How holistic preparation is key to successful project planning
by Agility X Solutions
12 March 2024
What comes to mind when you see an offer prefixed with a specified number of days? For example, Apple often offers 6-months of free Apple Music before charging you £10.99 a month. Amazon offers you a 30-day trial of Audible before engaging with your bank sort code and account number. Then there are software companies that offer free 7-day trials for you to try before you buy? Do you feel reassured during this trial period? Do you want to feel confidence in the product before you commit to your final purchase or service? Do you fear forgetting to cancel before the first payment Is taken? Do you set digital alarm to remind you?
Memberships
We live in a day and age of memberships… for everything! In the not-so-distant past, memberships were to be found at Fitness First gymnasiums or Blockbuster video stores. This was a time when software used to be purchased… once… for life. (How times have changed). The benefits of the modern-day try-before-you buy mode of purchasing (membership) offers customers the opportunity to assess a product or a service to determine whether or not it is a good fit for them, or for their company. And the reason they are so popular is because they work incredibly well. You try it; you don’t like it; you cancel your membership and you move on to the next offers of promise. If you like the offering and it delivers the kind of value that your company is looking for, then you go all in for full membership, safe in the knowledge that you have evidence for a sound purchase.
This is what our 14-day promise is about? At Agility X, we want to present to you a short process of discovery that will not only reveal the issues and risks to your project goals, but once we have done so, will also share with you, your company’s maturity and readiness to not only deliver your current programme, but to help build experience and resilience for your future ventures. This is not just project-focused for temporary change but business operations. Defining that elusive target operating model. We can help you get those thoughts and ideas from the minds of the experts and onto paper and then into reality through business process mapping and delivery.
Stakeholders
For us, embarking on the journey of discovery begins with a critical focus on the most vital asset of any organisation: its people. At Agility X, we recognise that the success or failure of change management initiatives hinges on individual contributions.
Our approach extends beyond simply collaborating with executives and sponsors. We actively identify and nurture key individuals who can catalyse a transformative wave of change, turning them into champions of this evolution. Their enthusiasm, in turn, becomes contagious, inspiring and motivating their peers.
We place a premium on discovering those who are eager to embrace the roles of mentors and coaches. Our aim is to foster an environment where change projects and programmes are not imposed upon individuals and teams. Instead, we empower them to be the architects of these initiatives, ensuring a sense of ownership and commitment.
This aspect of project management, we believe, is potentially the most crucial. When executed effectively, it significantly enhances the likelihood of the project’s success, instilling a mindset of ownership among colleagues, as opposed to mere compliance or task execution. Conversely, missteps at this juncture could lead to the project becoming part of the approximately 70% that do not succeed.
Supporting this view is recent research by KPMG, which found that 25% of failed projects can be attributed to inadequate stakeholder engagement. Understanding the criticality of this, we ensure that our projects are underpinned by comprehensive stakeholder matrices and registers, essential tools for effective engagement.
Once we have established the ‘why’ of the company’s project objectives, understood its values and have determined its proposed goals, we will identify, and ensure that we have the right stakeholders influencing and deciding, consulting and developing, leading and mentoring colleagues and other stakeholders.
Requirements elicitation
We promise to engage in your journey at the crucial early stages of identification, analysis and planning. We want to immerse ourself into our client’s organisation so that we can work together to deliver an outstanding project.
We will create a documented summary report of our findings outlining the company’s risks and issues, accompanied by a high-level proposal of the necessary steps towards achieving your corporate goals. This documentation will be accompanied by an action plan and core project requirements that will form the basis for solutions development and business change. In addition to this, we believe it is very important that stakeholders see early results to gain confidence in the project, so we will also provide a set of quick wins solutions that will help to overcome common early resistance to those changes during periods of transition and inspire early adoption for the change endeavours.
Having identified the key stakeholders, we will meet with them for the purposes of holding workshops to facilitate the full elicitation of client’s requirements. In these meetings we will agree the right way to identify your company’s current state (the place it is at the present time) and then determine the ideal state (the place your company is striving to get to). We will use a variety of techniques to gather the right information such as using SIPOC (Supplier, Input, Process, Output, Customer) we will look at operational SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) or RAID (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies) methods. As well as workshops, the discovery phase will also include a series of activity to help establish the current state of play. These activities will include shadowing, scrutiny panels, focus groups, interviews, mystery shopping and various other techniques to establish one version of the truth.
Current State review
Depending on the type of change, we may also conduct a Time & Motion study. This is a thorough review of the individual tasks involved in carrying out various workplace activities. The study looks at how long each task takes as well as the physical activity. The outcomes of this assessment examine how long a process takes as well as quantifying the cost of each activity. This can then be compared to an estimated amount of time that will be taken when processes are automated. The final cost of the new process can then be compared to the existing process. This will demonstrate any potential savings, as well as how much time can be saved in staffing time. This study will provide an unbiased evaluation of current processes and indicate where cost and time savings might be realised.
As you can imagine, the current mode of operation can have lots of poor practices, that include "over-processing", "manual overheads", "activities that take too long" and if you are accustomed to these workshops you know that we always make time for delving into the '7 wastes of lean production' to ensure we weed out the poor processes and build a lean process for the future.
Data analysis
After we have spent the first few days studying existing ways of working, hosting workshops, shadowing colleagues in action and various other techniques in our study of how things currently work, we will then immerse ourselves into the gathered requirements and data so we can conduct a thorough analysis of the status quo. The aim of this period of study is to consider the ideal target state and the required journey towards achieving that to-be state. Having done so, we will identify the shortfall between the current and future positions and create a map of how to bridge the gaps. We will create this gap analysis along with a high-level plan.
In addition to the documents already mentioned, we will have started to create various outlines for the future project stages such as outlining project roles and responsibilities, technological requirements for operational activities as well as server and data requirements for structural projects. We will report on the existing and required software or security protocols that need to be implemented, as well as highlights of risks and issues in the form of RAID logs.
Our promise
There really is a wide range of possibilities when you choose to work with us, both for project preparation such as the like offered in our 14-day Promise, as well as the work beyond that should you choose Agility X as your change partner.
Our aim is to delight our clients. We want to demonstrate that we understand the journey being embarked upon and to generate ideas and proposals that will add real value to companies, its workers and its clients. We believe that when you try-before-you-buy into Agility X’s offering, you will be delighted with the results we will provide. Your time and resources are valuable so we are committed to ensuring the right people, systems and architecture are employed. We can help you to identify and implement the right opportunities and solutions under strong project governance that delivers excellent value for money… within just 14 days. This part of how we offer "successful outcomes and embed lasting value."
In conclusion, at Agility X, we are dedicated to ensuring that your journey towards successful operational change and project planning is comprehensive, insightful, and tailored to your unique needs. Our 14-day promise is more than just a trial; it's a deep dive into the heart of your organisation, identifying key areas for improvement, potential risks, and the most effective paths to success. Whether it is a revised or new business process or a Target Operating Model, we can take you forward.
Be bold and take advantage of this opportunity to experience first-hand the benefits of our holistic approach. Engage with us, and within a mere two weeks, you'll gain a clearer understanding of your project's or operational current state, as well as a roadmap to achieving your future goals and target state. This will be accompanied by practical solutions and quick wins that demonstrate our commitment to immediate and long-lasting positive change.
Don't let the chance to transform your project management outcomes or business change strategies slip away. Contact Agility X today to activate your 14-day promise. Discover the difference that expert guidance and thorough preparation can make. Join the ranks of successful organisations that have transformed their business projects and operations with Agility X.
Let's embark on this journey together, turning challenges into triumphs and aspirations into realities.