Comments on: Does the Project Manager Know Better? http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2009/04/06/907/ The magazine for the project age Fri, 15 Apr 2011 17:20:14 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Bruce http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2009/04/06/907/comment-page-1/#comment-20876 Bruce Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:15:46 +0000 http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2009/04/06/907/#comment-20876 There should be two guiding principles here: 1) Aligning decisions with the overall outcomes (or goals) the project is aiming to achieve Of course this requires that the project goals be clearly stated and understood at the start of the project. It may also relate to wider goals of a programme or portfolio. 2) Aligning decisions with the stated requirements (or scope) of the project Once a requirement has been signed off it should not be changed without a proper change process including consultation with the customer/end-users and sign-off on the changes. There should be two guiding principles here:
1) Aligning decisions with the overall outcomes (or goals) the project is aiming to achieve
Of course this requires that the project goals be clearly stated and understood at the start of the project. It may also relate to wider goals of a programme or portfolio.

2) Aligning decisions with the stated requirements (or scope) of the project
Once a requirement has been signed off it should not be changed without a proper change process including consultation with the customer/end-users and sign-off on the changes.

]]> By: Pawel Brodzinski http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2009/04/06/907/comment-page-1/#comment-20875 Pawel Brodzinski Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:14:02 +0000 http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2009/04/06/907/#comment-20875 If you have zipper jeans in magazine and the customer doesn't know you'll go to find out whether zippers will suit them fine, not whether buttons would be better. It's not always about digging deep enough to learn what would be customer decision. Sometimes either way is fine and the sooner you come out with some proposition the sooner you're able to move ahead. And yes, it's the role of project manager to decide which dilemmas are worth digging deeper and which decisions should be made fast even if that mean little consultancy with the customer. If you have zipper jeans in magazine and the customer doesn’t know you’ll go to find out whether zippers will suit them fine, not whether buttons would be better.

It’s not always about digging deep enough to learn what would be customer decision. Sometimes either way is fine and the sooner you come out with some proposition the sooner you’re able to move ahead.

And yes, it’s the role of project manager to decide which dilemmas are worth digging deeper and which decisions should be made fast even if that mean little consultancy with the customer.

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