We pride ourselves on being the caring IT providers. That is what we feel makes us stand out from the rest. We constantly communicate with our clients. We listen to their goals and concerns. We really try to get to know them. It is our goal to be their outsourced IT department – part of their team. When managing IT projects, a lot of mistakes can happen, most of them avoidable. Our project managers have come up with a list of five common mistakes and how we at Vertical IT avoid making these mistakes by being proactive, planning well and communicating with our clients.

1. Ignoring the Old Axiom “Haste Makes Waste” – We make the effort to do the job right the first time.  We build a reasonable timeframe for delivery with our clients and allow a buffer to finish the punchlist and resolve technical issues.  If the key success factor is in itself a timely delivery, we set reasonable expectations with our clients on what it will take to reach a short deadline and stay within a tight schedule.

2. Resource Alignment with Technology and Culture – We may not always have the luxury of getting to know our client before embarking into a project but when we do, we try to match not only the technical skill of resources with the requirements but also that of the client’s culture.  In delivering services we aren’t just providing a working technology solution, we are providing a satisfying experience.   Not everything always goes as planned, so having well-matched resources helps to improve the client’s confidence and patience when working through unforeseen challenges.  A good rapport will foster better communication and good communication is essential for success.

3. Failure to Issue Change Orders – Ideally, a perfectly constructed scope of work will anticipate every requirement of a delivery and accurately estimate the effort for every task.  The objective should always be to complete a project on time and on budget as agreed upon.  After all, our clients expect that we are the experts and know what it takes to get it done.  But invariably additional requests arise, new requirements are uncovered and assumptions made for estimation are found to have a need for more effort.  A change order should be assembled as these are encountered, to document the needs and set the client’s expectations.  It’s not always easy to convey additional expenses or a change in the plan – but it is far better to doa so up front, as they occur, then to attempt to backside the additional expenses once the project is over.

4. Hesitating to Request Support – Before the advent of the mobile GPS it was a common gripe that there were those who would stubbornly drive around lost rather than stop and ask for directions.  But could you blame them?  There would be no way to know if you were going to get accurate directions, no accountability for bad advice and everyone you encounter would be strangers. But if you get lost on the road of technology delivery, you can always stop and call us for support.  We are not strangers, but partners to our clients. We are always there and we share the same interest for success. Many technology-centric professionals pride themselves on their ability to troubleshoot problems.  This is an advantageous attribute – up to a point.  Deciding when to stop and make the call to enlist assistance is often the biggest key to success when managing IT projects. And we live by our own advice.  If we can’t resolve the issue ourselves then we leverage our vendor relationships to get top-line manufacturer’s support.

5. Discovering the Keys for Success – Just knowing what needs to be done, understanding the technology, making the right recommendations and having the right team lined up doesn’t necessarily mean you have everything covered to ensure success. Everyone – project management team and the client – need to share the same definition for success. So we ask the client to share their “keys of success” before we begin implementation. It can make all the difference. We live in technology and determine success by our ability to make it work.  Our clients may not always share our technology perspective and what they determine for success may be something not expected but easy to accommodate.  For example, something like progress updates via email or “how to” documentation designed for those techno-challenged. Understanding what the client expects to determine success can ease the “out of the comfort zone” experience that they may feel.