C on tr ol To pi c 82. What are good practices for managing complex, multi-site projects? To control big complex projects or programs you need to manage a large team of contributors, complicated technology, and a hierarchy of interdependent schedules. Avoiding the pitfalls inherent in this requires technique and discipline (and luck). Leading a Large Distributed Team Guidance for setting up a large program is explored in Problem 21. Get- ting a large team of people headed in the same direction starts with very strong sponsorship from someone who has the respect of the people involved and who will fund and support an effective program start-up. You also will benefit from a vivid and compelling vision for the program that will motivate and inspire all who are involved. Keeping people engaged requires a lot of communication, with at least monthly all-program meetings to discuss what is going on, and weekly meetings in between the program meetings for each of the project teams. An inviting and meaningful ``open-door'' policy--where anyone may ask anyone else about anything related to the program--also serves to increase involvement, whether people actually take advantage of it or not. The program leader and any program staff also need to establish relationships and trust among all the project leaders, and encourage effective interactions throughout the program team. To avoid some common pitfalls, periodically bring people together for scheduled face-to-face meetings to maintain motivation and teamwork on long programs, hold program-level monthly meetings at different times of the day so at least one will be when your remote contributors are awake and alert, and use all the means of communication available to you to maintain common understanding and effective coordination of your program team. Dealing with Complex Technology Managing complex technology is also a challenge on large programs. It begins with engaging skilled subject matter expertise and dealing with 205