Healthy relations as a guarantee of success of the project

Business analysis systems in a certain sense represent the top of the information architecture of an enterprise, since on the one hand they consolidate the data from the most important accounting systems, and on the other – are the key point for the rethinking and development of the IT strategy. This means that in the project to implement the BI solution, the key beneficiaries will be the top managers, and as a result, close attention and tight control over the project implementation on the part of the customer. Unfortunately, the increased attention on the part of the company’s management does not necessarily mean the quality management and support of the project. Moreover, if the project manager in the customer’s company does not have the proper authority and sufficient volitional characteristics, this leads to the imposition of decisions that adversely affect the project as a whole.

In such situations, it is very important for the contractor involved in the implementation of the analytical system to properly build relationships and provide proper support to people involved in the project on the other hand. Correct interaction of the project management at the operational level allows to make the work of the project team effective, relieves people of unnecessary conflicts and gives an opportunity to justify and motivate the decision-making by top management in the interests of successful development of the project. If the relations at the level of the project managers do not develop, this in the worst case will result in a hidden confrontation, which is likely to lead to the failure of the project.

At first glance, the most advantageous option is the most friendly relationship between project managers on the part of the contractor and the customer. In this case, the most acute issues are resolved without excessive formalism and procrastination and for the business customer the team is a monolithic entity aimed at achieving the set results; there is no artificial division into “one’s own” and “another’s” with the inevitable opposition of interests. When this level of relationships is achieved, projects are most often successful, no matter what problems and complexities one has to deal with as they are implemented. How to establish and maintain such a relationship, I think it makes no sense to tell. Most importantly, do not treat with indifference to the interests and needs of people, with the participation of which the project is being implemented.

However, despite all the external attractiveness of close and friendly relations between the project management at the operational level, this situation is very often the cause of big problems. I believe that in the overwhelming majority of cases this is due to the long-standing and developed corruption traditions in our country. Any medium or large project associated with substantial investments inevitably causes suspicion of collusion between its participants in order to obtain personal benefits. Regardless of the validity of such suspicions, such an attitude may entail mistrust or even hostility of individuals towards the contractor’s team and the customer’s specialists interacting with it. And the closer and better the relations between the project leaders, the clearer and stronger will be the manifestations of such hostility up to the real counteraction in implementation.

Under such conditions, the only effective line of conduct will be the manifestation of maximum formalism and distancing to the official level of communication between the representatives of the customer and the contractor. Of course, the arising problems and incidents will be solved in this case not so quickly and painlessly, but this, at least, will not force the project manager from the side of the customer to experience the constant discomfort that is subconsciously associated with the project.

In any case, it is worth remembering that there are no ideal methodologies or schemes that always bring success. Each project is unique, like every customer, so relations in each specific case need to be built with an eye on the situation and the environment in which the project is born and developed.