Every business can be boiled down to a sequence of small tasks. A group of tasks for a specific purpose is called a process. Tasks and processes truly are your business. Without them, there is no product, no service, and no end result. Nevertheless, businesses often ignore process development. Managers tend to zero in on the tasks with a micro-level approach, while executives focus on outcomes. As a result, processes can be messy, even in top organizations. Process optimization is necessary.

The Many Benefits of Process Optimization Consulting

Faster Operations

The order in which we perform a set of tasks can greatly impact the time it takes for other tasks or processes to be completed. Imagine if a pizzeria threw dough into the oven without any toppings, and then every two minutes, pulled the pizza out, added a topping, and put it back in. Repeat until ready. This approach, while certainly novel, is completely illogical and would add unnecessary time to the process. Your organization is far more complex than a pizza. Yet many of your processes have been born, not out of careful consideration and experimentation, but out of necessity. When businesses are in their infancy, they develop processes organically to address immediate needs. As businesses grow, these processes buckle under the weight of increased demand and complexity. However, everyone is so used to the way you do things that they cannot see a problem. An outsider can.

Adaptability

Another reason to consider having a consultant review your processes is that they can become more flexible with the right adjustments. We strive to inject agility into organizations because an agile approach gives your company the ability to change tactics quickly in the face of new circumstances. As we’ve all seen, life can throw events our way that can dramatically disrupt standard operating procedures. A well-designed process always accounts for the worst and has a plan B ready to go. Fail safes and versatile technology ensure quality without limiting your freedom.

Improved Onboarding

Better processes are easier to understand, and therefore easier to teach. Onboarding is always a challenge, but it can be streamlined considerably when your processes are intuitive and easy to comprehend. This all begins with your process documentation. Do you have a manual that tells employees how to execute their tasks? Have you outlined your processes? When you bring in a consultant, one of the first things they’ll do is review your process documentation. We often find that processes on paper don’t accurately describe what really happens in the workplace. This disconnect needs to be resolved. From there, we can look for ways to better communicate your processes.

Less Workplace Conflict

Squabbles and frustrations build when processes have no clear ownership. When no one is in charge of a specific task, it creates headaches. Smooth processes are those that transition seamlessly from person to person. We can find those processes that cause conflict and iron out the kinks that generate problems for your staff. Every process has room for improvement. Optimize your processes: Contact Project Genetics to set up an appointment.

When you want your business to truly embody the agile spirit, you need a platform that can help you scale agile ideas throughout your organization. It’s not enough to simply have a few trained leaders; your whole company should operate on agile principles. With the release of Scaled Agile Framework 5, also known as SAFe, businesses are able to take an agile approach to every facet of their operations. This approach translates to some serious real-world benefits.

3 Benefits of a Scaled Agile Framework

Productivity Boosts

Productivity is notoriously difficult to improve with a single solution. As output depends on numerous variables, finding the right buttons to push can be challenging. However, SAFe tends to result in massive gains in productivity since it holistically transforms how businesses operate. That means that each variable gets just what it needs and the final output is much greater than what you would expect. Consider ZKH Industrial Supply’s example.

This company is one of the largest providers of maintenance, repair, and operations products. They move millions of consumable goods to businesses so they can keep working. Since they deal in such large volumes, one of the biggest bottlenecks was order processing. After adopting SAFe, they reduced their order processing time by a factor of 8! In addition, they formed interdisciplinary product delivery teams (a trademark characteristic of agile enterprises) and were able to address customers’ issues faster.

More Flexibility

Much of the Lean Enterprise mentality that accompanies the SAFe model is driven by a desire for flexibility. Your organization needs to be able to adapt to changing circumstances. If the last few years weren’t proof enough, consider how some companies have benefited when they were able to adapt. A great example comes from FedEx.

Not only was global shipping stopped dead in its tracks as many ports were closed temporarily as lockdown orders were issued, but FedEx found themselves with more orders than ever as PPE and other medical supplies needed to shuffle around the world. Add in all of the online shopping that emerged, and FedEx had to shift its business dramatically. Thanks to the use of SAFe and Agile, they were able to reroute shipments without sacrificing delivery times.

Better Teams (And Happier Employees)

Nokia’s massive size makes collaboration complicated. With nearly 100,000 employees and over 40 Agile Release Trains (ARTs) the company has proven that if you adopt an agile approach, you can synchronize your staff’s efforts. Nokia mixes up their teams periodically to help transfer expertise from one ART to the next. Each product they make has its own team, but they never use the same team twice.

Their employees are overall quite satisfied with their jobs. Most employee reviews highlight how great the staff is and how well they work together. Nokia is just one example of how SAFe adoption results in a 10-50% increase in job satisfaction and engagement.

Upgrade Your Framework

How you view your tasks will determine how you tackle them. With SAFe 5, companies can scale Agile strategies with ease. Contact Project Genetics to learn more about the Scaled Agile Framework and how it can help your business to thrive regardless of the circumstances.
 

Demand for cloud-based applications has skyrocketed in recent years with the proliferation of decentralized computing, thanks to systems like AWS. Businesses can gain major advantages by moving their operations into the cloud. Nevertheless, a successful migration is only possible if you plot out the steps you’re going to take. When it comes to Workday implementation, you’ll want to make sure you don’t skip any of these five steps.
 

5 Steps to Preparing for Workday Implementation

1. Define the Scope

All too often we find that companies know that there are benefits to be gained from switching to cloud-based applications, but they haven’t specified what benefits they hope to achieve. Workday specifically targets finance, HR, and strategic planning through analytics. You should first set goals in these areas. Are you looking to simplify reporting, or speed up HR processes? What will Workday do for you?

Once you’ve defined your objectives you can then outline a timeframe for your implementation. Take into consideration the time it will take to train people on the new platform. Don’t forget that Workday pushes updates twice a year and so you’re probably going to have a feature update during your transition. Finalize your budget before you proceed so that you can avoid going over in the long term.

2. Review Processes

One of the biggest mistakes when moving into the cloud is to simply copy your existing process and try to duplicate it using a cloud-based application. Working in the cloud can often simplify your processes or even make some of them redundant entirely. Your goal should be to get more agile, more responsive, and ultimately more productive. Using the same old processes, even with better technology, won’t do that.

Give your processes a thorough review after you understand what Workday can do for you. You may want to consider bringing in consultants who specialize in process optimization to help you refine your processes and get them ready for the cloud.

3. Test and Refine

Another common error is to force everyone onto the cloud and then iron out the wrinkles as you go. If you do this, your staff will find the whole experience quite frustrating. Instead, consider working with a pilot group that is willing to test and provide feedback on the new tools. Ideally, your staff should get a turnkey experience. If they’re struggling with a broken system, they’ll be reluctant to embrace it in the future.

As you get up and running, test your workflow on Workday and continue to optimize your new processes.

4. Create New Documents

Once you’ve finalized your processes and have tested out the system, you’re ready to flip the switch. But before you do, document everything. You will need new manuals, new training materials, and new tutorials. If you can have these ready when you migrate, it’ll help staff adapt smoothly.

5. Migrate Data

Finally, all you need to do is migrate your data. It can be helpful to have experts on hand as redundancies can cause issues later. Likewise, migrations open the door to data theft, which can cripple your company.

If you want the best Workday implementation possible, contact Project Genetics to schedule an appointment. We can help you get it up and running and tailored to your company’s needs.  

Recently, it was estimated that 36% of business projects fail. Trillions of dollars are invested into projects every year, so that’s a lot of money being wasted. Most projects run into trouble towards the end of the project and it becomes challenging to right the ship. When it’s realized that a project is going off track, how do you recover it? Read on to learn the important steps for project recovery!

Back on Track: 4 Steps to Project Recovery

1. Create a Special Team

The first step is to create a special team tasked with recovery. This is a team composed of folks outside of the current project. Think of this team as an internal audit. Their goal is to do an independent evaluation of the project, conduct critical assessments, and execute the recovery process. As they will be stepping on toes, it’s important to have a good mix of personalities to minimize personnel issues. Buy-in from the current project team is key.

2. Start From the Top

Projects that follow the methodologies outlined by the Project Management Institute generally have a project charter with an outlined mission, objectives, and success criteria. These project artifacts must be reviewed and validated. It’s expected that some elements may need to evolve to match any new learnings since the project started. It’s also anticipated that any modifications will require approval.

3. Perform a Critical Assessment

A well-thought-out assessment is efficient, accurate, and minimizes project distractions. During the assessment, all critical project artifacts will need to be reviewed and project team members will need to be interviewed. Project artifacts in this step usually include the project plan, budget and associated metrics, estimate and pricing details, contract, and project organization chart.
The employees critical to the interviews include the project manager, sponsor, stakeholders, members of the project management office (if applicable), contractors, vendors, customers, and project team members. The goal of these interviews is to determine the exact status of the project, as well as any risks, issues, and opportunities. Interviews should emphasize confidentiality and open-ended questions.
Once the assessment is complete, the data should be analyzed and a list of findings and action items must be created. Then answer the most important question: is recovery possible? If so, move on to the next step.

4. Plan and Recover the Project

Once recovery is deemed possible, an extended team will need to be curated and the recovery process will start. It’s expected the focus now is on not failing. In addition, the recovery process will be subject to intense scrutiny, tight controls, and higher frequencies of communication and monitoring. The recovery plan must also take into consideration employee morale, personnel problems, and leadership issues. Patience, constant monitoring, and regular feedback are significant events during recovery.
Failing projects are recoverable. However, experience is necessary to turn them around. Do you need assistance in getting your project back on track? Check out Project Genetics today and meet with seasoned experts who can recover your troubled project! We help customers every day with project delivery. We are 100% committed to project success and can help you get your project back in line with your organization’s goals.

Recently, it was estimated that projects have only a 64% success rate. In Australia alone, an average of $5.4 billion was being wasted on abandoned and poorly executed projects. The warning signs are there when a project is on rocky grounds. Yet, management is often the last to know that a project is headed for failure. What are the signs of project delivery failure and what can be done to stop this situation? Read on to learn more!

5 Signs Your Organization Is Failing at Project Delivery

1. Poor Communication

If core project team members aren’t talking to each other, that’s a bad sign. And if the project team is not talking to leadership or the stakeholders, that’s an even worse sign. Project status meetings and steering committee meetings can be scheduled to enforce communication.

A project manager with excellent meeting management skills is also key. In addition, it’s important to create an environment where negative news is accepted so participants are not fearful to relay issues and risks.

2. Disinterest

Does this sound familiar? People are late to or absent from meetings. Meeting attendees are quiet. People aren’t paying attention or distracted by their phones instead of focusing on the meeting. This is one of the earliest signals that your project is doomed to fail.

Healthy projects have active engagement, high participation, and a generally positive environment. This can be accomplished through robust project management and strong support and buy-in from leadership.

3. Overtime

A direct sign that a project is failing is when employees are working too much overtime. This indicates that the project has not been estimated correctly, too many unanticipated issues have been encountered, and the current project management style is not a good fit. A side effect of overtime is a decline in employee health.

A smoothly running project should have little to no schedule overruns. A change in project management and well-thought-out mitigation plans for project issues and risks will help resolve this issue.

4. Missed Milestones

One of the clearest signs that a project is in trouble is when a milestone is missed. Unfortunately, by this time it’s too late. While due dates can sometimes be missed, missing them in a big way (weeks off track) or missing too many milestones indicates the project is on the wrong path. If the first milestone is missed, it’s time to evaluate the current project management and leadership to see if a change is required.

5. Scope Creep

Another warning sign of project failure is when the project scope expands with no realignment to the project plan. This impacts project deliverables, due dates, and execution details. Scope creep is a common issue on projects and can quickly lead to other warning signs like overtime, poor communication, and missed milestones. It’s important to have an experienced project manager and effective decision-makers on the project to keep scope creep in check.

Are you concerned about your organization’s ability to execute on projects? Visit Project Genetics today to learn more about successful project execution! Our proprietary process puts the right person on the job from day one. Clients love our no-nonsense approach because we are 100% committed to project success. We get things done on time, every time, and on every project!

Recently, it was estimated that projects have only a 64% success rate. In Australia alone, an average of $5.4 billion was being wasted on abandoned and poorly executed projects. The warning signs are there when a project is on rocky grounds. Yet, management is often the last to know that a project is headed for failure. What are the signs of project delivery failure and what can be done to stop this situation? Read on to learn more!

5 Signs Your Organization Is Failing at Project Delivery

1. Poor Communication

If core project team members aren’t talking to each other, that’s a bad sign. And if the project team is not talking to leadership or the stakeholders, that’s an even worse sign. Project status meetings and steering committee meetings can be scheduled to enforce communication.

A project manager with excellent meeting management skills is also key. In addition, it’s important to create an environment where negative news is accepted so participants are not fearful to relay issues and risks.

2. Disinterest

Does this sound familiar? People are late to or absent from meetings. Meeting attendees are quiet. People aren’t paying attention or distracted by their phones instead of focusing on the meeting. This is one of the earliest signals that your project is doomed to fail.

Healthy projects have active engagement, high participation, and a generally positive environment. This can be accomplished through robust project management and strong support and buy-in from leadership.

3. Overtime

A direct sign that a project is failing is when employees are working too much overtime. This indicates that the project has not been estimated correctly, too many unanticipated issues have been encountered, and the current project management style is not a good fit. A side effect of overtime is a decline in employee health.

A smoothly running project should have little to no schedule overruns. A change in project management and well-thought-out mitigation plans for project issues and risks will help resolve this issue.

4. Missed Milestones

One of the clearest signs that a project is in trouble is when a milestone is missed. Unfortunately, by this time it’s too late. While due dates can sometimes be missed, missing them in a big way (weeks off track) or missing too many milestones indicates the project is on the wrong path. If the first milestone is missed, it’s time to evaluate the current project management and leadership to see if a change is required.

5. Scope Creep

Another warning sign of project failure is when the project scope expands with no realignment to the project plan. This impacts project deliverables, due dates, and execution details. Scope creep is a common issue on projects and can quickly lead to other warning signs like overtime, poor communication, and missed milestones. It’s important to have an experienced project manager and effective decision-makers on the project to keep scope creep in check.

Are you concerned about your organization’s ability to execute on projects? Visit Project Genetics today to learn more about successful project execution! Our proprietary process puts the right person on the job from day one. Clients love our no-nonsense approach because we are 100% committed to project success. We get things done on time, every time, and on every project!