PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. (February 20, 2015)--"Managing expectations can be the difference between project success and failure," said consultant Ernie Baker, speaking to project managers at Picatinny during his presentation called "It's All About ME! (Managing Expectations)."
However, Baker states that a project manager can be defined more accurately as an "expectations manager," who plans for success, takes control, and owns both good and bad results. Meanwhile, a project team can be seen as "creators of options," not "yes or no people," and expectations should be viewed not as suggestions but requirements.
"Everything you do, or don't do, creates an expectation," explained Baker. "If you perform an action, it creates an expectation of future behavior. If you fail to do something, it creates an expectation of future behavior too."
Baker is the president of Start to Finish Project Management Inc., a training and consulting company in Verona, New Jersey. For 30 years, he has worked with various industries on their program and project initiatives, addressing topics such as information technology, engineering, pharmaceutical, consulting, as well as sales and marketing.
During his Jan. 28 presentation, Baker explained that the term "project manager" is viewed both positively and negatively. Some define a project manager as a responsible and reliable leader. To some, a project manager is a nag.
Project managers and their teams should be aware that products include not only stated requirements but unstated requirements too, said Baker. A stated requirement is what the client requested. An unstated requirement is what the client did not specifically request, such as a quick and thorough process.
Later, he defined the difference between failure and success, describing failure as whining and not learning from mistakes and success as "not time, money or quality, but stakeholder acceptance and satisfaction."
"That was the most helpful lesson from the presentation--the idea of thinking of expectations as requirements just as you would technical requirements," said David Radkovich, a Picatinny project manager.
Baker also defined the terms "risk" and "issues." According to Baker, risks are uncertainties that matter. They exist within the future and cannot be fully addressed. However, issues are certainties that matter. They exist within the present and can be managed.
Additionally, Baker stressed the importance of understanding the cost, schedule, quality, and scope of the project as well as maintaining communication with your project team, sponsor and your client.
"You increase the likelihood of good sponsorship if your sponsor knows that role they play, and it's better to do that sooner rather than later," noted Baker. "That includes giving bad news. Bad news is not like wine--it does not get better with age."
Baker also shared some ways of managing expectations, which included imagining possible issues and a process to solve it, using the phrase "I get the feeling" to confront issues non-confrontationally, as well as avoiding any surprises by using CRAP, an acronym that suggests teams should develop consistent, repeatable and predictable outcomes
"The most helpful message from the presentation was that as a project manager, you not only have to manage expectations that are clearly communicated but also manage the perceived expectations," said Rashimi Mangal, a project officer and research chemist.
"I think paying attention to the spoken, written, and perceived needs of the customer will help us in delivering the customer what he needs," added Mangal. "Also asking the right questions and keeping open and ongoing communication is important, which we all know, but have to make sure we implement."
Another key tactic for managing expectations is called "it depends," added Baker. When a client wants to add something new that is beyond the scope of the initial project, stating "it depends" and asking "is it important" opens a dialogue between the project manager and client without entirely dismissing the idea.
"Thinking about things in the same way will give you the same outcome," noted Baker. But thinking differently about things will give you new result. So, adopt a new mindset and remember your MEDDS: manage expectations, define, defend and scope."
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