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Chapter 12: Procuring Goods and Services 247 After you ve navigated these waters, you re almost done acquiring the service or product you need for your project. Using RFIs to solicit vendors Say you ve made the decision to outsource or purchase a portion of your software project work (perhaps the software testing) and now you re ready to start soliciting vendors. How are the appropriate vendors going to find out that you need something they can provide? Because the entire procurement planning process is usually formal, you need to prepare appropriate documentation for all phases, including the phase at which you solicit vendors. You need to ask for information from various vendors so that you can ensure that you re getting the best software testing system. By asking for information from more than one vendor, you enable yourself to explore and compare capabilities of various systems and vendors, and to ensure that the process remains competitive. The best way to solicit information from vendors is to create formal documentation to request information. This formal request is appropriately referred to as a Request for Information (RFI). In the RFI, you present your wish list, which details your best-case scenario (list of your most desired software requirements) of what you ll need for your software testing. In addition to asking the basic questions about price and cost, for example, your RFI might contain the following list of requirements and questions: The software testing application must integrate with the development database residing on our on-site servers. Is any specialized hardware required on our end? How long has your company been providing application-testing services? What are the general qualifications of the personnel who would be providing software-testing services? Can you perform the software testing on-site, or do we have to come to you? After you receive satisfactory answers to these and the other questions in your RFI, you re on your way to Happy Testingville!
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246 Part III: Executing Your Software Project Plan If all this sounds like it makes sense, but you re still not sure how to do it, don t worry. We re going to tell you everything you need to know. Keep reading, Weedhopper, and the solution will appear before your eyes. This chapter tells you about vendors, SOWs, contracts, and more. Finding a Vendor If your customers or stakeholders already have a list of preferred vendors, then much of your work is already done for you. You just choose a vendor from that list. Assuming, though, that you have to start from scratch, here is a starting list of what you need to consider when seeking a vendor (this list applies whether you re seeking a software vendor, a hardware vendor, or any other type of vendor for your project): Risk tolerance: In Chapter 5, we discuss risk tolerance. An organization s risk tolerance is defined as its ability and willingness to take on risks. If your firm has a high risk tolerance, then you can consider vendors that someone with a lower risk tolerance wouldn t consider. For example, a vendor who is new to the field of software testing may be acceptable to you, whereas a firm with a lower risk tolerance would want only established software-testing vendors. Cost: If cost is one of your biggest considerations, you need to find a software-testing vendor who can get you the most bang for your buck. Time: If time is your biggest concern, you must find a vendor who can successfully complete the work within a tight timeframe. Unfortunately, if you want something done in a hurry, you usually have to pay big bucks for it, so be sure cost isn t too big a factor. Your choice in vendor depends on the priorities and requirements of your organization and your stakeholders. As you search for your vendors, your process works a little something like this: 1. Send out a Request for Information (RFI). 2. Set up a bidders conference. A bidders conference is optional, not required. 3. Send a Request for Proposals (RFP). 4. Review proposals and make your final decision.
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Chapter 12 Procuring Goods and Services In This Chapter Finding the right vendor Hosting a bidders conference Understanding contracts Negotiating contract issues Writing your statement of work Closing the contract Performing vendor audits You ve put a lot of work into determining your project s scope, documenting your project plan, and creating a super change control system. You have the cream of the crop for your project team. What s left to do? Well, lots. In order to complete your project to satisfy your stakeholders requirements, you need an application for software testing. Yes, that s right, you need a software- testing doohickey. You ve already decided that it is out of the scope of the project to create the testing doohickey yourself, so you must purchase the software-testing system for your project. This is called a make or buy decision. You ve decided to buy, so now you start the procurement process, which includes all the activities involved when you purchase goods or services. Although you have lots of options when you participate in the procurement processes, they all have one thing in common: Procurement (the art of buying resources) is usually a formal written process. To get back to our procurement scenario, you know that several testing- services firms are in the market, but you need to find just the right one for a reasonable cost, and you only want to deal with a reputable vendor. You must go in search of the perfect vendor for this project, or at least the perfect vendor for you.
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244 Part III: Executing Your Software Project Plan He took the results and divided them into two categories: hygiene factors and motivational factors. Hygiene factors, also known as main- tenance factors, are those that serve basic (animalistic) needs. They include supervision, salary, physical working conditions, job secu- rity, company policies, and so on. Motivational factors serve specific human needs. These needs can be specific to individ- uals. He argued that hygiene factors are not enough to motivate anyone (but the lack of any of them can lead to lack of motivation), and only motivational factors can encourage people to devote themselves to a cause. McGregor s Theory X and Y: Douglas McGregor formulated ideas about management by talking with those who practiced it. What he found is that managers fall into two camps those who think people are inherently lazy and dislike work (Theory X), and those who think work is a natural part of life (Theory Y). He created a set of assumptions for each and a kind of contin- uum upon which they lay. For example, within Theory X, there are those who believe that scientific management is the only answer (hard X) and those who think human relations can be of great help (soft X). Ouchi s Theory Z: William Ouchi thought that McGregor s X and Y needed something more added to them and came up with Theory Z. This theory essentially pulls in and combines man- agement practices from the United States and Japan. Instead of saying only the two ends of the spectrum exist, it offers the importance (as moti- vators) of job security, individual responsibility, career paths, and the like in other words, it looks at work as part of the whole picture instead of looking at it independent from every- thing else. Halo Effect: A number of researchers have devised what is known as the halo effect. In essence, this theory states that we tend to view a person in all areas the way we see them in one. Thus, if Spencer is a wonderful team member who always gets his work done on time and without problem, we tend to think favorably of Spencer in all areas he probably has a great home life, and would make a won- derful manager. On the other hand, if Roy can t turn his work in on time, we tend to think that he would make a bad manager and probably has a bad home life, and so on. Many cues are used in determining how to decide whether a person is one thing or another someone wearing glasses is often thought of as being smart, a company is thought to be successful if it has one popular product, and so on. Expectancy Theory: Victor Vroom is the father of the expectancy theory, which states that people decide whether or not to be motivated by three criteria. All three criteria must be pre- sent, or motivation is foregone. The first of the criteria is the perceived importance of the reward that could be had. The second is the feeling that actions will lead to the result (per- formance is a factor). The third criterion is the actual connection between the performance and the reward. For example, a person believes that the team will only achieve its results if everyone participates more than they usually would and that the result would be a bonus for all. (continued)
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Chapter 11: Working with Project People 243 The one thing you have to be careful of with rewards is that they have to be valued by those receiving them. One way to devalue them is to give too many. If everyone gets a reward or if they get a reward without having to do much of anything then the rewards fail to be a motivator. Another issue with rewards is that once they are given, they come to be expected. Giving $100 to each team member at project completion fails to motivate anyone after doing it for a few years. If you fail to give it after one project, because budgets are tight, the entire team will revolt they ve come to see the reward as part of their pay, and not as a reward. You and Your Positional Power Sometimes you just have to be the manager. It feels good to pass out rewards. It feels good to offer praise. It feels good to sit back with your feet on the desk and your hands behind your head. That isn t all there is to management, however. As a project manager, you ll find yourself in situations where you simply have to step in and assume the tough role. You ll have to remind someone that you re in charge of the project and that your decision is the one that matters. This is not a role that anyone relishes. No one wakes up in the morning looking forward to facing a team member who wants to challenge every decision and make accusations about lack of leadership. Someone had confidence in you, or you would not be in the position that you are currently in. If you feel shaky, you need to find that confidence within yourself and let it exude. The only way to face a challenge of your position is to face it head on immediately. Theories of human resources The field of human resources, in general, and motivational theory, specifically, is nothing new. A great many of the best minds in the world have turned their attention to this area. The fol- lowing five theories offer insight to this topic. Hertzberg s Theory of Motivation: In 1959, Frederick Hertzberg wrote The Motivation to Work, which focused on what people want from their jobs. Convinced that it is not just a paycheck that we crave, but also positive expe- riences, he did a study asking engineers and accountants what parts of their jobs pleased and displeased them. (continued)
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242 Part III: Executing Your Software Project Plan Team member 1: Yes, but . . . Project manager: Let s talk about the but on Friday. I want you to get out there and start working on that module. Notice the large number of questions the project manager is asking. These are all questions that the project manager already knows the answer to but is asking in order to get the team member to acknowledge that there is a problem. After the team member agrees that the problem exists, the natural outcome seems to be the PIP or, more specifically, the threat of it. As long as the team member does not want the negative consequence, the coercion works. Rewarding the project team You can still be a tough boss (as described in the previous section) and do kind things, as well. Being the one who gets to reward people can be very rewarding for you, too. Rewards are a wonderful motivator, if properly applied, and can give you results like no other form of inspiration. Not only do rewards make the team members happy, but they feel good to give. When you begin planning for the project, include a few lines in the budget for rewards. These do not have to be expensive (forget about that new car!) because you ll be surprised at how hard some will work for very little. If you don t believe us on this, just think back to the last time you went to a county fair or carnival. Some people will spend hundreds of dollars playing impossible games to win a prize they could easily purchase at the dollar store. They value the prize, not because of the worth associated with it, but because of the task they had to do to get it. Then there are those people who respond to public recognition. They just want to know that others recognize their efforts and accomplishments. One of the best rewards anyone can get is praise. It costs nothing but can generate immense loyalty and commitment but you have to mean it. No one likes a fake who offers fake kudos. Using this train of thought, you can create relatively inexpensive prizes that employees want and will compete to get. For example, you can offer tee shirts, hats, or other clothing items with the company logo (or team logo) to employees who finish their tasks ahead of schedule. You can also offer pizza parties at lunch for teams who have zero defects, dinner gift certificates, or other thoughtful rewards for a job well done. If you do not have any money set aside for rewards, offer intangibles the ability to take a day off if some arbitrary criteria are met. Give the gift of leaving early or coming in late, parking in a special spot in the lot, or using the new monitor to the workers who keep the project on (or ahead of) schedule.
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Chapter 11: Working with Project People 241 Project manager: Evan, I understand that you haven t been finishing your assignments on time. Team member 1: That s not my fault. I didn t get the software I needed from Kristin until Thursday. When I got it, it didn t work right and I had to basically redo everything she did. Project manager: You got it on Thursday, but when did you request it from her? Team member 1: Thursday. Project manager: Don t you think you should have requested it sooner? Isn t this pretty much the same thing that happened with the last project, and the one before it, as well? Team member 1: I had to spend all my time redoing what should have been done in the first place. Project manager: That is not your assignment, is it? If anything that reaches you is not ready, you need to bring that to my attention. I don t see any record of you ever documenting any changes you ve made to the stub files. Can you show me what you did? Team member 1: I didn t write down the changes. Project manager: Did you save them? Team member 1: No. I just did what I needed to do; then I started in on my part of it. Project manager: Again, this isn t the first time this has happened, is it? Team member 1: No. Project manager: Do you know what your deadline is for turning over the next phase? Team member 1: This Friday. Project manager: Are you going to make that? Team member 1: I am going to try. Project manager: I need you to do more than try. I need you to make that date or else the whole project might slip. I ve started working on a performance improvement plan. I don t want to go that way, but if you don t make if by Friday, you re going to be in here looking that over. Do you understand what that means?
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240 Part III: Executing Your Software Project Plan Team member 2: We don t have the time or manpower to check every module in that way. A better solution is to just wait and check the final product on every machine. Team member 1: I m not about to go along with that! If it doesn t work, we wasted all of this time creating nothing. Project manager: When I taught at MIT, we recommended checking each module on a few platforms. I used that method when I developed the DST and it worked well. Let s go with that it s worked for me over and over in my experience. By bringing into the conversation the name of a prestigious school, and by conjuring up past projects, the project manager has been established as an expert in the topic. If you follow this technique, you can make a decision and quickly move on. Be careful with this technique. While you may demonstrate your expertise, if you use the wrong tone you may come across as an elitist and your team members may get the impression that you re working too hard to establish that you re better than they are. You need to find the right balance between showing team members that you re an expert while identifying with their day-to-day issues. One of the best ways to praise a team member is to acknowledge the individual as an expert. We all like to think that we know more than anyone else in some category, and there is nothing so rewarding as hearing someone in a position of power say, Hey, you really know your stuff. Using coercive power Usually, coercion is defined as compelling a person to act by employing a threat. The coercive power that remains at your disposal typically involves repercussions directly related to job performance. This coercion can be as simple as demanding that team members work weekends if the project falls behind, or as complex as threatening to transfer an employee to another department or telling individuals that their work practices may warrant a note in their HR file. Of course, you never want to overstep your boundaries or abuse your power when it comes to HR issues, so be sure to understand your firm s human resources policies. One of the most feared threats for employees today involves the performance improvement plan (PIP). Contrary to the name, it s not really viewed as a map for improving employee performance as much as it is viewed as a means of documenting any weaknesses in the worker s performance and sending a message that termination is a distinct possibility. Consider the following exchange:
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Chapter 11: Working with Project People 239 you want to maintain team cohesiveness. You don t want an army of ants, but sometimes you need to force the decision and move on. The following discourse shows you what we mean: Team member 1: Before we go any further, we need to test this part of the software on every Linux platform currently shipping and make sure that there are no issues. Team member 2: We have tested it on three Linux platforms already! Those are the ones that most corporations are using. We ve found no issues, and as long as they are using the same kernel, the software should run the same on every implementation. Team member 1: We can t afford to wait until the project is finished to find that it doesn t work on every version. We need to find and identify the problems now. Team member 2: If we do that with every single module as it is developed, that will slow us down and we ll never make the dates. Project manager: I can understand what you re saying. We can t afford for the final build to not run everywhere, but we are a long way from that. Let s check each module, as it is finished, on three versions and alternate those versions always using two of the most popular ones. That way we stand a good chance of catching issues early on and adapting to them. Now, about the interface. . . . In this discourse, the project manager listens to both parties and respects what they are saying before quickly making a decision and moving on to the next topic. In making that decision, the PM references the key points of both discussions, offers a compromise, and ends the discussion. This is a highly effective strategy in many instances because it addresses both the serious quality assurance issue, as well as the crucial timeline issue while also keeping everyone happy. Relying on expert power One rule of life is that expert opinions have more weight than others. You may not realize it, but you have expert power because you have valuable experience and knowledge to make sound decisions. Consider this discussion: Team member 1: I think we re crazy if we don t stop and check every module on every platform. Unless we are doing that, there is no guarantee that the final product will run without error for every customer.
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238 Part III: Executing Your Software Project Plan For example, suppose a team member felt adamantly that the user interface should have a different look and feel, but you decided to go with the one that the focus groups preferred. If the final software product fails to gain acceptance with the end users, and interface is brought up as a potential cause for the failure, you can talk to the team member who disagreed with your decision. That person can do a detailed study in to what changes could be made. In the following section, Using Your Super Magic Project Manager Powers, we get into more specific scenarios for resolving conflicts. Using Your Super Magic Project Manager Powers You re the boss, darn it! You don t have to go any further than that every time an issue comes up, just stamp your fist and make that proclamation. Let your team know that you re the one getting paid the big bucks and storm out of the room. Oh, wait. That might have worked in the production era of Henry Ford, but that approach doesn t work so well in the workplace of today. The reason tantrums fail is because we no longer can stand behind someone assembling parts on a line and make sure they are not tarrying speeding up the line if it is suspected they are. In today s world, work is far more mental. You speed up the line with motivation, rewards, and praise. As a software project manager, you have several powers at your disposal. Every manager, and in fact, every team, has varying degrees of success utilizing these powers. Your greatest power is your knowledge and understanding of your team members. Know what drives them so that you can apply your other powers strategically to match every situation. Forcing a decision As much as we all love democracy, there are times when someone just has to make a decision. You are that someone. You don t have to be so bold about it as to demand that your every whim be obeyed; you can be more subtle. Your manner and your focus can steer decisions in the path that you want them to take. You have to be careful about forcing everything to go your way, because everyone else should have a say if
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