Case Study – Strategic Planning and Project Management
Design Project Process
Issues
An IT consulting firm needed help designing a streamlined project management process. With their existing process, they found they had too many open or past due projects at their client sites. It was difficult for their clients to understand the project process and how to prioritize upcoming projects. The periodic reports presented to clients were cluttered, full of technical jargon, and hard to read. The project process varied from client to client. Keys
Focus on business objectives and benefits
The first step was
redirecting the project process and reports to focus on the client's
objectives and the benefits of the projects. Technical jargon and
acronyms were eliminated wherever possible and explained where they
couldn't be eliminated. Project charter documents and proposals were
re-written to focus on the client's business objectives and how the
projects aligned with those objectives.
Diagram project process
A simplified project
process was diagrammed and included as the first page on every Project
Status Report package. It started with the client's strategic plan and
objectives and included a project priority list, project charters,
project plans, overall status reports, and completed projects. By
diagramming the process, the client was able to clearly understand what
role they played and what they could expect.
Redesign client reports for executive management
Client reports were
re-designed into a easier to read format focusing on project
priorities, benefits, overall current status and problem areas. The
reports provided high-level information on top, progressively digging
down into more detail in later pages. Periodic Help Desk reports were
re-designed with graphs to highlight risks and problem areas. Again,
increasing detail was provided in subsequent pages.
Simplify and break down projects into smaller parts (milestones)
It was hard to
determine the overall status of several large, complicated projects.
Upon more detailed review, it appeared these projects had reached
milestones and were waiting for the client's approval. These projects
were broken down into several smaller projects and specific milestones
were identified (identify alternatives, perform cost benefit analysis,
approve a single course of action, execute approved plan). This allowed
specific tasks to be better identified and assigned and highlighted the
progress of the larger project. It also provided more areas to
re-evaluate the project's benefits and make sure it still aligned with
management's objectives.
Highlight issues that hold project back and identify next steps
Although regular status
reports were provided to the client, it wasn't clear why projects were
either behind schedule or not moving as expected. In the re-designed
status reports, these problems or issues were specifically highlighted
and the corrective action was recommended. In some cases, projects were
merely waiting for a client decision. Highlighting this issue reminded
the client that their input was needed.
End Results
We designed a clearly
articulated project process that made sense to the consulting firm's
staff and their clients. We changed the focus of the project process to
business objectives and benefits to clients. Redesigned progress
reports were created which highlighted obstacles and clearly emphasized
the next steps to take. The IT consulting firm plans to use this newly
designed project process with all of its clients. |
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Design Project Process |