Project, Programs & Portfolio

Cooperation in the field of Agile coaching includes:

• training during which issues of philosophy, principles, roles in DSDM projects, MoSCoW prioritization and Timeboxing will be raised,
• workshops on building a list of requirements, delivery plan, DAD, SAD, MAD and the first timebox plan,
• 8 hours of remote consultations. Remote consultations take place during the basics phase or the first timebox.

Cooperation in the field of project documentation includes:

• development/creation/writing/adaptation of project documentation based on recognized project management standards. Our participation is usually associated with the start of the project – the initial stages of the first stage, as well as the development of documentation related to planning the next stages or closing the project. Then, Plans, Product Descriptions, Project management strategies, risk, quality and issue registers, report templates are created.
• ongoing keeping of project documentation, supplementing registers, updating plans, preparing reports – everyday work as a Project Manager or Project Support;
• supervision over project documentation – checking the correctness and consistency of project documentation, detecting non-conformities, proposing improvements.

We offer Master-Student and Master-Master cooperation models. In the first one, our consultants do the work and the client acquires skills, in the second we assist, advise and evaluate the client’s work.

Examples of our implementations:

• Stelmet sp. z o.o. sp.j.
  Consultation and preparation of project documentation; adaptation of the PRINCE2 methodology to the project; optimization of project documentation; activation of governance mechanisms
• Vorwek Polska sp. z o.o. sp. k.
  Cooperation with the Project Supervision and Project Manager during the implementation of the “CUSTOMER TECHNICAL SERVICE FOR VORWERK POLSKA” project; assessment of documentation and proposing solutions; consultancy in project management issues
• Marshal’s Office of the Province of Łódź
  Assessment of project documentation for the project entitled “e-Marshal’s Office of the Province of Łódź – stage I”

Cooperation in the field of project procedures and project management guides for organizations includes:

• writing procedures – determining the scope of works, whether they relate to the entire project management approach or a selected area; work in the form of e.g. workshops with the client, talks/discussions on proposed processes; developing a functional solution; clarifying the scope of the guide and the procedures;
• change planning – advising the client how to implement the procedures and guides created in the organization most effectively; should the implementation take a wide scale or be divided into stages and gradually touch new groups of projects from the most important to the smallest ones;
• implementation – we often use pilot implementations to show users the benefits of implementation, to encourage and convince stakeholders to cooperate; only later the implementation covers the entire company; organization support by training.

Examples:

• Marshal’s Office.
  Development of workflows – process diagrams – taking into account office specificity; development of a set of guides – guides – how to manage a given area, preparation of typical sets of documents for projects of various weight and size.

The scope of activities in the area of consulting in relation to design culture includes:

• current state analysis – designing questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews with selected stakeholders; obtaining an image from research and information on the actual state as perceived by the client; project documentation analysis; participation in project meetings, understanding organization; this phase usually ends with documenting the current state in the report and making a diagnosis;
• development of change – replacing a diagnosis with a proposal of actions leading to modification/development of project management order; development of project management principles in the organization along with project patterns; procedures and mini guides may be created along the way; this part of the service ends with a change of the implementation plan;
• implementation – according to plan, working with stakeholders step by step, building order, instilling principles and pro-project attitudes; in this part we often go back to completing the previous step; apart from iteration, this part is characterized by a large number of practical training sessions and workshops;
• operation durability monitoring – periodic reviews after implementation, examining the durability of changes and identifying potential gaps and areas for further development/improvement.

Examples:

• ECEngineering.
  Developing a design approach together with the client, developing the responsibilities of project participants, developing document templates, e.g. registers and reports, conducting training on introducing new tools; participation in project meetings, explaining and checking new work practices.

As part of project meetings, we offer:

• Participation in project meetings; diagnosing problems; proposing solutions – after becoming familiar with the organization, participating in project meetings as an observer; drawing conclusions and making preliminary theses during observations; in the course of conversations with the client, developing a final diagnosis;
• implementation and post-implementation observations – proposing improvements that respond to the problems shown in the diagnosis; implementation of improvements; participating in the next meeting and observing how improvement works.

Examples:

• ECEngineering
  Participation in weekly project meetings, observing how a new work style is adopted and checking if improvements are required; the participation in meetings was part of a wider change supported by training cycles;
• WFOŚiGW in Kraków.
  Participation in team meetings, ongoing reviews of risks and design issues; participation in sessions, planning stages and identifying risks; supporting project supervision over the order in a project; support and advice to the project manager on management issues in the project.

As part of conducting workshops and meetings, we offer facilitated-moderated workshops organized at the client’s premises, which are devoted to problem solving, stakeholder identification, benefits, etc.

Examples:

• WFOŚiGW in Kraków
  Participation in meetings – workshops aimed at identifying stakeholders and benefits of the project;
• BK BUSINESS Krzysztof Białkowski
  Conducting the workshop, defining the goal and benefits of the project, conducting the workshop of planning and identifying risks.

As part of the consultancy with the Design Office, we offer:

• analysis of the organization’s needs and capabilities – the starting point must always be an accurate definition of the scope of the service provided, and a diagnosis of the current state; we examine the condition, management practices and organizational culture in consultation with the contracting authority using checklists, surveys and interviews; we learn the organization’s actual needs and we can start the next phase of creating solutions;
• developing a solution – we work out solutions in the course of workshops, presentations and cooperation with the client; proposals are created from general to detailed concepts, e.g. process and function descriptions, definitions of duties of design office employees, communication schemes between PMs and PMOs, proposed document templates, etc.; this creates a list of improvements and new services that PMO could provide;
• preparing an implementation plan – developing priorities and relationships between the proposed improvements in the form of a workshop; developing a plan for implementing the solution in the organization;
• assistance and implementation supervision – participation in the project (on a larger scale it may be more appropriate to use the program approach), carrying out work that involves development of procedures, functions, documentation and its launch; this activity is strongly supported by training sessions and consultations;
• further work on improving the work of PMO – periodic measurement of the effectiveness of PMO’s work; catching “shortcuts” against good practices and rules in the organization; identification, analysis and proposing improvement actions.

Examples:

• Ericpol sp. z o.o.
  Revitalization of the portfolio and project office; participation in current state analysis, solution design and implementation planning; preparation of the concept and implementation plan.
• ECEngineering
  Working with the client on the scope of functions and services provided by PMO; documenting project management processes along with reference documentation; introducing defined processes/principles of project management; participating in weekly project meetings; periodic audits and implementation of recommendations – improvements; implementing a training cycle;

Design consulting consists in:

• comprehensive development and implementation of project management mechanisms, e.g. principles of risk management, change, quality, stakeholder involvement;
• developing templates of project documentation optimized for a specific project, taking into account the organization’s principles and nature;
• developing plans and business justification in the project – according to the client’s needs;
• advising on keeping documentation and day-to-day management – assistance in adjusting management methodologies and documentation, and solving current problems;
• supporting project management in decision-making processes and assessing the situation in the project – especially, work with plans, registers and other project documentation.

Examples:

• BK BUSINESS Krzysztof Białkowski
  Advising on the archido.pl project in the field of: organization, planning, establishing governance, risk and change management; advising on organization and maintenance of project documentation;
• ECEngineering
  Advising on the implementation of project management tools and techniques; the advising was carried out on the occasion of a wider implementation of the project approach in the company together with the launch of PMO;
• WFOŚiGW in Kraków.
  Development of project management governance principles with descriptions of roles; developing strategies and procedures, e.g. risk and issue management; introducing document templates for use; making reviews of the current situation in the project and proposing solutions and improvements.

In the scope of project classification, we offer:

• identification of types of projects in the organization – review and selection of groups of projects with common characteristics, e.g. size, reason for launching, etc.;
• suggesting classification of project division – developing a classification model, division into categories and classes/types;
• proposing sets of project documentation for project classes – depending on the adopted classification, developing a set of obligatory, optional documents recommended for individual project classes.

Examples:

• Ericpol sp. Z o.o.
  During the revitalization of the portfolio and project office, developing project classification along with proposed project documentation.

Risk management is becoming a key and necessary element of any modern organization. When designing a risk management system, our consultants focus their attention on increasing the probability of achieving the company’s intended goals and implementing mechanisms of proactive action aimed at implementing the appropriate risk response.

Cooperation with our clients in the area of risk management includes:

• recognizing the current state and diagnosing problems – using checklists, surveys and interviews with representatives of various levels of the organization, getting to know the company and its specifics;
• proposing and presenting a solution adapted to the client, action preceded by consultations with the client, sometimes even additional workshops;
• comprehensive solution development, including: organizational risk policy, strategies for individual programs and projects, taxonomy – a risk factor classification scheme.

The result of the implementation cooperation with our company is the introduction of coherent mechanisms for control, monitoring and risk management in all organizational perspectives, as well as effective ways of responding to threats and opportunities.

Examples of our implementations:

• AGH.
  Developing an approach to risk management: taxonomy, strategy, policy

• based on the client’s situation and project needs, proposing IT solutions supporting the management of a single project and a group of projects within the portfolio.

Examples:

• Stelmet sp. z o.o. sp.j.
  As part of the consultation and development of project documentation, proposing IT tools for project management and project portfolio in line with the PRINCE2 methodology.

The above consulting area applies to:

• current situation analysis – interviews with key stakeholders, surveys for a wider group of stakeholders, and understanding current investment and change management practices; this phase can be supported by maturity tests based on the P3M3 model and MoP status test – the results of the study provide the basis for developing proposals for changes and solutions;
• proposing solutions – developing changes/creation in portfolio management principles within the agreed scope; basing on MoP (Management of Portfolio) methodology; presentation of agreed solutions to the client;
• developing implementation plan – when implementing, we use it to “work well” in the organization, launch new elements, change those areas that are inefficient; when planning changes we are guided by improving the area that will give the most benefits first;
• portfolio office – planning a change outside the portfolio management processes: defining and delivering, we plan to launch some services in the portfolio support office;
• implementation works – we develop the substantive scope of the change and introduce it step by step, or depending on the arrangements with the client, we only advise or supervise implementation processes;
• post-implementation benefit reviews – according to a previously developed benefit implementation plan, we periodically check whether the changes have brought the expected results; we suggest further improvements or corrective actions.

The Program management system development includes:

• Program management approach analysis – current situation – interviews with key program stakeholders, understanding current practices for program and project management; this phase can be supported by maturity tests based on the P3M3 model and MoP status test – the results of the study provide the basis for developing proposals for changes and solutions;
• proposing solutions – developing solutions in the area of program management governance; based on MoP methodology (Management of Program); presentation of agreed solutions to the client;
• developing an implementation plan – preferably when our service is carried out in parallel with a program being started, then we can provide the required elements of governance on a regular basis, e.g. vision of target model, strategies and plans; when planning implementation we use it to “work well” in the organization;
• program office – when planning a change outside the program management order, we propose to launch support and supervision services in the program office;
• implementation works – we develop the substantive scope of the change and introduce it step by step, or depending on the arrangements with the client, we only advise or supervise implementation processes;
• post-implementation reviews of change durability – we take part in reviews of program documentation at the end of tranches; we provide customer support with advice and experience; we periodically check that the program management policies have achieved the expected results; we suggest further improvements or corrective actions;
• when closing programs, we supervise the process of capitalization and transfer of experience from the program to the organization.

Within the scope of the program management system development we offer:

• analysis of the project management approach, tools, techniques and documents used – interviews with key stakeholders/project decision makers, surveys among PMs; understanding current management practices in the organization; this phase can be supported by maturity tests based on the P3M3 model and PRINCE2 methodology checklists – test results provide the basis for developing solution proposals;
• proposing solutions – developing solutions in the scope of principles and techniques of project management; basing on methodologies: PRINCE2, PMI, AgilePM, PRINCE2 Agile, Scrum; presentation of agreed solutions to the client;
• developing an implementation plan – agreeing on the scope of implementation of changes and the time frame; plan development;
• implementation works – we develop the substantive scope of the change and introduce it step by step, or depending on the arrangements with the client, we only advise or supervise implementation processes;
• post-implementation reviews of change durability – we take part in reviews of program documentation at the end of tranches; we provide customer support with advice and experience; we periodically check that the program management policies have achieved the expected results; we suggest further improvements or corrective actions;
• when closing programs, we supervise the process of capitalization and transfer of experience to the organization.

Examples:

• ECEngineering
  Advising on the implementation of project management tools and techniques; the advising was carried out on the occasion of a wider implementation of the project approach in the company together with the launch of PMO;

• agreeing on the scope of the test: portfolio, program and project levels;
• conducting the test using the P3M3 model at agreed levels;
• supplementing the study with work with tools for testing the condition of the portfolio, program, risk;
• analysis of results obtained, drawing conclusions, preparing the final presentation;
• meeting with the client and presenting the conclusions of the test; current status overview; proposing directions for improvement and further development.