Running an Effective Assessment Workshop

Yes, it feels like there is a lot to be done in a short span of time and shortage of resources also complicates the task at hand. Typical assessment engagements are done by a relatively small group of 2-4 consultants with one consultant doubling up as a Project Manager. The soft skills required for managing these assessments are meticulous planning, effective solutioning and tight management of the scope and schedule.  In general successfully managed assessment projects have certain things in common.

This might sound strange but many short term assessments will need a lot of offline work to be done ahead of the actual start. The various activities during the weeks ahead of the assessment can include

The most important aspect of an assessment is clear definition of scope and complete understanding of the deliverables between the client and consulting teams. The actual results of assessment are not the solution itself but an understanding or analysis of current situation and potential options for solutions. This has to be clearly communicated to the client before the start of the engagement. The project manager also has to make sure that the client team is available and the meetings have also been scheduled on the calendars.

Given the short duration of the project, one cannot expect to go in and analyze things on the fly. The entire approach has to be structured. In some cases, questionnaires are sent to the client ahead of the project start date, presentations are created for the first week based on the schedule and standards templates are used to produce deliverables. In my experience, we have used templates for analyzing the client application portfolio and if all the information is gathered correctly, it can produce a clear picture of the application maturity, application stability and also present the information in a graphical format.

I have been in situations where the entire consulting team turns up at the client site ready to start the work and only 50% of the client team shows up for the project kick off. The client and consulting teams have to work together to finalize project teams, ensure commitment from the team members. The client team members generally are working on the project in addition to their day to day activities and the executive teams have to ensure commitment at various levels of the organization. This is a great opportunity for the consulting project manager to build relationships with the client executives by creating a value proposition and communication plan.

This is basic for any successful project but it becomes even more critical for a 4 week assessment project. The project manager has to send out periodic and meaningful status reports, highlight risks at each stage and the critical success factors. Delay in identifying risks or delays in communicating the issues can severely impact a 4 week project and even lead to a mid way cancellation of the assessment.