Don't Laugh - "Too much work" problem.

**thunderlizard** · 26 April 2010, 20:10

Are you implying that getting a reputation for being an awkward contractor (aka having a backbone) is somehow a bad thing? I'd much rather go into a negotion with a reputation for awkwardness than a reputation for rolling over.

**northernladuk** · 26 April 2010, 20:27

Am not a PM so don't know what your contract is like but should that and/or the job description say exactly what you should be doing? If it does and you are doing this at the clients request you are going to be under their direction which isn't good for IR35... but thats not quite the issue. What does your contract say. You could use this to back up your claim and be your backbone for you. You can't seem to be awkward when you are just doing what your contract says surely?

**cojak** · 26 April 2010, 20:29

Lay out what you've said in an email.

What the situation is.
What the consequences are should the situation stay as it is.
Alternative solutions to improve the situation.
How do they want to proceed?

Send to Directors A & B and your boss and let them fight it out between themselves.

I'm afraid you're on a hiding to nothing if you think that you only have option 1 and are worried that option 2 will make you appear an awkward contractor. This is where experienced Programme Managers negotiate with and influence Senior Management sponsors. I have to admit, I think you might be out of your depth in this role. Are you a Project Manager and is this your first Programme Manager's role?

Speak to other Programme Managers within your organisation or go onto LinkedIn for PM groups for advice.

You need to review how you are going to deal with this situation because you'll end up looking weak and incompetent if you let it drift.

**TFour** · 26 April 2010, 20:52

Cojak, the email is exactly what I did..result the non-committal "I'm aware of the problem but keep going" email from Director A, and the "You are my service provider, it's director A's problem" from Director B.

Reviewing it is exactly what I'm trying to do, hence the request for advice.

**TFour** · 26 April 2010, 20:54

Originally posted by thunderlizard View Post

Are you implying that getting a reputation for being an awkward contractor (aka having a backbone) is somehow a bad thing? I'd much rather go into a negotion with a reputation for awkwardness than a reputation for rolling over.

No but I would say that clientco's culture doesn't comprehend being directly challenged or refused.

**ChalkandCheese** · 26 April 2010, 21:10

Originally posted by TFour View Post

At the beginning of this year clientco asked me (as Programme and Project Manager) to take on portfolio A and portfolio B, with the proviso that workload at the projects ramped up would be monitored and additional resource would be brought in to satisfy additional load. My contract is "aligned" to portfolio B so if push came to shove, portfolio A would have the job of finding more resource as I would be fully focussed on porfolio B.

In Mid-March I produced a PM resource demand forecast which demonstrated 1 full time PM was required for both portfolios. Six weeks later nothing has demonstrably happened, and clientco are about to award a (three figure) contract for an external vendor to come into the company for six weeks to complete a due diligence phase on a project in portfolio A. This increases the load drastically on Portfolio A to the extent that it would be futile to even contemplate embarking on the exercise with anything other than a dedicated PM.

I have recommended to the client that they do not start this due diligence until a full-time PM is in place, as it is critical to the development of a global communication platform. I have also asked clientco to tell me which portfolio they would like me to prioritise my services on.

I got a wishy-washy reply from Director-portfolio A (who incidentally I would trust only to stab me in the back without a second thought), saying continue to prioritise my limited resources in a professional manner (and unofficially he has admitted that he knows it will fail but it will prove a point). The PMO director has said nothing. Director-portfolio B says "you are my service provider, you must deliver my projects, the resourcing is director-portfolio-A's problem". No-one will make a decision because no-one wants to be the one that "delays" the (board-level-visible) communication-platform project, so I am stuck in the middle of organisational politics with two portfolios proceeding towards failure.

I am extremely uncomfortable in proceeding "by default" with work I know will fail because it is not resourced effectively to deliver, regardless of the revenue it guarantees for a few weeks at least. I am (for convoluted supply chain reasons) unable to take on additional resource myself to address the issue.

Options:

1) Proceed by default, accept it will fail and all projects will suffer (result - reputational damage, I may escape without contract termination if I am lucky).
2) Politely refuse to take on the additional load in Portfolio. (result - I am seen as an "awkward" contractor when it comes to contract renewal/negotiation).
3)......I kind of run out there....

Advice please?

Been in similar positions before and from my experience you have to go with option 2. As with most of these things make sure you back yourself up with the appropriate risks being logged and back it up with finacial loss - get something in an e-mail (someone/something is going to get neglected if you are overloaded).

Remember as project manager it is your responsibility to report on all issues, this is clearly one of them. You can't be the yes man in these circumstances, you are going to get your arse kicked if you play that game.

Once you raise the issue to the PMO Director he is technically responsible to initiate a problem resolution as well - an option 3 might be to gently remind him that he needs to help resolve this issue or he will be jointly responsible.

Whatever you do, don't sit there and take option one. It will go wrong and the duck sitting idly on the calm pond will be you.

**TFour** · 27 April 2010, 03:39

Thanks Chalkandcheese, I know in my mind this is the right thing to do, I am just trying to work out the most professional way to go about it.

I have reported on this resourcing issue at every fortnightly Steering Board for two months - it is not new to the directorate.

**ChalkandCheese** · 27 April 2010, 08:00

Ok well sounds like you have it in hand then. What I did next on my programme of work was priortise the portfolio based on the information I had and told them what was going to get due attention first and what was not. Since in my circumstances they effectively had asked me to take on 12 additional projects, most of the new ones went into the "not going to happen now" pile. I also managed to get some support from the end users for delaying some of these.

The above did work over a period of weeks for me, it may/may not work for you - a lot depends on how the politics works there.

**d000hg** · 27 April 2010, 11:08

Originally posted by TFour View Post

Cojak, the email is exactly what I did..result the non-committal "I'm aware of the problem but keep going" email from Director A, and the "You are my service provider, it's director A's problem" from Director B.

Did you make sure each saw the other's response?

Don't Laugh - "Too much work" problem.