Harnessing the Power of Habit: Transforming Your Project Management Approach
Harnessing the Power of Habit: Transforming Your Project Management Approach
The art of managing projects effectively is not just about timelines and deliverables, it’s also about cultivating the right habits that lead to efficiency and success, especially for stakeholders, developers and Project Managers.
I used to leverage the principle of the Hooked Model (Hooked by Nir Eyal), a concept initially created for building engaging products, we can transform project management into a more intuitive and habitual process.
This post explores how I apply this model to instil productive habits within my project teams and how I also bend (where possible) the Agile methods to fit those habitual processes, moreover, some easy examples to start dig-in into the topic.
What is a Habit?
A habit is a behaviour that has become automatic or routine, typically through repetition and practice; it's an action we perform regularly, often without conscious thought, as a response to a specific cue or trigger within our environment.
Habits are formed when the behaviour becomes associated with a particular situation or context, to the point where engaging in the behaviour is the default reaction to that situation.
Mainly cues for habits are often closely connected to emotions.
Emotions can serve as powerful internal triggers that start the habit loop, for example, stress or boredom may trigger someone to start a habit like nail-biting, snacking, or checking social media, in the same way, emotions can trigger habits in our project environment, on the flip side, positive emotions like feeling energized or motivated can trigger productive habits such as exercising or journaling.
Habits usually are driven by a three-part loop:
Cue (or Trigger): a signal that triggers the brain to initiate a behaviour. It could be anything from a time of day, a feeling, a location, or the presence of certain other people or activities.
Routine: it is the behaviour itself, which can be physical, mental, or emotional. Over time, this routine becomes more and more automatic in response to the cue.
Reward: the benefit received from the behaviour, which reinforces the habit loop. The reward can be anything that the brain interprets as beneficial, thus worth remembering and repeating.
Good habits can enhance productivity and well-being, while bad habits can lead to negative outcomes.
Why do I need to build positive habits in my project environment and team?
Failure to form positive habits in project management, such as regularly creating user stories, updating documentation, refining sprint backlogs and leaving the stakeholders un-updated, can often be traced to the different common problems, that are connected to the main reason for failing projects:
Lack of Clear Processes
Without clearly defined processes and expectations for these tasks, team members may not understand their importance or know when and how to perform them correctly.
Insufficient Training
Team members may not have the necessary training to understand the value these practices bring to the project and how to execute them effectively.
Overwhelming Workloads
When team members are overloaded with work, they may prioritize immediate coding tasks over "housekeeping" activities like documentation and backlog refinement.
Inadequate Tools
The absence of effective project management tools, or using tools that are not user-friendly, can hinder the regular completion of these tasks.
Lack of Incentives
Without motivation or recognition for completing these tasks, team members might not see the benefit of changing their current habits.
No Accountability
If there's no one to hold team members accountable for these tasks, they may be consistently overlooked or postponed.
Habit Interference
Existing habits and workflows may interfere with the adoption of new practices. People tend to stick with what they know unless there's a compelling reason to change.
Inadequate Feedback Loops
Without regular feedback on the impact of these tasks, team members may not see their value, leading to disengagement.
Poor Communication
If the importance and purpose of these tasks are not communicated effectively, team members might not prioritize them.
Cultural Resistance
An organizational culture that doesn't prioritize continuous improvement can lead to resistance to adopting practices that seem to add more work.
To overcome these issues, project managers and team leaders should establish clear guidelines, provide proper training, ensure workload balance, select the right tools and foster a culture that values these activities, but mainly creates a positive Habit-Forming.
How to Build Positive Habit-Forming
Trigger:
The first step in creating habit-forming project management practices is to identify the triggers.
In the context of a project, external triggers could be notifications from your project management software, scheduled meetings, or deadline alerts.
Internal triggers might include the desire to achieve, the satisfaction of checking off a task, or the professional pride in meeting a milestone. Effective project management hooks team members from the outset, prompting them to take the next step naturally and eagerly.
Action:
Actions are the behaviours you want to become routine.
In our scenario, this could mean team members regularly updating task progress, participating in brainstorming sessions, or reviewing peer contributions.
The key to transforming these actions into habits lies in their simplicity and the clear benefit they provide to the individual and the team. For example, a single click to update a task status or a quick meeting to align objectives, in one sentence automation could help to enhance the actions.
Variable Reward:
Rewards reinforce habits.
In project management, the rewards for taking action must be diverse and satisfying.
Maybe it’s the immediate visual representation of progress on a digital dashboard, the social recognition from team members, or even personal contentment from knowing one’s work contributes to the bigger picture.
Gamifying the project management experience can also play a significant role here, introducing an element of fun and healthy competition.
Investment:
Finally, when team members invest time, effort, or even personal insights into the project management tools and processes, they're more likely to value and stick with them.
Investments can take the form of personalized task management, shared ownership of project documents, or contribution to a project’s knowledge repository.
Such investments not only improve the project outcomes but also bind the team to the process, creating a loop that entices them to engage repeatedly.
Some practicable example
Creating User Stories:
Trigger: the trigger could be the end of a sprint or a regular product backlog grooming session. The trigger is designed to be a consistent event that prompts the creation of new user stories.
Action: immediately following the trigger event, the team engages in a user story creation session. The action is facilitated by having a predefined template and criteria for what constitutes a good user story.
Variable Reward: the reward might be the satisfaction of a well-prepared backlog that makes future work easier to estimate and plan. Alternatively, it could be the team's collective approval or positive feedback on a well-written story.
Investment: team members invest by contributing their ideas and feedback, improving the quality of user stories over time. This investment increases their commitment to the process and the quality of future work.
Updating Documentation:
Trigger: the completion of a feature or a phase of the project can serve as a natural trigger for documentation updates.
Action: the team sets aside a dedicated time slot after a feature completion to update relevant documentation. This habit can be supported by having documentation templates and easy-to-use tools at hand.
Variable Reward: the immediate reward could be a visual indicator of progress, such as checking off a task or updating a progress bar. There might also be longer-term rewards, like easier onboarding of new team members thanks to clear documentation.
Investment: as documentation improves, the team's future work becomes easier, creating a positive feedback loop. Additionally, team members may feel a sense of ownership and pride in well-maintained documentation.
Sprint Refinements:
Trigger: the trigger could be a midpoint check-in during the sprint or a set time before the sprint review meeting.
Action: the action involves the team coming together to assess the sprint progress and make adjustments to the backlog as needed. This could involve re-prioritizing stories or breaking down larger tasks.
Variable Reward: the reward here could be the team’s sense of agility and responsiveness. Seeing the sprint shape up more effectively to meet goals can be highly motivating.
Investment: the more the team refines and optimizes their sprints, the more efficient and effective their workflow becomes. This investment pays off in terms of smoother sprints and better project outcomes.
By applying the Hook Model to your project management practices, you can turn the necessary steps of managing projects into a series of intuitive habits.
When team members are hooked, productivity soars and project management becomes less of a structured methodology and more of a natural rhythm of the workday. Start identifying your triggers and actions today, and watch as your project management transforms into a habitual road to success.