BPM Quotes from my book

Here are a few quotes from my BPM  book:

• A process in a large organization is a necessity!
• Every time a new process is defined, there is a strong need to bring order amidst chaos!
• A common mistake amateur process professionals make is that they underestimate the challenges.
• Resistance to change is the most difficult yet the most common obstacle that BPM professionals face.
• If overcoming resistance to change is the most crucial challenge, influencing is the most crucial skill needed by a process professional.

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Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
 LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Book

Skills a Project Manager should have

I get asked this question a lot, “Which skills are most important for a project manager to succeed?” In all honesty, job of a project manager is not an easy one, while he has no direct authority, he has a great amount of responsibility and a greater number of deliverables. A manager has direct control over his team but a project manager has none and yet, he is tasked with getting everyone to work together to deliver. It is a tough job and one thing is for sure, only people with experience under their belt should take on the role of a project manager.

Here are some skills that are must have for a project manager :

• Project planning in terms of resources, deliverables and schedule.
• Identifying risks ahead of time and communicating to the stakeholders.
• Ability to motivate the team and keep them focused on the tasks at hand.
• Ability to deal with different and sometimes conflicting personalities in the team.
• Being organized.
  
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  Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
  She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
   LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Book

Ins and Outs of Customer Satisfaction

All businesses care about customer satisfaction whether they offer products or services. Customer experience as well as satisfaction should unarguably be the number one priority for all businesses.

         Is it harder to achieve good customer satisfaction for a service or product? The answer really lies in the expectation set for each of them. In most cases a product is a well defined entity with a feature list or parts and so setting expectation is easier. On the other hand, a service is less tangible than a product. Good businesses tend to do a better job of packaging service and setting clear boundaries and expectations around a service. This leads to better customer satisfaction.

       Customer satisfaction has two components to it. First component is all about expectations and how well the product or service meets those expectations. The other very important component of customer satisfaction is how well the product or service compares to its competition. If the customer is loyal, they will not shop around (true to some extent for recognized brands). However, in general, customers will be dissatisfied if they have had better experience with a competitive product or service.

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Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
 LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Book

How to handle project transition?

As professionals, we have all come across circumstances where we have to either transition out or transition into an ongoing project. This is a tricky exchange and one needs to be prepared to ensure a smooth transition. For instance, a good practice is to make a checklist of items to be checked off for a transition. 

Here are some tips on making an effective project transition

• Every project manager has his own way of managing a project. His way could be different from yours. If you are transitioning into an ongoing project, take some time to look at the details. Ensure that you are not missing any details even though the current project manager may have done a good job on handing over the project to you.
• Do a level set of the current state of the project with all stakeholders. This ensures that everyone is on the same page in terms of what deficiency or shortcomings you may be inheriting.
• Take some time to study the current state of the project, strategize on your path forward and then communicate to all stakeholders. This is a good opportunity to ask for more resources, change in milestones, etc. if the situation demands it.
• In every project, there are some critical parts that should not be changed. Even though your ways of managing the project may be different from how the project was managed before, don't make the mistake of throwing out those critical parts of the project.
• Most importantly, refrain from criticizing the previous project manager. He did his best and now you own the project and you are doing your best in managing it. Know that everyone has their own style and respecting each other's style is a good business etiquette.
  
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  Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
  She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
   LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Book