PM Network - June 2009

During a bad
economy, there
is no time
for secrecy
and micro-
management.

—Richard Laermer, author, New York, New York, USA

“Everyone needs to know where the project is and where it needs to be,” says Mr. Gazel.

Along with keeping teams on track, sharing project information and metrics with key stakeholders and customers can build loyalty and buy-in even if the project isn’t a total success, says Jay Bolus, vice president of technical operations for McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, a consulting and green business certification firm in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.

“You have to have transparency on a project to prove what you’ve accomplished,” he says.

Mr. Bolus points to MechoShade Systems Inc., which makes solar shading systems. For years, the Long Island City, New York, USA-based company used a mix of chemicals and PVC in its product lines, which made the end-product toxic and difficult to recycle. To improve the environmental sustainability of the line, MechoShade launched a redesign project in 2007. The company was able to replace most of the offending material in the shades with a more environmentally friendly one, but it still had to include a toxic flame retardant to meet safety standards, Mr. Bolus says.

“Rather than hide the fact that they used this material, the project team created a set of metrics for every material used in the shades and categorized them according to their green, yellow or red material status. Then they made those metrics publicly available,” he says. “Their goal was to be open and honest about what they [had] accomplished so far, and to be honest about what they still wanted to accomplish, and that resonated with their customer base.”

Making project data publicly available streamlines the project management process and proves you have nothing to hide, Mr. Laermer says. But he warns that it also requires greater accountability and a higher level of certainty.

“If you are putting information out there, you need to stand behind it and be sure it’s accurate,” he says. “Responsibility is a big part of transparency.”

There should also be opportunities for stakeholders, customers and team members to respond to project data by making suggestions and participating in the decision-making process to better outcomes.

“The best people to find improvements are not the project managers, it’s the people doing the job who see what needs to be done every day,” says Mr. Gazel. “If you give them the chance, they will add value to the project.”

TAKEAWAY: Sharing project information breeds loyalty, streamlines project progress and improves the end-result.

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Sometimes they’re public-private partnerships. The Virginia I-495 infrastructure project, for example, is a joint effort between the U.S. state’s Department of Transportation, two U.S. construction giants and an Australian developer. In other cases, it’s two private companies looking to leverage the expertise of global teams with local businesses. U.S.-based Methodist International Medical Center joined forces with Emaar Healthcare Group in the United Arab Emirates, for instance, for projects to build healthcare centers in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.