Project Management exam

Process of periodic quality control for services delivered in Body Leasing model.

Project type: process design Kamil Sabatowski

Lack of academic integrity during mid term exam.

Mid term exam results.

Cooperation with external (difficult) client.

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Every project manager knows that problem:

A difficult client.

But what does that actually mean?

W A T E R F A L L / C A S C A D I N G / S E Q U E N T I A L

Traditional approach. I T E R A T I V E + I N C R E M E N T A L + A D A P T I V E

AgilePM and DSDM approach.

Features

Quality?

Time Cost Features

Quality

Time Cost

Constant Variable

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AgilePM - Process.

Evolutionary Development

DEPLOYMENT POST-PROJECTFOUNDATIONFEASIBILITYPRE-PROJECT

Clients sometimes ask challenging questions like:

Problem.

• Why is evaluating projects difficult?

• How come you have no idea what you’ll be doing after 6 weeks of working on the project?

• Where is my project documentation?

• I understand you work in agile, but why do you need so many meetings? Focus on development instead!

• How did you prepare the quote when now the project exceeds the budget?

• I get it, you work in agile - but why can’t you provide me with an accurate work schedule?

Other common problems in agile collaborations.

tOverengineering t Dealing with a client who

refuses to prioritize features into „should have” or „could

have” t

No continuous involvement of the business sponsor in the

project

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Let’s go back to key agile principles.

When building software and managing development teams, we place:

• people and interactions above processes and tools

• operating software over extensive documentation • cooperation with the client over formal

arrangements • responding to changes over following a plan

What do they all have in common? They’re based on interpersonal communication.

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The Agile Snowman.

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The Agile Snowman.

Do you see anything missing?

There are no stakeholders such as clients, application’s end-users, or the

management board.

And that’s the origin of our problem.

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The Agile Snowman.

Board

Investors

Customers

Employees

Other founders

Suppliers/Third parties

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Ok, so what are we supposed to do when collaborating with a difficult client?

My answer is:

Examine your communication style.

Midbrain Feel - Remember

Interact with others

Reptilian Brain Survive - React - Repeat

Repeat-Repeat

Neocortex Talk - Think - Move

Create - Learn

Our subconscious mind. affects our decision-making process

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Defense t

Fight t

Flight

Acceptance is a process that allows making our interlocutor feel accepted. He or she needs to feel comfortable during the conversation. Acceptance isn’t one sentence. It’s a process that can last throughout the entire conversation, or even all communication stages during the project lifecycle.

Empathy and acceptance process.

*To master it, I recommend participating in the Quest Change Managers training with Krzysztof Sarnecki.

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Basic acceptance tools.

• Paraphrase

• Admitting that someone is right

• Giving someone a right

• Apology

• Identification with emotions

• Social proof of being right

Non-violent communication scheme:

t S T E P 1

Ask general questions t S T E P 2

Listen to the answers t S T E P 3

Ask in-depth questions that

t S T E P 6

Inform people about possibilities

t S T E P 5

Summarise key points t S T E P 4

Listen to the answers again

S T E P 7

Suggest a solution

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And most importantly, avoiding communication that is antagonizing.

D O N T ’ T D O

DON'T attack

DON'T become defensive

DON'T argue

DON'T negotiate

Ask

Listen

Ask

Listen

Summarize

Inform

Propose

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Solution. Here’s what helps to eliminate problems mentioned previously:

• Engaging relevant stakeholders at the right time during the project.


• Encouraging the active participation of business representatives.


• Building a team unity culture, creating an atmosphere conducive to taking responsibility for the work.

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Solution.

• Encouraging decision-making in the team - the agile team can decide on its own to avoid waiting for input from others).


• Define expectations regarding quality before launching the project.


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Solution. • Formal assessment of priorities after

each sprint.


• Construction of the first critical path to deliver a working MVP.

• Feedback after each growth phase, especially from the business side.

• Being transparent in communicating the process/progress of the project.

• Collaborative testing - stakeholder engagement increases the efficiency of the process: test, improve, and test.


tThere are no problematic clients, only communication challenges!

C O N C L U S I O N