1. Project Yourself into the Future Sheryl Morgan Project Support Manager Wintec ATEM Conference 9 – 10 July 2007 Manukau Institute of Technology

2. 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?

3. How to Avoid the Journey from Here …

4. To Here…

5. Projects are as much about the process as the tasks being undertaken
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

6. Managing Change Complex Difficult Changing behaviour
Tertiary sector change
QRP
Investing in a plan
Funding

7. Risk Factors (Murphy’s Law)
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…….

8. Achieving Strategic and Change Goals
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

9. Using Projects to Bring About Change (Successfully)
Why?
Framework and boundaries (eating the elephant)
Methodology/process
Accountability
Risk containment

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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)

13. No Rocket Science Required!

14. 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)

15. Successful Projects – Project Planning
Terms of Reference with
Project Goal
Objectives
Scope
Completion & Success Factors
Stakeholders
Milestones

16. 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

17. 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

18. Successful Projects – Project Planning
Action Plan
Risk Management Plan
Communication Plan
Issues Register

19. 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 - 

20. Successful Projects - Aligning Projects to Strategic Direction
Project goal
Project objectives (deliverables)
Project sponsor
Project leader

21. 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

22. Successful Project Teams
Range of skills & experience
Different levels in organisation
Across organisational units
Ability to move between big picture & detail
Lay person
Time

23. Successful Projects - Management
Project tracking/monitoring
Project reporting
Support

24. Successful Projects - Learning
Organisational learning - complete a project evaluation
What went right?
What went wrong?
What could have been done better?
What lessons can be learned?

25. When Good Projects Go Bad
Key Reasons for Project Failure
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

26. 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)

27. Project Management Problems
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

28. 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

29. Wintec Project Management Structure
Project Leaders report to Project Sponsors (Executive members)
Project Support Manager monitors projects & provides Executive with progress reports

30. Project Support Manager
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

31. Project Support Project templates on intranet Terms of Reference
Action Plan
Risk Management Plan
Communication Plan
Issues Register
Changes Register
Team Member Evaluation
Project Leader Evaluation

32. Project Support Project guidelines on intranet 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

33. 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

34. Questions?

35. Contact Details Sheryl Morgan Project Support Manager Wintec
(07) ext. 7866