Balancing Multiple Projects at Once

One choice kills more scaling teams than any other: The 'More People' Paradox. Here's what it is and how to avoid it... Most teams fall into this pattern: ❌ Problem → ❌ Add People → ❌ More Complexity → ❌ Bigger Problems → ❌ Add Even More People In their effort to add capacity, They drown themselves in complexity. But high-performing teams operate differently: ❌ Problem → ✅ Simplify → ✅ Focus → ✅ Execute → ✅ Scale They know pruning supports healthy growth. Ask these questions before adding more people: 1️⃣ What could we stop doing? • Nice-to-have projects • Low-impact meetings • Redundant reports 2️⃣ What are we avoiding? • Technology improvements • Difficult conversations • Priority decisions 3️⃣ What are we overcomplicating? • Communication channels • Project workflows • Decision making BONUS: What could AI handle? • Document processing • Standard responses • Data aggregation • Routine analysis ✅ Remember: Our optimal path to greater success... Doing half as much, twice as well. If this post resonated with you... 🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more ♻️ Share to help others go big by thinking small What complexity are you ready to eliminate?

A powerful lesson I learned from my dad: Don't set the wrong expectations. 1. "Be honest and realistic" In the excitement of closing projects or onboarding people, we might feel tempted to overpromise.But we must not. When I started my business, I wanted to be everything. I'd say things like: - "We can definitely deliver that in half the time!" - "Of course, we can accommodate all your requests!" - "No problem, we'll figure it out as we go!" Turns out, the more I overpromised, the more I struggled to deliver my expertise. So, I learned to: 1. Assess my capabilities realistically 2. Communicate limitations and constraints upfront 3. Set clear expectations and boundaries 4. Prioritize long-term relationships over short-term gains Overpromising might feel good at the moment, but it hinders long-term growth. Delivering on realistic commitments feels much better in the long run. To whoever is reading this: Don't let the temptation to impress others compromise your ability to deliver. Be honest, be realistic, and watch your relationships and reputation flourish! PS: Have you ever caught yourself overpromising to a client or team member? Share your experience in the comments!

🏗 How To Tackle Large, Complex Projects. With practical techniques to meet the desired outcome, without being disrupted or derailed along the way ↓ 🤔 99% of large projects don’t finish on budget and on time. 🤔 Projects rarely fail because of poor skills or execution. ✅ They fail because of optimism and insufficient planning. ✅ Also because of poor risk assessment, discovery, politics. 🎯 Best strategy: Think Slow (detailed planning) + Act Fast. ✅ Allocate 20–45% of total project effort for planning. ✅ Riskier and larger projects always require more planning. ✅ Think Right → Left: start from end goal, work backwards. ✅ For each goal, consider immediate previous steps/events. ✅ Set up milestones, prioritize key components for each. ✅ Consider stakeholders, users, risks, constraints, metrics. 🚫 Don’t underestimate unknown domain, blockers, deps. ✅ Compare vs. similar projects (reference class forecasting). ✅ Set up an “execution mode” to defer/minimize disruptions. 🚫 Nothing hurts productivity more than unplanned work. Over the last few years, I've been using the technique called “Event Storming” suggested by Matteo Cavucci to capture user’s experience moments through the lens of business needs. With it, we focus on the desired business outcome, and then use research insights to project events that users will be going through towards that outcome. On that journey, we identify key milestones and break user’s events into 2 main buckets: user’s success moments (which we want to dial up) and user’s pain points or frustrations (which we want to dial down). We then break out into groups of 3–4 people to separately prioritize these events and estimate their impact and effort on Effort vs. Value curves (https://lnkd.in/evrKJUEy). The next step is identifying key stakeholders to engage with, risks to consider (e.g. legacy systems, 3rd-party dependency etc.), resources and tooling. We reserve special timing to identify key blockers and constraints that endanger successful outcome or slow us down. If possible, we also set up UX metrics to track how successful we actually are in improving the current state of UX. When speaking to business, usually I speak about better discovery and scoping as the best way to mitigate risk. We can of course throw ideas into the market and run endless experiments. But not for critical projects that get a lot of visibility — e.g. replacing legacy systems or launching a new product. They require thorough planning to prevent big disasters and urgent rollbacks. If you’d like to learn more, I can only highly recommend "How Big Things Get Done" (https://lnkd.in/erhcBuxE), a wonderful book by Prof. Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner who have conducted a vast amount of research on when big projects fail and succeed. A wonderful book worth reading! Happy planning, everyone! 🎉🥳

The user journey is weakened with inconsistent and disjointed efforts. In my conversations with leaders, a common question arises: How do we measure the impact of our work on the user experience? For less mature businesses, this question may go unspoken as they struggle with how to collaborate effectively, but they still sense that their efforts should add up to something. The big issues I’ve heard and seen: - no one painting the bigger picture - next month matters more than next year - siloed teams working in their domains - handoffs are not facilitated or driven - no agreement on metrics that matter - the end goal isn’t aligned with a strategy - endless discussions without action In these situations, continuous discovery and goal alignment can spark momentum. Starting from the ground up, teams can build trust and achieve small, incremental progress, fostering greater awareness. The quickest way to create meaningful impact is by aligning two points in the user journey that rely on different teams, goals, and processes. 1. Agree to shared goals ↳ Decide on a clear outcome that connects both points and make sure everyone agrees. 2. Define metrics ↳ Agree to measurements to track progress and keep points aligned with the plan. 3. Create a feedback loop ↳ Create simple ways for teams to share updates, give feedback, and work together. Start here. Build clarity and alignment. Begin with something manageable. Even the smallest improvements can unlock new opportunities. #productdesign #productdiscovery #userresearch #uxresearch

If I were starting a new PROJECT today and wanted to plan it with ZERO prior knowledge, I'd do this: Step 1: Define Your Objective • Clearly articulate what success looks like for the project. • Break down the high-level goal into smaller, manageable milestones. • Ensure the objective aligns with stakeholders' expectations to avoid misalignment later. Step 2: Build Your Plan Backwards and Leverage Historical Data Most people skip this step entirely. But this is a huge mistake—because you risk creating a plan that doesn’t align with deadlines, resources, or realistic expectations. Here’s how: • Start from the final deliverable and work backward to define the timeline. • Gather and review historical data or similar project examples to understand typical timelines and challenges. • Identify key dependencies and create a logical sequence for tasks. • Use project planning tools (like Gantt charts or Kanban boards) to visualize your plan. • Clearly define roles and responsibilities for each stage. Pro tip: Don’t forget to account for buffer time—projects rarely go 100% as planned. Step 3: Identify Risks and Create a Mitigation Plan This isn't easy. But if you can do this, you will get: • Clarity on potential roadblocks before they derail progress. • Stakeholder confidence in your ability to deliver. • A proactive, problem-solving mindset that boosts your credibility. Here's a quick way to do this: List out possible risks, evaluate their impact and likelihood, and create a plan to minimize or respond to them. Collaborate with your team to spot any blind spots. Don't skip this step. It took me months of trial and error (and some chaos) to crystallize these steps—hope this helps! 🚀

How to Use Earned Value Management (EVM) for Project Tracking and Execution :- _______________________________ Earned Value Management (EVM) is a powerful tool for project managers to monitor, assess, and control the progress of projects. It provides a clear picture of project performance and enables timely corrective actions, ensuring projects stay on track to meet objectives. 🎯 The Power of EVM :- EVM allows project managers to measure project performance by integrating three key metrics:- 1️⃣ Planned Value (PV) :- The budgeted cost for work scheduled. 2️⃣ Earned Value (EV) :- The value of the work actually performed. 3️⃣ Actual Cost (AC) :- The actual cost incurred for the work performed. ✅️ By comparing these metrics, project managers can calculate crucial indicators like :- 4️⃣ Cost Performance Index (CPI) :EV / AC. 5️⃣ Schedule Performance Index (SPI) : EV / PV. ✅️ These indices provide actionable insights :- ✔️- CPI > 1 indicates the project is under budget. ✔️- SPI > 1 indicates the project is ahead of schedule. 💡 Real Case Study :- For a mega infrastructure project in the Middle East, a leading construction firm applied EVM during its execution phase. Using EVM for performance tracking, the project manager identified early discrepancies between planned and actual progress, preventing potential cost overruns and delays. By identifying areas of improvement, they managed to increase project efficiency by (12%), ensuring the project completed on time and (5%) below budget. 📊 Key Statistics :- ✔️- (75%) of successful projects in the construction industry use EVM for project tracking and performance management. ✔️- (58%) of projects that do not use EVM tools report delays and budget overruns. 🔆 By adopting EVM early in the project lifecycle, companies can reduce risks and improve the likelihood of achieving both scope and financial goals. 🎯 Best Practice Tip :- ➡️ To fully harness the power of EVM, integrate it into your project management processes from the start, track progress regularly, and use it to make data-driven decisions to stay within scope, time, and cost constraints. 🚨 EVM isn't just about tracking performance – it's about transforming data into actionable insights for better project execution. --------------- ➡️ If you found this post useful, feel free to like 👍, comment 💬, or share ♻️ — and follow me for more insights on Projects and Contracts Management. #EmadRamadan. #IMPM.

"This isn't just about hitting numbers, it's about creating shared understanding, fostering collaboration across teams, and helping people see how their work connects to the bigger picture." Molly Sands, PhD and I geeked out about culture, processes and systems for company goals. Goal setting and management might seem like a mundane topic, but I think it's the biggest driver of organizational alignment. Three key traits from Atlassian's approach: 1️⃣ Focus: Three to five measurable goals per team, per quarter. Review progress monthly throughout the organization, adjust quarterly. 2️⃣ Simplicity: Tweet-sized updates that reflect not only status but also what you're doing next, and where you need support. 3️⃣ Transparency: Everyone in the organization can see all the organization's goals, and can subscribe to updates from any team. "When people subscribe to goals from other teams and reach out to offer help, that's when you know the system is working. We're seeing cross-functional collaboration that never would have happened otherwise." 👉 Read on: https://lnkd.in/d5xHEGtP #Collaboration #Culture #Goals

The secret to smoother projects isn't about what's in the scope - it's about what isn't. Seriously, whenever a project is about to kick off, I always make it a point to set clear expectations right from the start. When the scope is well-defined, everyone knows what to expect, right? But what about the things that aren’t included? That’s where the real trouble starts! I try to be upfront about limitations to prevent any confusion later. It’s so easy to assume that certain aspects are covered, and not addressing those exclusions can lead to some pretty big misunderstandings. I always make sure my clients know what’s outside the scope. This could be extra features, additional revisions, or any tasks that go beyond our original agreement. So, why does this really matter? It keeps both sides aligned - no one is left guessing or feeling frustrated. Sure, things can change during a project, but if we clearly outline what’s not included from the start, we can significantly reduce those surprises. Having open conversations helps keep everything running smoothly. So, let me just say: always remember to talk about what’s NOT in the scope of work! Setting those expectations early on will save you time, avoid frustration, and keep your projects on track! P.S. Have you ever run into issues because of unclear expectations? Share your stories below

Have you ever spent endless hours on a project just to end up realising that a more straightforward method would have been more effective? This common mistake, referred to as over-engineering, can cause needless complexity and inefficiency when developing new products. Understanding Over-engineering > Over-engineering happens when a solution gets more difficult than it needs to be, usually by adding features or functionalities that do not directly meet the needs of customers. > This can lead to higher costs, longer development cycles, and less user-friendly products. Real-World Example: The Juicero The Juicero, a high-tech juicing machine, was released in 2016. It cost $700 and was designed to squeeze proprietary juice packets with considerable force. Later on, though, it was found that the costly machine was not essential because the same juice bags could be squeezed by hand. The company was eventually shut down as a result of the public outcry following this disclosure. My Own Story: The Overly Complex Website I was in a team early in my career that was assigned with creating a company website. We included the newest interactive elements and design trends in an effort to wow. Feedback received after the launch, however, indicated that visitors found the website overwhelming and challenging to use. In our pursuit of innovation, we had failed to realise the website's main purpose, which is to provide easily comprehensible information. I learnt the importance of simplicity and user-centred design from this experience. Useful Tips to Prevent Over-Engineering 1. Pay attention to the essential needs: Focus on key features that meet user needs and clearly explain the issue you're trying to solve. Don't include features that aren't directly useful. 2. Adopt Incremental Development: Begin with an MVP that satisfies the fundamental specifications. By using this method, you may get user input and decide on new features with knowledge. 3. Put Simplicity First: Use the KISS philosophy, which stands for "Keep It Simple, Stupid." Simpler designs are frequently easier to use and more efficient. 4. Verify Assumptions: Talk to users to learn about their wants and needs. This guarantees that the things you create will actually be useful to them. 5. Promote Open Communication: Create an environment where team members are at ease sharing thoughts and possible difficulties. Over-engineering tendencies can be recognised and avoided with the support of this collaborative environment. Have any of your initiatives involved over-engineering? How did you respond to it? Post your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below!

When you’re in the weeds. You lose sight of the forest. As a PM or PMO leader, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds of tasks and meetings. Here are 5 ways to maintain your balance: 1. Set Clear, Measurable Goals → Align your daily tasks with strategic outcomes. → E.g. for PMs: Break down large strategic goals into clear, actionable project deliverables that tie back to company growth. → E.g. for PMO Leaders: Set quarterly KPIs that reflect both project performance and alignment with overall business objectives, ensuring every project contributes to the organization’s strategy. 2. Prioritize Based on Impact → Focus on the projects that move the needle. → E.g. for PMs: Use a scoring model to evaluate project value against resources and impact, ensuring priority is given to high-value tasks. → E.g. for PMO Leaders: Evaluate portfolio health regularly to ensure the most strategically important projects are prioritized across all teams and resources are allocated effectively. 3. Communicate the Vision Regularly → Help your team see the bigger picture. → E.g. for PMs: Take time during project kickoffs to connect each task to a larger business goal, helping the team understand the “why” behind their work. → E.g. for PMO Leaders: Hold quarterly strategy sessions to remind teams of the larger vision and how each department's efforts align with the overall business strategy. 4. Make Data-Driven Adjustments → Use metrics to guide both strategy and execution. → E.g. for PMs: Track project performance through regular checkpoints and adjust execution strategies when metrics show a shift in progress. → E.g. for PMO Leaders: Implement dashboards to continuously measure both project outcomes and alignment with strategic goals, adjusting resource allocation as necessary to keep on track. 5. Create Cross-Functional Collaboration → Break silos and encourage communication. → E.g. for PMs: Involve stakeholders from different departments early in the process to ensure project deliverables meet cross-departmental needs and expectations. → E.g. for PMO Leaders: Facilitate regular cross-functional reviews to ensure all teams are aligned with the long-term vision and that execution strategies are adaptable to shifting organizational priorities. Strategic vision without tactical execution is just a plan. Tactical execution without strategic vision is wasted effort. Strike the balance, and you’ll achieve real, impactful success. -- 👍 + ♻️ Like + Repost if this resonates with you. 🔔 Follow me (Hussain Bandukwala) for more content like this.