Posts Tagged ‘Improvement’

In my previous blog, posted here on the 28th of February, I spoke about the first key to Successful Improvement Projects; “An Uncompromising Focus on the Customer.” At the conclusion of that posting, I promised to follow it up with the second key; Senior Sponsor Support. Read on to find out about the second key…

It is a waste of time to go about improving operations or implementing a new project unless there is a senior sponsor that will advocate, exert influence and resource the project. If the sponsor is not passionate about the change – do not start! I have seen numerous ingenious innovations left to die on the vine. Why? Because the leader was focused on important, urgent and immediate issues while creative people in the organisation had great ideas but no mechanism to bring that idea to market. The senior sponsor plays a critical role when bringing about changes to the business. Sponsor support happens at two very different levels. You need the sponsor’s ‘head’ to provide you support with resources and people. More importantly you need to tap into the sponsors ‘heart’, to find support in the form of an excitement and passion for the improvement. I discuss this further in my newsletter, Silver Bullet 7. Visit Silver Bullet.pdf for more information.

This newsletter includes some practical tips on engaging your sponsor.

As the project rolls out, ensure you maintain communication with the sponsor to give feedback, receive direction and maintain a level of excitement about the success the improvement will bring.

In my next post, I will explore the third key to Successful Improvement Projects: A crystal clear vision.

Dan Jackson
Head Coach 7SIM Business Improvement
www.7sim.com.au

Project Management Blog – Connecting Developers, Building Worlds

This blog is intended to invite discussion on why some improvement projects succeed while most fail to realise the benefits expected.

I have conducted significant research in this area and have found the reasons most improvement projects fail is not because of the methodology underpinning the improvement process, but the failure to recognise and foster the cultural implications of change.

Equipped with this knowledge, I developed 7 keys to successful improvement projects:
1. An uncompromising focus on the Customer
2. Senior Sponsor Support
3. A crystal clear vision
4. Plain spoken and extensive consultation
5. The best people on the Improvement Team
6. Actively manage change
7. Recognise that people transition differently through change

I have loaded a new video describing these keys at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb2QpsesYPc

In future posts, I’ll go into more detail on each of these keys. I would like to hear from other project managers involved in business transformation or process improvement to hear your views and any advice you have.

I hope this has been helpful.

Dan Jackson
Head Coach 7SIM Leadership Training
www.7sim.com.au

PS. Email me if you would like a link to the Research Points aforementioned at Enquiries@7SIM.com.au

Project Management Blog – Connecting Developers, Building Worlds

Practical Software Metrics For Project Management And Process Improvement

Every company pay special attention to its work process management and for that they always look for tools that could help them in this endevor. Now the companies search has come to end with the introduction of practical software metrics for project management and process improvement software. It helps in easily managing the work process as well as managing the projects. It empowers organizations to control the capture and processing of form based information required for critical business process automation and project handling. It replaces inefficient paper based versions with electronic form based workflows and provides automatic workflows that are trackable and web-based, increasing productivity, ensuring compliance and accountability as well as improving efficiency. Practical software metrics for project management and process improvement helps in managing and implementing even the most complex workflow and ensures the process automation obtained precisely reflects your business needs, including access to and decisions based on third party applications.
Practical software metrics for project management and process improvement offers features like data verification in forms to maintain data quality in an automated process and to ensure that the information collected is correct and valid for business process. Other features like field coonstraint restrict numerical fields so that only values within an allowed range are accepted, while Select and multiple select fields force respondents to select from a list of pre-defined values, which saves time and make it more straightforward to search and report on specific values. Its Notification features ensure users are notified through e-mails and instant messages when their participation in a process is required. It provides bespoke workflow automation through plug-ins written in PHP code, which extend your ability to create and manipulate e-form solutions. It also helps in fulfilling today’s demanding audit standard by tracking which users have completed which sections of e-form and when.
Practical software metrics for project management and process improvement helps users in filtering and reporting any business process according to your specific requirements. It also allows you to configure default values to populate field automatically and removes the requirement to re-enter duplicate information or populate standard value. Practical software metrics for project management and process improvement also helps in workflow automation using form builders with wide range of field types like short, medium, long string; short, medium, long text; checkbox, Radio button, select field, multiple select, label, user list, document, pick list etc. You can define the way it should be displayed, any constraints that should be applied, and the way it should react if changed, as each field is configurable. All these features offered by it helps companies in easily managing their projects as well as their work process.

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Project Management ? 4 Ways to Encourage Performance Improvement

You are planning to talk to your staff about the need to improve how they manage projects. There have been unnecessary delays in completing project tasks. You want employees to improve how they plan, coordinate, and perform project activities. You also want them to leave this meeting understanding WHY these improvements matter and feeling motivated to make changes. How might you approach this discussion? Try linking your employees’ improved performance to these four positive results:

1. Budget: Consider things like fewer cost overruns, decreased expenditures, or staying within budget allocations. Is there an impact on present or future funding? Or perhaps you and your employees have to spend unnecessary time justifying expenditures. How could improved approaches to project management lead to more positive budget experiences?

2. Complaints: Think about how affected parties react when project delays occur. Who do they complain to? And what happens when they complain? Do you or your employees have to spend extra time consoling and reassuring these stakeholders? Or maybe the entire project plan has to be revised to appease a particularly powerful stakeholder. How might this change, for the better, if your employees’ changed how they managed projects?

3. Accomplishments: Think about how a failure to effectively plan, coordinate, and perform project activities impacts other employees, groups, contractors, or departments. What’s the cost in time, tasks, money, and resources? How could improved performance make things better for others, and by association, make things better for your project managers?

4. Problem Solving: Consider how poor planning affects your employees’ ability to solve problems. What is the negative impact on project tasks? How might earlier contingency plans or advanced consideration of possible problems improve their ability to solve problems quickly and correctly?

Your Focus Determines Project Management Improvements

To encourage improved project management, you need employees to feel motivated to take personal responsibility for doing a better job. You can make that happen by focusing on common goals, common purposes, and common benefits. Project management, like other workload topics, offers many opportunities to focus on common areas. You just have to think about what you want to say during your discussion. 

If you explain WHY performance improvement matters, you will increase your chance of getting buy-in and cooperation. Try these four explanations the next time you have to talk to employees about improving project management. These explanations will not only help you keep focused, they will help you frame your discussion in a way that could lead to positive results.

Related project management video:

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