How SMBs Can Organize on Enterprise Projects

Large companies can afford layers of executive oversight and governance on large enterprise projects, but this overhead doesn’t make sense for small businesses. Still, having the right people in the right roles, knowing who gets to make key decisions and how key decisions will be made, can collectively make or break a project. 

Following is a model for how SMBs can organize on enterprise projects without compromising any best practices.    

Executive Owner is the person with the greatest vested interest in the project’s success. He very likely champions the business need and ensures it is funded, removes barriers, and has the last word on scope and major changes. With ultimate authority for the project’s success, this is the person whose reputation is on the line. Very often it is the business owner or CEO. 

Smart Executive Owners will seek council from their Executive Team. Whether the staff stands to benefit directly from the project or not, this group of high-level stakeholders very likely participated in developing the strategic direction that led to this project and their approval was integral to the project moving forward. The Executive Team is the Executive Owner’s reality check, keeping the project focused on the strategic vision and objectives throughout the effort. Any major changes to budget, timeline, requirements, focus or risk are typically discussed with the Executive Owner and Team.   

The Project Manager leads the planning and deployment of all project deliverables. She is responsible for budget, timeline, scope, issues management, quality, risk management and 360° communications. The Project Manager doesn’t need to have specific expertise in the technology or in the company’s business processes, but must be an expert in knowing which questions to ask in order to consistently make the best decisions for the enterprise. The Project Team rarely reports directly to the Project Manager so the ability to motivate a team in a matrixed structure is also a necessary skill. 

The Project Team gets the work done. They understand what needs to be completed, they plan and complete activities towards that goal, and communicate frequently with the Project Manager about any issues or risks that arise. Regardless of titles and/or shared responsibilities, the Project Team needs to have the following skills and capabilities: 

• A Business Analyst’s ability to interpret the languages of business and technology for each other. This person is an expert in the company’s business processes and also understands how the solution will enable these processes. She needs to be able to effectively communicate with Executives, Stakeholders and Users to determine requirements and then communicate with the Project Team to ensure that the technology addresses those business needs.  
• An Architect/Designer’s ability to interpret business requirements into the best possible technical solution to meet those needs, including Vendor involvement.  
• A Technical Manager’s oversight to ensure that technical deliverables are consistent with the overall technical strategy of the organization. This person cares about how the technical aspects of the project are completed. 
• Key Users who are willing to help define business processes and requirements, test and validate the results, and create the buzz that leads to broad adoption. Users are so key to the project’s success that they should be treated with the same respect and concern afforded external customers. 
• When an enterprise buys technology, by default the Vendor becomes part of the Project Team. What is important to remember is that the more the business will depend upon this solution for its success, the more important the relationship with the vendor becomes. Not just the technology, the relationship.     

In summary, you have Executive advisors, a Project Manager and a Project Team. Some organizations are small enough that some of these capabilities need to be combined into a single person. How do you approach this? Think in terms of skill sets.   

• Who has the skills to bridge the business and technical worlds? Consider these people for Project Management and Business Analyst roles because the problems they encounter will require seeing the situation from both perspectives. 
• Who best understands how a solution will fit into the organization’s technical architecture? Consider these people for the Technical Manager and Architect/Designer roles. 
• And last, make sure there is someone on the team who can keep the Executives out of the day-to-day and remain in an advisory role !