Page 122 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

So, let's park the bulldozer. How does the butterfly approach work with your reluctant customer?

"At this stage, the quality of the outcome is based upon the quality of your questions. The best
project leaders direct this crucial conversation by only asking questions. It's a hard skill to learn
because every sinew of you wants to get defensive and scream that you've delivered what's been
asked of you! Stay calm and just ask questions AND take notes!"

Questions like ...

When they voice a worry ask, “What do you mean by that?” And after they've answered ... ask what
they mean by THAT? (Drill down! Often the gold is in the answer to the third question).

What are their concerns? What would a solution to their concerns look and feel like? Who has
expressed the concerns? When did the doubts start? (This can sometimes really help you pinpoint a
specific time when confidence was lost and gives you a great target for that butterfly!)

Has something changed within the organisation? Is “regime change is in the air”? It happens with a
cabinet reshuffle doesn't it, all the best-laid plans go out of the window as incoming Ministers seem
to find new money for new initiatives. Businesses are the same, whether it is a promotion that opens
up new possibilities, or mergers, acquisition, company sales etc, they all bring with them a large
portion of uncertainty that can unsettle decision making.
How is your client contact and their end-user team feeling about their ability to use the project once
it transitions into service? Get a sense for any doubts about end-user capability. Ask if there are
post-delivery capacity issues. Do they trust the project's ability to deliver the business need? Do they
trust their ability to make the project to deliver the business need? Can they handle this project if it
were to go live now? Basically, there may not be a problem with the project, but you could spend
weeks looking for one and fixing things that didn't need fixing when all that was needed was some
extra staff training!
Often, when you take time to listen, REALLY listen, your end client will identify the thing that is
missing for you and it can be something as simple as a requirement, a function or a report that can
be easily accommodated. The key then is to agree on how to proceed. If it's an easy fix - do it! If it's
something that you missed - admit the oversight and do it! If, on the other hand, it's a large piece of
work that's needed, advise any extra costs, timeframes, etc. If it's an internal stakeholder, ask them
to suggest which other business projects should be delayed to accommodate their new requests -
actually take them to your whiteboard (or digital equivalent) and ask them to choose which other
business manager's project should be delayed to extend theirs.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure
Most project teams start this process at such a late stage that it almost always causes delay. The
trick is to unleash your butterflies regularly during the lifecycle so that you can spot possible issues
and deal with them.

Also, maintain a culture that is receptive to feedback throughout. These days, IT Projects are more
transparent than ever and most of the popular methodologies lend themselves to you being able to
pop the bonnet once in a while to show your client how things are working. Have regular catchups
and solicit feedback at key milestones or whenever is suitable. If you were painting someone’s
house, you might just do a patch and then ask the homeowner what they think before climbing the
ladder and attacking every wall with your paintbrush. Same with an IT Project - don't leave it till the
job is finished to find out they no longer like pink!