What is “Impact” project management?

In all industries projects are subjected to common deadlines and restrictions, namely time and budget (if you have the budget resources become a non-issue).

The most common problem that occurs within even the most structured project plan, is a phenomena called ‘project slippage’. let me elaborate in the context of a typical IT project.

The project starts with a defined project charter and all it’s supporting infrastructures, such as documentation, change management, milestones and user requirements. Initially these documents are respected and become the well followed ‘bible’ of the project – Thou shalt not deviate!

As time goes on, with the simplest of ease, there is slippage. Milestones are not met for a million reasons. Some of these are hard logistics and others more softer personal team issues. Team dynamics change, and as the pressure increases with the project, these dynamics can be the make or break of a project coming in “on time, on budget”.

It normally starts with the client (the user), they will ALWAYS see a gap to try and squeeze in those requirements that were “nice to have”. Users are dangerous manipulative beings, and I don’t mean that in a nasty way, I am guilty of the same tactic. They get close to someone in the team and before you know, a new requirement (a quickie) is in the project and so the slide into slippage starts!.

Of course, this isn’t the only reason that projects are subjected to slippage. Third party suppliers and vendors are also on the top of the list. These ones are particularly difficult to handle, as invariably they do not form a part of the core team and manage to ‘slip’ away on their own accord.

So that brings me to the Impact Project Manager.

Who is this super hero? IPM’s are the ‘Bad Guy’ of a project under pressure, while the project manager remains the ‘Good Guy’. They (IPM’s) are focussed on getting the project back on track. They are your negotiators, facilitators, ombudmans and if necessary even the team psychologist.

They take an unbiased independent review of the project status, they audit back to the original requirements and find the points of slippage, they are third party watchdogs, they take an unbiased, unemotional view of the situation with the prime objective of getting the job done.

They are friends of the project team and allies of the client. They ensure that the relationship between you and your client does not breakdown and most importantly they bring the project back on track.

It must be understood that these IPM’s are not bullies or nasty people, but on the contrary are very approachable and reasonable. They have the major advantage of being the ‘outsider’ that can rise above the notorious project politics. They make sure no one looses face and most importantly that the business get it’s project in.

Seems like a super hero to me, but take a prime example of an IPM at an extreme level – people like Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama.

So maybe you should consider bringing in an IPM at your next ‘slippage’ project meeting…it could mean extra business and projects for your company and your clients (who hate you at the moment!).

Contact us, we can help, we don’t guarantee that we can bring you Madiba or Mr Obama, but we certainly have the skill sets that you require.

Drop us a line before you slip into the abyss, email us now!