Managing dependencies between initiatives on almost any scale is a tricky business. Many large programs and even some portfolios of work have been tripped up as a result of the dependencies between initiatives, or decisions associated with those initiatives, being unclear.  Some time back we wrote a white paper called  <a href="https://excopartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Dependency-Management-are-we-there-yet.pdf">Dependency Management are we there yet</a>, which focussed on the mechanics of  dependency management, however many large programs and portfolios still struggle to do it well.  So how do we do it better? There are many aspects to effective Dependency Management but we thought we would focus on terminology.
Imagine you are knee deep in a large program and have identified a number of things an initiative within the program requires of other initiatives (within the program or outside the program) or from the organisation (eg resources or money). It is logical that some mechanism be put in place to ensure these things don’t trip you up.
Imagine it is now several weeks further down the track and you are confused. You don’t know if the thing you know is required is a dependency, a risk, a constraint or something else because time wasn’t taken to define “our” terminology up front.
To avoid this, consider up front the terminology which may trip up effective management of dependencies. Here are some examples:
<ul>
<li>Every dependency between one initiative and another has an embedded risk. So should we call it a dependency and manage it as such or call it a risk and manage it through our risk management process?</li>
<li>Is there a difference between a dependency and an interdependency? If a dependency is within the initiative and an interdependency is between initiatives, do we only try to manage the interdependencies and leave the dependencies to the project manager?</li>
<li>Is there a difference between a dependency owner and a dependency manager?</li>
<li>Is there a difference between a soft and hard dependency?</li>
<li>In the context of a dependency, what is a supplier or receiver?</li>
<li>Should organisational constraints (such as resourcing and funding) be managed as dependencies or through another mechanism?</li>
</ul>
The answer to most of the above questions really don’t matter.  What does matter is that when the answers to the questions are found, they are communicated, are clear and are used consistently by everyone in the organisation so that confusion is avoided.
So before rolling out dependency management, take the time to define the terms, agree what is what and get the entire team onto the same page.

hands-on-log

Dependency Management. Who Cares About Terminology?

Atlassian’s JIRA have released a new update in August focused mainly on the new JIRA issue view. For those not aware of this update, click <a href="https://confluence.atlassian.com/jiracorecloud/the-new-jira-issue-view-938040503.html">here</a> for more details. The update focuses a lot on the UI design and the ability to open a new issue from any of the following places:
<ul>
<li>Boards</li>
<li>Backlogs</li>
<li>Search</li>
<li>Issues List</li>
</ul>
Now we all know how annoying it could be at times having to reselect the JIRA icon before being able to search for an issue. It makes for a poor user experience when you’re in a meeting and struggle to access the issue list. So, with this mind, kudos to Atlassian for releasing this update. 
However, one thing we have noticed with clients is they need the ability to filter charts. How cool would it be if you could filter your burndown chart to a component level? Or if you could visually see the progressive decrease in a bar chart. 
Yes, there are ways around it through purchasing plugins, but we also have workarounds using simple configuration. We found using boards wisely can cater to customers unwilling to purchase plugins. It is a simple method and has been useful to clients to filter many progress charts for reports/dashboards. 
Therefore, if you are ever looking for a way to filter a burndown chart, then look into investing some time into tweaking JIRA boards. We are happy to help if you want to know more. In the meantime, make sure you vote to have this feature in upcoming versions.

What could be improved about the latest Jira View?

On the 24th September, Microsoft announced the general availability of Microsoft Project 2019. 
See <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2018/09/24/office-2019-is-now-available-for-windows-and-mac/">https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2018/09/24/office-2019-is-now-available-for-windows-and-mac/</a> 
So what does that mean for users of Microsoft Project ? It really depends if you are a stand-alone user or if you use it via Office 365. For those using via Office 365, they get enhancements progressively anyway, so for them there is no difference. For stand-alone users, its mainly security updates and fixes. Microsoft assures us of at least one more update in the future for stand-alone users, but don’t hold your breath for fundamental changes. 
What is new in 2019 ? From what we can work out, not much. The enhancements they promote include:
<ul>
<li>Security updates and fixes</li>
<li>Better user interface for adding Predecessors via the table cell</li>
<li>Timeline &#8211; enhancements to bar labelling</li>
</ul>
Is that it ? Fact is, Microsoft Project is an old piece of software dating back to the early 1990s. Sure, it’s been made prettier over the years and had a few new features added, but fundamentally it’s the same tool. Updates typically add a few new features, but only one, in 2010 bringing in the ribbon user interface really changed the product. The analogy is taking the previous new car model and adding pin stripes, then doing that for 30 years. It could be the product is so complex nobody is really too sure how it works. Or it could be that they don’t want to mess with their dominant market share. Who knows, but users expect more. 
In addition, Project Management has evolved dramatically over the last 10 years with Agile in particular. Surely we should be seeing planning tools evolving too. If Microsoft isn’t careful a new incumbent will overtake them in the planning space.

New Version of Microsoft Project, or more of the same?

If you have missed the latest announcement from Microsoft, they have announced that Project Online is going to go through a major revamp in the future. More details on that <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2018/09/25/a-new-vision-for-modern-work-management-with-microsoft-project/">here</a>. The announcement goes into more detail, but in summary:
<ul>
<li>It won’t sit on SharePoint</li>
<li>There will be greater collaborative capability</li>
<li>It will cater to new ways of working</li>
<li>Probably the most important for users – users can work on the same Project Plan simultaneously (no check in/out and publish, which is a big improvement!)</li>
<li>The most important update for us behind the scenes &#8211; integrated reporting on Common Data Services (this will make the reporting solution more elegant)</li>
</ul>
But what does it mean for you, the users? We see three groups of people, depending on where you are in your PPM tool lifecycle.
Scenario 1: You own and use Project Online 
Nothing changes. The new architecture will be rolled out to new users of Project (the new name of Project Online). So you can let them work out all the bugs, which we know there will be for any new products. Alternatively, if you are really keen, you can be a trailblazer and migrate across early on. In addition, Microsoft will be rolling out tools to help make the switch easy, if you have not done heavy customisations to your environment.
Scenario 2: You are in the middle of implementing Project Online 
Don’t throw the implementation out. The new Project is probably 3-4 years away from being rolled out and becoming stable, which we believe is the typical ownership time for any PPM tool. Hence finish your implementation, get massive benefit from using it early, and in 3-4 years’ time, evaluate Project against the other PPM tools in the market.
Scenario 3: You don’t own Project Online, or any PPM tool 
This is a tricky one. If you are looking for a PPM tool right now, don’t go looking and waiting for the new Project to come out, stick to the current version of Project Online. However, if you are planning to implement a PPM tool in a couple of years, it might be better to look at the new Project then.
Conclusion 
Microsoft have said that Project Online is not going anywhere anytime soon. In addition, CCG is a trusted Microsoft Silver partner, and we keep abreast of all Microsoft updates. Anywhere you are in the three scenarios above, we are happy to be a sounding board if you need more advice. The tool only provides value if you have the processes in place and bring the people along with the journey. 
What do you think? We would love to hear your feedback.

Dependency Management. Who Cares About Terminology?

What could be improved about the latest Jira View?

New Version of Microsoft Project, or more of the same?

What does the new Project Online mean for you?