W. Clement Stone said “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” Courage, truth, the right thing and living your life with integrity. Are we doing this in our business and professional lives as we struggle with a difficult market. Are you still as responsive to your clients? Are you still meeting obligations to employees or applicants with integrity?

Many consultants express frustration with sending resumes that seem to go into a black hole and they never get a response. It is important that recruiters understand that even with many, many applicants, it is important to respond to them whether the response is positive or negative.

Employers may have made promises they find impossible to keep when finances aren’t available to meet bonus or salary increases. Integrity is either meeting those obligations or communicating with the employees to ensure they remain confident in the integrity of the company executives. Often this is not the case and the employee is left wondering and waiting for promises to be kept. The longer they wait the less confidence they have in the company or executives and begin to look for other opportunities. Given the market conditions, it is still very costly to replace good employees who contribute to the success of a corporation.

Integrity involves honesty and trust. You must work together as a team and reward team members for their work. Do not reward manipulative behaviors or those individuals who are political in assuming credit. Finally, respect each other and always be honest with yourself. Do you meet obligations? Achieve results? Give credit to others? Meet commitments? Respond and communicate? You will find answers to Integrity in a down market in the answers to those questions. A friend on facebook wrote: “always check (and review) your motives and expectations. If they’re from love and caring, then it’s all good. If they’re from self-interest, it’ll blow up in your face…every time.” Be sure your motives are based on Integrity.

Want to see some of the latest government sites..try apps.gov, data.gov and Recovery.gov. Recovery.gov is supposed to provide information on where the stimulus dollars are being spent. Let me know if you find anything interesting.

Communication is something we all talk about but are sometimes remiss in doing. A family member changes plans and forgets to let you know so you are left anticipating one outcome and another occurs. A team member fails to communicate a key factor in a project which leaves information and results falling through the cracks. A conference attendee fails to notice a change in venue and shows up for an event that is at another time or place.

We are all guilty at one time or another of failing to communicate. Communication also may mean one thing to you and another to someone else. You like detail, detail, detail, and they think they have communicated by osmosis. How can this be rectified? One way is to make it clear when someone fails to communicate up to your expectations. If you don’t tell them they may go merrily on their way thinking all is well.

Sometimes communication is manipulation. We see that in politics, family and business on many occasions. I communicate one thing about a health care plan, while supporting another. I talk of no tax while imposing tax, families talk of love and demonstrate manipulation by pretense, businesses post signs about their cleanliness and you find untoward imaginings in the back room or behind the counter. Clear, honest communication is critical to any relationship, project or business.

A clear plan at the beginning of a project that is communicated to all team members is critical to success. It doesn’t have to be a Microsoft plan with all the bells and whistles, but even a basic excel plan with the results expected and timelines provides a good foundation for success.

Ask yourself, where have you failed to communicate and how might you change this in the future? Family, Friends, Teammates? Look around and see where you can improve and then make a plan to do it. That’s it a communication plan, hmmmm why didn’t I think of that?

Do You Punish Good Performers?

“Because you did such a great job with that last mess,
I’ve got another one I need you to handle!”

Sound familiar? Perhaps you’ve heard similar words from your boss in the past. Maybe you’ve said them to someone who works for you. Either way, they are symptomatic of a leadership problem that’s all too commonplace: unintentionally punishing good performance … giving the people we trust and rely on more work and more difficult or unpleasant tasks because they perform so well.

Common sense tells us two things about this subject. First, good performance should be rewarding, not punishing. Leaders need to do right by those who do right. Second, if team members experience negative consequences for doing good work, eventually they’ll stop doing it (or they’ll do less of it). That’s human nature … that’s obvious … that’s how leaders often shoot themselves in the feet!

So what’s the solution? That’s equally obvious! Don’t take your best people for granted. Keep things balanced. Avoid the trap of having one or two “go to” people who get all the tough and time-sensitive assignments – while their less productive teammates get to focus on routine, business-as-usual tasks.
Divide the work evenly. “Spread the wealth.”

Will there be times when you can’t do that … when your back is against the wall and only your best people can save the day? Probably so! But those instances should be rare. And when they do occur, make sure the rewards you provide far outweigh any downsides these truly special people may perceive.

Federal Computer week outlined the Must-Have features for top-flight government websites. The six included:
1. Transparency
2. Collaboration
3. Searchability
4. Engagement
5. Archiving
6. Better Services
Some of the sites they recognized as being on target were Health and Human Services Department, Utah, and the U.S. Postal Service.
It is an article worth reading to use in vetting your website.

How will the project be administered?

Projects need to have a governance model and the project team needs to understand the model and agree to work within it’s construct.

How this activity works:
By reviewing the standards of the methodology you are using.  Will it be Compass, Rational, or some similar project methodology.  Many groups are looking to Agile to implement or upgrade faster. This might be a good methodology if your technical team is also solid in understanding the functionality associated with the application.
Reporting relationships will be identified and how status reporting will take place is important to the success of your project.  Do you have a status report template so all reporitng is consistent.

Determine status reporting responsibilities
 How often will you require status reports? Daily? Weekly by team rolled up once a month by Project Manager?  Discussed at weekly meetings?
 What is the format or template that will be used for your status report?  How can you determine at a quick glance the status of the project.
 Who should receive the status reports? How will they be distributed, posted?
• Define project filing system/repository or project diary to maintain all information in a central location.
• Determine meeting schedules and format
• Determine issue resolution procedures
• Determine change request procedures
• Determine configuration management procedures
• Determine quality review procedures
 how often
 who will perform
 what will they review

Management Procedures

Objective
To determine the tools for tracking the project and how we will measure progress and budget
Overview
How this activity works:
This discussion is about the collection of input, processing and reporting of project information and what tools will be used for these activities.  Examples such as Excel, Project, Word, Powerpoint for progress presentations (standard project template, logos etc..

It begins with the your methodology standard as a “straw man”.
Additional Materials
Distribute methodology standards

Activity to follow last post:

How this activity works:

Review the Roles and Responsibilities outcome chart for:

· Major issues

· Items that need further work:

§ Skills development

§ Additional backfill

§ Alternate resources (third party, higher skill level)

The result of this activity will be changes to the roles and responsibilities chart, or affirmation that former discussions were accurate.

Moving on, or in the words of that all to famous movie: Move it, move it, move it…..

How will Success be Defined?

This is the next activity for group discussions and activities.

Objective

At the conclusion of this activity the team will develop the five to ten performance measures that they will recommend to management as the criteria by which this project will be measured. These measurements should support the project’s objectives and provide high level direction to all project activities and tasks.

How this activity works:

This activity is done as a single group. The group will discuss which factors are critical to the success of the project.  Using the 10 to 15 factors that were developed in the discussion, have the team evaluate the pros and cons of each of the proposed measurements.

The team needs to explore the possibility that for any existing project measure its value may be different now than it was when it was first used due to changing business conditions.

Once the initial performance measures have been compiled in a list, the activity leader will give each person a copy of the compiled list.

Each team member will rank the performance measures as to its importance to the company. Once everyone has completed the activity, the totals and averages should be calculated for each measurement. The top five become the team’s performance measurements. Then ask the team how they feel about the top five as it relates to their own function and provide opportunities for small group and large group discussion.  Each team member should be prepared to rank the team’s priorities and to establish how that fits with their priorities for the project or the priorities of their department.  Ask each team member to discuss how the measurements will relate to their function on the team, and in the organization.

What will a deliverable look like?

I am sure you can think of many more items for this list and your teams will surprise you with their contributions.

Let’s talk about some of the roles that you might want to consider for your project.  Depending on the size of the project, you may or may not need all of the roles but someone will have to assume the responsibilities.

Client Executive:  The client executive is responsible for the overall relationship with the customer.  This is the role that would address and resolve issues that cannot be resolved at the  vendor level. They keep the customer aware of new products, services, and software updates as they become available.  They are also the ones who look for opportunities where they can add value to the customer’s business.

Program Manager: The Program Manager may support the Client before and after their software acquisition, especially on large complex projects.  Sometimes called the Enterprise Manager, they would be a part of the Client’s Steering committee and should help shape the project success through the use of best practice, project and business practice.

The Enterprise Manager participates on the Steering Committee, and helps drive the project through to success.  They use industry best business process and practice.  They provide advice that will minimize risk and accelerate the implementation or upgrade.  Many organizations use the engagement manager and project manager interchangeably, however, their responsibilities re significantly different.

Project Manager: The individual in this roles provides the leadership for the project team and produces the status reports, plans, budgets and formal methodology (such as CSC, Compass, Rational) and resourcing.  The Engagement Manager supports the Project Managers both client and consulting in all aspects of project planning and control, and supports the design,development and deployment of a strong quality program.  The Project Manager is responsible for the “care and feeding” of the consulting and client project team members and for supporting the client Project Manager.

Process Specialists (Functional and Technical) Functional specialists are charged with guiding the project team through those steps that require detailed applications functional knowledge and related industry best practices. This consulting-sourced role is usually a full-time member of the project team.

The Technical Specialist executes the technical steps by providing support in the design and management of databases and in tuning the system and architecture. This is a consulting sourced role working in lock step with the client role.

System Engineer The System Engineer designs and creates technology solutions in response to business requirements. They are brought into a project when the solution requires some specific knowledge in the emerging technologies. Skills include: Workflow,  Electronic Commerce; Security including OLAP, Multi-dimensional modeling, compare report decisions, eApplications and solutions to customization requests.

Education Representative This person is responsible for working with the customer to make sure they use the education resources available to them in the most effective manner. This includes executing training plans, setting up on-site classes, and making the customer aware of alternate training formats including stand up training, interactive training, webinars and other venues. It is also the responsibility of this role to have a clear understanding of the business processes used and reflect those processes in User Productivity Kit or Tutor development.

Let’s define the various groups the will make up the project. For example, how many functional teams will be used?  What will the technical team look like? Who will be on the steering committee?  This is a good time for an activity.  Use an organization chart format and define what your project organization will look like.  Think about the client and the consultant team members and the line of decision making or issue resolution.

Who are some of the players?  Steering Committee, what will the membership consist of and who will

have the final say in determining membership.

Who is the Executive Sponsor?  This is a critical position for your project as they will carry the flag for

your success.  Will you have a dual Project Manager role, one client and one consultant?

Some of the other team members to consider would be:

· Operations

· HR

· Purchasing

· IS/IT

· Management

· Development

· Materials

· Quality

· Finance

· PMO

· Consulting Project Manager

· Consultants/Functional/Technical

Let’s consider some of the Roles and Responsibilities that may be identified for your team.  Remember every client has different requirements for their particular industry. Consider each of these as you facilitate the workshop but don’t make assumptions that all will be included or necessary.

Divide your team into working groups and have them work on the following activity:

· Identify and document the key project roles that will participate in the implementation or upgrade for both the customer and consultant team.

· Annotate each role with a short functional description.

· Identify who has already been selected for the role.

How this activity works:

· Review the roles for the project and use as the standard roles that may be included in the methodology that is being used by your client.  If the client doesn’t have a methodology, it is up to you to present some options.

· In defining project roles consider:

§ What roles are actually needed for this project?

§ What departments or units should supply the resources?

· Identify key users, or positions, that will not be on the project team but will be needed or will have significant responsibilities affecting the project. (Subject matter experts)

· Using the first-cut organization chart from the Project Organization activity make a chart of roles, which includes specific persons who will assume those roles and associated responsibilities.

Next we will define some roles and what responsibilities might be for those roles.

As we move through the discussion on Day 2 and looking at the project scope, constraints will be identified.  Be sure to provide your client and consulting team with examples of what might be a constraint.  A constraint is something that limits your degree of freedom.  Limited development resources might be a constraint.  Constraints might be economic, political, functional, technical and even environmental.  Be sure to document the constraints and work with the project team to ensure they are identified.

Second to constraints would be assumptions.  You make assumptions regarding many aspects of the project.  Assumptions represent opinions that have not or cannot be readily or easily proven; yet they are expected to be true.  An assumption that is often made in organizations is that the executive team is on board and giving total support to the project.  Sometimes an assumption is made that the organization has a specific requirement, only to find out in the fit/gap that the system cannot support the requirement.

So far we have covered many discussion topics in Day 2 and it is important to facilitate interaction and participation by the team.  The one week workshop packs a great deal into the first week that not only sets the stage for the project but also ensures the success of the project.  Think about the deliverables that will be produced as a result of the workshop.