Obtaining information from an uncooperative business driver can be like pulling teeth. Find out how being a backseat driver can turn this situation around.
In every project, there are obstacles to overcome. As if shortened deadlines, scope creep, and acts of God aren't enough to deal with, what do you do when your primary source of information seems to be working against you? Follow these three rules of the road to keep your efforts on track and moving forward, without leaving your project driver behind.
Be proactive
The key to successful project management is anticipation. When applied liberally, this concept can go a long way toward protecting your project from poor communication and decision-making disorders.
Chances are, your first indication that there's a communication issue is during the critical deliverables definition phase. You've had the initial concept meetings and are trying to put together a picture of what your software actually needs to do. Unfortunately, this is where you depend most heavily on the input of the project driver, but that input may trickle in over time or not come at all.
To avoid that kind of situation, make the project driver's participation in the project as painless as possible. Go after the information you need instead of waiting for it to be delivered to you. Initial project planning is critical to your success, and it shouldn't be allowed to drag out.
Take the time to document all of the specific questions that exist and interview the project driver in one brief meeting. If you raise questions they can't answer, make assumptions and document them in your project plan. Make it clear that this is the course of action you will follow until you hear otherwise. Merely putting assumptions in black and white presents the project driver with a definitive decision to make, and it creates a sense of urgency that may have been lacking.
This is also a great time to review the driver's priorities for the project. Chances are, they haven't even thought of the solution in that light, and defining priorities may reveal critical information that was previously unknown to you. For more information about this process, read "Pinpoint your client's priorities to nail application deliverables."
Now that you've jump-started the planning process, the next goal is to understand where you need to go next.
Draw a map
While the project's business driver may be behind the wheel, the project manager's job is essentially to ride shotgun. The project driver's job rarely has anything to do with his or her role in delivering a solution. It's your responsibility to inform the driver of the safest, quickest route to your final destination and make sure he or she follows it, without being pushy.
Sometimes in trying to manage a project driver, you'll run into power-trip issues. To bypass this, have a process for defining a solution and follow it. That way, your project becomes tangible, and your quest for information becomes less personal.
The more difficult a project driver is to work with, the more important it becomes to have a documented project plan. Even the outline of a plan will help you prevent a driver's aloofness from being apparent in your solution.
If you absolutely can't get the answers you need, make provisions for incorporating changes once development has begun, such as a change order form. This will help you document the real-world effects of poor communication, such as the time and money costs of incorporating changes after the decision-making juncture has passed.
If you inform the project driver up front that unconfirmed assumptions will have to be incorporated with a change-order process, he or she will at least understand that waffling will have a serious effect on the project. Later on, if changes stemming from a lack of decision making begin to affect your timeline, you have a paper trail to justify adjusting your delivery date or compromising functionality.
So far, my advice has offered a commonsense, logical solution to the issues created by an uncooperative project driver. But what if you've done all the hand-holding you can, and you're still not getting the results you need? When it gets to that point, it's time to take the wheel.
