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O P I N I O N
Use this seven step process to focus on project management for year-over-year improvement. Project management improvement plan
I n line with Gateway Engineers’ continual improvement philosophy, years ago we began working on an informal, project manager led process that would yield incremental, yet measurable improvements to overall client satisfaction. The result of our efforts was the creation of a seven-step process we refer to as Project Management Improvement Plans or PMIPs.
Aaron Richardson
One of our objectives for the PMIP process was for it to be more supportive. We presented the process to our PMs and from there, let them decide if they wanted to develop an individual plan. We thought that once several project managers experienced success using the process, others would take notice and momentum would build for more people to give it a try. The process: 1)Review. A recommended first step in developing any plan is to see what happened on the last one. During this step, we emphasize conducting a review of their last PMIP. The project manager would ask questions like, “Did I focus on the right thing?” “What did I learn from last year’s plan?” “Was my plan achiev- able?” Asking these questions often produces in- sights that may otherwise not be considered. 2)Research. Through this step, we encourage
reviewing past and current project performance seeking out common issues, trends, and themes. Reviewing the metrics from the best and worst projects while looking for trends, project managers’ research can help answer questions like what went right or wrong and why? This information combined with engaging in honest, open discussions with other PMs, those resources on their project teams, internal support staff, and even clients may yield insightful nuggets of information. 3)Core dump. This is a transitional step. The idea is to write down all the things that could be improved as it relates to performance and client satisfaction. Fundamentals less used, issues, gaps in knowledge, pain points, etc. This step (also known as a brain dump) is used to prepare the project manager for steps four through seven.
See AARON RICHARDSON, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER June 17, 2019, ISSUE 1301
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