You can earn a billion - the main thing is to get it, or to agree on the results of the project
I think many readers are familiar with the following situation. You have completed work on a project or a key stage (for example, developed a system, wrote a technical project, prepared a design concept, etc.) In your opinion, everything is cool! The result is super, and the customer has no comments. Money in the studio!
However, if you dig further, the number of coordinators have not yet looked at the results of your work. Others will not agree without the approval of the results by the owner of the adjacent system with which to integrate. And this song can last for a very long time. Therefore, today we will talk about the harmonization of the results of work.
Many people think that the main thing is to do their job well, and the money will come themselves. However, in fact, it is more important to agree on the results of your work and get the customer ready to pay for your work. Of course, the main thing is to take the money, but other people who are not involved in the project are involved in solving financing problems.
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For a long time I had to work on the side of contractors. At the moment I am on the other side of the barricades - on the side of the customer in a typical Russian corporation. Therefore, I would like to describe my view on this problem on the example of coordinating the results of an IT project in a similar company. I hope that readers who work with smaller clients will find useful information for themselves in this article, because the basic principles of coordination are valid for projects and customers of any scale.
Usually the approval process looks like this:
I will not describe the process in detail, I think, and so a simple scheme reflects its essence sufficiently. The main thing that follows from this is that the alignment process is multi - iterative . Do not amuse yourself with the illusions that you will do the work, the customer will look at the results, you will make minor corrections, then he will think a couple of days and sign acts.
I note that the results refer to the developed information system, purchased licenses, a component of the system, project documentation, measures taken (for example, training, load testing), etc.
The moment of acceptance of the results is mega-deadline when the results of the phase should be transmitted according to the plan. This date is known to every member of the project team, as well as the majority of customers.
Contractors can be both employees of the customer and contractors.
The coordinators include the project manager from the customer (RPG), the project manager from the contractor (DIP), the functional customer (FL) and other business representatives, sometimes referred to as the project team, that is, the people who manage the project.
Agreeing from the Customer - they include as coordinators, who also agree on the results, as well as other persons of the company (IT people, security guards, etc.), without whose approval they will not approve the results.
So that creative people (designers, UI-specialists and others like them), who are striving to make the world more beautiful by the fact that many people will use the results of their work and enjoy it, do not accuse me of trying to please the bureaucrats by killing an element of creation and perfection, I publish this section.
Once, a well-known designer made an interior in the apartment of the ex-patriarch of the criminal world of Russia, Ded Hasan, who was killed in the center of Moscow a couple of years ago. As the customer spent a long time in prisons, the author decided to make the design in dark colors, as a reminder of the places where his client received respect and authority. However, after seeing the result, the customer was very upset and ordered to return the $ 70 thousand, which were prepaid for the work. Probably the interior was decorated very beautifully, had an unusual concept, but the performer did not guess the expectations of the customer, and failed the project.
The aim of a good result and the ability to manage customer expectations are different things. Within the framework of one project, one group expects to receive bonuses for a successful project, another is not motivated on this project and wants not to be touched, and still others understand that if the project succeeds in their branch, they will reduce the staff, therefore they expect the project to fail. To achieve success, the coordinators need to solve these two tasks: to develop a good product, as well as to manage expectations.
How much time to lay on the acceptance?
At least 30-50%, which was spent on the development of the first version, should be allotted for approval and revision of the results It happens that the coordination and revision takes more time than development. It is foolish to hope that you have developed project documents, for example, for the “Analysis and Design” stage, three months (60+ working days), and agree on it in 5-10 working days.
Success factors for the reconciliation process
In order to successfully coordinate the results at each stage of the project, I highlight several factors that in my opinion ensure the success or failure of this process.
You can be part of a mega cool team that can develop the most complex systems for the largest customers, but if a dark force prevails on the side of another customer, who has strong positions within the company and which is negatively tuned to your project, then the completion of any stage will be given to you hardly. Not to mention the fact that your project will never be completed at all or stalled even at the start.
Therefore, in large projects, political relations with various “clans” of the customer, representatives from the outside (government agencies, contractors of previous systems) who are interested / extremely interested in the success of the project, often have much more importance than the ability of the project team to do their job - to develop a product ( do a favour).
Once again I will remind the wording:
Consider the typical structure of coordinating the project.
In order for the results to be accepted, they must be approved by the key coordinators. Key coordinators, as a rule, delegate coordination work to their subordinates.
So, your project can be included in KPI for a number of departments (that is, representatives of this department are motivated). For a functional customer, this is almost always a priori. For other persons who must agree on results, it does not bring any benefit, and for the third group of persons it causes big problems. For example, the system being implemented requires strengthening of the IT infrastructure and, moreover, when implementing it, it can cause problems in the operation of other services, and the IT unit responsible for the infrastructure is not ready to improve now, so it will slow down this project in every way.
Based on the influence and involvement of your “support group” on the customer side, there may be a development scenario.
1. Your “support group” (on the customer side) is very interested and actively involved in the project, but it has little weight. As a result, you will be faced with the inaction of the indifferent and the resistance of the dark forces. You may have to escalate problems on the “mega boss”, which will help to move the sluggish current process off the ground.
2. Your “support group”, for example, a functional customer has a lot of weight in the company, he has a good motivation, a large KPI for this project, but he has little time , his usual operations take up all his working time. Therefore, he has no time to even carry out a preliminary acceptance of the results, not to mention his participation in political processes. Accordingly, your main task is to involve him in the details of the project.
3. Your “support group” does not have a strong influence, and is not strongly interested in the project. This is the worst option, I think you should not describe the dire consequences.
4. The most favorable option. Your support group is both influential, and interested, and active. So despite all kinds of difficulties, everything will be fine with you! This is the main criterion for successful coordination, in my opinion.
On a recent project, we worked with a large international consulting company that had difficulties with one of the Departments, which also had to coordinate the results, but did not want to participate in the project. It turned out that this project was not included in their KPI. In the process of communication, the consultants of this company told me that, in general, they have a rule not to enter the project, if one of the key managers who should participate in the project is not allocated a KPI.
Before entering into a project, it is worth thinking once again, but what is the alignment of forces in the company, and what is the relation of each of them to the upcoming project.
And finally. As you know, you have to pay for your mistakes.
Let's calculate what will happen if you make a mistake in the forecasts by agreement and finalize the results at your own expense? How much will it cost you? Rates are for Moscow, they are even a bit low.
I considered the results for project teams ranging in size from 3 to 10 people for different periods of delay (2 weeks, a month, 1.5 months).
For example, due to the customer’s fault, the project team of 5 people is forced to work out the comments for another month.
If you had previously laid reserves for approval and included them in the estimate, then you would receive 2.2 million rubles from the customer.
Otherwise, you have lost 660 thousand rubles. Either +2.2 million, or - 660 thousand. Feel the difference?
In the next part of the article, the approval procedure will be described in detail, as well as other criteria for the success of this process.
However, if you dig further, the number of coordinators have not yet looked at the results of your work. Others will not agree without the approval of the results by the owner of the adjacent system with which to integrate. And this song can last for a very long time. Therefore, today we will talk about the harmonization of the results of work.
Many people think that the main thing is to do their job well, and the money will come themselves. However, in fact, it is more important to agree on the results of your work and get the customer ready to pay for your work. Of course, the main thing is to take the money, but other people who are not involved in the project are involved in solving financing problems.
')
For a long time I had to work on the side of contractors. At the moment I am on the other side of the barricades - on the side of the customer in a typical Russian corporation. Therefore, I would like to describe my view on this problem on the example of coordinating the results of an IT project in a similar company. I hope that readers who work with smaller clients will find useful information for themselves in this article, because the basic principles of coordination are valid for projects and customers of any scale.
Usually the approval process looks like this:
I will not describe the process in detail, I think, and so a simple scheme reflects its essence sufficiently. The main thing that follows from this is that the alignment process is multi - iterative . Do not amuse yourself with the illusions that you will do the work, the customer will look at the results, you will make minor corrections, then he will think a couple of days and sign acts.
I note that the results refer to the developed information system, purchased licenses, a component of the system, project documentation, measures taken (for example, training, load testing), etc.
The moment of acceptance of the results is mega-deadline when the results of the phase should be transmitted according to the plan. This date is known to every member of the project team, as well as the majority of customers.
Contractors can be both employees of the customer and contractors.
The coordinators include the project manager from the customer (RPG), the project manager from the contractor (DIP), the functional customer (FL) and other business representatives, sometimes referred to as the project team, that is, the people who manage the project.
Agreeing from the Customer - they include as coordinators, who also agree on the results, as well as other persons of the company (IT people, security guards, etc.), without whose approval they will not approve the results.
Good result or customer expectations management
So that creative people (designers, UI-specialists and others like them), who are striving to make the world more beautiful by the fact that many people will use the results of their work and enjoy it, do not accuse me of trying to please the bureaucrats by killing an element of creation and perfection, I publish this section.
Once, a well-known designer made an interior in the apartment of the ex-patriarch of the criminal world of Russia, Ded Hasan, who was killed in the center of Moscow a couple of years ago. As the customer spent a long time in prisons, the author decided to make the design in dark colors, as a reminder of the places where his client received respect and authority. However, after seeing the result, the customer was very upset and ordered to return the $ 70 thousand, which were prepaid for the work. Probably the interior was decorated very beautifully, had an unusual concept, but the performer did not guess the expectations of the customer, and failed the project.
The aim of a good result and the ability to manage customer expectations are different things. Within the framework of one project, one group expects to receive bonuses for a successful project, another is not motivated on this project and wants not to be touched, and still others understand that if the project succeeds in their branch, they will reduce the staff, therefore they expect the project to fail. To achieve success, the coordinators need to solve these two tasks: to develop a good product, as well as to manage expectations.
When to start acceptance?
- On the one hand, there is no need to bring the work to perfection before showing it to the customer (I note, perfectionism is inherent in many IT professionals). You still have to correct and refine, just wasting your time and energy. When you lay out to the maximum, but do not achieve the result, you lose motivation.
- On the other hand, you cannot show the customer the raw version. This will cause a negative, the client will say that for the garbage you slipped to me. And the next time when he will be shown a normal modified version, then he no longer wants to delve into the essence of the result.
- When the results will be of normal quality, you can send them for approval.
- The earlier and the more customer representatives involved in the project, the faster the acceptance will end.
How much time to lay on the acceptance?
At least 30-50%, which was spent on the development of the first version, should be allotted for approval and revision of the results It happens that the coordination and revision takes more time than development. It is foolish to hope that you have developed project documents, for example, for the “Analysis and Design” stage, three months (60+ working days), and agree on it in 5-10 working days.Success factors for the reconciliation process
In order to successfully coordinate the results at each stage of the project, I highlight several factors that in my opinion ensure the success or failure of this process.
- On the customer side, there is at least one person (group of persons) who is sufficiently involved in the project and has a great influence on all coordinators.
- For each stage, a list of results should be defined. For each result, a list of coordinators should be defined.
To address this issue, I propose to use a matching matrix. - The process of coordination of results is defined, and is better regulated. The coordinators are informed about the order of approval.
- A quick process of collecting and processing comments.
- You know how to separate the wheat from the chaff: you quickly recognize what is beyond the scope of the project and know how to manage change.
- The presence of a strong curator (if you are on the side of the contractor) who will help in communicating with the customer, if the agreement does not move forward.
- You disown the work of the customer (again, if you are on the side of the contractor).
Main factor
You can be part of a mega cool team that can develop the most complex systems for the largest customers, but if a dark force prevails on the side of another customer, who has strong positions within the company and which is negatively tuned to your project, then the completion of any stage will be given to you hardly. Not to mention the fact that your project will never be completed at all or stalled even at the start.
Therefore, in large projects, political relations with various “clans” of the customer, representatives from the outside (government agencies, contractors of previous systems) who are interested / extremely interested in the success of the project, often have much more importance than the ability of the project team to do their job - to develop a product ( do a favour).
Once again I will remind the wording:
On the customer side, there is at least one person (group of persons) who is sufficiently involved in the project and has a great influence on all coordinating.
Consider the typical structure of coordinating the project.
In order for the results to be accepted, they must be approved by the key coordinators. Key coordinators, as a rule, delegate coordination work to their subordinates.
So, your project can be included in KPI for a number of departments (that is, representatives of this department are motivated). For a functional customer, this is almost always a priori. For other persons who must agree on results, it does not bring any benefit, and for the third group of persons it causes big problems. For example, the system being implemented requires strengthening of the IT infrastructure and, moreover, when implementing it, it can cause problems in the operation of other services, and the IT unit responsible for the infrastructure is not ready to improve now, so it will slow down this project in every way.
Based on the influence and involvement of your “support group” on the customer side, there may be a development scenario.
1. Your “support group” (on the customer side) is very interested and actively involved in the project, but it has little weight. As a result, you will be faced with the inaction of the indifferent and the resistance of the dark forces. You may have to escalate problems on the “mega boss”, which will help to move the sluggish current process off the ground.
2. Your “support group”, for example, a functional customer has a lot of weight in the company, he has a good motivation, a large KPI for this project, but he has little time , his usual operations take up all his working time. Therefore, he has no time to even carry out a preliminary acceptance of the results, not to mention his participation in political processes. Accordingly, your main task is to involve him in the details of the project.
3. Your “support group” does not have a strong influence, and is not strongly interested in the project. This is the worst option, I think you should not describe the dire consequences.
4. The most favorable option. Your support group is both influential, and interested, and active. So despite all kinds of difficulties, everything will be fine with you! This is the main criterion for successful coordination, in my opinion.
Exit - where is the entrance
On a recent project, we worked with a large international consulting company that had difficulties with one of the Departments, which also had to coordinate the results, but did not want to participate in the project. It turned out that this project was not included in their KPI. In the process of communication, the consultants of this company told me that, in general, they have a rule not to enter the project, if one of the key managers who should participate in the project is not allocated a KPI.
Before entering into a project, it is worth thinking once again, but what is the alignment of forces in the company, and what is the relation of each of them to the upcoming project.
The financial side of the issue
And finally. As you know, you have to pay for your mistakes.
Let's calculate what will happen if you make a mistake in the forecasts by agreement and finalize the results at your own expense? How much will it cost you? Rates are for Moscow, they are even a bit low.
I considered the results for project teams ranging in size from 3 to 10 people for different periods of delay (2 weeks, a month, 1.5 months).
For example, due to the customer’s fault, the project team of 5 people is forced to work out the comments for another month.
If you had previously laid reserves for approval and included them in the estimate, then you would receive 2.2 million rubles from the customer.
Otherwise, you have lost 660 thousand rubles. Either +2.2 million, or - 660 thousand. Feel the difference?
In the next part of the article, the approval procedure will be described in detail, as well as other criteria for the success of this process.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/239493/
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