Conversations play a critical role in projects. Intentionally Improving the method and timing of conversations can greatly improve the performance of projects.

1. Talk the Talk & Walk the Walk How Effective Conversation Improves Project Management Success

5. What is a conversation?  The use of language to exchange thoughts, ideas or information Conversation  One of the continual challenges we face in projects is being able to generate meaning in others that ensures we get the responses we want

6. Projects are conversations What are the business rules? What is needed to achieve our business goals? Whose job will this be? What is the right process? Where should we put the servers? How will we validate everything? What do the customers and end-users want? How will we account for this? How does this interact with the other parts of the system? Technology Process People Customers Business Conversation

7. Where do we intervene to improve? Manage the Transfer of Knowledge Formalize process and standards to address all possibilities Conversation

8. Private Conversations – How We Participate in Making Meaning Private Conversations, or Narratives, form Personal Meaning I wouldn’t do things this way. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! This project is a waste of time!! I’m not sure I want to help with this. Nobody understands my story. My wife and kids are mad at me. The Other Participant The Project Ourselves Our Mood and Other Concerns How things “ought to be”

9. Conversation Theory – the real conversation Private Conversations from Personal Meaning Private Conversations from Personal Meaning Shared Meaning and Distinctions (Mental Models) Background of Obviousness Content Conversation

10. Conversation Theory Applied Private Conversations from Personal Meaning Private Conversations from Personal Meaning Shared Meaning and Distinctions (Mental Models) Background of Obviousness Change our personal narratives about conversations (meta conversation)

12. Lean: Eliminate Conversations Rework Idea Actionable Request Functional Deliverable Production Capability Is this what you wanted? Rework  Rework kills the pace of delivery and compromise reduces business value delivered and feels like broken promises  Having conversations for understanding to early or too late creates rework and compromise No, you must have misunderstood

17. Coordination of Action Making a promise Assessment Setting the Context Performance