Methodology and Coaching

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Understanding, Selecting, and Putting A  Project Management Methodology To Work

There are many types of business projects such as construction, manufacturing, service, and software development.  There are also considerations like scale, speed of delivery, budget, organizational impact, and culture, that may determine how much need there is for change management.
 
As a result there are many different project management methodologies that can be applied.   These fall into several categories including Agile, Traditional, Process Based,  as well as other less common specialized forms.  Each has a number of variations.
 
PMI / PMBOK is worth a special mention.  While not exactly a project management methodology, many companies treat it as  one. It is helpful since it breaks a project down according to distinct phases that can make sense to apply to any project.

• Initiation
• Planning
• Executing
• Controlling
  
• Closing
  

 
The PMI/PMBOK offers a standardized vocabulary describing the 10 basic knowledge areas associated with project management and 47 basic processes within these areas.
 
Choosing an appropriate methodology, evaluating their focus on issues such as speed, flexibility, scale, cost, quality, and minimization of waste can be a challenge.  Another consideration is helping the entire team effectively employ the methodology selected.
 
In the end however, all of these methods have the same over-arching goal.  Specifically to help the business get from where it is to where it needs to be, quickly, on time, and on budget, while minimizing disruptions to the existing operation.
 
While many vendors are anxious to implement their solution for you as smoothly as possible, their goal remains to sell their solution and get it installed as profitably as possible.  There are times when minimizing disruption, and maximizing their profit can come into conflict with your objectives in these areas.  This is why you want to be sure someone on your team is highly focused throughout the project on project management and not on any one vendor’s project manager.
 
This is an area where Sabre would be happy to help supplement your team with methodology selection, project management, or coaching when it seems any of these services might be worthy of your consideration.

Incremental Improvement

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Minimizing Disruption Through Forward Planning and Incremental Improvement


We seem to live in an era where change is constant and inevitable.  In business our goal is to make sure that as much as possible that change is positive.  Positive change usually translates to growing revenue, minimizing cost, creating happier repeat clients, improving quality, or sometimes creating a brand new service or product. Ideally more than one of these positive attributes is at work in any change initiative.
 
Sometimes change is forced on us by external circumstances beyond our control.  Shifts in market dynamics or a political climate change with associated regulatory changes can also be a concern.  Disruptive seismic shifts in technology that threaten a fundamental business model while creating opportunities for new ones are another area to watch.
 
In addition to managing  day to day operations, there is a need to be vigilant and aware of the environment in which we operate.  Whether strategically planned, or forced upon us externally, forward planning and related advance research can carry huge rewards.
 
By monitoring and planning for needed change frequently, whether internally or externally motivated, you are enabling incremental change.  Small improvements made frequently are far less disruptive to a business than huge changes thrust upon the organization in a tight time frame.
 
Developing programs to help the internal team continuously contribute to small improvements is important.  Predictive research to help anticipate unplanned external changes can help support incremental change programs.  Together these approaches can help minimize the need for highly disruptive change that must be implemented quickly.
 
If this seems like an area of interest, please let us know.  We would be glad to help.

Organizational Change

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Change Management: Considerations For Project Managers


Projects, by definition imply that there will be changes to the normal daily operational environment.   Sometimes these are relatively minor and readily absorbed in place as the project unfolds.  As mentioned in the prior panel, a great deal can be done to minimize the impact on the organizational process and culture by seeking and encouraging  Incremental Change Opportunities.
 
Other projects require significant changes to process and procedure both in the long and short term.   If not well planned, executed, and monitored these may have the potential to be quite disruptive to the Project Life Cycle and the business.
 
Two types of project management methodology not listed previously are described briefly below.  They are essentially “modifiers” and “wrappers” and can supplement the more standard methods.  They extend project management to embrace two areas often not addressed:

Event Chain Methodology

• This extends the focus of the project management team beyond the act of building and implementing the new solution based on a strict set of sequenced tasks.
• It attempts to think beyond the perfect world and consider the risk implications and risk mitigation options if unanticipated events arise within the project.It also strives to help minimize disruptions to the organization and align the project with cultural considerations by optimizing communication and setting realistic expectations.

Extreme Project Methodology 

•  Allows changes to plan, timeline, budget, even deliverables to accommodate evolving requirements as the project unfolds.  It is generally considered a high risk approach and better suited to short duration projects when downside risk is considered minor, upside potential is deemed major, and there is considerable benefit to early delivery.
• May be beneficial whjen a project requires substantial support from Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) and others who have significant operational demands on their time beyond project responsibilities.  It is also beneficial if initial user requirements are fluid and the needs or priorities are likely to change during the course of the project.
• In our experience, Agile Sprints may provide similar benefits with reduced risk.

 
Change Management is an area of Project Management often overlooked yet in some cases it can have a significant impact on both the actual and perceived success of the project.  How important Change Management will be to the success of any project is worth consideration.
 
If Sabre can help with this process we would be happy to lend our support.

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