![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kepner-tregoe.com\/default\/assets\/Image\/blog\/DMAIC%20Improvement%20Cycle.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Figure 1 \u2013 The DMAIC Improvement Cycle where strong project management
\nis key in the Improve and Control Phases<\/p>\n
Investing project resources on the projects with the biggest \u201cbang for the buck,\u201d usually brings expertise and investment to those projects that can be measured and easily presented to senior management. Yet often there are individuals with valid points about an improvement for their department that may be difficult to quantify. These small but meaningful projects have the support of individuals who are passionate about the need for change, yet they lack investment or support. Knocking off a few seconds in a process step can yield great results when that step is repeated at volume. Similarly it\u2019s possible that small to medium, meaningful improvements across multiple teams can quickly build confidence and performance. By empowering team leads and individual contributors with the tools needed to improve and control changes, a company can make organizational change personal, practical and possible.
\nCase Study \u2013 Improving Access to Health Care<\/p>\n
YouFirst Health is a fast-growing NYC health plan. With the opening of the healthcare exchange, it quickly became apparent that to compete at the next level and grow membership, YouFirst Health had some organizational challenges. In early 2015, Kepner-Tregoe was asked to analyze their current environment and suggest prioritized recommendations for achieving growth. The standard consulting approach to tackling organizational change would be to diagnose, recommend projects and then sell follow-on work that relies on experienced individuals managing the projects. Our approach, based on transferring critical thinking skills, is different. A diagnostic team initially studied, defined, and measured the environment to create a prioritized list of changes that would improve the environment significantly. Part of our recommendation was an extended version of our \u201clearn and do\u201d approach to project management. Essentially we took a group of non-project managers\u2014nurses and call center employees who work directly with customers\u2014and trained them in a simple, but robust project framework. As they were learning new skills, they applied them directly to the list of recommendations.<\/p>\n
Multiple projects and tight objectives<\/span><\/h4>\nOn the first day of training, many of the nine class members thought that their background as nurses and call center employees was not suitable for project management roles and responsibilities\u2014and giving up seemed like an easier approach. In response, we paused and broke down a short list of projects that could be more easily delivered. Since a shorter list had tighter objectives and easier measures, the worried participants began to understand how the part they played in the small projects would benefit them and their work environment; this wasn\u2019t just a project where others would benefit from their hard efforts. To energize them, we set a tight, 12-week time limit for completing the projects and partnered up some of the team members. The team tackled six focused projects, three for the call center and three for the utilization department.<\/p>\n
Small Steps \u2013 Getting the Building Blocks Right<\/span><\/h4>\nWe stressed the importance of understanding the true project value and then expanded out all the required tasks into a simple work breakdown structure that we used to identify initial resource requirements. This approach allowed the novice project managers to think creatively and openly about the needed tasks without the distraction of sequencing or debating why \u201cthis won\u2019t work.\u201d Soon we had Post-it Note wallpapered walls and a room full of participants excitedly discussing what would be accomplished in the next 12 weeks. After a short Microsoft Project training session, we transferred our thinking from Post-its to software. Participants were surprised how fast they were able to understand an otherwise mysterious and complicated software package, and how easily they had entered \u201cthe real world\u201d of project management. To avoid everyone attempting to schedule the same resource, we even implemented a shared resource pool based on YouFirst Health\u2019s employee list \u2013 protecting the energy of these new project managers from overloading the project participants implementing the tasks.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kepner-tregoe.com\/default\/assets\/Image\/blog\/Me-Project%20Manager-crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Figure 2 \u2013 From \u201cMe, a project manager?\u201d to \u201cME! A Project Manager!\u201d<\/p>\n
Building PM Confidence<\/span><\/h4>\nTo keep these \u201cnon-project managers\u201d excited and empowered, we ensured that credit was given where credit was due. They attended weekly meetings with stakeholders, managers, team leads from each department, and a senior executive\u2013 a scary group for any PM\u2019s first status report! To calm nerves during our first meetings, Kepner-Tregoe PM pros and the new project managers presented together using a simple template slide showing Achievements, Benefits, Concerns, and To Do\u2019s\u2014soon nicknamed the ABCD Report. This helped project managers to present without worrying about other slides, reading off the screen, or creating unnecessary slide content. A round of applause before each presentation offered encouragement, and afterwards gave well-earned recognition. Q&A encouraged discussion and made them forget they were \u201con stage.\u201d Invariably confidence improved after presenting in front of a senior executive and a room full of people. Privately participants expressed an overwhelmingly positive sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kepner-tregoe.com\/default\/assets\/Image\/blog\/ABCD%20report.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Figure 3 \u2013 A simple \u201cABCD\u201d report used for confident presentations<\/p>\n
Tracking Changes and Building Involvement<\/span><\/h4>\nMetrics that were agreed upon in advance were updated, verified and shared in the weekly presentations and displayed for the entire department on TV monitors and bulletin boards. A monthly newsletter to the department described the projects, the expected achievements, results-so-far and what was coming up. A thank-you section and a call-for-help section were added to involve others and build support. The new project managers became the topic of conversation in the break room, were congratulated and thanked in the hallways\u2014and from what I could see as a consultant\u2014treated better than full-time project managers who had worked with the company for years! The project managers helped win over the department and get more people involved in a culture of improvement for small and meaningful areas in their environment.<\/p>\n
Results and Takeaways<\/span><\/h4>\nIn addition to building a creative and committed corps of employees dedicated to making improvements for customers and for their own work environment, the project surpassed expectations. The phenomenal coming together of call center employees and nurses as project managers drove six projects to success within the 12-week timeframe and saved their customers more than five years of wait time \u2013 annually!<\/p>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h4>\n
We stressed the importance of understanding the true project value and then expanded out all the required tasks into a simple work breakdown structure that we used to identify initial resource requirements. This approach allowed the novice project managers to think creatively and openly about the needed tasks without the distraction of sequencing or debating why \u201cthis won\u2019t work.\u201d Soon we had Post-it Note wallpapered walls and a room full of participants excitedly discussing what would be accomplished in the next 12 weeks. After a short Microsoft Project training session, we transferred our thinking from Post-its to software. Participants were surprised how fast they were able to understand an otherwise mysterious and complicated software package, and how easily they had entered \u201cthe real world\u201d of project management. To avoid everyone attempting to schedule the same resource, we even implemented a shared resource pool based on YouFirst Health\u2019s employee list \u2013 protecting the energy of these new project managers from overloading the project participants implementing the tasks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Figure 2 \u2013 From \u201cMe, a project manager?\u201d to \u201cME! A Project Manager!\u201d<\/p>\n
Building PM Confidence<\/span><\/h4>\nTo keep these \u201cnon-project managers\u201d excited and empowered, we ensured that credit was given where credit was due. They attended weekly meetings with stakeholders, managers, team leads from each department, and a senior executive\u2013 a scary group for any PM\u2019s first status report! To calm nerves during our first meetings, Kepner-Tregoe PM pros and the new project managers presented together using a simple template slide showing Achievements, Benefits, Concerns, and To Do\u2019s\u2014soon nicknamed the ABCD Report. This helped project managers to present without worrying about other slides, reading off the screen, or creating unnecessary slide content. A round of applause before each presentation offered encouragement, and afterwards gave well-earned recognition. Q&A encouraged discussion and made them forget they were \u201con stage.\u201d Invariably confidence improved after presenting in front of a senior executive and a room full of people. Privately participants expressed an overwhelmingly positive sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Figure 3 \u2013 A simple \u201cABCD\u201d report used for confident presentations<\/p>\n
Tracking Changes and Building Involvement<\/span><\/h4>\nMetrics that were agreed upon in advance were updated, verified and shared in the weekly presentations and displayed for the entire department on TV monitors and bulletin boards. A monthly newsletter to the department described the projects, the expected achievements, results-so-far and what was coming up. A thank-you section and a call-for-help section were added to involve others and build support. The new project managers became the topic of conversation in the break room, were congratulated and thanked in the hallways\u2014and from what I could see as a consultant\u2014treated better than full-time project managers who had worked with the company for years! The project managers helped win over the department and get more people involved in a culture of improvement for small and meaningful areas in their environment.<\/p>\n
Results and Takeaways<\/span><\/h4>\nIn addition to building a creative and committed corps of employees dedicated to making improvements for customers and for their own work environment, the project surpassed expectations. The phenomenal coming together of call center employees and nurses as project managers drove six projects to success within the 12-week timeframe and saved their customers more than five years of wait time \u2013 annually!<\/p>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h4>\n
<\/p>\nMetrics that were agreed upon in advance were updated, verified and shared in the weekly presentations and displayed for the entire department on TV monitors and bulletin boards. A monthly newsletter to the department described the projects, the expected achievements, results-so-far and what was coming up. A thank-you section and a call-for-help section were added to involve others and build support. The new project managers became the topic of conversation in the break room, were congratulated and thanked in the hallways\u2014and from what I could see as a consultant\u2014treated better than full-time project managers who had worked with the company for years! The project managers helped win over the department and get more people involved in a culture of improvement for small and meaningful areas in their environment.<\/p>\n