November 27, 2006 - Surviving Directional Changes Part 2

In a quest to build stability in your team 3 key activities were identified: Set yourself up for success; strive to continuously improve; and recognize change and the impact it will have on the group. Identify your sponsor was the first step to setup for success.

The second is to recognize the stakeholders. Among the stakeholders for our QA group included the Corporate SQA manager, the on site consulting management and the project teams. Our group was expanded to include the Project Office role we also trained, mentored and audited the project managers so they also became key stakeholders.

Of course recognition involves more that just naming them. Documenting the relationship and responsibilities the group has toward these individuals leads directly into the next step, create a charter and obtain approval. This formally identifies the group, draws the boundaries around their responsibilities and grants the authority to perform those duties. This is another point where the level of authority of your sponsor is important. If it is too low the charter won’t be enforceable.

The final step in setting up for success is to communicate the group purpose and objectives. It is important to let the key stakeholders know what you are charged with accomplishing. This was especially important in our group. There was a need for Quality Control function to verify the final product; however our charter outlined our responsibilities as Quality Assurance focused on ensuring the processes were defined and followed. When our purpose was questioned we returned to our charter to make sure we were meeting the group objectives.