As a coach, consultant and mentor there are some conversations that are worth reflecting upon and sharing, albeit anonymised for the person, business, product and circumstances. The aim is not prescriptive (this is what you should do) but instead descriptive (this is what we discussed). The purpose is to freely share some ideas that may be useful to others.
Inevitably for any solopreneur their business, product and process reflects their personality, purpose and ambition. A good number of my coaching / mentoring clients are people setting up and / or scaling up their business and thinking about their role and goal.
In one such conversation we discussed the following…
The idea of their product as a tree with the potential for different branches, going in different directions and bearing fruit. The metaphor explored the ideas of gardener, tree, trees, orchard etc.
The difference between “advice” and “information” using the metaphor of a London Underground Map as a list of possible destinations and routes without being prescriptive and allowing the traveler to pick their own journey.
The pros and cons of getting it right first time (and the risk of procrastination in pursuit of perfection) and an agile, but possibility non-linear approach (which may wander, but explore further and more deeply).
The pros and cons of “unthinking” automation (running on tram lines) or “manual” intervention (freeform ad-hoc), noting that sometimes what people want is “clear thinking in a confused environment” and that notwithstanding the love of self-driving cars people still like to be in the driving seat and having some sense of control
The idea of those books which at the end of each chapter say Option1 Turn to page 77 Option 2 Turn to page 140. We noted that these have an author and structure, but that it is the reader who through their choices decides the story.
At each point we talked about the PERSON and PRODUCT, the roles, contribution and value of each.
The conversation was longer and deeper than the above might suggest, but I feel there are some ideas above that may be useful to others in their thinking, which is why I have shared this.
ABOUT COACHING
Coaching is a process that aims to improve performance and focuses on the ‘here and now’ rather than on the distant past or future. Good coaches believe that the individual always has ideas and opportunities to resolve whatever is holding them back but understands that they may need help to define their goals, set their path, and achieve their success. Coaching is about listening, reflecting, asking questions and unlocking YOUR potential.
ABOUT MENTORING
Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.’ Mentoring is development driven, looking not just at the professional’s current job function but beyond, taking a more holistic approach to career development. Mentoring is non-evaluative, while coaching is based on measuring performance change. Due to the personal nature of mentoring, a mentor will more often than not draw on their personal experiences and expertise to help their mentee. This could be in the form of sharing a story that taught them a valuable lesson, or a challenge they overcame in their career.
Tim HJ Rogers Ex-Athlete, now Change Practitioner, ICF Coach, IoD Mentor, Mediation Practitioner Helping people and organisations achieve their goals.
We #facilitate and #support the #thinking, #feeling and #action needed to #resolve and move forward. #consulting, #coaching, #mentoring and #mediating to support people through #change #timhjrogers #coach #mentor #mediation #jersey
There are many variations of name as well as content to the Lean Canvas, Business Canvas or similar. Broadly each attempts to summarise a proposition succinctly on one page
Typically it aims to articulate the key elements of a business for investors.
Value proposition: What problem do your customers have and how are you going to solve it for them?
Customer relationships: How will you communicate and build rapport with your customers? Each instance of communication should further promote your product or brand as a solution to a particular problem.
Customer segments: What people and organizations do you create value for? List them out.
Channels: At what points do you interact with customers to deliver value? How are they purchasing your product? It should be easy for customers to say “yes” to your solution!
Key partners: What individuals, businesses, or other entities do you rely on to deliver your product to customers? These might be distributors, suppliers, etc.
Key activities: What activities are absolutely essential to create, deliver, and promote your product? Those are your key activities.
Key resources: What resources do you need to create, deliver, and promote your product? If it’s not essential, it’s not a key resource.
Cost structure: How much will you spend on key resources, partners, and activities? That’s roughly how much it will cost you to run your business.
Revenue streams: How will customers purchase your product and how much will it cost them? Is it a one-time purchase or subscription-based?
Here is business canvas applied to Google.
Key partners, e.g. Adsense network partners
Key activities, e.g. manage massive IT infrastructure
Key resources, e.g. IT infrastructure, intellectual resources
Value Propositions, e.g. free search engine, targeted ads
Customer Relationships, e.g. dedicated sales for large accounts
Customer segments, e.g. internet users, developers
Channels, e.g. global sales and support team
Cost structure, e.g. sales & marketing costs, admin costs
Revenue streams, e.g. ad revenues
Here is lean canvas applied to Uber.
Problem, e.g. difficult to find a cab when you need it
Solution, e.g. guaranteed fast pick-up from your location
Key metrics, e.g. apps installed, journeys booked
Unique value proposition, e.g. taxi service, but cheaper, easier and safer
Unfair advantage, e.g. high brand awareness
Channels, e.g. friend referrals
Customer segments, e.g. young, internet-savvy Londoners and tourists
Cost structure, e.g. marketing, PR
Revenue streams, e.g. 25% of fare based on route and idle time.
I find using such a structure, and keeping it to one page of A3 is challenging but worthwhile thinking tool for solopreneurs and small businesses, as it is also for innovation teams and product development. There is no correct way to do this and I encourage clients to customise to suit their own needs.
A3 LEAN CANVAS (BUSINESS)
This was my canvas when I started my business. It is not perfect and many things have changed along the way, but it has helped me gather my thinking and sometimes is a prompt to check performance and progress.
THE POWER OF TESTIMONIALS
As much as it is important to be clear about your message to the world, success is generally based what people (customers, colleagues, clients) say about you. I think it is really useful to ask “What would a good testimonial say”, this them really helps to focus on what the customer wants, needs, values and will say about you. Even better, once you are up-and-running seek testimonials and feedback.
What Clients Say…
Tim’s style, manner and pragmatic approach has been very valuable. His contribution will have a positive and lasting effect on the way we work as a team. [AH 2020]
Tim’s approach will always help you explore and reveal more options and solutions. Tim knows how to motivate and guide you to find and achieve your goals. His ideas and way of thinking are built to help you eliminate any challenges you might face. Happy to have worked with him and would warmly recommend to anyone. [Cosmin Saltan 2020]
Tim’s passion and commitment has helped drive through a number of process improvements. He regularly seeks to challenge the norm, is innovative in his thinking and actively seeks to help others identify solutions to issues and problems across all business functions. Tim is a pleasure to work with and someone I trust to deliver. [MH 2017]
It’s great working with Tim, it took me a few sessions to understand that there was almost nothing he couldn’t help on. He’s encyclopaedic on concepts that aid all areas of working life. His ability to be a head of the conversation creates a clear and effective pathway for any idea or challenge that is presented to him. He helped me with understanding the potential of myself, improved how i communicate and manage information, whilst maintaining a deep integrity for detail and complexity. Like with all excellent educational experiences my first thought is, how I wish more people can access it. He’s helped specifically in two areas, to present a systems approach methodology to a governmental group, and to rationalise my ideas for a small food business that I am a director of. [IH 2020]
Tim Rogers (Adapt Consulting) is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable business partner. He is able to distil complex matters into simple tasks. He is practical with advice and responsive to business needs with a clear focus on helping achieve the businesses objectives. [RW 2020]
Tim Rogers independent and external view provided an excellent sounding-board and some practical challenges to the delivery of the IT Strategy and the development of the Service Delivery Plan and related Key Performance Indicators. What was particularly helpful was the use of a coaching and collaborative style that kept us in the driving seat, but allowed us to call on Tim’s experience at strategic intervals. We believe this allowed is to achieve on 6 weeks what might otherwise have taken 6 months. [MO 2020]
HELPING PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS WITH TOOLS, TIPS, TRAINING
The above can easily be done alone in a room, but my experience is that it is best developed in partnerships with colleagues, clients, customers or maybe a coach or consultant since this provides the necessary challenge and ensures clarity and coherence.
About Coaching
Coaching is a process that aims to improve performance and focuses on the ‘here and now’ rather than on the distant past or future. Good coaches believe that the individual always has ideas and opportunities to resolve whatever is holding them back but understands that they may need help to define their goals, set their path, and achieve their success. Coaching is about listening, reflecting, asking questions and unlocking YOUR potential.
About Mentoring
Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.’ Mentoring is development driven, looking not just at the professional’s current job function but beyond, taking a more holistic approach to career development. Mentoring is non-evaluative, while coaching is based on measuring performance change. Due to the personal nature of mentoring, a mentor will more often than not draw on their personal experiences and expertise to help their mentee. This could be in the form of sharing a story that taught them a valuable lesson, or a challenge they overcame in their career.
Tim HJ Rogers Ex-Athlete, now Change Practitioner, ICF Coach, IoD Mentor, Mediation Practitioner Helping people and organisations achieve their goals.
We #facilitate and #support the #thinking, #feeling and #action needed to #resolve and move forward. #consulting, #coaching, #mentoring and #mediating to support people through #change #timhjrogers #coach #mentor #mediation #jersey
THE BEST ADVICE I’VE HAD, AND THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE.
A satirical look at the challenges of project and change management communications
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or exposing the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement
When it comes to communications, meetings and documentation here is the advice I have been given….
*On emails…
Try not to use emails, instead post documents on Sharepoint, Teams or other platform so that everyone sees the same document and can pull information when they need it rather than have lots of emails pushed upon them. However, try to avoid people having to lookup or login to find information. People are too busy to do that, but one tool everyone uses is email or chat so that it the best way to engage people.
Try to avoid sending too many chat or email messages, perhaps a weekly update rather than lots of separate messages. However, try to keep each email short, perhaps one subject per email rather than dealing with too many things that might confuse. Better to have 3 short emails on different points than one long one, covering many issues.
Don’t send emails. Meet people. You’ll have far more success if you go and talk to someone. However people are busy and very often a problem can be fixed in a quick email rather than calling meeting. People are busy, don’t waste their time unnecessarily if an email will do.
Do not cc people on emails. If there is an action for them add them to the top-line recipients otherwise do not include them in the email. However when using email, be clear who is expected to act and what are they expected to do, and importantly make sure other relevant stakeholders are kept informed for the purposes of communication, coordination, collaboration and consensus. If a someone is being asked to do something that affects another stakeholder you really should alert that stakeholder, by copying them in on the information.
*On documents…
Try to avoid bureaucracy, too much paperwork, documentation, agendas and minutes. People don’t have the time or interest to read them. Instead, have face to face conversations or meetings which are better for communication and engagement. But, make sure things are written down, have a structure to meeting and clarity on decisions and actions.
Avoid meeting minutes that are simply a transcription of what was said, but instead focus on the purpose, key points, decisions and actions. Be clear about the output and outcome of the meeting. However, stick only to what was actually said, don’t try to summarise, draw conclusions, include key facts or outline next steps but instead only what was actually said, everything else just confuses people.
Often documenting business requirements, specifications, design decisions actually takes more time than the product they describe or define. Try to avoid time wasted on such things but get on with the task. However it is critical to delivery of the right product at the right price to be clear on wants, needs, expectations, costs quality and success criteria which should be written down as a baseline against which to measure success or future change. Time spent on this is seldom wasted.
*On meetings…
Book meetings in advance so people have a focus, target or milestones to be ready for that meeting. But try an avoid having meetings booked too far in advance, indeed often it is better to wait for something to be complete and ready and then call the meeting, so as to avoid wasting people’s time with pre-arrange meetings and milestones for which they are unprepared.
It is really important to have fixed, routine meetings for governance, to review plans, problems, progress and funding. However, it does not always make sense to have the meetings at a regular interval and it may be better to delay them until there is good news or a significant milestone to report.
Do not circulate documents before meetings or have long agendas, people don’t have the time to read them. Instead, set-up the meeting and discuss the issues in the meeting with everyone there. To make most effective use of people’s time and ensure they understand the issues, have had the chance to consult and are ready to make a decision make sure you have given them all the information that they need at least a couple of days in advance of the meeting.
If you want to engage people in critical decisions you must invite them to a meeting and given them an opportunity to express their views. The path to getting things done starts with discussion, definition, decision and documentation to delivery and done. However debate isn’t helpful and it is often better to present a recommendation and seek comment, perhaps via email, than use people’s time in a discussion which may provoke more questions than answers.
*On managing and monitoring…
If people are falling behind because they are busy or stressed, put more pressure on them to perform. They must be held accountable, they must deliver. Failure is not an option. Delay is not acceptable. However, try to understand that people are doing the best that they can and demanding more of them doesn’t help, indeed it damages the relationship which is counter-productive to getting things done.
If acting as a project manager try to manage the process not the product. Leave the experts to develop the artefacts. The project manager role is to provide the resources, direction, support to get things done not to be the author or manufacturer of every item. However, it is important to be active and engaged with the problem, to own it and take responsibility for it, the content, quality, scope and delivery of it.
Keep your sponsors and stakeholders informed of plans, problems, progress and performance against agreed measures, like budget. Do not store-up issues and surprise them, but instead communicate succinctly and frequently. However, senior people are often very busy and telling them something is or may be late, expensive, or defective is simply negative and annoying. Instead own and manage the problem, be positive, and report at a future date.
Do not micromanage partners, suppliers, vendors or third-parties with details of deliverables and dates. They know what they need to do, so simply leave them to get on with their task. They are, after all, the experts in their product or service and will know best how and when to deliver this. However, it is your responsibility to ensure everything is done on-time, on-budget, to-specification with low-risk and high-communication. You must ensure everyone understands, agrees and sticks to the plan and delivers accordingly.
There is a lot of wisdom in this advice and if you follow it you will be well served.
REFLECTIONS ON COACHING CALL – START-UPS AND FIRST CLIENTS
As a coach, consultant and mentor there are some conversations that are worth reflecting upon and sharing, albeit anonymised for the person, business, product and circumstances. The aim is not prescriptive (this is what you should do) but instead descriptive (this is what we discussed). The purpose is to freely share some ideas that may be useful to others.
Beware, I will use many metaphors since I find that these can eb the key to unlocking an idea, but you can. Never be sure which one is the key for that particular problem.
I HAVE 1 MILLION IDEAS AND OPPORTUNITIES HOW SHALL I START?
Inevitably for many people starting a business or organisation they have passion and enthusiasm but sometimes a degree of frustration. It is like looking at a million stars and seeing each one, but no rocket ship to get there. Or a more down to earth analogy might be seeing all the branches of possibility and fruits of opportunity without yet having established a tree.
In one coaching conversation I shared the following …
WHO IS YOUR CUSTOMER
If you were going on a fishing trip for salmon you’d take different bait and go to a different location than you would for mackerel or cod. So, despite an interest in fish, you need to be more specific about what you want, because that will help you focus on the right approach.
The same is true of customers and clients. Think of 5 people you know who would benefit from your product or service
From person no1 – pick their first name From person no2 – pick their surname name From person no3 – pick their age From person no4 – pick their background From person no5 – pick their job From person no6 – pick their circumstance
You now know that person, your ‘ideal client’, they have a name, a job, interests and needs. From now onward write social media and develop products and services for that person: Sam Jones (40) looking to advance their career. This approach will give you focus on what you do and be special for them.
WHAT IS YOUR STORY
I find that chatting endlessly can be interesting but sometimes vague and indecisive. However, if you write something down, and read it back, you can crystalise your thinking in words which you can then use as the building blocks for your story. This may take many attempts and it can be a real challenge to fine tune and make succinct but time spent on this can help you gain real clarity in thinking and speaking: What is it you want to say about you, your purpose, your product and the people you want to serve.
WHAT IS THEIR STORY
As much as it is important to be clear about your message to the world, success is generally based what people (customers, colleagues, clients) say about you. I think it is really useful to ask “What would a good testimonial say”, this them really helps to focus on what the customer wants, needs, values and will say about you.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE STORIES
If your story says you are fast, efficient and inexpensive and their story says that they value the time, careful consideration and quality then you have potential for being misaligned and perhaps need to think which of these stories needs to change for there to be congruence. If your story talking about what you sell matches exactly what they value, buy and recommend you are probably on the right path for a happy customer and lots of referrals.
YOU NEED A TREE BEFORE YOU CAN BRANCH OUT
It is great having a vision of products and services, but a start-up needs to begin with the basics. You can one day have an orchard with apples, oranges, lemons and limes, but perhaps let’s start with the first tree. So before you launch a book, blog, hotel chain and push all the social media channels what is the first seed we need to sow and grow?
Understanding and growing your tree is important, how you choose to branch out or prune it can come later, but right now you’re not going to be making cider until you’ve done a lot of thinking, planning and doing.
You might think of your tree as your purpose, a solid foundation with roots. The branches are the processes and procedures that extend from the trunk and can provide foliage or fruit. How you managed your processes and procedures (strategy, culture, values, ethics) can be as important as your fruit (product, services, people) since one will give rise to the other. Don’t rush to harvest before you have done the prerequisites or you’ll be disappointed.
We may seek 1 million clients, but that’s like putting a hook into the ocean and expecting to haul many fish. Perhaps we are better starting in a pond, with a known fish, some good bait and a strategy.
GROWING A BUSINESS
Whilst it is good to think about the future (don’t plant a tall Redwood Sequoia in a plot that it too small for it to grow) it is also important to recognise that a small business needs to be nurtured very differently from a medium or large business. Whilst you may be looking at premises, accounting packages and global branding perhaps your seedling really just needs a little water, light and food.
Unless you have deep pockets or a long runway (time) and plenty of fuel (cash) before take-off your business needs to make money soon. It may be small amounts, just enough to survive and grow.
Rome was not built in a day, and marketing your product and monetising your process probably best starts with selling tents, sheds, garages and then houses before hotels and residential areas. Each costs progressively more, and yields more profit, but this incremental growth offers a good platform for progress or an opportunity to pause or pivot without having bet the farm on an idea for which you or your customer is not yet ready.
CREATING AWARENESS
In a future article I will explore how to sell your products and services, starting first with engaging your customer, clients or colleagues.
Step 1 – they must be aware of you, they must have heard of or seen you. Step 2 – they must know you, enough to believe you are useful and relevant Step 3 – they must like or even trust you, that you are credible Step 4 – they may then be willing to buy from you (when the need arises)
This approach means taking the long-term view and building the relationship from knowing, to acquaintance, to friends and possibly partnership. Or indeed from buyer to customer to advocate and fan.
ABOUT COACHING
Coaching is a process that aims to improve performance and focuses on the ‘here and now’ rather than on the distant past or future. Good coaches believe that the individual always has ideas and opportunities to resolve whatever is holding them back but understands that they may need help to define their goals, set their path, and achieve their success. Coaching is about listening, reflecting, asking questions and unlocking YOUR potential.
ABOUT MENTORING
Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.’ Mentoring is development driven, looking not just at the professional’s current job function but beyond, taking a more holistic approach to career development. Mentoring is non-evaluative, while coaching is based on measuring performance change. Due to the personal nature of mentoring, a mentor will more often than not draw on their personal experiences and expertise to help their mentee. This could be in the form of sharing a story that taught them a valuable lesson, or a challenge they overcame in their career.
Tim HJ Rogers Ex-Athlete, now Change Practitioner, ICF Coach, IoD Mentor, Mediation Practitioner Helping people and organisations achieve their goals.
We #facilitate and #support the #thinking, #feeling and #action needed to #resolve and move forward. #consulting, #coaching, #mentoring and #mediating to support people through #change #timhjrogers #coach #mentor #mediation #jersey
Runbooks are a set of standardized written procedures for completing repetitive, predictable or critical tasks, usually relating to information technology processes.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT), or application testing, is the final stage of any software development before go-live. However between UAT and go-live there will be various tasks to do to ensure go-live goes smoothly. This is where a Runbook is critical.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
The list below is not exhaustive and every project will be different according to the nature of the project, circumstances and stakeholders.
1. Trainers and documentation is 100 percent ready, with ‘floor walking’ support to address issues quickly 2. All technical resources are on stand-by to address any issues quickly 3. The target system is 100 percent OK with necessary DR and BCP before we commit to it. 4. What is the last day of keying on the old source-system(s) and migration of data to new target-system(s) 5. How to handle any data changes between the migration (maybe Thursday) and go-live (maybe Tuesday) 6. How we reverse out if we incur issues that make it unwise to continue to new target-system(s) 7. Although we will have done full UAT, we still need to do a security, access, data & process check before use of new target-system(s) 8. Think about after go-live activities, including archive of data and removal of access to the old source-system(s) 9. Plan all the communication and coordination for all of this, which may include weekend working for participants.
FORMAT AND CONTENT
Often a Runbooks can be a simple spreadsheet of tasks, owners, schedule so the right things are being done in the right order by the right people. For example do back-ups before any critical changes. If you are working on-line there are many project tools like Monday.com, Trello, SmartSheet that can be used to agree tasks and monitor progress as you move from one step to the next.
For example don’t have all your users trying to test the new target-system(s) before the data-migration is complete and security & access is ready for users to login. Simple precautions like this avoid error, omission and confusion and avoid a loss of goodwill if people are weekend working on over-time, simply waiting unnecessarily because the system won’t be ready for them for another 8 hours!
DRESS REHEARSAL
This is like conducting an orchestra and some practice will be needed! If listening to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture you want the cannons to go off at the correct time! I always recommended a full ‘dress rehearsal’ of all the steps at 1 or 2 week before as a learning opportunity.
Tim Rogers Tim@AdaptConsultingCompany.com Mob 447797762051 We offer #consulting, #coaching, #mentoring, #facilitation and #mediating to support individuals, teams and organisations. #jersey #timhjrogers #prince2 #agile #waterfall #pmo #projects #lean #training #programmes
User Acceptance Testing (UAT), or application testing, is the final stage of any software development or change request lifecycle before go-live. The list below is not exhaustive, and every project will be different according to the nature of the project, circumstances and stakeholders.
FACTORS FOR SUCCESS
Have a clear testing programme. Random testing gives random results and sampling may be good in the early stages of development but you really need complete, comprehensive and detailed testing if you are relying upon a system for your business.
Having well documented tests and processes allows for repetition, for example when redoing test or after an upgrade where you want to be clear what worked OK in the past still works OK.
Be very clear what is a minor fail (cosmetic issues), a significant fail (must be fixed within a few weeks after go-live) and what is a major fail (meaning you cannot proceed).
Ranking tests, results and what is acceptable or not up-front avoids contract or commercial disputes of scope, quality and function, and what constitutes success. And in some cases, payment or withholding payment.
Make sure your have a Test Manager / Leader to organise the testing and manage the feedback. This is important so that if 50 people have the same problem you only report one issue and don’t confused issues with duplication, error or omission.
Make sure your Test Manager / Leader has a deep and wide knowledge of systems and processes so that they understand where in issue is with the person, product, process, or procedures. This means being able to work with a whole range of people and not wasting time alerting the software supplier for something that may be a training issue or vice-versa.
Make sure your testing team has sufficient knowledge of systems and processes, and the time and capacity to do the job well, which includes accurate reporting of issues. Moreover, the testing team need to represent all aspects of the product and all areas of the business. What may be OK for Sales may not be acceptable for Compliance and what suits one jurisdiction or office may not be adequate for the other.
Have at least 2 ideally 3 or possibly 4 test-cycles of test, report, fix, retest. Nothing is perfect first time and not allowing sufficient time to learn, improve, correct and retest may mean that you simply don’t have time enough to address defects.
THINGS TO AVOID
Avoid testing before the systems are ready for testing! Do not proceed with UAT Testing (of functionality, config, design, operation) until you have approved the config / design and the data is 100% correct (where data-migration from old to new systems is a key element). To test a product that has config or data errors before you start is not productive and creates a bad experience for users which may impact on their engagement and adoption, as well as their ability to later train the end-uses.
Avoid doing testing when key stakeholders are absent, for example technical people to fix issues or senior people to offer guidance. You really want all the stakeholders and experts available so as to be able to address issues quickly and successfully.
Avoid using novice or part-time testers or those with significant business-as-usual opportunities which mean they cannot fully do the testing, understand the results and support the diagnostics and remedy.
Do not allow random testing at odd hours which undermines communication and coordination. Aim to have an organised plan for each day and an agreed time to review and feedback so that results can be understood as a whole and actions coordinated. A 20min stand-up meeting at the beginning and end of the day is a great way to set the agenda and review the progress.
Tim Rogers
Tim@AdaptConsultingCompany.com Mob 447797762051
We offer #consulting, #coaching, #mentoring, #facilitation and #mediating to support individuals, teams and organisations.
Every project is different according to the nature of the project (technology, premises, culture, processes or M&A) or circumstances (scale, timing, funding, sector).
Here are some things to think about at project close or hand-over
Support Arrangements
Roles to be Transferred
Key points for the Support Team(s)/ Knowledge Transfer
Customer Expectation Management/ Communication
Business Continuity/ Disaster Recovery
Training Requirements
Product List (including SLAs)
Supporting documentation
Security Aspects
Security Officer Sign Off
Acceptance from Support Team
Generally the key steps might be
*Project close or hand-over tasks
User documentation
Admin documentation
System documentation
Hand-over roles & responsibilities
*Stakeholders / Functions
Confirm what is done and what is outstanding
Confirm Business Continuity and/or Disaster Recovery
Confirm support arrangements
Sign Off / Acceptance where relevant (e.g. Compliance or Security)
Remove access (where appropriate )
Archive data (where appropriate )
*Project Board / Governance
Project Update / Review
Benefits Review
Budget Review
Lessons Learned
Next steps
As a PRINCE2, Scrum and Agile Coach I can offer tools, tips and templates to support your project or act as Project or Quality Assurance to review and report.
Tim Rogers
Tim@AdaptConsultingCompany.com Mob 447797762051
We offer #consulting, #coaching, #mentoring, #facilitation and #mediating to support individuals, teams and organisations. #jersey #timhjrogers #prince2 #agile #waterfall #pmo #projects #lean #training #programmes
Anyone with passing knowledge of DISC, MBTI or any other personality profile will note some people like decisions, others debate, and yet others details.
Dominance–Person places emphasis on accomplishing results, the bottom line, confidence
Influence–Person places emphasis on influencing or persuading others, openness, relationships
Steadiness–Person places emphasis on cooperation, sincerity, dependability
Conscientiousness–Person places emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise, competency
COMMUNICATING ISSUES OF PEOPLE, PLANNING, PACE OR PROGRESS
Because of the above it can be hard to communicate in the right format and style for each audience.
For example it can be difficult to engage if the decisive senior executive approach is to simply ignore the issues and say “..just make it so..” (as if their command is enough to resolve or remove the problems). This is made worse if anything other than acceptance or agreement is likely to damage the relationship and so further undermine communication and trust. The mantra “only good news” (the sign in Sheryl Sandberg’s former Facebook office) may superficially give the impression everything is OK, but is the type of Wilful Blindness that leads to an inevitable (but in retrospect avoidable) problems later.
Similarly the stakeholder who doesn’t engage, avoids meetings and emails but remains confident in on-going, work-in-progress can be a problem. If tasks are always ‘nearly done’ but never complete then they see themselves as busy and achieving, but the reality is nothing is done / complete and your project, process ror product is simply not ready or going to fail.
Typically in most projects the key issue is the late realisation of the volume of work, the busyness of the people and the lack of resources (competence, capability, drive and desire). To avoid conflict the problem is ignored, but this just makes things worse.
Imagine you expected to run 26 miles in 4 hours and after 3 hours you’ve only run 13 miles. It seems unlikely you’d do the next 13 miles in 1 hour (and still achieve the goal of 4 hours). Let’s be honest if it takes 3 hours to do 13 miles, it is going to take longer than 6 to cover 26 miles. This seems obvious, and yet the assumption in projects is frequently that the failures of the past (people, planning, pace or progress) can all be remedied without address of the fundamental problem, too much to do and an unrealistic goal.
It is time for a difficult conversation…
HOW TO ENABLE HAVING CONSTRUCTIVE CONFLICT
The Leader has to acknowledge and confirm that he/she loves to see constructive conflict to become better and have better decisions.
Virtual conflict is obviously more difficult. People experience virtual meetings more as presentations (one way conversations) and next to that you barely see body language. The least you can do is to ensure everyone turns their camera on.
If your meeting is boring, it is lacking conflict. So do some checks now and then how the others experience the meeting. Boring? That should be a heads up!
In case there was conflict: praise it. It has brought you further.
Taken from the book ‘The five dysfunctions of a Team’
Absence of trust. Team members don’t dare to show vulnerability within the group
Fear of conflict. The team prefers artificial harmony over constructive passionate debate, while the latter is required to create trust and openess
Lack of commitment. Decisions are made, but sincere buy-in for group decisions is missing. This results in ambiguity throughout the organization
Avoidance of accountability. Ducking the responsibility to hold each other accountable on agreed behavior. This behavior sets low standards
Inattention to results. Team members focus more on personal success, status and ego before team success
2. Do it to reciprocate, repay past or future debt or promise
3. Do it because everyone else is doing it
4. This offer is good for a limited time only
5. Do it to be consistent, with past, with values, with type
6. You can believe me, I’m an authority
7. Do it or else
7 WAYS TO AVOID INFLUENCE
No, because…
1. I like you, but I don’t like this proposal
2. Is this a favour? Are you looking for something in return?
3. Just because everyone else is doesn’t mean..
4. If I don’t have time to think, I don’t have time to buy
5. I need to think about what I want, and be consistent with that
6. If I were you I might, but I’m not you
7. Please explain the “or else” slowly so I fully understand
How to react to negative feedback (possibly bullying)
1. Ask for time to think – it should force a pause or moment of silence.
2. Think about what you want to happen – don’t fight back, think forward.
3. Get the bully to stop yelling – “Please speak more slowly, I’d like to understand” or (if on the phone) say nothing until they ask “Are you still there?”
4. What ever you do don’t explain – think forward, don’t justify, recriminate, excuse or offer explanation. They’re looking to exploit weaknesses (-) not strength (+)
5. Ask “what would you like me to do?”. If so challenged they will ask you for something more acceptable than what they want. This is your exit opportunity.
6. Don’t take criticism personally – attacks on your team, your work, your values, etc are not attacks on you. Although it is hard to resist “fight or flight”
7. Learn from criticism – if you wait 24 hrs before answering criticism it will demonstrate maturity, reasonableness and you may learn something!
As a ICF Coach, Mediation Practitioner and APMG Change Practitioner, I can offer tools, tips and templates as well as facilitation and mediation to support communications and change.
Tim Rogers
Tim@AdaptConsultingCompany.com Mob 447797762051
We offer #consulting, #coaching, #mentoring, #facilitation and #mediating to support individuals, teams and organisations. #jersey #timhjrogers #prince2 #agile #waterfall #pmo #projects #lean #training #programmes
One of the biggest problems with projects is scope-creep: Adding additional features or functions of a new product, requirements, or work that is not authorized (i.e., beyond the agreed-upon scope). The result is extra time, effort, complexity and cost. So this should be avoided.
However at the opposite extreme, it is very often the case that people de-scope items in an effort to avoid extra time, effort, complexity and cost. The “What can we do without?” approach has its merits. It is taking an MVP approach. A minimum viable product, or MVP, is a product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle. The aim being get the basics done and build on this baseline.
The problem with he “What can we do without?” approach may be achieving consensus over what is suitable, feasible and acceptable.
Scenario 1
Supposing you are looking to fly to Edinburgh, but the pilot lands at Prestwick and says, I got you as close as I can wit the constraints (of time, money, resource). You’ll have to walk from here. The distance between Glasgow Prestwick Airport Station and Edinburgh is 63 miles. The road distance is 75.2 miles. Is this suitable, feasible and acceptable?
Scenario 2
Supposing you are expecting to have a car delivered. It may be suitable, feasible and acceptable that the roof rack, tow-bar and floor mats are delivered later. But what about seats, air-conditioning, or radio? I’m sure we’d draw the line at engine and wheels.
If you are de-scoping to achieve delivery you’ll need stakeholder engagement and their participation and endorsement if you want the result to be accepted as “more to follow”, than a disappointment and failure and a high degree of cynicism over the next phase what was promised and not delivered in the first.
In a lot of respects this is more about communication and stakeholder management than the late delivery of artifacts. It may demand mediation and negotiation to build the trust which is necessary over the bridging period between what has been delivered and what was promised. This is especially the case if the temporary short-fall means extra work from some people, or greater risk, or opportunity cost.
Goodwill is like money and the bank. You can be granted an overdraft to remedy a short-term problem, but you will be expected to keep your promises to make-good, and be judged by your ability to do so.
As a ICF Coach, Mediation Practitioner and APMG Change Practitioner, I can offer tools, tips and templates as well as facilitation and mediation to support communications and change.
Tim Rogers
Tim@AdaptConsultingCompany.com Mob 447797762051
We offer #consulting, #coaching, #mentoring, #facilitation and #mediating to support individuals, teams and organisations.
