There seems to be widespread consensus that the Obama administration’s roll-out of its signature Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a nightmare. Although one may say that “hindsight is always 20/20,” the fact is that this debacle could have been avoided – or at least mitigated significantly. Simply stated, it seems that the people in charge failed to think through this enormous undertaking.

Organizations cannot optimize their performance unless they execute their projects successfully. Toward that end, here are nineteen lessons that leaders can learn from the ACA’s experience and apply to the implementation of virtually any large project:

1. Create a clear “big picture” of the desired outcome, including users’ expectations of what it will do. Work backwards from that picture.

2. In advance, gather ALL the people with relevant knowledge and expertise and have them collectively think through what it will take to develop and implement the project successfully. Don’t wait till things fall apart before you go back to ask the experts for their advice.

3. Insist that ALL players/stakeholders be actively engaged and that everyone’s voice is heard.

4. Make sure the end result is user-friendly by hiring “interpreters” who can speak the language of both the end users and the experts who are charged with creating the system or process.

5. Conduct a pilot program with a small sample of the end users. This allows you to get valuable feedback, work out the bugs, and maximize your resources.

6. Communicate truthfully, fully, and in a timely manner to clients and stakeholders before, during, and after implementation.

7. Ensure the decision-makers are fully informed about short- and long-term consequences of the project as well as potential pitfalls.

8. Test the system before rolling it out. Address the deficiencies and re-test. Do not go “live” until the system truly is ready for its debut.

9. Have one or more experts or nay-sayers play the devil’s advocate role to poke holes in the implementation process.

10. Create an implementation plan (vs. an action plan).

11. Assign responsibility and create meaningful, timely consequences for non-performance.

12. Set realistic timelines for progress and completion. Monitor them continuously and investigate promptly if they are not met.

13. In the face of evidence that the implementation is not on track, stop and address the problems; do not insist on moving forward anyway.

14. Make the roll-out process transparent to all stakeholders.

15. Justify the costs at all stages of the project, beginning with the initial estimates and including any bid amounts. Closely scrutinize cost over-runs as they occur and take immediate action to stop or mitigate them.

16. Make sure the costs are realistic: not extremely high or low.

17. If you use a bid process, weigh expertise more heavily than cost. The lowest bidder is not necessarily the best choice.

18. Don’t tell the experts how they must do the work. Tell them what outcome you need and let them determine the best way to achieve it.

19. Put the right person in every job.

The above lessons can save you time, energy, and significant resources, not to mention keep your organization’s reputation intact. Many of them cost nothing to implement; others are likely to have a large ROI (return on investment). Why not apply them when developing your next large project?

© 2013 Pat Lynch. All rights reserved.