It Is About People

 

I blogged about a missed opportunity previously. That missed opportunity was something which was not planned. Although the matter has been raised on a few occasions, including by myself throughout the course of the project. I sensed the core team was apprehensive in pursuing the positive risk – a story for another blog.

I’d like to detail a little of their wins. The project team was able to accomplish their mission within the prescribed scope and timeframe, broadly for the following reasons:

1. Consortium partners have their reputation on the line to deliver the project successfully. They are among the niche product suppliers and market leaders in their field. They also supplied the aging components of the old system.
2. The customer was determined to finish the project with priority, to expand the scope of coverage with enhanced technologies and in replacing a decades old system that is deteriorating and hard-to but not incapable of integrating with new regulatory systems fast coming online.
3. The people factor.

Project team members which include the customer, other stakeholders and authorities, were able to bond quickly to collaborate effectively, complement each other, and perform efficiently on the project. Despite the ludicrously lean staffing of the overall project team and that of the partners, for that immense size-value project. I observed the project team quickly settled into framing and abiding by the simple guiding principles below, no matter what transpires:

1. Stick to the agreed scope.
2. Deliver less when hard pressed to meet deadlines. In our lingo, 'work on the quality' but 'comply wholly to mandated scopes'. This occurred to internal customers of the project owner. In this aspect, there has to be willing recipients. I’d say, in cahoots lah
3. Adapt suitable Agile practices wherever possible in the contracted waterfall project.

The people factor matters most. Some contributing factors include:

1. Majority of the team members were seasoned executives. And almost all of them were promoted during the project, in their respective companies. (Incidentally all were males. For another discourse.)
2. Embracing the fact that work must be acceptable – the how-to, by when, in what form, and with whom.
3. Nobody works alone. The lean team works with contractors and contracting throughout. So, there is really no point in dissenting.

Hence in managing risk, manage people first. Know who they are, what they want, and how to define specific project goals. Together. Then commit to the work, to deliver the project.

Accept that project work is done only once.

And move on.