Project Success Story: Mix and Match Innovation

Mix and match innovationThis is the story of an IT Project Manager, Shaun Oppel, who was responsible for a project to implement an innovative new concept called “Mix & Match” in Retail. It basically meant that customers could buy any 3 products on this promotion and then receive the cheapest product for free. Since the company was the first Retailer to bring this concept to South Africa, it was hugely exciting with high risk and high reward. Above all, it was envisaged that it would give them an edge on competitors.

The project complexity lied in the fact that it required cross-functional teams as well as impacting different systems across IT and Business. In this instance, Marketing was the main stakeholder and owner of the project. It consisted of a National roll-out to approximately 220 stores; of which 100 stores had Pharmacies.

Challenges

A large number of projects were running simultaneously thereby making it very difficult to assign the most senior and best resources available for the duration of the project. This led to resource conflicts and constraints as multiple projects pursued team members with significant expertise of various systems as well as that of the business.

Dedicated resources

Initially a Shared Resource Model was used, but it wasn’t working very efficiently. The Project Manager had to take corrective action by requesting dedicated resources. A recommendation was made to “ring-fence” the project team from BAU support resources so as to circumvent resource constraints. Some business as usual (BAU) work was then outsourced.

Language differences

Since some work was outsourced to India, it created difficulty among team members to understand one another due to different accents. People had trouble understanding what was being said especially due to the fact that the Meetings were being facilitated via conference call. In order to address this issue, a Manager responsible for that Account who was based on-site, would be present on conference calls and would help translate and minute what was being said.

What worked well

Due to the very strategic nature of the project, and it being managed as the highest priority in the overall portfolio, the resources had to be dedicated which helped to create a strong project team.

Good project governance was applied through-out and the mature PM methodology was followed consistently. Risk Management worked well; through keeping a detailed Risk Log and consistently reviewing it. All risks were validated with the respective Systems Managers. Risks categorised as high Impact were raised at Steercom and addressed appropriately.

Members of the Audit Team were assigned to various projects as team members in order to provide steer, guidance, and adherence to standard practices and good governance. The project was well supported by Business and IT from a Steercom and Management perspective. As a strategic project it had a strong Business Case with good ROI and clearly defined Metrics in order to track benefits.

A RACI matrix was produced at the start of the project which ensured that roles and responsibilities clearly defined. It was agreed upon, clarified with resources involved and it remained a living document.

Change Management well executed

The project required a good Change Management strategy and delivery, because of the touch point in Stores. It followed an approach of Train the Trainers. The Trainers had an exam to pass; then they would be allowed to train their own staff and subsequently they would be required to pass the assessment as well. The staff had to be familiar with what the changes were and they had to be enabled to answer any questions posed during the National roll-out.

Testing and Quality Assurance

Key to the successful delivery was to have an experienced Test Manager assigned. The Test Cases were clearly defined, well understood, and well executed.  There were separate Development, Test and Production Environments which were refreshed quarterly so as to ensure Data Alignment.

Handover to Operations

After implementation a 6-week period was allowed for handover to the support function. The longer period helps to build up history of typical issues and how to address them.

Key learnings

Governance: One team member cannot make decisions without the others. Apply good governance and facilitate regular Steercoms whilst encouraging and ensuring good attendance.  It helps significantly to keep and maintain the focus.

Stakeholder Management: Have consideration for all stakeholders that are impacted by the project. The RACI matrix produced and the exercise of work shopping the details thereof was key in getting people to understand what was expected of them. Regular communications to all business stakeholders, eliminated “corridor talk” and the scenario of “broken telephone” syndrome as people were informed about the progress and the go live details. It’s important to keep Management (Business and IT) on the same page; as it takes much more effort and time to get everyone re- aligned.

Team management and performance: Alignment with the whole Project Team around all Deliverables, Milestones and dependencies is very important and will ensure that team members are kept accountable. A Project Manager needs to escalate if a person is struggling or not performing and also let the Systems Managers understand this. Don’t hesitate to request and obtain help from Leadership to support the team if and when required.

Emotional Intelligence:  Give greater attention to Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Make time to understand the people, what makes them tick and work with each person as an individual. Appreciate the culture, the dynamics at play and how to get the very best out of them.

Team motivation: Keep team members as motivated as possible. It will uplift their spirits and the team as a whole if you bring a positive attitude to meetings. Don’t bash individuals but rather see what can be done at all times to lend a hand and how best to move forward and resolve the issue being encountered. Ask if there are obstructions that would prevent them to deliver. As a Project Manager stay positive, remain optimistic and keep a similar approach of having a good attitude. Do take the time as a Team to celebrate successes and major milestones on the project. It motivates the team and makes them look forward to meetings.

Have regular conversations and verbalise frequently with regards to yourself as the Project Manager being approachable. Let team members know that they won’t be in trouble if they fall behind. Keep supporting the team members to be better at what they do. Encourage your team to have conversations with one another; don’t wait for meetings to raise problems. Be pro-active.  The PM is there to help, support, but you don’t want to micro-manage the team.

Cost management: Build in Budget contingency for example, you have to make provision for Exchange Rate fluctuations. It can blow the Budget if you don’t mitigate the risk.

Over time and with experience, a Project Manager will rely more and more on soft skills like leadership and emotional Intelligence (EQ); as in the end, that is what helps to be successful at project delivery.

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About the Project Manager:

Shaun Oppel has been in Project Management for more than 20 years. He started his career in Project Management at an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and continued to build skills in Project Management at different Blue-chip Companies. He’s Education includes an Electrical Engineering Degree, a Master in Science (MSc) Degree, an MBA Degree, a PMP Certified and Prince II Certificate.

He may be contacted on Shaun.Oppel@gmail.com or on his Mobile: 083-5055983.

Product Development for Telecommunications Company

Project Success StoryThis story from project manager, Candice Adams, is about a project in the telecommunications industry with the goal of establishing a new Business Model to create a system whereby mobile services could be sold in bulk as part of B2B services.

The project was innovative and it was difficult to find resources with experience. This made the company’s stakeholders who were new to the concept, very dependent on a service provider for domain specific knowledge. It took about two years to complete.

The Customers knew more than the company which put a lot of pressure on the company to establish a model and service package. It took time to work out what is of mutual benefit.

Strained Business Relationships

What worked in the project’s favour was the fact that they had dedicated project team members and good support from IT management.

Initially they didn’t have Business support and they had to build trust over time. Due to the corporate nature of the company, there were the usual challenges with having a Silo effect and different teams working independently.

This challenge was overcome by communicating with the Business stakeholders regularly. The project was executed as part of business strategy and the business stakeholders had to become part of the journey. IT didn’t pretend to know everything.  The relationship became more transparent, business stakeholders were part of decision making and they felt empowered.

Multiple Challenges

In order to address the high dependency on the software provider, the project manager had to source subject matter experts (SME’s) in-house to assist with communications with the software provider from an overseas company who didn’t know the company culture, in order to challenge their ideas.

The business was not trusting IT with how the solution needed to be packaged and delivered. This improved as the relationships between IT and the business stakeholders became stronger.

The external dependency on the network in order to make the new business model work, was particularly challenging, because it wasn’t always stable or optimal. The project was formulating a bulk service solution, but standard services were not stable yet, for example, when calls dropped.

The Business Case determined a launch date a year into the future. This date couldn’t move out, as it was advertised already.  Much money was spent on marketing the future bulk service solution. For certain customers, there was a small window of opportunity to offer this service to their existing clients – this caused an immovable end date for go live of the solution.

Lessons Learned

Project success storyOn a strategic business project of this nature the buy-in from business stakeholders is mandatary and it requires transparent communications in terms of how the solution is developed.

A big factor in the success of the project was the on-boarding of SME’s to become part of the project team. This allowed better negotiation with the software providers in terms of what is required for the new business model. The SME’s also played a major role in transitioning to operations.

Sponsor Support and Communications

Through-out the project sponsor support was critical. The sponsor had to provide updates to the Board of Directors and he had to assist with addressing major project issues that were escalated.

Project communications were done through daily stand-ups with the entire project team (IT and Business) to keep team members aligned, first thing in the morning. Informal conversations also helped to overcome the silo’s. It addressed the questioning of motives and it helped to build trust. Evidence of the trust relationship was seen in how business stakeholders would defend IT if there were delays.

Key take-aways

The project manager had some big take-aways from the project experience, like the importance of being open and transparent. A project manager needs to keep an eye on the pulse of activities and progress. Also stay close to how people are feeling and how the team is experiencing the project. In conclusion the project manager learnt the value of being supportive and managing expectations.

About the project manager:

Candice Adams has started in Systems Management policies and procedures in a Petro-chemical company. She did business process analysis before she moved into project management, where she worked on projects in ERP, like SAP or Oracle and in Retail IT for the past 12 years. She plans to become PMP certified next.

Candice may be contacted on candicead@gmail.com