Main conference presentation
Project touchstones: how to bridge competing viewpoints and build vision, consensus, and innovation
Monday March 26 2007, 10:45 - 11:30AM
Even the best design or architecture methods and tools can't save a project that falls to political infighting, divided priorities, and unclear direction. Competing viewpoints and separate camps cause rifts in projects as energy is devoted to advancing agendas instead of driving business value. The reality is that for IAs and our toolbox of methods to make an effective impact on clients or our own organizations there needs to be business buy-in, common vision, and a shared understanding of project direction and outcomes.
Creating touchstones is an approach to improve project success by bridging competing viewpoints and building a shared vision with clear direction and consensus. Project touchstones are artifacts and exercises whose primary purpose is not to define or document a solution, but to create a channel for communication between different parties. With artifacts that act as common references, teams can surface tacit needs, assumptions and unarticulated expectations. This lets stakeholders work on clearly defining the problem, instead of working to define a solution fragmented by miscommunication. Working with these common references, IAs can map the elements of the project valued by competing interests. Understanding and mapping value then offers avenues for divided stakeholders to unite around a shared vision that satisfies their core needs. This composite of diverse perspectives provides more opportunities for innovation as solutions emerge at boundaries, intersections, and overlaps.
This session will explore principles for creating effective project touchstones with a mix of grounding theory based in framing and boundary objects, pragmatic real-world examples, and how-to guidance. By focusing on creating touchstones early in a project, IAs can build buy-in, avoid wasted effort, increase their influence with their teams, and make a more meaningful difference with their work.
