Timothy Porter - PM in China

Project Manager and Business Analyst

portert@hundsun.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:00 GMT

I just finished listening to the recent webinar from the PMI ISSIG by Richard Fox. I found it very interesting and relevant to recent trends. In my own experience I certainly see many more BAs as members of the project team than I used to and see them making critical contributions. The increased focus on "requirements" is essential especially in light of the widespread adoption of Agile methods. In the Agile world, when thinking about productivity and meeting project goals, requirements volatility is a much larger factor than team capabilities, tools and development environment. While finding myself in general agreement with Richard I had a couple of points of disagreement. First, it was said that the BA should report to the PM. I don't find this to be the practice nor is it desirable. The BA is very much like a user surrogate and should not be within the span of control of the PM. I believe that separate individuals, separate job descriptions and separate reporting chain is highly desirable. Similarly having both roles filled by the same person in my opinion introduces substantial risk. With respect to reporting chain I see a trend not just to BAs but also to product managers to whom the BA reports. Lastly, the challenges presented by doing offshore work seem to magnify the negative effects that derive from poor requirements management making the BA even more important to a successful project.

New Year Resolutions

portert@hundsun.com — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:00:00 GMT

We are completing a project to re-assess our strategy for 2009 in light of the worldwide economic slowdown and its impact on IT outsourcing. Since a major focus for us is the USA it also includes an awareness of the incoming administration’s attitude towards outsourcing. Our primary focus is the financial services industry and we anticipate a much more difficult environment in 2009, especially with respect to starting new relationships. So we will focus on our current relationships and ensuring that they remain healthy. In general we are taking a cautious view to the New Year and carefully reviewing planned investment in new initiatives. So as a result I’ve made a few resolutions for the New Year.

A China-based PM’s New Year Resolutions for 2009

I will develop two internal training courses for my staff in China and the USA – (1) Delivering Quality Customer Service in an IT Outsourcing business and (2) Impact of Culture Differences on Business Practices. The first is obviously related to the second but I find that the concept of customer service in China differs in marked ways from our own western view.
I will never again agree to a fixed price project from a customer that is new to offshore outsourcing. Customer education is also important in this business and I’m happy to be finally free of a major pain point in 2008.
We will commit to increasing our knowledge, skills and supporting tools for agile methods, particularly SCRUM. They are now the standard in the majority of our projects.

Finding a PM job in China

portert@hundsun.com — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:00:00 GMT

I've received a few requests for information about how to find a PM job in China.

http://china.recruit.net/

http://www.newchinacareer.com

http://jobs.china.hudson.com/

www.theladders.com

And linkedin.com seems to have a few listings. I can't vouch for any of these but you can try them.

What's wrong with green hats?

portert@hundsun.com — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Recently a potential partner arrived in China for detailed discussion and negotiation about a long term partnership. The Chinese are great hosts with extravagant welcoming banquets and small (or not) gifts like Hangzhou's famous Longjin green tea or locally produced silk items. Understanding this tradition our guests came prepared with several mementos. One of these was a green (their company color) hat complete with logos and special messages. Well, there was great reluctance to accept such gifts but our guests persisted in forcing acceptance. Of course they did not realize that in China "green hats" or Lu Maozi have a special significance. One is said to have a green hat when your wife has been cheating on you. And in fact foreigners wearing green hats in public will receive more than their fair share of strange looks and stares.

It just goes to show that there's alot to learn. I checked all my Chinese etiquette books and could not find the "green hat" taboo. Of course the only reason I knew is because once I'd been that foreigner parading myself around town with a green hat.

PMs and Communication

portert@hundsun.com — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Looking for good PMs. I was reviewing various lists of reasons why information technology projects fail and found it interesting how seldom communication problems are mentioned. In our offshore IT projects communication problems are at the top of our list by a wide margin. I bet you already knew that. I was also reviewing the allocation of effort between onshore and offshore and the trends. In our early efforts about the only thing we did onshore was requirements gathering. Of course we didn’t have any permanent local presence but this was our strategy. Over time we developed a local presence but continued in this basic model. As we found more clients and largely because of the communication challenges we faced, our model gravitated such that, in addition to requirements gathering and analysis, we moved more functions onshore - architecture and design, project management, some amount of testing and level 1 support. With the adoption of some of the online planning and collaboration tools that have evolved in recent years our business model has stabilized with respect to the allocation of onshore-offshore effort. So where’s the long pole in the tent today? For us it’s onshore project managers with good multi-lingual communication skills including customer facing skills but perhaps more importantly within the project team. It's a tough job made more difficult by the time zone differences.

Tools for facilitating project communication in an onshore-offshore engagement model

portert@hundsun.com — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:00:00 GMT

I work for Hundsun Technologies which is a Chinese domestic software company that has in the past few years been building a global services business. With customers in the USA and Europe we have focused a lot of effort in continuously improving our communications processes. We currently have a project underway to integrate a set of tools to support effective communications. On our projects project management, architecture and design is typically performed by onshore Hundsun staff and detailed design, development and testing is typically performed at our offshore development center in Hangzhou, China. There are of course exceptions. In recent times we have been using the SCRUM methodology. We employ a set of tools compatible with our development methodology, the distributed nature of our development team, and a desire to provide secured easy access to the development team, management and the client. Tools are primarily web-based and are hosted on our company website with controlled access.

For project planning and project monitoring we are using XPlanner. This tool is suitable for a SCRUM methodology and is web-based for ease of distributed geographic access.

TRAC is an enhanced wiki and issue tracking system for software development projects. TRAC includes features defect management, source code control, project roadmap management and an integrated Wiki for project documentation. All project related documentation and information is stored on the Wiki. It is also very easy for stakeholders to review. We track not only defects, but also action items, enhancements, CRs and NCRs.

CruiseControl is a framework for a continuous build process. It includes, but is not limited to, plugins for email notification, Ant, and various source control tools. A web interface is provided to view the details of the current and previous builds.

WebEx is used to record each sprint’s demo which is stored on our Wikis. These demos provide stakeholders visibility into our progress; in addition, they can be used as training materials for new staff members or the test team.

Email, telephone, SKYPE and IM are used for routine daily communication amongst team members

If you have any experience and care to share it, I would appreciate suggestions.

Putting yourself in the other guys shoes

portert@hundsun.com — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:00:00 GMT

The past two weeks have been enlightening for me. Two rather obvious events reinforced my own thoughts on a couple of topics. I was in my office on the 12^th floor of an office building in Hangzhou when the earthquake in Sichuan happened. Sitting at my desk I began to feel queasy and considered that I was having a medical problem before I realized that the building was noticeably swaying. Having lived in Southern California for 10 years I wasn’t particularly distressed and quickly concluded what was going on. So did all of my co-workers since earthquakes are not that unusual in China. We evacuated but the swaying continued for a good 10 minutes. Now, we are about 1000 miles from where the earthquake was centered so it was for sure a big one. Since that time I have been amazed but not surprised by the tremendous sadness, concern, and generosity of the Chinese people in responding to the crisis. The stories about sacrifices in support of the people that suffered are legion and they are real. At the same time the government response seems to have received rightful praise – perhaps they went to school, so to speak, on Katrina but I’m not surprised by the government response either.

The second event was the Olympic Torch Relay which came to Hangzhou this past weekend. The absolutely huge turnout just reinforced the sense that I have come to appreciate even more fully of national pride which all Chinese people have in the turnaround that has occurred in this country in the past 25+ years. Many hundreds of thousands of people lined the Westlake to try and catch a glimpse of the Torch. I’m sure that most of them never saw it but this wasn’t really the point after all. It was simply to participate in the national pride it represents.

There’s China the icon and then there’s the real China, and the two are very different.

I recently read an excellent editorial in Forbes by Lee Sands. You should check it out. (http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/05/21/games-china-image-oped-cx_lsa_0521games.html

He says “American and Chinese views of China are radically different--though we often assume that they think just like us." He makes the point that if we, whether as individuals or businesses or as a nation for that matter, are to succeed in our relationship with China then we must work very hard to understand China.

I am constantly reminded of that in daily interactions. “Trying to put yourself in the other guy’s shoes” is essential.

Org Charts

portert@hundsun.com — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:00:00 GMT

March 31, 2008

I’ve been out of commission for awhile but happy to be back. I feel like writing about getting medical treatment in China but that’s a different story. Well, we are now pretty much past the annual planning season for Chinese companies which revolves around the Chinese New Year. I’ve been on a two year quest (since I joined the Chinese company that I work for) to transform our organization into a more customer focused, project and program oriented organization. Seems easy enough. When I arrived here the software outsourcing organization was organized around “competency centers” – collections of Java programmers, or test engineers, or .Net programmers, or project managers for that matter. The leaders of these competency centers did the hiring, firing, reviews, etc. Projects were formed and disbanded as they materialized with weak coordination and feedback with the Competency Center leaders. Finding the customer focus in this organization was quite difficult.

During year one we took some baby steps and by the end of the year we were ready, with some not insubstantial resistance, to put in place a program and project organization with the programs largely focused on a single customer or a vertical industry. One thing I have discovered is that adopting this kind of focus is hard, never ending work with lots of regressive thinking. Training and indoctrination is an on-going, continuous process. I don’t know why but it’s the case. I’ve been struggling to come up with a “Chinese culture” angle on that one, and it’s an easy response when I complain about it to my Chinese Manager here.

So the new organization at the end of Year One had some holdover components in the form of a test center group that was largely a place to stash people in training or out of coverage and a “greenhouse” for nurturing new projects but likewise was mostly a resource pool of out of coverage software engineers. But I was primed for success when we gathered to agree on the 2008 organization. From my perspective I could see the benefits of the increased focus on the customer, a strengthening of projects in the form or more management attention and increased sensitivity to satisfying contract requirements. One of the things that puzzled me in the beginning was the lack of awareness and focus on deliverables whereas my experience in the USA was a professional life that essentially revolved around deliverables.

Well, the wailing and weeping came back as we prepared for 2008. I heard senior managers complaining that they didn’t know what a Program Manager was. There were seemingly endless sessions of arguing both sides of the same argument by the same people. This is another prevalent characteristic of my daily life that I’m more and more convinced is something Chinese.

But when the dust settled our customer oriented organization was stronger than before with responsibility and authority pushed down to even lower levels. The green houses are nowhere to be seen. I see people at middle management levels agonizing over how they can make commitments and pushing back when pushed from above. So all in all I’m pleased, not happy, but pleased. I also keep looking over my shoulder for the inevitable regression.

In the run up to the Olympics, the importance of which to the Chinese people cannot be overstated, I realized that I first came to China in 2001 and spent the summer in Nanjing studying Chinese. I remember very clearly the pandemonium and sheer joy that erupted at the announcement that China would host the Olympics in 2008 - China's coming out party. I recently went back to Nanjing for the first time since 2001 and was very struck by the dramatic change 6 plus years has brought. I’m going on 5 years in Hangzhou and have worked across the river in a district called Binjiang for the past two years. There are now at least four 4-star hotels within walking distance where two years ago there were none. So why is it so hard to change an org chart?

Happy Chinese New Year!

portert@hundsun.com — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Happy Chinese New Year!

There have been lots of stories recently about the bad weather in China and its impact on people and the economy during the Spring Festival. It’s billed as the biggest mass movement of people in the world in which 100’s of millions of people take to the roads, rails, and airways. It’s the center of the annual cycle for people and businesses. Our company’s all hands annual meeting is the 1^st day after the holiday and culminates with a dinner and live performances. The performances, all planned and performed by the employees, are 1^st class and it’s easy to understate the effort which goes into these events. There are judges and intense competition for the prizes which are usually just a few dollars but with immense prestige at stake. Both the weather and Spring Festival are major project management events.

On the weather I see that a number of officials have admitted that preparations for the heavy snows and freezing temperatures were not adequate. But then, at least in Hangzhou, you can’t really blame them. This was the largest snowfall since they first started recording this data. I suppose in the Risk Management Plan there may have been a contingency plan. In some ways the contingency plan was adequate. The next morning many companies simply sent the entire workforce out into the street with brooms, shovels, sticks with boards attached to the ends, waste baskets and more. The brigades made short work of the snow. A small army of people descended on the No. 1 bridge across the Qiantang River and in 30 minutes had thrown tons of the stuff into the river and traffic was flowing.

So our company motto for 2008 is “Er ling ling ba, Xin de chu fa” (it rhymes) and means “2008- A New Start!” For project management we’re planning to formalize the beta PM course we ran a trial of in the Fall and also hold monthly Project Management Forums. Our topic for the first month is Risk Management.

I’m wondering if anyone else does PM forums and has suggestions to offer that will contribute to success.

Christmas in China

portert@hundsun.com — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 06:00:00 GMT

It’s the holiday season and I’m in the USA for a couple of weeks enjoying a rest. The Western year in China ended with a rush. More than one years effort, at the Chinese software company at which I work, in preparing for an SEI CMMI certification culminated with a one week long formal assessment which ended the day of our Christmas party on December 23rd, and the result of which was presented to the team on the day after on Christmas Eve.

Well, from the general attitude at the Christmas party, you would not have guessed that such an important event was scheduled for the next day. There was no sign of nervousness even though the final result was very much unknown. Christmas in China! Based on the decorations in the malls, hotels and around the city you’d think China was a very Christian place. It has more to do with the shopping and the opportunity for yet another holiday occasion. The character of our Christmas party was very much like parties on other such occasions. A multiple course Chinese dinner followed by what might be called “amateur hour” except in this case it was more like three hours. It was three hours of singing, dancing, skits, comedy acts, prizes, and even a short set by a rock band. And these are for the most part quite good. Just to be clear the performers are all our employees and all amateurs and this is pretty typical. I find that the Chinese have a great appreciation for and involvement in the arts. Going to Christmas parties, New Years parties, Spring Festival parties, wedding parties (you name it) is like going to a variety show. And then there are all the budding Perry Comos. There’s a KTV on every corner and in every home.

So back to the CMMI assessment. In these things you always have strengths and weaknesses. Based on my earlier posts you’d think that project management would be a potential problem area. It’s an area that requires more focus and the inspectors agreed. One of the more interesting questions I got from the assessors during the week was the day after the Christmas party. They could not believe that the project managers singing and dancing at the party were the same project managers they had spoken to during the week. The assessors said that “it was like pulling teeth” to gather information. Surely they could not all be so shy. The issues seem to be language, fear of embarrassment or loss of face, and discomfort with the frank and direct approach employed by the assessors. (This is a problem in a normal workday with communications between expats and Chinese much less a formal assessment by expats.) We had prepared in advance with practice interviews and training sessions but this is a constant challenge in my view - the tension between being open and direct and in maintaining face.

So we continue to focus attention on training project managers. We have two projects in planning. The 1st project is mapping the CMMI to the PMBOK and marrying it with our Quality Management System in the form of a course. The 2nd project is developing more specific guidelines for employing agile methodologies in our development projects.

So now that the Western New Year is almost past, it’s time to start planning for the Chinese New Year. At least the assessment is out of the way for now. The assessment team came away with their own lessons learned about the impact of culture on the conduct of these assessments. The next time they do an assessment in China they want it to be just before the Chinese New Year so that they can learn even more.