Case Study: Understanding Expectations I

One of the peculiarities about Project Management that separates it from other occupations is that each project assignment is different. Differences in projects can be observed in people, places, issues, risks, durations, complexity, budgets, and process. Minimizing the degree of difference between projects, and groups of projects, has been the subject of much research. As a result, various project management processes and methods are commonly being introduced to increase quality and reduce variation in project outcomes. Some examples are Six Sigma, the capability maturity model or CMM, the PMI PMBOK, and PRINC2.

Yet, regardless of the process and methods used, it is still necessary for the Project Manager to be able to rapidly comprehend and synthesize a number of key project factors in order to meet the project objectives in a timely manner.

Foremost among these factors is understanding the expectations of the Project Sponsor and the rest of the project stakeholders. In fact, misunderstanding customer expectations is one of the main causes of dissatisfaction in any service encounter. Often, as this brief case study suggests, it is wise to invest time to uncover both explicit and implicit expectations in order to mitigate possible conflicts early in the project.

At an initial client meeting with the newly appointed Vice President and head of a newly formed Enterprise Project Office (EPO) at a mid-market financial services firm, the Project Manager was informed of the following facts:

1. The company management had missed financial targets the prior fiscal year. Additionally some high profile compliance oversights were identified. The board of directors responded by reorganizing senior management. The reorganization included separating the President and CEO functions and hiring a new Chief Executive from outside the company.

2. The new CEO engaged an outside consultant to assess the company's operational performance. The consultant spent several months interviewing staff and examining operations functions. He indicated in the findings, that among other issues, a percieved lack of accountability in the management of IT related committments and recommended that an EPO be established to initially govern and prioritize the IT project activity.

3. The CEO hired the consultant as a Vice President to establish the new EPO. The V.P. promoted a recently hired manager from the IT department into the position of Program Manger in the EPO. Other Product Managers, who previously focused on different business deliverables of IT department and who were formerly designated as Program Mangers were reassigned to the EPO and administratively retitled to Project Coordinator roles. They were given a ninety day trial period during which they would be evaluated and, if perfomance was satisfactory, subsequently would be promoted to Project Manager. Some of these immediately resigned. The remainder were characterized by the V.P. as under performers.

4. The V.P. stated that his intention in hiring a consultant was to rapidly advance progress on a number of pre-identified critical projects that were currently at risk, and at the same time provide mentoring to the remaining project coordinators. During the meeting the Program manager remarked that she was working with the team to create standard templates and tools for reporting and she would expect input on best practices. However, she stressed that highest priority should be given to project execution. It was decided that the Project Manager would report to the Program Manager and weekly status meetings would be conducted jointly with the V.P.

In this case the explicit assumptions and expectations were clearly communicated. The Project Manger was hired to:

1. Advance the progress on designated high risk projects.
2. Mentor EPO Staff
3. Provide input on best practices and process efficiency for the EPO.

The V.P. also implied, but did not state, that this change was sudden, and that the rest of the IT organization and other business units may not be completely comfortable with the new organization.

In the next installment, we will explore this case in more detail as the Project Manager meets other stakeholders and learns more about the environment.

In the meantime, you are invited to post your comments, ideas, questions, and suggestions.