As a consultant one of the things I most enjoy about
the job is the variety of both roles and clients. Nothing is ever exactly the same as the
previous project and I have been able to work in a number of different
industries. However, starting a new
project at a new client does have its challenges. Not only must you figure out where the
closest printer is and how to work the coffee maker, but you need to understand
what the work entails and how best to do it.
There are a couple of tools and techniques I have found helpful to make
the first few weeks productive and set up for success. These tools are helpful whether you are brand
new at a company or are starting a new project at the company you have worked
at for 20 years.
Project Background
It may seem obvious, but one of the most important
steps when beginning a project is to understand the goal. Many times, the first impression of the
project based on an email or short conversation with your manager is different
than the end result. To gain a better
understanding of what the end result will be, I suggest you examine project
initiation documents such as the project charter, project scope document, or
statement of work (SOW). As a business
analyst I will elicit the requirements of the solution from the stakeholders. These initiation documents contain a number
of high-level requirements that are a great starting point for developing
detailed business requirements. Those
high-level requirements can be put into your business requirements document so
there will be traceability back to the business objectives and these project
initiation documents will give you a great frame and establish boundaries for your
work.
RACI Matrix
On a recent project I had the
role of Implementation Analyst, where I was responsible for gathering
requirements from the external customer directly and gathering additional
requirements and reviewing the external customer requirements with internal
stakeholders. The organization was less
formal and the roles of the various stakeholders were not strictly
defined. As a new person in the
organization and project team, I wanted to understand who all the stakeholders
were and how I would be interacting with them.
I created a RACI matrix to document my understanding of all the key
stakeholders within the project. RACI
stands for Responsible, Accountable/Approver, Consulted, and
Informed. The RACI matrix creates a reference of
stakeholders, roles, and the major deliverables or tasks to provide information
about who is responsible for specific duties. Each stakeholder on the project, both
internal and external, should be listed and defined in an individual row. For
each stakeholder or stakeholder group, it is also important to list their role
on the project. The columns list the
major deliverables or tasks on the project.
In the cells of the matrix are placed R, A, C, or I. There does not have to be a letter in every
cell. For instance, as the business
analyst, I would list myself as Responsible
for the business requirements document deliverable. In a traditional RACI Matrix there is only
one person Accountable/Approver for a given deliverable, and
that may be the product owner or main customer representative. However, there are a number of people Consulted when creating the
requirements document. This would
include customers and subject matter experts.
Finally, those who are Informed
would include stakeholders such as the QA or training lead. The RACI Matrix is a great and simple tool to
reference throughout the project. It defines
your responsibilities and who should be included in the creation of any
deliverable.
Reviewing
the initiating project documentation and creating a RACI matrix are two ways to
gain valuable knowledge early in the project.
They are both fairly easy things to create, but provide lasting benefit. No matter the culture of the organization or
the scope of the project, these items are applicable and helpful.
