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Interviewing The Customer

April 1, 2008 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Communications Management, Project Management Best Practices, Project Stakeholder Management

Interviewing The Customer
By Keith Mathis - PM Expert Live

Many project plans are created on a superficial level with little depth. This is due in part to a lack of understanding of the real objective or scope of the project. In order to create an effective project plan, do a proper interview with your customer. The external customer and the internal project sponsor who is designating the resources for the project both need to be interviewed. When plans are designed without a detailed interview, there may be major holes which can hurt the efficiency and cost resources.

Interviewing the customer will help you pinpoint how the customer wants the project to run. Create and adjust your questions to fit the industry and the particular customer. Phrase these questions so you can gather relevant information and break down the customer’s specific objectives and scope.

Explain some of the particular characteristics of the organization’s culture or internal dynamics.

Know the culture or internal dynamics of the organization where the project will be implemented. In many projects, the culture will not mean anything. In others, the culture can sabotage a successful completion. For example, when the culture is hostile or the organization is experiencing conflict, a project may be hindered. Knowing this ahead of time can enable the team to make needed adjustments early for success.

Who are the main players in the project?

This points us toward organizational support for the project. Look for people with position power who can help push the project, or a piece of the project, forward to completion. This information and the ability to contact these people give you a degree of leverage which can be used at very strategic times.

Detail the internal politics surrounding this project.

Politics within a project can make a difference in planning and funding. Priorities may be adjusted. For example, many projects with government agencies were placed on hold or even stopped since 9/11 and the Iraq situation. Each of these decisions by our government caused all departments to adjust their budgets and resources to support only the highest priority projects.

Are there any hidden issues or agendas that we need to know about?

It is important to know if there are hidden issues in the organization. Sometimes these little secrets can influence the project in a negative manner. For example, I once had a team member say to me, “I don’t know if this is a hidden issue, but you should know that our CEO’s girlfriend is on the project team.” I asked, “Is this a problem?” He said, “Not if you do what she says.” By knowing this up front, I could anticipate and minimize potential problems. Usually, if given an opportunity, people will share these hidden issues with you.

Are there any major areas of resistance that could hinder or defeat the project?

You want to know what resistance you will be facing when beginning a project. Your customer may say, “We are not sure what the future holds.” This is a warning statement for potential resistance. Many companies experience a buy-out or a reduction in the workforce. Many anticipate new leadership coming into the organization. You know that new leadership often will slant a new direction and change the priorities of the company. If job reduction is expected, workers will be filled with distrust and not focused on the project’s goals.

When this project is completed, describe what it should look like or how it should function.

In the interview, your customer will tell you their desired end goals. The customer might not know all the correct project terminology to use when explaining issues concerning the project. However, listen to them tell you about their goals and projected outcomes; you will pick up insightful information as to what they hope to accomplish with the project. For example, you may have a customer who wants a technical project. They might know what they want to do, but they are not aware of the technical terms. Jargon, brand names, and unfamiliar terms confuse the customer because you have taken them outside their comfort and expertise zone. You will have a communication problem from the onset.

Once the project is underway, what type of reporting schedule would you prefer?

This question allows you to know how much input and feedback you will need to give the customer. When you neglect this question, you run the risk of the customer having a misperception of how often you are going to share updates. The customer may be assuming a weekly update; you may be thinking monthly. By the time a meeting is set to provide feedback, the customer is upset.

Who analyzed and set the timetable?

This is very important. The timetable is what drives the budget and plan for the project. Unfortunately, many timetables begin as guesses and evolve into a real timetable without being analyzed. Sometimes, people even feel it is unnecessary to figure a functional timetable; dates and times are simply thrown onto the paper with assumptions that the project will get done. With only one project being run, perhaps it will. However, in many organizations, multiple projects are being run by a skeleton workforce, and a timetable for each project is a necessity.

In the interview, you may discover your customer is experiencing frustration and stress from unrealistic time deadlines. Suggest recalculating the timeframe; how tight is the schedule? If the timing is off, you can discuss alternated with the project sponsor or the customer. At the very least, you have notified the project sponsor that the timeline is unrealistic as is, and you will need additional resources.

Do you feel the time schedule is realistic and doable with the present resources?
Sometimes the timeframe is not figured by the project team doing the project. It is mistakenly completed by people who do not have all the needed information. Progressive organizations are moving away from the project sponsor or the project manager setting the schedule alone. In addition, input from the frontline workers is gathered to determine the time schedule. Frontline employees are some of the best untapped knowledge and expertise in any company.

There is a second common error committed in figuring time schedules. Project plans are often set to mistakenly schedule people for 100% of their time. This will set them up for failure. Organizations do not run at 100% efficiency, and neither do project plans. In most cases, scheduling people at a 70% ratio allows them 30% of their time to attend meetings, plan, and deal with weekly setbacks. There will be unexpected problems, administrative issues, and emergencies which will require time.

If we discern the timetable or budget is severely off, how do you want us to handle it?

With this question, you are giving them the opportunity to say, “Come back and talk with us.” Encourage this response so that discussing needed changes in the future is a strong probability for running the project in a smooth fashion.

Dr. Keith Mathis, founder and CEO of The Mathis Group, specializes in Project Management, Management Leadership, and Marketing training for private businesses and government agencies of all kinds. He offers 33 Project Management courses, is a Project Management Professional, is certified by the Project Management Institute and will customize every training session to your individual company’s needs. The Mathis Group also sponsors www.pmexpertlive.com, which is a powerful project management resource with free reports, podcasts, videos, and a monthly newsletter. He also offers customized management training and coaching on any subject with prolific communication and professionalism.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 and is filed under Communications Management, Project Management Best Practices, Project Stakeholder Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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