Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

One of my personal heuristics about projects is that on a good project, all the challenges come from technology and all the joys come from people. Bad project are the other way around.

A year or so ago I found myself in a conversation with a woman who was starting a technology project in her office. She, the Project Manager or PM, was interviewing people like me to work on the project. The conversation went something like this:

PM: What do you see as the possible problems on this project.

Me: Three things: people, people, and people.

PM: (sighing and rolling her eyes) Yes, I know, but what about technical risks.

Me: Oh that. There will be some technical risks, but they are minor compared to the people involved.

PM: How so?

Me: Is everyone in your office in agreement that this project should happen?

PM: Yes.

Me: Really? Everyone here wants this project to proceed. Everyone here agrees how it should be done? Everyone here agrees that this project will solve major problems in your work?

PM: (no answer)

Me: If everyone here wanted this project, agreed on how to conduct it, and agreed that the project is good for the work, the project will only have to contend with technical problems. And there will be technical problems because you are trying to do something that no one else has done before you. If other people had done this project before, you would merely write them a check and they would sell you a copy of their solution.

PM: What are the problems?

Me: Some people in your office probably disagree with you on this project. They probably think there are non-technical solutions to improving the work here. Since this is an office with people, there are probably non-technical solutions to improving your work. Those solutions, however, won’t be implemented. Someone is stopping them or you would have already used them and this problem wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be talking.

PM: (no answer)

Me: So, here we sit. Your organization has problems in its work. People disagree on how to solve the problems. You are trying to implement a technical solution. Some people here will either fight you quietly behind your back or openly, but they will fight you. You will have technical people working to solve technical problems, and they will solve those problems because you will hire smart people and the problems have solutions. Still, the work will languish because some people won’t want to see the technical approach succeed.

PM: What do we do?

Me: Have everyone sit in a room until you reach consensus on what the problems are and how you will approach them.

PM: But maybe the consensus approach won’t include this technical work.

Me: Yes, that could happen.

PM: Then you and no other engineers would work here.

Me: Yes, that could happen.

We never talked again. I wasn’t hired to work in that office, and I don’t know what they did. I hope they reached some consensus and solved the problems with their work. She seemed like a good, caring, devoted person – the type of person I would love to work with on a project.