MANAGING PROJECT EXPECTATIONS AND ROADBLOCKS

AVOIDING CRISIS AND INSANITY

CO-FOUNDER SEVENALITY

ORGANIZER UX ORLANDO CO-ORGANIZER WORDPRESS ORLANDO

DAVID YARDE

TWITTER: @SEVENALITY / @DSMY

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DISCOVERY PHASE

WHY YOU NEED A DISCOVERY PHASE

▸ Validate what you really need

▸ Prototype Fast

▸ Get more accurate cost estimates

▸ Validate the business case

▸ Explore ideas

TOO OFTEN WE FOCUS MORE ON EXECUTION BEFORE DEFINING AND CLEARLY COMMUNICATING THE PRODUCT OPPORTUNITY OR VALUE PROPOSITION.

SOME BELIEVE AN ANALYSIS OR DISCOVERY PHASE IS JUST A WAY TO WASTE A LITTLE MONEY WHILE DELAYING THE PROJECT LAUNCH.

IF YOU CAN'T DESCRIBE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AS A PROCESS, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

W. Edwards Deming

WHAT DO YOU DO?

A SUCCESSFUL DISCOVERY PHASE TYPICALLY CAN DELIVER▸ Business / Vision / Project Goals(Mission) Statement

▸ Functional Requirements

▸ Information Architecture

▸ UX Research Findings

▸ Project Schedule

▸ Project Cost Estimate

▸ Non Functional Prototype

IDENTIFYING AND RESOLVING PROJECT PITFALLS

A STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, WHICH ANALYZED 1,471 IT PROJECTS, FOUND THAT THE AVERAGE OVERRUN WAS 27%, BUT ONE IN SIX PROJECTS HAD A COST OVERRUN OF 200% ON AVERAGE AND A SCHEDULE OVERRUN OF ALMOST 70%.

HAVE AN ESCALATION STRATEGY

KAIZEN

COMMON PROJECT MANAGEMENT PITFALLS▸ Not Assigning the Right Person to Manage the Project

▸ Failing to Get Everyone on the Team Behind the Project

▸ Not Getting Executive Buy-in

▸ Not Being Specific Enough with the Scope/Allowing the Scope to Frequently Change

▸ Providing Aggressive/Overly Optimistic Timelines

▸ Not Having a System in Place for Approving and Tracking Changes

▸ Not Having a Metric for Defining Success

THE PROBLEM WITH A SINGLE-MINDED FOCUS ON PROCESSES AND METHODOLOGIES IS THAT ONCE PEOPLE ARE GIVEN PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW, COMPLIANCE REPLACES RESULTS. EVERYBODY IS CONCERNED ABOUT HOW TO DO THE JOB, NOT ABOUT THE OUTCOME IF THE JOB IS DONE WELL.

SETTING THE PROJECT SCOPE

UNLESS COMMITMENT IS MADE, THERE ARE ONLY PROMISES AND HOPES; BUT NO PLANS.

Peter F. Drucker

FIGHTING THE FEAR OF COMMITMENT

HIGH-LEVEL SCOPE CONSISTS OF TWO MAIN COMPONENTS

▸Deliverables ▸Boundaries

DELIVERABLES

IF YOU CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT SCOPE, LIST YOUR DELIVERABLES

BOUNDARIES

BOUNDARIES

BOUNDARY STATEMENTS HELP TO SEPARATE THE THINGS THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO YOUR PROJECT FROM THOSE THAT ARE OUT OF SCOPE.

CREATING A SCOPE STATEMENT

▸ Justification

▸ Product scope description

▸ Acceptance criteria

▸ Project Exclusions

▸ Constraints

▸ Assumptions

BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS

MOST OF THE SCOPE CHANGE REQUESTS RECEIVED ARE CHANGES TO THE BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS

THE IMPORTANCE OF POST PROJECT REVIEWS

IDENTIFY THE PROJECT SUCCESSES, DELIVERABLES, ACHIEVEMENTS AND LESSONS LEARNED.

ELEMENTS OF A GOOD POST PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW(PIR)

▸ Identify items that were done well

▸ Identify items that could improve

▸ Identify items/processes that are broken

▸ Decide action plans

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A POST PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW

PREPARING FOR A POST PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW(PIR)

▸ Seek individual feedback through a questionnaire/survey

▸ Organize a meeting to share feedback

▸ Summarize the feedback in a written document

AREAS FOR A POST PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW(PIR)

▸ Project stages or phases

▸ Project processes

▸ Project roles

▸ Key skill areas

▸ Products

A POST PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW SHOULD BE CONDUCTED AS SOON AFTER THE PROJECT AS POSSIBLE

SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE NEXT PROJECT

LEADERSHIP OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE'S LIFE, NO MATTER WHAT THE PROJECT IS. - BILL OWENS

REDUCE YOUR WORKLOAD BY LEVERAGING THE MISSION, VISION AND VALUES STATEMENT

HELP PROJECT PARTICIPANTS SEE THE BIG PICTURE.

TAKEAWAYS▸ Have a clear project scope with sign-off - and set priorities

▸ Be realistic

▸ Make sure everyone (including senior management) understands his or her role and responsibilities

▸ Make sure team members communicate with each other

▸ Set up calendar reminders for milestones

▸ Don't be afraid to communicate bad news -- and adjust expectations

QUESTIONS?

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