I spent last weekend at my cabin observing a beetle infestation and decided that I would make a project out of cutting down these trees before they caused some serious damage. With only an axe, I was not prepared for what was coming.
A few years ago a species of beetle infested the forest around my cabin,
killing many of the old pines. In winter, a lot of these trees break from the weight of the snow. Next to my cabin there are several trees so large that if they fall the cabin will break in two.
I spent last weekend observing this beetle infestation and decided that I would make a project out of cutting down these trees before they caused some serious damage. With only an axe, I was not prepared for what was coming.
I had cut down trees before, but usually with a chainsaw. And those were just little trees, 1.5' diameter maximum. I started with a tree whose trunk was double or triple the size I was used to. I started in the afternoon around 3:00 p.m. and by dark, 8:30 p.m., I was still on the same tree, too tired to take another swing.
In the morning, I tried again. After about five minutes, I wanted to lay down and sleep. Just when I was close to giving up, I took a few last swings, and the tree snapped. I barely had time to think as it fell across the road.
Then, it occurred to me that this road was the only way down the mountain, and I was planning on leaving in a few hours.
With this experience, I have observed several things that I did wrong. Below, I’d like to explain how I believe this story relates to project management.
First, I began a project in which I was not prepared. Projects need to have a plan. Any project (even agile projects where the type and amount of work isn't exactly known) should at least have a minimal outline to guide a project through its life cycle. It is important from the beginning to identify as many project constraints as possible. In my cutting down the tree, I had no plans whatsoever - no way of knowing that the work involved would be so strenuous, long, and come with such unpredictable results.
Second, I was not equipped with up-to-date tools. Instead of a chainsaw, I had an axe. In project management, the team should have the tools they require to quickly and efficiently do the job. Project management software plays an especially significant role in eliminating time consuming management processes. Not having the necessary tools makes the difference between an axe and a chainsaw. In the time that I cut down one tree with just an axe, I could have cut down thirty trees with a chainsaw.
Third, I applied no strategy. When the tree fell across the road, it did so because I did not make the proper cuts. I just chipped all around the trunk with the hope it would fall in a good spot. When it blocked my way back home, it occurred to me that in order to get out, I was going to have to dissect the tree and carry it away from the road in pieces. I would have to cut through the wood several more times without the benefit of gravity to break the center. In project management, when a strategy and a management methodology is not applied, the repercussions can be similar. Just because a project seems to be going well, it does not mean that it will “fall” well.
In many projects, it is easy to get caught up in the work and neglect important aspects of management. Being prepared with plans, tools, and methodologies is vital to project success. It is like having the knowledge of where to make the “cuts.” They mark that final moment when the project team can say “timber” and be satisfied that the project will fall in the right place.
