Analysis of Implementing Lean Project Management Principles Report

This report, prepared for a Leading Lean Projects course, analyzes the principles of Lean Project Management (LPM) and their application within an organization. It begins by outlining the initial reasons for adopting LPM, emphasizing the need for efficiency, waste reduction, and compliance with government standards. The report then details the benefits of LPM for various stakeholders, including increased visibility, improved employee satisfaction, greater control, and faster project completion. It further identifies and describes the critical success factors (CSF) for implementing lean programs, such as managerial commitment, employee training, adherence to plans, resource allocation, and the use of lean tools. The report also explores how to establish the LPM mindset within an organization, focusing on influencing thought processes, choosing growth, and changing perceptions. Finally, it lists and describes the training requirements necessary for individual staff to effectively contribute to and benefit from a lean project management environment.

Running head: LPM 1
Lean Project Management Principles
Name
Institution

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To: All Employees
From: Lean Project Management Director
Date: May 8th, 2019
Subject: Lean Project Management Principles
As of today, the board of directors of this firm has reached a decision to introduce LPM
principles in all future projects in order to eventually be eligible for government work. This
decision was reached after the need to undertake government work was halted as a result of the
requirement to show compliance with Lean Project Management Principles.
Lean project management is centered on managing waste and reducing the cost through
automation and continuous enhancement of efficiency. It always relies on a combination of
technological systems, small workforce and change reorganization process. Each of these aspects
can present challenges to the overall performance of an organization. As a result, these
challenges need to be overcome so that an organization has to achieve lean project management
principles. Therefore, the need to understand these issue influences the development of lean
project management (Zhou, 2016).
Lean management practices constitutes the management of storage time for incoming and
outgoing resources. Therefore, a lean strategy will require the implementation of a better
ordering system that will ensue raw materials will always be coming at the right time to meet
operational demands. To realize this objective, it requires close collaboration with suppliers. This
nature of collaboration is able to introduce a number of challenges that project managers in two
companies must cooperate to ensure smooth operations.
Employee development is a lean project management that is centered on maximizing the
impact of employee to the overall performance of an organization. In this regard, technological
infrastructure needed to manage supply chain and control systems require well-educated and
trained employees who can perform their duties professionally and with integrity. Employees
who handle sophisticated machines need to inspect, repair and design new approaches for
growth. Furthermore, the technical employees in the workplace require safety certificates and
special licenses in order to operate and maintain various systems (Zhou, 2016). For this reason,

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they ought to be compensated better compared to other employees. Managing employee
concerns is one way that lean management practices can be implemented.
Adopting lean practices often disrupt the normal ways of operation in an organization.
For this reason, successful implementation of lean project management demands a smaller
workforce that is committed and dedicated to a wide range of responsibilities. It requires
employees who are committed to waste reduction through changing familiar work operations.
Also, it involves modifying incentives and rewarding ideas and behavior that promote reduction
of cost, time and waste. In essence, everyone involved in the lean management implementations
should be committed to oversee each and every sector of operations to ensure they are
continuously improved.
Lean project management principles often attract a significant amount of investment with
respect to technology. Among these investments include new production system and statistical
analysis software that play a significant role in monitoring performance on various levels of
operations (Zhou, 2016). Choosing the right system for the right job plays a crucial role in lean
project management. This is because one of the benefits of lean project management is to ensure
automation is integrated into the business as much as possible. Therefore lean project
management can be said to be reliant on technology rather than traditional ways that have been
used to increase efficiency within the workplace.
Lack of these practices within our organization has contributed to failure to access
tenders from the government. Hence, through implementing some of the lean project
management strategies, the company may be in a position to bid for government tenders
successfully.
Benefits of Lean Project Management Principles
There are various benefits that can be gained from implementing lean project
management principles.
Lean project management principles helps to increase visibility with respect to who is
doing the work, tasks in priority, short and long-term plan, risk and project status. Essentially, it
seeks to make information available to team members and senior management. Besides, LPM
helps to make the organization workers happy (Plenert, 2016). This is because the principles

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helps to make stakeholders know about projects particularly concerning goals and objectives in
order to understand tasks and their contribution.
Lean project management principles often play a significant role in providing greater
control because of available knowledge (Young, Hosseini & Lædre, 2016). Knowledge is
significant to facilitate decision making in the organization. As a result, lean project management
ensures that it makes information available so that team members can manage risks and
resources in a more efficient way. Through providing sufficient information, team members are
motivated consequently resulting in responsive and agile development system (Dave et al.,
2016).
LPM principles offer more options to organizations. Whenever organizations feel stuck,
it is crucial to implement new strategies concerning LPM in order to improve the performance of
an organization. An organization that is lean always has alternative routes to success and have
the ability to choose the best path for an organization.
An organization that has implemented lean strategies is likely to offer better products.
More control and options assist an organization to meet its objectives which is tied to the
delivery of high value products to customers and business (Nicholas & Steyn, 2017). These lean
principles helps an organization to know what its customers want and be in a position to control
the development system. In addition, lean practices helps to ensure the customers are satisfied
through the products. As a result, employees are motivated and committed to always improve
their products for their customers.
Another benefit of LPM is that it helps to facilitate faster project. This is realized as a
result of greater knowledge with respect to products development system, better decision making
capabilities and less time spend in resolving conflicts.
Nonetheless, LPM gives a business the sense of accomplishment. Therefore, projects
need to be completed before an organization misses the market, sidelined by competitors or lose
sales. In essence, organizations often feel satisfied through meeting goals quickly as well as
making high quality and high value products (Kiznyte, Welker & Dechange, 2016).
Lean project management principles play an integral role in organization by ensuring that
they get higher profits through satisfying various conditions in the market. In addition, lean

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project management helps an organization to acquire better resources that assist people to
complete their tasks with efficiency (Plenert, 2016).
Critical Success Factors for Implementing Lean Programs
Majority of lean programs tend to fail before they accomplish their initial objectives.
There are many critical success factors but most professional practitioners in the business focus
on five most crucial critical success factors.
Committed to LPM
Most practitioners make the mistake of assuming that managerial commitment reflects
the most significant success factor regardless of differences in plant size, corporation and
location (Pham A & Pham D, 2017). Essentially, managers are not expected to lead from the
office but participate actively in activities other employees engage in including communication,
listening to feedback and suggestions and laying the foundation of the need to implement lean
practices for better performance.
Training
Another critical success factor is that an organization needs to offer training and
education to all employees. Lack of knowledge in lean is not likely to guarantee success in the
implementation phase. Most importantly, the managers are considered the first in line to receive
training and education. Learning while conducting practicals is a significant way to gain
knowledge and requires trained personnel. During the initial stages of implementation, a firm
should seek services of an external consultancy firm and internal corporate resources to structure
LPM knowledge base (Young, Hosseini & Lædre, 2016). Another strategic way is to benchmark
with other organizations that have implemented lean practices.
Follow the plan
This is another critical success factor where an organization is required to develop a plan
and develop a checklist of ensuring that the plan is followed to the latter to guarantee success.
This means that it is proper to have a lean program and vision of the direction the organization
wants to take. The main plan should be broken down into small steps and performance targets
should be set and monitored. Moreover, regular meetings must be held in order to follow up on

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specific parts of the projects (Uhl & Gollenia, 2016). As a result, most business today focus on
integrating lean programs as opposed to managing them separately.
Allocate resources and share gains
The ability to allocate resources favorably and sharing gains is also considered as a
critical success factor in implementation of lean. Coaching and support are prerequisite for
organizations to turn lean. This means that it is significant to dedicate some resources for
transformation of an organization when need arises. Likewise, gains attributed to the lean
practices should be shared accordingly. Managers are advised to offer reward and recognition
incentives in the early stages. Besides, sufficient time should be taken in designing the reward
system because the issue is sensitive to differences in cultural characteristics (Nohria, 2017).
Use of lean tools and methods
Specific lean tools and methods have proved to be vital in the implementation process of
a lean program in an organization. Among specific lean tools and methods that have been
pointed out include waste reduction, visualization, problem solving, continuous improvement
and management. Tools and methods with respect to these phases are significant and effective
for succeeding with the implementation phase of the project (Zokaei et al, 2016). However, these
factors should be incorporated with other factors.
Achieving LPM mindset
There are several ways to ensure the critical success factors are in place to support LPM
mindset within the organization. The reason that differentiates those who achieve success and
those who fail is attributed to mindset. This is because those who achieve great things tend to
believe they can improve and grow (Wiese et al, 2015). For this reason, steps involved in
changing the mindset for implementation of lean principles include influencing the mind to
become the voice of reason. This is because the mind plays a significant role in controlling the
ways one reasons. Besides, it is crucial to determine how one’s mind is likely to respond to
challenges. Understanding the thought process will play a crucial role in fixing challenges that
hinder successful implementation of lean strategies.

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Another step to develop a mindset for accomplishing lean objectives include choosing
growth. This is characterized by learning how to interpret challenges, setbacks and criticism
(Levy, Short & Measey, 2015). As a result, lean mindset can be interpreted through fixed
mindset which is based on talents, skills and professionalism or growth mindset which is
characterized by strategies required to address challenges through training and seeking help.
Moreover, a similar step towards achieving success in lean projects involves changing the
perception from fixed mindset to growth mindset. This is to say that an organization needs to
change the way it perceives activities. An institution is therefore required to find positive ways of
handling issues. Positive outlook of things contributes to alternative ways of finding solutions to
current challenges.
A similar step is to act by ensuring that an organization changes its activities. Once the
mind has been transformed to perceive activities positively, it is significant that employees
change their actions and conform to actions that are necessary to produce specific results that are
often expected (Puvanasvaran, Subramaniam & Mohd Syaiful, 2015). Achieving the LPM
mindset is dependent on the principles of implementing lean project management such as
identifying value, mapping value chain, creating flow, establishing pull and continuous
improvement.
Training requirements
Developing an effective training program for employees offers multiple benefits for
employees and the institution. This can only be achieved through careful planning and proper
implementation (Leitão, Brito & Cubico, 2019). Among other training requirements include clear
understanding of policies, job functions, goals and company philosophy and profitability position
for the company. Training is a means to a specific end thus the need to have goals in mind during
the implementation phase of the training program to assist in developing an effective program.
Based on this perspective, it is crucial for a firm to have a clear definition of needs and
goals. The mission and vision of a company need to be made available and clear because they
play a role in influencing the kind of training that is required to achieve success in lean
implementation. Defining the company’s needs focuses on identifying weak areas where training
is beneficial such as use of machinery, office tools and processes, time and conflict resolution.

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Moreover, it is significant to define the company’s goals by addressing both short term and long
term needs of the company such as increasing productivity and customer service.
Furthermore, it is significant to develop training modules with respect to the needs and
goals of the organization. Training may be offered by training companies or developed by
members through a careful process that involves all the stakeholders (Khamidullina & Puryaev,
2016).
Similarly, an important step towards achieving lean project management include planning
the training through identifying individuals and groups that are likely to benefit. Therefore,
training modules concerning an organization policy and time management should be offered to
every employee. On the other hand, skill based training concerning use of equipment and
specialization may benefit only those employees that are influenced directly by such as training.
In addition, it is significant to track employee training through various forms. The
common method is the use of a checklist that tracks the tasks that the employees have fulfilled
(Cudney, Venuthurumilli, Materla & Antony, 2018). It is equally significant to plan regular
training schedule that aims to fill the gaps lacking among the employees. Getting all the
employees trained at a go can be challenging thus requires slow process that factors limited time
but achieving most at the end of the process. As a result, majority of business owners are often
advised to recognize that training is an investment that is characterized by costs and downtime.
During the implementation of training, managers will be required to offer training in order of
importance, seek professional assistance, use multimedia tools, create a feedback form and make
training part of orientation.
Assessing Lean Project Management
In order to measure whether the organization will have qualified to tender for government
work, the principles of lean project management have to be satisfied. The value perceived during
the beginning of the project should reflect the value gained after the completion of the project.
This understanding is significant to monitor whether customers’ needs are satisfied by the new
approach of operations (Rogers, 2016).
Another method to asses is to monitor the value stream by mapping the whole life-cycle
(Stark, 2015). Having a clear picture of the overall operation will help an organization to reduce

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waste in every step which helps in improving efficiency thus reflecting positively on the end
phase of the life cycle of the product. Lean management is accomplished whenever all the risk
associated to the project have been implemented.
Similarly, once all the obstacles have been removed in all the sectors of operation, lean
management can be assessed in terms of flow of operations. The operations in an organizations
should flow smoothly without any glitches.
Moreover, lean management can be measured through flexibility with which a business
conducts its operations (Rivera & Kashiwagi, 2016). This principle assesses the impact of lean
management through ensuring that teams will not be able to perform tasks that are ahead of time.
In conclusion, the last method to assess lean management is through continuous
assessment of the final products to ensure that quality is improved and wastes are minimized in
the whole process. Getting products to the market that satisfy the needs of a targeted market can
be looked at as accomplishing the needs of a Lean Project Management thus fulfilling
government requirements for tendering.

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