Learning How to Say NO!

Probably one of the biggest excuses for scope creep on projects is the inability of project managers and team members to say no to items that are clearly out of scope for the project.

Learning how to say "no" gracefully and without antagonizing the other person is an essential skill for Project Managers. The purpose of this segment is to highlight some of the more effective ways to say "no" that have been identified by experienced Project Managers.

Be Prepared

Put the infrastructure and discipline in place ahead of time to make it easier for you to resist inappropriate pressure later in the project.

As an example, it's very hard to resist scope creep if you haven't clearly defined the scope up front (so that everyone can recognize when a proposed change is in or out of scope). Communicate the importance of scope control and change management processes from day one.

Similarly, it's hard to refer an issue to a Steering Committee midway through a project, if you have not put a working Steering Committee in place from the outset of the project.

I'd Love to But

Explain calmly and clearly the various undesirable results that would occur if you were to say "yes", and explain what you can do instead. For example:

"We need to be responsive to changing requirements but, if we accommodate these changes now, we will not be able to deliver the system within the current very tight schedule. What we could do is to schedule these changes for a second release of the system once the initial release of the system has been delivered."

Well Maybe

Rather than using the word "no", use "maybe" and give them some choices that you can live with. For example:

"Well, maybe we could schedule these additional changes in a second release of the system once the initial release of the system has been delivered. Or perhaps we could switch this new requirement for something else that we had planned to deliver which is a lower priority."

Help Me to Understand

Ask the person to help you to understand how you can accommodate his or her request within the various constraints that you are working under. For example:

"How are we going to accommodate the impact of these proposed changes on the work that has been done to date and the additional testing effort that will be required, and still deliver within the original budget and schedule."

I'll Have to Check

Indicate that you will have to refer the issue to a "higher authority" (e.g., your line manager) - that you don't have the authority to validate the request yourself. However, be careful about using this tactic. It will weaken your position if the customer feels that they are not dealing with the decision maker.

Let's Add it to the Agenda

Indicate that the issue needs to be referred to a committee for resolution (e.g., a Configuration Control Board for change requests or a Steering Committee for high level project issues). A committee is the best kind of fall back as the other person cannot then go over your head to a single individual.

What Part of "No" Don't You Understand

You should never use these words (which would be totally inappropriate) but stick to your principles and use proven conflict resolution techniques to develop a workable solution to the problem. Perseverance and smiling a lot goes a long way here.

By Sir Craig Borysowick (Chief Technology Tactician)