Advice For Junior PMs – Do Not Be Afraid To Communicate Risks That Have Become Issues

Post written by Jason Z., Project Manager at Ideaca. Read more about project management on his blog: Unnatural Leadership.

You saw it coming. You captured it in the risk register, reviewed the mitigation plan with your team and had them alter some of the response strategy. It’s even part of your status report. And then the risk event occurred, but you didn’t know how to have the conversation with your project sponsor.

I understand. I’ve had some awkward conversations myself. It can be intimidating to walk into your sponsor’s office for a status update and having to try to (not so subtly) clearly say that you will need more money, time, or resources to properly respond to the risk event and keep the project on track.

So how should you handle it? What should you have done?

Before the project begins, provide your sponsor some context of the situation. Not all status meetings will be positive progress updates, but not all status meetings will require intervention. You are there to be honest and to steward the process, not sugar coat things. Besides, when it comes time for the risk event to occur, you have identified it and have a response plan.

If you are stuck, and feel like you need to save your skin during the project – don’t panic. If your sponsor has even one more grey hair then you, this is not the first time they have had to have this type of conversation. Be honest, be confident, and have your facts in order. You have identified the risk, and you have a response plan.

For both circumstances – ensure that at subsequent status meetings, you are reviewing risks that are relevant for your current project phase.

Have you ever had a really awkward conversation about risks with your sponsor? How did you handle it?

Ideaca To Become Hitachi Solutions Canada!

Same people, same values, different name

On December 2, 2013, Ideaca was officially acquired by Hitachi Solutions and will become “Hitachi Solutions Canada.” As Hitachi Solutions Canada, we look forward to providing our customers with a wider array of proven industry solutions and access to global resources.

"Ideaca is extremely pleased to join a global brand with the outstanding caliber of Hitachi Solutions,” said Muneer Hirji, newly appointed president of Hitachi Solutions Canada.

“We look forward to integrating our experience and strengthening our synergies to bring great industry-focused solutions to both regionally-focused and multinational companies throughout Canada. With its long history of technology excellence, industry leadership and employee-driven culture, Hitachi Solutions will make a great home for our employees.”

Our name may be changing, but our people and our values will stay the same!

Click here to read more.

How Technology Changes Us: Canada In 10 Years

Post written by Niaz T., Senior Solution Architect / SAP BW Consultant at Ideaca. Read more about SAP HANA on her blog: Discover In-memory Technology.

The theme of the Ideaca Blogging Network for the month of August is a very interesting subject. Certainly, technology changes the way we do things on a daily basis. Not only in Canada, but also globally. There could be some specific cases in Canada, such as Green technology to combat climate change. However, most of the technology changes impact us globally, specially in more advanced countries.

The first thing that it comes to my mind is technology will enable us to convert Zettaflood (10 to the 21st bits, or a thousand exabytes) of data in to meaningful information which we are very dependent. Like it or not, business intelligence already has an increasingly important part of our life. The challenge will be how to deal with the explosion of data coming from all types of gadgets and smart technologies because value-based intelligent information helps us to get things faster, better and easier. The speed of rising adoption of cloud, mobile, real-time applications and social technologies and exponential data growth is a big challenge of staying current.

How technology solves this challenge? Some of the biggest improvements have been around networking. We will be able to move more data faster from many sources and applications to where is needed. We won’t have any restriction in terms of capacity, scalability and processing speed. Organizations will be able to leverage the three “V’s”, volume, variety and velocity, of data to augment the value of data for their decision making. Powerful in-memory technology such as SAP HANA enable us to design complex predicative and preventative models for all type of data from structured and unstructured like audio and video files. Next generation of data visualization and intelligent reporting tools empower users to slice and dice information any way it is demanded. We will be able to tell stories with data by connecting millions of data points to get a bigger picture. Big data will change our world and it will blow our mind by providing us tons of opportunities. It will make our word smaller and we will be all connected.

I believe in the next 10 years, another significant change will be human and machines interaction. It seems that human interaction, communication and relationships will be more efficient, faster and stronger through smart technologies. Also, we will be able to have better understanding of machine behaviors and machines will have a better understanding of ours. Ideally humans and machines will work alongside each other and hopefully not replacing human with machines. Although there are ongoing developments and opportunities to replace human with machines, it’s required to consider all potentials dangers and associated risks.

Personally, I’m very excited to see how technology will enable us to access information easily, increase our potential and creativity, improve our lifestyle and promise of longevity, and improve communication and social networking. On the other hand, I believe we need to keep things in balance with respect to human identity and our social behavior. For example, neuroscientists are concerned about how modern technology is making us not use our brains to their full potentials. Based on the evidence, loneliness and depression is increasing and people are less happy in modern society. It’s been observed that the newer generation—equipped with all kinds of smart technology—is less effective in terms of communication skills and human interaction.

The bottom line is we use technology to change the world to suit us better. The important thing is to control it so it doesn’t destroy human intelligence and social interaction. For instance, it would be great to get a relaxing massage after a long day by a smart robot that has already taken care of the house chores. However, nothing will replace a nice face to face conversation with your favorite person or a warm friendly hug to someone you care about. I don’t think we could ever replace our human connection with human-robot connection.

The importance of a shared vision

Post written by Jason Z., Project Manager at Ideaca. Read more about project management on his blog: Unnatural Leadership.

In a post from my series “Advice for Junior PMs," I touched on the concept of saying what you mean when working with your project team. The same concept should be applied when communicating outside of your project team.

There’s a fairly common graphic that gets passed around IT departments, and it’s somewhat self-deprecating. It shows that project teams tend to not understand what the customer needs – which is endemic of lacking a shared vision.

This graphic makes me cringe every time I see it.

As we all know, a project is a temporary group activity designed to produce a unique product, service or result. However, more often than not, project teams take an “I know best” view of the world when designing solutions for their customer.

A strong project manager will not only sit with their customer to understand what is required, but will bring the whole project team along to understand as well. We all have our own perceptions and filters, and as a result may play broken telephone.

At this point, you may be asking if a shared vision is different from the project scope statement. It is, in that the shared vision is what the customer will see as the product, service, or result of the project, whereas the project scope is everything that will be delivered (including training, documentation, organizational change management).

To create a shared vision of what the project will produce (be it a unique product, service, or result):

1. Bring everyone to the table to ensure open communication

1. Define what is to be produced in simple language – do not say “we are going to produce a tree swing,” and leave it there, say “we are going to produce a tree swing, which is comprised of a tire hanging from a sturdy branch of a large oak tree by a piece of polyester rope.”

1. Involve the customer in design meetings. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) should definitely lead, but should be eliciting feedback so that the customer’s requirements are re-confirmed by the team.

1. Revisit the shared vision often. Ask your customer at difference acceptance testing points if what is being developed meets the shared vision.

Most importantly, communicate the shared vision often. Use it as the first line in your status reports, use it as part of your elevator speech, and when people ask you what you are working on, relay your project’s shared vision.

What are your tips for creating a shared vision? What have you seen work well? Do you have any stories of spectacular failures? Share your tips and stories below!

Setting expectations with clients (part 2)

Post written by Steve J, Project Manager at Ideaca

Setting Expectations with Clients Part 2 is a two part blog series on managing client expectations. See here to read part 1.

In my previous blog post, I told a story about a project I was involved in that required expectations to be managed and the project to be pivoted. In this blog post, I will discuss four key factors in managing expectations that I have learned throughout my career.

1. Communication is a key factor when working with clients. No two clients are the same, some will hire a team to complete a specific task, while others will want to be fully engaged. Learning how and when to communicate with these different groups is crucial to project success. Fully engaged clients may require daily or even hourly updates on project status while more removed clients may only want occasional updates. Knowing your client and making decisions on when and how to communicate is an important way to manage expectations. Some of the effective communication mechanisms that we use on projects can include: daily stand-up meetings with the entire project team (including the client), weekly status reports with all items completed that week, any issues or decisions that arouse, and a budget burn down showing progress. Email is a very handy tool for communication, however if a portal (SharePoint or something similar) is available, this technology will allow for much tighter control over issues, questions, and decisions on the project, without the issues with email branching off into numerous threads and side conversations.

2. Building a relationship on honesty is necessary. Right from the first meeting, the client should understand what you can and cannot do for them. As much as we wish we could offer solutions to every problem, the reality is we can only do what is within scope and within our knowledge and skills. While digging into the details of what that desired end state will be, it is important to discuss what is possible and what is not. These discussions will affect the project and the decisions made will impact the deliverables, the timelines and especially the budget. The hope of this is to catch and identify any areas of the project that may lead to deliverables not being delivered, budgets and time frames expanding and missing expectations.

3. Deciding the roles and responsibilities for the project team (including the client team members as well) is a major task that should be completed at the start of the project. From the start of the project, setting up a project Governance is a great way to start. Project Governance will outline the relationships between all groups involved in the project, define the flow of information from the project to all key stakeholders, and ensure that there is appropriate reviews of all issues during the project. Another useful tool is to create a RACI Matrix. A RACI matrix describes the participation by various roles in completing tasks or deliverables for a project or business process. It is especially useful in clarifying roles and responsibilities in cross-functional/departmental projects and processes. Key contacts for the different areas of the project should be also defined. It’s important for everyone to know who to go to for questions and issues with certain aspects of the project and to keep these people consistent from kick off to go live. In projects I have been on, we start the project with an internal kick off meeting before we meet with the client. This ensures everyone is on the same page and has a shared understanding of the project and statement of work. On the first day of work with the client, we begin with a similar meeting. At this point we can assign the key contacts on my project team as well as the clients’ team. Everyone involved on both sides will have had chance to meet and put a name to the face and to their role.

 4. “When is the due date and when can we launch this project?” should be questions that are asked and answered early on. Making sure to develop a realistic project plan adds transparency to the project, shows when the milestones are due and provides everyone responsibilities and accountabilities. The project plan is a living document. It should exist to provide everyone an up to date snapshot of where things are in the project. If there are delays or changes made, the project plan should be updated and discussed with the client immediately. When it comes to managing expectations, establishing clear and consistent deadlines are a necessity. The sooner deadlines are set, the sooner the team can begin to work to ensure they meet them.

Every new project allows for lessons learned or growth, both for the team and the individual. Personally, I have learned so much about managing expectations from every project I have ever worked on. Every client is different and understanding how to work with them is part of having a successful project. Communications, honesty, assigning tasks and confirming deadlines are four key aspects of managing expectations that are part of my expectation management strategy for every project. Ultimately you want to start the project the same way that you finish it: with happy clients!

Setting expectations with clients

Post written by Steve J, Project Manager at Ideaca

The Oxford Dictionary defines “managing expectations” as: “Seek to prevent disappointment by establishing in advance what can realistically be achieved or delivered by a project, undertaking, course of action, etc.”

Almost every part of our lives is surrounded by expectations, either ones we set for ourselves or ones that were set for us by others. When it comes to consulting and being on a project, every part of the project experience will be influenced by expectations. There will be expectations around the project as a whole, the deliverables, the time and especially the budget. It is the responsibility of the project team and Project Manager to ensure that the client has a clear and accurate understanding at all times. The overall success of any project will be linked to the expectations of the client, the understanding and efforts of the project team and how well these factors align. At the end of a project, the client’s satisfaction with the delivered project will determine its success.

I have worked on a variety of projects, including those with high expectations from the client. In one project the client as a whole had very little technical and user knowledge of the system that we were implementing for them. They were very much involved in the project and took on many tasks. One of the tasks that was completed by the client was the design and layout of the new system. This task was completed before the project team started on the project and with limited knowledge of the system. The designer was able to design the pages to match that of a SharePoint look and feel without any operational knowledge of the system as a whole. The project team was not a part of this design and the client wanted the end result to look and operate the same as they had designed it. When our project team realized this, we had to pivot our work to align with a more customized solution rather than an out of the box implementation as originally expected. Communication and managing expectations became a critical component of this project, especially since the plans and timelines shifted substantially. Working closely with the client, being honest about timelines and budget and reviewing changes before work continued were very important. Our open communication kept the client informed and the project team on the right track to meeting their needs. In conclusion, the client was very happy with the end product and assured us that we had exceeded their expectations.

Through my experience working with a variety of clients in different situations, I have developed an understanding of how to best manage client expectations. As in the example above, the situation could have turned out with one, or both parties upset about the changes in plans. But by effective expectation management, we were able to explain to the client why things needed to change and what exactly we were going to change. This turned a potentially problematic shift in work into a positive improvement of work.

In my next blog entry, I’ll cover the four key factors in managing client expectations that I have learned throughout my career. Check back next Tuesday, September 17 for more! 

Creativity in Leadership

 

Creativity is the individual way in which our mind generates our views, ideas, style…or any other facet of the imagination. Through this comes expression which is the product of creativity and exists in many forms… one of which is leadership.

Being a leader is an immeasurable opportunity for growth.  You are being given the chance to influence and be influenced, learn as well as teach, and guide in your own unique way.  Of course there are some basic guidelines, but each individual will bring their own flare to leading a team to a successful finale.  What you choose to do and say will inevitably create an experience for everyone on the team, including yourself, and give you the capacity to profoundly shape a project and the people who are a part of it.  Your creative abilities may come as new strategies to tackling a tight schedule, your technical understanding, or sheer ability to make people feel important.  Wherever your inherent virtues lie, being put into a lead role will assure they have the chance to develop and shine.

It’s important to have a foundation to build upon, so consider these points the canvas for your creative endeavor:

Be confident  -  You must believe if you want others to believe in you. Carry yourself in a manner that exhibits strength, encourages excitement, and gives a sense of stability.  The way you step forward as a leader permeates the air around you, and has a profound effect on how people see you.  Their belief in your ability to guide instills confidence in them as well, and inspires great performance.  In the midst of this exchange of recognition is the creation of trust, which in the aspect of a project will go a long way.

Know your team - Just as you have your own way of being in the world, so do your team members and recognizing the exceptional qualities that each team member brings to the table will tremendously further your ability to attain success.  Pinpointing a person’s strengths in the beginning will allow you a broader insight down the road into delegating appropriately to utilize the team’s greatest powers when and where they are needed.  In doing this you are aligning with efficiency by pushing forward peoples talents. It gives people a sense of purpose when they know they are essential and why, it drives ambition and productivity and a sense of self. This is a great form of expression.

Know where you are headed – Visualize the end result, or final product.  Know in your mind that you will achieve the best final result possible and exceed expectations and how it will look when you’re there. If you can imagine it, you can make it and this is a force to be reckoned with.  Every project is susceptible to encountering obstacles along the way, but having a vision will help you navigate around roadblocks thus maintaining a clear path to success.

Keep in touch – Communication is vastly key to so much in life and especially in a collaborative situation.  The ebb and flow of a project is directly associated with straight up talking to and amongst one another.  The individual components that each team member is responsible for will amalgamate to form the final, tangible result and in order for that to happen there needs to be a streamline of conversation.  It is vital to not only deliver project updates to the team but to exchange thoughts and ideas. In doing so you are creating an environment of constant awareness of the state of the project as well as combining the team’s brainpower to solution any challenges that may arise. Not to mention it unifies the group socially, which can create an immensely dynamic team when they are called to duty.

When you consider these concepts and ignite them with a passion to do great work and do it with your own style, you can come through the other side having not only delivered an intended product, but having done it with the rare qualities only you possess.  Your character and personality make you a leader unlike any other seen before, or that will be seen.  It is the chance for you to leave a mark that will impact others in a positive way, and hopefully make a difference in some way…somehow.  Because once the project is over what people have left (besides a fantastic new…….[insert your project delivery here]) is the memory of how it came together and the people who made it happen.

- Joelle Thrasher, Portals & Collaboration Consultant

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