KPI Library methodology

Getting back to Field Effectiveness, nowadays companies maintain metric and KPI libraries the same way that they maintain libraries for best practices and lessons learned. The key is to use a methodology or framework.Firstly identifying the clients and stakeholders, we then input the requirements,business case, and accompanying assumptions.The methodology then guides us through the different process groups of initiation ,planning ,execution ,monitoring and controlling ,and closure .The methodology also provides us with guidance in the identification of metrics, KPIs and dashboard reporting techniques for a particular client.

If you want some perspective on how you or your company needs to enhance their Sales/Client Management Capabilities, please email me at shubhanjan.saha@gmail.com

Causes of Failure in a Sales Support Project

Before starting a project I usually try to take a mental note of the causes of failure in a project, some of them are issues that could persist throughout the duration of the contract. So I have compiled a generic list of common causes of failure that I have encountered that I keep my eye out for !, They are :

• End user stakeholders not involved throughout the project. (My biggest Gripe !)
• Minimal or no stakeholder backing; lack of ownership.
• Weak business case.
• Plan asks for too much in too little time.
• Poor estimates, especially financial.
• Unclear stakeholder requirements.
• Passive user stakeholder involvement after hand-off.
• Unclear expectations.
• Assumptions, if they exist at all, are unrealistic.
• Plans are based upon insufficient data.
• No systematization of the planning process.
• Inadequate or incomplete requirements.
• Lack of resources.
• Assigned resources lack experience.
• Staffing requirements are not fully known.
• Constantly changing resources.
• Poor overall project planning.
• Missed deadlines and no recovery plan.
• Budgets are exceeded and out of control.
• Lack of re-planning on a regular basis.
• Lack of attention provided to the human and organizational aspects of the project.
• Project estimates are best guesses and not based upon history or standards.
• Not enough time provided for proper estimating.
• No one knows the exact major milestone dates or due dates for reporting.
• Team members working with conflicting requirements.
• People are shuffled in and out of the project with little regard for the schedule.
• Each stakeholder uses different tools, which be incompatible with the tools of project partners.
• Weak project and stakeholder communications
• Poor assessment of risks if done at all.
• Wrong type of contract.
• Poor project management; team members possess a poor understanding of project management, especially virtual team members.
• Technical objectives are more important than business objectives.

If you want some perspective on how you or your company needs to enhance their Sales/Client Management Capabilities, please email me at shubhanjan.saha@gmail.com