Project Requirements

The project is going nowhere!!!

Let’s talk about articulation of project requirements, project goals and how they are aligned against the business needs. A few years ago, I joined a start-up as a project manager. My first task was to save a project that was already running. When I asked the CEO, what is the status of the project the answer was: it is going nowhere!!

This is where it gets interesting… you must work fast and lean on your experience in order to understand what the solution is. Do you think I succeeded?…

After a short analysis I realized that there were no clear & documented requirements. Lack of project requirements directly affects the project goals (no scope and therefore no schedule and budget).  This situation caused a lot of conflicts and distrust with the customer (main stakeholder). Hence, the first measure I took was defining & documenting with the customer a clear set of requirements. Then we made sure these requirements are aligned with his business needs. Based on the above I built a new schedule and budget – that was approved by the customer.

What was the end result? Did I save the project? Well, not totally…

Requirements and goals were clear and delivered as planned. Schedule obviously was a bit longer. However, we were on budget. Why? because we did not have another choice…

Conclusion – there is no magic in project management. You have work hard and use the best practice of project management. Only then, can you expect project success. Do not forget that projects are managed in an uncertainty and a project manager should adjust himself.