Posted by Joe Taylor on Tue, Apr 21, 2009
In my last post I discussed the difference between successful ERP system implementations and those not so successful, and the impact the client's project manager (who I call the "System Administrator" in my Seven Elements in a Successful System).
Here's a definition of the various characteristics I've seen in people who were assigned this position and the typical results achieved in the projects. I've graded them from A (the best) to F (the total failures).
A - Amazing Achiever
This is the best kind of project manager. This person loves to achieve and can't wait to sink her teeth in the project. A client with an Amazing Achiever will save thousands of dollars in consulting fees because the project will be done - and amazingly successful - in record time.
B - Bullish Believer
This optimist bull-in-a-china-shop will get it done, even if it kills him and the others on the project. It might not be pretty, and some of it might need to be re-done, but at the end, the job is done, and the system works.
C - Challenging Compromiser
This person challenges every suggestion, from the sequence of the tasks to the make-up of the team, from the implementation time line to the selection of the software itself. These projects get done, but only after blowing up the budget due to delays and mistakes, and this person will blame everybody but herself.
D - Demanding Do-Nothing
This guy is a project killer. He totally avoids personal responsibility for the project - loves to point out "that's the reason I hired you." He has never been involved with this type of project before, but he was born with the talent and knowledge to do it better than anyone else ever did. These projects usually don't get finished at all - at least not until the Demanding Do-Nothing is replaced.
F - Fact-less Fabricator
This character is the worst of all. This guy loudly and forcefully tells everybody what to do during the project, blames others when something doesn't work, and files a lawsuit when everybody finally quits. Always an owner, otherwise he'd be fired early on. These projects are total failures.
Now wasn't that fun? You've met these people, haven't you? Help me come up with more alliterative characters you've met during software implementation projects. Which are you? Or if you're not in that position, which character is your company's system administrator?