from Michael Schlegel-Iten at
Dealing with challenges
In this final post of our blog series, I want to take a closer look at the challenges mentioned in the rough and detailed design posts, and the mitigations we use in our projects.
The challenges we are facing ...
| Challenges | Description |
| Unclear organizational and project responsibilities | Without clear accountability, misunderstandings and delays can occur, hindering project progress. |
| Insufficient strategic content and preliminary considerations | The lack of a strategic foundation often means that the project team has too little information to make substantive decisions in line with business objectives. |
| Access to and availability of know-how carriers on the customer side | Lack of access to critical information and experts on the customer side can significantly hinder project progress. |
| Lack of involvement of all relevant stakeholders | The non-involvement of relevant stakeholders can lead to a lack of acceptance and ultimately to the failure of the project. |
| Lack of stability in the project team | High fluctuation or unclear responsibilities in the project team can lead to uncertainties and delays and affect the quality of the project work. |
| Changing requirements | Changes in requirements during the project can create significant challenges during implementation. |
| Inadequate information and communication flow | Poor communication within the team and with the customer leads to misunderstandings, errors, and delays. |
| Interactions and dependencies between design and implementation | A lack of coordination between design and implementation can jeopardize project outcomes. |
... and how do we handle that?
In order to successfully meet these challenges, we work on three levels in our projects:
- Methodology
- Organization
- Communication
Methodology
As mentioned in the first blog post of this series, it is important to adapt the methodology and approach of a project to the existing framework. This requires a comprehensive initial analysis, clear objectives, and maintaining flexibility and adaptability in all project phases. In this way, acute and future problems can be identified and addressed early on.
Organization
We establish a clear project organization with our customers early on, with roles and responsibilities at multiple levels and a time commitment from the customer to ensure availability.
At the operational level, we work with a small core team that collaborates closely on an interdisciplinary basis. Regular core team meetings / workshops every one to two weeks are ideal for this. The core team remains as stable as possible during the conception phase and is supplemented in individual workshops with stakeholders or know-how carriers from the extended project organization.
At the strategic level, a steering committee is established, consisting of the sponsors, decision makers and influencers required for the project.
Communication
To ensure the necessary flow of information within this project organization, appropriate communication vessels and channels are established and actively used during the course of the project.
Regular meetings and workshops serve as communication channels for the various stakeholders within the project organization.
At the operational level, regular (e.g., weekly) core team meetings are appropriate to jointly develop content and organize upcoming tasks and work assignments. Depending on the situation, knowledge providers or stakeholders outside the core team may also be involved.
Depending on the size of the organization and therefore the number of stakeholders, a regular update meeting is recommended to generate early feedback on the developed content and to ensure the involvement of the relevant stakeholders.
At the strategic level, regular (e.g. monthly) steering meetings are established. These meetings should not be limited to status reporting, but should also be used to make strategic decisions, actively address risks, and develop mitigation strategies.
All of these vessels need to be filled with content through appropriate communication channels. We use digital tools such as Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams or Atlassian Confluence & Jira to collaboratively develop content and prepare it for the right audience.
Depending on the context, we recommend active management of the associated change processes (content in DE for the time being) at the level of the entire organization to accompany the actual project.
Conclusion
Designing digital solutions requires a structured approach, clear communication, and close collaboration among all stakeholders. By focusing on content, organization and communication, the typical challenges can be successfully overcome.
As a service provider with years of experience in designing digital solutions, we can help you develop the right strategies to make your digital projects a success. Contact us - we look forward to working with you!
