2.11 Socialize Your Assumptions

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2.11 Socialize Your Assumptions

Now that you have identified your issues, assigned owners to each one, and turned them into assumptions, you should publish them on a regular and periodic basis with their status updated. You want people to keep moving on them. Using this public forum also provides the opportunity for appropriate stakeholders, some of whom are possibly unknown to you, to weigh in. Again, if meetings are required to "drill down," make sure that only those who are truly players participate. It seems like there are always team members with opinions on everyone else's problems. [6] As a rule, this type of person adds little value and is noisy enough to impede progress as well.

End users, or beneficiaries, should be included in this process for most projects, with the possible exception of hardcore infrastructure initiatives such as network upgrades. It is my observation that many project leads fail to do this. In fact, there appears to be a tremendous amount of laziness and arrogance in this area. It seems as though people either feel they know better than beneficiaries how things should be, or they cannot be bothered to find out. Understand that taking this step with an empathetic ear is one of the smartest moves you can make. Even if the users take a lot of time and create extra work, it is far better to engage them early and give them a voice in the process. The alternative is politically naive and can lead to serious trouble later. Chapter 13 takes a hard look at the perplexing world of customers and beneficiaries.

[6]Try telling them their business!



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Complex IT project management(c) 16 steps to success
Complex IT Project Management: 16 Steps to Success
ISBN: 0849319323
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 231
Authors: Peter Schulte

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