Your Trusted Project Partner

This project was managed from inception by our personnel. A client’s projects had a history of running late, often with lower than budgeted margins. During the early phases, our project manager was able to influence the project parameters, and prevent unrealistic schedules being formulated, whilst retaining margin. A comprehensive project management plan was devised, including the key disciplines of cost, schedule, scope, change, risk, communications, vendor and quality management. This plan was then executed. Although changes and problems were encountered, the work was delivered ahead of schedule and with a slightly better than budgeted financial out turn. During the project, an external audit was performed, which yielded a clean bill of health. Indeed, after award of the main job, a further package was awarded, based on the progress of the initial work. The major benefits to the client were delivery of equipment ahead of schedule, at increased margin and with enhanced reputation. The benefit to the project team was a much more enjoyable working experience than hitherto. 

This project had been languishing with little control in place and insufficient management attention. The project’s objective was to deliver equipment that was needed to start up a new well, and was thus time-critical. Called in at a point where the project threatened the client’s delivery deadlines, our staff took immediate action to recover the situation. A project review was initiated, including analysis of the available data, interviews with the end-user, and with the client’s project team and line management.

From this, a recovery plan was established, focussing on the end-user’s delivery priorities. A realistic schedule was drawn up along with the implications for project costs. In addition, a baseline risk analysis was performed, allowing risks to be managed to completion. Clear, frank and immediate communications were established with all parties and the findings of the project review, along with the recovery plan, were discussed and agreed with relevant stakeholders. In addition, regular and relevant communications were established within the project, covering all required parties. This was continued to the end of the project. The project’s schedule and cost, as well as other parameters (such as quality metrics) were tracked and managed to completion. As a result, the key deliverables were supplied to the end-user in sufficient time for well start up (although later than the original project milestone). The benefits for the client were that the offshore operations were not compromised, that financial penalties were avoided, and that reputation was recovered. In addition, relationships were strengthened, and future projects had a better trajectory. The benefit to the project team included an increase in morale and self-confidence.

A team member had been promoted within a project, and it was felt that this person would benefit from some coaching to bolster their experience. Our personnel provided this function, working alongside the employee in the course of delivering a key set of projects, and within the framework of a formal personnel development structure. At key points within the life of the projects, advice and guidance were offered, as well as the facility to reflect upon possible and actual courses of action. This included discussions on personal style, technical matters, project disciplines and business relationships. The benefits to the employee included personal development and the knowledge that there was someone to lean on when uncertainties arose. The benefits to the organisation included reduced risk in promoting a less experienced employee. 

During another coaching assignment, an unexpected requirement to provide mentoring arose. This involved issues that had arisen in the mentee’s personal life, which were affecting work performance. At appropriate points, determined by the mentee, reflections were enabled, and possible courses of actions mooted. At the end of the period, the mentee kindly expressed an opinion that it had been a positive experience, and one that enabled them to select a new direction for part of their life. The benefits to the mentee included personal growth and affirmation. 

A series of offshore equipment packages that were being built by a client were experiencing delays and also technical and procedural difficulties. We were asked to step in to manage these projects, and importantly, to recover the relationship with the end-users, which had become acrimonious. By use of clear and regular communication, honest reporting, delivery-focussed management and realistic targets, trust was re-established. An important factor was the agreement of what really mattered to the end-user, amongst a list of conflicting priorities. Resolving the technical difficulties involved bringing the internal manufacturing organisation (including management, quality, assembly and test personnel) together with the end-user to establish a mutually acceptable way forward. Although the original project timescales had to be scrapped, the new methods enabled equipment to be delivered in time for use, thus avoiding production delays. 

Businesses are increasingly project focussed, and are implementing more and more business change via projects. However, it is estimated that only a third of organisations consistently deliver their projects to cost, schedule or stated deliverables. Such inefficiency is a material loss, not only in terms of opportunity and cash wastage, but also in terms of reputation. Conversely, successful projects can transform an organisation. It doesn’t have to be this way: doing projects well is a known skill. Engaging an experienced consultant can give you access to the competence  needed and can provide insight and ideas that help you to see opportunities or identify the pinch points. The tools, processes and methodologies for delivering better projects exist and deploying them well can improve success, sometimes dramatically. P P P M has many years’ experience in delivering projects and helping people to do projects better. Here are some of the benefits of improving the performance of your projects, programmes and portfolios.

All projects seek to deliver benefit, whether an increase in profit, an improved facility, a movement into a new market or delivery of a product to a client. But how many projects fall short of the benefits that were promised? Indeed, how many project actually articulate the benefits that they seek to realise? Project management consultancy can help you to define what you would like to realise from your project and then introduce methods, tools and techniques to maximise your chances of achieving them. 

Allied to the goal of realising business benefit is the desire to see the planned return on investment, or indeed improve upon it. Projects that are managed according to best practice and a defined methodology have the best chance of achieving this. 

Any initiative involves risk and projects are no exception. We only have to think of the UK Government’s e-borders project or HS2 project to realise that projects can turn into difficult undertakings. In most cases, risk can be managed so that the impact on the project (and therefore the business) is minimised. Projects that are executed without heed to the risk that they import are likely to turn into train wrecks. Project management consultancy can help you to identify and then manage your risks, and indeed to identify and realise opportunities (which are the flipside of risk).  

Projects that are poorly controlled almost inevitably underperform in terms of cost. Projects often involve some cost control measures, but these can be poorly implemented or wrongly applied. Additionally, inefficiencies and risk are the enemies of good cost performance. All of this can be mitigated by introducing good cost controls and ensuring that they are implemented. Project management consultancy can review your controls structure and determine where improvements can be made, can introduce robust controls and can also support your project as it proceeds to ensure that these are being effective.