Three keys to delivering large projects
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Postmortems when things go wrong are helpful, but we should also reflect on why something went well.
My most important project this year was a large scale infrastructure refresh and data center migration. We aptly named it Project Nova.
We started the year with an ambitious goal of completing 75% of the work and going into the 2019 year-end freeze with good momentum. Right now we’re at 90% and looking good to finish by December.
Its no small feat given half of all technology projects never finish and the other half take on average twice as long as the original plan.
Postmortems when things go wrong are helpful, but we should also reflect on why something went well. So how did we manage to deliver Project Nova on spec, within budget and ahead of schedule?
1. SOS
We admitted early on that we needed help.
Figuring out what you don’t know and being willing to ask for help is an under appreciated super power.
2. WALK THEN RUN
The journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single server.
We built momentum over time. We did what we could, then what we had to and eventually what at first looked impossible.
3. TEAM WORK
Our virtual team was cross functional, cross regional and assembled from many departments. We celebrated the wins, exercised merit based deference and had regular, healthy catchups.
Its amazing how much can be achieved when you don’t care who gets the credit.