One of my major projects is about to progress into user acceptance testing (UAT). We've entered the last six months of the 18-month project and are actually running on time. This is largely due to the commitment of the project team in reaching agreements and resolutions within meetings and getting tasks completed.
Although testing time can be tricky, we've planned for this stage from the outset. Our test community consists of project team members and extended users. To ensure the best test results, users are:
- Coached to own their system
- Responsible for ensuring that the system works to their expectations during UAT
- Instructed to work with our technical team members to develop test plans
- Required to plan and commit time and energy into proper testing
From a project management perspective, this is all about managing expectations. Working closely with an active and visible sponsor has helped immensely. The sponsor and I have had regular meetings to discuss issues and progress, anticipate challenges, and ensure that he's fully informed so that decisions can be made swiftly and confidently.
With regard to testing, I've worked consistently with the sponsor to manage expectations about his involvement. He and two team members will be responsible for reviewing the UAT results to determine which changes are critical and which are optional.
I'm fortunate that this sponsor is focused and dedicated to the project's success. By working closely with him, we've engendered a spirit of cooperation, trust and honesty. We review many aspects of the project with him prior to meetings, and he has full veto over what we decide as a project team.
Our technical partners in this project have been very supportive in maintaining an internal project page location on the corporate site. This means everyone on the team (and some senior sponsors) can access project files, find contact details for all team members and review progress. These documents are audit trails and confirmatory reports that illustrate work being done, pending and achieved.
All of this anticipated success (and, yes, any delays and glitches) are due to the high level of communication, commitment and expectation management within the project team.
We've regularly addressed concerns about testing criteria, expectations about the data, and the gathering and distillation of comments. Everyone on the team is committed and ready to be involved in testing. I also have access to a live build site so I can see progress and report back to our project team.
As the project manager, I will also have access to the new system approximately 10 days prior to the user community, allowing me to check for any glaring issues prior to exposure to the team.
All of this anticipated success (and, yes, any delays and glitches) are due to the high level of communication, commitment and expectation management within the project team. The integrity and values shared by this community have created an enjoyable, challenging and energetic team. I look forward to the success of this project—but with a little sadness, knowing that it will soon be complete and the project team will be disbanded. I have to manage my expectations, too. PM
Sheilina Somani, FAPM, PMP, is the owner of U.K.-based Positively Project Management, which provides consulting, mentoring and development services.