be full. Technical and engineering skills are of course paramount to good project management, and without them most on staff could simply not survive. Still, the best project managers understand that engineering competence and project experience are not alone enough. Building, enhancing, and nurturing client relationships is just as critical to their own and their firm’s success. The project manager who can both execute the work and bring it into the firm is always more valuable than the one who only executes. The project manager who develops relationships and opportunities that keep several on the team busy is more valuable than the project manager who develops just his or her own jobs. And the super project managers—those who bring in more opportunities than any others in the their peer groups—continue to advance faster and faster in the company. In most firms, these individuals (often still project managers at heart and in role) carry titles such as principal, vice president, managing director, president, and CEO. Feed the firm (bring in the work) and you’ll always be full. The benefit will accrue not only to the company, but also to the project manager.

That’s my current list of eight basic secrets to successful project management for civil engineers. However, my research and ongoing interaction with engineers and successful project managers continues, so check back for more.

John Doehring is a principal and managing director of ZweigWhite’s business planning and marketing consulting group. He can be reached at jdoehring@zweigwhite.com.