A Change in the Customer’s Program Manager in the Middle of a Project

I was the project manager for the research safety vehicle development for the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, an agency for the Department of Transportation. The design phase of the project
was completed. We started to manufacture prototype vehicles and got them ready for crash testing.
During the course of the design and development process, there were many specification clarifications
and changes to the vehicle. All specification clarifications and changes were document controlled in our
company. Every revised version of the specifications was submitted to our customer. During the
manufacturing phase of the project, there was a sudden program manager change with our customer.
The new program manager was clueless about the history of the research safety vehicle program. He
started to demand changes to the vehicle design that were above and beyond the specification
clarifications and changes we agreed upon with his predecessor. He wanted specification changes in the
vehicle’s ground clearance, the vehicle’s maximum curb weight, the vehicle’s side impact
crashworthiness, and so on. The vehicle design had already been completed and it was not possible to
implement his new specification requests at this stage of the project. When I refused to implement
some of the changes that he requested, things started to get tense between us. I sensed a rising tension
from his tone during our telephone conferences. I had to do something urgently to bring this customer’s
new program manager to our level of understanding of vehicle specifications and contract
requirements. I decided that I could not bring him up to date from 3,000 miles away in our research
safety vehicle project, which had been going on for three years. I kindly asked him to plan a trip to come
to our facilities in California and spend a week with us so that he could meet my team members and
could see our operations and capabilities in person. My main purpose was to go over the history of the
project step by step with him. I wanted him to understand all the specification clarifications and changes
that were made during those three years. The customer’s new program manager accepted my proposal,
decided to leave his desk behind in Washington, DC, and visit our facilities. I sent him a proposed agenda
for his visit. He accepted all of my proposed agenda with some minor variations. The first day was
dedicated to meeting my team members and our upper management. On the second day, we
concentrated on our manufacturing facilities and our test facilities. On the third and fourth days, we
went through the history of the research safety vehicle project. We went over every specification one by
one. We reviewed all the specification clarifications. We reviewed all the new specifications that were
added on by my team or by his predecessor. Then we reviewed every contract modification and every
monthly status report. He was very impressed with our precise document control procedures. On the
fifth day, we went over the master project schedule and reviewed tasks that were on the critical path.
He was brought up to speed on every aspect of the project. He was very appreciative of such a detailed
project review. I was ecstatic too that he was finally at the same level of understanding of the project as
me and my team. By the afternoon of the fifth day, we had covered everything we could regarding the
project and we deserved a break from work. I took him to our city center for lunch and I played tour
guide and showed him the highlights of our city. During this interaction, I learned a lot about the
personal side of my customer’s new program manager. He was also a tennis buff like me. Later, I invited
him to play an hour of tennis with me. I provided him with all the tennis gear. The customer’s new
program manager left California with a good understanding of the research safety project. He gained
trust in our project team and in our project processes. Above all, he became a project contributing
colleague and a good friend. These kinds of changes to critical personnel can happen in any project. It is
the project manager’s responsibility to bring the new team member up to speed about the project.

Questions:

Q1: As project manager is changed in the middle of the project. What will be the scope statement for
this project? Also what tools and techniques PM will use for developing the Scope statement (as project
manager is new to the project)?