I’m an expert on the subject of “Why Projects Fail”. This is because I’ve learnt the hard way. Learnt by having several projects that I either led or was a part of fail completely or come very close to failing before we were able to revive them and bring them to a successful closure.
The primary reason for project failure is client expectation. At the 2009 WA Annual Day, some of my colleagues depicted this issue extremely well in a play. The gist was that a client wants a Unicorn, he describes a horse, the developers design a pony and after a lot of to and fro modifications, a donkey is delivered.
In most projects, the client has a wish list, but this is based on his current knowledge. As the project progresses, the client begins to realize the zillion possibilities. And starts demanding and expecting those cool features. The development company that is working on a very tight time and cost schedule has a huge problem. Meeting the demands is not practical. Not meeting it, is impossible. And they are stuck between the proverbial Devil and Deep Blue Sea.
So how does one solve this problem. There are no easy solutions. But here are some of the things tried by us. With varying degrees of success.
1.
Get the client to describe requirements in writing. Need not be technical, but describes exactly what is expected from the system.
2.
Create a mockup of the system behavior, with a combination of mockups, flow charts and easy to understand explanatory notes.
3.
Have the client review the progress on a periodic basis. Ideally weekly, but at the very least twice a month.
4.
Have final users, test drive the system early on during the design and provide feedback.
5.
Make the client a development partner, and he has as much ownership of the project as you do.
6.
And finally, and this is important, keep your fingers crossed. Unlike marriages, Projects are made on Earth, but need a higher being to smile on you.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Rules for creative success
One of the biggest challenges we face is to get developers to think beyond the PC. Its critical to understand that a software program or solution is designed in the mind and only executed in the PC. One of the attempts we make to impart this way of thinking is by having a few training sessions on problem solving. One is by using “Systematic Problem Solving”. This is a simple 6 point common sense approach.
• Objectives - Identify goals
• Facts - Gather data
• Problems - Define concerns
• Ideas - Generate ideas
• Evaluation - Select solutions
• Implementation - Execute plan
Part of the training involves identifying and solving real life problems. The thinking being that if one can solve these difficult issues, all related issues that come in terms of software programming will be a lot easier and thereby simpler. We’ve devised 10 Rules that help in Creative Problem Solving. You should have your own, but here are ours.
1. Think.
2. Be happy.
3. Be curious.
4. Be passionate.
5. Don’t stand out. Stand apart.
6. If you can dream it. You can do it.
7. There is no limitation to your imagination.
8. Listen to the world. But follow your heart.
9. Using God’s method of creation is a good idea.
10. Don’t follow these stupid rules. Make your own.
• Objectives - Identify goals
• Facts - Gather data
• Problems - Define concerns
• Ideas - Generate ideas
• Evaluation - Select solutions
• Implementation - Execute plan
Part of the training involves identifying and solving real life problems. The thinking being that if one can solve these difficult issues, all related issues that come in terms of software programming will be a lot easier and thereby simpler. We’ve devised 10 Rules that help in Creative Problem Solving. You should have your own, but here are ours.
1. Think.
2. Be happy.
3. Be curious.
4. Be passionate.
5. Don’t stand out. Stand apart.
6. If you can dream it. You can do it.
7. There is no limitation to your imagination.
8. Listen to the world. But follow your heart.
9. Using God’s method of creation is a good idea.
10. Don’t follow these stupid rules. Make your own.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Making bad presentations
During my conference attending binge, I came across another interesting aspect of most speakers. They make not so great presentations. Let me modify that. They make bad presentations. And that’s surprising. Most of them are professionals who do it for a living. How come they don’t know the basics.
I guess the keynote speaker at one of the conferences summarized it well. “Power corrupts, PowerPoint corrupts absolutely”. And I guess that’s where the primary problem lies. PowerPoint has made it so easy to create slides, we tend to forget the ultimate purpose of a presentation. Ultimately, the primary purpose of a presentation would be to communicate, effectively.
I noticed 3 major issues that seemed to be consistent across presentations. The first was about the creation tool dominating. Just because PowerPoint could do a lot of stuff, easily does not mean it had to be used. So you’ll find ghastly templates, and awful transitions and multicolored slides, all of which not only make the presentation look amateurish, they distract. And don’t help communicate.
The second is what I call “Verbal Diarrhea”. Speakers feel that they need to cramp everything they ever learnt in the last 50 years in 100 slides for a 30 minute presentation. They are bound to exceed their time. You don’t have to be Einstein to figure that you can’t deliver at the rate of more than 3 slides every minute for 30 minutes.
The 3rd is the presentation itself. They read from the slide. Hey, guess what. The audience knows to read too. And they probably read much faster than you do. So it gets downright boring.
For making good presentations, there are a few simple things one could try. Foremost have 1 idea you’d like to communicate. And lead up to that 1 idea. Don’t have more than 1 slide per minute that you have, after setting aside time for Q&A. So if you have 30 minutes, keep aside 5 minutes for Q&A and so have between 20 -25 slides. Use a simple template and have a large headline and large copy with not more than 5 – 8 words per point. And finally what you say, should be related to, but not be visible on the slide. All of this will require practice and hard work. But then if you want to win over your audience, you’ll need lots of practice and even more hard work.
I guess the keynote speaker at one of the conferences summarized it well. “Power corrupts, PowerPoint corrupts absolutely”. And I guess that’s where the primary problem lies. PowerPoint has made it so easy to create slides, we tend to forget the ultimate purpose of a presentation. Ultimately, the primary purpose of a presentation would be to communicate, effectively.
I noticed 3 major issues that seemed to be consistent across presentations. The first was about the creation tool dominating. Just because PowerPoint could do a lot of stuff, easily does not mean it had to be used. So you’ll find ghastly templates, and awful transitions and multicolored slides, all of which not only make the presentation look amateurish, they distract. And don’t help communicate.
The second is what I call “Verbal Diarrhea”. Speakers feel that they need to cramp everything they ever learnt in the last 50 years in 100 slides for a 30 minute presentation. They are bound to exceed their time. You don’t have to be Einstein to figure that you can’t deliver at the rate of more than 3 slides every minute for 30 minutes.
The 3rd is the presentation itself. They read from the slide. Hey, guess what. The audience knows to read too. And they probably read much faster than you do. So it gets downright boring.
For making good presentations, there are a few simple things one could try. Foremost have 1 idea you’d like to communicate. And lead up to that 1 idea. Don’t have more than 1 slide per minute that you have, after setting aside time for Q&A. So if you have 30 minutes, keep aside 5 minutes for Q&A and so have between 20 -25 slides. Use a simple template and have a large headline and large copy with not more than 5 – 8 words per point. And finally what you say, should be related to, but not be visible on the slide. All of this will require practice and hard work. But then if you want to win over your audience, you’ll need lots of practice and even more hard work.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Indians – Everyone talks. No one listens
I have a feeling that many of you will disagree with this point of view. But what’s life if we cannot even agree to disagree.
Let’s begin in at the beginning. Why am I singling out Indians. Am I implying that other cultures do not have this trait. The simple truth of the matter is “I don’t know.” I only know about Indians and hence these comments.
This was confirmed when I recently attended 3 conferences in a span of 2 weeks. That’s more conferences than I normally attend in 2 years. But then I guess they all caught up and I had no choice but to attend.
The malady started with the compere. In all 3 instances they loved the sound of their own voice. And would use standard remarks, that in most cases did not even apply.
Then came the eminent speakers. You would assume that they had reached a stage in life where they knew what they were doing. But then that would be expecting too much. Almost without fail, they all spoke of 1 subject, “I, Me and Myself”. Designed not to communicate anything new. But drive home just 1 point. How smart and eminent and knowledgeable and … the speaker was. And what’s more they all exceeded their time limits. Not many bothered to prepare for the audience.
And finally the audience. One would assume that at the very least, they would listen. But then, that would be expecting too much. They had questions. Most of them, were not questions, but mini speeches. Each of them designed to show the speaker and the rest of the audience how smart they were.
And interestingly this presents a great opportunity. Anyone willing to listen has a bright future. In the world of talkers, a listener will outperform in almost every single parameter. So my advise to you, is the advise I give my daughter, “God gave us 2 ears and just 1 mouth for a purpose”. Use it accordingly.
And this brings us to yet another irony of life. Anyone who reads and understands, doesn’t need this advise. They’re already listening. And those who need it, are unlikely to understand.
Let’s begin in at the beginning. Why am I singling out Indians. Am I implying that other cultures do not have this trait. The simple truth of the matter is “I don’t know.” I only know about Indians and hence these comments.
This was confirmed when I recently attended 3 conferences in a span of 2 weeks. That’s more conferences than I normally attend in 2 years. But then I guess they all caught up and I had no choice but to attend.
The malady started with the compere. In all 3 instances they loved the sound of their own voice. And would use standard remarks, that in most cases did not even apply.
Then came the eminent speakers. You would assume that they had reached a stage in life where they knew what they were doing. But then that would be expecting too much. Almost without fail, they all spoke of 1 subject, “I, Me and Myself”. Designed not to communicate anything new. But drive home just 1 point. How smart and eminent and knowledgeable and … the speaker was. And what’s more they all exceeded their time limits. Not many bothered to prepare for the audience.
And finally the audience. One would assume that at the very least, they would listen. But then, that would be expecting too much. They had questions. Most of them, were not questions, but mini speeches. Each of them designed to show the speaker and the rest of the audience how smart they were.
And interestingly this presents a great opportunity. Anyone willing to listen has a bright future. In the world of talkers, a listener will outperform in almost every single parameter. So my advise to you, is the advise I give my daughter, “God gave us 2 ears and just 1 mouth for a purpose”. Use it accordingly.
And this brings us to yet another irony of life. Anyone who reads and understands, doesn’t need this advise. They’re already listening. And those who need it, are unlikely to understand.
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