module 5

After reading Chapter 4 Understanding and Meeting Client Expectations,

Complete the Web Exercises at the end of Chapter 5.

5.7 Locate and Analyze Information Online Related to Managing Client Relationships

https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-relationships-stakeholder-circle-8092Links to an external site.

“Managing Client Relationships.”

There are several scenarios and theories on the subject but they all surround basic truths which largely agree so if you pick one expert from the Web as opposed to another it does not matter. Just be sure to cite your sources. Instructions begin on page 158. You should follow the instructions in your text then complete and upload a Word with your research summarized.

Hint: At a minimum, I am looking for 5-7 good practices relative to the subject which should be well identified and explained. You only need to complete Web Exercise 5.7 only.

urgent now now

CHAPTER 5

Understanding and Meeting
Stakeholder Expectations

Project management is about managing work processes and leading people. The technical skills
of a project manager—the ability to organize the project and develop a scope, budget, and sched-
ule—are critical to executing a project that will finish on time, within budget, and to the project
specifications. However, the project will not be a success if the important stakeholders are unhappy
with the results.

Project stakeholders often have a significant role in the success of a project. The ability of the
project manager to understand the expectations of the various stakeholders and motivate them to
contribute to the project success is a major aspect of the project manager’s leadership role. In this
chapter, we explore the concepts and skills needed by the project manager to understand and meet
the expectations of important stakeholders and the various means and methods for motivating
stakeholders to contribute to project success.

One of the definitions of project success focuses on achieving client satisfaction. This defi-
nition highlights the importance of the client as critical for both defining and achieving project
success. The client is an important project constituent and, in most cases, the most important con-
stituent. Darnall[1] described actions for the project manager focused on defining and meeting client
expectations. Project success often includes meeting project goals and specifications, and it also
includes understanding and meeting the expectations of the client. Depending on the complexity
level of the project, the plan to meet the client’s expectations can range from having a general dis-
cussion with the project leadership team to developing a formal plan that is tracked during the life
of the project.

5.1 Stakeholder Satisfaction

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the relationship between stakeholders and project success.

2. Define internal and external stakeholder.

3. Describe the process for identifying project stakeholders.

4. Describe the process for analyzing project stakeholders.

A stakeholder is any person or group that can influence project performance or be impacted by
the project. Stakeholders can be internal to the organization, including the project team. The orga-
nizational leaders, functional managers, and the project team have the ability to influence the
performance of the project by their contributions or lack of contribution when it is needed. Inter-
nal stakeholders are also impacted by the success of the project. When the project successfully
meets the goals of the organization, the project leadership is successful, functional leaders may get
recognized for the contribution to project success, and project team members were part of a suc-
cessful endeavor.

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Projects often have external stakeholders. External stakeholders are those people and groups
that are not part of the chartering organization or project that can influence project performance
or be impacted by the project. For example, on a road construction project, all the people who
use the road are stakeholders of the project because they are impacted by the road construction.
Sometimes property owners near the road are impacted by noise and dirt. In another external
stakeholder example, a pharmaceutical project developing a new drug will impact people who will
be treated by the drug and medical professionals who must understand and administer the drug.

Identifying the various stakeholders of the project, understanding their expectations, and
then developing and managing a plan that meets stakeholder expectations are critical to project
success.

The process for identifying project stakeholders depends on the profile of the project. On less
complex projects, the project manager can brainstorm with the project team the major stakehold-
ers for the project during project startup. For more complex projects, the project team may review
the project charter, scope, and procurement documents in addition to interviewing organizational
leadership and the project’s client to identify people or groups that may be impacted or could influ-
ence the project.

A simple stakeholder register is a good tool for capturing the various project stakeholders,
recording their degree of influence on the project performance and the degree of potential support.
An example of a simple stakeholder register for a small project to install solar cells on a commercial

building to reduce power costs:

FIGURE 5.1 Simple Project Register

Because stakeholders can have significant influence on project success, it is important to iden-
tify the stakeholders and understand their level of interest, amount of influence, and potential
involvement in the project. On more complex projects, the number of potential stakeholders, their
degrees of influence and power to impact the project, and the diversity of interest require a more
sophisticated approach to both identifying and analyzing potential stakeholders of the project.
Although the project manager’s time is a critical commodity, especially at the start-up of the pro-
ject, investing time in identifying and analyzing project stakeholders in the early phases of the
project can pay dividends throughout the life the project.

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Analyzing Stakeholders

On more complex projects, the large number of potential stakeholders and the diversity of interest
and influence in the project requires a more systematic approach to analyzing stakeholders. Devel-
oping a stakeholder register that includes additional information on the level of power, influence,
interest, and involvement in the project can be helpful in better understanding and managing
stakeholder input and expectations. Based on the information that is developed and analyzed, the
project team can then develop a strategy for managing stakeholders over the life of the project.
Although the initial work occurs early in the project, the potential stakeholders that are involved
in the project often change during the life of the project, as does their influence, power, and inter-
est. The stakeholder register should be reviewed and updated throughout the project’s duration in
order to capture any new concerns or stakeholder management strategy efforts

FIGURE 5.2 Stakeholder Register for a Medium Complex Project for Dynamic General
Corporation

Key Takeaways

• A stakeholder is any person or group that can influence project performance or be impacted
by the project.

• A stakeholder can be internal (a member of the project team or organization that chartered
the project) or external (not part of the project nor the organization).

• The process for identifying and analyzing project stakeholders depends of the project com-
plexity profile.

• Analyzing project stakeholders includes exploring their interest in the project and the power
to influence project performance. A stakeholder register is a good method for capturing
stakeholder analysis.

Chapter 5 Understanding and Meeting Stakeholder Expectations 141

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FIGURE 5.3
Educating the client.

Exercises

1. The CEO of the organization that chartered the project would be considered an __________
stakeholder.

2. The project engineer responsible for the design on the project would be considered an
_________ stakeholder.

3. The process used to identify project stakeholders depends upon the ______________ of the
project.

Consider the stakeholder register in Figure 5.2 and identify the stakeholder that is internal and
the stakeholders that are external.

Think about a project with which you are familiar and develop a project stakeholder register with
a stakeholder analysis.

To appreciate the skill and effort expended by the project team in achieving the objectives of
the project, the client needs to know more about what the team does.

Educate the Client from the Beginning

Often the client does not have the project management experience of the project manager or pro-
ject team. An experienced project manager understands the phases of the project and the
requirements of the different phases. A less experienced client may become frustrated at the
changes in the management approach required for the different phases of the project. For example,
during the early phases, the project leadership is encouraging creative approaches to accomplish-
ing the project goals. As the project proceeds and the project plan becomes more firm, the project
leadership focuses on accomplishing the project goals. The types of meetings, the agenda of the
meetings, and the general project atmosphere change as the project moves from the planning to
the production mode of the execution phase of the project.

During the last phases on a project, project team members are often tired and beginning to
anticipate the transition that will take place at the end of the project. The motivational approach
that worked during the early phases of the project is less effective during the final phases, and the
project manager applies different approaches to motivating the project team. These changes can be
disconcerting on a person’s first project. By explaining what to expect and planning with the client
a process to minimize the impact of these changes, the project manager prepares the client for
these events and reduces the frustration.

Include the Client on Selected Project Teams

The project client translates the needs of the parent organization through the chartering of the
project and defining the project scope with the project manager and the project team. The client
also has an oversight role. This oversight is often accomplished through regular project reviews and
reports from the project team. Depending on the complexity level of the project, the reviews can
vary significantly. On less complex projects, the review might be conducted in a one-hour meeting
with a one-page summary document serving as the project progress report. On more complex pro-
jects, a full-day meeting might be necessary for the project progress to be fully understood, and the
project report may be one hundred pages or more.

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FIGURE 5.4
Client participation.

In addition to providing the formal overview of the project, most clients would like to actively
participate in the success of the project. This is a delicate balance. The participation of the client
can have undue influence on project decisions. The advantage of including the client in project
activities is to gain the client’s personal investment in the project plan, to create a better under-
standing for the client of the problems the project encounters during the life of the project, and to
gain the insights and contributions of the client in problem solving.

Involving the client in teams in which the client’s special knowledge can add value to the team
discussions and activities contributes both to the success of the team and the satisfaction of the
client. During the construction of a chemical plant in Tennessee, the project team struggled with a
very tight project schedule. A team was established to explore ways to reduce the approval process
for the drawings of the plant design. It was taking two weeks for the design review, and even
though this was within the normal time frame for design reviews, the project management team
believed there were opportunities to reduce this time and shorten the length of the project.

The client’s engineering manager participated in the brainstorming sessions that explored
ways to reduce the design review time. Several good ideas were developed and put into place. The
client’s engineering manager took these ideas back to the client’s team and instituted many of the
same ideas. The result was a shortened schedule that saved two weeks by the end of the plant
design. The other result was a client that contributed to the project success and was emotionally
engaged in the positive outcomes.

Key Takeaways

• The project manager’s leadership style often changes with each phase of the project. The
client could be surprised when the style changes from one that is open to any new idea in
the initiation phase to a more task-oriented style during execution or a more demanding style
during closeout.

• Client participation in project teams can have undue influence on decisions, but this is offset
by the buy-in of the client and the insights the client can offer when special knowledge is
needed or schedules need to be changed.

Exercises

1. The client might be surprised when the project manager’s style changes from inviting new
ideas during the conceptual phase to discouraging them during the ________ phase.

2. One problem with client participation in project teams is that a client can have ______ influ-
ence.

3. What should the client know about the different management styles used in the initiation,
execution, and closeout phases of the project?

4. What is an advantage of having the client participate in some project teams?

Client InfluenceClient Influence

Consider a project you have been involved in, in which the client took part in meetings and deci-
sion making. If you were to do the project again, describe how you would manage the client’s
involvement. Specifically, describe the positive aspects that you would repeat and the negative
aspects that you would try to avoid.

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5.2 Managing Stakeholder Relations

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the process for developing a stakeholder management plan.

2. Describe how the project reports and project reviews help manage project stakeholders.

Managing stakeholders’ input and impact on the project requires a planned approach. On more
complex projects, a stakeholder management plan is often developed as part of the project man-
agement plan to define the processes as well as tools and techniques for identifying the interests
and the potential impact of various stakeholders of the project.

Developing a Stakeholder Management Plan

After identifying project stakeholders and analyzing potential influence and impact, the project
team develops a plan for engaging and managing stakeholders. The complexity level and profile of
the project influences the tools and processes used to develop the stakeholder management plan.
On smaller, less complex projects, the project team might brainstorm a list of two or three of the
stakeholders, list the impacts these stakeholders might have on the project, and develop a plan for
addressing each of the stakeholders.

FIGURE 5.5 Stakeholder Analysis Low Complex Project

Developing a stakeholder management plan for more complex projects requires more invest-
ment of time and resources. Typically, one of the reasons that projects are more complex is because
of the large number of stakeholders. In addition to senior management, project team members,
and other internal stakeholders, the client, contractors, suppliers, and often various members of the
public and institutions can also be significantly impacted by the project. Developing a good stake-
holder list and creating a stakeholder register is started early on the project. Gathering input from
the client, senior management, and the project team can be helpful in developing an inclusive pro-
ject stakeholders list. New stakeholders can be added or subtracted as needed.

The project leadership team analyzes each of the stakeholders for their investment level in the
project, potential impact on the project, and their preferred communication technology. The project
leadership team then groups stakeholders by common interest or potential impact and develops

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a stakeholder management plan for each group or specific individuals that includes the processes
for monitoring the relationship with the stakeholder and communicating important information.
The stakeholder management plan is reviewed on a regular basis, typically monthly, and updated
as needed.

Development of a stakeholder management plan:

1. Determine level of complexity.

2. List the stakeholders, the contact person, and their roles.

3. Determine the impact of the stakeholder on the project.

4. Determine the type of communication and its frequency.

Managing Stakeholders on the Mountain Regional Hospital System
Project

The Mountain Regional Hospital System managed three medical clinics in the Ashville, North
Carolina area and decided to build and open a forth clinic. Teresa was selected as the project
manager for all non-construction work. Teresa was a nurse who managed the three other clinics
and just recently earned a certificate in project management. After talking with the construction
manager, Teresa learned that the last two new clinics did not open or time and experienced sig-
nificant startup issues.

Among other initiatives, Teresa developed a stakeholder plan for the project. After conversations
with the construction manager, her manager, and other staff, Teresa focused on four stakehold-
ers; regional management, patients, medical staff and doctors. The regional managers provided
the funds and resources to develop the clinic. They also approved every change order and
had the ability to impact the project both positively and negatively. Teresa developed a weekly
progress report that briefly provided data on the progress of activities against the plan, high-
lighted the most important activities for the next two weeks, discussed the potential risks,
provided suggestions of how upper management could support the project, and recognized con-
tributions by the Mountain Regional Hospital staff who were not assigned full time to the project
team.

Teresa worked with the Public Relations Team at the Hospital to develop a monthly newsletter to
existing patients introducing the new clinic staff, describing the services and updating progress
toward the grand opening. The medical staff received a monthly report that focused on medical
equipment installation and development of procedures as well as news of interest to the medical
staff. Doctors received a personal letter from the project manager on a monthly basis. Teresa
learned that doctors almost never read reports that do not deal directly with patient care, so she
developed a personal letter that focused on the information doctors and their patients needed.

The clinic opened on time, patient coordination went smoothly, the medical staff were operating
efficiently from the opening day. Upper management understood the progress, understood where
they could contribute, and recognized Teresa as a professional that could get things done.

FIGURE 5.6

Chapter 5 Understanding and Meeting Stakeholder Expectations 145

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In addition to developing a specific plan for understanding and managing key stakeholders of the
project, project reviews and project reports can influence stakeholder perception of the project.

Project Reviews

Project reviews provide the opportunity for the project manager to update the project team and
other project stakeholders on the progress of the project, plan for upcoming events on the project,
review the project management plan components that are most pertinent, and align the project
team around the critical and urgent tasks of the project. Including appropriate project stakeholders
in the project review meetings enables the project manager to also understand stakeholder expec-
tations and perceptions. When possible, addressing these expectations and perceptions while pre-
senting project progress reports and while updating the project plan, provides stakeholders with
both an investment in the success of the project as well as a comfort level with the project’s ability
to meet their needs.

The types of project review meetings, frequency, and materials to be covered will vary signif-
icantly depending on the profile of the project. On less-complex projects, the project review will
cover the major components of schedule, cost, risks, quality, and other major components of the
project management plan. Project review meetings are not intended to be a problem-solving venue,
but when problems on the project emerge during the meeting, it is important to have a problem-
solving process, outside of the meeting, that can address these problems and, when appropriate,
include outside stakeholders.

Project Review Meeting Agenda

August 29, 2020

• Project Goals update

• Schedule update

• Progress since last project review meeting, major task to be completed by the next
project review meeting and concerns.

• Cost update (this item depends on the participants and the confidentiality of the informa-
tion)

• Risk

• Review the risk register and update risk and brainstorm any perceived additional risks
to the project.

• Quality/Scope

• Review quality management plan and any needed adjustments. Review any potential
adjustments to the scope of the deliverables of the project or other aspects of the pro-
ject scope.

• Action Item Register Review

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Example of a Project Review Meeting and the Management of Client
Expectations

During an executive visit to a client in Colorado, the client expressed unhappiness with the per-
formance of the project team. The client’s lead sponsor on the project said; “We paid a premium
price because of your company’s reputation for both quality and innovative solutions. We are not
seeing the innovation”. The executive then interviewed members of the project team who per-
ceived themselves as developing very innovative solutions. “The client just doesn’t see it.”The
team developed an Innovation Idea Register to capture the innovative ideas produced by the
team and then included the register as part of the monthly project reviews. Every idea had to be
signed off by a member of the client’s team before it was place on the registered. The executive
visited the project two months later and found a client more interested in the project outcomes
and happy with the increased quality and innovation. The project review meetings provided an
opportunity to understand and manage the client’s perceptions.

Project Progress Report

The project progress report is another tool for the project manager to manage stakeholder expecta-
tions. The type and amount of information provided in the project progress report varies depend-
ing on the project profile and needs of the various recipients of the report. Although most standard
project progress information is typically included, the project manager must understand the
requirements of the various stakeholders in developing the progress report format.

Often, the information presented in the progress review meeting is summarized. This rein-
forces key messages made during the project review meeting and the project progress report
typically goes to a larger audience. This is an opportunity to target a message to this larger audience
that often includes organizational leadership that do not participate in the day-to-day manage-
ment of the project.

A private medical company chartered a project (New Clinic Project) to construct a new medical
clinic to more effectively compete with healthcare providers in the area and increase profitability.
The company hired a local construction company to design and build the new clinic. The company
also identified a high performing nurse to design and manage the medical aspects of the project.
The scope included reviewing designs to assure the most effective and efficient flow of work in the
clinic, preparing and submitting various licensing documents, developing clinic policies and pro-
cedures and clinic budget, recruiting, assessing candidates and hiring clinical staff, and supplier
contracts. Every component of the project scope had a manager within the organization that had
responsibility for these activities throughout the larger organization, and each of these managers
was a key stakeholder of the project.

In addition to providing cost and schedule updates, the progress report was an opportunity
to recognize managers in the organization that contributed to the progress. Top management is
often included in the distribution of important project progress reports. The project manager of
the New Clinic Project developed a progress report that included a one-page summary (sometimes
two pages). Executives often do not go beyond the executive summary unless something catches
their curiosity. Developing a good overview of the project in the executive summary becomes a
critical skill of the project manager for managing perceptions of executive management as well as
other key stakeholders.

The project manager of the New Clinic Project included sections in the project report on the
key accomplishments of the past month, critical activities for the next month, special recogni-
tion, and appendixes for relevant reports.The key accomplishments focused on major activities that
were accomplished and included major events that might not be on the schedule. An example of a
major event that was not on the project schedule was the unplanned visit by the city mayor.

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Critical activities included selected activities scheduled for the next month highlighting activ-
ities where executive support would be helpful. Recognition highlighted people, especially those
not on the project team, which supported or helped the project make progress. An example of a spe-
cial recognition brought attention to the procurement supervisor at the home office who called a
vendor to expedite the delivery of a critical piece of equipment for the project. Appendixes included
the relevant reports that provide the details that support the executive summary.

Executive management praised the project manager of the New Clinic Project. The report pro-
vided them with a comfort with the progress of the project and helped them understand how they
could contribute to project success. Functional managers better understood how their resources,
used by the project, added to the success of the project, and the stakeholders became invested in
project success.

New Clinic Project Report

Key Accomplishments

Critical Activities

Recognitions

Appendices

Milestone Schedule

Cost Summary Report

Risk Register

Quality Performance

Action Item Register

Surveying Key Stakeholders

On complex projects, surveying key stakeholders on a monthly or quarterly basis can generate a
better understanding of the perceptions of the stakeholders and provide another method for stake-
holder input. Below is an example of the types of questions that might be included in a stakeholder
survey.

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FIGURE 5.7

Key Takeaways

• Engaging and managing stakeholders requires a planned approach that depends on the
complexity and profile of the project. It should include identifying the stakeholders, their roles
on the project, their potential impact on the success of the project, and a plan for engaging
and managing each of the major stakeholders.

• Project review meetings and project reports provide an opportunity to create a comfort level
with project stakeholders with the progress of the project.

Exercise

Think about a project with which you are familiar. Describe your project and the complexity level
and develop an outline for a monthly report. Write a short paragraph for each section of the
monthly report describing the information that would be included in that section. Identify one
more pieces of information that a specific stakeholder might want but would not be included in
your monthly report. Explain why this information would be excluded.

Chapter 5 Understanding and Meeting Stakeholder Expectations 149

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next question

Refers to asking additional
questions to reveal hidden
expectations.

5.3 Understanding Values and
Expectations

Learning Objectives

1. Identify methods for determining client expectations.

2. Identify methods for clarifying values and determining differences.

3. Describe the importance of dealing fairly with the client.

Two of the sources of dissatisfaction in personal and business interactions are unmet expectations
and a misunderstanding or ignorance of the values held by the other party. The project manager
needs to avoid having a dissatisfied client due to a clash of values or a failure to meet expectations.

Clarify Expectations

Client expectations are expressed in chartering documents such as the project scope, the project
purpose statement, and the list of project deliverables. Other expectations exist that are more diffi-
cult to express in written documents.

Managing Expectations

One project client had such a difficult time with the billing processes on her previous project that
significant project management time and resources were expended on reconciling billing issues.
This client has an expectation in the next project that project accounting and billing processes
operate effectively and efficiently. Another client had been constantly surprised by changes and
nonplanned events happening on the project. This client wanted to participate early in the discus-
sion of problems that arise during the life of the problem and contribute to finding solutions and
minimizing the negative impact on project performance. These are examples of how the client’s
history can influence client expectations. Project managers need to understand these expecta-
tions to better manage and meet the client’s expectations.

Understanding and capturing these expectations in a written document is an important step
in effectively meeting client expectations. Often it is the next question that enables a project man-
ager to discover the less obvious expectations. The next question is the one the project manager
asks after the initial response to inquiries about expectations. In our example, the client may
express that he or she wants project billings to be accurate and timely. This is an easily understand-
able expectation, but when the project manager asked the next question—“Can you tell me more
about what you mean?”—the client revealed the problems on her previous project, and the project
team developed a better understanding of the client’s concern. The project team developed mea-
sures for tracking project billings that measured both timeliness and accuracy. This process
enabled the project team to understand the client’s concern, develop work processes that demon-
strated a response, and provide data to the client on the timeliness and the accuracy of the billing
processes.

For the client who expected to hear about problems early and participate in the problem-solv-
ing discussions, the project team shared the project action item register and highlighted issues the

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FIGURE 5.8
Safety is an important value.

team felt may be important to the client. The project manager also discussed potential concerns
with the client during their weekly project update.

After the project team captures the client expectations, the team then develops a method for
tracking performance against expectations. In our example, the project team defined accuracy and
timeliness in measurable terms and tracked the team performance. The project team developed a
survey to track the client’s perception of inclusion in the problem-solving process and tracked the
client’s response. These measures were then presented in the project review meetings with other
measures of project performance such as cost and schedule. The client saw that the project team
captured her concerns and tracked progress against her expectations.

As the project team meets and exceeds the client expectations, these expectations tend to
change. If the goal is 85 percent accuracy on all project billings, and the project team begins to
perform with an average of 95 percent accuracy or higher and never falls below 90 percent, then
the client begins to expect 95 percent accuracy. This is a realistic expectation of the client; it also
changes the expectation so that meeting the client’s expectation becomes harder. Even if expecta-
tions change, it is important to maintain the original goal. This reminds the client at the end of the
project that the project team not only met expectations but also raised them during the life of the
project.

Clarify Values

Values are desirable principles or qualities.[2] Disagreements based on differences in values are
extremely difficult to resolve because compromising means compromising your values. Organiza-
tions often have developed a list of corporate values. Sometimes these are real and sometimes they
are more important to the corporate brand. The project manager needs to understand the real orga-
nizational and personal values related to the project.

On construction projects, safety is an important consideration in the planning and execution
of a project. Every construction company will assert a strong safety value. The value is tested when
safety rules are developed. Is the organization willing to terminate or sanction an employee for a
major safety violation? This is not a yes or no question but the beginning of a dialogue. Everyone
on the project needs to understand safety rules, and consistent application of the approach to
safety is critical to establishing a safety culture on the project. Agreeing on a safety program based
on a value for safety at the beginning of a project will prevent serious confrontations later.

Phone Etiquette

A large project in Washington had a client that valued communications. All the members of the
client’s team had the newest phone technology and took calls during project meetings. The pro-
ject team saw this behavior as rude and interfering with the effectiveness of the project. The client
was very comfortable in this chaotic environment and saw constant communication as a value
that helped the organization identify and respond to opportunities. This provided the organiza-
tion with a competitive advantage in their marketplace. The same behavior was preventing the
project team from developing a common understanding and agreeing on a project plan because
they could not focus on the needs of the project long enough to develop this common under-
standing. The project manager and the lead client recognized the potential conflict for the project
and developed a list of project meetings that would be “cell-less,” which meant that the team
members would turn cell phones off for that meeting. Other meetings would follow the cultural
standards of the client.

Developing a mutual understanding of the personal and organizational values and dealing
with differences during the early phases of the project will significantly reduce the potential for
insolvable conflicts. This becomes more important on a large, complex project where the likelihood

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FIGURE 5.9
Dealing fairly creates satisfied
clients.

fairness

Impartial and honest
treatment that is free from
self-interest, prejudice, or
favoritism.

of a diverse project team is high, and the team may have to deal with different laws, customs, and
cultural values. Developing an understanding of these differences and developing an appreciation
for the value of this diversity for project team members can prevent conflict later in the project.

Deal Fairly with the Client

During the life of the project, the project manager will often have the opportunity to take advan-
tage of the client, either because a clause in the contract is not written accurately or because the
project manager has access to more detailed information. For example, a client finds a mistake in
the original documents provided to the project team. The project team analyzes the new informa-
tion to access the potential impact on the project cost and schedule. A skilled project manager can
demonstrate a negative impact and increase project profits by requesting a change order. A skilled
project manager can also usually find an innovative approach to finding a solution without increas-
ing the cost or schedule. In most cases, the client wants to be treated fairly. Fairness is characterized
by impartiality and honesty that is free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism.[3] If the client
interprets the change order as fair, then the project manager has the opportunity to create a satis-
fied client. If the client believes the behavior of the project manager is unfair, then it is difficult to
create a satisfied client.

Key Takeaways

• To identify client expectations, review written documents, but have a dialogue with the client
to uncover unwritten expectations by asking questions and listening. Manage increasing
expectations by reminding the client of the original objectives.

• Determine the stated corporate values by reviewing written documents and review actions
related to those stated values to see which ones are the basis for action. Attempt to avoid
conflicts of values by identifying the differences before they become problems.

• Do not take advantage of clients’ mistakes, but help them meet their objectives in spite of
their errors. Live your own values of fairness.

Exercises

1. If a project is regularly exceeding the stated goal for quality, it is important to remind the
client of the __________ objective.

2. Values are desirable _______ or qualities.

3. Treating a client fairly means avoiding _______, prejudice, or favoritism.

4. What are some written sources of client expectations?

5. What is an example of a corporate value?

6. What does it mean to treat a client fairly?

Organizational ValuesOrganizational Values

Choose an organization with which you are familiar that proclaims to support a particular set of
values. Describe actions that it has taken that either support or differ from its stated values.

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responsibility matrix

Table of people and types
of problems that might
require decisions.

5.4 Dealing with Problems

Learning Objectives

1. Describe standards and procedures for dealing with problems.

2. Describe the advantages of dealing with difficult issues as soon as they arise.

3. Describe the importance of establishing methods for revising major decisions.

Projects always experience unexpected problems that produce stress. Dealing with problems with
competence is vital to maintaining a good relationship with clients.

Establish Standards and Procedures for
Decisions

There are competing interests on projects, and the larger and more complex the project, the greater
the number of issues and concerns that need to be addressed.

Competing Interests

It’s 7:30 in the morning, and the client calls and wants you to have coffee in an hour with the
new CEO, who flew in last night, to give him an update on the project. The concrete trucks were
supposed to be on site at 7:00, but they have not arrived. A storm is predicted for tomorrow, and
the concrete has to be in and covered before the storm hits. A news reporter calls and said she
has an unnamed source who claims that there is contamination of a nearby river coming from the
project site.

The project manager decided to postpone a team meeting about project scheduling and can-
celed lunch plans with his wife. It was going to be a busy day.

On large, complex projects, hundreds of decisions are made every day. Most of the decisions
focus on the day-to-day operation of the project. Early in the project, decisions focus on choosing
between alternative options for accomplishing project goals and determining how the project will
be managed. Later, the focus is typically on solving problems. The project team develops solutions
to deal with the barriers that emerge and develops alternative plans to meet project goals. The
authority to make decisions is typically established early in the project and identified in a
responsibility matrix—a table of people and types of problems that might require decisions—as
shown in Figure 5.10.

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FIGURE 5.10 The Responsibility Matrix
The responsibility matrix identifies roles and client involvement.

Decisions that influence the outcome of the project, such as a delay to the project completion
date or an increase in the project costs, typically involve the client. Some clients prefer to make
the final decision, with the project manager developing alternative solutions with a cost-benefit
analysis of each of the alternatives. Others prefer to be involved in discussions to better understand
the barriers, developing alternative solutions and making decisions in a team environment. Under-
standing the client’s decision-making preference and developing procedures and processes that
support that preference is important to meeting client expectations.

Develop processes and methods that encourage both client and team members to identify
issues and concerns early. Develop processes for dealing with these issues and concerns effectively.
Define how and when decisions are made.

On projects with a low complexity level, the project manager and team leaders can make
decisions informally, with short meetings or phone calls. Weekly or monthly staff meetings are
appropriate for more complex decisions. Even though the decision-making process may be simpler
on less complex projects, it is still important to understand the client’s expectation for inclusion in
the decision-making process and recording decisions and changes in project plans.

On more complex projects, the use of action item registers, weekly staff meetings, responsi-
bility matrices, and other tools foster the decision making on a timely basis. For project teams
operating in diverse locations, Internet-based tools for recording and tracking action items can pro-
vide a location for capturing issues and concerns.

Deal with Difficult Issues Early

Project managers typically have a high degree of confidence in their ability to deal with issues and
concerns as they arise. The delivery of some equipment is delayed a week, causing changes in the
project schedule, or the beta test of a software program identified far more problems than expected.
The project manager knows the problems, the team developed a solution, and the project has a
plan for recovering. The project will be back on track soon. Should the project manager inform the
client? The answer seems like an easy yes, yet many project managers often believe there is no rea-
son to bother the client with a problem they have under control.

Then the second delay occurs on the equipment delivery or the fixes for the beta test are more
costly than expected. Now the problems have elevated to the point the clients should be informed.
The greater the distance between the time of the event and the time the client knows about the
events, the greater the client’s frustration and mistrust. Including the client in the processes for
analyzing project issues or concerns as well as the recovery planning enables the client to develop
confidence that problems are being addressed. Including the client early in the process for dealing

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with problems enables the client to contribute with solutions and builds confidence that he or she
is aware of critical issues on the project.

New Estimates Increase Cost Projections

On a large, complex project in South America, the project team was reestimating the project cost
and schedule projections after the project design was complete. The team was also conducting
a new risk analysis, and the results of the cost and schedule projections, together with the risk
analysis, provided the client with better cash flow projections. Early in the process, the project
team understood that the cost projections would significantly increase, and the final project cost
would be significantly above the contingency set aside for the project.

The client looked for an early indication of the results of the analysis, and the project manager
kept reporting it was too early to know. The project team debated how much contingency the
project needed and how to inform the client. When the client was told the results of the cost pro-
jections, the response was a combination of frustration and anger. The client knew that cost trends
would have indicated a significant increase in cost, and this information should have been provided
earlier. The client lost trust in the project manager. The project manager was removed from the
project and a new project manager assigned.

The project manager should have dealt with the increased cost of the project early on. When
first indications suggested that estimates were low and several items in the budget needed extra
funds, the project manager should have had conversations with the client. Including one or more
members of the client’s team in the reevaluation effort would have kept the client informed of the
progress regularly and built trust in the new numbers. The project team could have offered sug-
gestions and contributed to possible solutions for addressing the concerns that were developing, as
costs were higher than expected. Dealing openly and early with the client is critical to client satis-
faction.

Provide Mechanisms for Revisiting Major
Decisions and Issues

The project environment moves fast, and decisions are made and implemented to keep pace. Deci-
sions made in the early stages of the project seem less effective during the during the later stages.
It is not that the decision was necessarily wrong; based on the data at the time, most decisions are
understandable. With new information, it is sometimes important to revisit and change decisions
made earlier in the project. As obvious as this sounds, many project teams are reluctant to chal-
lenge earlier decisions. Without a mechanism in place to revisit decisions, decisions may be seen as
final. This sense of finality may slow down the decision-making process to make sure every decision
is right. Delays in decisions can put activities behind schedule and affect the project completing on
time.

Mechanisms for revisiting decisions are similar to project change orders. Similar to a change
order, a request to revisit a decision must be initiated by someone on the team. The formality of
methods used by the project to revisit a decision depends on the complexity profile of the project.
On less-complex projects, an informal discussion in project meetings can develop the awareness
that a decision needs to be revisited. On more-complex projects, the action item register and the
weekly project meetings provide a venue for revisiting decisions.

Sometimes people ask that decisions be revisited because they did not like the decision that
was made.

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Revisiting Decisions

On an engineering project, the electrical design schedule was changed to support the completion
of the activities on the critical path by a project milestone date. The change increased the number
of hours needed to complete the work because of the change in work processes. The project
manager accepted the costs of the change to achieve the milestone date, but the manager of
the electrical engineering team objected because the change would cause their part of the job
to exceed the budgeted amount and make the electrical team look bad. The project manager
decided not to chnage the decision because no new information was available that would cause
the decision to change. The formal process of revisiting the decision allowed the electrical team
leader to voice concerns and then better understand the impact to the project. The project man-
ager was able to understand and address the concerns of the electrical team leader by allocating
more hours to the electrical activities in the project budget.

Clients are often involved in major decisions on the project. For example, if the project invested
another million dollars, the project could be completed a month early. The client will conduct the
cost-benefit analysis and decide if the extra expense is worth the gain in time. Once this decision is
made, the necessary changes are made in the execution plan and new goals are established through
the change management process. Later, for reasons outside the control of the project, the project
will not experience the time savings from the additional investment of funds. It is important to
revisit the decision. A culture that encourages project team members to bring up the need for revis-
iting decisions and a mechanism that makes it easy to surface issues and concerns will increase the
likelihood that these issues will come to the attention of the management team.

Vendor Decision Not Revisited

On a major pharmaceutical project in Ireland, a United States–based company was building a
new plant to produce a new drug, and the priority was completing the plant to get the drug to
the marketplace. The client was involved in the process to select major equipment, and after an
expedited bidding process, an equipment vendor was selected for a critical piece of the plant
equipment. Later, members of the project team learned that this vendor was overcommitted, and
there was a high risk that the vendor would not be able to meet the schedule dates. Because it
was the client’s decision, the project leadership was not warned of the possible risk. Weeks later,
the vendor began missing critical dates, and the leadership became aware of the risks.

The client was furious that the decision was not revisited earlier in the project. Even though
changes were made that brought the project back on track, the client did not trust the project
team again. The project finished on time and within budget while meeting all quality specifications,
but the client was not pleased.

Establishing a culture and a mechanism for revisiting project decisions is important for meet-
ing client expectations.

Emergency Button

An experienced project manager came up with a clever idea to enable his clients to capture the
attention of the project team. He gave the client’s team a bright red index card and said, “This
is your emergency button.” The card was a symbol. It empowered the client with the ability to
capture the complete attention of the project team. When the client presented the red button,
the project manager instantly stopped current activities and focused on the client. The red button
meant the project leadership focused on understanding the issue or concern presented by the
client and developing project priorities to meet the client’s concerns.

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Although the red button was rarely used, it gave a sense of power to the client and communicated
that the client was important. One project manager used the “red button” on four projects, and
on two of the projects the card was never used. On one project, the client used the card to get
the project ready for a visit from the client’s boss, and on the fourth project, the client used the
card often. Although the project manager believed the card was overused to get the total atten-
tion of the project leadership team, he never regretted providing the client with the card. The “red
button” card provided them a method to distinguish the really important needs of the client.

Key Takeaways

• Determine who should be included in decisions for each category using a decision matrix.

• Decide at what level of problem the client should be involved by discussing the threshold
with the client. Involve the client early in the process to give them a chance to contribute to
the solution before the problem gets worse.

• Decide what criteria to use to determine when a decision should be revisited. Additional infor-
mation that is developed during the design and planning phase can require that decisions
made during the conceptual phase need to be reconsidered.

Exercises

1. A table that displays who should be included in making different types of decisions is a deci-
sion ______.

2. A client should be involved in decisions ______ in the process of dealing with a problem.

3. Information that is developed in the planning phase can require reconsidering decisions that
were made in the _________ phase.

4. Describe a responsibility matrix and how it is used.

5. Why is it important to inform a client early in the process of resolving a problem?

6. Why should earlier decisions be revisited?

Threshold for Client InvolvementThreshold for Client Involvement

Consider a project with which you are familiar in which the client was not included in making
day-to-day decisions. Describe a type of problem that would be too small to take to the client for
input and another problem that would be just large enough to require client involvement. If you
were trying to communicate the reasons for your decision to another team member, describe
the threshold that had to be crossed for the second problem to qualify for client involvement.

5.5 Nurturing a Feeling of Satisfaction

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the advantages of using project milestones.

2. Describe the advantages of including the client in celebrations and guidelines for doing so.

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Manage around Project Milestones

Project milestones represent significant events on the project. Some project milestones signify
external events that provide critical information or resources to the project or an external event
that requires information or deliverables from the project.

Board of Directors Meeting

The client’s board of directors meets on March 15, and the client must report the project progress
and submit the project final budget for approval. The project team develops the information
needed for the project progress report and finalizes the project estimate by March 10 to provide
the client with five days to review the information and make any changes.

Recall that a milestone is an event that consumes no time or resources. In this example, the
Provide Client with Report is the milestone event. All the activity to develop and deliver the report
takes place before the milestone event.

Extra Effort to Meet a Milestone

On March 8, the project team determines that the progress report and estimate cannot be com-
pleted by March 10. The team will need one more day to complete the report and estimate.
Should the project manager ask the client for a one-day extension? The client may be able to
review and revise the information before it goes to the board in four days, but the message to
the client has a bigger impact on the project. By missing the deadline, the client can develop the
perception that client deadlines are less important, that the project team is unable to complete
critical tasks on time, or that the project team is not dedicated.

Instead of asking the client for one more day, the project manager pulls together the project team
and asks what it will take to make the milestone date. If the estimator works overtime tonight
and the project controls team starts a few hour early on March 9, then the project controls team
can work late on March 9 to finish the report. The project administrative staff can come in early
on March 10 to do the revisions and make copies, and the reports can be ready by noon. Other
activities will have to be delayed and critical staff will work overtime, but the client will get the
needed information by the promised date.

Making the extra effort to deliver by the milestone date communicates to the client and the
project team the importance of meeting milestones. The client develops confidence that the pro-
ject team is dedicated to meeting client expectations and that deadlines are important. The extra
efforts by the team to meet the client’s critical dates will often result in the client making an extra
effort to help the project team meet critical dates.

During the life of a project, the project team encounters a large number of small problems that
can cause small delays. A thunderstorm caused the loss of electricity in the office building, and the
bidders’ conference had to be delayed one day; a computer virus shut down the use of computers,
causing the loss of another day; and the airplane flights were late, so the project reviews were one
day late. None of these events caused significant problems for the project, but together they add up
to delays that could affect the end date of the project.

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FIGURE 5.11
Meeting milestones creates
better project atmosphere.

FIGURE 5.12
Meeting milestone objectives
reduces stress.

FIGURE 5.13
Include the client in milestone
celebrations.

If these delays continue to add up, then the project end date will begin to slip. As the project
nears the completion date, the team will work overtime, decisions will be rushed, and resources will
be added to the project to avoid missing the project end date. This type of end-of-project atmos-
phere will leave a strong lasting impression with the client and usually does not produce a satisfied
client.

Project milestones provide the opportunity for the project manager to spread the end-of-pro-
ject pressure over the life of the project. Project managers add resources, authorize overtime, and
expedite work to accomplish what is required to meet the milestone. The project work increases in
intensity, motivating project team members to accomplish the work on time until the milestone is
achieved. After the milestone is achieved, the project celebrates and acknowledges the success of
the team and then begins working toward the next milestone. Project managers use milestones to
increase this intensity and focus to keep the project on schedule and prevent the delays of hard
decisions to the end of the project.

This approach allows the project manager to lower the intensity of the project after a mile-
stone is accomplished. After celebrating the successful completion of the milestone, a project
manager will often review the future plans and allow the team to reflect on finding new ways of
approaching the project work. Adjustments are made to the project work plan and the milestone
cycle begins again.

Milestones are rarely evenly distributed over the length of the project. Project managers often
select key events and make them milestone events to create roughly equal spacing between mile-
stone dates. On large, multiyear projects, managing to a milestone each quarter provides good
timing for the project. On shorter projects, monthly milestones can provide the right timing. On
larger, more complex projects, typically a large number of activities can be designated as milestones
for the project. On smaller projects, the project manager may need to artificially create milestones.

Include the Client in Celebrations

Project celebrations are a time when the project manager and the management team can thank the
project team members for their contribution to the project’s success at various stages of the project.
Celebrations for successfully accomplishing project milestones are good examples of creating the
opportunity to honestly celebrate. Some projects have birthday celebrations for the team or holiday
celebrations, and although these events can be a positive contribution to the project morale, they
are not connected to the success of the team in accomplishing project objectives.

Successful celebrations reinforce the effort and activities that created the success. Successful
celebrations communicate appreciation for the energy and commitment of the team, focused on
team goals. Successful celebrations communicate progress and confidence to project stakeholders,
and successful celebrations share the success of the project with the client and reinforce the meet-
ing of client expectations.

Successful celebrations result from good planning and the application of some basic principles
for celebrations. The following are some of the basic principles for developing a successful celebra-
tion:

• What was accomplished and why it was important to the overall success of the project should
be communicated to the team. Discuss the goals that were accomplished and the milestones
met and how that advanced the project. For example, the civil design team on a construction
project completed the site work design early, the bids for the site work were on the street early,
and the project met the milestone of moving dirt on the site by May 1. Starting the site work
early helps assure that the construction work will be under a roof before the bad weather hits
in the late fall.

• Appreciation should be expressed specifically. A general statement that the project met all the
goals does not carry the same meaning as “the project team completed the development of

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the new training curriculum by December 1.” People associate their activities with meeting the
milestone and take pride in their contribution to the project’s success. Team members appreci-
ate it when the project manager and others recognize their contribution.

• Celebrations should occur in the work area where the accomplishments were achieved. Cel-
ebrating holidays in the cafeteria is appropriate. Celebrating the accomplishments of the
project in the project task force area brings a stronger association of the work of the project
with the accomplishments being celebrated.

• Accomplishments of the team should be celebrated shortly after the milestone is achieved. The
more time elapsed between the accomplishments and the celebrations, the less the impact.

• The persons that publicly recognize the team are important. The project leadership expressing
personal appreciation reinforces the recognition of the work and effort to achieve project
goals. Senior managers of the company reinforce the importance of the project to company
goals and recognition of the role of individual project team members’ contribution to company
success.

• In many cultures, food is associated with times of reflection, such as the dinner table discus-
sion or lunch meetings. Serving food communicates that this event is special. Serving food also
communicates that someone took the time to prepare and serve the project team as a form of
appreciation.

• Clients play a special role in celebrations, and celebrations play a special role in meeting
client expectations. A client expression of appreciation to the project team is often more sig-
nificant than the appreciation expressed by senior managers. Clients in most commercial
organizations are acknowledged as the source of profits, bonuses, and future business. A client
expressing appreciation to the project team, especially in front of the company’s senior man-
agement, gives the project team special status for creating goodwill with clients.

When clients speak at a celebration, their remarks usually provide high praise for the work
of the project team. This event provides an opportunity for the client to reflect and appraise the
progress of the project team. Often the client concludes that the team is meeting or exceeding
expectations. The celebration reinforces that conclusion.

If the client has doubts about some of the project performance but still speaks at the celebra-
tion and praises the team, the client may experience cognitive dissonance. The client will typically
reevaluate the perception of the project team’s performance and conclude the team really has done
a good job. The perception is now consistent with the client’s remarks and the end result is a client
perception of a project as meeting expectations.

Understanding and meeting client expectations is a proactive process. The project manager
and the project team develop plans and processes that focus on defining both specifications and
expectations that are often difficult to quantify. The team executes the project in a way that meets
both the specifications of the client and also the more subtle expectations not reflected in the mea-
sured data.

Celebration Checklist

• The project accomplishments were displayed in the celebration area.

• Accomplishments clearly related to project goals.

• Appreciation was expressed specifically, with a focus of gal attainment.

• Celebration was timely.

• Food was served.

• Client spoke to the team.

• Project sponsor related project success to the organization’s success.

• The level of celebration was appropriate for the level of accomplishment.

• No discussion of next month’s goals were discussed.

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Key Takeaways

• Making extra efforts to meet milestone dates keeps the project on track and avoids large
problems at the end of the project. It allows for lessening of intensity after a milestone to
provide stress relief for team members, and it builds confidence in the client that the project
will be completed on time.

• If the client is included in milestone celebrations, he or she has a better understanding of
what effort it takes to keep the project on track. If asked to say something at the celebra-
tion, the client will usually say positive things that have an effect on his or her perception of
the project. Celebrations should communicate the importance of the milestone to the project
and praise specific accomplishments. The celebration should occur in the workplace. Get
high-ranking people to praise the project team in front of each other to reinforce a sense of
satisfaction, and include food in the celebration to make it more social.

Exercises

1. Managing a project using ___________ keeps the project on track and allows for periodic
celebrations of achieving interim objectives.

2. Clients should be encouraged to ___________ in celebration of project achievements.

3. Why should extra effort be expended to meet a milestone when the final project’s due date
is months away?

4. Why should the client be included in milestone celebrations?

Milestone CelebrationsMilestone Celebrations

Consider a workplace with which you are familiar. If it utilizes milestone celebrations to mark
completion of special tasks or phases of work, compare the components of the celebration with
those recommended in the text. If it does not, describe how you would use milestone celebra-
tions in this workplace.

Resources for Managing Stakeholders

Stakeholder theory

Stakeholder communications

Stakeholder analysis

http://stakeholdermap.com/stakeholder-engagement.html

Interpersonal Skills and Project Management

5.6 End-of-Chapter Exercises

Exercises at the end of the chapter are designed to strengthen your understanding and retention
of the information recently acquired in the chapter.

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http://stakeholdermap.com/stakeholder-engagement.html

Interpersonal Skills and Project Management

Essay Questions

Write several paragraphs to provide more in-depth analysis and consideration when answering
the following questions.

1. Describe a project with which you are familiar that resulted in a dissatisfied client. The project
can be personal or professional if it serves to illustrate the concepts in this chapter. Identify
how the client was included or excluded from project teams and how they were informed of
problems. Analyze the situation and draw a conclusion regarding how a similar client might
be satisfied on a future project.

2. Describe a project with which you are familiar that resulted in a satisfied client. The project
can be personal or professional if it serves to illustrate the concepts in this chapter. Identify
how the client was included or excluded from project teams and how they were informed
of problems. Analyze the situation and draw a conclusion regarding which aspect of client
relations was most effective in achieving client satisfaction.

3. Describe a project with which you are familiar where early decisions had to be changed
based on information that became available later in the project. Analyze the process by which
the decision was made and at what point the client was informed of the need for a change.
Describe any changes you would make in the process or timing that might improve client
satisfaction.

Discussion

The exercises in this section are designed to promote exchange of information among students
in the classroom or in an online discussion. The exercises are more open ended, which means
that what you find might be completely different from what your classmates find, and you can all
benefit by sharing what you have learned.

1. Milestone celebrations. Consider celebrations of milestone events in your life and how those
celebrations affected your memory and attitudes toward achieving those objectives. Do you
think using milestone celebrations can be a useful tool for projects? Express your opinion
and support it with examples.

2. Client participation. Where would you place the threshold for involving a client in a decision?
What criteria would you use and how would you involve the client with that process of estab-
lishing the threshold?

5.7 Web Exercises

Learning Objectives

1. Locate and analyze information online related to managing client relationships.

2. Locate, download, and analyze a project milestone analysis and then create your hypotheti-
cal project milestone analysis for distribution to your team and client.

162 Project Management

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Locate and Analyze Information Online
Related to Managing Client Relationships

Managing relationships with clients is a challenging task, and it is often discussed online. In this
exercise, you locate online articles and other publications dealing with client relationships and
then compare and analyze them.

How to Read about Client Relationships

1. Start a web browser program and go to the website at https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/
project-relationships-stakeholder-circle-8092.

2. Review the topics listed in this article.

3. Start a word processing program and open a new document. On the first line, type your name.
Below your name, write a brief summary of the points made in each of the five major topics.

4. Save the word processing document as Ch05ClientStudentName using the Word 2010 .dox file
format.

5. In the web browser, use a search program such as Google to search for a combination of key
terms such as Project Management Client Relationships.

6. Review the results of the search and choose a site that addresses some of the same points. Con-
sider the similarities and differences between this site and the article from an idea.

7. Copy the web address from the browser’s address bar.

8. Switch to Ch05ClientStudentName. Paste the web address into the document.

9. Switch to the browser. Capture the screen and paste it into Ch05ClientStudentName.

10. Below the screen image, compare the content of the two sites point by point using a separate
paragraph for each point. Be specific. If the site does not address one of the five points in the
first site, briefly mention that it does not.

11. Save the document.

12. Review your work and use the following rubric to determine its adequacy:

Element Best Adequate Poor

File name Ch05ClientStudentName Word
2010
version
using
x

Another file name

Locate and analyze
information online
related to managing
client relationships

Summary of the five points;
web address; screen
capture; comparison of each
point

Same as
Best

Summary not accurate;
missing web address or
screen; all five topics not
addressed

13. Save the file and submit it as directed by the instructor. Close all documents and programs.

Project Milestone Analysis[4]

Morale and psyche are an important component in any project; this includes both the team and the
client. Project milestones represent significant events within the project. Some project milestones

Chapter 5 Understanding and Meeting Stakeholder Expectations 163

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https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-relationships-stakeholder-circle-8092

signify external events that provide critical information or resources to the project or an external
event that requires information or deliverables from the project. Nonetheless, the proper creation
and distribution of this information can be an integral part of the overall success of your project.

How to Download a Project Milestone Analysis

1. Open a blank word processing document and type Milestone and your name and date on the
first line. Save the file as Ch05MilestonesStudentName using the Word 2003 file format that
ends with .

2. Start a web browser program and go to the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle Project Milestones
page for NASA at http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/479023main_Orion_2010_Milestones . A screen
capture of this milestone analysis is shown in Figure 5.14.

FIGURE 5.14 Orion Milestone—NASA

Source: nasa.gov.

3. Add this website to your browser’s favorites list, in a folder named Milestones.

4. Capture a screen that shows a link to this site in the Projects folder of your bookmarks or
favorites and then paste it into the word processing document.

5. Within the PDF file, locate the milestone attribute within the analysis that you feel to be most
significant, capture the screen of that milestone accomplishment, and paste it in the Word doc-
ument.

6. Below the Word document, include a brief summary (250 words) as to why you think this
accomplishment is of merit and utilize references from the reading in Chapter 5 to correlate
this accomplishment to things you’ve learned in the text. Describe the advantages of using pro-
ject milestones.

How to Create an Analysis

1. Now that you have familiarized yourself with the reading on the importance of project mile-
stones and witnessed a firsthand account of a project milestone analysis on behalf of NASA,

164 Project Management

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http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/479023main_Orion_2010_Milestones

Home Page

create your hypothetical 1,000-word milestone analysis document including a minimum of
four digital images. Make sure that the analysis is pertinent and consistent—maintain a com-
mon theme.

2. Use appropriate verbiage that will be comprehensible by everyone who may read this analysis:
team members, clients, and so on.

3. Insert this 1,000-word analysis with imagery below the final screen capture from the NASA
website.

4. Review your work and use the following rubric to determine its adequacy:

Element Best Adequate Poor

File name Ch05MilestonesStudentName Ch05MilestonesStudentName Another file
name

Locate,
download,
and analyze
a project
milestone
analysis
and then
create your
hypothetical
project
milestone
analysis for
your team
and client

Milestone and name/date on first
line; screen captures that show
the web link in the Milestone
folder of your browser’s favorites
and an image of the initial screen
capture of the NASA milestone
analysis; your perceived, most
important aspect and rebuttal
(250 words); a hypothetical
1,000-word milestone analysis
that is entirely consistent

Milestone and name on first
line; screen captures that
show the web link in the
Milestone folder of your
browser’s favorites and an
image of the NASA milestone
analysis; a brief rebuttal (150
words or less) as to why you
think this is the most
important aspect of the
milestone; a hypothetical
500-word milestone analysis
that is somewhat consistent

Missing or
incomplete
screen
captures; a
rebuttal that is
too general
and lacks
significant
educational
correlation
from the text; a
hypothetical
milestone
analysis that is
not consistent
and lacks
evidence of
thought
provocation

5. Save Ch05MilestoneStudentName and submit it as directed by the instructor. Close all docu-
ments and programs.

Endnotes

1. Russell W. Darnall, The World’s Greatest Project (Newtown Square, PA:
Project Management Institute, Inc., 1996), 48–55.

2. Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online Dictionary, s.v. “values,” http://
unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/collegiate (accessed June 18,
2009).

3. Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online Dictionary, s.v. “fairness,” http://
unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/
collegiate?va=fairness&x=0&y=0 (accessed June 18, 2009).

4. Written by Eric Ouellette as his additional project for graduate credit,
December 2010, Eastern Michigan University. Edited by Professor Preston
on June 20, 2012.

Chapter 5 Understanding and Meeting Stakeholder Expectations 165

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http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/collegiate

http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/collegiate?va=fairness&x=0&y=0

166 Project Management

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Chapter 5: Understanding and Meeting Stakeholder Expectations

5.1: Stakeholder Satisfaction

Analyzing Stakeholders

Educate the Client from the Beginning

Include the Client on Selected Project Teams

5.2: Managing Stakeholder Relations

Developing a Stakeholder Management Plan

Project Reviews

Project Progress Report

New Clinic Project Report

Surveying Key Stakeholders

5.3: Understanding Values and Expectations

Clarify Expectations

Clarify Values

Deal Fairly with the Client

5.4: Dealing with Problems

Establish Standards and Procedures for Decisions

Deal with Difficult Issues Early

Provide Mechanisms for Revisiting Major Decisions and Issues

5.5: Nurturing a Feeling of Satisfaction

Manage around Project Milestones

Include the Client in Celebrations

5.6: End-of-Chapter Exercises

5.7: Web Exercises

Locate and Analyze Information Online Related to Managing Client Relationships

How to Read about Client Relationships

Project Milestone AnalysisWritten by Eric Ouellette as his additional project for graduate credit, December 2010, Eastern Michigan University. Edited by Professor Preston on June 20, 2012.

How to Download a Project Milestone Analysis

How to Create an Analysis

Endnotes

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