Innovative Solutions

Project/Change Management

In organizations of all sizes, projects fail because peoples' ability to change is overestimated.

Meeting stated performance objectives while staying within the scope, cost, and time constraints is anything but simple.
While many traditional project management tools are clearly necessary, they are rarely sufficient. This incomplete project management toolkit results in the "Ready-Fire-Aim" syndrome and explains a high project failure rate.

How does a company narrow this gap between promises and results?
How does it improve its ability to execute and maximize its return on investment of precious resources?

Project management is not just a collection of tactics.
Because projects inevitably change the status quo, viewing project management solely as a tactical, left-brain dominated activity is dangerous. Virtually every project is of the people, by the people, for the people. If you examine failed projects, more often than not you will find that ignoring or underestimating the people element was the root cause of the downfall.

Quality guru Joseph Juran described a project as "a problem scheduled for solution." Project management involves one-time activities to accomplish specific objectives, within a given timeframe, and with finite resources.

Selected Success Stories

Our thoughtful and common-sense approach incorporates the psychology of change. We help ensure that all the key elements of success are in place at all times so that the change initiative delivers on its promise while minimizing backlash.

Case Study I

The Challenge:

A workforce management product pilot was floundering because the Big Consultant team leading the project was unable to articulate results in a convincing manner after nearly $200K of consulting expenses.

Our Action:

We worked closely with the client team, analyzed the pilot data thoroughly, defined several new metrics, and demonstrated elegantly the pilot’s overwhelming success in improving customer experience and agent productivity.

The Result:

A $1.5 million investment was immediately approved to roll out the workforce management system to more than 4,000 call center employees. The software vendor provided a hefty discount during negotiations—on condition that pilot metrics and results were shared.

Case Study II

The Challenge:

Once the workforce management project was approved, the rollout planning was done by technocrats by taking into account only the technical elements. This force-fit approach was about to backfire.

Our Action:

We incorporated change management principles, conducted focus groups with key constituents, created comprehensive communication, and revised the rollout plan.

The Result:

The rollout, despite its complexity and scale, went without a hitch resulting in multi-million dollar cost savings

Publications:

Our Project and Change Management articles have been published in InformationWeek, ProjectsAtWork, and many other print and online publications around the world.

Size Matters: Smaller Project Teams Are Better" (Information Week)
Wise Up, Size Down (Projects at Work)
Getting It Done (Projects at Work)
Forest For The Trees (Projects at Work)
Assessing OPM3 (Projects at Work)
The Need for Negative (Projects at Work)
Building Competitive Advantage Through Execution (Projects at Work)

Speaking

"Seeing the Forest for the Trees: The Softer Side of Project Management" - Featured Speaker at the Project Management Institute (PMI) Meetings, Phoenix and Scottsdale, AZ - September 15-16, 2010

Media Interviews

Journalists and reporters frequently ask us to share our views on today's management challenges:

The virtue of a small team (The Fierce CIO)

Project/Change Management

Selected Success Stories

Case Study I

The Challenge:

Our Action:

The Result:

Case Study II

The Challenge:

Our Action:

The Result:

Other success stories include:

Publications:

Speaking

Media Interviews