There is a Project-driven Product but no Experience in its Delivery Management. What to do?

We are often approached by a customer whose project activities are at different stages of maturity: someone is just launching their first formal project, someone is faced with the task of replicating already successful experience without making common mistakes. And for some, the management of individual projects is a long-past stage, and now competent portfolio management, the creation or development of a project office, and possibly the transformation of a project office into something more are on the top of the agenda.

Each time, it is important for us to accurately understand the request, its reasons, and to determine, together with the client, the problem that needs to be solved. A clear formulation of the problem, in our opinion, is an important condition for focused work and obtaining results in the shortest possible time.

Not so long ago we received a request from a company that supplies technological equipment. (The company’s current business model does not involve working with clients in a project-based format.) It was something like this:

“We have created a fundamentally new product and we understand that its delivery to the client does not fit into our current processes, but should be in the project format. How can we start to manage such projects competently, if we don’t have project management expertise?”

Let’s use the example of this request to consider what options a company which needs to start managing projects systematically has in general, but there is no understanding yet of how this is done. Our task is to help the company quickly make the most effective decision.

In fact, the company has only three options:

• train its own employees;
• hire a project manager from the market;
• implement the project on their own with external expert support.

What does each option provide and what does it include? What advantages and disadvantages do they have? Let’s figure it out.

Option 1. Acquire the necessary competencies, that is, train employees

If we ask the question, what is a project in general in the context of our case, we get the following definition.

A project is the creation and / or delivery of a unique (complex) product within a limited time frame and under conditions of limited resources.

It seems to be simple and clear: many of us have come across projects at least once and at least roughly imagine how to work in this format.

But it is not necessary to compare our household projects and projects implemented in organizations. These are really different universes: scale, budgets, team size, risks, goals, degree of responsibility in case of failure — everything is completely different. It is obvious that everyday understanding of how to manage a project will not work.

The “Train employees” option looks quite logical, but is it really advantageous?

In the case we are considering, there is already a finished product: an author’s technology that will help the company’s clients more efficiently and safely implement some important routine process of their work. The company has a clear vision of the idea, stages, components, team, target audience. There are also potential customers who are already ready to buy this product, but sales do not start, because there is no understanding of how to approach the process of its delivery management, what to pay attention to. Already at the physical level, there is a missed profit, isn’t it?

To solve the problem, you decide to train employees. You will need to spend at least three months on this (this is the most basic program, if you do not take one- and two-day overview training, where you can only get acquainted with the topic). You probably expect employees to achieve the goals set in the project: implementation on time, competent communication with the stakeholders, early identification of potential risks — and, of course, all this within the budget.

This approach can really work if the project delivered is uncomplicated by its nature: short deadlines, extremely clear steps, a small team. If at least one of these points is not about your project, training employees in such a situation is doomed to failure.

What exactly are the main disadvantages of this option and what is likely to happen?

• The project will go beyond the approved constraints: the budget will be exceeded, the deadlines will be missed, the initially determined volume will be increased.
• The product of the project, which, due to inexperience, will be handed over at the very least, may contain hidden risks, a kind of “time bomb” that will not allow or significantly reduce the expected benefits for the client after the official completion of the project (high labor intensity of use, the cost of technical support and improvements).
• The reputation of your company will be under attack: the uncertainty will be too high both during the implementation of the project and after the launch, already in the trial operation phase. You cannot guarantee that the project will be completed on time, that the product will be usable, or that it will be in demand after the project is completed.

Option 2. External project manager with the necessary skills

A good move, but there are pitfalls. It’s the same here: if your project consists of simple and understandable steps, does not involve serious risks, and lasts no more than eighteen months, this is a completely working option. In this case, the external project manager will quickly be able to dive into the specifics, establish high-quality interaction with colleagues, and collect the necessary information already in the course of work. It can even become a good role model for your employees. Of course, at the same time, he will not fully train employees — there is no time, and this is not his task. But those who are attentive and interested will be able to borrow a couple of valuable practices from such a leader.

But what if the project is complex and time-consuming? In this case, it will be necessary to allow sufficient time (up to several months) for the invited project manager to dive into the details. It is also necessary to allocate an expert to the project team: he will advise the manager on the specifics of the implemented product or process, on a particular technology. And then you still need to keep this project manager by hook or by crook — preparing the same one more will cost a fortune.

The main problems here are the following:

• long-term adaptation of an external manager to the specifics of the project;
• need for an additional expert — a team member;
• the risk the project manager can leave after one or two projects and the need to find a new one that will again need time and extra resources to adapt;
• loss of project competencies if the project manager leaves the company.

Option 3: Implement the project on your own with external expert support

If you already have a product, then most likely there are people who developed it, as well as a leader, perhaps an ideological inspirer. Among these people, there will surely be a candidate for project management, even if without the knowledge and skills of project management. It is important that he knows the product of the project inside and out and has the potential to lead the team.

If there is such a person, but he does not have enough competencies in project management, the most effective option with a quick start, covering both short-term and long-term planning horizons at the same time, is to attract a project management expert who can work in the mentoring format.

Project mentoring — professional support by a project management expert: whether it’s the very first project, as in the case under discussion, or a project at the stage of transformation of the project management office.

In the format of project mentoring, the project manager or a more extended working group — project manager, sponsor, several members of the project team — while implementing the project, regularly and in the right amount receive the necessary knowledge in the field of project management and practical assistance (advice, recommendations, feedback) from their mentor.

What are the benefits of this approach?

• The project can start almost immediately. It is only necessary to plan a small lag for conducting introductory sessions with an expert on goal-setting, organizational issues and the general work plan for the project (but no more than two weeks).
• Project participants get the opportunity to simultaneously learn all the necessary nuances of project management and implement the project for the benefit of the company.
• The acquired competencies are retained within the company: the risk of their complete loss, as in the case of an invited project manager, is minimal.
• Regular meetings (once to three times a week) help to maintain the desired pace of implementation.
• An expert mentor is always in touch and ready to answer any questions online or in a short ad hoc meeting.

What are the drawbacks?

• Here, perhaps, only one drawback can be noted: since the work of the project team and the mentor expert is a partnership of two parties with their own areas of responsibility, it is very important that employees are motivated to get the most out of the mentoring process. An expert mentor builds a work plan, shares the necessary information, but does not implement the project instead of the team members.

This can be considered a disadvantage, although in fact it is thanks to this approach that employees acquire enough competencies and valuable practical experience after just one project. None of the other options listed above give such efficiency.

In order to make it easier for you to evaluate all the options at once, we have created a table that shows the pros and cons of the three options considered, taking into account the level of complexity of the project that is planned to be implemented:

So, project mentoring is most relevant when:

• it is necessary to bring the project activity in the company to a new level as soon as possible (launch of the first project, replication of the project approach to the portfolio of projects, development and implementation of the methodology, launch of the project office);
• there is no time for full-fledged training of employees;
• the risks associated with managing a project by an employee without practical experience are obvious;
• it is necessary to maintain project competencies within the company.

In this article, we tried to be objective in the analysis and evaluation of various options. Each situation is different and needs to be studied, but our overview will allow you to quickly compare the pros and cons of different options and choose the one that suits you best.