Contact Center Cloud Project Intro- Update 2

 Ok let's pick back up. I recall I needed to blogsplain a few items to you, as the reader. 

1. What is agile?

2. What is a story?

3. What is a requirements matrix?

4. What tools do I use daily?

Agile- this is a form of how you manage a project that encourages smart development, in an iterative approach ( just means smaller cycles) with adjustable scope. You work with an assigned team and you build your stories (defining this next) and from there you gather work and tasks and make a commitment to that work only (sometimes there is a spike) within a two to four week period. I have found that two weeks is the sweet spot, four weeks work can get procrastinated and become unfocused.

Story/ies- this is a written statement that presents a wish from the business in a relatable standard to the team. I like to use the Story, Scenario, Given, When, Then model. Let me give you two examples:

 

User Story	Scenario	Given	When	Then	Priority 1-3
ex. As a customer I want to see special offers so that I can get a good deal As an agent I want to see the partners first donation date in the system so that I can congratulate them on the call for being a partner for that time	See special offers See partners first donation date in the system	That the user is on the homepage The agent receives a call and they are in the account screen/screen pop of the account info; maybe under caller details	selects the special offers option The agent can view the first donation date of the caller	a list of products with discount is displayed AND the org. price with discount is visible The agent can make mention of a thank you for donating to the ministry now for x mos, years.	1 1

Requirements matrix- this is a fancy word for a spreadsheet of what is required in the project.

What tools do I use- I am very familiar with Devops TFS, Asana, Jira Software, PPM Express Software, Microsoft Planner, Microsoft Project (client/online versions).

My fav is probably Devops TFS, with Jira coming in 2nd, Asana is very easy for most businesses to pick up so its makes my top 3.

Now back to the project at hand. We are moving along. I am at the point now where I am ready to just kickoff - fancy word for a meeting to officially start the project (and explain to all the people the what, who's whens) of course. We got our statement of work all drafted and its now under vendor review to then, I hope, make it to legal in 2-3 weeks. As we wait we are working through the rest of the stories to prep for the vendor discovery. 

I was looking at the list from the business and it needs some work. I am going to call out a skillset here for the future reader of this page/update- I have a skillset to get information while keeping the business, clients comfortable and in their familiar area. The issue with this project is, the business does not know what they do not know. So....I begin with tell me what your current software lacks so we can document this and then talk to the vendor to see if the new software can help. This leads to more conversation of what is broken... to what they wish for... and before long thoughts are flowing. 

Communication is a key skillset for a project manager. Going back to the gift of emotional intelligence that I mentioned in one of my first one or two posts, it matters. Anyone can talk to someone someway, but to dig deep into their pain points and make them feel the relief that a fix is on the way to make their life better, is a whole other ballgame.

The last update here will mention we signed the contract : ) So I am going to start a new post for my weekly project reflections starting Monday of next week (April 18, 2022).