
A view looking down from the false summit of the Manitou Incline in Colorado. The incline follows the route of a funicular that is no longer in service. Note the gradual increase of steepness of the incline as it descends, followed by a section that is less steep. It is this configuration that creates false summits.
In project work, when we tackle the "easy parts" first, and then encounter a more difficult stretch, we expose ourselves to a risk of experiencing a false summit, because we cannot see past the more challenging section. Sending a team ahead to explore that part of the project can limit the risk of a false summit.
Photo (cc) AHodges7.
Projects are so notorious for overrunning their budgets and schedules that we all know what we mean by, "the second 90% of the work." Just as we feel like we're closing in on the goal, new tasks appear — things we overlooked, or things we were just clueless about. We can learn about how to deal with this by examining an experience from mountaineering — the false summit.
Some mountains are notorious for having false summits. One encounters a false summit when the contour of the terrain is such that what appears from below to be the summit is actually just a protruding ridge or shoulder that obstructs the view of the real summit — if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, the false summit merely obstructs your view of the next false summit. Either way, ascending further, it becomes clear what has happened, because there is more mountain above than first appeared.
Recognizing that the "summit" wasn't the summit can be discouraging. In physically trying situations, which are common in mountaineering, the added psychological stress and disappointment can actually threaten safety.
At work, the analog of encountering a false summit is the discovery that completing the project requires far more effort and time than we thought. After several such revelations, discouragement is common. The credibility of leaders becomes an issue, and that makes management more difficult. Failure looms.
Here are some tips for avoiding false summits in projects.
- Have a good map
- A map of the terrain is essential for planning your course up a mountain. The higher the peak, or the rougher the terrain, the more useful is a map. Still, things change. Maps aren't perfect.
- In projects, In project work, we tend not to
employ advance reconnaissance
as often as we mightwe must often make plans based on experience with other efforts, because we've never done what we're now attempting. That experience can be misleading, but it's the best we can do. Use plans with care. - Reconnaissance helps
- In climbing, the more you know about the route, the more likely is success. At times, we send someone ahead to gather data that helps us determine the best course forward.
- In project work, we tend not to employ advance reconnaissance as often as we might, because we tend to view as wasteful any activity that doesn't directly contribute to deliverables. Send someone ahead to reconnoiter. Focus groups, piloting, and prototypes are usually helpful.
- Use locator technologies
- Maps are helpful even if you know your location only approximately, but knowing exactly where you are makes maps even more useful. Locator technologies do help.
- In project work, there is no equivalent of a GPS locator. But we can often benefit from periodically re-estimating the work remaining to be done, using the insight we've acquired from the work done so far.
We'll continue next time by exploring the psychology of the experience of false summits. Next in this series Top
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Related articles
More articles on Project Management:
The Weaver's Pathway
- When projects near completion, we sometimes have difficulty letting go. We want what we've made to be
perfect, sometimes beyond the real needs of customers. Comfort with imperfection can help us meet budget
and schedule targets.
Bois Sec!
- When your current approach isn't working, you can scrap whatever you're doing and start again —
if you have enough time and money. There's a less radical solution, and if it works, it's usually both
cheaper and faster.
On the Risk of Undetected Issues: II
- When things go wrong and remain undetected, trouble looms. We continue our efforts, increasing investment
on a path that possibly leads nowhere. Worse, time — that irreplaceable asset — passes.
How can we improve our ability to detect undetected issues?
Irrational Deadlines
- Some deadlines are so unrealistic that from the outset we know we'll never meet them. Yet we keep setting
(and accepting) irrational deadlines. Why does this happen?
Seven Planning Pitfalls: III
- We usually attribute departures from plan to poor execution, or to "poor planning." But one
cause of plan ineffectiveness is the way we think when we set about devising plans. Three cognitive
biases that can play roles are the so-called Magical Number 7, the Ambiguity Effect, and the Planning Fallacy.
See also Project Management and Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming April 14: What Micromanaging Is and Isn't
- Micromanaging is a particularly dysfunctional pattern of management behavior, involving interference in the work others are supposedly doing. Confusion about what it is and what it isn't makes effective response difficult. Available here and by RSS on April 14.
And on April 21: Choice-Supportive Bias
- Choice-supportive bias is a cognitive bias that causes us to evaluate our past choices as more fitting than they actually were. The erroneous judgments it produces can be especially costly to organizations interested in improving decision processes. Available here and by RSS on April 21.
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