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Somehow, saying  no to the request is seen as not being client focused or
not satisfying the client s needs.
The beauty of scope change management, however, is that the project man-
ager does not have to be the  no guy. In fact, the project manager does
not need to decide one way or another that is not the job of a project
manager. The project manager s job is to identify the request and take it
through the scope change management process. This includes evaluating the
impact of the change on the project, looking at alternatives, and taking the
information to the project sponsor for resolution.
Sponsors should make decisions on scope changes because it is their project
and ultimately they re the ones that need to live with the results. The spon-
sor and the project team set expectations in the signed project charter. This
is further clarified in the approved business requirements. These are the ex-
pectations that are in place. If people have requests for changes to these
agreements, the sponsor needs to make the decision on whether to ap-
prove the change or not. This decision should be based on the business
value provided and the overall impact on the project in terms of cost, deliv-
ery time, or quality.
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Use Scope Change Management
The sponsor also has the added advantage of organizational power. Al-
though it is sometimes hard for the project team to say  no to the client,
the sponsor doesn t have that problem. Clients and end users usually work
in the sponsor s organization. Since the sponsor is paying for the project,
they are usually more concerned about it completing as promised within the
budget and delivery date.
This change in expectations may be fine. The sponsor may ask your team to
change the project scope and also agree to the corresponding change in ef-
fort, cost, and scope. However, this is not a given especially if the changes
are very large or very small.
Jerry s sponsor is typical. She didn t have much patience for changes in
scope resulting in marginal benefit. Small changes viewed as critical to the
end users usually pale when viewed from the sponsor s perspective. On the
other hand, if the change is important enough, the sponsor can provide the
incremental budget and timeline required to complete the extra work. A
side benefit of going to the sponsor is that after invoking the process once
or twice, fewer scope change requests come up. People are much less likely
to request changes without a very good business case if they realize the
sponsor is actively evaluating all of these requests.
C H A P T E R
12
Collect Metrics
To Evaluate How Well You (and Your Project)
Are Performing
I had been working as project management advisor for almost two full
months now and I was interested in some feedback regarding my per-
formance in this new role. My boss Wayne agreed to talk with some of
his management peers to see if they had heard anything from their
staff. Our meeting today was to discuss this feedback.
I entered Wayne s office around 3 p.m. and found him poking his finger
at a shiny new tablet.  New iPad? I asked.  Yes, indeed, he replied.  I
bought it last night on my way home from work. Still getting use to the
keyboard on the screen, though.
Wayne put his iPad down on a stack of paperwork on his desk, then
opened his desk drawer and pulled out a brochure and handed it to me,
smiling.  Desert Oasis is sprawled in fancy italic type across the front,
with overlapping photos of a golf course, pool, and an elderly couple en-
joying lunch.
 What s this? I asked.
 Our new home, he replied. Wayne mentioned a few weeks ago how
he and Elsie were going to move to a warmer climate this summer after
his retirement and how a friend had recommended the Desert Oasis re-
sort. Apparently, he and Elsie had flown to Arizona last October and
toured the property. The tone of his voice told me he was excited.
T. Mochal et al., Lessons in Project Management
© Tom Mochal and Jeff Mochal 2011
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Collect Metrics
Of course, I was happy for Wayne and his wife. But I knew it would be
tough seeing him retire and move away. In fact, after a few weeks of re-
flection, I was still somewhat in shock.
Wayne sat down in the big leather chair in front of his desk and ges-
tured for me to take a seat. Putting the brochure back in the drawer, he
pulled out a file folder and sat back contentedly.
 Well, I ve got more good news, Tom, he started.  I spoke with four
managers and all the feedback on your job performance was positive.
Even your friend Jerry put together a decent project charter and schedule.
In the past, he would have been a third of the way to disaster by now.
 That s great to hear, I said.  But was there any other feedback?
 Not really. Just a lot of positive comments
 Well, the feedback is nice, and I believe I am on the right track, but
right now this is just  feel-good feedback. I guess it s time I start to col-
lect some more meaningful data on the value I m providing.
 Value? Wayne questioned.  The feedback I received was that you
have been providing a lot of value.
 Yes, and I appreciate the kind words. But the feedback is from fellow
managers whom you have worked with for years. I hope their kind
words are true, but I need to collect some more meaningful, quantitative
comments on the value I am providing. I m preaching the value of col-
lecting metrics to the project managers I am working with I guess I
need to start taking some of my own medicine.
LESSON
What if a publicly-traded company could not tell a shareholder its rev-
enues or profits for the fiscal year? That company would have some seri-
ous problems to address. Likewise, if the same shareholder asked a com-
pany executive how its products were viewed in the marketplace, and he
replied only with a  good, that would not be very comforting for the
shareholder, either.
The preceding examples never happen, though, because companies collect
metrics. They collect financial information on revenue and costs, and they
collect data on how their products are perceived in the marketplace. For
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Lessons in Project Management
good or for bad, they typically know much of the information they need to
run the business.
On a much smaller scale, a stakeholder might ask you how successful a re-
cent project was, or how efficient a billing process is, or, in my case, what
value I am providing with my coaching service. These questions are usually
harder to answer.
Many (probably most) companies have no idea whether they are getting val-
ue for the dollars they spend on projects, and they have only a vague idea
about the success of individual projects. Defining and collecting an appropri-
ate set of metrics is the only way to get quantitative and qualitative informa-
tion. Collecting metrics provides the information necessary to improve
processes and gives results that show if expectations are being met.
My situation is a good example. I am providing a service to the organization,
but I need to collect information to show the effectiveness and value of the
service I provide to project managers. I can t just rely on anecdotal com-
ments from high-level managers. I need more facts and should be collecting
metrics in the following areas: [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]