Gaining Support for Your Projects

1. Gaining Support for Your Projects Leslie Martinich Sr Member, IEEE Founder, Competitive Focus

2. Overview • Identify stakeholders • Assess interests • Plan for effective communications • Get your ducks in a row! Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

3. Why • Increase chances of project completion • Increase chances of project success • Without support, projects often fail Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

4. Direction Managers, Director, VP, CEO Executive Staff End Users, Sales, Marketing Colleagues Customers Project Team Engineers, Testers, Trainers, Writers, Support Staff Project Managers, Peers Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

5. Identify Stakeholders • Consider a project you are working on or an idea you would like to promote • Who are the stakeholders? Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

6. Sources of Resistance • Indifference • Resource contention • Change • Jostling for position • Oblivious to value • Different priorities Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

7. Testing Assumptions • Is this project important? • Why or why not? • Does this project align with corporate goals? Executive Staff Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

8. Testing Assumptions • Does this product meet a need? • Is it important for you to have this product? • Are there any difficulties for you in adopting this product? • How does this product compare to those of our competitors? Customers Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

9. Testing Assumptions • Does this project conflict with or complement other projects? • What resources do we share? • How might building this project affect your projects? Colleagues Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

10. Testing Assumptions • What opportunity does this project represent for you? • Are there any difficulties for you in working on this project? • What risks does this project represent for you? • What risks do you see for the project itself? Project Team Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

11. Alignment • Gather the data, initially informally • Note inconsistencies, conflicts • Pay attention to fears • Pay attention to changes that this project assumes or requires • Modify project objectives to get into alignment; check again Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

12. Resource Contention • Financial • People • Glory • Lab space and time • Equipment Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

13. Dealing with Change • New way of doing things • How does that affect the stakeholder? Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

14. Priorities • Do others have a different view of the priority of this project from yours? • Why? • Do they need education, information about the project? • Do they value something else more? • What are their assumptions? • What are their objectives? Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

15. Risk Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

16. Requirements Risk • Are requirements unstable? • Likely to change throughout the project? • Is the user interface likely to change? • Does the customer have unwritten expectations? • Are requirements ambiguous? Missing? Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

17. Organizational Risk • Are there enough people on this project? • Does the staff lack needed skills? • Is there a reorganization likely? • Does the project team lack upper management support? Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

18. Technology Risks • Does this project use an innovative technology? • Is the technology changing rapidly? • Are the suppliers’ businesses at risk? Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

19. Budget Risks • Are equipment resources available when needed? • Might the project exhaust funds prior to completion? Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

20. Customer Risk • Does the customer have a history of being difficult? Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

21. Areas Impacted? • Project cost • Project schedule • Project functionality • Operational behavior • Support Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

22. Risk Assessment • Using the Risk Assessment worksheet, describe the risks you and others see to your project. • What will be affected (cost, schedule, functionality) if the possible risk occurs? Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com

23. Communications Planning • For each stakeholder • How does this project represent change? • What are his or her goals? • What are his or her fears? • What risks does the project present to this person? • What is her or her communication preference? Leslie Martinich leslie@CompetitiveFocus.com

24. Communications Planning What change does this project represent for this person? What are his or her goals? What are his or her fears? What risks does this project present? Does this person prefer face-to-face or written? Leslie Martinich leslie@CompetitiveFocus.com

25. Communications Planning What do you need from this person? What interests do you share with this person? What format will your communication take? How will you get feedback from this person? Leslie Martinich leslie@CompetitiveFocus.com

26. Planning Activity • Select a project you are working on, or one you would like to propose. Work through the Communications Preparation worksheet. You need not fill in every cell; try to fill in what you know. • Review your plans within your group. Leslie Martinich leslie@CompetitiveFocus.com

27. Execute Your Plan! • What have you learned? • How will you use it? • Execute your plan • Get your ducks in a row! • Keep your commitments! Leslie Martinich leslie@CompetitiveFocus.com

28. Questions? Contact information: Leslie Martinich leslie@competitivefocus.com lmartinich@ieee.org (512) 423-5121 Leslie Martinich leslie@CompetitiveFocus.com