Category Archives: Project Management

March Madness and Project Management

Every March around the country the attention of the sports world turns to basketball. March Madness has provided some of the most memorable moments in the world of sports including NC State coach Jim Valvano celebrating on the court with his team after upsetting the favored University of Houston to win a national championship. On Thursday the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament continues with the Sweet Sixteen vying for a spot in the Elite Eight and finally the opportunity to compete in Minneapolis for an opportunity to play in the Final Four and cut down the nets as National Champions.

The stars of the tournament stand out through last minute buzzer beaters and crazy blocked shots. While the results and performance on the court will stand out and be remembered, decisions which shaped the teams in the tournament are varied and years in the making. A complex series of decisions must be by the staff. Coaches must make their recruiting class strong to complete their roster for game day decisions. Once players are with the staff must decide how to use players in the most effective ways with their different skill sets.

Beyond the impressive baskets which live on in highlight reels are a series of complex decisions that shape the core of the team involving which players are on the court during important times. The major actions which set up great stat lines include conditioning and focusing on making the simple actions stand out.

Before any major on the court play can occur the structures and support need to be in place to ensure players can play at the highest level. Great coaches can create situations where good players become great players and average players become good overperforming what many would expect of them.

Sports provides valuable insights and life lessons which is much greater than the outcome of a game including how to manage a team, how to play beyond your resources, and a great opportunity for young people to gain leadership skills. Many skills from the sports world mirror difficult situations in business including dealing with adversity, working together on projects managed by a holistic team, and accomplishing tasks above and beyond expectations. Coaches and players need to work together to accomplish little goals in order to strengthen their team and to stand out and win. These ideas can be transformed from the court and into the business world with practice and understanding, by focusing on the small goals a much better final product can be produced.

While the big games pop up on your tv screen this weekend keep in mind how many little decisions made the teams who they are. If sports can teach you one thing it is to focus on the simple things and acknowledge what you do right in order to improve your overall work. Everyone can learn and improve by focusing on the simple things and staying on target and staying focused. Mapping out a series of steps to accomplish your goals, reward yourself and your team for accomplishing steps, and constantly seeking feedback is the way to construct a successful basketball team as well as improving projects within your own professional and personal life.

Exciting Times

Some exciting changes will be occurring at WIMS built around the development and expansion of an advisory service line focusing on organizational consulting. This move serves as a commitment to establish an internal culture based on sustainable internal project management and organizational structure. The steps are in place to strengthen the project portfolio at WIMS as a case study for future external reference. As with any new expansion this is going to be a learning experience and the journey will be very meaningful and informative more so than the outcome.

The WIMS Organizational Consulting service line offers a range of organizational design and project management methodologies for organizational wide solutions as well as specific projects. These services begin with an informational interview to gain an understanding of the current situation and project management systems in place. From this initial conversation an organizational strategy will be outlined focusing on specific areas that will be focused on to ensure that a sustainable project management system can be implemented. Communication is critical and the goal of the services offered is to provide a project management system which will fit into your organization and be used for the creation of a long-term project management strategy.

Once communication has been addressed the focus will pivot to time management and communication to help create and expand a system for project planning and improve on dividing tasks between employees. This is when the focus will be on auditing the current operations and providing an understanding of how a well-structured project management system can lead to meeting important deadlines, improved customer satisfaction, and higher returns on investment.

After this stage of information gathering the WIMS team will provide a series of recommendations on what project management techniques to implement and how to stay on the right course to make these initiatives sustainable. The formation of a stronger project management system will improve the internal capabilities along with a boost in employee retention. The specific needs of your organization will be understood and enhanced by reaching out to WIMS and taking the time and effort to invest in a sustainable project management system.

This important initiative is going to be an exciting learning experience which will undoubtedly have some road bumps and unexpected turns but will lead to growth and reflection. Above all understand that the changing and building of project systems is difficult and members of the team must be given information about what is happening and have an outlet to provide meaningful feedback. While reviewing existing processes it is common to focus on what is not being done correctly but the time should also be taken to identify what is done smoothly and identify best practices which can help replicate what is accomplished successfully. Taking the time back and focusing on growth is a great way to create the right mind set for a successful spring and ensure that the right course of action has been set for the rest of the year.

Project Management means focusing on growth from the core and takes conscientious efforts and reflections to effectively be implemented. By developing the internal project management system of WIMS in a strategic way and focusing a considerable amount of time and resources on internal development the ability to scale future growth in a more seamless fashion can be created. The time spent on building an internal team and project management system will allow for an expansion of future services offerings across industries.

Creating internal systems and focusing on the weak points that exist in communication and executing future growth will be undertaken when the resources and systems necessary for success are in place. This growth and development will take time and reflection to understand and scale organizational design and project management solutions across industries including real estate, healthcare, legal, sports business, professional services and technology.

Mobile Insights from Deloitte

A Deloitte perspective entitled Failure to Launch outlines the steps to follow to build mobile applications which employees will want to use. This insight shows the importance of mobile technology in today’s world as well as the attention of consumers and business partners as they shift to the screens of mobile devices. An aspect of mobile applications which is also vital but does not always receive as much attention is the importance of developing applications for internal use.

The focus of this Deloitte writeup is to outline some steps to follow to improve the effectiveness and use of enterprise mobile apps for employees use. With many different applications and projects to juggle daily it is becoming harder for companies to unveil and implement internal tools for employees. The key to successfully unveiling an application internally should mirror an external product release and be strategically aligned with the mission of growth for your organization. These steps should serve as a guide to review not only new app development but also a benchmark for all internal processes and the perfect opportunity to take the time to invest time and resources into improving those processes. Internal processes are not the most exciting aspect of running a successful project but are critical to the success of specific projects and the sustained success of an organization.

The system below should be a guideline and not a hard set of rules to stick to. Leaders and decisions makers within an organization should take the time to fully analyze multiple data points and conduct informational interviews with members of their teams to collect the relevant facts and information from their industry and company. This wide amount of information will allow the greatest amount of data available to make a well thought out decision while also bringing together stakeholders through the entire process from idea generation to implementation.

Seven steps are laid out to build and successfully launch enterprise mobile apps:

Strategy and Value: Have a clear goal behind what you are undergoing which can easily be conveyed and understood to those who are hearing about your idea for the first time.
User input: Gather information beginning with idea generation and continuing through implementation from a broad range of potential end users.
App Development: During the development process have steps in place to provide feedback and convey this to your team.
Distribution: Announce the launch of the app and make it known to all parties who may be interested in finding more about the specific app launch and your company in general.
User Support: After the release keep contact with your team and continue to gather feedback from them. When issues arise provide a way for them to easily find the answers to questions and develop a culture where workers interact and shape the future of products in a proactive environment.
Supporting organization: Reinforce the practices in your organization though best practices and foster a tech and mobile friendly company culture.
Continuous Optimization: Never stop gathering feedback and look to stay ahead of the game to be an industry leader with a robust internal team.

These strategies were formulated for enterprise mobile apps but the tips should be used to foster change in creating a workplace culture where design, creativity, and innovation propel your company and projects forward as an industry leader.

Source

“7 steps to building mobile apps employees will really use.” Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/technology/articles/deloitte-digital-mobile-enterprise.html.

Building Culture

Characteristics Questions to ask

What are some of the most important character traits that you look for in a co-worker or boss? Take the time to think about what types of people you want to work around and spend countless hours with. Do you have different expectations of your co-workers than those in your personal life?

Understanding Trust

When thinking about the relationships across our lives a common trait that continually is brought up as a key to building and sustaining relationships is trust. Trust is the foundation for many key areas of your working life. In the simplest form an employee must trust that their employer will provide a fair salary and maintain the salary expectations. After beginning with a company an employee does not necessarily need to trust in the entire process of the company but should, at the very least, have some trust in the ability of the company to provide some benefit to consumers.

As the workplace becomes more and more dependent on the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) workers, especially younger workers, are looking for a company which aligns with their own values. This in turn has led companies to focusing on the beneficial social and economic contributions they can make.

While understanding that to build trust with employees the ability to share the vision of the company, take a stand on pressing issues, and outlining standard workflow processes go hand in hand with building trust. Trust is a two-way street. Companies hold their employees to a high standard of keeping material secure. Additional considerations include not using their platform as an employee to take on controversial subjects, or misuse social media or company property.

The power of trust is here to stay. Moving forward, the world will increasingly be shaped by companies utilizing cross-departmental and cross-company teams. These teams will be tasked with solving the difficult and evolving business and social problems. A recent Harvard Business School study shows the importance that trust has to the morale and productivity of a workforce.

Importance of trust quote

“According to the study, people working in high-trust companies reported 74% less stress than those working in low-trust companies. They also report 106% more energy at work, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives,and 40% less burnout.”

By understanding the team that you have surrounded yourself with and giving them positive and constructive feedback the system of trust that your business has created will only grow as time progresses.

Investment of culture

Figure 7 from: PMI’s Pulse of the Profession: The Project Manager of the Future Developing Digital-Age Project Management Skills to Thrive in Disruptive Times by the Project Management Institute

The story of Figure 7: Investing in Culture tells

Wide gaps exist in the organizational culture
Innovative companies take the time to create a culture which supports trust and successful project management
Trust and information go hand in hand towards creating more innovative projects which create more value for the company
Trust can be harnessed to help in changes that can revolutionize and improve business processes by having team members on the same page believing in what the company is working on

Beginning the path towards growth

Hello there, my name is Craig Oliver and I am new to the WIMS, Inc. team. I will be helping with operations and project management in addition to contributing to this blog and other publications with a focus on growth. I graduated from American University in May with a degree in Business Administration. Now as I begin my career, I am applying some of the concepts from my education into practice. I have moved beyond the classrooms of business school of learning through case studies and into the real world.

I have become involved with the Project Management Institute here in Charlotte. I have gained an interest for helping grow business value through a successful portfolio of projects. Every successful organization must be able to work in some capability on teams and delegating work to create a path towards success.

As a sports fan, I have watched my fair share of games decided not by athleticism but by the decisions of coaches on who to put in the game and what plays to run. The implications of running smooth projects goes beyond the play calling of the Rams or Patriots. Project management includes simple decisions made every day including which staffer to put on your audit at work to what to watch on Netflix when you get home.

It is now mid-December and Thanksgiving has long come and gone. Now the busy holiday season and end of year has arrived. End of the year reports and project planning for 2019 create long hours in addition to the holiday season. Here at WIMS the end of 2018 is an exciting time where the old is meeting the new as projects are winding down while planning for 2019 and new ventures continues to ramp up.