All projects have something they need to do... deliver. But what are they to deliver!? Any business owner can come to Covenant E-design with a statement like "Make my cold-callers more efficient!" or "Increase my customers satisfaction!". Riiiight. Like Any able developer can just whip-out his trusty magic Lisa give it a good ol' rub, and POOF, satisfied clients. Statements like this need to be professionally rounded through further discussion to bring the business-owner (Sponsor) to a place of quantification.

By Quantification I mean empirical value. Not, "Gee that sure is pretty."; but "Wow those colors are the exact ones from our logo." The difference here is subtle. When starting a new project the business owner may be very excited, having a completely clear view in his/her own mind as to the outcome. He/She may have already budgeted funds, and called around for particular estimate on hardware and average development time etc.  But if there is no plan, there will be no realization. And if there isn't any quantification, there can be no plan.

Step One - A Watched Pot Never Boils

Well in our case, an annoyed sponsor never quantifies. Don't pester your sponsor, guide her. Let your sponsor know that your sole responsibility is to ensure that she gets what she needs. Take the time to instruct her in the importance of planning and initiating. With a very little bit of consulting time, any excited and eager sponsor will be quickly able to see the benefits of good planning practices. By the end of the day, you'll have assisted her in maintaining good business practices, and helped strengthen your credibility as a consultant who is out for her best interests.

Step Two - K.I.S.S. (no, that's harassment!)

Keep It Simple Simpson. Exactly like your old soccer coach used to say, or perhaps something similar to what your D&D DM used to tell ya. Don't overwhelm your sponsor, they have enough to worry about. Remember, two things a) The project WILL end, one way or another and b) Chances are you'll be  working for this sponsor again. With those in mind, don't act like this project is going to have a never-ending life cycle, and an infinite breadth. Presenting your sponsor with basic examples and simple demonstrations of quantification and initiation is enough. Show how scope can slip if things aren't planned properly; show how resources can be wasted if things are timed properly; and most of all show how the entire project can fail if the "What" isn't quantified.

Step Three - Choose the Correct Methodology

Simply put, know what you're doing. Don't expect a sponsor from a 2 billion dollar company to trust you from the get-go if you have trouble showing him options. The best preparation for project management is experience, the next best is knowledge. If you haven't ever dealt with a client that is completely focused on Object Oriented systems, then you better learn. And don't just read a few articles and some stupid blogs and expect to have it all together. Seek out other Project Managers, rub-elbows and network, visit PMI regularly and JOIN!! Have at least 3 viable methodologies to present your sponsor with. One that is very risk aware, one that is moderately risk aware and one that is like "What the heck is risk!?" Be prepared to articulate the benefits of each, and the weaknesses, and don't read it from a book, use the sponsor's project to demonstrate the impacts and outcomes.

Step Four - Document 'Til Your Eyes Bleed

Well you don't have to take it that far...but you better be able to have everything the sponsor wants and needs quantified. By making sure you have taken studious notes on the sponsor's needs, on the culture and practices of the sponsors organization and on the deliverables the sponsor is anticipating. With these notes you should be able to construct a tight project plan, with several project artifacts, that can be used with your sponsor to help them quantify even more clearly what the deliverable(s) are, and how... errr did I say "how", but that's another blog...