6 steps to create and implement an optimal solution

     To sustain successful operations, projects should be undertaken in an efficient and transparent manner.  Efficiency improves the affordability of projects, increasing opportunities for growth.  Transparency allows a broader range of input to refine a project plan, lowers resistance to change, and increases the probability of success.
     The six steps below outline a process that can be used to ensure efficiency and transparency in operations projects.  With each new initiative launched, these steps should be refined, applying experience gained in previous projects, to tune the process to the dynamics of your organization.  After a few iterations, creating and implementing optimal solutions will begin to feel natural, and anything less, anathema.
     If you haven’t already done so, I recommend reading 4 Characteristics of an Optimal Solution before proceeding to the six steps.  As each step is executed, bear in mind how the activities described aid in achieving the four characteristics desired.  If activity begins to stray from the process goals, reassess and adjust the tasks, participants, objectives, and evaluation methods to reestablish and maintain alignment.

Step 1:  Conduct a Preliminary Assessment
     The project leader (project manager or consultant) begins with a high-level discussion with the project sponsor to determine if a proposed project is ready for launch.  During this conversation, the project leader should assess, at a minimum:

• the sponsor’s understanding of the situation and the solution needed or objectives to be met,
• the organization’s commitment to achieving project objectives (i.e. commitment of resources to a project team), and
• the project leader’s capacity to meet the sponsor’s expectations for the proposed project (e.g. conflicts of interest, schedule, required skills).

     If the sponsor’s expectations are unrealistic or infeasible, the project leader should decline the project or request revisions.  The project leader may also request that the sponsor provide more information to aid the assessment or begin to collect information required for Step 2.  When the project leader is satisfied that the project has sufficient potential for success, the sponsor and project leader should schedule a Key Stakeholder Meeting.

Step 2:  Hold a Key Stakeholder Meeting
     Identification of key stakeholders may require additional investigation by the project leader.  It is important to seek input from all key stakeholders to prevent an incomplete framing of the project that can lead to the need for modification.  Extensively changing a project’s requirements while in progress can be expensive, time-consuming, and can even cause a loss of credibility of the project team or confidence in its leadership.  Conversely, excess attendance can slow the process, cause distraction (e.g. sidebar conversations), and be a great detriment to the launch of the project.  On its face, this step may seem simple, a trivial formality.  However, there is substantial risk in giving it short shrift and substantial payoff in conducting it with proper diligence.
     With input gathered from key stakeholders, the project leader should be able to define:

• the scope of the project,
• resource availability (internal or external) – staff, equipment, etc.,
• budget constraints,
• schedule constraints,
• roles and responsibilities, and
• regulatory implications.

At the conclusion of this meeting, the project leader should possess a Project Charter, signed by the project sponsor, authorizing the launch of the project.

Step 3:  Submit a Project Plan
     Incorporating the input of the key stakeholders, the project leader develops a comprehensive project plan.  The more thoroughly developed the project plan, the greater the transparency and efficiency in execution.  Misunderstandings, missteps, and late-stage changes are minimized when important details are clarified at the outset.  Project plan development is an extensive topic; detailed coverage is beyond the scope of this discussion.
     Components of the project plan include:

• a list of team members – by name or by function (expertise or skill to be applied to the project),
• schedules of tasks and expenditures,
• project milestones and decision points,
• a list of stakeholders with communication plan, and
• evaluation methods, procedures, and nonconformance response plan.

     The list above is only a sample of the content of a complete project plan.  The full range of activities required to complete a project is made apparent by the project plan.  Requirements not included in the project plan can be easily overlooked by the entire project team; the consequences of such an oversight can range from minor inconvenience to abject failure.

Step 4:  Approve the Project Plan
     The project leader submits a completed project plan to the project sponsor and other stakeholders for review.  If modification or clarification is required, it is best done at this stage to prevent misappropriation, or waste, of resources as the project progresses.  Once any required changes are complete, the project sponsor formally approves the project plan and initiates launch of the project within the organization.
     Two factors critical to the success of a project are integral to the internal launch:  (1) staff communication, and (2) assignment of a Responsible Individual.
     Communication to the staff should notify individuals of the impacts that the project will have on them, and the organization, both during execution and subsequent to completion (e.g. the objectives of the project).  Team members must be fully cognizant of their responsibilities to the team and project, while other staff may need to adjust to reduced availability of resources when they are committed to a project.
     A consultant project leader should have an internal counterpart with whom to discuss all project-related matters.  The responsible individual could be the project sponsor or a designee; it must be a person authorized to initiate action required to ensure project success.  This liaison must also be able to access or acquire all data and information relevant to the project.  The more closely the consultant and liaison work, the more efficiently the project can be executed.
     With preparations complete, approvals granted, and assignments made, the project execution can begin.

Step 5:  Execute the Project Plan
     Given the array of potential projects an organization may pursue, it is infeasible to discuss all possible elements of project execution; the discussion here is vastly simplified by necessity.  Execution of a project involves myriad activities of various types.  Common, generalized project execution activities include:

• perform creative/cognitive tasks (e.g. design, write code)
• perform physical tasks (e.g. build, test)
• create documentation (e.g. drawings, test procedures, user manuals)
• monitor progress relative to plan (e.g. schedule, budget)
• evaluate task outputs relative to technical specifications, quality requirements, etc.
• initiate and manage changes to project scope, schedule, budget, technical specifications
• communicate project status to stakeholders and project team.

Throughout the execution, the project plan should be continually reviewed and proactively adjusted to ensure that all stated objectives are met and expected value delivered.  After the project plan has been completely executed and all relevant data recorded, the project can be closed.

Step 6:  Close the Project
     Project closure requires confirmation that all responsibilities of the project team have been fulfilled.  A review of project documents provides a roadmap to follow to verify project completion.  The documentation review includes the project charter, the project plan and all of its components, derivatives, and change notices.  All of the detours and wrong turns must be reviewed to ensure that nothing was dropped along the route.
     An extremely valuable, yet often neglected, component of project closure is the review of lessons learned.  Team members, stakeholders, and the sponsor should reflect on the entire project, considering what went well, what went poorly, what was unexpected – and why.  General questions to consider include:

• How can successes be replicated?
• How can recurrence of problems be prevented?
• What information was missing, incomplete, or misinterpreted?

All change notices generated during the project should be reviewed with similar questions in mind:

• Why was this change necessary?
• Were estimates overly optimistic/pessimistic?
• Were actions taken based on incomplete or unreliable information?
• Was risk sufficiently analyzed and properly assessed?

     Answers and insights gained from this review should be documented for review by future project teams to improve their performance.  If it is not captured and shared, the value of the exercise may be lost; future projects and teams will not benefit from the experience.  Even participants in the process are fallible; similar mistakes may be made without the reinforcement of learning provided by a documented project review.

     As an organization executes additional projects, following a structured process such as that described above, it gains maturity from the experience.  Organizational maturity increases the understanding of the requirements of a successfully planned and executed project, improving efficiency and communication.  Confidence builds, feeding a virtuous cycle of transparency and constructive feedback.  Positive effects spread throughout an organization, developing a cohesive team that is proactive, capable, and efficient in all its endeavors.
 
Jody W. Phelps, MSc, PMP®, MBA
Principal Consultant
JayWink Solutions, LLC
jody@jaywink.com