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"The Twelve
Tough Questions" - Summary Continued...
7.
EVIDENCE
How do you know it works that way ?
How exactly do you know it works that way and how do you know it will work
that way here ? They answer, "because it's obvious", "because everybody
knows it". You may want a somewhat more reasoned response!
We need
to teach and ask clearly for relevant facts as evidence. Where was this
strategy/approach practiced? When? By Whom? How did it work? How was it
measured? How did things go in the long term? What reason have we to think
it will or will not work in our particular project? Are you sure of cause
and effect?
8. ENOUGH
Have we got a complete solution ?
A "complete solution" must enable
the goal levels (quantified) to be met
with the finite resources planned as available. The degree of completeness
(or shortfall) can be identified by comparing the contribution the set of
solutions you have planned, against the goal levels in a process known as
Impact Estimation.
Essentially, the Impact Estimation process involves a matrix in which the
proposed solution(s) are measured for their expected contribution to
satisfying the quantified project goals. The aim is to ensure that the
solution(s) has/have sufficient collective impact to achieve the goals along
with a pre-defined margin of safety.
This approach highlights shortfalls (ie. areas of risk) in project
proposals.
We'll be publishing an
article in early 2004 dedicated to how to carry out Impact Estimation.
9.
PROFITABILITY FIRST
Are we going to the profitable things first ?
It's not the
project planning approach familiar to most Project and Programme Managers.
However, most projects can be broken down into a sequence of results
delivery cycles of say, 2-4 weeks each.
Planning projects on that basis allows them to be structured so that the
acitvities and investments which bring the most interesting returns
(benefits to costs ratio), can be scheduled for early delivery in the
sequence.
If you would like to see early results from your projects and the
improvement in cash flow it can bring, request project managers plan to
deliver the most profitable stages first... and assure them it can be done.
It just takes some thinking.
10.
COMMITMENT
Who is responsible ?
Who exactly will be accountable
for the effectiveness of this proposal ? Have they 'signed-up'
to that responsibility ? If not, why not ?
11. PROOF
How can we be sure the plan is working ?
What ongoing measurements do you
need in place to ensure the plan is working 'as advertised' ? Have the
critical parameters been identified and are the scales of measurement in
place ?
Monitoring those parameters week by week allows first hints of warning signs
to be detected early and enables you to put things right before they get out
of hand, or you get the message early - you need to change course.
Hint: if your objective is stated in terms such as; 'implement a new
system', you have a goal of the binary, 'yes/no' variety. Projects with
binary goals as their primary aims do not have meaningful scales of measure
by which their progress can be measured.
These kind of projects tend to be defined in terms of a sequence of tasks.
Measuring completion of tasks naturally, says little useful about the
eventual effectiveness of the project; merely that tasks were completed.
(We'll be adding an article to explain this subject further in February
2004).
12. NO
CURE?
Is it no cure, no pay ?
Are buying external services or
products as part of your project or programme ? If so, and you do not get
the results envisaged - who pays? You or them ?
Does your contract with the vendors make payment conditional on the results
being achieved in your organisation ? Not just delivery of their product or
service, but the great results they said you would see ?
Insisting on the results from the vendor, will expose and clarify all the
prerequisites and assumptions to be met before the desired results can
materialise.
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