When Project Management Hits Home: Using PM Principles to Help Build Homes For the Visually Impaired

  Requirements Management   Stakeholder Management   PM Network  

Engaging the right stakeholders at the right time during requirements gathering is the best way to ensure all perspectives are considered and the best solution is built. This was especially true on a recent project where the product addressed basic physiological needs and requirements that had to be uniquely tailored for the target users.

I was involved with a project to build an apartment complex for visually impaired people. It also was my own home.

Immediately, I realized it was not clear to me what the residents and I really needed, liked and wanted for long-term comfort and safety; I was wrapped up in having a nice home to show. Therefore, defining the specific needs and desires of the visually impaired in the project scope was not only critical, but also extremely difficult.

First, full collaboration with the end users and other key stakeholders was fundamental from the very beginning to the last phases of the project life cycle. We shared documentation with both the project team and end users in multiple formats—an easy-to-manage format for the former and a fully accessible one for the latter.

Secondly, we prioritized user needs and started by addressing a basic set of requirements, including creating simple room layouts, avoiding obstacles in the routes between rooms, and maintaining simple positioning and shapes of key objects, such as light …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.