Transcript HEADING - Association for Tertiary Education Management

Project Yourself into
the Future
Sheryl Morgan
Project Support Manager
Wintec
ATEM 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
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Complex
Difficult
Changing behaviour
Tertiary sector change
– QRP
– Investing in a plan
– Funding
Risk Factors (Murphy’s Law)
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Urgency of the task
Complexity of the task
Importance of the task
Skill of the people involved
Frequency they do the task
aggravation constant aggravation constant aggravation constant aggravation…….
Achieving Strategic and Change Goals
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 Morgan
Project Support Manager
Wintec
[email protected]
(07) 834 8800 ext. 7866
0274 507 007