Steve Romero, the IT Governance Evangelist provides our first guest PM blogging spot.
Do you think the title of this blog posting adds up? Can you think of a project that was a “disaster” but at the end, the customer was satisfied? As improbable as this sounds, a recent trip across the country reminded me this equation is possible.
A couple of months ago I was scheduled to fly from Oakland Airport in Northern California to Birmingham, Alabama with a 90-minute layover in Denver, Colorado. I was to speak at the Birmingham PMI Conference Monday morning and then catch an early afternoon flight home, connecting again through Denver.
Things did not go according to plan. I received two notifications from the airline Sunday morning notifying me that my flight from Oakland to Denver was delayed, making the connection to Birmingham impossible. I called the airline and after some checking we determined the only viable alternative would be for me to fly out of San Francisco (instead of Oakland) at midnight. I would take a red-eye to Chicago and land 45 minutes before a flight to Birmingham. The return flights would be the same, save flying from Denver to San Francisco instead of Oakland.
Flying overnight before a Keynote presentation at a PMI conference the following morning is not the most ideal scenario – to say the least. But I didn’t want to miss my commitment so I forged ahead. I accepted the new plan.
I am sure you have guessed by now. This also did not go according to plan.
The very first flight out of San Francisco was almost 30 minutes late. I landed in the B-terminal in Chicago and raced to F-terminal for my flight to Birmingham. (For those of you familiar with O’Hare airport, you know this is not a short jaunt.) The airline gate agent was waiting for me and got me on the plane just in time. This was the one flight I hoped would be delayed but it ended up being the only flight that was on-time. It figures.
I landed on-time in Birmingham, claimed my baggage and caught a cab to the venue hotel. I arrived, freshened up and changed (I won’t say where) and checked in with the wonderful folks of the PMI Birmingham chapter. They got me some coffee and helped me get ready for my 10:45 keynote.
Just minutes before I spoke, I received an email notice from the airline letting me know my flight out of Birmingham later that afternoon was delayed 2 ½ hours. The good news was that I could join the conference attendees for lunch, but I would miss my Denver connection to San Francisco. I called the airline and they scheduled a late flight from Denver, which I would need to finalize at the airport.
I enjoyed my lunch and arrived at the Birmingham airport hours before the delayed flight was scheduled to depart. I spent the time catching up on email and listening to the endless rants and complaints from some very unhappy travelers. The flight ended up being 3 hours late – the additional delay due to the wrong crew boarding the plane, which resulted in quite a scene as people were boarded, removed, and boarded again after the correct crew showed up.
Upon arriving in Denver I had a new email waiting for me notifying me that my 9:15 flight to San Francisco was delayed 90 minutes and would depart just before 11:00 – arriving well after midnight.
I should pause at this point and describe my demeanor. I have been traveling regularly now for over two years as CA’s IT Governance Evangelist. After my first two weeks in this role (and a number of travel-related issues), I made the conscious decision to “go with the flow” in regard to the trials and tribulations of constant air travel. Admittedly, my tolerance was being tested as I walked up the Jetway upon my arrival in Denver. After 24 hours on the road, numerous flight plan changes and the resulting hardships, I was now facing another substantial delay. I would be lucky to get back to my house by 2:00 in the morning (4:00 AM Central time).
Upon entering the terminal I was surprised to be greeted by two airline employees waiting for me. In my two years of travel I have attained top status with this airline and as such I am provided numerous benefits. These two employees were specifically there to greet me, find out if there was anything I needed, and personally work with me to determine the best course of action to get me home. They even carried my bags!
I ended up declining the two presented alternatives (flying to a different airport of flying on a different airline). They apologized profusely and upgraded me to First Class.
After a major change in flight plans that would prevent me from sleeping in a bed the night before a major presentation, after delays on 3 of 4 flights totaling more than 6 hours and causing two more unscheduled plan changes, after arriving home at 2:00 AM in the morning…I was delighted with the service.
Why was I delighted?
- I received constant accurate status updates (12 to be exact) from the airline
- I received the updates in a timely manner from the airline
- The airline admitted their problems and issues to me
- The airline listened to my concerns and desires
- The airline offered me numerous alternatives
- The airline let me choose the alternative that worked best for me
- The airline made the necessary adjustments to minimize problem and issue impact on me
Now let’s replace the word “airline” with “Project Manager” and the words “I” and “me” with “customer”:
- The customer received constant accurate status updates from the Project Manager
- The customer received the updates in a timely manner from the Project Manager
- The Project Manager admitted their problems and issues to the customer
- The Project Manager listened to the customer’s concerns and desires
- The Project Manager offered the customer numerous alternatives
- The Project Manager let the customer choose the alternative that worked best for them
- The Project Manager made the necessary adjustments to minimize problem and issue impact on the customer
Do the above statements apply to the projects and programs in your organization?
Let’s first consider what made this possible for the airline:
- An acute understanding of the customer
- An acute understanding of the goal
- Advanced status monitoring mechanisms
- Defined performance criteria and thresholds
- Mechanisms to support timely notification
- Knowledgeable situation analysis
- Willingness to admit to mistakes/issues/problems
- Authoritative decision-making
The above list requires the appropriate capabilities in people, process and technology. Sure, this situation is a microcosm in comparison to a full-blown project or program, but this experience provides a great analogy. It highlights those elements necessary to deal with projects that go wrong. It provides some insight into how we can satisfy our project customers even when faced with project calamity.
I can tell you that even though this trip was a disaster, I was kept informed, I had the information I needed to make decisions, and I always felt like my needs mattered. Instead of being disenfranchised, I was delighted.
Our project customers should feel the same way.
