Managing SMEs: Herding Cats?
Thursday, July 31st, 2008Project Management and Getting Revisions Done
I get asked the question below a lot by managers, instructional designers, trainers/facilitators, and technical communicators at professional associations meetings and special interest groups:
“Jenise, how do you get your SMEs to read your drafts and then get back to you with their feedback? On time?
Good question. Is managing SMEs like herding cats?
I’m not promoting myself as an expert on this topic. I’m only going to share my opinion. In online forums, I’ve read for some years now how others try and “get” time with, and feedback from, their SMEs. Apart from herding cats, a few examples include:
-Yes, you can attend seminars on coaching skills, and learn to talk in a convincing manner with your SMEs.
-Yes, you can bribe your SMEs with donuts and chocolate-chip cookies.
-Yes, you can “sic” your manager on the SME’s manager (not that those two managers should be seen as fighting dogs, of course!) so that the SME is bullied into working with you.
What Works for Me
I respect the SMEs I work with as valued colleagues. And, I know they’re working under the watchful eyes of their manager (and everyone else above in the corporate food chain), and may have worse time constraints than I have. I try and have an initial and brief Project Scope meeting with both the SME and his/her manager. What results is a good conversation in the same room where the SME and the manager can “reshuffle” the SME’s time and priorities to help me get my job done.
I try and get invited to the project table early on in the life cycle. I meet with the project manager to explain how long it will take, approximately, to do my part of the bargain (documentation, training, etc.). I like project managers (been one myself), and they find out that my meeting is all about helping them, and the business, to be successful.
If I’m brought to the project table late in the game on a crunch project, my approach is still the same. In this case, I’ll explain to the project manager that we may need to negotiate some of the deliverables. Or, we may need to contract with freelancers to get the job done, and I offer to be the Lead.
Jenise, what if they won’t bring in contractors and they won’t negotiate the deliverables?
That depends on the project, and how long I’ll need to work under crunch mode. I value life and my loved ones. Once time is spent, you can never get it back. So, my answer to the above question depends on my going back to the project manager to re-negotiate deliverables. I’m a team player during crunch time, but if poor management and out-dated processes are the cause, I do speak up and suggest improvements. We spend enough time at work as it is! Poor management and processes need to be fixed.
Performance Planning
What works in many companies, though, is a true “Performance” organization. This means that the performance plan for the SME will include responsibilities and goals on working with cross-functional project team members. A truly enlightened organization will include measurable goals.
I prefer meeting with the SME and his/her manager because the performance-plan approach, although a good idea, could feel “punitive” to the SME if the plan is poorly written and s/he is not helping me meet my project targets. That’s when I have no choice but to say something to my manager or the SME’s manager, and the SME’s behavior is then treated as a declining performance issue.
My preference is that the performance plans be written to reward the SME not “punish”. The plan should encourage collaboration and team work. Incent the SME to work with me.
Hey, that rhymes! I’m a poet, didn’t know it. I’m “Always Learning”.
Photo Credits:
Gas prices for regular grade (87) at my local Costco are rising close to $4.70-9/10…well, as of today. And, everyone talks about rising fuel costs just like people talked about rising real estate prices during 2004-2006.
