“Project management is the process of guiding a project from its beginning through its performance to its closure” (Portney, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008, p. 3). This project did not have a Project Manager (PM) nor did it have any of the formal processes of the project management process. While I am happy that the implementation was successful, I now realize how important it would have been to either have a PM or some formal systematic approach to the process.
At the end of a project, it is important to do a project review and look at what was learned from the project and what could be done better in the future. This process is referred to as post-project reviews or “post mortems” (Greer, 2010, p. 42). Below is my post-mortem of the LMS project.
This project did have a defined outcome, however, there was no schedule or allocated resources; there was no formal process, plan or team. Michael Greer suggests that upon completion of a project you do an evaluation from an overall general perspective and the “Five Phase-Specific Questions” perspective (Greer, 2010, pp. 42, 43).
Overall Perspective of the Project
The implementation of this project was a success, however, I think it could have been completed in a much shorter timeframe had more stakeholders taken an active role in the project. It took approximately 1.5 years (out of a 3 year contract) to implement; a loss of 1.5 years on the contract. Key stakeholders who should have been actively involved in the entire process included IT personnel, Subject Matters Experts (SMEs), Human Resources and department managers. The most difficult and time consuming part of this process was mapping staff to the appropriate learning groups without management input. While the system is functioning, mapping is still not accurate and needs to be reworked to use the system more efficiently.
Greer’s five phases to assess include: 1) Determine Need and Feasibility; 2) Create Project Plan; 3) Create Specifications for Deliverables; 4) Create Deliverables; and 5) Test and Implement Deliverables. None of these phases were planned in any way. A feasibility study should have been done to determine that the purchase and implementation of an LMS was beneficial and cost-effective. Once it was determined that the project would be beneficial to the organization, a project plan should have been developed; key stakeholders should have been recruited and assigned roles; and a formal PM process should have been followed. Had a formal process been followed the system could have been implemented within 6 months vs. 1.5 years, learning groups would have been mapped correctly from the beginning, and technology requirements for learning modules (i.e. Flash, Adobe reader, etc.) would have been identified and installed on all computers prior to assignment of a module.
What was Learned
Always have a plan! Regardless of the size of the project, you need to follow a systematic approach and carefully plan the project. Any and all future endeavors I am involved in, I will follow Greer’s “10 Steps to Project Success” (p. 45) or some form thereof. Use of Statements of Work, Work Breakdown Structure, diagrams, and schedules help to keep the project organized, maintain communication amongst stakeholders, and completion timelines on track. This project could have been a complete failure, but fortunately it wasn’t. We now have a committee that includes all the previously identified stakeholders who meet quarterly to help improve the use of the system and future upgrades.
References:
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects. Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
Portney, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI think whether small or big, every task needs to be considered as a project in which all phases should be paid attention carefully if we would like to achieve the results we set at the beginning. As Portny states, a project may be large or small; installing a new subway system, which may cost more than $ 1 billion and take 10 to 15 years to complete, is a project, and so is preparing a report of monthly sales figures, which may take one day to complete (Portny, 2008). A common mistake we do in our daily business life, sometimes we do not consider small tasks a project although they need to be taken seriously if we would like to achieve the required results. As in your case (and obviously in mine), at the beginning, you could have form a team and get the approval of the stakeholders and drivers before you start the project. Having lost half of the contract length while dealing with the project, it could have been prevented if the steps to project success offered by Greer had been followed (Greer, M., 2010, p.45). Thus, some basic points such as work breakdown structure, project scope statement, network diagram, etc. would help to keep the project in the scheduled frame. In my own experience, I definitely know that I would not have treated the project as I did. I would set a more scientific framework and follow the steps that a PM needs to follow. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Sedat Cilingir
References:
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects. Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
Portney, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Lisa
ReplyDeleteIn your post you mention approval being given after you recommended a specific LMS. To gain approval, you must have had some proof of viability for the LMS and therefore that could be considered your feasibility review to management. Did you do such a presentation? If so, than you were beginning project management according to our course text, specifically, you were the planning agent and gave your review careful thought, made/questioned assumptions and came up with a strategy (Portney, et al, pg 14). That you mention Greer's other four points as not being done, I will agree to a point, but your nursing this project through to a working conclusion seems to me that you were touching on those points as best you could given your circumstances. Good Job.
Portney, S.E., Mantel, S.J., Meredith, J.R., Shafer, S.M., Sutton, M.M. & Kramer, B.E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ:John Wiley & Sons, Inc.