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Tag: Facilitation

What makes the Perfect Project Manager?

Written by David Baker on . Posted in Articles. 13 Comments on What makes the Perfect Project Manager?

What makes some project managers more successful than others?

What distinguishes them from their peers, and why are they notably more successful and better at delivering projects on time and on budget?

Of course, there are some simple steps that any project manager can take in order to better structure and optimise project delivery, such as using an established project management methodology like PRINCE2. Of course, many of the best project managers excel at balancing the framework and structure of the project methodology they are using against the specific demands of the project they are currently working on. In other words, methodology will only get you so far.

So what are the skills inherent in great project managers? Some may be learnt and acquired through training and experience over the years and others simply come down to attitude and aptitude. Let’s look at some of the main traits then

Strong organisational abilities

More often than not, staged planning is required in project management. Methodologies like PRINCE2 and Six Sigma equip qualified project managers with the skills to analyse the project in its constituent phases but organisational acumen can also be an inherent trait. Some people are just more comfortable managing multiple tasks, people and processes at once, while others will find it very stressful.

Leadership and diplomacy

Effective leadership combines skills that are both acquired and innate, such as emotional intelligence, which includes self assessment, empathy and the ability to listen effectively. A leader has to exercise judgement as to when leadership is required, and when communication is more important. The best PMs inspire loyalty in their teams, which keeps morale up when the project faces serious challenges or conflicts of interest arise.

Another important part of leadership is diplomacy; project managers need to have an awareness as to when tact and discretion are required, particularly when there are competing agendas and interests that may hinder the progress of the project. Finally, leadership also overlaps with good managerial skills; a good leader understands how to manage their team members and guide them with regard to which tasks to prioritise.

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Integrity

Project managers must be able to demonstrate both integrity and accountability in order to achieve the best possible outcomes during and at the end of a project. Loyalty, objectivity and honesty all contribute to this quality. Being able to demonstrate integrity will keep team members on board and motivated to see the project to the end. This relates to reputation and how it is established. Delivering projects often means working with people from across an organisation, all with their own often competing interests, agendas and ways of doing things. Establishing a reputation for integrity will help to establish that all important trust that will enable people to come together towards a shared goal.

Communication

As far as effective project management is concerned, communicating effectively is both a tactic and a skill. Both empathy and insight are required to communicate with people in different departments and at different levels in the organisation. As we’ve discussed, individual agendas and personalities come into play in this context and the ability to talk to people on their level is key to unification behind a common purpose and set of goals. What one person finds urgent and pressing may be an unwelcome distraction for another. Good communication can bridge these divides to some extent, allowing project managers to help team members work effectively and productively.

Another important element of communication is effective feedback, and having in place a reporting structure that creates an atmosphere of openness and transparency. The channels of communication must move in both directions through the project hierarchy, from the project board to the manager and down to the team. These processes must strike the correct balance: too little information leaves team members feeling left in the dark, while too much leads to confusion as to which part of the project to prioritise.

It’s also important to keep open lines of communication outside the project with the wider business and potential users. This is especially the case if buy-in from users is an important goal.

Strategic thinking

Even though a project manager may be using a structured management methodology, project management is not a one size fits all discipline. One core principle of PRINCE2 is the need to adapt the project method to the environment. As well as being management and process driven, project managers need to be strategic thinkers.

Experienced project managers will already have learned to think strategically but being able to plan and adapt to unpredictable situations and having the ability to keep the project on course comes with experience and, at the end of the day, it’s experience that is one of the greatest traits of all.

New ERP, Why (x 5) ?

Written by Tom Lyttleton on . Posted in Articles. 10 Comments on New ERP, Why (x 5) ?

A couple of disclosures which bias my perspective ~

  • Worked with the ERP now known as Sage 300 since it was ACCPAC Dos.
  • Survived being a project accountant.
  • Learned programming with PUNCH cards and thought Fortran & Cobol were awesome.
  • Stopped using a slide rule in grade six.
  • Been Project Manager and Business Analyst for many Information System implementations, from early DOS based systems to current Microsoft Dynamics Nav systems.

My company, Facilitated Software Solutions, Inc., sells quality management and workflow tools for regulated industries, ISO, FDA, and FAA. We can communicate with virtually any ERP or CRM system, old or new, from SAP and Oracle to MAS90!

Having been a Vendor at times, and a Project Manager for many times, of ERP and CRM implementations, there is always a certain amount of pain and disruption with the implementation of new IS (Information Systems). SMB (Small to medium sized business) team members many times are over extended with job commitments as it is. Let alone, adding to the overload with a requirement to help implementation efforts for a new IS system. How much spare time does the CFO have to help design a new Chart of Accounts if needed? Or, how about the warehouse manager?

As I attend various meetings and forums throughout the “Tech”, Project Management and Quality/Six Sigma communities PMI and ASQ chapter meetings. LinkedIn and other online PMP/Six Sigma forums, I am wondering why, in many cases, SMB’s do not engage in even a few days of third-party experienced business process analysis.

In many cases I have found that by digging into the why’s of the new ERP system there is flawed logic in the hurry to dump the “old” Mas 90 (now known as, Sage 100), or (Navision now known as Microsoft Dynamics Nav) or for that matter, ACCPAC (now known as Sage 300 ERP)!

What is “Cloud Based”?

From a purely practical standpoint, what is the difference between me pointing my desktop computer at an on-premise server (the big box in the closet down the hall) and “The Cloud”? Really, if you step back from all the tech ‘speak’, it is the way your device, laptop, tablet, smartphone etc. connects to a “Server”. One method uses a copper or fiber cable to the server box and the other, your device, uses Wi-Fi or an on-premise modem box, that translates the same request (humor me) using basically similar addresses to find a server box in room 3000 miles away. At least, I’m really hoping it is in a big air-conditioned controlled access room on a well-built server. I’m not sure how you would even plug in a server on a cloud. Perhaps a long extension cord? How do you suspend it from that cloud? Wouldn’t the server fall or drift away? No folks, to me it is a server box stuck in a room somewhere.

Any of the older ERP designs mentioned above, to the best of my knowledge, will operate on a “Cloud Based” server. Where you locate the server or who’s service you use, such as Google, Amazon, or Microsoft, is a business-based decision. Where do you feel more secure? Do you serve multiple locations, etc. This requires extensive analysis. Perhaps in a separate discussion.

One of the other selling points is that newer systems allow you to slice and dice data in different ways. Which data, and in which different ways? It is important that the SMB have a clear understanding of the goal. Maybe it is similar to golf, get the ball in the hole with the fewest number of shots or least effort/cost?
What new data points will the new system store that business cannot report on or analyze now? Or perhaps, how is a business able to generate reports with several Excel worksheets or a workbook with the process taking hours or even days of an executives’ time? This is a reporting tool selection and database problem, not necessarily the current ERP systems. There may be far less expensive solutions if the problem is reporting or analysis gaps.

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What I am driving at, is that the core of the ERP financial system is no longer the center of the business ecosystem. By core, I am referring to the G/L, A/R, A/P, I/C, O/E and P/O reporting tools. These really provide past and snap shot of short-term future data, WIP, Orders etc. If these or just the center of the core; G/L, A/R and A/P, are working reasonably well and providing accurate information as to what business executives may want to examine through proper gap analysis. As well as where the holes or missing data resides and how best to incorporate it in reports or analytics.
Some of the reasons suggested for migration to a new ERP may be a set of newly adopted methods of doing business. The SMB, may want to provide access to some type of order entry and tracking system to existing customers. or to sell widgets though a web store. Perhaps a new customer relationship and integrated marketing system is needed. Again, none of these changes or add-ons necessarily require an ERP change.

The reasons for great caution in moving to a new system are many. I’m not going to suggest that some of the latest ERP’s aren’t great. They are. But, as I stated above, there is significant inconvenience to the stakeholders, if not planned correctly from the outset. That means before the SMB signs any contracts, a SMB can expect a challenging, and some might call it a rocky road ahead, without research and planning.

Many SMB’s neglect these critical steps.

Firstly, inventory all the ERP software and addons, make sure to have a complete list and the functionality of the addons described. i.e. Docusign for signing contracts etc.

Next, in my opinion;

  • The SMB should hold independent third-party facilitated elicitation meetings with their department heads and their primary assistant(s) recording their views of both the shortcomings and strong features of the current systems they work with.
  • Meet with each of the C-suite executives to determine any unmet needs or issues with performing their jobs.
  • Document findings.
  • Take the data and analyze.
    • Document each department’s business process as it is currently with a tool such as Visio so that the various stakeholders can clearly understand current conditions and business process.
    • Next, use Visio to display the new improved business process option(s). Examples: New reporting tools, vs addon databases vs addon integrated third party apps vs new ERP.
  • Also needed is cost analysis of the above options, estimated time to complete and plans to mitigate issues especially with change management. Include SMB staff time requirements for training and eliciting information.
  • Carefully evaluate the budgets and expected benefits from each possible process change. Examine the disruption to the enterprise and the attendant risks. Is there sufficient manpower on staff to take on a project of the suggested scope? Are trusted and vetted contractors required to help the business prepare data etc. for any conversions? Do we have enough room in the project budget with reserves?

In my opinion, based on many years in the industry, there are different best answers for each business. If an SMB has lasted through the last 10 or fifteen years of upheaval in business practices, it is certainly an established enterprise and must be both agile and lean. This underlines the need to preserve historical data. There is historical data that can be very valuable, providing baselines for product or services. What worked and what didn’t. Customer lists with buying history, vendor performance history, etc. Make sure any plan undertaken does not leave that information inaccessible. If the SMB is subject to quality audits (FAA, FDA, ISO etc.) there may be no option but to preserve the data due to legislation.

If, after all the above business analysis is done, a decision can be intelligently made to move forward with an ERP system, to change, thus much of the heavy lifting will already be completed for the basic system requirements (but certainly not all). With the collection of the above data, the SMB will have gathered a exhaustive list of “must have’s” and “would be nice to have’s”, etc. for the New ERP.

With this information the SMB can assemble a request for proposal. The SMB should do independent research of all prospective vendors and software publishers. Will there be multiple vendors providing different pieces of the solution? If so, have they worked together before? Have they worked together with the current versions of their respective software solutions?

A couple of words regarding who is going to act as the Project Manager and make sure all vendors are performing in a timely manner. If it is one of the vendors offering “Project Management”, make sure you are not buying “account management”. There is a huge difference between the two. One directs their in-house programmers and staff how to configure their part of the new ERP system. The other is the orchestra conductor insuring all parts of the puzzle are completed with data migration and systems tested and operating to the SMB’s satisfaction.

Self-Awareness and Healthy Relationships: Foundation for Success

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles. 8 Comments on Self-Awareness and Healthy Relationships: Foundation for Success

Success in projects, organizations, and life, in general, relies on the ability to build and maintain healthy, effective relationships.

Healthy relationships satisfy the needs to be happy, acknowledged and effective. Healthy relationships rely on the emotional and social intelligence of the people involved. These rely on self-awareness.

Healthy relationships

Relationships are interactions among two or more people, ideas, concepts, or inanimate objects. We can expand that definition to include one’s relationship with oneself, for example knowing the difference between one’s internal feelings and one’s social face, and having the internal dialog that explores one’s values, etc.

Here we will focus on interpersonal work relationships, particularly in the context of projects and organizations.

What is a healthy relationship? It is one in which there is mutual respect, caring and trust based on truthfulness. In most cases, the parties are happy to be in a relationship with one another, though even when this is not the case, there is sufficient respect and openness to be able to effectively work together. Healthy relationships are open to diverse ideas as well as racial or ethnic diversity. There is candid communication.

In the project context, the relationship must be productive to be entirely healthy. In other words, the participants need to get work done. This implies that criticism based on values and quality criteria is a necessary part of healthy relationships. For example, when a project team member is not performing well or being disruptive, a healthy relationship would enable candidly addressing the issue. In the extreme, a healthy relationship might support the removal of a person from the team. in other words, healthy relationships are subject to ending when they turn incurably dysfunctional.

Healthy interpersonal relationships at work are important because projects are performed by groups of people. When relationships are healthy there is a synergy that transforms the individuals into an optimally performing team. Healthy relationships satisfy the need for belonging and esteem. They tend to eliminate unnecessary conflict and make the unavoidable conflict productive. People who are happy and have satisfying relationships with coworkers will generally work more effectively than those who experience abusive or otherwise dissatisfying relationships.

Building Healthy Relationships

Healthy relationships can naturally occur. Maybe you have experienced a team in which everyone gelled with everyone else. Communication was clear and open, people were accepting and caring, work seemed to get done effortlessly.

However, it is more likely that healthy relationships must be cultivated and maintained. This is particularly true given that in many cases the selection of stakeholders is not open to the team members’ or the project manager’s discretion. The project must make the best of the stakeholder mix, as it is.

It is highly effective for an organization or team to consciously and explicitly discuss and agree upon the definition and importance of healthy relationships. Depending on the environment, team meetings, training or consulting may be called for to avoid and address dysfunction.

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Emotional and Social Intelligence

Cultivating healthy relationships relies on the use of emotional and social intelligence. These reflect the ability to manage one’s feelings to ensure that behaviors are subject to choice rather than driven by emotions. They include the ability to appreciate the feelings of others and respond effectively to them.

Healthy relationships make sure that a controversy over some project related performance issue is handled candidly, amicably, and with an attempt at a win-win outcome that better informs the participants, rather than a yelling match or withdrawal and passive-aggressive behavior.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is the foundation for the ability to regulate behavior, speech, thoughts and emotions. It is also the foundation for the empathy and compassion that underlie social intelligence. These are fundamental to the ability to communicate and collaborate with others in a way that promotes healthy relationships.

Psychologists Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund’s proposed that: “when we focus our attention on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our current behavior to our internal standards and values. We become self-conscious as objective evaluators of ourselves.” Daniel Goleman defined self-awareness as “knowing one’s internal states, preference, resources and intuitions”.

Self-awareness begins with the ability to listen to the body. “The body’s response lets us know how we feel.” . The bodily sensations like tightening muscles, queasy stomach, trembling, smiling, being choked-up are messages. Awareness of bodily sensations is important because these sensations signal emotions such as happiness, sadness, fear and anger before they reach the level of intensity that results in reactive behavior. Listening to the body enables self-regulation.

Self-awareness implies the ability to recognize when attention is focused internally or externally. For example, when you are in conflict or giving constructive criticism are you focused on your feelings to the degree that you are not paying attention to the subtle signals coming from the other person’s body language?

Are you making the relationship a ‘we’ or is it ‘you and me’?

Self-awareness also implies that a person is conscious of his/her preferences and values and the way those effect behavior. For example, the volatile boss who yells at subordinates may be well aware of his/her feelings while not valuing kind, respectful speech. Such a person may believe that verbal abuse is an acceptable way to motivate improved performance.

The degree to which people are self-aware varies from individual to individual. Self-awareness can be cultivated and increased using mindfulness meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy among other techniques. These techniques train the individual to pay attention to the thoughts, physical sensations, emotions, and concepts and the way they impact behavior. By paying attention to these, the individual can be more likely to be responsive rather than reactive.

Taking It Home

The bottom-line is to make use of the understanding that healthy relationships are critical to success and that they are enabled by self-awareness. As an individual, each of us can cultivate the self-awareness and values that support the ability to regulate one’s emotions and behavior and work well with others.

Even when there is recognition of their importance, there is often a degree of resistance to cultivating self-awareness and applying the communication and collaboration skills that are necessary for healthy relationships. To some, these “soft-skills” are not taken seriously and are found to be too subjective to be applied in a meaningful way. This attitude must be directly addressed. Leadership must promote the cultivation of healthy relationships.

From an organizational perspective, it is important that management and staff be educated regarding the importance of healthy relationships. They must value the degree to which healthy relationships contribute to effective performance and communicate those values. This valuing is evidenced in the form of programs to improve relationships, including long-term, regular follow-up embedded into the organizations normal operations. This includes some measurable way to assess the relationship skills and behaviors as part of performance evaluation.

The Power of Team Belonging

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles. 10 Comments on The Power of Team Belonging

The sense of belonging to a team increases an individual’s commitment to working towards a common goal in synergy with others.

Social belonging was recognized by Abraham Maslow as a critical human need, following physiological and safety needs in his hierarchy. This need and the need for esteem or recognition, combine in project teams to become important to optimizing team performance.

Belonging to a team takes different forms. Sometimes it means being in the center, part of decision making and implementation. Sometimes it is being on the periphery as a doer as opposed to the decision maker, or as part of a broader team (say, a department or organization) just looking on as others do their thing. in most situations, people are members of multiple teams simultaneously, for example, on multiple projects as a member of a functional group.

Belonging is a natural aspect of social relationships. It appears whenever groups form. In the workplace, particularly in projects, the sense of belonging fuels productivity because it contributes to open and meaningful conversation, the avoidance of unnecessary conflict, and maximizing the effective use of each members skills and knowledge.

Belonging is influenced by communication and clarity regarding expectations, roles and responsibilities within established work processes, mutual respect and caring, a sense of familiarity, and commitment to common goals and values. Belonging is a perception held by the members of the team based on a combination of concrete rules and boundaries as well as subjective feelings. The less formal the team’s definition the more subjective feelings drive the sense of belonging.

When subjectivity is in play, an individual may be perceived as a team member by the other members but not feel that he or she belongs. Another team member may feel as a member of the team while the rest of the team doesn’t.

Sleeping Beauty

In the fairy tale of the sleeping beauty, a princess is put into a lengthy sleep, only to be awakened by the kiss of a Prince. The curse of a 100-year sleep was a reprieve from the death curse imposed by a fairy who was overlooked by the princess’ parents when the child’s birth was celebrated. The moral of this story is “If you leave a stakeholder out of your team, he or she might curse your project.

Formal Definitions

A project team has core team stakeholders, those who are usually there for the duration and play key roles. Others play a variety of roles, each with a specific duration of involvement and impact on the project’s performance. When these roles and relationships are defined in a project charter, the understanding of who is on the team is more likely to be mutually understood. Hierarchies fade away when the team realizes that every role us needed too achieve objectives.

The players who are not on the core team are part of the project team. It is easy to understand that the team required to accomplish the project’s objectives is far larger and more complex than the core team.

When the peripheral stakeholders are formally engaged as team members and reminded of their belonging and ability to share in the project’s victory (or defeat), they are more likely to promote the welfare of the team. When they do not see themselves as team members, they may withhold information, fail to work optimally, withhold constructive criticism or to work against the team’s best interests. When a team does not recognize a peripheral player as a team member, it loses valuable input and may create unnecessary conflict.

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Case of the Left-Out Manager

In a business project to implement a sales campaign, the time constraint was tight and there were several technical, legal and procedural issues that had to be resolved in order to release the campaign across multiple media.

A functional manager, Chuck, was not engaged, though, a couple of members of his department were involved. The team, under time pressure, felt they would be more likely to be successful if they limited the team to the smallest number of players and limited the number of alternative views on how best to proceed. Chuck felt slighted and was of the opinion that the team was taking a less effective approach than the one he would have recommended. While not overtly addressing the issue, side comments, body language and other “tells” made Chuck’s feelings known.

The team met its deadline with an acceptable product, though the success was not fully celebrated, largely owing to Chuck’s feelings.

Improving the Process

Especially when there is a relatively informal portfolio and project management process, it is important for all team members to be sensitive to the needs of others as well as to the needs of the project and themselves.

In the case above, the team would have done better to take the time and effort to explain their decision to not engage Chuck in the project. The explanation shows the respect and caring that is fundamental to giving people a sense of belonging. It doesn’t take more than an hour.

The decision to eliminate a voice that might raise uncomfortable questions and alternative solutions is a judgement call by the project manager and the sponsor. While there are exceptions, most often, it is best to at least hear various voices up front before plunging ahead to hit a deadline. Taking the time to document the justification for key decisions avoids problems later on in the project. At the same time, there may be a need for speed.

The trade-offs between the perceived burden of communicating, managing relationships and doing due diligence in decision making, and the benefits of healthy long-term relationships, problem avoidance and optimal product quality should drive the decision makers. Small, isolated teams may very well be more efficient than large, open teams. However, the trade-offs must be assessed before deciding how best to proceed.

While a proactive project manager in a well-established process is responsible for promoting a sense of team membership across all stakeholders, it is also the responsibility of each stakeholder to assess his or her relationship to the team and speak up when feeling left out or feeling that another person is being left out. Chuck could have expressed his feelings and stimulated an explanation of why he was excluded.

Establish guidelines and values. Review projects and the process to continuously improve.

Above all, recognize that everyone has belonging and recognition as needs and be sensitive to how you candidly and sensitively communicate about membership and exclusion decisions.

ECI Procurement for ICT Projects

Written by Paul Taplin on . Posted in Articles. 17 Comments on ECI Procurement for ICT Projects

Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) is critical for most ICT procurement projects.

The world is littered with the outcomes of horror ICT procurement examples. Media stories of abandoned or poor performing ICT projects are universal. The ICT graveyard keeps expanding inexorably. Clients have been left with sunk costs, embarrassing system outcomes and written off assets. Providers have lost reputation and severely eroded their balance sheet.

Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) is a two-stage contracting strategy that uses a combination of collaborative solution development and conventional delivery contracting. In Stage 1, the development stage, the client and provider agree to collaboratively develop the project scope and requirements, and the proposed solution. Stage 2, the delivery stage, generally takes the form of a more conventional contracting strategy, where delivery risk transfers almost solely to the contractor.

In ICT procurement failures, the most recurring critical reasons most always seem to centre around one or more of the following:

  • The client’s inability to fully express their requirements, even in outcome terms
  • The client thinking it knows exactly how to express its business and desired outcomes
  • The client’s limited technical resource and knowledge base
  • The ICT provider’s struggle to understand the nuances of the client’s business and requirements
  • The ICT provider projecting unrealistic confidence in their proposed solution
  • Failure to understand and agree how the ICT provider is intending to meet the client’s detailed requirements
  • Unrealistic expectations in prematurely seeking a competitive price from the provider
  • The client’s desire to completely shift commercial risk to the IT provider

The reasons outlined above are in addition to more generic sources of failure including poor project governance and management, and cultural issues within either the client of provider’s organisation.

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The risk of failure

The ultimate cost of the project will be driven by the quantum of professional labour applied to the task and the maturity of the components offered for the proposed solution. Unlike other industries, the provision of ICT products and services are characterised by extensive research, exploration and iteration, all very labour intensive.

The risk of failure is exacerbated by an unrealistic expectation to secure a competitive price with the minimum of time and effort, and in so doing, believing that most commercial risk will then be transferred to the provider.

The risk of failure can also be embedded by the traditional procurement methods that require several IT providers to submit a price based on the necessarily limited scope and requirements provided by the client at the time of tendering.

Providers may be forced to submit a price laced with as many caveats and qualifications as they think the client can bear. In addition, the provider’s tendered margin will have to reflect the assessed commercial risk of the project which may be very high, based on this tender and previous contract history.

Stage 1 of the ECI approach

In Stage 1, the development stage, the client and provider agree to a collaborative arrangement to develop the detailed project solution – scope and requirements, conceptual design, delivery methodology and cost estimate. The client/provider relationship is based on the successful approach used in alliance contracts, where they work closely together and share commercial risk.

If the client is required to demonstrate a cost competitive tendering environment, two or possibly three providers may be invited to develop a project solution in parallel. Of course, this approach requires significantly greater client and industry resources, and the arrangement tends to be interactive, but not necessarily collaborative.

This stage provides the opportunity for the client and provider to exchange information, questions and answers, constraints, and developing solutions. Stage 1 should not be completed until:

  • The client knows exactly what the provider is proposing to offer as a detailed solution
  • The client has confidence that the proposed solution will meet their requirements
  • The provider has sufficient confidence to price their proposed solution with minimum risk premium

For a sole ECI provider, at the completion of Stage 1, the client will award the tender to the provider provided that the client is satisfied with the proposed solution and price. With multiple ECI providers, the client will assess the solution and price offered by each of the providers on a competitive basis, and award the tender to the provider offering the best value for money.

All of the Stage 1 activity needs to be recorded for future reference, and the outcomes bundled with the Stage 2 tender/contract documentation.

Stage 2 of the ECI Approach

Stage 2, the delivery stage, generally takes the form of a more conventional contracting strategy, where delivery risk transfers almost solely to the contractor. However, this is not always the case and it is possible to continue with a collaborative relationship-based contracting strategy in Stage 2, where commercial risk is shared between the client and the provider. This collaborative approach may be appropriate when there are still a number of indeterminate scope items, or where later parts of the solution are contingent upon the successful implementation of the earlier parts.

Benefits of the ECI Approach

The key benefits to the both the client and the provider are the improvement in cost predictability, and the confidence gained in the reduced risk of proceeding with the agreed solution.

Experience has shown that the overall benefits of the ECI process can include:

  • Higher levels of control and predictability of outcomes;
  • Better control and management of risk;
  • Better control and understanding of project costing;
  • More effective control of the project schedule;
  • Better market appeal for principal providers and subcontractors;
  • Reduced potential for claims and disputes between the provider and the client;
  • Transparent costing and contingency allowances; and
  • A better understanding of the client’s requirements by the provider.