Sauce & Spoon Project Charter, High school final essays of English

Download Sauce & Spoon Project Charter and more High school final essays English in PDF only on Docsity! Negotiating scope with stakeholders Even after you’ve established the project’s scope, some stakeholders may want to discuss adjusting it. They may feel that the project’s current scope will require too much work with too few resources, that the timeline isn’t realistic given the scope, or that the project requires additional tasks and objectives. When your stakeholders ask to revisit a project’s scope, you should meet with them so they can raise their concerns. Knowing how to effectively facilitate scope negotiations will allow you to reach solutions that are suitable for everyone.  Tips for navigating scope with stakeholders  Understand motivations. Before your discussion, consider each stakeholder's motivations for wanting to adjust the project’s scope. Some of those motivations are budgetary (such as wanting to reduce the project’s costs), some are interpersonal (such as wanting more time to complete tasks), and some are related to personal career goals (such as maintaining their current position or striving for a promotion). Understanding your stakeholders’ motivations can help you work together to find a compromise.   Set the scene. Start the discussion with a reflection on why you are meeting. Remind your stakeholders why you are engaged in this project, and assure them that you all share a common goal.  Listen first. Hear what your stakeholders have to say before you present your views. This will demonstrate your desire to understand the other party’s perspective. Acknowledging their point of view may make it easier for them to accept your suggestions or solutions when their ideas or opinions differ from yours.  Ask questions to define goals. Be thorough and ask as many questions as you feel necessary to understand what the stakeholder wants. This might include getting them to define their customer or business goals. Strive for getting specific, measurable details from your stakeholders, so that later, you’ll be able to determine whether you’ve successfully met their goals. Eliciting language that is measurable (rather than subjective or unclear) will help you define goals. An example of a specific, measurable goal could be: “We want to cut the amount of time it takes customers to sign up for our newsletter by at least 30 percent.”  Explain the “why” before the “what.” When attempting to persuade stakeholders —or anyone, for that matter—to see things your way, explain the reasons for your request before describing what you want. For instance, start by explaining the value that could be added to your company or project by defining scope in a certain way. If stakeholders understand where you’re coming from first, they’re more likely to grant your request when you ask for it.  Do not oversell. Sometimes it’s best to state your case and give others some time to respond. After you have presented your reasons, position, and request, withdraw slightly to give your audience time to process what you have said. Think of your silence, in this situation, as a sign of respect for your stakeholders; it shows them you want to hear from them. And, if they are quiet for a while, it means that you have stimulated thought.    Be creative. Working to find alternative solutions can quickly turn a heavy negotiation into an inspiring team effort. To find real solutions to negotiation stalemates, think creatively about all the aspects of the project. You may find that there is more than one solution to differing opinions.   Do not make it personal. Always focus on what is good for the project. If personal considerations enter into the discussion, reframe the conversation by bringing up objective facts.  Seek a win-win outcome. Finally, consider what it will take for the other side to be satisfied. Then, try to identify a way to ensure you are satisfied as well. There will be times when one party may have to compromise more than the other,  but a mutually beneficial agreement (an agreement that benefits all parties involved) should always be the goal. The next reading will cover strategies for achieving mutually beneficial agreements with stakeholders. Achieving a win-win outcome In the last reading, you learned about effective ways to negotiate a project’s scope with stakeholders. The goal when negotiating with stakeholders should always be achieving a win-win outcome, or a mutually beneficial agreement. This is an agreement that benefits all parties involved. Mutually beneficial agreements aren’t only for internal stakeholders, though. They are an important part of the process for negotiating with vendors, contractors, suppliers, and more.  Best practices for reaching a mutually beneficial agreement  Share information. Sometimes in negotiations, one or both parties might think they need to withhold information in order to not give too much away. This isn’t very effective, though. It is best to strive for open lines of communication, where each party shares their worries and preferences. For instance, if your team’s last supplier provided you with low quality products, you might voice this as a concern so your expectations around quality are clear.   Ask questions and listen actively to responses. Just like you shared your concerns and expectations, you can ask the other party questions to clarify what their concerns and expectations are. That way, both parties will have shared all the necessary information to achieve a mutually beneficial agreement.   Propose multiple options whenever possible. In negotiations, presenting only one option or solution can set you up for failure because the other person might think your first offer is the only one. If the other party rejects all of your proposals, ask them to communicate which one they like best, as that may point you in the direction of finding a solution that works for everyone. Tips for defining project tasks The process of identifying project tasks and defining them is one that requires practice. Breaking tasks down into workable parts is challenging because you have to decide which tasks may require additional subtasks and which tasks do not. For instance, if you are managing a cross-country move, you do not need to break down the task of unloading boxes from the car into which box should be moved first. However, you may need to break down the movers’ tasks into smaller, more detailed steps. As you progress in your career, you will get better at breaking tasks down. In the interim, here are some guidelines to help you improve this very important project management skill.  Define project tasks in one or two sentences When writing descriptions of project tasks, keep them to one or two sentences long. If you find that a certain task description needs to be longer Optimistic Assumes the best case scenario that issues will not occur Most Likely Assumes some issues might occur and based on how long the task usually takes under normal circumstances Pessimistic Assumes the worst case scenario that issues will definitely occur The three-point estimating process For each task, add a duration estimate in each category: optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic. You can get these estimates by doing research on the task or by asking a task expert. As a best practice, add notes about the conditions that determine each estimate. Optimistic = Vendor is well-qualified, has all the materials, and shows up on time; Staff shows up in time and successfully completes training within scheduled amount of time; All equipment works. 4 Hours Most Likely = Vendor is qualified but might not have all the materials; Vendor is new and needs extra time to prepare; Extra training time has to be scheduled for absentee staff; Minor glitches with equipment; Training has to be rescheduled. 6 Hours Pessimistic = Original vendor quits; New vendor has to be hired; Staff no-shows or turnover right before the training; Equipment isn’t delivered on time or doesn’t work; Training can’t happen until new equipment arrives. 6 Days Determining a final estimate To determine your final estimate—the estimate you’re going to use in your project plan—examine the optimistic and pessimistic timing, then compare it with the most likely timing. Consider the conditions that are likely to exist while the task is being completed. Does it seem reasonable that the most likely time can be met? If your team has never completed this task before, or if dependencies for the task are unknown, then the final estimate should be closer to the pessimistic estimate. If your team is familiar with the task and you’re able to confirm the conditions for an optimistic estimate, then the final estimate can be closer to the optimistic estimate. Alternatively, simply use the most likely estimate, especially if the difference between the optimistic and pessimistic estimates is minimal (a few hours or no more than one or two days). A good practice is to build in a “buffer” that accounts for risks that are likely but still keeps the project progressing at an efficient rate. Three-point estimation formulas Some projects will require you to calculate specific numeric values for task time estimates. There are many online resources that provide more instruction for how to calculate estimates, but we’ve provided two popular formulas: the Triangular Distribution and the Beta (PERT) Distribution. For each formula: E is Estimate (the final estimate you’ll assign to the task), o = optimistic estimate, p = pessimistic estimate, and m = most likely estimate. The Triangular Distribution The weight of each estimate in this equation is identical, which means the most likely case does not affect the final estimate more than the optimistic or pessimistic estimates.