ARVIND TIWARIPMP| IT Project ManagerPune, Maharastra, India
What can be best practices for a PM to follow while executing projects in a distributed Multi-Vendor team scenario? For e.g The BA/Design, Development, Testing, and Deployment/Operations are managed by different vendors located at different locations.
How a PM can ensure collaborations and ownership in the team without much contract discussions? Saving Changes...
You need to define clear Responsibility, Accountability, and Authority (RAA) between the various parties. Some of that may very well involve contract discussions depending on whether parties disagree with the RAAs.
I would suggest a technical coordination meeting with all involved vendors that lays out the plan, the responsibilities of all involved parties along with the deliverable dates. The agreed to RAAs should be documented in a charter of sorts that provides a summary in something similar to an RACI type matrix along with additional clarification as needed to ensure there is no ambiguity. Saving Changes...
Alfred HortonCEO & President| AOC Connect, LLCLovettsville, Va, United States
That type of environment requires that you create and adhere to a well-defined Scope of Work, a good Communications Plan, and excellent Change control. If these three things are solid, you will find that things will usually fall into place quite well. Saving Changes...
As Keith mentioned, having clear responsibilities and deliverables defined is critical between each phase. That will only come about as both Keith and Alfred have mentioned with open and clear lines of communication and collaboration between all parties. Usually we would start off with a "kick-off" meeting with all those involved to discuss the plan, work/tasks, schedule, and responsibilities going forward. Saving Changes...
May I also suggested clearly defined phases before you begin the scoping process Each phase should be scoped with the expectations of work to be completed during that phase with stop-gates before moving to the next phase. IT people tend to struggle with communication due to processes moving a high speed rate. If you have one team move too far ahead it can create re-work for another team. I also agree with Alfred, there is NO substitute for well controlled change management. Saving Changes...
ARVIND TIWARIPMP| IT Project ManagerPune, Maharastra, India
Thank you Keith, Alfred, Steve, Jessica for suggestions. Saving Changes...
Alyne Padilla LynchSr Business Process Analyst| Communications and Finance IndustrySacramento, Ca, United States
There are some great tips on this post. I'll add an IT/Tech aspect. Ensure that the cross-functional vendors are collaborating and crossing their T's/dotting their I's. Consider hosting bridge calls from the beginning to define requirements if you don't have a tech resource for each team. Things to consider for meeting topics:
- Does the beta/dev region hosted by one vendor need to be accessible by the testing/QA vendor. If so, what project elements are crucial to make this happen? What connection standards must be met (hardware/software, host files, etc)?
- Does the BA/Design/UI/UX vendor have insight to clearly defined guidelines and/or contractual agreements from the Development team? For example, the design team spent x many hours researching and designing a specific type of widget or software function. After the work they put in, they find out that the function would be considered a custom request by the development team = more money. In short, bridge the gap between the two teams/vendors on what is within range.
Always a fun time when working with multiple vendors for a project. What I love about it is the knowledge gained. A variety of aspects are considered during these type of projects, which help with building our own tech foundation. Good luck on the project/s! Saving Changes...
