Project Expansion:
Planning, Implementing, and Managing
for Success
Presented by:
US DOL/ETA
Division of Youth Services
Planning for Success
 System implementation projects, in general, experience
low success rates:
 28% of projects meet full success
 49% of projects are fully completed, but over budget, over
schedule and lack full scope of planned functionality
 23% of projects experience complete failure or are cancelled [1]
 Undoubtedly offender-focused programs have even
higher failure rates.
[1] Extreme Chaos, 2000. The Standish Group
Planning for Success
 The key contributing factors to implementation failure
reported were:
 Lack of planning – unclear vision, goals and approach, not
aligned with vendor/service provider incentives, schedules, other
program priorities and other resource responsibilities.
 Incomplete, unclear and/or changing requirements.
 Lack of executive/community support and commitment.
 Lack of resources dedicated to the project (staff, time, money,
participant involvement, project management and IT support)
Planning for Success
 Other contributing factors to implementation failure are:
 Unrealistic expectations for what can be accomplished and how
quickly it can occur.
 Believing the vendor/service provider will assume responsibility
for all tasks
 Hoping the vendor/service provider will fix your operational and
personnel problems
 Fear of change
 Fear of technology
Expansion Workshop Goals
 Keep you on the right side of
these statistics
 Help you think through
project expansion planning
and implementation
decisions
 Understand the options
 Understand the risks
 Position you for
implementation success
The Project Expansion Process
Building
Commitment
Envisioning
Evaluating
Selecting
Implementing
Stabilizing
& Enhancing
The Project Expansion Process
Building
Commitment
Envisioning
Evaluating
Selecting
Implementing
Stabilizing
& Enhancing
Implementation Planning –
Steps for Success
 Establish an Effective Implementation Team
 Finalize Project Goals & Priorities
 Establish Implementation Strategies and Scope
 Develop the Implementation Plan with a
Realistic Timeline
 Emphasize Communication
 Establish Benchmarks to
Measure Project Success
Step 1 - Implementation Team
Key Participants
 Skilled &
Knowledgeable Project
Director
 Community Leadership
 Local system
Representation
JJS, WFD, PSD, etc.
 Network/Technical
Analyst
 Trainer
Step 2: Finalize Project Goals & Priorities
 What is the vision for the project?
 What is needed to help the project achieve?
 Sustained quality of service for program participants
 Ease of expansion and program integration into
existing youth service network
 Controlled costs
 Higher ROI
 Other ?
 Which program features &
functions support these
goals?
Some Causes of Scope Creep
 When we suddenly realize that our project’s scope has
expanded far beyond its initial boundaries –
 when we have that how-did-we-ever-get-here feeling –
we’re experiencing the downside of scope creep.
 Preventing scope creep starts with understanding how it
happens.
Scope Creeping
More common sources of scope creep.
 The unknown
 Projects are ventures into unknown territory. Sometimes we
underestimate the complexity of the problem we've tackled.
 Perfectionism
 We sometimes forget that good enough is good enough.
 Placating conflict
 We'll do almost anything to avoid dealing with conflict directly.
We'll even expand project scope to satisfy all conflicting parties.
When we placate conflict, we run the risk of creating a project
that nobody can execute.
Scope Creeping
 Assimilation
 To secure resources, programs sometimes seek partnerships
based on a seemingly "natural fit" or for purposes of
"efficiencies." But consolidation isn't free, and the efficiencies are
often illusory.
 Career advancement
 By commandeering more resources, the leaders of a project can
enhance their organizational power. Senior managers must learn
to recognize these tactics, and approve scope expansions only
on the basis of sound management principles.
Scope Creeping
 The union of all misunderstandings
 If scope isn't clearly defined at the outset, misunderstandings
result. When that happens, to preserve consensus that the project
should continue, we might have to expand the project scope to
include the union of all initial understandings. Making things
painfully clear at the outset is worth the effort.
 The Donald Crowhurst effect
 Donald Crowhurst was a participant in the 1968 round the world
single-handed sailing race sponsored by the London Sunday
Times. As described in a 1970 book by Nicholas Tomalin and Ron
Hall, his life pattern was to tackle ever-larger projects, concealing a
pattern of failure. Like Donald Crowhurst, some projects expand
their scope to avoid acknowledging failure. Failure or restart must
be realistic options for any project manager.
Step 3: Establish Implementation Strategy
& Scope
 Phased vs. “Big Bang” Implementation
 Incremental functionality vs. full system implementation
 Phased participant services vs. immediate full
implementation
 Communication Strategy
 “Go-Live” Date Constraints &
Planning
Implementation Strategy & Scope –
Phased vs. “Big Bang” Implementation
 Incremental vs. Full System Functionality
 Do we want/need all functions/services available “Day
One”?
 Can we absorb that level of change at one time?
 Can we take on that level of implementation work at one
time?
 If not:
Based on the priorities of project goals
Based on the time and resources that can be allocated
 What functions do we want/need immediately?
 In what sequence should we add the other functions?
 Over what period of time?
Implementation Strategy & Scope
Example - Incremental Functionality
 Establish Facility location
 Satisfy logistical requirements




 For program, staff, and participants
Staffing in Proportion to participants served
Provide minimum hardware/software and training material
requirements
Staggered enrollments based on growing program capacity
Community-based roll-out
 Signage
 Hosted Events
Implementation Strategy & Scope –
Phased vs. “Big Bang” Implementation
 Phased Program Services vs. Immediate Full Implementation
 Will we be ready for everyone to “Go Live” at the same
time?
 Can we absorb that level of change at one time?
 Can we support everyone on “Day One”?
 If not:
 Who/what areas should go first?
 What impacts will this mix have on the overall design of and delivery of
program components?
 In what sequence should we add program components, staff,
participants?
 Over what period of time?
Implementation Strategy & Scope –
Phased Participant Considerations
 Program Cross-over/Coverage
 Participants
 Sites
 Programs
 Teams
 Case Management
 Support staff
 Technical Support
 Maintenance of Mixed Program Elements
 Labor
 Distance between sites
 Cohesiveness and consistency of services
Implementation Strategy & Scope –
Communications Strategy & Approach
 External
Promotional
Community Reaction
 Internal
Employee Reaction
 Job loss
 Role change
 Technical challenges
 Stakeholders
Implementation Strategy & Scope –
Implementation Date
 When is the best time to
implement?
 Are there key resource
constraints?
 Are there any other program
activities to plan around?
Step 4: Develop the Implementation Plan
with a Realistic Timeline
Based on the goals and strategies set for the program expansion project:
 What specific tasks need to be
done?
 By whom?
 When?
 How long will all this take to
complete?
Developing the Implementation Plan –
Conduct Vendor/Service Provider Planning Meetings
 Communicate program
vision, goals, strategies &
approaches
 Establish overall project
structure & parameters
 Contacts
 Escalation
 Build relationships
 Confirm requirements
 Establish agreement on:
 Tasks
 Roles and responsibilities
 Time requirements
Developing the Implementation Plan –
Confirming Requirements
 Facilities/Support
 xxxx
 xxxx
 xxxx
 Staff
 xxxx
 xxxx
 Program
 xxxx
 xxxx
 xxxx
 Other Considerations
Developing the Implementation Plan –
Defining the Detailed Tasks & Responsibilities
 Workflow Design/Confirmation
 Policy & Procedure Changes
 Job Changes
 Program Design & Configuration
 Report Design/Project Forecasting
 Facilities/Support
 Training Needs
 Project team
 Participant
Developing the Implementation Plan –
Defining the Detailed Tasks & Responsibilities
 Go-Live Planning
 Staff schedules
 Support
 Dress rehearsal
 Go/No Go decision
 Flipping the Switch
 Celebration
 Stabilization
Developing the Implementation Plan –
Documenting the Plan
 Milestones
 Tasks
 Dependencies
 Responsibilities
 Vendor/Service Providers
 Program
 Individual
 Time requirements
Developing the Implementation Plan –
Setting a Realistic Timeline
 Bottom Up Estimation
 Let the tasks & resources drive the
timeline OR
 Provide the resources to support
the tasks for the timeline
 Remember Schedule
Constraints
 Set a “Go-Live” that is
Achievable
 Communicate It
Managing Risks
 What is Risk?
 A risk is something that may happen and if it does, will have an
adverse impact on the project.
 A few points here; "that may happen" implies a probability of less
then 100%. If it has a probability of 100% - in other words it will
happen - it is an issue.
 A risk must also have a probability something above 0%. It must be
a chance to happen or it is not a risk.
Risk?
 The second thing to consider from the definition is "will
have an adverse impact".
 If it will not have an adverse impact, it is not a risk.
Suppose we said a risk was that we would find the
project less complicated than we thought, and could
finish early.
 Unless finishing early has an adverse effect on the
project, it is not a risk.
The Risk Management Plan
 There are four stages to risk management. They are:
 • Risk Identification
 • Risks Quantification
 • Risk Response
 • Risk Monitoring and Control
Risk Identification
 In this stage, we identify and name the risks. The best
approach is pull together key players, partnerships, etc.,
to help carry out this identification.
 There are different sorts of risks and we need to decide
on a project by project basis what to do about each type.
Business risks
Generic risks
Defining Risk
Risks should be defined in two parts.
The first is the cause of the situation (Vendor not meeting deadline,
Business users not available, etc.).
 The second part is the impact (Budget will be exceeded, Milestones
not achieved, etc.).

Hence a risk might be defined as "The vendor not meeting deadline
will mean that budget will be exceeded".

If this format is used, it is easy to remove duplicates, and
understand the risk.
Risk Quantification
 Risk need to be quantified in two dimensions.
 The impact of the risk needs to be assessed.
 The probability of the risk occurring needs to be
assessed. For simplicity,
 rate each on a 1 to 4 scale.
 The larger the number, the larger the impact or
probability.
 By using a matrix, a priority can be established.
Risk Probability Matrix
4
3
Probability
2
1
_________________
|
|
|
| Med | Critical |
________________
|
|
|
| Low
| High |
_________________
1
2
3 4
Impact
 Note that if probability is high, and impact is low, it is a Medium risk.
On the other hand if impact is high, and probability low, it is High
priority. A remote chance of a catastrophe warrants more attention
than a high chance of a hiccup.
Risk Response
There are four things you can do about a risk. The strategies are:
 • Avoid the risk. Do something to remove it. Use a different
vendor/service provider for example.
 • Transfer the risk. Make someone else responsible. Perhaps a
Vendor can be made responsible for a particularly risky part of the
project.
 • Mitigate the risk. Take actions to lessen the impact or chance of
the risk occurring. If the risk relates to availability of resources, draw
up an agreement and get sign-off for the resource to be available.
 • Accept the risk. The risk might be so small the effort to do
anything is not worth while.
Rick Control
 A risk response plan should include the strategy and
action items to address the strategy. The actions should
include what needs to be done, who is doing it, and
when it should be completed.

The final step is to continually monitor risks to
identify any change in the status, or if they turn into an
issue. It is best to hold regular risk reviews to identify
actions outstanding, risk probability and impact, remove
risks that have passed, and identify new risks.
Risk Management In Summary
 Risk management is not a complex task. If you follow the
four steps, you can put together a risk management plan
for a project in a short space of time.
 Without a plan, the success of the project, and the
reputation of your program are on the line. Follow these
steps and you will increase your chances of success.
Step 5: Emphasize Communication
 Internal Communication
Enlist full support
Ease concerns
 Job security
 Technical learning
support
Tell them what to
expect & when
Emphasize Communication
 Community Communication
 Tell them what you are doing & why
 Provide consistent answers to
questions & concerns
 Keep them informed on progress
 Communicate enthusiasm &
confidence
 Include them in program success
celebrations
Step 6: Establish Benchmarks to
Measure Project Success
 Measurements based upon goals
 Participation
 Literacy and Numeracy Gains:
 Literacy
 Numeracy




Long-term Placement
Recidivism
Individually stated goals
?
Planning for Success
Good
implementation
planning leads
to……..
SUCCESS
Thank You for Participating
For more information, contact:
Technical Assistance at:
US DOL at:
Abt Associates
Richard Morris
Sherry West
LaSharn Youngblood