Project Management

As a project manager, you are responsible for delivering results that meet the expectations of your stakeholders. But how do you know what they expect? And how do you manage their expectations throughout the project lifecycle?

• Expectation management is not a one-time activity.
• It is an ongoing process that requires intuition, listening, iterating, and learning.
• There is no formula or training for this skill because every stakeholder has different and often personal expectations.

However, there are some strategies that can help you manage expectations effectively and avoid disappointment, frustration, or conflict. Here are five tips to master the art of expectation management:

1. Clarify the project scope and objectives: Before you start any project, make sure you have a clear and shared understanding of what the project is about, why it is important, and what it aims to achieve. Use a project charter or a similar document to define the project scope, objectives, deliverables, assumptions, constraints, risks, and success criteria. Review this document with your stakeholders and get their agreement and sign-off.
2. Communicate frequently and transparently: Communication is the key to managing expectations. You need to keep your stakeholders informed of the project progress, status, issues, and changes. Use various communication channels and methods, such as meetings, reports, emails, dashboards, etc., to share relevant information with the right people at the right time. Be honest and realistic about what you can and cannot deliver, and don’t promise more than you can deliver.
3. Manage changes and risks proactively: Projects are dynamic and unpredictable. Changes and risks are inevitable and can affect the expectations of your stakeholders. You need to have a change management process and a risk management plan in place to deal with them effectively. Identify, analyze, prioritize, and mitigate potential changes and risks as early as possible. Communicate the impact of any change or risk on the project scope, schedule, budget, quality, or objectives to your stakeholders and get their approval before implementing any change.
4. Seek feedback and alignment regularly: Expectations can change over time as the project evolves or as the latest information becomes available. You need to check in with your stakeholders frequently and solicit their feedback and input on the project deliverables and outcomes. Use agile methods such as sprints, demos, reviews, retrospectives, etc., to deliver value incrementally and iteratively. Validate that your deliverables meet the stakeholder requirements and expectations and align with the project objectives.
5. Celebrate successes and learn from failures: At the end of the project or at major milestones, you need to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of your team and your stakeholders. Recognize their contributions and efforts and thank them for their support and collaboration. You also need to conduct a lessons learned session to capture what went well and what didn’t go well in the project. Use this feedback to improve your expectation management skills for future projects.

Managing expectations is not easy, but it is essential for successful project management. By following these strategies, you can build trust and rapport with your stakeholders, deliver value that meets or exceeds their expectations, and enhance your reputation as a competent and reliable project manager.

Faith at Work: Christians naturally understand the need to build trust. We should encourage others to excel and demonstrate courage at every opportunity.