When it comes to delivering for clients, it's common to want to be seen doing work, being busy, making stuff happen. But that's the straight and easy road to Problemsville.
So, instead: think slow, act fast.
Or, engage in the subtle art of getting stuff done.
This section is about the business end of delivery leadership. We look at important matters to bear in mind when actually delivering work for customers, especially what the means for you as a project management leader.
These vital aspects are the basis of your project delivery strategy: the particular methods, practices, processes, and tools that you'll need your teams to employ whenever they're delivering for clients. And they're the things that people in your teams will draw on in the tactical world of the day-to-day, the place where your strategy is executed.
We look at all the stages of the project lifecycle, from the very beginning to the very end, covering:
- Proposal and commitment
- Kick-off and inception
- Discovery and research
- Prototyping and planning
- Building and developing
- Live service and improvements
- Retirement and decommissioning
In particular, we look at the principles that should guide the Chief Delivery Officer at every point in that lifecycle, the things that bring coherence in practices and consistency in outcomes, time after time.
As a point of reference, this section includes some essential heuristics for project delivery leadership — fast and frugal rules of thumb, learnt from 20+ years of experience, reading, and researching to simplify complex things, and help service and project delivery start out on the right track and stay there.
Take these to heart, learn them by rote, and let them guide your instincts as you work hard to get big stuff done.