Right now the Project Management Certification is very successful, but I have been using a similar change model for quite some time with great success. It’s called the Six Principles of Service Excellence and it easily turns into just about any type of project or initiative you’re trying to implement effectively. For the hobbyists and newbies of project management, consider it the Six principles of project management.
As a performance consultant, I regularly use these basic principles when launching a new learning and development initiative or program, and especially when integrating new HR, Quality or Operational Improvement processes.
Principle 1: Vision and Mission – To be executed successfully, any project or initiative must begin with the end in mind. This is achieved effectively by articulating the Vision and Mission of the project so that it is clear to all. Creating a vision and mission for the project helps clarify the expected result or desired state and how it will be achieved.
Principle 2: Business objectives – The next step is to set 2-3 goals or objectives for the project. Is it being implemented to increase sales and profits, customer loyalty, productivity and employee morale, or product / service quality? Also, it is important to specifically quantify the amount of improvement that is expected, rather than being vague.
Principle 3: Standards of Engagement – Simply put, this means establishing who will be on the project team. What will be the frequency of the meetings? What are the basic rules of the meeting? Who is the owner of the project? Who is designated to take notes and distribute project meeting minutes and next steps? This goes along with any other meeting protocol that needs to be clarified.
Principle 4: Intervention and execution strategy – This is the heart of the project and includes the use of a gap analysis process to determine the most appropriate intervention (solution) to solve the problem you are working on. There are many quality management concepts that can be applied, from a complete “root cause analysis” to simply “asking why five times.” Once the best possible intervention to solve the problem has been identified, we must map out our execution strategy to implement the intervention. This includes identifying who will do what, when, how, and why.
Principle 5: Organizational alignment – To guarantee the success and sustainability of the new initiative or process that this project generates, all the people that it will directly impact must be on board. To achieve organizational alignment (or buy-in), ongoing communication should be employed in person during team meetings, electronically via email and e-learning (if applicable), and through training. The message must include the WIIFM “What’s in there for me” at all levels; otherwise, most stakeholders will not be interested or committed to the new initiative.
Principle 6: Measurement and accountability – And finally, how will we determine success? Well, a simple project dashboard that is visually interesting is a great way to keep everyone up-to-date and engaged. A scorecard is an excellent resource for holding employees, teams, and leaders accountable for the implementation, refinement, and sustainability of the new initiative or project. Accountability means that consistently the best employees will be rewarded and recognized; while those who need improvement will be trained with clearly delineated expectations and specific consequences.
While my six project management principles may not be exhaustive, I hope you have ignited creative juices as you think about how you will approach your next project, whether it is implementing a new system / process or refining one that is already in place to improve its effectiveness. . For more information on our six principles, visit our website at www.psbydesign.com.