Agile Project Management: Solutions for Adapting to Change

Foreword

For years already, the Consortium has adopted a Management By Objective – MBO system to focus managers’ annual strategic goals. Since 2021, the organizational model of smart working, based on remote work, has also been introduced, and more autonomy has been given to individuals and teams in choosing working time, space and methods.

Activities are managed by different teams, with different needs, but with the common goal of finding an effective working methodology for all.

The Client approached PRAXI because it felt the need to strengthen the model of working by objectives and speed up change with a strong sign of innovation: the introduction of a project management tool for performance management, first in a cross-functional team and then, cascading to other teams and projects.

Adopt project management software to speed up change

Implementing project management software changes project management in the company for the better, bringing tangible benefits. Businesses that adopt such software find increased productivity, thanks to a clear view of tasks and execution times.

This results in reduced overall project costs, maximized profits, and improved internal and external communication as information is accessible and shareable in real time. Collaboration becomes more fluid as documents and resources are shared, inevitably making the company more agile and able to respond quickly to changes and changing market conditions.

Project

For greater effectiveness and efficiency, the project was managed by a mixed team, consisting of consultants from the Training and Development and IT Business Units, so as to combine technical and digital skills with facilitation and change management skills.

The Client’s specific needs were as follows:

• make a software selection to identify the management software best suited to its needs and current processes, following a careful evaluation of the options available in the market and the functionality needed to achieve the project objectives;
• create a solid link between the team management model and the new software, to ensure that work dynamics are supported remotely and to enable monitoring of performance and goals;
• configure the software to reflect the Consortium’s organizational structure, goals, and strategies, avoiding over-communication and concentrating to-do lists, meeting minutes, and task completion progress in one place;
• actively involve all team members in the implementation and use of the tool, leveraging the technical expertise of an early adopter, cross-organizational cluster of users to guide all other teams to informed use;
• Establish clear and shared guidelines to avoid disparities in the use of the tool;
• Train the whole population on the platform for widespread conscious and effective management;
• Accompany teams in the ice-breaking phase with the tool (go-live).

Results

The digital platform introduced is Asana, a tool that is enabling the Client to:

• Ensure alignment with strategic directions by prioritizing certain projects–portfolios–based on contribution toward business results and feasibility;
• Have the assurance of an overview of a project’s activities;
• Preside over deadlines in a computerized manner;
• overcome “amateur” management of the work, learning a method through the tool itself;
• facilitate increasingly cross-sector work by developing a common language across sectors;
• go beyond hierarchical organization, cross-culturally involving direct colleagues and colleagues from other sectors, and partners outside the Company;
• Foster peer-to-peer collaboration, promoting self-organization;
• limit over-communication by allowing all involved to be aligned through centralized information;
• use e-mail messages less frequently, where system notifications travel but not attachments, avoiding misalignments due to obsolescence.

Future

Asana is facilitating the Company’s cultural transition to business agility and goal-based work, where the organizational model is based on self-organization, sharing and adaptation, often within multidisciplinary teams.

Among the key benefits already in place, PRAXI’s commitment to promoting business agility through the adoption of Asana will enable:

• Coordinate work in and between teams more effectively, enabling integrated project management and resource optimization;
• Centralize all project data, such as details, kanban boards, feedback and meeting schedules, in one easily accessible place;
• Improve internal and external communication with real-time sharing of project status updates with all
  stakeholders.

In this context, leaders will increasingly tend to act as facilitators, collaborating with teams to ensure the success of projects.