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How to meet customer expectations

Аудиторія: розробники, тімліди, керівники

Ruslan, Seredyuk, 2011Ruslan.seredyuk@gmail.com

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Why projects fail?

• Poor communication• Inadequate or vague requirements• Scope creep• Overruns of schedule and cost• Meeting end user expectations

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Case #1. Internal projects

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Case #1. Internal projects

• No customer• No sponsor, who is interested in• Nobody knows• Not a priority

Usually unsuccessful

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Who is my Project Customer?

• Person who provides funding ??? • My boss ???• Boss of my boss???• “USERS” ???• Jon Smith, accountant, 45 years old, USA ???• James Anderson, manager, 30 years old,

Canada ???

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Stakeholders

YOUR BOSS

Your team

Sponsor

Customers

Venture fond, sponsor’s boss, bank…

Idea!!!

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Customers Stakeholders expectations

• Financial interests (%)• Glory• New market• Good history records• Green buttons and 3D effects• 50% electricity saving• Less human work, less mistakes• DON’T BOTHER ME, JUST SEND A STATUS• Make ALL people HAPPY

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What to do with this MESS Agenda• Identify stakeholders• Gather objectives, requirements, negotiate• Get feedback• Communicate• Control scope, cost, time, quality• Manage expectations• Get acceptance

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Case #2. Small task for many people

Team did not identify stakeholders

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Case #2. Small task for many people

SYSTEM support portal:• Mr. JOHNSON – Product manager of portal• Ms. WILLIAMS – PM of SYSTEM• Mr. JONES – BOSS of Mr. JOHNSON and person

who pays for• Mr. BROWN – assistant of the BOSS• Mr. DAVIS – person who will use support

portal

Team did not identify stakeholders

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Identify stakeholders

• Ask your sponsor• Look around, who may be affected by your

project• Prioritize stakeholders

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Stakeholder matrix

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Case#3. No objectives - no success

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Case#3. No objectives - no success

• Manager: Why did you fire a previous manager• Sponsor: Because he kept asking about objectives• Manager: Why we are doing the project?• Team: ………. But we have good performance• Manager: We don’t know how to measure project

success• Sponsor: Delivering this product will be enough, let

me worry about selling the value of it to my peers

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Objectives

• S• M• A• R• TExamples:MicroSWOT may want to achieve 50% data export performance increase by the end of the year.

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Common Challenges with Requirements

• Not thinking outside the box• Customers change their mind• Conflicting priorities• Getting right SMEs• Missing requirements• Jumping to details too early• Low understanding of the problem domain

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Oh…requirements

• Think in terms of people goals, needs, and motives

• Know the user, and you are not the user • Pay attention to what users do, not what they

say• If the user can’t use it, it doesn’t work• As far as the customer is concerned, the

interface is the product.

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Gather requirements

• Interview • Observation• Prototype (IKIWISI)• Brainstorming• Mind maps• Survey

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Negotiating

• Active Listening — A negotiator’s best tool• Use the Power of Emotional Labeling• Build rapport • Use Effective Pauses and Open Ended

Questions• Become a Projective Thinker• Create a Win-Win Situation

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Case#4. Straight wallThey did not tried to rephrase or ask …..

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Case#4. Straight wall

• I wanted a straight wall• It’s straight but not VERTICAL

They did not tried to rephrase or ask …..

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Communication

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How to communicate

• Ensure common understanding• Address concerns that have not become issues

yet• Clarifying and resolving issues that have been

identified• Report statuses

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Common communication mistakes

• Not asking people what information they need and when

• Not planning communication to all stakeholders

• Not using multiple methods of communication• Not confirming if information was understood• Not adjusting communication to each

stakeholder

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Case#5. Why should I pay more?

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Case#5. Why should I pay more?I have reviewed you plan (cost, schedule). I looks good. Lets start.1 week laterHi guys. I need to change THIS ONE IN THIS WAY3 weeks laterHi guys I ‘d like to change priorities. I need THIS feature in 1st release6 week later Hi guys , could you provide me cost performance reportWHAAAAA?????

There were changes to features not to COST

OK. We have pulled our socks up.

OK. We have changed the feature description

OK. We have updated features list for v1.

Yes. “100K by this date”

You requested the changes……

They didn’t notify him about changes to budget

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Impact of control to customer expectations

• Customer expects you will control a project• Customer expects , that you will handle changes• Customer expects you let him know about

influence on time, cost, schedule• Customer DO NOT expect cost change even if

some new features were added• Customer DO NOT expect schedule change even

if some new features were added

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How to control

• Evaluate impact• Create options• Get change approved with the team• Get customer buy-in

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Manage expectations

• Don’t make puffed-up promises• If promised – do that• Under promise and over deliver• Avoid ultimatums

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Acceptance

• Not accepted project is not successful project• Verify scope as often as possibleWays:• Do a demo• Send screenshots for review• Send results for review• Prototypes

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Are your customers satisfied?

YESIf their expectations are met.

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Q&A

Ruslan.seredyuk@gmail.comhttp://seredyukr.wordpress.com/http://www.linkedin.com/in/rseredyuk