02/07/2017
Are budget overruns, gaps, or missed requirements common challenges on projects at your company? If so, you’re not alone. Many companies, regardless of industry, find that even after hiring an experienced vendor, strategic projects are delivered short of expectations. There are steps you can take to prevent this from happening and to implement vendor management best practices. Establishing a strong, collaborative partnership with your vendor is a crucial step that often mirrors to what degree a project will be successful. Creating a partnership is more than simply hiring the “right” vendor; it’s about cultivating an environment where you and your vendor share the same vision: they work with you and not for you.
Whether you’re in the early stages of a project or find yourself in the middle of one that is already showing signs of challenge, it’s not too late; there are opportunities in either scenario to ensure your project’s success.
Partnership: Setting up for Success
Gaps and Drags
When companies work together to solve a problem there will always be differences in work styles, expectations, and even culture. These differences are an inevitable part of any project that, without careful management, can create gaps that result in ‘drag.’
One of the first things that should happen on any project is establishing an environment for success. This is an intentional process that begins with setting clear expectations for how you want to work as a cohesive unit or partner with your vendor.
Group working sessions at the start of the project reinforce the tone and vision and prevent information silos that cause drag and must eventually be broken down. Common activities in working sessions include reviewing documentation, developing design alternatives, assessing standards, and weighing priorities. These activities lead to early discovery and identification of unknowns, leaving adequate time for mitigation. This also fosters an environment of communication and collaboration, which not only enables the project to be successful, but also allows the partnership to flourish.
Collaboration
The understanding gained in the working sessions encourages the team to work together to define how industry best practices should be implemented with legacy components. This allows for in-depth discussions of the solution and integration points. These discussions are often where ‘gotchas’ are discovered.
Early collaboration creates buy-in, a sense of ownership among all parties, and produces a design that fits your unique environment and needs.
