Hi again. In this video,
we're going to learn about a common strategy
used to resolve problems in a project.
On top of several other tasks,
it's a project manager's responsibility
to resolve problems
and remove constraints that are
a detriment to the project's success.
One way to do this is to escalate.
Escalation is the process of enlisting the help of
higher-level project leadership or
management to remove an obstacle,
clarify or reinforce priorities,
and validate next steps.
Escalation may seem to have a negative connotation,
but that's not the case in project management.
In project management, escalation should be encouraged,
used often, and even celebrated.
Escalations are healthy and act as a checks and
balances tool to make
sure appropriate action is being taken.
They can result in speedy decision-making, and generally,
the quicker a problem is resolved,
the better off a project will be.
Instead of going back and forth
between two team members who can't agree,
an objective third party might help make
the call and reduce frustrations within the team.
Finally, escalations encourage participation.
Encouraging others to participate in solving or owning
problems can promote trust and
shared responsibility among teammates,
which are signs of a healthy, functional team.
Before starting work on a project, the project manager,
the team, and the project sponsor should
establish escalation standards and practices.
This means they'll specify
who the issues will be raised to,
how issues are raised,
and the forum for discussion.
A little upfront work will help escalations run
smoothly when and if they're needed.
So you know what an escalation is and when to
set the framework for managing escalations,
but how do you know when to escalate?
A project manager should escalate an issue at
the first sign of critical problems in the project.
Critical problems are issues that may cause
a delay to a major project milestone,
issues that cause budget overruns,
issues that can result in the loss of a customer,
and issues that push back
the estimated project completion date.
Basically, anything that will
affect your triple constraint,
time, budget, and scope
is something that should be escalated.
Escalation is great for
preventing two common issues within a project:
trench wars and bad compromises.
Trench wars occur when two peers or groups can't
seem to come to an agreement, and
neither party is willing to give in.
This leads to a standstill of the project and will
likely delay certain aspects of the project's progress.
Typically, we think of compromises
as a positive way to resolve issues,
but there is such a thing as a bad compromise.
A bad compromise occurs when
two parties settle on a so-called solution,
but the end product still suffers.
When it comes to compromising on important project goals,
it's not productive for either party to
settle simply because it's a means to an end.
Yes, compromise while also keeping
the larger project goals in mind
and working towards those together.
You may have to help your team or stakeholders
make hard choices for the greater good.
So now we've defined escalation,
how to use the triple constraints model when
communicating to stakeholders and negotiating changes,
and we learned about trench wars and bad compromises,
which are two common issues on a project.
In the next video,
we'll explain some more techniques
for communicating with your team,
including timeouts and retrospectives.
I'll meet you there.
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