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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