johnpvajda.com

A Project Churn-Fest: when project team members spin wheels, burn time, or simply can’t make a decision

Churn: (verb): to stir or agitate violently, to produce, proceed with, or experience violent motion or agitation.

Fest: (noun): a gathering, event, or show having a specified focus.

Sometimes word definitions provide all that we need to label something clearly, and other times “slang” terms are all we need to understand the specific meaning. When considering all the terminology in the Project Management world, all of the phrases, colloquialisms, adjectives, and buzz words, 2 words come to mind that make me squeamish and anxious like no other: Churn-Fest.

So what is Churn-Fest exactly?

We’ve all attending meetings, been part of email exchanges, or witness a churn-fest real time on a project. You probably are participating in a churn-fest as you read this. The simple fact is when the wrong people come together unprepared, unorganized, or simply lacking the discipline to make decisions, a churn-fest can occur. These dreaded churn-fests start simply with a question, a comment, or maybe a request. Further clarity is needed, more questions are asked, more lines of communication are opened, more people chime in, so forth and so on. Soon, a simple question has exploded into a million fragmented sections and you are getting input from 20 people on topics they may not even have expertise in.

Why does a Churn-Fest occur?

These churn-fests happen when Project Managers or Project Leaders don’t help contr2ve all attending meetings, been part of email exchanges, or witness a churn-fest real time on a project. You probably are participating in a churn-fest as you read this. The simple fact is when the wrong people come together unprepared, unorganized, or simply lacking the discipline to make decisions, a churn-fest can occur. These dreaded churn-fests start simply with a question, a comment, or maybe a request. Further clarity is needed, more questions are asked, more lines of communication are opened, more people chime in, so forth and so on. Soon, a simple question has exploded into a million fragmented sections and you are getting input from 20 people on topics they may not even have expertise in.

Why does a Churn-Fest occur?

These churn-fests happen when Project Managers or Project Leaders don’t help control the flow of information and work to involve the right people to aid in making the right decisions. The key factor is you need the right people present to make the right decisions. You need to present the right information at the right time to speed up the decision. You need to filter out the noise and provide clarity in what you are asking for.

People can also inherently feel they are experts in areas that they are not. Just because you work in Marketing doesn’t make you an expert in copy writing. Just because you are a Quality Assurance Analyst, this doesn’t make you an expert in developing code. Just because you can dress yourself in cool clothing, doesn’t make you an expert in design. Being self aware, and knowing your role is in a project is critical to preventing churn-fests.

Balancing creativity with churn But what about collaboration you ask? Don’t we want an environment that breeds ideas, creativity, and participation? – Of course. But it doesn’t mean ever person on the team need to be part of every project decision. It is critical to understand team strengths and weaknesses, and as individuals be ok without adding input. Strong team members who are self aware should be comfortable adding input, or simply not saying anything at all.

A project leader has to know when churn is happening and work to prevent it from spreading like smooth butter on hot toasted bread. It’s delicate and the ability to know when a decision has veered of course requires practice. Focus on listening to the direction a conversation is going. If the conversation is circular, starting to address non-issues, spinning into other topics, or simply getting off track, jump in and bring it back on course in a constructive way. Get to the root of the question, and bring it back to the surface. Ask: Why are we here? What are the goals of this discussion? What is our purpose or objective?

So how do you prevent churn?

1. Be prepared and set a clear goal and objective. This can be defined by requirements, stories, agendas, problem statements, scope statements, etc.

2. Get the right people involved in the discussion, and kick the wrong people out. If you need a VP to weigh in, bring the VP into the discussion. If someone is there and they aren’t adding value, don’t include them in the discussion.

3. Be organized. Keep all your reference material in a shared collaborative environment for easy access. Use online tools that foster organization and collaboration.

4. Know your roles and responsibilities. Define what everyone’s primary job is on the project. Understand what their strengths and weaknesses are on the project. Be prepared for the team to adapt and change as the project goes on. Your strong silent developer may be leading the team by the end, and that is ok.

5. Foster a creative and productive problem solving environment. Make people comfortable with the idea of solution based thinking. Allow people to express their ideas in constructive ways. Differentiate between brainstorming and decision making. Always help to drive to a resolution when needed.

6. Practice solution based thinking, not problem based thinking. It’s easy to say why something won’t work, but make people say how it can work.

7. Control the spread of information. Don’t CC your message to death. Provide the information to people that need it, don’t blast the world with “noise”.

8. Don’t waste people’s time. Your job is to maximize efficiencies, remove roadblocks, help the team connect and collaborate. If people are churning they cannot execute.

9. Figure out what people need, and get them it! Whether it’s expert judgment from an organizational lead, a sign off to move forward on a project, or to get the Business off the developers’ backs, give the team what they need to be successful.

10. Talk! Yes, actually talk on the phone or face to face to prevent churning. 5 minutes of “face-time” can save you 5 days of churn.

Churn can and will happen, but if you practice these techniques you can eliminate confusion, avoid conflicts, and move your project along to success.