This is the story of my aunt Mary, whose funeral I attended today. She was my inspiration to join Toastmasters, for she joined a parallel organization called Toastmistresses in the late 1960s. Why? Because Toastmasters was, until the early 1970s, a men’s-only club.
I will continue this story upon my return to Chicago…
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The first part of Terry Schmidt’s book Strategic Project Management Made Simple introduces the concept of the Logical Framework Matrix and shows how it proceeds from four critical strategic questions. The second part of his book goes into detail regarding those four critical strategic questions. However, both of these parts of the book are essentially dealing with the initiating and planning process groups. What about the executing and the monitoring & controlling process groups? How can the Logical Framework Matrix be used for these processes? That is the subject of the third part of the book. 1. Think-Plan-Act-Access action cycle The traditional Deming project cycle is Plan-Do-Check-Act, where these phases corresponding to the project management process groups in the following way:
Terry Schmidt revises this cycle, with the phases in his cycle corresponding to the project management process groups in the following way:
The three types of assessment including under the phase of “Assess” are:
This post deals with the third type of assessment, Project Evaluation, and how it is enabled by the Logical Framework Matrix.
to be continued
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The first part of Terry Schmidt’s book Strategic Project Management Made Simple introduces the concept of the Logical Framework Matrix and shows how it proceeds from four critical strategic questions. The second part of his book goes into detail regarding those four critical strategic questions. However, both of these parts of the book are essentially dealing with the initiating and planning process groups. What about the executing and the monitoring & controlling process groups? How can the Logical Framework Matrix be used for these processes? That is the subject of the third part of the book.
1. Think-Plan-Act-Access action cycle
The traditional Deming project cycle is Plan-Do-Check-Act, where these phases corresponding to the project management process groups in the following way:
Terry Schmidt revises this cycle, with the phases in his cycle corresponding to the project management process groups in the following way:
The three types of assessment including under the phase of “Assess” are:
This post deals with the first type of assessment, Project Monitoring, and how it is enabled by the Logical Framework Matrix.
2. Project Monitoring
The three levels of Objectives are
The inputs are the breakdown of the activities and resources used to create the Outcomes. Project Monitoring is simply an assessment of the progress being made in turning those Inputs into Outcomes.
A fine-grained way of assessing progress is Earned Value Analysis, which is not detailed in Terry Schmidt’s book. The first level of assessment should be establishing major milestones, which consist of the following:
Rather than waiting until the deadlines for these events, a project manager should have “trip-wires” in his or her schedule that allow for monitoring progress a certain amount of time BEFORE the milestones or deadlines occur so that any extra resources can be added to assure that those milestones are met.
3. Trip-wire conversations
Rathering than asking your project team “how is it going” in general at the trip-wire events, you should ask the following conversation starters:
Notice that the last type of “milestone” listed above were “periodic reviews.” That will be the subject of the next post.
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The second part of Terry Schmidt’s book Strategic Management Made Simple focuses in on the relationship between the four critical strategic questions and how they are captured visually in the Logical Framework approach. As a review from the first part of his book which introduced them, those four critical strategic questions are:
–What are we trying to accomplish and why?
–How will we measure success?
–What other conditions must exist?
–How do we get there?
The third chapter of this second part focuses in on the third critical strategic question, “What other conditions must exist?”
1. Introduction
The answer to the first question will yield you the Objectives, which are the …
–Outcome of the project (the answer to the question “What are we trying to accomplish?”)
–Purpose of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the customer–what business need is the product of the project is trying to fill?”)
–Goal of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the organization doing the project–what strategic need are the benefits from the project going to meet?”)
These answers to the first question involve vertical linkages between the Outcome, Purpose, and Goal objectives.
The answer to the second question will ask you “how do you measure success” for EACH LEVEL of the objectives. The four tips for meaningful measures of success are:
These answers to the second question involve horizontal linkages between the objectives and their success measures.
The answers to the third question will involve diagonal linkages between the objectives and the assumptions that you need to make in order for them to be achieved and measured.
TO BE CONTINUED
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The second part of Terry Schmidt’s book Strategic Management Made Simple focuses in on the relationship between the four critical strategic questions and how they are captured visually in the Logical Framework approach. As a review from the first part of his book which introduced them, those four critical strategic questions are:
–What are we trying to accomplish and why?
–How will we measure success?
–What other conditions must exist?
–How do we get there?
The third chapter of this second part focuses in on the third critical strategic question, “What other conditions must exist?”
1. Introduction
The answer to the first question will yield you the Objectives, which are the …
–Outcome of the project (the answer to the question “What are we trying to accomplish?”)
–Purpose of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the customer–what business need is the product of the project is trying to fill?”)
–Goal of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the organization doing the project–what strategic need are the benefits from the project going to meet?”)
These answers to the first question involve vertical linkages between the Outcome, Purpose, and Goal objectives.
The answer to the second question will ask you “how do you measure success” for EACH LEVEL of the objectives. The four tips for meaningful measures of success are:
These answers to the second question involve horizontal linkages between the objectives and their success measures.
The answers to the third question will involve diagonal linkages between the objectives and the assumptions that you need to make in order for them to be achieved and measured.
TO BE CONTINUED
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The second part of Terry Schmidt’s book Strategic Management Made Simple focuses in on the relationship between the four critical strategic questions and how they are captured visually in the Logical Framework approach. As a review from the first part of his book which introduced them, those four critical strategic questions are:
–What are we trying to accomplish and why?
–How will we measure success?
–What other conditions must exist?
–How do we get there?
The third chapter of this second part focuses in on the third critical strategic question, “What other conditions must exist?”
1. Introduction
The answer to the first question will yield you the Objectives, which are the …
–Outcome of the project (the answer to the question “What are we trying to accomplish?”)
–Purpose of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the customer–what business need is the product of the project is trying to fill?”)
–Goal of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the organization doing the project–what strategic need are the benefits from the project going to meet?”)
These answers to the first question involve vertical linkages between the Outcome, Purpose, and Goal objectives.
The answer to the second question will ask you “how do you measure success” for EACH LEVEL of the objectives. The four tips for meaningful measures of success are:
These answers to the second question involve horizontal linkages between the objectives and their success measures.
The answers to the third question will involve diagonal linkages between the objectives and the assumptions that you need to make in order for them to be achieved and measured.
TO BE CONTINUED
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The second part of Terry Schmidt’s book Strategic Management Made Simple focuses in on the relationship between the four critical strategic questions and how they are captured visually in the Logical Framework approach. As a review from the first part of his book which introduced them, those four critical strategic questions are:
–What are we trying to accomplish and why?
–How will we measure success?
–What other conditions must exist?
–How do we get there?
The third chapter of this second part focuses in on the third critical strategic question, “What other conditions must exist?”
1. Introduction
The answer to the first question will yield you the Objectives, which are the …
–Outcome of the project (the answer to the question “What are we trying to accomplish?”)
–Purpose of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the customer–what business need is the product of the project is trying to fill?”)
–Goal of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the organization doing the project–what strategic need are the benefits from the project going to meet?”)
These answers to the first question involve vertical linkages between the Outcome, Purpose, and Goal objectives.
The answer to the second question will ask you “how do you measure success” for EACH LEVEL of the objectives. The four tips for meaningful measures of success are:
These answers to the second question involve horizontal linkages between the objectives and their success measures.
The answers to the third question will involve diagonal linkages between the objectives and the assumptions that you need to make in order for them to be achieved and measured.
TO BE CONTINUED
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The second part of Terry Schmidt’s book Strategic Management Made Simple focuses in on the relationship between the four critical strategic questions and how they are captured visually in the Logical Framework approach. As a review from the first part of his book which introduced them, those four critical strategic questions are:
–What are we trying to accomplish and why?
–How will we measure success?
–What other conditions must exist?
–How do we get there?
The third chapter of this second part focuses in on the third critical strategic question, “What other conditions must exist?”
1. Introduction
The answer to the first question will yield you the Objectives, which are the …
–Outcome of the project (the answer to the question “What are we trying to accomplish?”)
–Purpose of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the customer–what business need is the product of the project is trying to fill?”)
–Goal of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the organization doing the project–what strategic need are the benefits from the project going to meet?”)
These answers to the first question involve vertical linkages between the Outcome, Purpose, and Goal objectives.
The answer to the second question will ask you “how do you measure success” for EACH LEVEL of the objectives. The four tips for meaningful measures of success are:
These answers to the second question involve horizontal linkages between the objectives and their success measures.
The answers to the third question will involve diagonal linkages between the objectives and the assumptions that you need to make in order for them to be achieved and measured.
TO BE CONTINUED
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The second part of Terry Schmidt’s book Strategic Management Made Simple focuses in on the relationship between the four critical strategic questions and how they are captured visually in the Logical Framework approach. As a review from the first part of his book which introduced them, those four critical strategic questions are:
–What are we trying to accomplish and why?
–How will we measure success?
–What other conditions must exist?
–How do we get there?
The third chapter of this second part focuses in on the third critical strategic question, “What other conditions must exist?”
1. Introduction
The answer to the first question will yield you the Objectives, which are the …
–Outcome of the project (the answer to the question “What are we trying to accomplish?”)
–Purpose of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the customer–what business need is the product of the project is trying to fill?”)
–Goal of the project (“why is the project being done from the standpoint of the organization doing the project–what strategic need are the benefits from the project going to meet?”)
These answers to the first question involve vertical linkages between the Outcome, Purpose, and Goal objectives.
The answer to the second question will ask you “how do you measure success” for EACH LEVEL of the objectives. The four tips for meaningful measures of success are:
These answers to the second question involve horizontal linkages between the objectives and their success measures.
The answers to the third question will involve diagonal linkages between the objectives and the assumptions that you need to make in order for them to be achieved and measured.
2. Diagonal Linkages
In the last post, I reviewed how Terry Schmidt outlines the process of coming up with assumptions
These correspond, in Project Management process languages, to the processes listed in parentheses.
The concept of diagonal linkages comes from the fact that the outcomes are linked vertically, like so,
Objectives
Goal
Purpose
Outcome
Inputs
Each of the above are linked to the Assumptions in the same row in the following manner:
Inputs + Assumptions = Outcome
Outcome + Purpose Assumption = Purpose
Purpose + Goal Assumption = Goal
3. Monitoring and Controling Assumptions
In the three steps mentioned in the last post, the risk management processes in the planning process group were covered (processes 11.1 through 11.5), but the assumptions in the Logical Framework approach can also be used to handle the risk management process in the monitoring & controlling process group called 11.6 Control Risks.
This can be done in the following ways:
In the last case, then Outcomes and/or Input activities need to be added to the project design.
4. Other Project Management Activities affected by Assumptions
Assumptions can also influence other project management activities, such as:
Finally, assumptions serve the role of giving your project management team confidence that the project plan is robust, that is, it can be maintained in the face of external or internal risks to the project.
This concludes the discussion of the third critical strategic question. The next series of posts deals with the fourth critical strategic question, “how do we get there?”
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The purpose of the Body Module is to introduce you to practices which cultivate your health by taking care of the matter of your gross physical body. But beyond this, the module introduces you to the other bodies that are also vital for one’s health, the energy in your subtle body, and the causal body of stillness within which the other two bodies rest.
1. Three Bodies
In the same way that your consciousness normally has three states–waking, dreaming, and deep sleep–your body also has the corresponding gross, subtle, and causal bodies. Remember the distinction in the quadrants between the interior and exterior dimensions of reality? The interior quadrants are the ones are the left, and the exterior quadrants are the ones on the right.
Each state of consciousness is an interior dimension which has a corresponding exterior form or dimension that is referred to as a body. Let’s take a look at each of the three states of consciousness in turn and the associated form or body which encapsulates them.
this post to be continued
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