On Suppliers

“What obstacles do project managers face to successful completion of an Information Technology project?”

Managing Director, Project Management Firm

“The biggest and most consistant problem we encounter is the failure of IT service providers (both local and iternational) to meet installation deadlines. These providers also have a habit insisting on ridiculously long lead times for installation of their services.

A good project manager can control most other issues with proper systems and planning."

MüTō Observation:

This is the classic issue. The question is at what point does the Project Manager realize this problem. Is it at the delivery date? Or at some point prior? A Project Manager that is holding his suppliers accountable will know well in advance that the service provider is going to have a problem meeting their deadlines.

Long lead times can be negotiated, once you take the time to pry them apart. “It is what it is” Is the easiest excuse to pry open, just try asking “And what exactly is it?” Approaching the ludicrous is a great way at finding out the underlying nature of the estimate. Are the suppliers simply building in “Buffer time” or have they REALLY figured out how long the task will take?