“Why Do This? It’s Too Much Work!”

You might work in an environment where configuration management is an integral part of the project management approach, so this is not even an issue for you. For others, it is often tempting, as previously mentioned, to not give this area proper attention. So let’s answer the question, “Why should we do this?” Why should we plan out the details for how specific work products are going to be managed? From the collective experience of project managers across the land (not that any of these have happened to me or anything), here are a few reasons why:

• Where is that file?—The ability to quickly locate project information for a key stakeholder or to help resolve an important issue.
• Lost productivity—Avoid instances of lost productivity when the work of one team member is overwritten by another team member, or when the product configuration you are testing does not have the latest versions of all components—thus making the test run invalid.
• Baseline? What baseline?—Avoid instances where you cannot go back to or restore previous versions of work products.
• Who made that change?—Avoid instances where you cannot clearly tell (or explain) when changes were made and who made them. TipIf you are not using digital signatures or email confirmations for work product acceptance, be sure to scan the signed acceptance forms and store them in the project repository.
• Who approved that change?—Avoid instances where changes are made to work products that are not properly reviewed and approved. To say the least, this can lead to quality and customer satisfaction issues.
• That will never happen to us—A major or minor disaster occurs that wipes out one or more work products. Where is your backup copy? Can you recover?
• We said we would do what?—On projects with numerous deliverables and work products, it is easy to lose sight of the minor or auxiliary work items. A basic deliverable tracking mechanism can go a long way in preventing this from occurring.
• I’ve got your official sign-off right here…now where did that go?—Assuming you have official client acceptance of your key deliverables, make sure you have a way to protect this evidence going forward. NoteThe entire concept of document management started with the legal industry.
• You have no choice—In many environments, there are legal, regulatory, or process compliance requirements that must be met. In each of these cases, having control over work product changes is an absolute must. Most of this activity is focused on protecting the integrity of the work product and providing associated audit trials (evidence).
• The ultimate reason: negotiating power—There is tremendous political power in having tight control over project work products. If targeted work products are officially approved, you have a clear audit trail on any changes to those work products, and those official sign-offs are protected, you are well positioned to deal with any scope or requirements dispute. In addition, a historical record of all project management work products, such as project schedules, issue logs, status reports, and meeting minutes, can be very valuable in negotiating new issues. TipThe three fundamental principles of managing project work products are identify, protect, and track. Managing project deliverables can also be summarized by another important principle: CYA—Cover Your Assets. Assume you will have to legally prove your project’s case in court someday.