Concepts
A core responsibility of project managers, especially those preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam, is to address and remove impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team. A skilled project manager can be the difference between a project that soars to success and one that stumbles along the way.
1. Understanding Impediments, Obstacles, and Blockers in Project Management
Impediments, obstacles, and blockers refer to any issues that prevent team members from carrying out their tasks effectively. These can take various forms, including technical challenges, lack of resources, unclear tasks, or inefficient processes. Regardless of the nature of the problems, the project manager’s task is to identify and deal with them.
2. Strategies to Identify Impediments, Obstacles, and Blockers
Identifying these barriers requires observation, frequent communication with team members, and a systematic approach to managing the project. Maintaining an open-line of communication encourages team members to voice their concerns or challenges they are facing. Additionally, using project management tools can help track project progress, signaling potential bottlenecks or hindrances.
3. Effectively Addressing Impediments, Obstacles, and Blockers
Addressing blockers requires a solution-focused approach, flexibility, and sometimes, creativity. Here are some strategies:
- Prioritize the problems: Using the Eisenhower Matrix, for example, can help differentiate between urgent and important problems.
| Important | Not Important | |
| Urgent | Box 1 | Box 3 |
| Not Urgent | Box 2 | Box 4 |
Box 1 issues should be tackled immediately, box 2 issues should be scheduled, box 3 issues should be delegated, and box 4 issues should be eliminated.
- Come up with actionable solutions: Clear, measurable steps must be planned for each issue.
- Delegate where necessary: Sometimes, the best way to address a problem is to delegate it to someone with the specific expertise needed.
- Continuously monitor: Regular check-ins and reviews can keep tabs on how well the solution is working and if further adjustments are needed.
4. Removing Impediments, Obstacles, and Blockers
Once identified and prioritized, taking swift action to remove these barriers is essential. Team meetings involving all stakeholders can help in brainstorming solutions and enforcing their execution. In case an impediment is outside the team’s control, escalation to higher authorities may be required.
5. Example of Dealing with Blockers
Let’s assume a team is working on a software development project, and the team consistently misses their deadlines. The project manager identifies the blockers – insufficient resources and unclearly defined tasks. The manager then prioritizes these blockers, concludes the need for additional resources is urgent and important (Box 1), and task clarification is urgent but can be delegated (Box 3). The manager then procures the needed resources, delegates task clarification to a team lead, and continuously monitors progress until both blockers are resolved.
Effectively addressing and removing impediments, obstacles, and blockers can drastically improve the efficiency and productivity of a team. Therefore, mastering these strategies is a critical requirement for those aiming to pass the PMP exam.
Remember, a project manager’s role is to steer the project to completion smoothly. Understanding and addressing things that can hinder your path will differentiate an effective project manager from the rest.
Answer the Questions in Comment Section
True or False: An impediment is something that restricts a team’s ability to perform its work efficiently.
- Answer: True
Explanation: An impediment refers to anything that limits team progress such as inadequacy of resources, lack of skills, unclear requirements, etc.
The ScrumMaster is responsible for identifying and removing any impediments that the development team might encounter. Is this statement true or false?
- Answer: True
Explanation: As a servant-leader, the main role of the ScrumMaster within the project is to help the team remove impediments and protect them from distractions.
Who is responsible for addressing and removing impediments, obstacles, and blockers?
- A. Team Members
- B. Project Manager
- C. Stakeholders
- D. Executive Management
Answer: B. Project Manager
Explanation: The Project Manager plays a critical role in identifying, addressing, and eliminating any obstacles that may hinder the success of the project.
True or False: The best way to address impediments is to ignore them and hope they resolve themselves.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Ignoring impediments won’t solve them. Instead, they should be promptly identified and resolved to ensure the project progress smoothly.
In agile methodology, which of the following is NOT considered an effective way to handle impediments, obstacles, and blockers?
- A. Identifying and documenting them
- B. Prioritizing them based on impact
- C. Allocating resources to resolve them
- D. Taking no action until the obstacle impacts the project
Answer: D. Taking no action until the obstacle impacts the project.
Explanation: Ignoring impediments until they impact the project is not a proactive approach. Effective impediment handling involves identifying, documenting, prioritizing, and resolving them.
Who is typically responsible for prioritizing the impediments in a project?
- A. Project Manager
- B. Team Lead
- C. All team members
- D. Client
Answer: A. Project Manager
Explanation: The Project Manager usually prioritizes impediments based on their potential impact on a project’s schedule, budget, or quality.
True or False: Communication is a crucial component when addressing and removing impediments.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Effective communication ensures that all team members are aware of any impediments and the steps being taken to eliminate them, ensuring transparency and coherence.
Lack of necessary skills within the team can be classified as an impediment. Is this statement true or false?
- Answer: True
Explanation: This is because the lack of necessary skills can restrict team’s ability to perform its work effectively.
Removing impediments should be a:
- A. Daily activity
- B. Weekly activity
- C. Monthly activity
- D. Quarterly activity
Answer: A. Daily activity
Explanation: The process of identifying and removing impediments should be a daily activity to allow for continuous flow of work and productivity.
True or False: Higher morale and improved performance are some of the benefits of effectively addressing and removing impediments in a project.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Addressing and removing impediments improves team’s productivity and efficiency which in return increases morale and performance.
In an agile project, the project manager ignores an identified impediment. This situation is acceptable under which circumstance:
- A. The identified impediment is not critical.
- B. The identified impediment is not from his/her area of responsibility.
- C. Never.
- D. If there is not enough budget for it.
Answer: C. Never.
Explanation: In a project management, all identified impediments must be given their due attention regardless of their source or criticality. Ignoring any impediment goes against effective project management.
During the daily stand-up meetings, who usually brings up the impediments?
- A. Scrum Master
- B. Project Owner
- C. Team Members
- D. All the above
Answer: D. All the above
Explanation: Anyone participating in the daily stand-up meetings can bring up impediments. This ensures transparency and open communication among all team members.
Great points on addressing impediments. Keeping daily stand-ups focused really helps identify blockers early.
Identifying ownership of obstacles is critical. Often, blockers get dragged on because no one is accountable for resolving them.
Excellent post. Thanks for the insights!
From my experience, regular retrospectives are invaluable for removing recurring obstacles.
I find it helpful to use tools like JIRA to manage and visualize blockers. It makes the issue tracking more transparent.
Every team member needs to be proactive. Waiting for a manager to address blockers can waste valuable time.
Appreciate the write-up on impediments. Very informative!
In some cases, external dependencies are the hardest to manage. Any advice on that?