A large housing association felt they would benefit from having their own project management framework and wanted to develop a set of ‘guidance notes’. I was successful in tendering for the work. I took a consultancy approach to this project, the key steps are outlined below.
Step |
Action |
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1. |
Meet with the senior management team, clarify the business need, desired outcomes, benefits and terms of reference, identify the project sponsor and establish a steering group. |
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2. |
Run focus groups with a cross section of, project managers, line managers, project team members to identify the issues, pockets of good practice and views on “best practice”. |
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3. |
Write draft Project Management methodology and submit to steering group for approval, redraft and gain sign off. |
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4. |
Design training interventions and materials based on the methodology and seek steering group approval. |
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5. |
Set up intranet site with templates and support mechanisms |
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6. |
Roll out methodology by running training/communication interventions:
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This project achieved its objectives and outputs. It also highlighted, to me, the importance of senior management buy-in, ‘walking the talk’, ongoing support and the need to regularly review implementation to ensure ongoing success.