Change is expected (things in life don’t always work out the way we planned).  In project management change is expected and sometimes is the norm.  Merely stating that something must change isn’t important; it’s the way in which you manage it.  Change in project management is not something that should be approached with caution and worry; it is a task that will help ensure that the project delivers exactly what it set out to do.  However the management of this change doesn’t always run smoothly, from employee resistance to practice driven issues. Therefore having a process in place to deal with this change would be advisable.

Managing change effectively has been noted as being one of the most critical best practice areas during the execution of a project.  Change needs to be effectively managed on both the technical side and on the people side.  Technically the change must be established, planned and delivered effectively.  On the people side of the spectrum, employees are going to be affected by this change and therefore a process that ensures the change is embraced, adopted and utilized by them needs to be established. Ultimately project managers will have to establish a process and manage the change.  They will also have to foot any consequences that fall when change isn’t managed properly.

Change can creep its way in through the cracks of a project; but there are some early warning signs to look out for.  It is important to monitor your project to help identify the need for change early on.  It has been known that the further you are in a project the more impact change can have on the cost and schedule.  Some early warning signs could include schedule slippages, inconsistency trends to the cost/ schedules/ risks of a projects and an increase to the number of risks and issues.  Bearing these possible early warning signs in mind, you can begin to put a plan in place if necessary.

Like any project, change should be managed through a number of steps.  This will ultimately prevent the changes from having a negative effect on a project such as taking a project off track.  Controlling change with your procedure/ process will help keep the project moving in the right direction towards a successful project delivery.

An example of a possible change process would be the following:

1. Identify:  The project manager (PM) will identify or be made aware of the possibility of change.  From here the PM must determine whether this change should be implemented.  Having clear communication channels between the relevant parties will allow you to identify the need for change in time reducing the effect that it has on the overall project including budget and time.
2. Assess:  Now that the change has been identified you need to access the impact that it will ultimately have on the overall project.  Meetings between the relevant people should be organised.  It may look like the change will throw the entire project out of scope and all the work done to that point is pushed to the side-line.  Don’t jump the gun the change may not cause the implications you first originally thought of may not form.
3. Approval:  Once all details regarding the impact, if any, is documented and reviewed by the appropriate people the change can be either approved or rejected.
4. Implement:  If you decide to go with the change then they need to be reflected in the project scope, budget and timeline.  When implementing a project change you will ultimately be establishing a new baseline for the project.
5. Review:  Review all actions to ensure that the plan was fully implemented and that no issues arose from the change.

Change should be something that organisations accept and work with rather than avoid.  Change is made in order to deliver a more positive outcome to a project and ultimately the organisation.  Once you have the focus and a researched process in place the project manager should rest assured that the change will be properly assessed, approved and implemented.

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Some of the difficulties that tend to fall at the feet of a local authority manager include:

1. Complex savings initiatives that must be made without affecting the overall service
2. Communicating important project information to the public
3. Getting updates from the rest of the project team
4. Ensuring that the projects are having a positive effect on the overall corporate strategy of the LA
5. Maintaining a high level of performance throughout the project

Managing all these elements isn’t easy; and is something that every public sector is finding difficult.  What if you could control and visualise all these elements within one platform?

At Cora Systems we believe that local authorities can manage all they need and even more within a single tool called ProjectVision.  ProjectVision’s project management software tool aids local authorities by providing them with a solution that manages their project portfolios, costs of your projects and resourcing from a single web–based platform. It pulls together project information, real time financial information, spatial (GIS) information and can fully integrate with many other systems.  By examining these components the user can make informed business decisions around budgetary adjustments, service changes and even project prioritisation.

ProjectVision will give LA’s:

1. A central system for the tight control and visibility of Local Authority projects and project information
2. Access to templates to ensure that there is a consistency across the board when managing their projects
3. An accurate, up to date account of your project financials by integrating directly with your current financial management system
4. A clear picture of how you are performing
5. The ability to update an online engagement platform to allow the public to see certain project information

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The first stage of this reform saw most trusts go for the low hanging fruit in terms of nationally imposed policies such as pay freezes to staff salaries, rather than focusing on the productivity of their trusts.  The big dilemma now facing NHS Trusts is how to reach these savings targets without any impact to the patient’s well-being.

We have a simple solution to ensure an efficient healthcare system!

NHS Trusts are currently using ProjectVision from Cora Systems to provide them with all the tools to reach their budget targets.

ProjectVision is a fully web-based Performance, Portfolio and Project Management Software system that can be implemented into an NHS Trust to proactively manage their Operational and Transformation Change Programmes to deliver efficiencies and cost control.  Typically this system can deliver a 40% to 60% efficiency saving on project reporting and information gathering for Project Managers or a PMO, with surprisingly low investment to the client.

ProjectVision’s easy to use features provide key NHS managers with all the visibility and control of their:

• Operational and transformational change programmes
• Benefit realisation and cost savings
• Project finances
• Qualitative and quantitative KPI’s
• Risks and Issues
• Tasks and Actions

By having this control NHS Trusts have the ability to free up the time they spend collating project information, producing project reports and managing the overall projects and programmes.  This allows the Trust to focus on providing the highest quality patient care whilst ensuring all their projects and programmes are tightly managed.

A few of the benefits an NHS Trust gets from using ProjectVision

1. Quality assurance for the board – risk management features ensures all risk are identified and managed correctly.
2. Operational and Clinical staff can become capable Project Manager through ProjectVision’s easy to use features
3. Commended by Monitor

To find out how ProjectVision can help you deliver your Transformation and Efficiency Plans please see:  Knowledge Based Healthcare

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I have gathered a number of tips that may be useful for project managers facing difficult projects:

1. Breakdown: One challenging project can be very daunting so perhaps a simple solution for this would be to break it down into smaller more manageable projects. Taking the project in baby steps will make the light at the end of the tunnel that little bit brighter.

2. Strong project team: Having a strong and experienced project team behind you will definitely give you the advantage when it comes to the managing of projects. A project team can be the backbone of the project. The project manager is human after all and will some additional input from the project team. Having a strong project team is important however their skills should complement each other.

3. Meeting regularly: Project status meeting will be highly important throughout the delivery of a challenging project. These meetings need to have a high level of focus around them. A strict agenda should be drawn up prior to the meeting and be kept too strictly.

4. Keep people motivated: Very important to keep spirits high during the project. This may prove difficult as the project may be lengthy and slow moving. Sitting down one to one with the team members could prove worthy.

5. Ask for advice: If you get stuck during a project, just ask someone with experience in that area for advice. There will always be someone available to answer any queries.

6. Breaking down: By breaking the project down into smaller sub projects can make the project manager’s job easier and more manageable. A step by step process is put in place throughout this breakdown of the project and a sense of success can be achieved once a sub project is completed.

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Creating a project charter tends to be easier said than done and shouldn’t be started until there is a full understanding of the project and all the key stakeholders and players have been assigned and meet.

Why should you create a Project Charter?

1. It guarantees that the project manager fully understands the project sponsor’s needs
2. Shows the key project information that is essential prior to the commencement of the project
3. Base the project plan around it
4. Helps keep everyone on the same page

What should be included in a Project Charter?

1. Project Title
2. Project Description
3. Assigned Project Manager
4. Business Case
5. Pre-assigned Resources
6. Stakeholders
7. Product Description/Deliverables
8. Measurable Project Objectives
9. Project Approval Requirements
10. Project Risks
11. Signature and Approval

In order to create a Project Charter a number of steps need to be carried out in order to gain the full benefit of it:

1. Time:  Give yourself an adequate amount of time to create a charter.  It could take a week or more depending on the size of the project and the number of people you need to engage with regarding the project.
2. Set up meetings:  Set up meetings in advance with whoever needs to be involved or referred to during the creation of the Project Charter.
3. Find your Vision, Objectives, Scope and Deliverables:
   1. Vision:  Identify the overall purpose and end goal of the project.
   2. Objectives:  Once the purpose is defined, a list of objectives needs to be drawn up.  Every objective should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Bound.
   3. Scope:  Now you should have a firm grasp of the purpose and objectives of the project it is time to define the scope of the project.  The scope will define the boundaries of the project by describing how the business will be changed when the project is delivered.
   4. Deliverables:  Finally describe each of the deliverables that will be produced by the project.
4. Organisation of the Project:  Next step is to identify how the project will be organised by describing and listing the:
   1.  Customers (Accept the end deliverables of the project)
   2.  Stakeholders (Based within or outside the project that have a keen interest or stake in the overall project)
   3.  Roles (key roles and responsibilities that will be involved when delivering the project)
   4. Structure (the hierarchy of the project team)
5. Implementation of the Project:  Following steps A, B, C, D you should now be in the position to begin the implementation of the project.  Under this heading falls the:
   1. Implementation plan:  To ensure that the project has been well thought out an implementation plan should be created to include activities and time frames.
   2. Milestones:  List the important project milestones (events) and describe why they are important for the project.
   3. Dependencies:  List the key dependencies that are likely to have an impact on the project.
   4. Resource Plan:  List the planned resources (labor, equipment and materials) that will be involved in the project and set out the budget for these.
6. Risks and Issues associated with the Project:  Last but not least is to classify the risks and issues associated with the project that are showing at the time. 

Following these steps you should have a concrete Charter for your project, helping you to manage the scope and deliver on time and within budget.

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For more on this latest news please see – Cora Systems is proud to sponsor “The Lazy Project Manager”

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As part of the partnership, ETP will bring its widely-used, common sense approach to project and programme management to the table. Cora Systems’ easy to use ProjectVision toolset will then match this approach in its configuration. This will result in a seamless transition for a client starting out with no process to getting a PMO up and running quickly.

Organisation hoping to improve the way in which they manage their projects and programmes will thus have to process and the tool at their disposal, mirroring each other and ensuring a smooth transition from initiation to completion.

Philip Martin, CEO of Cora Systems said “We are delighted about this partnership with ETP and what it means to our clients. Making PMO easy for our clients is great – this is a giant step to doing that.”

Fergus O’Connell, CEO of ETP said “Since ETP started in 1992, we have never aligned ourselves with any particular toolset. However, we feel that ProjectVision is quite an extraordinary product. It does everything a project or programme manager could ever possibly want to do; it’s completely intuitive to use and in terms of cost benefit, we know of no other product that comes remotely close to it.”

About ETP Ltd:

ETP is one of the world’s leading programme and project management consultancy and training companies. Founded in 1992 by Fergus O’Connell, ETP has delivered its common sense approach to hundreds of companies around the world. Fergus is one of the world’s leading authorities on project management and getting things done in the shortest possible time.   He has spent much of the last 30 years involved in teaching, learning or writing about project management.  His project management method– Structured Project Management / The Ten Steps – has influenced a generation of project managers. For further information please see www.etpint.com

About Cora Systems Ltd:

Cora Systems is a company specialising in SaaS and enterprise project management software.  Established in 1999 the company has developed a number of products that ensures control, visibility and simplicity for an organization.  Cora Systems’ team has a highly skilled background and knowledge base which has allowed them to become a leader in project management software.  Their 12 years of experience has enabled them to obtain an extensive client base from many different backgrounds. Their website can be found at www.corasystems.com

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Organisations should have a well executed project management software system in place to deal with the complexity of today’s projects and programmes.  Having a poor performing project management system will have severe implications on the whole organisation.  The direction of the organisation will be unclear as the sales begin to suffer, issues will rise and loss of time and money will increase.  Having problems like these will have serious implications on the day to day running of an organisation.

To avoid getting into a situation where your organisation is poorly managing their projects and programmes it’s essential for the organisation to have the necessary skills in place in order to manage these projects.

To accomplish a task, project or programme the project management software system should do the following:

1.  Analysis:  Projects can be unpredictable at times.  Without warning a project can put an entire program of work out of sync.  It is essential that an organisation keeps an in-depth look and analysis on their projects to reduce the risk of problems occurring.

The specification of a project can quite easily change from its initial launch and any changes to this could impact the overall feel of the project.

2.  Communication:  Communication is at the core of project management.  Without communication the project management won’t be effective.  When you are in charge of a number of individuals within the project team you need to communicate properly to them.  Poor communication will have a knock on effect on the project managers team as they will not have the essential information needed to complete their job to the expectations of the organisations.

A project manager will have to deal with the communication that both comes into the project team and also ensure that the communication that leaves the project is correct.

3.  Budgeting: A project manager can easily have an accountant on board to deal with the day to day finances of the project, but it is necessary for the PM to have a good insight into the budgeting concept of the project.  Budgeting in projects consists of three items:

• Planning it
• Writing it
• Supervising and controlling it

The project manager will have the ultimate control of the budget and ensure that the projects are kept well within it.

As the project manager is the individual who will have the greater insight and holds the most information surrounding the projects they will ultimately have the responsibility of ensuring the project keeps within the assigned budget.

4.  Time management:  Managing your time is a very important part of the project management process, managing time and managing the organisation of yourself and your team members is essential.  Prioritisation is a big part of the time management process, you need to analyse what you need to do and the importance of each task.

5.  Organisation:  Organisation is key to the successful completion of a project on time and to budget constraints.  A project manager is there to ensure that all the individual components of the project plans come together and meet the objective.

6.  Flexibility:  Projects will not always go to plan and therefore a project manager should always be aware of any issues that might be arising.  If a problem does arise, the project manager must lay out guidelines for the project team in order for the problem to be rectified.

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Budget distribution can determine the success of a project.  Any project that is completed within the predetermined schedule and reaches the goals set should not be deemed a success without the project meeting its budgetary requirements.  Therefore today, project managers need financial insight to ensure their projects don’t overrun its financial plan.

A few tips to keep in mind when managing your projects to ensure they stay within budget would be:

1. 1.       Review and Forecast the budget frequently:  By not examining the project budget forecast frequently can ultimately leave you in a position of no return.  The budget forecast should be consistently reviewed the project management and the accounts department to ensure that the budget doesn’t go over the set amount.  If an issue is spotted early it will be much easier to make the necessary amendments to the budget.

1. 2.       Tight scope management:  Scope creep or change requests can cause unnecessary issues for a project and is one of the most common causes of project overruns.  Having unintended work has a way of creeping its way into a project.  Unplanned resource hours can play havoc with your projects predesigned budget.  As the project manager, he/she must have a process in place to deal with extra work and manage the projects scope.  Having a change order system in place could provide you with the necessary control needed to keep your budgets in order.

1. 3.       Communicate:  I am a strong believer in clear lines of communication and my belief is no different when it comes to budgeting.  It is important that you communicate to the other project team members any details regarding the projects spend and budgets.  A well informed project team will ultimately aid you in keeping to assigned budgets.

1. 4.       Risk and issues:  Possible risks and existing issues have a way of getting their way into projects and causing destruction.  Therefore it is important to keep track of them and reduce the level at which they can affect your projects budget.  It is next to impossible to stay clear of risks and issues however you can have a plan in place for when and if they do arise.

1. 5.       Resources:   The resources assigned to a project are ultimately where most of your project budget goes.  As a project manger it is essential that they examine the resources  and skills closely to ensure that they are being fully utilised and that the ideal resources are matched to the right projects.

Budgeting and financial control of your projects must be proactively managed; it is an important component of the project management process and should be reviewed by the project manager, financial team, stakeholders and key project team members regularly.   By keeping a firm grasp of the project budgets will help you ensure that they are kept within the forecast set from the beginning.

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Like everything there are many reasons a PMO can fail and can be due to process, technology or people issues within the organization.  According to statistics, only one third of all PMOs are successful.  Here are some of the main reasons I believe can cause project management office failure.

1. Lack of support:  Lack of support from the executives and shareholders is a familiar story for many organizations that run PMOs.  If there is no support from these individuals, the success rate of the PMO will depreciate.  By having a supportive backbone within a PMO will provide all individuals involved with the right information and tools to move forward.
2. Failure to provide updates:  The PMO manager needs to regularly update the PMO team with information such as project status.  The PMO must take full responsibility of reporting on projects.
3. Benefits realization:  Failure to capture and measure the benefits of a completed project will reduce the visibility of whether or not your projects are returning on their investments.  Identifying what benefits your projects delivered is crucial as focus in placed on value for money and ROI.
4. Resourcing:  Your team is your most valuable resource when running a PMO and therefore it is highly important that the right people are involved.  Rushing the selection process is not recommended and can lead to inabilities within the PMO.
5. Failure to implement a methodology:  If a PMO fails to implement a methodology they will not have a solid benchmark by which they will manage their projects against.  A methodology is required to ensure that there is consistency around the execution of projects.
6. Lack of training:  Changes in technology and process are inevitable and therefore a system to deal with these changes should be in place.  To stay efficient, training courses should be put in place for all members of the PMO.  If there is a lack of training within the PMO there is a risk of the department becoming irrelevant.

A PMO within an organization is important as it provides cost savings, reassurance and a common understanding amongst the projects.  Therefore being aware of common PMO failures and having measures in place to prevent any knock on effects is advisable.

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