APPENDIX B: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY______________________

Much is written about a project manager's technical competencies and people skills; however, there is almost nothing available specifically on a project manager's habits and/or traits backed by some research and data.

Over the last 20 years, the authors leveraged their own experiences (see Appendix A) to interview and survey 25 senior project managers with whom we worked with on various projects in several different countries/cultures. When interviewed, the project managers, on average, had 25 years of industry experience, hence, representing a total of 625 years of project management experience. Interview questions were open-ended, allowing the project managers to draw from their own experiences within project management. From the interviews, we developed a list of a dozen critical habits. We then surveyed an additional 25 project managers/core team functional managers, asking them to rank the list of a dozen habits based on two criteria, ease of adoption and potential impact on the project environment. We analyzed the survey results and selected and consolidated our findings into nine critical habits. We further explored the business drivers behind these habits. Finally, we reorganized the nine habits based on similar themes and alignment with PMI principles and practices.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS PROCESS

Step 1: Over the course of the first 20 years of my career, I took the time to closely observe and informally interview 25 senior project managers/directors that I worked with, including many from the owner's side. In the interviews, I would ask them which professional habits worked and which did not work during project execution. These projects (as listed in Appendix A) varied in size, complexity, duration, technology, budget, and global location. However, most of the responses that I received had a common thread.

Step 2: I then consolidated responses gathered from the 25 senior project managers/directors to 12 habits, as many were essentially the same, but were stated in different words:

1. Give clear directions

2. Get the right core team

3. Keep an eye on delivery—imagination—finish to start

4. Write down important things/meeting notes

5. Do not surprise management or customer

6. Conduct regular project meetings and keep them on time

7. Develop deep subject knowledge

8. Own the project

9. Have fun and celebrate achievements

10. Set project goals. Incentivize team members. Set up reward systems.

11. Do risk analysis

12. Do not accept poor quality products from subordinates

Step 3: During the last 10 years of my career, I surveyed an additional 25 project managers/core team members (e.g., engineering manager, quality control manager, subcontracts manager, technical delivery manager) to rank the list of 12 habits based on two criteria: ease of adoption and real positive impact on the project environment.

Step 4: Based on the ranking, we selected the nine habits that envelop the entire project life cycle from start to finish. The following three habits were removed from the list:

1. Give clear directions - encompassed in Habit 4

2. Develop deep subject knowledge - encompassed in Habit 2

3. Do not accept poor quality products from subordinates - encompassed in Habits 1, 2, and 3

Step 5: We further analyzed the nine habits based on our own project experience and identified the business rationale behind these critical habits. We found that there is a strong business reason to promote these habits. They all lead to enhanced profitability and efficiency in executing any project.

Step 6: We then reviewed the PMBOK® Guide – Fifth Edition and aligned the nine habits to the 10 core Knowledge Areas. We found that two Knowledge Areas—Project Communications Management and Project Stakeholder Management—are at the heart of each habit.