SCRIPT

I recently took a road trip with my family. I realized, far too late mind you, that taking a road trip is much like
managing a project

SLIDE 1

It is good to manage expectations up front and detail the plan with the stops outlined and literal milestones.
We routed our travel plan using Google Maps (Mails and messages) to set our course and set an estimated
completion time. According to Google the trip would take 19 hours, using this duration we set a desired
completion time. Working backwards this meant we needed to leave by 10am (Our classes start everyday at
10) to allow time for a lunch break and a few rest stops, this would have included some leeway for the
unexpected.

SLIDE 2

Feeling a little Unwell at night (Me having Covid), Still decided to continue with the plan, as everyone was
excited for the opportunity we got after a long time.

We considered multiple dimensions and all plausible problems that may occur in the future.

It combined data and trends, patterns recognition, Intuitions and Imagination to envision a desirable path of
action. (DSM, plausible problems and Solutions)

SLIDE 3

All good in theory until you engage the stakeholders.

This is a good lesson on requirements gathering and hidden risks.

SLIDE 4

As any good and responsible adults, we completed our packing (Shipra service design tools) and
requirements gathering well in advance, aka just before we went to bed and set the alarm (ready for service
design module, Back to Gandhinagar).

The next morning the alarm goes off bright and early at 9am (Guru tested positive). First change request, due
to unforeseen issues with gathering the project team the start time will be delayed 45 minutes, a few items
took longer than expected and there were some last-minute scope changes (Suneet teaching us Service,
Online mode).

By 10:40, everyone is in the car, last minute packing complete and seat belts on, pulled out at 10:45am only
45 minutes later than originally planned and only one requirement missed (back to online mode).

SLIDE 5

Little did we know at this stage we had a hidden issue with our plan, the Google Map (Mail to stay on campus)
timing included the hour time change as we crossed the provincial border, in this case we gained one hour
(Everyone quarantined, bad situation on campus).

So, what looked like 19h travel time was actually 20h, unknown schedule impact. Unfortunately, this was not
realized by our project team until we were several hours into the trip, but more on that later.
SLIDE 6

We had barely gotten out of our community (kick-off, few out of the quarantine) when one of the stakeholders
requested a change that impacted our planned route and timeline: “I need to go pee.” (I got dengue)

We change direction to assemble at the nearest gas station and wait. As this particular change request
became a regular occurrence we had no choice but to add it as a recurring meeting to the project’s roll out
-you need to keep the stakeholders satisfied- and submit a change request to our steering committee (aka
grandma -GURU) to update the timeline and budget. Through a simple communication plan (text message) we
contacted our steering committee with an updated schedule and continued as planned.

SLIDE 7

Four status reports later, we decided to address the first missed requirement that is food (challenges people
have- What is the need?). This brought out a new project challenge, an inter-dependency. Now ordering food at
a truck stop with all the stakeholders is an exercise in patience, 7 rapid succession change requests later we
had our order at the table (Found the actual need).

SLIDE 8

Having an understanding of customer pain points when receiving services.

A heightened level of focus for solving the right problem - by reducing assumptions and framing chosen
problems in the right manner - Reduced inefficiencies within organizations by helping to choreograph service
delivery in streamlined ways.

SLIDE 9

Back on the road, in the process of preparing the next status update another meeting was requested: “I need
to go to the bathroom” (Solution iteration). Issue a route change request, find a rest stop, let all the
stakeholder out and reassess schedule impacts. This meeting turned into a workshop and 15 minutes later we
were back on track, and issued a status update to the steering committee.

SLIDE 10

We compare expectations with experiences – if they match, customers or employees are satisfied. If the
expectation is high and the experience fails to meet this, customers will be dissatisfied. If the experience is
greater than what customers expect, they can be very satisfied and perhaps even delighted

SLIDE 11

1pm, first actual scheduled milestone (aka lunch break, System projects starts) only one hour later than
original schedule. Due to vendor delays (aka restaurant, institution) we were back on the road an hour later

SLIDE 12
As we progressed through the project plan, we were able to keep the stakeholders engaged with enough
deliverables (snacks, systems, small assignments) that the frequency of change requests was reduced
allowing the project team to focus on their major deliverable (aka drive the car(Giga map)). There were other
unforeseen risks that impacted the schedule along the way (aka construction, service deliverables, prototype).
It was at this time we started to think we could get back on track and potentially still make the anticipated
deadline (although a little late), when we realized our mistake on the original schedule planning and forgot to
account for the hour time change. With a New update to the steering committee on the revised timeline.

SLIDE 13

At every moment of the customer journey we are actually comparing our expectations with our experience. The
result of this comparison is the emotional journey - a lane that we typically add to a journey map.

SLIDE 14

The project team pushed through the last few miles(tones) (System map) to complete the project (drive), while
skipping the last optional requirement (supper (Solution)), and in the end we arrived safe and sound with
mixed feelings, of the output, a lot later than originally planned. 24 total hours for an originally 19-hour trip, a
lesson in time and expectation management… I guess I’ll have breakfast (Solution set) in the morning…

SLIDE 15

“The purpose of setting the goal is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the
game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is about the
cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process
that will determine your progress...I’ve found that goals are good for planning your progress and systems are
good for actually making progress.”

SLIDE 16

“Right between the two extremes [order and chao] … at a kind of abstract phase transition called the edge of
chaos, you also find complexity: a class of behaviours in which the components of the system never quite lock
into place, yet never dissolve into turbulence, either. These are the systems that can be organised to perform
complex computations, to react to the world, to be spontaneous, adaptive, and alive.”

SLIDE 17

Time to apply those lessons learned!