Project Yourself into the Future

Sheryl MorganProject Support Manager

WintecATEM Conference 9 – 10 July 2007 Manukau Institute of Technology

Using Projects to Bring About Change (Successfully)

• How can tertiary organisations going through major change ensure that the high risk of failure of their key strategic and change projects is minimised?

How to Avoid the Journey from Here …

To Here…

• Using projects which• align the organisation’s business objectives with the

project’s deliverables• have a robust project management structure &

process • pay attention to the people factors

• Projects are as much about the process as the tasks being undertaken

Managing Change

• Complex• Difficult• Changing behaviour• Tertiary sector change

– QRP– Investing in a plan– Funding

Risk Factors (Murphy’s Law)

• Urgency of the task• Complexity of the task• Importance of the task• Skill of the people involved• Frequency they do the taskaggravation constant aggravation constant aggravation constant aggravation…….

Achieving Strategic and Change Goals

• Urgent √• Complex √• Important √• Skill of the people involved

– no worries/bit of coaching needed/panic • Frequency they meet goals

– all the time/some of the time/virgin

Using Projects to Bring About Change (Successfully)

• Why?• Framework and boundaries (eating the elephant)• Methodology/process• Accountability• Risk containment

Why Wintec Moved to Projects to Manage Change

• 2003, new CEO with strong project background• Large number of issues needing attention at

once• Willingness to tackle things but not sure how• Using projects to manage change a tried &

tested method

What is Project Management?

• Directing and co-ordinating people and resources to meet planned goals of scope, quality, time, cost, participant satisfaction

• Size – probably longer than 3 months, and involving more than 3 people

• more difficult than management of Business as Usual

It’s Not Perfect

• NZ survey of 130 projects (75 organisations) only 35% on time, budget & met scope

• During any project, inevitable conflict over– Securing resources with competing priorities– Getting people to work towards one goal– Commitment to the vision (change projects)

No Rocket Science Required!

Project Management Minimum

• A plan (task list)• Some form of tracking the plan• Some mechanism for change management (who

agrees & signs off on the changes)• Some way of managing project issues (the bad

stuff that happens in projects)

Successful Projects – Project Planning

• Terms of Reference with• Project Goal• Objectives• Scope• Completion & Success Factors• Stakeholders• Milestones

Project Goal Example

• Project goal for reorganisation of academic structure• To recommend, with an implementation plan, a

model suitable to support the delivery and management of WINTEC’s academic programmes and associated activities

Project Objectives Example – Academic Workload Project

• Academic workload data collection tool developed and agreed

• Data collected from academic staff on workload• Academic staff and other stakeholders consulted on

academic workload issues• Academic workload policy and processes revised• Job descriptions for ASM, SASM, PASM reviewed

Successful Projects – Project Planning

• Action Plan• Risk Management Plan• Communication Plan• Issues Register

Action Plan Example – Academic Workload Project

• Activity - Develop draft academic workload data collection tool

• Milestone – Data collection tool completed• Responsible Person – Project Support

Manager• Due Date – December 2006• Status -

Successful Projects - Aligning Projects to Strategic Direction

• Project goal• Project objectives (deliverables)• Project sponsor• Project leader

Successful Projects - Project Leader Skills

• People skills, people skills, people skills (communication, facilitation, meeting management, conflict management, influence, trust)

• Task skills (organisation, delegation, planning, problem-solving)

• Ability to see the big organisational picture• Time management & ability to meet deadlines

Successful Project Teams

• Range of skills & experience• Different levels in organisation• Across organisational units• Ability to move between big picture & detail• Lay person• Time

Successful Projects - Management

• Project tracking/monitoring • Project reporting• Support

Successful Projects - Learning

• Organisational learning - complete a project evaluation• What went right?• What went wrong?• What could have been done better?• What lessons can be learned?

When Good Projects Go Bad

• Key Reasons for Project Failure• No clearly defined outcome• Wrong project manager• Lack of upper management support• Inadequately defined tasks• Ineffective use of project management processes• Reluctance to end project

People Problems

• Project Leader skills inadequate • Project management skills• Interpersonal skills

• Project team composition inappropriate (not the right skills or at the right level)

• Poor team dynamics (lateness, not attending, not completing agreed tasks, conflict)

Project Management Problems

• Failure to project plan• Failure to keep deadlines• Poor meeting processes• Competing work pressures/internal politics• Failure to agree/understand deliverables• Poor relationship or lack of communication with senior

management• Inability to manage project dependencies• Lack of communication/consultation with stakeholders

But Wait, There’s More

• Changes in the external environment• Implementation

• Needs the same project planning• Needs a good handover from the Project Leader to

the implementation manager• Implementation Manager’s skills are just as

important as the project leader’s

Wintec Project Management Structure

• Project Leaders report to Project Sponsors (Executive members)

• Project Support Manager monitors projects & provides Executive with progress reports

Project Support Manager

• Coaching (templates, guidelines)• Support to achieve deliverables• Peer support (project leaders’ network)• Project issue resolution• Milestone tracking (risk management for Exec)• Communication• Alignment with senior management

Project Support

• Project templates on intranet• Terms of Reference • Action Plan • Risk Management Plan • Communication Plan • Issues Register • Changes Register • Team Member Evaluation • Project Leader Evaluation

Project Support

• Project guidelines on intranet• Starting a Project • Team Member Selection • Project Sponsor Role • Project Leader Role • Managing a Project • Closing a Project • Effective Project Meetings • What Goes Wrong in Project Management

So, Does Project Management of Change Work? Some Wintec Examples:

• Reorganising the academic structure (12 Schools, industry relationships, Team Leader roles) 2004

• Centrally managed enrolment processes (merging 17 work units) 2003

• Quality systems and processes for the annual review of programmes 2003

• Academic workload 2007

Questions?

Contact Details

Sheryl MorganProject Support ManagerWintecSheryl.morgan@wintec.ac.nz(07) 834 8800 ext. 78660274 507 007