The 7 Habits of Proactive Microsoft PPM Users: Habit 6

Synergize

What is synergy? Stephen Covey defines it this way: “It means the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It means that the relationship which the parts have to each other is a part in and of itself.”

Once all the pieces of the schedule have been put together properly and are in line with industry standards, the schedule becomes greater than the sum of its parts. It will now truly represent the actual project and will enable the project manager to be proactive and provide executives with critical information for decision making. If a project experiences delays or overruns, a proactive schedule will give early warning and help identify the best options for corrective actions.

Synergy on the project team will also allow team members to participate actively in any corrective action required. Techniques such as crashing and fast tracking are much more successful with a synergistic project team and easier to apply in a proactive project schedule.

This excerpt is from the new book, Proactive PPM with Microsoft Project 2016 for Project Online and Project Server: A best practices guide for project managers, written by Kenneth Steiness and Dale Howard and published by Sensei Project Solutions.

Read “Habit 1: Be Proactive” here.

Read “Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind” here.

Read “Habit 3: Put First Things First” here.

Read “Habit 4: Think Win-Win” here.

Read “Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood” here.

Read “Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw” here.

Written by Kenneth Steiness

Kenneth Steiness PMP/PMI-SP MCP MCT is an industry expert on Microsoft Project and Project Server and has worked in the project management and scheduling field for over 16 years. He has managed customer engagements in over 13 countries worldwide and throughout the United States, in addition to presenting at world-wide conferences for Microsoft, PMI, and to many Microsoft Project User Groups over the years. Kenneth is the Managing Partner & VP of Delivery of Sensei Project Solutions, a Microsoft Partner specializing in Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) deployments with Microsoft Project and Project Server on the SharePoint platform. Sensei offers a complete set of services to help an organization make their Microsoft PPM deployment successful, including full implementation and services, training as well as pre-configured solutions and report packs. Visit senseiprojectsolutions.com or contact info@senseiprojectsolutions.com for more information.