The document discusses the importance of project discovery phases and post-project reviews. It emphasizes that discovery phases help validate requirements and estimates, while post-project reviews identify lessons learned to improve future projects. Additionally, the document warns about common pitfalls like unrealistic timelines and scope creep that can lead to cost overruns. It advocates having clear deliverables and boundaries in scope statements, and conducting post-project reviews as soon after a project as possible.

1. MANAGING PROJECT
EXPECTATIONS AND ROADBLOCKS
AVOIDING CRISIS AND INSANITY

2. CO-FOUNDER SEVENALITY
ORGANIZER UX ORLANDO
CO-ORGANIZER WORDPRESS ORLANDO
DAVID YARDE
TWITTER: @SEVENALITY / @DSMY

3. THE IMPORTANCE OF
THE DISCOVERY PHASE

4. WHY YOU NEED A DISCOVERY PHASE
▸ Validate what you really need
▸ Prototype Fast
▸ Get more accurate cost estimates
▸ Validate the business case
▸ Explore ideas

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

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

7. 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?

8. 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

9. IDENTIFYING AND
RESOLVING PROJECT
PITFALLS

10. 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%.

11. HAVE AN ESCALATION
STRATEGY

12. KAIZEN

13. 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

14. 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.

15. SETTING THE
PROJECT SCOPE

16. UNLESS COMMITMENT IS MADE, THERE
ARE ONLY PROMISES AND HOPES; BUT
NO PLANS.
Peter F. Drucker
FIGHTING THE FEAR OF COMMITMENT

17. HIGH-LEVEL SCOPE CONSISTS OF TWO MAIN
COMPONENTS
▸Deliverables
▸Boundaries

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

19. BOUNDARIES

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

21. CREATING A SCOPE STATEMENT
▸ Justification
▸ Product scope description
▸ Acceptance criteria
▸ Project Exclusions
▸ Constraints
▸ Assumptions

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

23. THE IMPORTANCE OF
POST PROJECT REVIEWS

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

25. 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

26. HOW TO PREPARE FOR A
POST PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW

27. 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

28. AREAS FOR A POST PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW(PIR)
▸ Project stages or phases
▸ Project processes
▸ Project roles
▸ Key skill areas
▸ Products

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

30. SETTING THE STAGE
FOR THE NEXT PROJECT

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

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

33. HELP PROJECT
PARTICIPANTS SEE THE BIG
PICTURE.

34. 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

35. QUESTIONS?

36. TWITTER: @SEVENALITY / @DSMY
WWW.SEVENALITY.COM