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.
Planning is so critical for a project and what makes a project successful is in the way you approach the first few weeks. I have conducted these strategy and implementation workshops in a week but the work of the team goes well beyond that. The first few weeks, however, are what can determine success or failure for a project. So far we have discussed how important it is to get a project right the first time, the importance of scope, and organizational impact or change. Another important factor that needs to be addressed in the first week is how you will handle issues that arise during the project and what the process will be for resolving those issues.
If you are working with a standard implementation methodology there is probably a process for issue resolution. If not, develop a database, excel spreadsheet or similar method for tracking issues. It is important that you establish what an acceptable time frame is for resolution and what will be done if the issues are not resolved in a timely manner. What are the roles involved in the resolution process, who identifies, who assigns, who tracks, how high up in the organization will you have to go to find a solution, and finally who determines if an issue is closed.
Issues should be addressed on a weekly basis at meetings. If critical you might have a process in place to identify them on your project website, or even use twitter to get information out to your team in a timely fashion.
Of course, there is a deliverable that would be associated with this part of the workshop which would be a template for tracking issues.
So we have now addressed one more small part of what would happen in Day 2 of your implementation/upgrade workshop.
Looking forward to any additions you might provide via comments.
More projects fail because of poor change management than probably any other factor. People do not like change and it is important to develop a change management and communication plan. Identify that person in your group who loves to lead the charge on change. Then develop a group discussion on how this project will impact the organization. Draw an organizational chart on the board and circle the stakeholders. Look at how the project will impact end users, customers, managers, executives. How will that change be communicated to each of those groups.
Identify the leader who will begin to develop the change plan. How will the team be structured to complete this deliverable. A draft should be completed by the end of the week and a group will need to work on the content and strategy for that deliverable. You can facilitate discussion in the large group and then assign a small group to work on the deliverable. Or you can have several groups assigned to change and communication items for the plan. Don’t hesitate to assign homework so this is completed and ready for presentation by the end of the week.
What are some of the creative ways to communicate to the organization? Do you want to develop a web page? a newsletter, tweet program, blog, regular program for sending emails? Will the communication look different for each group? Let the group help stimulate this discussion and get a feel for the culture of the organization and how it communicates. My experience in organizations demonstrates how communication differs, a small organization may communicate only by email, others may have formal presentations and still others may have comprehensive web sites. Stimulate the group to come up with all the venues that they think will work for their organization and then assign a small group to incorporate the ideas into the plan.
One more step in the starting week of implementation/upgrade planning.
Day one is behind us with a nice review of what was accomplished. Let’s move on now and discuss each strategy we will be following in the implementation or upgrade. Is there a specific methodology that is used by the client. If so, make sure you have reviewed that methodology before starting this phase of the workshop. This is a good place to start assigning groups to work on areas of interest. Who will finish the strategy document? What are the tasks, timelines, repsonsibilities. Discuss them to make sure all members of the team are in agreement or if not agreement, there is a consensus. What are the minimum categories for developing strategy? You must at least have operating agreements in place, a high level strategy for how conversion will be handled. Do you have a training plan? a testing plan? Have you analyzed business process to identfy areas of improvement? Have you analyzed the relationship between business process and system process to ensure your business process will be effective? What approach will you have for communication? Who, what, when why and how? Weekly team meetings are critical, using immediate communication devices such as twitter can be of value when immediate responses are needed. What is the chain for decision making, the level of financial impact at each level and finally how will you approach upgrades and fixes at the beginning and throughout the length of the project?
Wow, that is the first item on the agenda for Day two…we have lots more to cover so tune back in tomorrow for more suggestions and please feel free to provide additions and comments.
So what should you have completed at the end of the Workshop on the first day. A Goal of the workshop has been established and there is a solid understanding of how to implement or upgrade “right the first time”.
A template with a rough draft of some of the Charter information will be complete with time for review. It is also important that team members understand they may have homework such as reading through draft documents and making comments or edits.
So what do you think should be included in a project charter? I would suggest the following:
1. A mission statement for the project
2. Project Objectives and measuresments to establish when those objectives have been met.
3. A strategy for the project
4. A critical element is the Scope statement. More projects fail from scope creep than probably any other factor.
5. An Issue Resolution methodology with initial issues identified
6. A Risk Resolution methodology with initial risks and level of risk identified.
7. The resource plan with roles, responsibilities and rules.
8. Constraints, Assumptions and a plan for next steps
9. An initial project plan at a high level which identifies critical milestones.
So at the end of the first day the team has started to develop the deliverables and resolve some of the issues that are open. This is the time when the Project Manager should schedule a time for a presentation to the steering committee or management team.
Communication with the team and leadership is critical and the fourth day should be used for that communication with a sold presentation in place. We have discussed the first day and what will be addressed. The timeline for the workshops may vary depending on how extensive in terms of modules and functionality the implementation or upgrade is determined to encompass.
Please make additional suggestions or comments to enhance this program.
The leadership and participation of a project manager or workshop facilitator is critical in the first week of the project. It is important that every team member contribute with all the knowledge and creativity they can bring to the project. Every person MUST contribute as this is truly a team effort.
To be successful it is important to:
1. Create a baseline for the project that includes scope, schedule and resources as well as resource changes throughout the project.
2. Validate the team is working toward a common goal on the project.
3. Ensure everyone develops an attitude of responsibility and focus.
4. Ensure the client provides insight into the organization’s objectives, requirements and operations.
Organizations would be wise to bring in an outside facilitator for the first week of the project to lead the implementation or upgrade workshops. As an outside expert with optimal skills in training, facilitation and presentation, the team can focus on generating the project charter documents. The facilitator can also act as a resource and provide expertise as appropriate.
The team should have significant “buy-in” and “ownership” of the project. This means not only being willing to make decisions but to take responsibility for those decisions as well. Take some time to share experiences with the team and ensure the time in sessions is well spent.
What are some key points to remember in project implementations?
1. Projects will always be a challenge and it will take full participation of the team along with understanding, problem solving, working together and assuming responsibility for decisions that are mutual.
2. Projects have very long term impacts and the results of what a team does or does not accomplish will impact an organization for many years to come.
3. It is critical to have a cohesive team, and a strong leader driving the project.
4. Communicate to management on a regular basis and communicate results not all the details. They will want to know what is happening on a project but on a high level. Bring issues and risks to their attention immediately.
5. Projects are typically very visible in organizations and the team will success will result in awareness throughout the organization of the quality and performance of the team members in achieving their goals.
6. Keep the project on track. Scope tends to creep and it is the responsibility of the team and the Project Manager to monitor very carefully the deliverables expected and the scope as identified in the Charter document which was signed by all of the executive management and presented to all the stakeholders.
Are you using Sharepoint with UPK? We are using it on the project I am currently on to maintain version control on all of our topic files and modules. It has been very effective in ensuring changes are not made and uploaded by two different people, with different versions. Maintaining that “gold” copy is critical when many people are working on the same training module or topic file. Our team is not always co-located so being able to maintain control at a distance is also very important.
What kind of things do you need to plan for in an implementation of PeopleSoft when working with the client and your team? It is important to communicate to your team before they come on site to inform them of the client expectations and your expectations as a Project Manager. Send a letter to the members of the client team as well and explain what the first week will entail. Explain that the first week will be a planning week to ensure that you “Get it Right the First Time.” What do you mean by that? Most projects fail not because of lack of technical or functional knowledge, but due to lack of planning.
So what are some of the questions that must be asked in the first week of team meetings?
1. Is there a direct correlation between the project manager’s leadership and the team’s productivity, effort?
2. Are the project objectives clearly defined and accepted?
3. Is the scope clearly defined and does it match the number of resources necessary and the initial timeline that has been identified?
4. Has a formal issue resolution processand tracking mechanism been established?
5. Has the client assumed ownership and demonstrated a vested interest in the project?
6. Have project performance criteria been established? What are the milestones?
It is important to assist a client in launching their implementation and a process must be in place to build on the initial charter. The charter is a roadmap and a reference for scope. The strategy and overall planning direction should be in the charter document.
One of the deliverables for the first week of planning will be a Charter signed by and agreed to by the client management or executive team for approval.
The first day it is important to communicate to the team the importance of their role and how critical this first planning week is to the ongoing success of the project. This is just the beginning of a discussion on implementation or upgrade planning that I will continue to add to as we go along. Please feel free to comment and suggest additional ideas for the Implementation Planning week for a PeopleSoft Project.
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