Planning PAS Modernization: Identifying Priorities

To learn more about the other phases to implement a successful PAS modernization, click the following links:?

Phase 1: Discovery?

Phase 2: Scope Identification??

Priority Setting?

One of the reasons complex projects suffer delays and cost overruns is a lack of discipline around scope—often because competing priorities are not discussed prior to project launch resulting in confusion or poor decision-making when choices have to be made during implementation.??

That’s why, before any project begins, it’s absolutely critical to clearly identify your priorities. This is the essence of all good project management but it’s especially true that in a large project like PAS modernization you don’t have time or budget to put implementation on hold while you try to choose between two conflicting ‘asks’ in the heat of the moment.?

In order to clarify what’s important and how the important things rank against each other, the project team should translate initial goals into well defined priorities that will guide project decision making during implementation. They need to have a shared and agreed upon, completely clear picture of what the carrier wants, why they want it and when they need it.?

The reality of modernization projects is that you will have to make trade-offs at various points in the critical path. Often teams are faced with decisions like, do we build this feature that’s in the plan or complete that integration even though doing either of those things will create delays or negatively impact the budget.?

Examples of priorities?

“The client has to determine what’s most important, hitting the date or the full scope? Sometimes there are regulatory changes that have to be made for a certain date. That changes the approach to the project. We know the date cannot move. And we always work to deliver on time and on budget, but we can’t just assume or pretend that we don’t have tough choices to make along the way. I bet we make hundreds or even thousands of priority judgements across the course of a project.”?

“When you still have 12 months until Go-Live and the client asks for a new feature, perhaps that is doable. But when you’re only two months from your delivery date there’s no room for that anymore. People get a lot more selective.?

“We see it on each and every project. Just this morning in my stand up there was a bug that was raised by the client and they asked for it to be fixed before we go live. We questioned it and, after consideration, the client agreed it’s not something that should be part of an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). That’s something they could live with for a certain period.”?- Equisoft Project Director?

Simplifying difficult choices??

Trade-offs like the ones described above are difficult decisions in the moment. And easy to get wrong. But if you have set clear priorities then better decisions can be made more quickly. For example, well understood priorities would make it instantly clear that, in this project, time is more important than certain features or vice versa.?

“You start with a list of things that you want to implement. Of course, as the project progresses you will often have to make decisions about requirements. But it’s much better if you prioritize up front. Then when you’re stuck, when you’re in the middle of it, all in emergency mode, then you’re still able to make rational decisions.”?- Equisoft Project Director?

Important questions to ask before the project begins:??

• Which requirements are most important??
• How would you rank those requirements against each other??
• How do you rank the importance of staying on budget, versus achieving deadlines??
• How do you plan to deal with new developments that come up mid-project (consider them and change the plan or push to another phase?)?

Decisions are easier to make and higher quality if you know at the beginning exactly what we want to achieve and what we’re willing to sacrifice to make the project a success. When priorities are clear, conflict is reduced and schedules preserved when conditions change mid-project.??

Clear priorities provide rigor and help keep the project plan on track—while remaining agile enough to rationally consider new developments in their appropriate context as they arise.??

In next month’s article will look at what to look for in how a vendor’s team is constructed—what roles are critical to ensure PAS modernization project success.