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Expectations
are your client’s vision of a future state or action, usually unstated
but which is critical to your success, writes Kaustav Chakravarthy
S
Client
won’t cooperate?
“You
should have managed their expectations!”Client
won’t give you operating freedom?
“You
should have managed their expectations!”
Client
is not happy?
“You
should have managed their expectations!”
Sounds
familiar? Traditionally project management could be summarised as
a triangle with time, cost, and scope as the three vertices and
quality in the middle. Today, the ‘Project Management Triangle’
has given way to the ‘Project Management Diamond’with
time, cost, scope and quality as the four vertices, and expectations
in the middle. So what exactly are “expectations”? Is
it not enough to simply deliver the project according to the scope
agreed with the client? The accepted answer to this question today
is, “no”.
Expectations
are your client’s vision of a future state or action, usually
unstated but which is critical to your success. While a tightly
defined scope takes care of the client’s “requirement”,
expectations are deeper and broader. The success of a project would
be measured by the project manager in terms of deliverables versus
scope. However, from the client’s point of view, project success
is simply the deliverables measured against his/her “expectations”.
Project delivery effectiveness is more a function of the client’s
perceived satisfaction rather than cold hard facts of deliverables
versus scope. And since the client’s view is ultimately what
brings in business, managing customer expectations drives success.
Whether the expectations are rational or irrational, valid or invalid,
is irrelevant. Everything else is secondary.
Expectation
management is partly for the client’s benefitto keep them focused
on the project’s deliverables, to work towards the same goals
etc. It is also for our own benefit because project targets are
sometimes less precise than desirable, performance criteria are
demanding and many activities, such as presentations or deliverables
are frequent opportunities for clients to pass judgement on us.
The client’s perception of value delivered is commonly below
the actual delivered value, as the results are not always visible,
well-explained or publicised. A client could want “the project
to be quick and dirty,” or “to be involved in all the
details,” or “an 80 percent reduction in workforce”
All these statements are loaded with several complex expectations
from the client, which if not addressed now, could lead to agony
for the project manager down the line.
Managing
expectations involves three steps:
Setting
expectations: Whenever you face an expectations problem, responding
with questions like “How was this expectation set? Who set
it? When did you find out? What have you done?” reveals the
real cause. Expectations are set by all kinds of eventssomething
said, done or otherwise; even the way it was said; or something
the client picked up from elsewhere. Expectations set by you or
your teams are “controllable”. The right controllable
expectations are set through steps like:
a)
Writing down the project’s overriding ‘key success factor’
(time/cost/quality) and explicitly confirming it from the client.
b)
Making a list of all time/cost/quality deliverables of the project
that you think are important, and explicitly confirming them.
c)
Actively listening for and clarifying any ambiguous statements encountered,
whether from the customer or from yourself.
d)
Asking questions to ensure that you and the client are on the same
track.
e)
Avoiding qualitative terms like “powerful invoicing capabilities”
and using clear-cut quantitative terms.
f)
Ensuring that all meeting are minuted and circulated to all stakeholders.
Expectations
set by people/events other than your team are ‘uncontrollable’.
To effectively influence them, one needs to capture and monitor
them.
Capturing/monitoring
expectations: Management guru Stephen Covey writes, “To
be understood you must seek to understand”. One should actively
search for expectations and continuously monitor them. Before crucial
discussions, make a list of possible expectations the client might
have and pre-empt each one during discussion. Drop hints of your
next steps and watching the clients’ reactions. Use quantitative
terms like “percentage complete”, “estimate to completion”,
etc. This list should be re-made with every change in circumstancessuch
as achieving milestones or receiving change requestsand addressed
at every possible opportunity. The only way to manage an expectation
is to pre-empt it as early as possible. Also understand that sometimes
the people you are interacting with may not be actual decision-makers.
In this situation, try to profile the decision-makers from the liaison’s
behaviour. Also listen to what is not being said. When the clients
don’t say what you wish they’d say, there may be a good
reason behind that. Subjects avoided are more likely to haunt you
when least expected. Listen to the context, especially if subjects
are brought up “out of the blue”. Another tactic: ask
them to describe their expectations. Occasionally you will get true
descriptions. Most of all, actions speak louder than words.
Once
you understand the expectations, find out the sources. The two most
challenging sources are (a) the client’s personal / professional
background and preferences, and (b) expectations set by someone
else. The only way to understand the clients’ personal/professional
background is to spend more time with them till you understand their
motivations. Others setting expectations could be from your own
organisation like sales personnel. If you suspect that some expectations
were set that you cannot satisfy, try to get help from those who
did the “setting”. Periodically check that the expectations
haven’t changed. A brief recap may reveal changes that need
to be dealt with anew.
Influencing
expectations: This is what our managers usually mean when they
say, “manage expectations”. But it is so hard to manage
anything unless you address the root causes. On the other hand,
sometimes no influence is needed. Their expectations may be well
founded, and we may be the one who needs to change our approach
and style.
Influencing
techniques
1)
Establish trust: People are influenced by those they trust.
And trust needs to be earned.
2)
Educate: The more your clients know, the better they understand
the complexity of your work and the impact their expectations have.
3)
Explain why: “It worked on my last three projects”
(demonstrating experience), “It would cost less” (demonstrating
partnership), etc.
4)
Do it in private: People will not change their minds or admit
their lack of knowledge in public.
5)
Show them, then sell. Let them experience the benefits of what you’re
suggesting before attempting to sell the idea.
6)
Balance the give and take: See if you can identify one or
two of your client’s expectations that you haven’t acted
on and which are relatively easy to satisfy. Ensure they’re
satisfied. Then bring up some expectation you would like to change.
7)
Expectations get firmed up the longer they are left alone. Pre-empt
them as early as possible.
And
one last thought: Turn the tables for a change. What are your
expectations when you start a project? How and why do they change?
See how they influence your actions and behaviour during the project.
Were they valid? The answer to these questions will give you clues
you can use in your work.
(The
author is senior executive, Sabcons Project Management Consultants)
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