LEADERSHIP

46 • LEADERSHIP
Manage Decisions and Manage Success
The activities in each stage produce decisions and information
that will be used in the next stage. Asking the right
questions in the right order enables us to explore options and
make better decisions. The transition following each process
stage is a natural decision point, typically called a phase gate or
stage gate. At each gate, the consequences of inadequacies or
failures dramatically increase. The decision to proceed, revise,
or kill the project at each phase gate should be carefully considered
and formally accepted by at least the sponsor and the
project team leader. Depending on the project and organizations
involved, it is sometimes helpful to require formal signoff
by other key stakeholders such as the design engineer, customer
representative, or finance officer.
While carefully controlled stage-gate decisions are important,
it’s also helpful to realize that some of the stages can
and should overlap. Consider the time-phased diagram below.
Notice the relative activity levels, timing, and interactions
among the five phases over the course of a project’s lifecycle.
Notice the treatment of the closing phase. In reality, close is
not the final step. This phase begins the moment stakeholder
expectations begin to form, possibly establishing unendorsed
but nonetheless anticipated outcomes. Without formal decision
management, every stakeholder could have different and
possibly opposing project expectations. (Did a troubled project
you know of just come to mind?) This is a serious issue and,
unfortunately, it is quite common.
Expectations set in the beginning establish the finish line all
stakeholders must cross. Carefully manage stakeholders’ early expectations.