PROJECT TEAM MANAGEMENT
Roles and Responsibilities Are Critical
The chief information officer (CIO) for a large corporation called a project management consultant into her office to discuss an important system development project she felt was in jeopardy. The CIO described the project to the consultant—a seasoned young woman with more than $100 million in projects under her belt—to see what might be done to salvage the effort.
The CIO described the project as follows:
?The budget exceeded $15 million for the entire system development project, from initiation to completion.
?The vendor selected to deliver the new system proposed an application service provider agreement and implementation, meaning that the vendor would construct the system, own it, host it, and maintain it. In return, the vendor would receive a percentage of the revenues generated and managed by the new system.
?The vendor had submitted a "perfect" proposal in response to the company's request for proposals sent out to the general market for these types of systems.
?The contract with the vendor did not include either penalties for poor delivery or incentives for optimum performance.
?Communications with the vendor were problematic. When the project manager tried to talk with the vendor's president, he was ignored.
?The project was halfway through a 12-month schedule, although no vendor status report had crossed the CIO's desk in the past six months.
?The vendor had never formally accepted or acknowledged the requirements for the new system.
?The vendor was ready to deliver the new system.
?The organization's business manager was responsible for managing the vendor contract. His staff would depend on the system to generate $75 million in annual revenue, which represented half of the corporation's annual revenue. Together, the vendor and the business manager instituted four changes to the project scope, without a single project modification.
?It was rumored that the business manager and the vendor had agreed to a schedule that no one had seen, which required delivery of the new system in the next two weeks.
?The project manager was a dedicated individual who spent long hours answering emails, filing reports, and writing requirements for the project.
?The project manager reported directly to the CIO.
?The business manager and the project manager had adjacent offices, but never talked.
?The CIO believed she was not the project sponsor for the project and did not know who was.
?The project manager was not sure who was the project sponsor.
The consultant took careful notes during the CIO's briefing. When the CIO finished, the consultant reviewed her notes and replied, "You're right. Your project is in trouble. It sounds to me like the vendor is out of control and there's no one high up in the organization to rein the vendor in."
The CIO nodded. "I'm pretty sure that would not be me and frankly, I don't have the time or knowledge to manage a project like this. We have only six months left before the old vendor pulls the legacy system offline. I'm not sure this situation can be salvaged."
The consultant replied, "Give me a week or so. I see a few areas right off that might make sense to tackle, but I'd like to check some things out personally, if that's all right."
The CIO nodded. "Of course; whatever you need. If this project fails, we are in deep trouble. The business manager has alienated the vendor that provides our legacy system and the vendor plans to shut down the old system in six months, no matter what."
The consultant continued: "I'll need access to the executive suite. The first thing we need to do is find out who the project sponsor really is. I think you're correct that you are not the right person for the job. In the IT project management world, there is no such thing as an IT project; there are only business projects that deliver an IT system as one component of a larger solution. And that means that the project sponsor has to be a business person rather than a technical resource."
The CIO agreed and made a few calls to ensure that the consultant would be well-received when she arrived at the company's executive headquarters.
The next day, the consultant was welcomed into the CEO's office. As she explained the situation with the project, the CEO, who gave the impression of long years of experience in the industry, smiled politely.
"I know of the situation," the CEO offered. "I authorized payment for your consulting contract. To answer your first question: no, I am not the project sponsor. That would be one of the workshop attendees, and I would like to know exactly who that is once you figure it out. I would also like to be apprised of your findings once you get things in hand."
The CEO's assistant showed the consultant to a long row of offices. The title on the first door read "chief financial officer." She knocked on the door and was beckoned inside. "How can I help you?" the CFO asked.
The consultant explained the project situation, outlining the information the CIO had provided. "Are you the project sponsor for this project?"
"No," she replied. "I am definitely interested, though, since the new system will account for half of our firm's revenue and that is where my interest lies. I hope you'll keep me in the loop."
The consultant smiled to herself as she left the CFO's office. The CEO and CFO were certainly not the right people to sponsor the project, but they were quite interested in its outcome. That spoke well for senior management support. She knew that the keys to any project's success are the leadership team's interest and buy-in.
The consultant worked her way through three more offices, where the director of research and development tacitly denied any interest or involvement, but suggested that the marketing director might be the right person for the job. The marketing director bowed out equally fast, indicating that while he remained interested in the market data the system generated, he was not directly responsible for the project. The chief of production responded similarly. It wasn't until the consultant reached the office of the chief operations officer that she struck pay dirt.
The COO listened to the consultant's story with interest. He frowned when the consultant finished describing the situation and said, "That project is of great interest to me. The business manager works for me. I assumed that the CIO had the situation covered, but I can see that things are pretty much a mess. I am disappointed that the business manager and the vendor seem to be running free and easy with the contract and that we appear to have no control over the requirements. Tell me how you can determine who the right person is for the project sponsor role?"
"The project sponsor is the person in the organization who can write checks and make decisions that stick," the consultant replied. "If something needs to be added to the project's scope, the sponsor approves it or not, and must be willing to write the check, figuratively or literally, to make it happen."
"That would be me, then," the COO responded. I sign those checks for the CFO and pay them monthly out of my budget."
He pulled out a sheet of paper. "It seems to me that the first thing we need to do is figure out what exactly a project sponsor does for a project. After that, I need to talk to the project manager and the business manager and get the vendor in line. Can you help me figure this situation out?"
The consultant scooted her chair up to the COO's desk and pulled out her laptop. She printed out a list of usual roles and responsibilities for a project sponsor, which included the following:
?Act as final authority on escalated issues
?Act as final authority on decisions related to the project budget
?Assume role of business owner responsible for organizational, political, and financial support of the project
?Define strategic vision, assist in project scope management, and convey project importance to internal and external groups
?Run project steering committee meetings
?Define vision, goals, and objectives for the project
?Resolve issues that cannot be resolved at a lower level
?Ensure that the project supports the organization's strategic business direction
?Provide budget accountability and contract signature authority
?Review and approve key project deliverables
?Drive policy decisions for the project
?Communicate with stakeholders, external entities, and partners
?Authorize supplemental personnel resources as required
?Oversee and assist in resolving issues associated with quality, scope, risk, schedule, and budget
?Provide leadership as the project champion
?Approve scope, schedule, and budget changes.
"That is the condensed version," the consultant said. "Perhaps you can keep it as a quick reference."
"That's a help," the sponsor replied. "Do you have something that can help me figure out what the project manager is supposed to be doing?"
The consultant handed the sponsor another list, this one identifying the usual roles and responsibilities of a project manager:
?Report to and take direction from the project sponsor
?Manage and communicate with the vendor to ensure a single voice and focus for the project
?Attend project meetings with the vendor team
?Escalate issues to the project sponsor that cannot be solved at a lower level and may impact the project's schedule, cost, or quality
?Manage the day-to-day tasks performed by the project team
?Manage the deliverable review process to ensure that the delivered solution meets the organization's goals and objectives
?Identify risks and implement risk mitigation strategies
?Facilitate and promote stakeholder communication
?Serve as the point of contact with stakeholder groups
?Monitor the deliverable and milestone schedule
?Maintain project work plans, action item lists, and issue and risk logs for the project team
?Monitor and report overall project status, including the status of all vendor deliverables
?Keep the project sponsor and stakeholders informed of project progress
?Develop and manage statement of work documents
?Determine project resource requirements and enlist stakeholder support to obtain those resources
?Monitor and track project budget, schedule, and quality against defined project objectives
?Oversee ongoing financial administration of the project
?Ensure vendor contract compliance.
Looking through the list, the COO said, "If I'm going to be the sponsor of a project like this one, I'll need one of these people on my team."
"Yes, you will," the consultant replied. "The first thing I'd suggest is that you bring the project manager under your direct control. He works for the CIO right now, and the CIO realizes that the project manager should not be reporting to her for this project. I believe the project manager will benefit from the move as well. Having direct access to the project sponsor opens many doors for timely decision-making, discussion of ideas and issues, and so on. In fact, moving the project manager under your direct supervision is the first step in a chain of activities that may help your project succeed. Let me list a few of those things for you." She offered the following suggestions:
1.Move management of the vendor under the project manager. The project manager should have overall responsibility for the project, and that includes everything the vendor does or does not do. Empower the project manager by moving him under your direct control, so that everyone in the organization, including the business manager, realizes that you are serious about your direction.
2.Assign the project team to work directly for the project manager. The project manager should be the one voice that gives direction, solves problems the team members cannot work through themselves, and relates your vision and the value of doing this project to the team members.
3.Modify the contract to include some items that will ultimately enhance the vendor's ability to deliver what you need, in the timeframe you need it, including the following:
a.A list of detailed requirements specifying exactly what you expect the new system to provide; include that list in an amendment the vendor must acknowledge contractually. This creates clear expectations and provides a solid baseline for everyone—the vendor and your own team members—to work from.
b.A schedule that ties every piece of functionality and the delivery of the final system to a specific set of milestones. The details of any schedule will shift a bit, no matter how well you think you have them nailed down, but establish a solid framework for development, testing, and acceptance.
c.Incentives for exceptional vendor performance and penalties for poor vendor performance. Share the wealth if the vendor gets things done ahead of time and penalize it for late delivery. Most vendors welcome this sort of arrangement if the milestones in the contract are reasonable; it provides an opportunity for them to shine.
d.Regular visits to the vendor's work site. Visit the vendor at its location to verify that the staff and resources promised in the proposal actually exist, and base your negotiations on what you find during that trip.
4.Ensure accountability by making yourself available to the project manager and the project team to address any issues or risks they escalate to you, and demand objective reporting by the vendor.
The COO sat back in his chair. "Those are tall orders," he commented.
"It's Project Management 101 for those of us in the business, built on a base of decades of experience by people just like you and me who deliver successful projects every day."
"Good," the sponsor replied. "Then let's get started…."
By 8:00 am the next day, many of the changes had been made to the project's organization chart. The project manager welcomed the new relationship with his new project sponsor, and the business manager joined an advisory committee to help the project sponsor make the complicated, key project decisions that were bound to arise. The business manager was directed not to interact directly with the vendor but instead to route any necessary communications through the project manager. He reluctantly agreed to do so. The vendor was notified, in writing, of the change in contract management responsibility from the business manager to the project manager.
The consultant arrived later that day to find an empowered project sponsor and project manager meeting with the CIO and business manager. The sponsor waved the consultant into the office. "I would like you to go with the project manager to visit the vendor's work site. You recommended the move, after all, and the CIO reiterated just how perfect the vendor's proposal was for this project…. and that makes me suspicious. They promised a team of 40 staff, technical architects, other skilled experts, certified project managers, and business analysts to deliver our system. I would like you two to go out, unannounced, and confirm that is the case."
The project manager and the consultant booked a cross-country flight that would get them to the vendor's location at the start of the next work day. They appeared at the door to the president's office, which was in a large room located at one end of a bay of 50 or so office cubicles, two of which were occupied. They introduced themselves and stated the purpose of their visit.
The president did not appear pleased to see them. I didn't know you were coming," he said as he rose from his desk. "If we had known, we would have prepared for your arrival."
The consultant walked over to the door leading into the large work bay full of empty cubicles. "Your proposal said you have 40 people on staff. I only see two. Is today a holiday of some sort?"
The president snorted. "How many people we have on staff is none of your business. We are ready to deliver the new system now and need no additional staff to implement our software package."
The project manager cut off his words with a raised hand. "This is a custom solution, built just for our organization. The reason you have refused to acknowledge the requirements I provided to you was because you thought you were delivering a software package? The contract is very clear…."
The president of the company interrupted the project manager. "Your business manager and I decided that a software package would be best, and that your business office could modify its business processes to match the software's out-of-the-box functionality. We shook hands on it. It's a done deal, and you have no choice but to honor your business manager's direction to us."
"But there's nothing in writing," the project manager protested.
"Doesn't matter," the company president replied. "We are ready to deliver your system. You can take it or leave it."
He gestured toward the door. "This meeting is over."
The consultant got behind the wheel of their rental car and called the COO, who listened quietly and then said, "Head back to your hotel. I'm going to make a few calls."
"Should we move our flights to this evening instead of tomorrow evening?" the project manager asked.
"No. You two get a good night's sleep," the sponsor replied. "Plan to head back to the vendor's offices first thing in the morning."
The next morning, the project manager and consultant were at breakfast when the sponsor called.
"I called the CEO of the holding company that owns the software development firm you visited yesterday and explained the situation," he said. "She turned out to be a very smart, savvy person. The fact that I would rather terminate the contract for the project and suffer the loss—and tell all of my peers in the industry about my experience—than continue with that company seemed to strike a chord with her."
He continued, "The CEO called me back an hour later and explained that she talked to the software company's president and got the same disrespectful attitude you got. She fired him and promoted the vice president. The CEO said she would talk to the new president of the company this morning and have her ready to meet you for lunch at noon. Be there, and then report back to me after your meeting."
At noon, the consultant and the project manager arrived at the software development company. The new president met them at the door and welcomed them into the work bay, where 15 cubicles were now occupied by people who appeared to be very busy.
"We called a technical temp agency and paid top dollar for these resources," she explained. "This morning, I hired a project manager who will be arriving at your site on Monday to work onsite and facilitate the project from your end."
The consultant smiled. "Fast work," he said.
She nodded. "We will do what it takes to honor our contract and deliver your system. Now, if you both have a moment, I would like to sit down and hammer out a contract amendment that meets your needs and addresses your concerns."
Six months later, the project closed with a functional system that met most of the organization's objectives. To recover the project and complete it in such short order, the organization deferred a number of low-priority project objectives and system requirements, and the vendor agreed to an expedited, two-shift, 16-hour development day focused on the customizations and configurations of the software package needed to meet the organization's needs. Plans put into place at the end of the contract cemented both organizations' intent to implement the remaining requirements under a risk-sharing agreement.
When the project drew to a close six months after that first meeting between the project sponsor and the consultant, they were pleased, if a bit frustrated by the level of effort it took to accomplish all that was needed within the six-month timeline.
At project close, the consultant was called in to facilitate a lessons-learned workshop. At the top of the list of lessons learned were the basic project management tenets the project sponsor had implemented at the consultant's suggestion: (1) a direct reporting chain between the project sponsor and the project manager, (2) direct control over the vendor and the project team by the project manager, and (3) specific contractual wording that provided clear guidance and opportunities for all parties to succeed.
Lesson Learned
For the project sponsor: Clearly define roles and responsibilities to align a project for success in terms of project management empowerment, reporting authority, and procurement and vendor management.