"The system would have been OK if it wasn't for the ****ing Users"

(Quote from an IT Manager in a major corporation)

Businesses cannot afford to allow projects to fail or come-up short of expectations – but they do. Since the advent of project management a number of challenges have faced the project team leader or project manager. When these challenges are ignored they become obstacles or insurmountable barriers and the project is often doomed to cost overruns or failure. But with the correct training and foresight the most inexperienced project manager can overcome these obstacles and they may even tackle the problem of the ****ing Users.

I read this wonderful statement recently: "Creating a project team brings about the transition of managers into leaders, employees into team-mates, and functional hierarchical organisations into empowered teams. The successful synergy between leaders and teams is the most important factor for a team to be able to reach its project goals." What utter theoretical clap-trap!

Here are a few practical things to do at the outset of any project:

Executive Masterclass

Invest time to develop a shared understanding of the project management processes. An Executive Masterclass should be held for senior project personnel - typically, the Project Sponsor/Director, the Project Manager and Project Team Leaders. This must be is a serious commitment of time on a major project – not an hour at the end of a Board meeting. The outcome of the Executive Masterclass must be to equip all participants with a good understanding of the project expectation, scope, methodologies and responsibilities.

Have the Bun-fight early

Develop a programme that enables project personnel and users to be wise before the event. For example, a workshop could be structured to start by looking forward to the end date and help participants to anticipate the things that have gone wrong. By focusing on these hypothetical outcomes, plans can be developed to avoid the most common and worst mistakes (i.e. risk management). The workshop also serves as a team-building event. 

Project Planning Tools & Project Planners

Train project staff in the use of project management software. Engage an experienced systems project planner to work part-time on your project. (You will find this latter role a major factor in well managed projects.)

Project Mentors

Mentoring is an extremely powerful technique, since it allows the Project Manager to obtain a regular 'sense check' over progress against the project plan. The mentor will typically spend a day or two each month to take a snap-shot of progress. They will advise the Project Manager in his or her priorities and, together with the Project Manager, will coach the Project Director on their actions needed complete the project.

Project Manager

It is often assumed that the project manager must be an IT person. Not so. Some of the most successful projects that I have seen are where the project manager is from the user population – provided that the No. 2 is from the technical discipline. (Visa versa also works.)

Process Facilitators

A very high percentage of new systems designs end up trying to replicate the old processes. Process facilitators will ensure that all work processes are documented and challenged to ensure that you develop the optimal use of computer and human resources.

Trainers

Training is nearly always under-resourced and addressed too late. Training consultants should be engaged to prepare the training plans and materials as well as deliver training, both traditional classroom, online or Just-in-Time personal coaching.

Top 20 Steps to Success

Users:

1. The most crucial aspect of implementing a new system is to achieve user awareness of the overall business requirements and associated processes, and understanding of how the new system is to be used to satisfy some of these needs. It is also the most difficult aspect of the project to achieve, because users do not feel bound to the specifications, especially when they had been accepted by a predecessor.

2. Recognise that users are often coming from a low level of understanding of existing systems and may develop artificially high expectations of the new system i.e. they may think it will magically solve all their problems. Delaying problem resolution until the new system is ready, is often the root cause of implementation failures.

Project Personnel:

3. Control of project must be under one Project Manager.

4. A dedicated project team should be created early and must include staff with operational experience. Upon implementation these staff should return to their original work areas.

5. There should be full-time involvement of computer department personnel.

6. Avoid changes to key personnel as implementation approaches.

Project Scope:

7. The scope and definition of the project must be well defined, understood and agreed at the outset. Challenge, challenge and challenge the cost estimates, then up them.

8. All issues related to how the system is to be used must be agreed and frozen at least 6 months prior to implementation. If not the project timetable must be revised and republished.

9. Difficulties will be always be encountered when users specify late changes. Any delays in obtaining decisions on crucial issues must be flagged early and the project plan revised.

Clear the Decks:

10. Establish the procedural/workflow problem areas under the existing system and correct as many as possible prior to implementation. Do not allow anyone to assume that the new system will solve old problems.

11. Take full advantage of the systems change to conduct a thorough review of existing work practices.

12. Ensure that the high volume document processing areas, such as invoice sections in Finance departments, have no backlogs prior to implementation and fully understand changed work procedures.

13. Start the review of old systems data early in the project and ensure completion prior to new system take-on. Don’t allow an explosion of 'dump' areas, such as suspense accounts on Finance systems.

Report and Form Designs:

14. Develop and obtain agreement for the full set of routine report formats at least 3-4 months in advance of the implementation date.

15. Ensure that all new forms are agreed, understood and in place at least one month prior the implementation.

16. Ensure users are fully aware of the report writer/enquiry tools and know how best to use them. Test them to see if they do understand.

Interfaces:

17. Dredge the organisation to identify all systems where data transfers will be required i.e. avoid surprises.

18. Do NOT allow interfaces to be built to every system. You are simply perpetuating the old ways of doing things. The chances are that the new processes should cause some old systems and work procedures to be switched off. (Otherwise, why are you developing the new system?)

Training:

19. Recognise the information needs of the training developers and ensure that work on defining new procedures/work practices is completed in advance of the training course development.

20. Don’t allow backlogs to grow – the new system becomes an excuse. Recognise that overtime working quickly becomes accepted as the norm – stop it early.


The bottom line is that if you can predict at the outset what is likely to happen during your project, you are on the right road towards a good project. The list above is not exhaustive, but it does focus on some of the most frequently seen mistakes.


Oh, and thanks for the ****ing quote Dave!

 

This article was written by Bernie Vincent of The Eminent Trading Company Limited

Email: bernie@ebusiness-gateway.co.uk 

© The Eminent Trading Company Limited 2005.

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