Legal Project Management 101 November 1st, 2010

Transcription

1 Legal Project Management 101 November 1st, 2010 Presenters: Andrew Terrett, PMP, Director of Knowledge Management, BLG Rick Kathuria, PMP, P. Eng, CMC, Director, IT Development, McCarthy Tétrault

2 Your project management experience? Survey of experience - What is your level of experience and exposure to PM? - How are you managing your legal projects today? Objectives - What do you want to achieve from today s conference? (Flip-charts)

3 Is this your perception of project management?

4 Project Management (PM) is A structured discipline with: - A number of organisational institutes e.g. Project Management Institute (PMI) - Standards Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) - Certifications PMP, CAPM, PgMP, Risk, Scheduling - Large growing global membership PMI is active in over 180 countries There are alternative professional bodies

5 The Billable Hour Rumours of its death have been greatly exaggerated. Professional service firms (accountants, engineers, consultants etc) still use the billable hour to estimate the cost of a project, regardless of how they are going to charge the client For professional service firms: hours = inventory

6 Definitions of Project Management PMI definition of a project - A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service. PMI definition of a Project Management - The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project objectives In reality part art, part science - Art People Management - Science scope, time, cost, risk, communications, (quality)

7 Artistry? The context of PM PM is: - A set of tools, techniques and guidelines (a toolbox) - To be used as required - As appropriate neither too much or too little

8 Why has project management not captured the imagination of lawyers? They don t teach it at law school It seems like lawyers don t need project management - Lawyers have a framework it s called the Law! - It seems like there are just too many variables in legal practice so let s just get drafting and billing! Lawyers are not adept at applying best practices from the business world Lawyers enjoy the autonomy that comes with subject-matter expertise

9 Part 2 - Why do lawyers need project management? Seven reasons

10 Seven reasons why PM makes sense for lawyers Maintain sanity! Budgetary certainty Project Management is proven it works! Project Plans are great communication tools (90% of Project Management is COMMUNICATION). Project Planning makes for better RFP responses for law firms Project Plans make for better Knowledge Management Project Plans are great learning tools for junior associates

11 Reason #1 Maintain sanity! Are you familiar with this scenario? Excitement Disenchantment Confusion Panic! Disaster Search for the guilty Punishment of the innocent (Rewards for the non-participants ) Project Management can reduce the likelihood of this scenario

12 Reason #2 Budget certainty Law firms are being pressured to deliver alternative billing mechanisms: - Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Value Challenge - AFA s Fixed fees, caps, blended rates, etc. - To deliver profitably, law firms need PM. In-house counsel are getting more and more concerned about costs - They want value; and - They want a reliable budget in advance; so - Planning is becoming essential Why? - it s the economy, stupid (President Bill Clinton election campaign reference )

13 Reason #3 Better outcomes - Planning Precedes Performance Project Management is proven - Research on IT software development projects shows better outcomes when PM discipline is adopted. - No organisation that adopts project management ever walks away from it. They simply evolve and mature in their usage

14 Reason #4 Project plans are great communication tools and an opportunity for reflection Project plans allow the planner to - Reflect - Identify and validate assumptions - Reduce risks Project Management requires that a plan is communicated to all project stakeholders - The entire team - Clients - Partners and associates - Students, law clerks/paralegals - In other words, anyone who has a stake in the project

15 Reason #5 Project plans are great BD tools for firms and evaluation tools for clients Project plans would allow you to respond more quickly to RFPs in a way that distinguishes your firm from the competition Here s how we would tackle your problem - Demonstrates that you have thought this through - Demonstrates that you have done this type of work before For clients, allows easier comparison of responses

16 Reason #6 Project plans are great Knowledge Management tools Knowledge Management is all about lawyers accessing the right information at the right time - Precedents - Research memos - Project plans Avoids wheel re-invention Embeds knowledge for others to access

17 Reason #7 Project Plans are great Learning Tools It is in the organisation s interests that new lawyers get up to speed as quickly as possible on any given legal matter. A project plan provides an overview of the entire process. It defines what is meant by done and describes the necessary steps.

18 Part 3 Some key Project Management principles

19 Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma a rigorous and disciplined methodology that uses data and statistical analysis to measure and improve a company's operational performance by identifying and eliminating "defects." Lean a set of principles, concepts and techniques designed for the relentless pursuit of the elimination of waste. Lean Six Sigma attempts to identify an efficient way to complete a set of repeatable deliverables whereas project management identifies the structured approach to accomplish a set of deliverables.

20 Part 3 Some key PM concepts (as described in the PMI s PMBOK) Key PM concepts - Scope, Quality, Time, Cost, Risk, Communication Bear in mind PMBOK is a toolkit pick the pieces that suit the circumstances In legal services, one size does not fit all

21 The Four Project Stages (the PMBOK Waterfall approach)

22 Initiation Ask / Listen in this stage - Should we do this? - What are the alternatives and their merits? Typically, as lawyers, the approval to proceed has already been given - Acquire this target - Defend against this lawsuit - etc. Output - In-house Counsel Response to a situation - Private Practice Engagement / Retainer Letter

23 Planning Ask / Listen in this stage - What does done look like? - What do we need to do to get there? - Who is best to do it? - What will it cost? Typical response before PM.. - We don t have time to plan, we need to start now.. - Equivalent of saying We would rather do this quickly than efficiently Output - Scope - Project Plan/Strategy - Fee estimate

24 1st key PM concept Scope Management Scope is the work that must be performed - to deliver a product or service and - meet specified requirements. In-Scope / Out-of-Scope Scope Management - Speak now or forever hold your peace - Define the impact of scope changes before scope is approved. (Scope Change not scope creep ) - Distinguish must haves from nice to haves

25 Developing a Work Breakdown Structure Two approaches - Top down (Decomposition) - Bottom-up Expert judgment - Find the people who have done it before Templates Progressive elaboration - Corporate commercial Can plan to the end based on the expected closing book - Litigation Can plan to the next milestone and broadly regarding potential different phases

26 A simple WBS

27 2 nd Key PM concept Schedule/Time Management Logic/network diagrams Bar charts, milestones, gates Critical Path

28 3 rd Key Concept Cost Planning Step 1 - Work Breakdown Structure (Task list) with assumptions Step 2 - Assigning resources (each of which have a cost) Step 3 - Consider contingencies and uncertainties gives us an estimate

29 4 th Key PM Concept Roles and Responsibilities Identify roles and responsibilities of the Project Team - Project Sponsor Person who accepts the deliverables and provides the overall direction for the project. - Project Manager Person assigned to be responsible for achieving the project objectives. Has day to day decision making authority, provided the direction of the project does not change. - Project Administrator/Coordinator Person/people responsible for the administration activities during the project.

30 Execution / Monitor and Control Deliver the work product Ask / Listen in this stage - Are we on time? - Are we on budget? - Have we met the deliverables? - Have the objectives changed? Typical response before PM - Focus on the tasks and get them done Output - Communication - Revised plan - Deliverables Execution Monitor and Control

31 5 th Key Concept Cost Management Step 1 Determine at what level of detail you will manage the budget Step 2 - Ensure timekeepers regularly enter their time Step 3 Compare estimate, cost to date and remaining work You don t need sophisticated tools to do this.

32 Closing Ask / Listen in this stage - What did we do well? - What can be done better next time? - Did I receive value for the costs? Typical response before PM - Get the bill paid (Private Practice) - Determine if any deliverables will make good precedents Output - Lessons Learned (often skipped, but real value add to lawyers and the organisation) - Process Assets

33 6 th Key PM concept - Risk Two elements: - Probability (is it going to happen?) and - Severity (how bad would that be?) Risk Management process: - Identify, Analyse, Respond - Risk rating = probability * severity Risk Response Planning: - Mitigate, Avoid, Transfer, Accept Risks can be hidden, missing or unclear because requirements are unclear What are the risk triggers?

34 7 th Key PM concept Communication Communication Planning who needs to know what, when, how? Project Sponsor Who is the overall decision maker? Responsibility Planning: - Who is responsible? - Who is accountable? - Who needs to be consulted? - Who needs to be informed?

35 8 th Key PM concept - Quality What is quality? What is quality in the context of legal services?

36 The Project Management Iron Triangle or Triple Constraint Time Cost Risk & Quality Scope

37 Part 4 - How does PM work in legal practice? Let s look at what lawyers do Can you scope out this project from beginning to end? Can you estimate time and costs required based on the tasks? Can you define communication and responsibility requirements? Can you identify risk and associated mitigation strategies? Transactions Litigation Compliance Yes (generally) Yes (generally) Yes - tasks to the next milestone in detail. You can also plan end-to-end at a high level with a lower degree of certainty Yes reliable estimates to the next milestone and less accurate high level time and cost estimates for future phases Yes, but more process than project. Deliverables are defined already Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

38 Objection #1 - Yes, but issues come up says the skeptic Issues come up in every project that require changes to scope, schedule, etc. They simply highlight the importance of - Agreeing in advance what done looks like; and - Agreeing to a process for approving changes - (new tasks, new dollars, amended timeline the Iron Triangle )

39 Objection #2 We cannot plan from beginning to end (say the litigators in unison ) So don t try! Litigation is not so much a single project as a series - Clearly you cannot schedule from pleadings to trial litigation is too fluid. - Plan to the next milestone or deliverable - Be prepared to throw away the plan! There is a strategic aspect to litigation that the project management literature does not speak to. There s usually a backstory

40 Objection #3 We re already doing a lot of this You may well be But Legal Project Management: - Makes explicit what was previously implicit - Adds structure to what you already do - Introduces a common vocabulary

41 Key conclusions Project management is about as close to a silver bullet as the legal profession could ask for in this economic climate Consider: - It s easy to understand - It s inexpensive to implement (start small) - It improves quality - It improves efficiency - It enhances communication - It facilitates better lawyer training, better KM, better Business Development - It makes fixed fees profitable - It makes clients happy

42 Discussion Andrew Terrett, PMP Director of Knowledge Management BLG Rick Kathuria, PMP, P. Eng, CMC Director, IT Development McCarthy Tétrault