Organization & Transformation - Nonprofit Project Management Capacity Building
Project Example | Nonprofit Organization & Transformation
Project management capacity building
Context
My client's large information technology implementation was behind schedule and over budget. The client's project managers were struggling to effectively frame decisions, communicate risks and coordinate across a complex portfolio of activities.
Key Question
Can you upgrade our project management capacity so we are able to complete the project successfully?
Solution
I led a turnaround of the client's project management office, helping the team make practical use of project management best practice with a focus on value rather than adherence to "by-the-book" templates and procedures. Activities included:
- Diagnostic of project management issues and opportunities.
- Process and template streamlining and redesign.
- Coaching to help client staff put best practice principles to practical use.
Keys to success in this effort included:
- Making best practice fit-for-purpose. Best practice, as described in authoritative texts, can often be so complex and detailed that its by-the-book use in the real world fails to produce the promised value. We harnessed the power of the principles behind best practice—rather than the specified practices and tools themselves—to design processes that were appropriate for our situation.
- Using coaching to enhance the practical value of employee skills. Organizations are very familiar with using training to build the skillsets of their employees. However, it often takes considerable time before employees become mature practitioners of the skill, which is required for an organization to realize the full value of a training investment. Coaching helped my client's project managers use their training to greater effect.
Results
Decision making efficiency, risk assessment and cross-team coordination all improved, and my client was able to complete the implementation on time.
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