Managing Scope: It’s Really About Trust, Communication, and Delivery
I was in a meeting last week discussing project management and client delivery and an executive made the point that the scope of the project is what the client thinks it is – period – and that as consultants it is our job to effectively manage expectations around scope continuously throughout an engagement.
Nailing down project scope has always been difficult, and it’s no surprise that when managing using a Waterfall/SDLC approach, scope creep and lack of scope definition are often some of the root causes of catastrophic project overruns and busted projects (Hence immense growth of Agile/Iterative… future post). This is because, as depicted in the Dilbert cartoon, most businesses and hence most projects aren’t particularly good at documenting requirements. And bad requirements lead to scope assumptions that will later contribute to a business sponsor being significantly underwhelmed by the final product. However, even without perfectly documented requirements, there are ways to effectively manage project scope without having to rely on (and hide behind) some formal 100 page contract? The key is to ensure your team is focused on the three things that contribute most to effectively managing expectations on the project: Trust, Communication, and Delivery.
1. Trust – Trust is not a nice to have – in both B2B relationships and B2C relationships – trust is critical in today’s economy where partnering and relationships are king. Stephen Covey said “Business moves at the speed of trust” and when you are managing scope, it’s important to have that “high-trust dividend” in play.
2. Communication (and other soft-skills critical to relationship management!) – Maybe this one should be first on the list. Why? Because effective communication is the key to establishing trust in the first place. In my Rockstar Project Management series, HR technology veteran Michael Krupa noted that “You can’t teach someone to be a Rockstar Project Manager. Either they “get it” or they don’t.” We went on to agree that you can teach someone to be a ‘Good PM’, but to really excel, a PM has to have a little something extra that is hard to teach. Part of that something extra is a great communication style, the ability to quickly build relationships, and a knack for bringing disparate and often dysfunctional teams together and moving in the same direction. It’s tough (nearly impossible) to screen and hire for, but when you find it hold on tight, because it’s gold!
3. Delivery – Trust and communication are the currency that buy you autonomy and a little runway as a project manager. At the end of the day, it’s still all about delivery. Your clients are counting on you to solve problems, communicate progress, and hold up your end of the deal. The scope may not be bounded by a formal contract, but it’s bounded by something far more important – your reputation. I don’t advise compromising on communication, and certainly not on trust, but a client buys delivery, not friends. Deliver.
The other interesting thing is that it really takes ALL THREE of these to sustain business in a healthy, continued vendor-client relationship. Think about it, if you establish trust and communicate well but don’t deliver it’s a no brainer – you might get the invite to happy hour or to the weekend BBQ, but you won’t be on the project team. If you communicate and deliver, but don’t establish trust, you may get some niche, difficult roles here and there, but you will never be the go-to resource for the client. And if you are in a trusting relationship and deliver, but don’t communicate well, you put your business sponsor in that tough position to defend your existence without arming them with the information they need to manage up.
Do you agree? What else would you add to the list?
Important post Jason. I agree with your thoughts on effective project management. Trust + relationship building based on strategic partnership = the gateway to building productive + profitable + sustainable business channels. In today’s economic realities it is more vital than ever. I would add flexibility to roll with the inevitable changes to this list. Let’s stay nimble…
Great post Jason. Those who have the skills to create trust, communicate and deliver also get access to a working relationship that is ultimately the most satisfying and productive for all – partnership. Those who don’t have these skills all too often find themselves frustrated by trying to exceed the ever changing expectations of their customers.
Meghan – True, flexibility & adaptability are good ones to add to the list. Thanks for the comment.
Susan – You got it, partnership is the goal. Those who take more than they give to their business relationships will find themselves on the outside looking in!
Great post. I really appreciate the information. You have done great work communicating your message. Keep up the good work.
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