Whenever I start a new project, my first question to the sponsor or client is “What does project success look like?” I can tell a great deal about how the project is going to go from the answer. Here are a few examples:

“I’ll know it when I see it.”

I’m immediately skeptical. If a sponsor or customer cannot articulate what exactly they want after the money and time are spent, I try to pull it out of them. Can they draw it? Explain how it makes them feel when they see it? Imagine their new lives with this new capability? Write down their expectations?

If nothing works, and they want someone to tell them what they want, I’ll try for a graceful exit. I’ve done projects like these, and in my experience, they never end well. I call it a “bring me a rock” project. The team presents what they interpret the deliverable to be and the customer says “No – not quite.” More time and money, another deliverable and still, “No – not quite.” A few more rounds of this and everyone is getting frustrated, the money and time is running out, and someone must be responsible for the lack of progress. It’s probably not going to be the sponsor or customer. Just sayin…

“Well, the vice president wants this and soon.”

Another immediate red flag. Of course, your mileage may vary and the vice president may be the type to bellow orders and expect folks to jump. Often, I’ve found that the V.P. made an offhand remark that everyone took as an order. I’ll ask to have 15 minutes with the V.P. to get their thoughts on the project.

Sometimes I get an audience and sometimes I don’t, but I do know that if it’s something really near the V.P.’s heart, they don’t mind talking about their vision for a few minutes. I also ask about the budget and timeframes. If the V.P. doesn’t know these items, it’s another red flag. If there is no budget defined and no deadline, it’s not that important – no matter what the Director says. Get some numbers or try to get out.

A project needs a sponsor that is interested in the project. If the V.P. doesn’t seem to really be on board, and the Director has no real stake in the outcome either, I’ll try to gracefully exit this responsibility.

“The servers in the data center that have reached end of life are replaced with new servers, the new servers are up and running, and the old servers are being recycled, all by the end of March.”

This is someone I can work with. They know what they want and by when and have defined project success. There’s a budget and a timeframe. It’s my job to work the rest – the sizing, purchase, logistics, and implementation. The team knows what to accomplish and now they need to follow the plan to get there.

As project managers, I think it’s part of our job to help our sponsors, customers, and clients understand the process of getting to the deliverable. We may help with shaping the final product. If our client or customer can’t tell us what they want, then we don’t have a project, we have a discussion and a decision to make.

What are the first things you ask your client or customer when discussing a project? Tell us in the comments.

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I wanted to thank everyone who has joined me on this journey in the past year. I’m thinking about where to take ProProject Manager for the next year. If you have a suggestion or an idea for a post, let me know.

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