Build in a little wiggle room for projects
The blogging front for me has been very quiet in recent days/weeks due to a rather large project at work. Putting in a phone system is a project for sure and the long days that go with it are great too. Now that the project is done or to the continuous support phase, finding the little things are left to get done.
In my estimation the project was about 70%-75% complete and ready on the day after the cutover, but there were some things (and still are) that needed to get addressed and worked through as soon as possible.
The point of this post is not to discuss the methods and size of a project, but from an IT management view, to discuss the idea of wiggle room. Contingency is a given in business because there are always things that might cause a bit of problem during the project, but the users who you complete the project for may not see things as wiggle-appropriate. If there are things that are different than they were in the past, you might have a problem. Handling these issues is not easy because you need to anticipate and encourage users to find things that they feel are problems and let you know of things they would like to change. Will all changes happen? No, but listening to the concerns before, during, and just following the project will be worth its weight in gold (or sales) when you find the things that make your users completely nuts and get them cleaned up.
So what does this mean to you?
As a project manager, you will be held responsible by users and likely management when there are things that do not meet expectations. Be willing to listen, even if you may not agree, even if it is something that just brings peace of mind to a group of people.
On my recent project, a lot of things were discussed, but there were places that more could have been helpful. I know that there is not a likely chance to get the project perfect as that is just too high an expectation, but working more closely with the users to get ideas and things down on paper for further discussion is something that I will do from now on.
I would recommend the notes twice cut once approach, similar to measure twice cut once used in other in areas. Take the time to discuss notes and ideas with users, then review the notes again and discuss them, along with any changes or new ideas you may have after the initial meetings. This will help you determine the costs and work associated with the project way up front.
Consider the user at all phases.
Sure there are times when the user community will need to go along with changes even if they weren’t involved, but giving them a little information and ownership or involvement in the project will help them with the horse pill that is change.
My project went (and is still going) very well and would not necessarily change anything, but working to be prepared for a project regardless of size is the best thing that any planner could ask for.
