The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.
January - 2007 - issue > Tricks of a Good Manager
The Integrational Approach
Aritra Bhattacharya
The roadblocks were many, but there was a particularly poignant one that was causing sleepless nights for Ramachandra Raghavendar. Years ago, as an offshore Project Manager of a Japanese project, the complete lack of trust from the client’s side appalled him. Language was the major barrier, and communication overheads were significantly increasing the cycle time.
Only detailed diagrammatic visual description of the question, realized Raghavendar, could elicit quick response from the other side, and that in effect would get the trust going. Since the project was a long way off from completion, he formulated a Boolean approach to get things going. He would frame his queries, and his understanding of the requirements with detailed visual descriptions; in a manner that it would require only a Yes or a No from the customer. It reduced the communication overheads, and helped carry the project forward.
Today, thanks to technology and the coming of age of various communication channels, such an approach is no longer required. The trust factor though is as, if not more important in the favorable execution of a project. Accordingly, Raghavendar, now Senior Project Manager, Tavant Technologies, leading projects on mortgage and financial documentation, pays maximum attention to notch up the trust quotient with customers. His pet formula: Decompose Project deliverables into sub deliverables – each sub deliverable producing a visible, measurable output and have early feedback from stakeholders.
“The approach also ensures that all stakeholders are on the same pitch,” he says. Feedback is used to gauge whether what the team is developing is in tune with the client’s requirements. Oftentimes, it is not an application, but a part of the code that is showcased to the client.
“For UI based Applications, one of the visible sub deliverables could be mock-up screens,” he says. Through the screens, the client is informed of the different paths the code could take from that point, and the possible results it could lead to.
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