Vantage Point: Ensuring the Success of Your Technology Project

With 2011 spending projected to be up slightly compared to the prior two years, we are starting to see companies’ willingness to invest more to fund IT projects in the Consumer Goods industry. This is good news not only for solutions providers serving the industry but it allows CG companies to get back on track with their technology roadmap and focus on continuous improvement processes. 
 

While the cost of the technology for IT projects has come down over the years, most companies are experiencing tighter overall budgets, reduced availability of business and technical resources, and increased pressure to drive costs out of the business. With those constraints a reality, most find themselves continually striving to find just the right mix of money, talent, and technology tools that will ‘guarantee’ a successful project and deliver a return to the bottom line.
 

While there is no silver bullet to solve all of these problems, there are measures that can be taken to mitigate the risk in projects and to level set expectations before you even schedule the kickoff meeting. 
 

A big challenge in the Discovery Process for a project is capturing an honest assessment of where the company is today. People are often hesitant to admit weaknesses and gaps in the processes they own and may feel they are defending their work. It is crucial that the project be viewed as a continuous improvement effort to ensure open and honest contributions from everyone in the company.
 

A thorough assessment of the business in its ‘as is’ state will provide the baseline for measuring the project’s success. You cannot get where you need to go if you do not know where you are. Spending additional time up front in Discovery and Planning will pay dividends during execution.

Be sure to consider approval and escalation paths for business processes as well to ensure the defined solution meets requirements for exception processing.
 

When assessing the features and functionality of a technology solution, make sure that you question providers on important items that may not be in the brochure or part of the demonstration. Providers will emphasize the items they do well and demonstrate the sizzle for their products. It is important that you select a solution that is built on a solid foundation and has the scalability to grow and adapt to your business needs.
 

Product Releases – How frequently are releases deployed? What percent of clients are running the current release in production? Do you provide clients a testing environment to explore new functionality?
 

Quality Assurance – What is the QA process for standard releases? For custom work we may require? Are there dedicated resources experienced in standard QA practices?
 

Product Roadmap – Does the roadmap include items to address the latest trends in the industry? Does the roadmap include items that support my short term and long term business plan?  

Foundation – Does the provider have a plan for data center infrastructure upgrades? Is the provider running on the current versions of the platform software? Does the provider have a development plan for its consultants to stay current with my industry’s issues?

 

A common mistake made during project definition is failure to set realistic, attainable goals. So often during the sales process for software and services, statistics will be provided by the vendor referencing the benefits and returns that other clients have experienced. While those accomplishments may be attractive and would deem your project an overwhelming success, it is important to remember that not all companies start at the same point and operate under the same conditions. The saying ‘past performance doesn’t guarantee future results’ is equally true in projects as it is in the stock market. If you want to gamble, go to Las Vegas. 
 

Make sure that the scope and goals of your project are clearly defined, attainable, and reflect what can be achieved with the resources and time you have.

 

A well-defined project communications plan will help keep the project on track. Evaluation of the project’s progress, generally by the Project Sponsors, provides an objective assessment as to whether or not the project is meeting the defined objectives. Identify, understand, and create a risk mitigation plan. This process will bring to light to any areas of weakness in the plan and ensure that a solid foundation has been laid on which to reach subsequent milestones of the project. The reviewing team should be empowered to act on any issues when project roadblocks are defined. 

 

While there is no guaranty of success, taking these points in to consideration will help you avert failure by properly defining your needs, managing the risks, and clearing the path to bring your project to a successful completion.