R. Ryan Nelson and Karen J. Jansen (University of Virginia)
MIS Quarterly Executive – September 2009
This article looks at the concept of momentum, the shifting of energy, in IT projects and introduces a momentum map as a management tool.
The article defines momentum as the level of energy associated with the collective’s pursuit of a goal-directed initiative. The idea is to map the momentum of each stakeholder or functional group at different points in the project in order to monitor its health and plan the next stages of building or maintaining momentum. Kick-off meetings and reaching milestones are considered positive momentum events which will increase energy levels while staff turnover and techno glitches are negative events, decreasing project momentum.
Retrospectively momentum maps can be used for post-implementation audits or to retell the story of the project since fluctuations can be linked to key events. The idea is that the PM can solicit learnings by trying to identify the reasons for inflection points or momentum swings.
Momentum maps can also be used to communicate with project stakeholders – the convey information about changes in how the project is being perceived by different stakeholder groups and show the overall energy level of the project teams.
The article looks at a study of 51 momentum maps and highlights how projects team found that these maps are valuable for highlighting underlying dynamics and helping to explain how and why events unfolded the way they did.
The study found that proactive management of momentum during implementation lead to improvements in time, cost, product, value, use and learnings. In analyzing the momentum maps from each of the project teams (developers, mangers, users and sponsors) and the study found that in general all the teams have the same perception of momentum at any given time. Most maps showed increasing negative dips as the moved through its lifecycle.
The article claims that as a PM being aware of the events / activities that influence momentum can help you manage the project successful and shorten the implementation.
It states that the top 5 factors contributing to momentum changes are:
Increase
- Perceived progress towards the goal
- Launch events
- Communications
- Change in project leadership
- Sponsor encouragement
Decrease
- Slow progress / missed deadlines
- Resource constraints
- Technical problems
- Requirements issues
- Ineffective/changing project leadership
Momentum maps are a PM tool used that can be used to monitor and related the energy levels of project teams and stakeholders to specific events.
Reference: http://misqe.org/ojs2/index.php/misqe/article/view/237
Using energy to manage projects – it’s an interesting concept.
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