Iceni Asset Management - I.AM - is a sister company of Iceni Projects specialising in project management. As the description suggests, it manages projects and assets. Developments, infrastructure, environmental remediation, promoting strategic land. Big or small, complex or straightforward, the principles are pretty much the same: move from Position A to Position B. What is to be produced? By when? And with what budget? What could go wrong and what will you do if it does go wrong?

It might make me dull at birthdays but avoiding surprises is in the DNA of the Project Manager. My advice is always to know what finished looks like before you begin. If you can, either avoid, accept, reduce or transfer the things that can go wrong before you start. As I say, if you can.

I mention this because I am currently working on a lot of strategic land sites, amongst other things, and am knee-deep in the UK planning system. In the context of the widely reported housing crisis, what is needed? More houses. How many? Enough to meet local need. By when? Pretty much as soon as you can. At what budget? That’s a trade secret and I’m not telling. What could go wrong? Consistently top of my Risk Register is “Planning”.

Sometimes it makes you think people don’t want housing... It is as if the Project Board is missing a member. PRINCE2 might suggest it is something to do with a lack of a User Group Representative but I think that might be a simplification.

When schooling my team in the ways of PM, especially the crafting of their first Gantt Chart, I often fall back on the ‘hot beverage metaphor’. The simplest of tasks. But fail to get the order right, to deliver to 'thirst expectation' ™ or to the required quality (milk before hot water anyone?) then you’ll let yourself down, your guest down and ultimately the manufacturer of the most popular tea brand down.

Why do I digress?

My current fear is that if Planning was a hot beverage order it would be delivered sometime after the early signs of dehydration, it would be cold and served in a plant pot and would cost the same as a glass of chateau plonk du pap. And in fact, the host should probably be better served by investing in a round of The Black Stuff at The Toucan.

Reliable, predictable and ultimately more satisfying.

Milk and 2 sugars anyone?

David Kavanagh is a Director of I.AM. He is a Chartered Engineer, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Member of the Association for Project Management and a PRINCE2 Practitioner. He doesn’t like tea.

I.AM offers free project health checks. Please visit the website at www.iceniassetmanagement.com or call David for a discussion in confidence.