The delivery team that Arthur is working with made some common missteps when it engaged Arthur. The team members focused on the process they were using and used a great deal of what seems like jargon without explaining why they wanted to use those processes and what was in it for Arthur. Because Arthur does not have a good understanding of the benefits of adopting these approaches, it’s fairly likely that Arthur will be more of an obstacle to the delivery team than a partner. He won’t do this intentionally, but he might appear to question the process and try to bring the process back to ways he is more comfortable with because he doesn’t have a clear understanding of how doing things in an iterative fashion can actually be more beneficial for him.
Fortunately all is not lost. Open, honest conversations between Arthur and the delivery team will help Arthur get more familiar and comfortable with the reasoning behind the approach, and he will begin to see the benefits he receives from following the methods, turning him from an obstacle to a big supporter.
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About the author
Kent J. McDonald is an author, speaker, and coach who helps organizations improve the effectiveness of their projects. His more than fifteen years of experience includes work in business analysis, strategic planning, project management, and product development in a variety of industries including financial services, health insurance, performance marketing, human services, nonprofit, and automotive. He is co-author of Stand Back and Deliver: Accelerating Business Agility and currently delivers business analysis training for B2T Training, and shares his thoughts on project effectiveness at BeyondRequirements.com.
