I have a good client (6years) who has a project for us. The project is ours and I will be the PM. It was originally to start in April, now it looks like mid-late June. We have resources available and wish to start now. They say they are not ready.
They have been discussing scope for 12 weeks and say it is another 4-6 weeks. Seems they are stuck on project definition. They need a facilitator to help define objectives and timelines for decisions. From a business perspective these meetings have significant cost (3 VP’s, 3 division managers and 3 account managers). I assume there is also an associated cost with not realizing the benefits of the project as it will be delayed several months.
I know their business, their technology, the stakeholder and the sponsor. I believe they should start taking a more official approach to their project definition, draft a charter and set goals for finishing the project definition. From our meetings so I get the feeling that they need to be convinved they need help with this upfront definition.
Any suggestions or a am I just the anxious consultant try to get work started?
Sounds like the group needs to develop a project to define your project. This is not out of the ordinary either. I have worked several projects where the only output is a clear definition for a follow-on project. Then of course, if you truely have a good relationship withe the client, you could suggest that the first issue of the project be to define the projhect and get client sign-off before continuing. Just a couple of ways to slice it. Saving Changes...
Just because someone has an executive title behind their name, it does not mean he or she is competent!!! Prudent project management practices is not part of this company's culture. MOVE ON! Saving Changes...
1. They do not have the budget to engage your services - or for the project, 2. There is an internal debate as to the need for the project, 3. You are not the preferred vendor, and they actually want to go with someone else, 4. etc.
Whatever the problem may be, deciding when a project goes ahead is a business problem, and implementing 'your' process to get them ?disciplined? and working according to some sort of best practice may not smooth this situation.
You should be wary of forcing a process to obtain compliance, especially where you are a consultant - you could inadvertently become part of a political battle for control of decision-making, and then you may loose the trust of the stakeholders as an ?independent? agent.
Two points of opinion here:
1. When a client starts a project, and how they do it is their business; 2. What you do with your resources and how you make them available to your clients is your business.
Try not to mix them, it will cause problems for both parties. Saving Changes...
