What is the AI flavour of the week?

The project Brief, Saturday, February 10th | Reading time: 6 minutes |

IN BRIEF…

Good Saturday.

The frenzy surrounding AI since the beginning of 2024 is enough to dazzle even the most passionate individuals. Just take a look at social media to realize how much the tech world has gone crazy and how everyone is competing with each other to show how much more powerful their system is compared to ChatGPT.

I don't know about you, but personally, 80% of the "innovations" in the field of AI leave me indifferent. I don't understand the frenzy of everyone rushing to try out the latest "revolutionary" application for editing photos or generating images.

If you've just started reading this newsletter, you won't find that here. Here, we firmly believe in AI applied to science and all disciplines that contribute to advancing society.

In the coming weeks, I will explore the various applications available on the market specifically for project management. Some were already present before the arrival of AI and quickly adapted to stay in the game. Others loudly claim to be THE integrated solution for all our project management needs without making any mention on their website of the use of AI.

It will be interesting to compare the offerings of different competitors and see if one application really stands out.

Go to my Twitter account at @TheProjectBrief and you will see that I don't slack off. This week was productive - like every week!

In one of my tweets, I hope to initiate a thought process in you about the real needs that we, project managers, expect from software that supports us.

In another tweet, I identified 10 project management applications that will allow me to start the aforementioned investigation.

Stay connected, because the upcoming year allows us to see that there will definitely be a lot of things to learn in order to stay in the loop.

ABOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Navigating the unpredictable:project management in time of crisis.

Using value analysis to bring your project back within budget.

The Project Brief, Saturday, February 10th, 3 min read.

Budget Overruns in Times of War and Pandemic

Every project manager dreads finding themselves in a situation of budget overrun. In the following text, you will learn why it is essential to understand the reason for a budget overrun and the actions to take to regain control over costs.

Several months ago, I found myself in a situation of budget overrun for a significant project.

The program was complete, the needs were identified, and no further changes to the scope were planned. The initial estimates were within budget, and so we proceeded with the project development.

However, between that moment when the situation was stable and the cost overrun occurred, more than a year had passed during which we experienced a pandemic and a war.

You understand that this budget overrun did not happen suddenly. During that year, I saw three successive estimates with ever-increasing costs, as the bad news about rampant inflation, labor, and material shortages followed one after another.

And this was without any changes being made to the project.

The last estimate received officially confirmed that I had practically nothing left in reserve for contingencies or residual amounts for risks.

It is important to remember that when a force majeure situation occurs, such as a pandemic, a war, or both at the same time, no provision can suffice to absorb its effects.

The best a project manager can do in this situation is to keep a cool head, observe, and take notes.

Because the reasons why the project exceeds the established budgetary limits must be identified.

In my case, the main cause of the increase comes from the scarcity of resources (labor and materials) caused by the pandemic, then aggravated by the war.

Admittedly, these are two combined force majeure cases that happen once in a lifetime. But this particular example, where a major cost overrun occurs on an important project, allowed for a significant project rationalization exercise.

And remember that you will probably have the opportunity in your career to find all sorts of other reasons to undergo and justify a cost overrun.

The idea is to be ready when the overrun occurs, and the process that follows will probably be quite faithful to what I will explain in the following lines, to a greater or lesser intensity, depending on the importance of the amounts involved.

And this moment comes when your project is sufficiently developed, when the client's needs are sufficiently known. Indeed, it is useless to start a cutting process if the next week the client decides to make significant changes to the project.

But know that several factors could try to vary the right moment to start the optimization process. For example, your client's stress tolerance level. If the latter panics as soon as the project experiences a cost overrun of 10% and asks to bring the project back within the set limits each time, then it is your role to reassure them and explain why the moment to carry out an optimization process must be carefully planned.

Let's agree that for a project of several hundred millions, a 10% overrun represents a lot of money. But the effort that would be spent in time and fees each time a client asks to readjust the project without the scope being reasonably defined is such that it is appropriate to make them understand that they have everything to gain by carrying out the exercise at the right moment.

It is illusory to think that a large-scale project, involving dozens of people, or even hundreds, can react as quickly as a small or medium-sized project. For the latter, the value analysis process will necessarily be shorter and the cost-cutting objectives to bring the project back within the targeted budget could be achieved as early as the first attempt.

But the idea that a ship takes more time and space than a jet ski to change direction should never be far away to establish comparisons.

In the case of smaller projects, the repercussions will be of a lesser magnitude and therefore easier to contain.

The support of your client will therefore be essential when the time comes to start the optimization process aimed at bringing the project back within the established budgetary limits.

You will also need to give clear directives to your team. Optimize, yes, but to what extent? Guidelines will be necessary to identify the level of effort to put into optimizing a specific element. Remember that optimization must be done respecting the initial objectives established by the client.

For example, if your project consists of building an office building for 300 people and one of the optimization paths looked at is to cut a space equivalent to the occupation of 50 people, this option, before being considered, must be approved by the client.

If we talk about the exterior cladding of the building, and it was planned to install masonry siding on all facades to reflect the prestige of the place, would it be possible to consider using a less expensive material without compromising this idea of prestige?

Regarding the project, to facilitate the exercise to be done by the team, I drew up a list of project elements to look at, mentioning that the client's objectives should never be lost sight of.

The final result, approved by the client, allowed the project to be brought back within the planned budget, without compromising the client's objectives.

But keep in mind that several exercises of the same kind may be necessary to bring the project back within the established budget.

In summary, to perform effective project optimization:

• The client's needs must be identified and accepted by them;

• You must obtain the client's agreement to start the optimization process;

• The client's objectives regarding the project must be respected;

• You must empower your team in the work to be done to bring the project back within the established budget.

Software management project: What do you want to do?

If you are considering starting to look for project management software for yourself or your team, take a look at the thread I prepared this week to help you identify the tasks you want it to accomplish.

And in the logical sequence, here are 10 project management software that might interest you:

ABOUT AI

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BRIEF THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

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