Topic Teasers Vol. 157: Does the Customer Really Count?

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  CRM   Stakeholder Management  

I know that as project managers we are supposed to try to provide what the customer or company asks us to do, but what about when they request silly things? I would think we had some responsibility to protect them from spending time and money creating things that have no actual value. At what point do we step in and slightly adjust the technical and functional requirements to be more realistic, and help them see that they are spending money on features and functions that aren’t really necessary​?

A. One of the newer sides of the PMI Talent Triangle^® is Business Acumen. Project managers who are skilled in this area need to override the requests of those requesting useless or foolish features, and only deliver the parts of the contract that we feel are most desirable.

B. With the experience, training and possibly advanced certification we hold as project managers, we know more clearly than the customer which features and functions are going to be the most useful and profitable. Regardless of their requests, we owe them application of our experience and knowledge to create and implement only those things we know will be profitable.

C. When overseeing the execution of projects, time is the primary driver. The project must finish …

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