RFP Respons[iveness]

Nothing brings resources together closer than an RFP Response team. Team members are hounded, questioned, examined, challenged, corrected, but most of all praised for a job well done. In the end, a solid RFP Response shows critical thinking and experience in the craft. It's not easy, it's not even always fun, but two-thirds of the way through one of these, I get jazzed and the puzzle seems to fall in place. Quarrels and sleeplessness abound, it is a part time job for most of us, but we need to make the most of our time and impress our customers.

Still learning, but here are some takeaways to share?

• Force engineering and integration teams to work very closely together in the estimation - Siamese would be best :-). Challenge the level of innovation, the complexity of design, and the overall spirit of the completed solution since if these two teams get it wrong, we're doing something w/o a paddle.
• Rely on SME's to assist in the estimation, but don't assume and request the entire org get involved. It's too expensive, and context switching for resources makes it worse. Define an RFP Reponse Team (RRP) and don't alter resources since learning curve is usually very high.
• Just because there's solid RFP details doesn't and shouldn't limit the need for scrutinizing everything - RFP owners expect to answer questions as long as they're posted before the deadline. Put 'em to work!
• Run a tight ship as a PM and consider this a project - a far more critical project than others perhaps since a) you're sucking bandwdith from the org, and b) a painful, incomplete response can lead to dissatsifaction quickly.

Strategic or tactical as a PM? Part I

I seem to have read a lot lately on the topic of strategy and tactical planning as it pertains to a Project Manager. I've certainly got some opinions on this topic. First, for software development projects that are of short duration, regardless of the scope of work, it is paramount that the Project Manager fully understands the client's expectations beyond the functional and delivery requirements - tactical planning outside of the execution environment is really key. Being involved in the business development process at the correct moment is of vital significance to me. I need to know what the driving forces are for the client, what personalities exist with the various stakeholders, what are the measurable success factors, what influences your key stakeholders, and most importantly, what are we really trying to solve. The solution itself should be in liquid form during this stage of the client onboarding process, and as a PM, you can help shape this. I'm of the mind that there is a very narrow line between the presales phase and the delivery phase of the project for the typical PM who manages short duration, high visibility projects. If you produce contracts, charters, or SOW's like I do, you know how critical it is to be a collaborative member of this presales phase. Becomming removed or left out of this process not only greatly increases risk for the project you're about to undertake and manage, but it also tends to bring on dismay and distrust from the clients when questions and comments are raised that were already answered, but not documented anywhere for you and/or didn't make it into the SOW.

As for strategic involvement for the Project Manager, I like to consider reorganizing chaos across the organization an eventful way to share the wealth of your position. I'll continue my thoughts on this piece in Part II.