How do you deliver something that hasn’t been done before?

In every Project Engineer’s life, there comes a time when you are asked to deliver a project that stretches conventional boundaries and sits uncomfortably beyond known experience. It could be of larger or smaller scale where conventional solutions may not work, or it could be a first-of-its-kind process or a prototype packaging line with truly novel features.

Whatever the project, the ways to approach the problem, at least the initial steps, are often the same. Here are a few tips that can help you move your thinking in the right direction.

1. Plan to convert unknowns to knowns during the development phase of the project

Ask yourself the following questions – How much of the solution is truly novel and unique and how much of it can be delivered by tried and tested technology? How much time and cost is required to develop a proven solution?

The purpose of the first question is to force you to identify each individual first-in-kind element within the process.

The second question recognises that for each novel element bespoke solutions will need to be defined, developed, tested and proven to be a suitable solution that can be integrated into the conventional technology.

With each tested solution, more is learned and uncertainty is reduced, eventually leading to a final engineered solution that ultimately becomes standard practice.

2. Develop your expertise and look for demonstrated competence using the five conversation technique

The five conversation technique is a simple approach to an unknown area, where knowledge and understanding grow with each conversation.

Identify which individuals and companies have expertise and demonstrated competence in the field you are looking at.  It typically takes a number of structured discussions internally, with peers and colleagues, and externally with experts and potential suppliers, to understand who has the expertise that you need (the first and second conversations).

Select highly capable and competent partners who have the expertise to develop solutions when the first-in-kind elements are identified.  They will need to be able to develop and test potential solutions while simultaneously engineering the final solution (the third conversation).

Find out which company has the smallest journey to make from their existing offer to the solution you need. The longer the journey and the more the steps involved, the greater the opportunity for things to go wrong (the fourth conversation).

The final quality of the job comes inevitably comes down to both the quality of the contractor that delivers it and the quality of the specification they are asked to deliver. A good specification in these circumstances focuses on clearly and unambiguously defining what the acceptable parameters of the final product and at the same time defines and agrees the quality and allowable variability of the input materials (the fifth conversation).

In summary, the key is to break down the requirement into very specific knowns and unknowns, then identify the correct partner to help you create the solution to the unknowns using the five conversation technique. In the next part of this series we will look at how to manage projects at different scales.