| Planning Before
Panic - Crisis Management |
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| As everyone knows, crisis
situations can, and do, occur on any project
during any stage of development and/or at
any time. "Planning before Panic"
during a crisis is the key to keeping oneself
motivated to continue and a successful (and
profitable) business outcome. |
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The question is: How
do we do it? The simple steps below outline
the management technique that have worked
for us. |
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Identify, define and prioritize the immediate
challenges to resolve |
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One of the distinguishing marks of the good
manager and corporate leader is the ability
to identify, define and prioritize critical
challenges to be resolved under crisis conditions.
In our case, some of these were:
What software immediate functionality must
run smoothly to accomplish my client’s
goals as quickly and accurately as possible? |
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| What pieces of the software can wait for
another revision and are not on the critical
path for this release? E.g.: Do I need a particular
color scheme, box functionality, search mode,
additional code or software, or can certain
pieces not be worried about right now? |
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| We identify only
those issues that required immediate, consecutive
and/or concurrent resolution, prioritize them,
and keep the focus and work effort balanced
towards those best-defined issues. Record
each challenge on a work-flow or project management
flow sheet. This will keep the team organized
and informed. |
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| Identify
the Solution(s) |
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Make important
and accurate decisions for what we need
to and can accomplish with each issue. Consider
the realistic abilities, available time
and resources of the staff. |
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| Always consider alternative
plans or means to accomplish solution. Will
you need additional software or add-ons to
current software versions in order to meet
your needs? Will you need to bring in additional
people to meet the deadline?. Plan how to
meet the solution in the time frame available,
setting up a timetable that is realistic,
visible, accurate and available to everyone
on the project. |
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| Implement
the solution |
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Be
sure that team members are clearly aware
of their respective challenges and solutions.
Be sure to advise each team member of his
or her timetable deadlines, clarifying as
needed. Deal with questions immediately,
rather than wait until a later time. This
minimizes costly repetitions, corrections,
and time when deeper into a project. There
will always be more specific questions/challenges
which develop later, so this method has
already relieved the pressure of "making
it up as I go along". |
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| Re-evaluate
the manpower required to complete each solution.
Occasionally, this becomes a real challenge
as manpower, inevitably, is short, hours are
long, and the deadline is fixed. Periodically
schedule team meetings to review accomplishments,
goals and upcoming challenges. Reassign projects
and personnel as needed. |
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| Capture
Client's Faith |
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| Develop a
"Will Do" attitude and delivery
approach within the team. This is a team effort,
composed of cooperative, knowledgeable and
capable individuals. Present a unified approach
to the client. The "Will Do" attitude
will proves to the client that the team is
worthy of their trust. This does not mean
that we tell the clients "Will Do"
on everything, even if he/she wants butterflies
rolling across a green field and landing on
the flower in the initial splash screen. |
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| Openly and
frequently discuss realistic, accurate and
timely goals with the client. Always keep
the client informed specially when there is
a crisis. Having organized accurate and timely
communications with clients, reassures them
that you have a secure handle on project challenges
and goals at all times. Remember, doing this
through all phases of any project promotes
team confidence, willingness and organization.
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| Do not fall
into the trap of promising unreasonable dates
or specifications just to get a contract,
and then overrun the project time frame or
fail to deliver. This creates an environment
of doubt, foreboding and resentment with the
client and concerns them with the reliability
of their product. |
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| Always make
every effort to make good on clients' deadlines.
Even when it is a tough haul and the specifications
have changed, do your best to properly set
the clients' expectations as to product delivery
dates and performance. |
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| Innovative
solutions, ongoing client communication, and
a disciplined, well-constructed approach to
crisis management will continue to set companies
apart from the others that think "inside
the box". When deadlines are tough, and
"by the book" thinking only slows
us down, always remember there are alternative
ways to succeed at the same task. By developing
a repertoire, or portfolio, of challenges
faced and met, we develop a faster, more accurate
and successful means of actualizing our goals.
These Crisis Management hints sets us apart
in our competitive marketplace. Clients will
return to us many times over as they gain
confidence and our work assures credibility
and reliability. By applying this plan to
our daily management tasks, we learn to manage
well during a crisis! |
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| Whether you need
a cool Cold Fusion dynamic web site, an ASP
auction portal, a PHP shopping cart or a Lotus
Notes-Domino application or your MS SQL database
needs optimization we have the necessary skills.
Call us ! |
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1999-
Digital Mesh Softech India (P) Limited, Kochi.