By Aaron Pippin, Senior Project Manager, Fios, Inc.
In our industry, individuals often want to provide value by delivering more than what was actually asked for. In the Project Management world, this is known as “Gold Plating.” Providing value is always a good thing; however, gold plating can lead to undesirable issues.
For example, if a client asks for a specific report, they know what they are looking for and hope the report will give them the needed information. If the PM takes the time to include information he or she thinks is relevant but was not requested, the report could end up being convoluted and/or raise new concerns. It may also take more time to generate the report in order to provide this additional but unnecessary information.
To resolve gold plating, take a few minutes to discuss with the client what the report should and should not include. Discover the questions the report is supposed to answer. By doing this, you may have suggestions that will deliver better, cleaner data. You will also properly set expectations in terms of timelines and the data needed. Although a gold-plated response may be seen as a desirable goal, delivering exactly what the client needs in a timely manner usually provides the most value.
Filed under Discerning e-Discovery.