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Case Study: Risk Monitoring and Mitigation

Case Study: Expresso App (Codename)

Assess Business Goals and Risks before development

Before initiating a new app development project, I wanted to formalize the business case and risks in writing. I knew time spent up front to analyze assumptions, conduct stakeholder analysis, and perform thorough research would save the project from falling out of alignment with our business goals.

Unfortunately, at the validation stage, the project was determined to be unviable.

Challenges & Mitigation Tactics:

Used project management skills in: Business case development, risk assessment, stakeholder analysis, research and development, feasibility studies, strategic planning.

Team members moving ahead before goals were confirmed

By the time I was brought on board, the team had had many conversations, and excited enthusiasm to begin had taken hold.

The team's energy was positive, but

I needed to assess if jumping into planning, before the app had been greenlit would lead to rework or a disjointed vision down the line. I encouraged the energy to be redirected into high level mockups to support the product owners pitch to investing stakeholders.

Stakeholder analysis based on the wrong players

Our product design concept was based on discussions by members of a group but the app would be sold to the administrators of this group.

These administrators had not been consulted at early design stages.

Instead of project planning I worked to support the business case by creating a product life cycle diagram to better understand if multiple releases through an iterative approach could provide early value.

Decisions were not being documented

The product owner preferred to work in a free flowing manner of informal conversations.

Word of mouth research was sound, but

filled with tacit knowledge. To transfer this knowledge, I interviewed the product owner and summarized key points into a product attribute document that would be used in building a Charter and breakdown work at later stages.

CONSTRAINTS

Communication Silos

TACTIC

Document the steps to make sure we were all working on the same vision at every stage.

LEADERSHIP STYLE

Facilitator

TACTIC

Adding light structure like a product release plan with phase gates helped me communicate to planning teams where the energy and resources were best spent.

RESULTS

Risk mitigation was the correct choice

TACTIC

We learned our App would need to fight an established competition. Investors withdrew support and the project was closed before it started. No significant time or budget was lost.

Short personal story: I once worked as an assistant on a TV series, enthusiasm and energy to move forward, bubbling over. I was confronted, informally, and told my eager disposition was disruptive (which was not incorrect). I never regained the energy, and always felt self-conscious of my work moving forward. I've learned: enthusiasm needs to be protected.

Stephanie Scott

Project Manager

Project Highlights: Business case development, risk assessment

Business Goal: Pre-sell an app aligned with an associations core goals
Development Approach: Agile
Software: Google Suite: Documents, Spreadsheets, Files
Constraints: Scope validation
Takeaways: I can nurture and encourage team excitement, on the right tools at the right time. A diagram speaks volumes.

Where would you like to go next?

Rates:

Project Management is a natural next step to 15 yrs in content strategy and 10 yrs in content development.

Rates are industry standard. Please contact me to discuss your needs.

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Book a discovery call: steph@wildfireeffect.com