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CCCA_V6No4_Dept-ProjectMgmt2-FIN_CCCA_V6No4 11/26/12 6:20 PM Page 17 Look at your desired end-point as“ If it seems that last minute Legal Project Management requests from the Marketing Compare the options with the data necessary to deflect the legal group’s overtime other, less beneficial options. It well as the data collected and brain- Department trigger many of any attempts by others to pursue storm alternatives that will deliver hours and budget challenges, also provides you with much of the desired outcome. This is when gathering data related to those the information necessary to plan you should get creative and think how the best alternative will be outside of the box. Remember, you requests and challenges implemented. So, if you haven’t are trying to change inputs here. would be relevant. started to do so already, assess your Assess the expected benefit ” status quo and assess the alterna- (preferably in dollar terms) as well as the likely associated cost to tives that will best support your objective. Set a goal of complet- the organization for each identified option. Consider what ing these first two steps by the time the details of Step 3 appear resources are required for each alternative as well as any buy-in in the spring issue of CCCA Magazine. required from others. Solicit input and feedback from a variety of sources to be sure that you have a robust and realistic understand- 1 The Project Management Institute (2008). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). (4th ed.). Pennsylvania: Project ing of the situation and available alternatives. Management Institute, Inc. p.211. Use this information to identify the option that best meets the elements set out in the desired outcome summary. For some, a Melissa LaFlair, Certified PMP, LL.B., Ivey HBA., is a lawyer and simple list of alternatives on a Post-it note is all that is required. project manager with more than 16 years of experience solving legal and For others, making a chart assists them in assessing the relative business challenges. This is the second of a four-part series. www.laflair.ca strength of each alternative. If it is a large project you can also use this information to determine which alternatives warrant further investigation or which alternative will best deliver the desired outcome. Alternatives that do not support your organization’s strategy are not worth pursuing. Turning back to the last-minute requests from the Marketing Department, a “solution” could be to eliminate the requested documentation altogether. While this solves legal’s immediate issue, it would create a larger contextual issue if the documenta- tion was required to convert potential customers into actual cus- tomers. Similarly, legal could introduce a policy whereby same- day requests were to be received no later than 1 p.m. in order to be processed that day. While this could eliminate the need for legal to work late, it wouldn’t help the Marketing Department respond to last-minute requests from potential customers which likely supports an organizational objective. A better approach would be to find an alternative that enables the Marketing Department to satisfy potential customer requests, the legal department to work regular hours and organizational profitabili- ty to increase. One solution worth exploring could be outsourc- ing the work to a less expensive jurisdiction. Another could be creating a standard form that could be used by the business peo- ple directly without any immediate legal input. Reap the benefits Taking the time to identify and assess the alternatives at the out- set ensures that decisions are made that will deliver the most ben- efit to your organization. Making this effort also provides you HIVER 2012 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 17