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Guidelines for Project Clients to Enable Success
Categories:
PM Think About It
Categories: PM Think About It
| I recently witnessed two projects executed within weeks of each other. Both projects were related to the rollout of major technology solutions for significant, well-established corporations. What was different about the projects were the dynamics between the client and the project team -- specifically, the way the client engaged and worked with the project team. One project was successful, and the other was not. In my opinion, the success as well as the failure was largely because of the dynamics between the client and project team. I am definitely not implying that any project gone awry is the client's fault. In fact, I believe it's the project manager's primary responsibility to facilitate all points below. But unless the client is willing to observe and adhere to these guidelines, the project is already in jeopardy. Think about it. Here is a working list of guidelines that can help clients and other stakeholders work with a project team and deliver a successful project: 1. Be transparent. A good project team realizes there are going to be unique variables and circumstances it will need to address. Be upfront and candid with the project team about the challenges or risks in accomplishing the project goals. It is much more productive to get everything on the table upfront versus waiting for it to be discovered while executing the project. 2. Stay engaged and responsive. One school of thought says a good client stays out of the way of a project team and without too much micromanagement. This can be true to some extent. However, clients must work with the project team to ensure there are open channels of communication. Information or clarification must be provided quickly and concisely, and preferably in writing. Ideally, one or two people on the client side have the knowledge and authority to speak for the entire client team. This is especially important when providing critical input such as requirements, milestone approvals and strategic guidance. Without this representation, the project team has to chase down information, and there is greater risk of them getting it wrong. The project manager must facilitate these activities and provide the framework in which they occur, but this is a two-way street. As a client, if you cannot make the time and emotional commitment to communicate, then postpone the project until the time is better. Otherwise, we all risk having to do it over again. 3. Be decisive and time sensitive. Recognize that there are going to be hard decisions to be made in terms of requirements, tradeoffs, budget, timing and resources. If a decision cannot be made on the spot, define a window of time in which you will get back to the team with an answer and respect that commitment. As noted above, if it's going to take time to get an answer, let the project team know this ahead of time. 4. The laws of physics still apply. As nice as it would be to bend the laws of physics, project teams are not capable of making three-day tasks in just two. Project managers do sometimes pad their timelines to allow for project creep or addressing other unseen emergencies. But recognize that this is done due to experience from previous projects and is an effort to account for the "unseen" challenges that inevitably crop up in your efforts. Forcing a team to schedule its project activities in exacting increments for the sake of impressing company executives, for example, introduces a risk that some unforeseen event will cause that project to run late. What other guidelines would you add to this list? Read more from Geoff. |
Best Practices to Engage with Cross-Cultural Teams
| The increase of international projects has made working and communicating with people of different cultures and languages more common. Preparing and understanding another person's culture, mind set, sensitivities and communication styles can maximize the chances for successful outcomes. Some of the most common problems of cross-cultural working arise from three main misconceptions: 1. Assuming your way is the correct way In my experience working in the West, it's generally considered a positive trait to be able to communicate assertively, directly and voice an opinion. But for Far East and Arab cultures, communicating in this manner is largely considered rude and aggressive. Emphasis is placed more on honor, pride, politeness and relationship building as a means for successful collaboration. 2. Assuming everybody understands your language When I began working in the Middle East, I wrongly assumed that my strong British accent and articulation of the English language was clear for everyone. But just because I spoke clearly did not automatically mean that everyone understood me. In fact, politeness prevented people from telling me truthfully that they didn't understand what I was saying. Though English is spoken around the world, it is still a second or third language for others. Allow time for others to process what is being said. Additionally, the word "no" does not exist in some cultures. These cultures breed an optimistic disposition, and the answer to everything is a nod of the head, whether it's impossible deadlines or difficult requirements. If left unchecked, the end results will lead to frustration, misunderstandings and differences in quality expectations. 3. Selecting organizations or individuals on language abilities When selecting suppliers, implementation teams or project staff, it seems more reassuring to recruit based on English language skills. The assumption is that communications will be easier and mitigate risks associated with translation. This can actually backfire as the ability to communicate in English does not necessarily mean a person or organization is suitable for the job. Based on personal experiences and lessons learned, here are my suggestions for good practices for project managers who work across cultures on projects:
Read more posts on risk. Read more posts on best practices. |
Coach Your Project Teams by Example
| Have you ever thought that as a project or program manager, you indirectly set a precedent on managerial style, behavior, competencies and professionalism. Unconsciously, we are showing our team members how to manage crises, deal with stakeholders and so on. There are many ways that we can unknowingly coach our team members. When dealing with stakeholders, for example, project managers have the authority to set limits and control the discussion to stay on the subject. To be able to do this, we need to know the business process at both a high level and in terms of the customer's business goals. In dealing with stakeholders, we indirectly coach our project team members to do the following things:
How have you indirectly coached your team members in your projects? What examples do you set for your team members to follow? Read more posts on coaching teams. |
Technology Helps with Project Lessons Learned
Categories:
Lessons Learned
Categories: Lessons Learned
| Conducting lessons learned and project reviews has been a practice that many organizations have used over the years to help their next projects be successful. It's a continuous cycle of retrieving and assessing your project information. As the project manager, you should call a meeting and discuss any issues or tasks that went wrong and what could have been done to improve the project. The improvements should be incorporated into the processes of the next project, which typically have a better outcome. Then that project will have its own challenges that will also need to be addressed. And so it goes. If you aren't doing some type of project review or lessons learned, you will most likely repeat actions that have caused the project failures, budget overruns, scope creep, inadequate stakeholder involvement, technology mishaps and other problems that plague your projects. Yet some project managers find excuses not to host these valuable meetings. One such excuse is a geographically dispersed team. There's no need for a dinosaur mentality to achieve a project review. Use today's advanced technology to your advantage when conducting a lessons learned meeting:
Do you use technology or traditional methods in your lessons learned? |
Project Management Adds Value to Operational IT Departments
Categories:
Information Technology
Categories: Information Technology
| The structured approach of project management can add value to operational IT departments. What makes this work is the approach that the project management office (PMO) or the project management team defines in its project management methodology for release of the systems into production environments. Operational departments should execute with a process often referred to as "steady state transfer." This process gives the project team the opportunity to validate all the key production processes such as the support, maintenance cycle, systems restore and sanity testing, which is the basic testing of the system functionality. Project teams launch the steady state transfer after successful tests show the systems are ready to be released into the production environment. This validation step -- to ensure that the system processes are well mapped between various support departments -- adds value to the operations teams. The validation step is done during project execution using the steady state transfer process -- and without generating special projects. This validation step in the project management practice guarantees process interface manuals are updated with any changes to the processes and the test results. The operational departments work with the project team to complete this task and thus make a smooth transition into the "steady state" of operation. What processes does your organization use to achieve the same results? See more posts on IT. Read more from Dmitri. |