What every Salesforce Partner should know
Illusion: Macmillan Dictionary: “an appearance or effect that is different from the way that things really are”.
Finding out a project team had the illusion of agreement for a core portion of scope can be devastating for the team, client and project. It breaks trust immediately, like a resounding door slam.
Oftentimes this starts with interpretations of certain words. Most often it occurs because assumptions are made and insidious change occurs. The illustration below humorously shows how different stakeholders understand a swing (as a metaphor for a software implementation).
The conflicting assumptions, expectations and interpretations are the core to the illusion of agreement.
In my twenty-five years of project experience, I’ve learned to stay in front of potential assumptions. Additionally, when I managed a consulting PMO, I made it a point to counsel the project managers to do the same. Because the alternative, when the project turns red, erodes trust between the client and the consulting company. And people spend days and days working through the issues.
Below are the top 5 areas where I’ve seen the “illusion of agreement” in my own career. And what to do to lessen the potential for different interpretations between your company and the client.
1 The illusion: Key stakeholder’s opinion of the project scope
SCENARIO: Early in my consulting career a new key stakeholder (new hire) was introduced to the project at midpoint. She didn’t attend discovery sessions (despite escalations), and when she finally showed up for a large meeting, she found the project’s scope did not include some of her department’s goals. Let’s just say it was not a fun meeting after that realization. And there were a couple of weeks of challenges.
HOW TO AVOID: Map the client’s business outcomes/goals to project goals. These should come from the project sponsor and/or key stakeholders. Must be documented and signed off. Then review them in detail with any new stakeholders as the project continues.
2. The illusion: All client documents are in scope
SCENARIO: I’ve seen client project team members share a boatload of documentation into a shared drive. They assumed everything they gave us was in scope, even if stated in the SOW that something was out of scope and was also outlined as out of scope in the kickoff meeting.
HOW TO AVOID: Maintain a client document log, and map them to the scope (simple spreadsheet) If out of scope, state that. Review this document with the project team.
3 The illusion: User Stories are locked down vs User Stories can evolve
SCENARIO: I’ve seen this occur when the consultants assume the user stories are not being edited after approval. And the client team assumes it’s okay to edit stories throughout the project so they meet their needs.
HOW TO AVOID: Establish the Definition of Ready and Definition of Done for User Stories early in your project.
4. The illusion: A complex technical specification is misunderstood by a client
SCENARIO: A client signs off on a Tech Spec, the solution is delivered and they’re very unhappy with the result.
HOW TO AVOID: Every Technical Specification should include a description of what is being coded in layman’s terms. The spec should also include diagrams (wireframes are good). And always Include assumptions and and out of scope sections. Finally obtain a sign-off on the document.
5 The Illusion: How functionality should look and work
SCENARIO: Something most consultants notice is many of their clients need to see a visual of the functionality to understand it. I’ve seen sprint demos save the day to obtain alignment or if not aligned, you’re at an earlier stage to address it more quickly.
HOW TO AVOID: Do demos in every sprint. Record the demos and share the recording.
I hope these items help you and your team to proactively stay in front of project assumptions.
If you’re interested in learning more, please contact me at [email protected]