The more people or organizations have a say in a project, the more lines there are. And many lines can lead to better insight and better ideas. But this works well only if all these participants are working on the same project simultaneously, and:
- Having equal interests
- Having enough background knowledge
- Understanding what needs to be accomplished
- Being accountable for the end result
And that’s not always the case.
Unfortunately, we often see the “cabinet-to-the-wall” effect in digitization projects.
There is no clear strategy and constant ping-ponging about features rather than solutions. The parties do not know what remains to be done. Days are filled, more hours are charged. But really getting results doesn’t work very well.
Result: you as a metal company spend days trying to figure out what all these parties are talking about and whether it’s going to work out. Plus unnecessary costs and frustrations.
Making communication central
Therefore, in my projects, I apply the rule that I am and remain independent at all times, so that I can assess all parties on the above criteria and thus provide targeted guidance. Ideally, therefore, I prefer to work directly with decision makers, the CTO, CEO plus 1 key user.
The key user is the “local professional” to whom I transfer my knowledge during the project, so that he is best informed of the details afterwards, rather than having to constantly bother management.
As project manager, I work with the external parties and only let the external party test things with the end user. I prefer to avoid lines between external parties. This keeps one point of contact for the entire project, and that’s me.
Because: you are busy enough and the supplier often does not know what the schedule is. Translating the various systems, software and technical terms is a profession. And so we steer more focused toward an end result.
The point is:
Many conversations in the beginning are good to gain knowledge. But if action is needed, it is better to streamline communication. The fewer reports, emails and unnecessary meetings, the faster we can work.
PS, starting October 1, I still have room for a coaching or project management project in digitization. Want to know more about that? Let’s call without obligation.
