Project Management Quick Tip #1
When is it time to call in an expert?
Entire Question: I’ve reached a major project roadblock and I think it’s time to call in an expert—how do I know for sure? More importantly, if I need the participation of an expert resource, how do I measure ROI?
Answer: It’s hard to give you a precise response without understanding the skill level of your team. Many organizations—through multiple cycles of outsourcing project management talent and then attempting to cultivate skills in-house—have failed to build and sustain strong, consistent processes and project management leadership. (Anyone who’s experienced the joy of working on a project with strong leadership knows what I’m talking about!) Against the ongoing challenge of doing more with less, it’s likely you’re experiencing these issues on some level.
In terms of deciding whether or not to bring in an expert, I recommend walking through a series of critical questions surrounding scope, risk, value proposition, time, impact and business cycles. This will help you formulate impact statements, which you can later assign a dollar value to in the interest of determining your ROI for seeking professional assistance.
Key questions include the following: Is the project corporate-wide? Is it U.S.-based or global? Does it include field offices as well as the home office? What is the magnitude of the expected outcome of the project deliverables? How long will it take to complete the project? Will diverting extra resources to this project impact any other projects? If the project completion is delayed, what is the impact on revenue or savings to the organization? As product life cycles are getting shorter and shorter, delays can be disastrous. What is the cost of rework and poor team morale when mistakes are made?
One final thought—don’t overlook your in-house resources. There could be someone with the skill set you need working in a different capacity. If so, investigate the possibility of re-assigning them to full-time project management.
Source: The Griffin-Tate Group
