Execution Management Minute


Issue: August 28, 2007

Dear Readers,

Every other week we provide you one management tip based on our most successful implementations.

This issue of Execution Management Minute is about a key rule for managing multiple projects.

If you find this useful, please feel free to forward it to your colleagues.

The Realization Team

 

IRP to RIP - Issue Resolution Process to Rest Issues in Peace

No matter how much you plan and prepare, issues will arise in execution that need to be resolved. These issues can be technical, customer related, supplier related or even business related. They can be small issues requiring simple questions to be answered, or could be major issues requiring managerial decisions.

Whatever the issue, the net effect is always the same: work stops and projects get stuck. A best practice in successful organizations is a swift Issue Resolution Process, owned by Task Managers; it consists of:

  1. Using Task Update sessions to identify issues
  2. Prioritizing issues based on buffer impact
  3. A short daily meeting with their managers to address issues
  4. Automatic escalation of unresolved issues to senior managers (bottleneck is often at the top of the bottle)

And that's the Execution Management Minute for this week.