Final Phase
This case study would not be complete without a brief discussion of the actual
move, how the results stacked up against our Key Success Indicators (KSI), the
actual risks experienced, and any lessons learned.
The Move
Our son and daughter joined us in the house for a week or so over the actual
transition period and helped with packing and unpacking. On the actual moving
day, everyone knew what to do because everything was marked and where applicable
laid out on the scaled floor plans of our suites at SILC - and everything actually
fitted. Subsequent re-assembly of our rather elaborate electronics equipment took
several days, but otherwise went without a hitch.
After our move into SILC, our son and daughter remained in the house and went
through it, generally cleaning up and touching up damaged walls and the like to
leave the house in ship shape condition. As soon as they left, our professional
home stager arranged final clearance of all remaining belongings so that the house
was left completely cleared ready for final closing of the house sale.
Key Success Indicator compliance
- KSI #3 - Project success: Remarkably, the whole relocation adventure went
according to plan, and met our ultimate time objectives.
- KSI #2 - Financial success: As is common amongst most projects, costs were
somewhat higher than originally budgeted but not "out-of-reach". The redeeming
feature was that although we lowered the asking price on our house, which we had
felt was very optimistic anyway, what we received was still comfortably above
what we needed to make the project viable in terms of future cash flow. And all
this in spite of serious concerns over the US economy that inevitably affects
the Canadian economy.
- KSI #1 - Product satisfaction: The accommodation worked out exactly as planned,
the SILC management bent over backwards to help us in the endeavor, and we were
able to settle in just as we expected. Being at SILC means living in a wonderful
setting surrounding its own private gardens, enjoying excellent everything-included
staff service, and making a lot of new friends.
In this last KSI, we are somewhat cautious. In the last analysis, the success
of every project hinges on "customer satisfaction" with the "product". And because
every project is about "change", it takes time for customers, notably the "users",
to become comfortable with the new working environment. People working in the
computer software industry, or working with software for instance, will be particularly
familiar with this phenomenon. And this project is no exception.
But the question is: How long after the delivery of the product should one
make the assessment of "satisfaction"? Since this duration obviously varies from
project to project, the best rule-of-thumb is to take the pre-assessment period
as the same length of time that it took to conduct the project in the first place.
In this case study, it means six months.
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Project
Execution - Work Packages 3 to 5
