As we all know, Cricket is not just a sport in India. It is no less than a religion here, as a huge majority of Indians are ardent followers of this game and our Cricketers are worshipped in a billion hearts.
Having grown up hearing the gentle thwack of leather/tennis ball on willow in the parks, grounds, stadiums, the euphoria of this game flows from generation to generation. With the mercury rising on the upcoming Cricket World Cup, my thoughts turn to some of the similarities my favorite sport shares with another interest of mine (or atleast, profession) – Project Management.
It’s an irony that regardless of their popularity, most people do not understand either of them. We still hear self-proclaimed experts talking and debating on the nuances of the game and giving a very personal analysis. Likewise, we have so many project management gurus around, preaching methodologies and practices which they never have really put into action. In reality, very few people understand the true scope and value of what a project manager does. Let’s take a light-hearted look at how they are comparable in more than one way:
Clear boundaries
Round the edge of the field, a defined boundary is the difference between single & double runs and 4 or 6 runs. Field restrictions and other concepts such as Powerplay define a common set of rules to abide with.
In a similar way, projects should have a clear and well defined scope, so that there is no dispute over what has or hasn’t been delivered.
Limited resources
The fielding team only has 11 men to deploy around the field of not less than 150 yards, therefore captain must optimally balance these resources to achieve the best results. He must make sure his best people are in the most critical positions, such as the slips, but also need to account for the risk of a stray ball to long-on or long-off, whereas for the batting team, the most crucial decision is about the batting line-up.
Similarly a Project Manager needs to allocate their best resources to the most critical tasks, but also be ready to divert them to troublesome areas in the project whenever required. It’s also important to manage the portfolio efficiently. Captain and selectors must balance the team in the right way to achieve their objectives.
The selection of a team involves finding the right ratio of bowlers to batsmen or slow and steady run accumulators to aggressive and free-scoring impact players. This is similar to the role of the project manager trying to pick the right mix of resources in the project to distribute risk and maximize return on investment.
Play to your strengths
The captain of a cricket team may set one type of field if they are using a fast bowler and a different type of field if they are using a spin bowler and in addition to this, captain may choose to change the field settings as per the batsman on strike. Bowlers can seldom bat well and vice versa, however the exception to this, are known as ‘All-Rounders’. Similarly, a PM must organize the project around the strengths of his team. PM may need some good cross-functional team members in the team to cope with any unexpected situations.
Formulae and methods
In a more PM technical term, the ‘To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI)’ of the ‘Earned Value Method (EVM)’ bears a striking resemblance to the run-rate calculations from the Duckworth-Lewis Method (D/L) used in one day cricket. Each of these methods is very complex and is based on past performances and other stats. Therefore, calculations are an inevitable part of both the worlds.
Phases and milestones
The most successful cricket teams understand that a test match goes through many different phases and these are punctuated by milestones such as declarations, wickets, lunch or even taking the new ball, which, when used properly, can totally turn the tide of the match. Similarly the PM must divide their project into clear phases to have more control and use milestones wisely to motivate the team and track the progress. This becomes vital in projects with phased deliveries.
Consider your environment
Just as a cricket captain must take into account of the weather, humidity, texture and condition of the pitch, nature of the crowd and direction of the wind, the PM must analyze his project environment, including culture of the organizations (both client’s and own), attitude towards authority, reporting structures, working times, client’s priorities, infrastructure including software and hardware set-ups and security policies.
Risk is everywhere, and must be managed
A cricketer is constantly calculating risk exposure and coming up with strategies and workarounds to deal with it, right from the outcome of the coin toss, to the clumsy sweep from your expert batsman through to an uncertain hope that the ball will swing in the attack, to the probability of getting high rise catches, to steal some extra runs by gauging fielder’s response. In a similar way, the project manager too must plan for risk and constantly anticipate, review and also react to it throughout the whole project life cycle.
There’s Padding
Yes, we are talking about cricket, but it’s less welcome in project management. Instead of using padding as a substitute for risk management by building arbitrary buffers around key milestones, in fact, contingency reserves should essentially be estimated and traced back to specific risks and assumptions made and calculated by the project management team. In the game of cricket, it exists in order to make sure that an LBW call doesn’t result in a trip to casualty.
Comes down to the wire
This is a trait most often seen in limited overs games wherein, similar run rates dictate that an entire day’s play can be decided by the final ball, very peculiarly seen in last season’s Twenty20 cup final. The trick here like a good PM would be that when faced with an immovable deadline, is to stick to the game plan and keep up the motivation and focus of the team, perhaps trading off some risk to meet the key constraints facing it. Being able to perform when it’s most required is the pre-requisite to become a winner. A persistent and whole-hearted commitment towards goal will often win the day.
It’s all about people
You may have a well-defined project process or a well-coached and amply trained squad, but it’s the people in your team that make it happen on the day in the face of all obstacles. When the project reaches a critical stage will your people really want to play for you? Do they want it enough? Do they know what’s expected of them and are they motivated to go beyond it? Understanding how to get the most from your people and having them committed to a common goal is the key ingredient to success; on or off the pitch.
