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Project Management from Simple to Complex

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Chapter 4Understanding and Meeting Client

Expectations

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Learning Objectives

• Describe what the client needs to know about changes in management style during different phases of a project

• Identify advantages and disadvantages of including the client on project teams

• Identify methods for determining client expectations

• Identify methods for clarifying values and determining differences

• Describe the importance of dealing fairly with the client

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Learning Objectives

• Describe standards and procedures for dealing with problems

• Describe the advantages of dealing with difficult issues as soon as they arise

• Describe the importance of establishing methods for revising major decisions

• Describe the advantages of using project milestones

• Describe the advantages of including the client in celebrations and guidelines for doing so

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Including the Client

• Educate the client from the beginning

– About the different management approaches required at the different project phases

– To reduce the client’s frustration

• Include the client on selected projects

– Where the client’s special knowledge can add value to the team discussions and activities

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Understanding Values and Expectations

• Sources of dissatisfaction in business interaction:

– Unmet expectations

– Misunderstanding or ignorance of the values

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Understanding Values and Expectations

• Clarifying expectations

– Some client expectations are expressed in written documents

• Scope of work

• Project purpose statement

• List of project deliverables

– For less obvious expectations, ask the next question

• Additional questions that reveal hidden expectations

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Understanding Values and Expectations

• Clarifying values

– Understand the real organizational and personal values related to the project

– To reduce insolvable conflicts:

• Develop a mutual understanding of personal and organizational values

• Deal with differences during the early phases of the project

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Understanding Values and Expectations

• Dealing fairly with the client

– Use an innovative approach to find a solution without increasing the cost or schedule

– To create a satisfied client, treat them fairly

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Establish Standards and Procedures for Decisions

• At the start of large and complex projects decisions focus on:

– Choosing between alternative options for accomplishing project goals

– Determining how the project will be executed

• Later, the focus is on solving problems

• The authority to make decisions is identified in a responsibility matrix

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Figure 4.6 - The Responsibility Matrix

The Responsibility Matrix.PNG

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Establish Standards and Procedures for Decisions

• For projects with a low complexity level

– Decisions can be made informally, with short meetings or phone calls

• For more complex decisions

– Weekly or monthly staff meetings are appropriate

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Establish Standards and Procedures for Decisions

• On more complex projects decisions are made on timely basis using:

– Action item registers

– Weekly staff meetings

– Responsibility matrices

• Internet based tools are used for teams operating in diverse locations

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Deal with Difficult Issues Early

• Project managers should deal with issues and concerns as they arise

• Including the client early in the process for dealing with problems:

– Enables the client to contribute with solutions

– Builds confidence that the client is aware of critical issues

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Provide Mechanisms for Revisiting Major Decisions and Issues

• The formality of methods used to revisit a decision depends on the project’s complexity

– Less complex projects

• An informal discussion in project meetings

– More complex projects

• Action item register and weekly project meetings

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Manage around Project Milestones

• Project milestones represent significant events on the project

• Project managers use milestones to:

– Increase work intensity

– Keep the project on schedule

– Prevent the delays of hard decisions to the end of the project

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Manage around Project Milestones

• After celebrating the successful completion of a milestone, a project manager will:

– Review the future plans

– Allow the team to find new ways of approaching the work

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Manage around Project Milestones

• Key events are made into milestones; creates roughly equal spacing between milestone dates

– Large, multiyear projects — Quarterly milestones

– Shorter projects — Monthly milestones

– Larger, more complex projects — Several activities can be designated as milestones

– Small projects — Artificially created milestones

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Include the Client in Celebrations

• Successful celebrations:

– Reinforce the effort and activities that led to success

– Communicates appreciation for the energy and commitment of the team

– Communicates progress and confidence to project stakeholders

– Share the success with the client and reinforce the meeting of client expectations

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Include the Client in Celebrations

• Basic principles for developing a successful celebration:

– Communicate what was accomplished and its importance

– Express appreciation specifically

– Celebrate in the work area where the accomplishments were achieved

– Celebrate shortly after the milestone is achieved

– The persons that publicly recognize the team are important

– Serve food to communicate that the event is special

– Clients play a special role in celebrations

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Include the Client in Celebrations

• Client remarks at a celebration provide high praise for the project team

• The client may experience cognitive dissonance

– The client has doubts about the project performance but still speaks at the celebration and praises the team