So Happy Together: How to Work With Your Vendor to Get a Project You'll Love

Updated presentation for Drupal GovCon 2016 on July 21st, 2016.

Transcript

1. SO HAPPY TOGETHER: How to Work With Your Vendor to Get a Product You'll Love Heather Rodriguez heather.rodriguez@civicactions.com @hrodrig Drupal GovCon July 21, 2016
2. Let’s make a website.
3. 1. Assemble your requirements. 2. Identify your internal team. 3. Choose your vendor wisely. 4. Stay agile. 5. Communicate, communicate, communicate. HOW TO WORK WITH YOUR VENDOR TO GET A PRODUCT YOU’LL LOVE
4. Identify symptoms and goals, not solutions.
5. ✖ “We need a three-tiered navigation in a mega menu with a rotating carousel.” ✔ “Users report struggling with navigating site content.” ✔ “We would like to increase engagement with event content in a timely and contextually relevant way.” ASSEMBLE YOUR REQUIREMENTS | IDENTIFY SYMPTOMS, NOT SOLUTIONS
6. ✖ “We need design completed by 3/21, development completed by 4/21, and launch on 5/21” ✔ “We would like to launch an MVP by the end of the fiscal year, with an additional year to iterate” ASSEMBLE YOUR REQUIREMENTS | IDENTIFY SYMPTOMS, NOT SOLUTIONS
7. ➔ You are a subject matter expert. Nobody knows your business better than you do. ➔ Your vendor is a web solutions expert. That’s why you’re hiring them. Remember: ASSEMBLE YOUR REQUIREMENTS | IDENTIFY SYMPTOMS, NOT SOLUTIONS
8. Draft an agile RFP.
9. ➔ A successful RFP sets the stage for a successful project. ➔ Adopting an agile process affords you maximum flexibility, transparency and value. ASSEMBLE YOUR REQUIREMENTS | DRAFT AN AGILE RFP
10. But what if I don’t get everything I want?
11. Agile processes ensure that you have maximum input and guidance into your final product.
12. ➔ Organizing efforts into sprints mean that work can be verified and expectations checked before too much has been built ➔ Daily scrum = total transparency ➔ You can change course if project solutions aren’t meeting your needs Why agile?
13. ➔ Solutions are rigidly defined before product needs can be fully understood. ➔ You miss important opportunities to improve product as user feedback surfaces. ➔ Risk of ending up with a product that you haven’t been able to shape. Why not waterfall?
14. ➔ SOO not SOW (loosen scope for your flexibility) ➔ Tracking of success metrics ➔ Purchase hours and resources, not scope ➔ Limit compliance in responding to RFP/RFQ (you’ll get more responses!) ➔ Hacking Agile Contracts by Adam Bergstein Tips
15. 1. Assemble your requirements. 2. Identify your internal team. 3. Choose your vendor wisely. 4. Stay agile. 5. Communicate, communicate, communicate. HOW TO WORK WITH YOUR VENDOR TO GET A PRODUCT YOU’LL LOVE CONFERENCE | PRESENTATION TITLE | NAME | @TWITTER | @CIVICACTIONS
16. The Product Owner, aka The Empowered.
17. ➔ Needs to be empowered to make all product decisions for the organization. ➔ Attends daily scrum and most project meetings. ➔ Responsible for signing off on all tickets verifying work completed. ➔ Must be a person who conveys authority, whether through personality or by title. IDENTIFY YOUR INTERNAL TEAM | THE PRODUCT OWNER
18. The Ambassador.
19. ➔ Can communicate requirements on behalf of the user base. ➔ Socializes users to the new system. ➔ Someone capable of influencing others. IDENTIFY YOUR INTERNAL TEAM | THE PRODUCT OWNER
20. The Archivist.
21. ➔ Has institutional knowledge necessary to know what has been successful in the past and what hasn’t worked. ➔ Familiar with site content and user workflows. ➔ Be careful: this person is often the one who shoots your project down if given too much authority. IDENTIFY YOUR INTERNAL TEAM | THE PRODUCT OWNER
22. 1. Assemble your requirements. 2. Identify your internal team. 3. Choose your vendor wisely. 4. Stay agile. 5. Communicate, communicate, communicate. HOW TO WORK WITH YOUR VENDOR TO GET A PRODUCT YOU’LL LOVE
23. Find a partner with the right cultural fit.
24. “Sure, I can do anything you want!”
25. ➔ Decide which values are important to you. ➔ Consider tools and processes. ➔ Determine level of transparency and communication compatibility. CHOOSE YOUR VENDOR WISELY | FIND A PARTNER WITH THE RIGHT CULTURAL FIT
27. 1. Assemble your requirements. 2. Identify your internal team. 3. Choose your vendor wisely. 4. Stay agile. 5. Communicate, communicate, communicate. HOW TO WORK WITH YOUR VENDOR TO GET A PRODUCT YOU’LL LOVE
28. ➔ Individuals and interactions over processes and tools ➔ Working software over comprehensive documentation ➔ Customer collaboration over contract negotiation ➔ Responding to change over following a plan STAY AGILE | MANIFESTO FOR AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
29. Ceremonies include… ➔ Discovery ➔ Sprint planning ➔ Daily Scrum ➔ Sprint demos ➔ Sprint retrospectives STAY AGILE | AGILE CEREMONIES
30. 1. Assemble your requirements. 2. Identify your internal team. 3. Choose your vendor wisely. 4. Stay agile. 5. Communicate, communicate, communicate. HOW TO WORK WITH YOUR VENDOR TO GET A PRODUCT YOU’LL LOVE
31. Establish expectations.
33. ➔ Time of day/frequency of communication ➔ Criteria for escalation/Service Level Agreement ➔ Put it into writing! ➔ Take participation seriously. ➔ Let your vendor know how they can help you with your stakeholders. COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE | ESTABLISH EXPECTATIONS
34. ➔ Use examples or illustrations to underscore your points. ➔ Stick to data metrics, not emotions. ➔ Avoid the blame game. ➔ Show loyalty and goodwill when mistakes are made. COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE | MORE PRO TIPS
35. Treat your vendor like your partner.
37. Questions?
38. Thank you.