What should we focus on to best manage our project?

Every project, no matter the magnitude or scale, must be completed under three critical restraints -- Scope, Time and Budget. Scope relates to the project size, goals and deliverables, Time relates to the period required to support the project “go live” date. And the Budget defines the projected investment to be made by the client in support of the new solution.
 
Project management is the business process utilized by Crestwood to manage the restraints so that a positive outcome is delivered to a client. Project management revolves around three key organizational elements:

• Business: Projects must be aligned with and support the organization’s strategic goals and objectives
  
• People: Projects revolve around people, which includes the project manager, stakeholders, and the project team
  
• Tasks and Tools: Projects are built on the requirements to implement the application and management of the process

Successfully managing these three elements requires effective project management.  And the key to effective project management is managing Scope.

It is Scope that has a direct tie to budget, project timeline and risk. Increase scope and budget, project timeline and risk increase as well. Often we see stakeholders tending toward expanding scope without increasing budget or timeline  - which can increase the risk of failure exponentially. If the project management team doesn’t have the teeth and ability to manage scope and change then you can end up with a project that never definatively ends and a system or process that is complex and over-customized. It is important to manage scope well and be able to clearly mark out what 'need to haves' to go in a first phase versus what are ‘nice to haves’ and can go in later phases.

To be honest, having a conversation to review the scope of project can be among the last things Project Managers and clients will want to do. Good documentation and communication can help.  Write the scope statement in a way that helps everyone understand the product and solution functionality. The more specific the scope statement, the less chance there is for misunderstanding and unclear expectations. Develop the Functional Requirements Document (FRD) in line with the Scope statement. Then throughout the project, use the scope statement to manage expectations.

Even so, this conversation is nearly guaranteed to come up. How to handle it?

Focus on the facts and take the conversation away from blame.  Is the item in discussion not included in the initial estimates? All parties need to be made aware of the repercussions surrounding additions as early they surface and what this would mean for the cost and the schedule.  This way, the client can make an informed decision as to accepting the scope with the related impacts to the project or sign off on a change order.

This is why it is so important to have a clear understanding of the scope, get sign off on requirements, and provide details as to what is in (and out) of scope. Project estimates must tie to the scope definition and the associated tasks. Diligence up front saves time in what can be a difficult conversation later. There will always be scope discussions, but being precise in requirements management and documenting estimates allows the conversation to focus on the facts.  Make sure the change orders are documented and signed off on as well.

Weekly status meetings make sure everyone is talking and keeping the lines of communication open.  If you hear about something early enough, sometimes you can squeeze it in, but it is good to get in documented and a change order signed off so everyone is aware of what is in and out of scope.

Design the internal project accounting system with accounts for time and costs that align with the phases and project management tasks. The estimates should be aligned with the implementation phases in the methodology. This creates a consistent means of reporting project results. The statement of work/budgetary estimate proposal estimates map directly to the accounting of actual costs. Periodic project budget reviews can be organized by these cost accounts so that they also map back to the statement of work/budgetary estimate proposal.

The data gathered in the internal project accounting system can help to analyze past projects and plan for future projects based on how much time and cost were associated with performing previous tasks. Project data will also be valuable to help determine how much time is spent on performing implementation tasks, and by whom.

Consider Facilitating collaboration between consulting and customer team members by copying the Project Repository structure to a Windows SharePoint Services site. All team members can use SharePoint or another version control application to control versions and store version history for critical project documents. This helps ensure that everyone is always working with the most current information available.

And Crestwood's critical contributor to successful implementation projects? 

The Project Manager
 
All Crestwood projects, especially those that involve the implementation and consulting for Microsoft Dynamics are managed on a daily basis by a dedicated Project Manager. The Crestwood Project Manager is assigned for the lifecycle of the project and is responsible for managing the Scope, Time and Budget in order to deliver the project per the agreed upon “go live” date. A successful project manager must simultaneously manage the three restraints and ensure the quality of the project’s final deliverable. All constraints must be managed together if the project, and the Project Manager, are to be successful.
 
The Crestwood Project Manager is an experienced implementation consultant who has spent years delivering the Microsoft Dynamics GP and Dynamics CRM solutions. By leveraging the Microsoft Sure Step methodology, the Crestwood Project Manager is able to use their experience to effectively and efficiently lead the joint client/Crestwood implementation team to success.

Want to make your project a success? Contact Crestwood Associates, your Chicago, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana source for successful consulting engagements and effectively managed implementations.