As any project nears the end, the project manager can ask themselves this question. The solution has passed all the defined tests, documentation is in place, and the customer is ready to go live. Has the project been a success? This leads to a different question which is what constitutes success?
In the scenario defined above, the technology will function according to spec but can the receiving organization operate and maintain the solution. Can the staff run the interfaces, troubleshoot issues as they arise, make adjustments to either configuration in a commercial software package or custom code as the business needs evolve. This assumes of course the project team does not remain on to perform these functions but is an important question to ask. In my experience, project managers should be equally interested in this second aspect.
In an earlier post, I wrote about Education Strategies and this is where they fit in. During the course of the project, project managers should execute on the Education Strategy to ensure that all parties who will ultimately operate and maintain the solution are both gaining those skills and knowledge but also gaining confidence in those skills and knowledge. As part of that execution, monitoring the progress of each user role and individuals within that role is important.
At times, this requires a balance between being "helpful" and providing answers to questions, providing tools, etc and allowing the individuals time to immerse in the new solution. This immersion and gaining first hand experience are keys to gaining confidence. For example, I remember the first time I opened a spreadsheet application and looked at the grid. My first question was ok, now what? I had no idea where to start. After working through some simple examples, I started to get the idea and both my knowledge and confidence grew. The same is true for anything new. This can be a difficult and anxious time for staff but is far less anxious when accomplished in a test environment than in the first few weeks of a production environment. Many times, I get the question "why won't you just tell me" or "why don't you just provide me the SQL?" This stems from pushing the staff to get immersed and build their own confidence and at times, the project manager in hot water.
This approach positions the receiving organization not only with a good technical solution but a staff that is both knowledgable and confident in their abilities. At this point, I believe the project has been a success.
