Ensure all parties understand and document the requirements, expected deliverables, project milestones, dependencies, and the timing of the deliverables or dependencies. This level of clarity in scope is the first step towards delivering a project free of delays and change requests; we don’t play the change request game.

Frank communication around deliverables and schedule risk is just as important as developing good code. We empower our team, review and follow up on all dependencies, push and escalate where required, and ring alarm bells if things are off target. We would not want to find out late in the program, nor would our customers.

Leadership and account teams from all parties must understand the customer’s short-term and long-term vision as it relates to the project. This information can be used to make decisions around knowledge continuity and knowledge transfer, resourcing for additional account support, and other dependencies.

Building good relationships with customer and other 3rd party vendor stakeholders at both the project and executive levels ensures that the correct visibility is in place for key activities and will help pave a path clear of bottlenecks and roadblocks, while opening a formal escalation path in the event that it is needed.