How to ensure value delivery from projects
Fractal Systems Consulting
Accelerate delivery for good & secure your company's long-term success with Fractal Systems.
As leaders we are all too aware of the need to stay competitive, but to achieve this is no easy feat. In any given moment, you might have a variety of projects underway, some more urgent than others, but ultimately all must deliver and stay within budget. The right project management approach is key to maximising resources and profitability.
Business value in project management refers to a combination of factors that contribute to a successful outcome. These include financial gains like increased revenue or reduced costs, operational improvements such as enhanced efficiency and productivity, strategic outcomes including market position and brand reputation, and the all important customer satisfaction and employee engagement.
Control
Psychological safety - whether it exists, and to what extent, has a significant impact on performance. Risk and reward are closely aligned, so if your team is too afraid to test an idea for fear of making a mistake, you could miss out on some great outcomes.??
If a level of psychological safety doesn’t exist you’ll quickly find a toxic environment where people hesitate to share their insights or concerns, leading to missed opportunities, costly errors, and in the end, project failure. The cost of this missed potential can be substantial in terms of both innovation and the engagement of teams.
No internal environment is perfect, but here are some tangible tips to consider:
Making mistakes is an organic part of learning no matter your seniority or role - try openly sharing your own experiences.?
Be intentional with your responses when team members share opinions, ideas and concerns - so there’s less fear of reprisal.
Reward when teams take calculated risks and reframe setbacks as valuable learning opportunities.
This old but lost skill is so important and takes time to relearn - part of it includes demonstrating genuine interest in people's perspectives and concerns and acting on their feedback to show you value their input.
When individuals and teams contribute positively, recognise and acknowledge it. A little goes a long way in giving teams a sense of belonging and motivating continued excellence.
Beyond control?
While it may seem straightforward, external factors like market shifts and economic uncertainties can easily derail even the best-laid plans, which is why agility is so important. Disruptions are unfortunately inherent in large-scale projects - from integrating new technologies to managing diverse stakeholders - careful alignment is required across the organisation from the bottom up. Ensuring that your investments and efforts are driving the intended outcomes is critical.
Measuring project value
So how do you actually measure success? It’s always good to provide both quantitative and qualitative results. A lengthy presentation and slides full of stats might impress some (and send others to sleep), but it doesn’t provide the whole picture. Your organisation will also want to know customer feedback, whether this be through focus groups, workshops, surveys, or testing - there are many different ways of seeking qualitative findings.?
Spend some time assessing the leading indicators:
These give you a fuller picture of potential issues so you can make adjustments where necessary.
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When it comes to quantitative results, the questions will be around return on investment, so you’ll need to compare the benefits of the project to its costs, as well as a calculation of the present value and future cash flows from the project. Also, other key figures to mention include gains in productivity and cost reductions. So while you’re knee-deep in your project, always remember that at the end you will need this type of information, so make sure to track everything relevant throughout the project. This will act as a reminder of the value delivery that will be expected at the end and help keep you on the right track.
How to choose a project delivery method
There are a range of project delivery methods, some of the most commonly known include Waterfall and Agile. Traditionally, organisations would operate under a more Waterfall approach, which in its simplest form, is a clearly defined, step-by-step approach with little room for change along the way. The requirements are outlined and defined in a more set-in-stone way than other more flexible project management techniques. This means it is best suited to simple projects that are unlikely to be impacted by internal or external forces along the way. Many organisations follow this rather linear approach because it is all they know. In their view, it seems the most logical way, but more adaptive ways of working, such as Agile have gained traction over the years and continue to thrive.
Agile?
With Agile we’re all about flexibility because we know not everything is predictable. In the real world, plans can change and sometimes have to change, but this type of new direction is not viewed as a failure. In fact, it is seen as an opportunity to do better in the next sprint. Through each cycle, we learn more about the challenges and the opportunities, and we work as a team to problem-solve and be innovative at the same time. It’s a very dynamic and stimulating way of working, which gets the whole team involved. It’s not about hierarchy, it’s about working together to get the best outcome.
Another great aspect of Agile is the efficient way in which it works and the opportunity to get early feedback from stakeholders, which not only helps in the development of the project but also helps reduce risk. Why wait until the end to test your ideas only to realise you were on the wrong track all along?
As an Agile consultancy we obviously feel strongly about our methods, but some companies prefer a more hybrid approach of mixing elements of Waterfall and Agile. Regardless of the limitations, some projects that aren’t particularly complex do sit more comfortably in Waterfall, but when difficulties creep in it’s time to embrace Agile.
It’s personal
Ultimately the decision should depend on the project’s scope, risks, resources and culture of your organisation because it is the people that will help or hinder your success. Sometimes the risks might not be that apparent, so it might be worth conducting pilot testing to get an idea of the types of issues you might encounter or decision-making frameworks to help give you clarity.
How to improve project delivery
The foundation
First, it’s important you set up clear communication channels so everyone on the team is kept informed about updates. So make sure you’ve got your project management software set up and your meetings planned.?
Agile mindset?
Set the tone - so if you decide to take the Agile approach you’ll want your team to know about transparency, feedback loops and the reason why this is so important for making adjustments and mitigating risks. For Agile, we use methodologies such as Scrum and Kanban to help us make progress and to ensure monitoring and adjusting plans in the most effective way.
Power teams?
To keep morale high and an engaged team don’t overwhelm them, instead it’s important to set realistic milestones and manageable tasks. Some people might thrive under pressure, but most want recognition, appreciation for their skills and the time to make the right decisions. In addition to the soft skills, there are plenty of data analytics tools you can use to help you plan the next steps and offer some level of predictability for the next sprint.
Take advantage of tools
Digital Twin technology is also a tool that some teams find helpful. It provides a virtual model to simulate and optimise project outcomes, meaning you can explore different scenarios and predict the impact of changes. Some people have used this to simulate market reactions to a new product, highlighting the increasing use of data driven insights in decision making.
Ensuring value delivery from your projects is a continuous process. You can plan to a certain extent, but you will also need to be adaptive and open-minded to get the best outcome.??
Want to chat?
Jay is co-founder of Fractal Systems Consulting, an agile consultancy run by a group of Professional Scrum Trainers, change agents and agile delivery coaches who have deep experience and know-how in creating behavioural change.
If you’re interested in learning in a fun, application-rich environment that focuses on real-world applied approaches, register for one of our training courses.