7 Things You MUST Do Before Starting Your Next Project

Let’s Meet.

Ted Theodoropoulos• Founder & President• 20+ years as a business owner• 10 years in IT Audit/Risk

Management at Bank of America

• Former member of Microsoft SQL Server team

• Certified Scrum Master / Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Paul Bedford• Senior Solutions Architect• 30 years experience with

MS technology stack• 15 years experience with

MS SharePoint technologies (on premises – cloud – hybrid)

Katrina Dittmer• Senior Manager of

Knowledge Management • 20 years experience with

law firm technology• Expert in intranet design

and management, litigation support processes and systems, docketing software and more.

We are Legal IT Experts.

SharePointCustom

DevelopmentPortal Branding/UXPlatform MigrationManaged Services

GovernanceInfo ArchitectureSharePoint MD

We help law firms leverage the latest technologies and methodologies to meet business objectives through:

App DevApp ModernizationGreenfield App Dev(Desktop/Mobile)

ASP.NET MVCHTML5/JavaScript/

CSSMicrosoft Azure

SQL Server DB/RS/IS

System Integration

EnvisioningIT Project Planning

Cost EstimateProject Charter

Solution ConceptRisk Assessment

Capabilities Overview

Wireframes & Surveys

Style Tiles & Mockups

What We’ll Cover Today

• Introductions• Poll• Communication• Gathering Key Stakeholders• Current and Future States• Risk/Reward Analysis• Uncovering Project Expectations• Understanding Your Vision• Developing a Road Map• Q&A

Let’s Poll.

What percentage of IT projects are successful?

1 to 25% - 26% to 50% - 51% to 75% - 76% to 100%

1. Shout it from the Mountain Top!

• What is it we are trying to do?• Why are we bothering to do this?• How will the business be improved?• How will we measure success?• Is this a strategic initiative or are we looking to solve a tactical issue?• Is this aligned with organizational objectives?

Clearly communicate the vision and goals of the project.

2. 1-2-3…INCLUDE EVERYONE!

Only 39% of projects are deemed successful, while the remaining 61% are

failed or challenged.

Who are your project’s stakeholders? Everyone potentially impacted by the solution and the project.

Why do they care?How will your project impact your stakeholders?

Why do we care?They will judge both the project’s success and OUR success!

Partner

Firms

Users

Sponsors

Clients

Vendors

Identify ALL stake holders and their interest in the project.

3. It’s All About The Journey.It’s not only about technology (but that’s important): • Business Climate• Competition• Culture• Processes

Understand where you are now, and where you are going.

• Metrics• Organization• Growth and Change• Agility

4. Nothing Ventured. Nothing Gained.

Risks• What happens if we fail? Succeed?• What happens if we do nothing?• Why haven’t we already done this?

Constraints• Financial• People• Time• Other (regulatory, compliance etc.)

Pain Points• What are we trying to solve and for whom?• What makes the effort worth while?

Understand and rank key relevant risks, constraints and pain points.

5. We Can’t Handle The Truth!

• What do they want to see? • What are their preconceptions

about the solution? The project? The team?

• What do they see the problem as?

• What do they see as the solution?

• How do they define success?• What do the want? And, when?• What are they willing to

compromise on? Time? Cost?• How do they want to optimize

the solution?Identify and expose stake holder perceptions

and expectations.

6. I Can See My House From Here!

• Paint a picture of the future with the solution in place.• What is different? What has improved?• Does the solution meet our future needs?• Do we think our requirements will change? How?

When?• How do we manage this? Force a policy decision.

Understand and expand on future state vision.

7. If You Build It, They Will Come…

• Identify, define and prioritize specific actions to move forward:Stakeholder impactsSolution capabilities

• Assign Roles and Responsibilities – assemble the team

• Agree road map - milestones and timeline• Agree on the budget

Risk mitigations Business outcomes

Identify, define and prioritize specific actions to move forward;

develop a road map.

Now You’re An Expert.

Your next successful project requires due diligence, key stakeholders and proper

planning.

Our goal is to supply you with relevant knowledge to help make this happen.

But, We're Still Here to Help.

Learn about Envisioning today and how our team of project experts and this defined process can ensure success for your next project.

Questions and Answersinfo@acrowire.com