Section 12.10. Frequently Asked Questions

12.10. Frequently Asked Questions

The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the author of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the "Ask the Author" form.

Q: Once our projects are complete, people run as fast as they can for the nearest exits. Any suggestions for how to get people to assist with project close-out activities?

A: Yes, there are several ways you can accomplish this. First, you can define close-out activities during your project definition phase so that it is clear to everyone that these activities are part of the IT project. Also, you can add close-out tasks to your project plan, assign owners, and create entry/exit or completion criteria for these tasks. Adding milestones for the completion of these tasks will also give visibility to the importance of close-out tasks. You can add elements to performance requirements so team members clearly understand their roles and responsibilities during project close-out. Finally, you can use good old peer pressure, friendly cajoling, and the reminder that "the party doesn't start until the paperwork's done."

Q: We don't have any formal system for managing project documentation once projects are complete. Do you have any suggestions?

A: That's an excellent question. Many companies lack formal document management systems, so IT project managers are unsure of how to store or archive this data. Begin by asking what format and location will be most useful to your company based on how people work. For instance, if most people don't use computers, network storage of files might not be useful. If most people have computers, would an intranet site, network storage location, or good old CDs be your best bet? If you decide to store the documents electronically, pay attention to the file format. Ironically, documents written thousands of years ago can still be read, but files written 10 years ago sometimes cannot. Choose a fairly universal file and storage format if you store documents electronically. Including keywords or other metadata will make the documents that much more searchable. To create a storage system, define the steps, formats, procedures, and technical specifications for the system and document them so you (and others) will use them consistently.

Q: Our Training department always seems to expect us to develop training materials for them. What suggestions do you have for how we might better address this issue during project close-out?

A: If training is a function external to your project, you should have a point of contact within the Training department with whom you coordinate the development of training materials. Using your IT project management skills, you (or a member of your team) and the training contact can develop a training project sub-plan (or external plan). Defining roles and responsibilities, listing tasks, and assigning owners can be a great way to help develop the needed plan and identify who needs to do what. Most likely, someone from the Training department will need to sit down with someone from the project team in order to transfer the required knowledge from which training materials will be developed. Be willing and able to assist as far as possible to make the task of developing training materials easier. In some cases, it might be helpful and desirable to have one of the trainers participate as a tester. This not only helps the trainer become familiar with the product, but it helps testing by bringing in the user perspective. Plus, the trainer participating in testing gives you another tester (usually from someone else's budget). Remember, the Training department has many other obligations and deliverables and they've had to wait for your project to complete before developing materials. That might put them in a time crunch, especially if your project did not complete on schedule. Work cooperatively with Training and remember that the better the training, the better your project will be received and perceived. Using the framework of IT PM, you should be able to set clear, firm boundaries that will help the training folks understand and own their deliverables more appropriately in the future.

Q: I dread giving performance reviews. I don't do it very often and I never know what to say, especially when someone's performance was less than stellar. Do I have to do this as part of IT PM?

A: You may not have to give performance reviews but you really should make yourself do it. As you continue up the career ladder, it will be a regular part of your job so you might as well learn how to do a performance review now. If you're really uncomfortable with the whole thing, write up the review as you would if you were going to just e-mail it to your boss or HR for review. Be honest but polite about the person's performance. Focus on behaviors and outcomes, not people or personalities. Next, contact HR and ask if someone would help you prepare for the review. Bring the paperwork and discuss your views of the person's performance. Then, have the HR rep role-play with you. You might feel silly doing it, but you will absolutely feel more confident afterward. The HR person can play devil's advocate, can respond to your constructive criticism in "negative" ways, and coach you on how to handle various reactions. Once you've done this a few times, you'll feel more confident about delivering reviews that help people grow professionally.

Q: My friends and colleagues would not describe me as a gregarious, outgoing person. I'm not really comfortable with this whole team meeting party concept. I'm more of a "Thank you!" on a Post-It™note kind of guy. Any suggestions?

A: No one ever died of embarrassment, so take a risk, loosen up, and have some fun. If you really think heading up a fun event would totally be outside your comfort zone, gather your most outgoing, fun-loving IT project team members for a little planning session and assign the role of "master of ceremonies" to the guy or gal who will do the best job ensuring everyone has a good time. That way, you can fade in to the background if you need to, but you'll still provide your team with a memorable close-out event.