Challenging projects and difficult clients can make a software project manager’s job quite stressful. Addressing key problem issues faced by many project managers responsible for smaller projects can provide a workable framework for planning and monitoring. Project managers hired by small business clients may find they have been unsuccessful for three main reasons.
- They run over budget.
- They do not meet their schedules.
- They do not fulfill their customer’s requirements.
With over 28 years of technical experience encompassing virtually all areas of information technology, Mark Levy, co-owner of Enterprise Technology Associates (ETA), a consulting company in Glenview, Illinois is sharing 7 tactics for working with small to mid-size businesses.
Conduct a Requirement Analysis
To assure the requirements of the client are recorded accurately conduce a requirement analysis. Determine the features of the software and what the software is expected to do. "This is extremely important in the process because you don’t want a back and fourth situation of ‘Is this what you wanted?’ ‘No, it’s not what I wanted.’ This situation becomes a terrible loop that causes problems for the client and the project manager," Levy says.
Before beginning any project write down and give the objectives of what is expected to be accomplish to the client. This ensures you understand the client correctly. In this document re-describe what the client wants. Have the client sign off on the project.
Complex projects may require more than one meeting. Be explicit when talking to the client. Here is what can be accomplished for this cost. Here are the optional features that can be added, but each one will cost X number of dollars. Project managers can prioritize a list of tasks. Tell the client "This is something we can do" or "This is something you may have to give up considering the budget restraints."
The Specifications
After the meetings, the project manager should have a clear understanding of what the client expects. According to Levy, it is like constructing a building. The client wants the building to be 25 floors with these features. The project manager has to take the information from the client along with the restrictions and capabilities of the implementation. It is important to design a guide, decide what programs are involved and how they will operate. "Most often this is beyond the client’s ability to understand what the project entails," Levy says. "It’s the software project manager’s blue print, and he gives the client a copy of this blue print."
The project manager will find that a customer requests impractical things. It is then necessary to talk to the customer with revised specifications. If the customer still requests a specific feature, the project may have to be re-examined to see if that objective can be met.
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