Lean Project Management Implementation in Accenture Group

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LEADING LEAN PROJECT
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MEMO
TO All staff
CC Board of Directors
DATE 11 May 2019
SUBJECT The Introduction of Lean Project Management (LPM) principles to secure
government work.
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Introduction
It is the continuous strive of every organisation to strive towards the path and peak for
success. For this purpose, the company strive to achieve every possible aspect and
opportunity available to it. The Accenture is one such organisation which is willing to expand
its projection through undertaking government work. But before proceeding with the tender
of government, the company needs to implement the principles of lean project management
(LPM). Lean is a system of continuous growth in the management of the project. The LPM is
the application of the lean principles, for example, lean thinking, lean manufacturing, lean
construction in the system of managing the project. By this process, the company shall be
able to maximise the profit. Hence, this process includes providing more values and benefits
to the customers with the use of very fewer resources. This memo contains the benefits of the
lean principles in the management process of the Accenture Group and also outlines how the
company can implement these principles to acquire and gain maximum profits through
government work.
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Reasons to implement LPM:
Lean is gaining popularity in the market as this process is being used by a lot of manufactures
and company. These companies target various projects that include the developing of
projects, products and services. There are many aspects which are emphasised by the process
of lean project management. These aspects are the quality of the product and service,
empowering of work teams, complete analysis of data, increment in the values of the
customers and elimination and discarding of waste through the best use of time, employees,
materials, and finance related resource. The LPM system should be included in the
management process due to the following reasons:
LPM makes problem-solving easy:
This is the process which has its essence in learning and solving problems. Therefore, the
team shall be continuously inspired for getting the most out of the available resources. This is
a process of continuous improvement but the most important point to be considered here is
the team members take their part of ownership and responsibility. The team shall be
encouraged to take decisions on some matters concerning their part of work. This will enable
them to solve their problem on their own and they shall not rely on others for the same.
The LPM principles make team stay focused:
One of the greatest benefits of this process is it reduces the time required to lead. It also
makes the teamwork with great efficiency. This enables them to stay focused on the task at
hand and go for new work when they are in a capacity to process and run it. The best way to
implement this is to stay transparent and display the task of each employee. This also enables
to continuously monitor the work of the team members. It also avoids multi-tasking and
applies restrictions to the amount of work in progress simultaneously. It also avoids the
switching of context by the team members.
LPM increases collaborations:
Under this process. Achieving continuous improvement is a collective responsibility. The
goal is set at delivering more values to the customers in less time thus the team needs to
improve together and collaborate effectively. This also enables team members to share
information and by taking ownership of the work in hand, the team members are under the
responsibility of handling the outcome in time thus, delivering values to their customers. It
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shall become natural for the team members to share work and process collectively as they
will be eager to help each other and achieve the target.
LPM helps in cost reduction:
This method also helps in the optimisation of the budget by getting rid of and reducing
unnecessary activities and expenses. The minimisation of the waste in the management
process will result in the delivery of value in very less time. This will also enable the team
members to suggest new innovative ideas which can further improve the process and lower
the management and operational costs. But it is important to note that for the promotion of
this method, discouragement shall be done of failure and encouragement shall be done for
continuous achievement.
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Benefits gained by the stakeholders by implementing LPM:
LPM is a process which is a concern of continuous achievement and growth. This process
benefits the company as well as the others who are concerned with the company, for
example, the creditors, directors, shareholders, etc. In short, it is the benefit to the
stakeholders of the company. The following are the benefits of the LPM to the stakeholders
of the company:
Meet the needs of the clients at its best:
The LPM principles help the stakeholders and directors to meet the needs of the clients as
well as their own needs. It also helps in the protection of the business with the existing clients
and helps to get more clients. Apart from this, it aims at attaining complete client satisfaction
for the company.
Manages budget:
This is the process with the aim of budget management and it helps in the elimination of
surprises in matters of costs and fees. It helps in drawing the complete budget with
specification as to which field requires how much cost. Hence, it is the complete management
of the company's finances.
Management of risk:
This process and principle also help in reducing the risk as well as foreseeing the upcoming
risk. It enables the stakeholders to foresee risk before proceeding with new projects as this
process manages the use of resources. It enables the stakeholders to resolve the issues which
are risk-prone and proceed accordingly.
Improves transparency:
This process is a transparent process as this enables the authorities to keep a check on the
work of the employees simultaneously. Further, it also helps in managing the ongoing work
of the employees at the same time. It increases predictability regarding the investment in the
ongoing work.
A direct link between LPM and profitability:
The stakeholders can establish a direct link between this process and the profits of the
company. This process improves the delivery of values to the customers and hence it
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increases profitability. The stakeholders with the proper implementation of this principle,
increase the profits of the organisation.
CFS needed to be placed in Accenture Group to achieve implementation of
LPM:
CFS or the factors for critical success are also termed as the key result areas which are the
activities that are required to be completed in a quality of high standard so that the desired
goals of the company be achieved. But the identification of these factors is of utmost
importance and this can be achieved by making the right decision at the right time. The
following are the factors which are required to be in place for the implementation of the
LPM:
To make everyone agree on the desired project goals:
This is of utmost importance that the creditors, stakeholders, directors and sponsors agree
together for the desired goals of the company. These goals shall be specific and nature and
shall be capable of being measured. This will enable them to ensure the amount and cost
required for each goal and project.
Plans must be developed clearly and with responsibility:
For the implementation of the LPM, it is important that the factor of developing plans and
acting in responsibility shall be done. All the deliverables need complete definition along
with the necessary resources required for their fulfilment. Proper responsibilities shall also be
assigned for accurate delivery with due dates and accountability. This process shall also
include the management of risks and requirements of communication.
Management of the scope of the project with efficiency:
The scope of the project is defined in the setting of the goals. It is further implemented in the
planning stages of the goal. But remaining constant of the scope is next to impossible in the
present world and thus the project managers are required to keep updated regarding the
continuous changes taking place in the scope of the project and accordingly implement the
change. The managers are required to have up to date information regarding all the questions
arising in this context and shall be able to answer them as per the need and requirement.
Nurture effective communications
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It is also important to determine the effective communication channel to pass all the relevant
information regarding the progress of the project to the stakeholders. The project sponsors
and creditors may be in demand for knowing the current status of the project in which they
are investing. Hence, the development of an effective communication measure is required.
Presence of management support:
This is considered to be the most important factor which is to be placed properly for the
implementation of the LPM. It is important that every project possesses management support
as if the management disagrees with the project, they shall show limited interest in the
growing and investing of the project. Lack of support of management leads to a number of
failures in the project. Hence, the company looks forward to having the true and complete
support of the management authority.
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Steps through which the position of CFS is to be ensured for the
implementation of the LPM:
The most important goal of the company is to achieve business success by accomplishing
success factors in place. The purpose of the CFS is to enable the company to place all the
resources responsible and the factors of success in a proper place so that the desired outcome
can be achieved. The choosing of these factors is also a matter of concern as these factors are
required to be vital to the organisation. These factors must also benefit and the organisation
as a whole. Further, it is also required to directly link to the business strategy. The following
are the step to ensure that the mentioned factors are in place:
Step 1:
This step requires the formation of a separate team that will work solely on the critical factors
of success. The starting of this step shall be done from the topmost level of the organisation
due to the reason that it is of utmost importance to include the senior most member for this
purpose. Some organisations depend upon the advice of outside consultant to achieve this
step. But in Accenture Group the operation can be dealt with in internal discussions.
Step 2:
Encouraging employees to submit their ideas and give feedback is an important step to be
followed to assure that the responsible factors are in place. But this step is to be followed in
the placing of high-level factors. This step can be followed afterwards as well depending
upon the demand and need of the implementation.
Step 3:
This step involves the use of multiple frameworks for the examination of the long-lasting
goals of key elements. These frameworks may include the application of SWOT analysis,
strategic plans, change in agenda, etc. this step shall help the organisation in optimizing
performance, maximising the potential, encourage and manage healthy competition and
minimize the effects of risk.
Step 4:
This is yet an important step to be followed as this involved the determination and choosing
of the key step which is important in achieving a long-lasting plan for the organisation. Here
the results obtained after the analysis made in the above steps are to be examined in order to
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obtain results. The use of the merely traditional strategic framework is a flawed system as it
would only determine the financial perspective. Hence, there shall be a use of other aspects as
well in a systematic order when the target of the company is to get government works. These
aspects include:
 Finance
 Customer
 Process
 People
Step 5:
This is the last step where the implementation of the company’s strategic plans is done
keeping in mind the critical factors. This step is completely action oriented as mere planning
shall not lead in acquiring desired goals. One of the most effective ways to implement this
process is the determination of a balanced scorecard. This would help and allow the
organisation to determine whether the placing of factors is achieved in the desired manner or
not. This will also allow taking measures regarding the accomplishment of the critical factors
and the small factors shall be easily delegated to teams for its fulfilment.
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Training requirement for individual staff for the Implementation of LPM:
The implementation of LPM requires proper and detailed training for the staff members. The
contribution of the staff is the major part behind the success of the organisation. Hence the
staff and employees must possess an accurate skill which shall be developed by training them
in an efficient manner. The following are the requirements of training for the staff for this
implementation process:
1. Training must be given by the steering group or committee. The expert group of
stakeholders who completely understand all the aspects of the business are required to
render the problem-solving skills to the employees.
2. The trainees must be made aware of the current state of the organisation and shall be
made familiar with the amount and quality of contribution they are required to make
in the implementation of the LPM principles.
3. The vision of the trainees shall be made clear in order to remove all the doubts and an
expert leadership role shall be played in order to boost their confidence.
4. They shall further be made familiar with the countermeasure plan for risk
management. This shall build a sense of security in them and encourage them in
adopting alternatives in case their desired plan fails.
5. They shall be made familiar with the communication plan. This step covers many
grounds like who is to be communicated, what is to be communicated, how to get
communicated and who will address and take action on their communication.
6. There shall also be a development of a deployment plan. Part of this plan includes the
determination of resources needed and making the trainees aware of the availability of
these resources.
7. At last, the trainees shall commence starting the implementation process in order to
bring their skill and knowledge into action.
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To assess and determine the quality of LPM after its implementation for
government works:
To determine the quality of the implementation of the LPM, the manage quality process is
essential. It uses the outputs gained for quality planning in order to ascertain the specific
quality related activities. These activities are further related to the assuring of quality and the
aspects of product designing. Through the following ways the ascertaining of quality can be
done for the implementation process:
The analysis of the process:
This is one of the ways in which the quality of the implementation process is determined.
Once the LPM is implemented for the government work, the process of implementation shall
be analysed thoroughly in order to point out the flaws if any. Process analysis is considered
as a part of continuous improvement effort taken to proceed with the project.
The quality of LPM can also be determined by the number of government projects being
taken up by the company. For the purpose of acquiring government tenders, the organisation
is required to maintain quality in implementing the LPM principles and hence the number of
government projects approved is evidence of good quality implementation.
Conclusion
Hence, the principles of lean are often termed as lean thinking which aims at maximising the
returns and minimizing the risk and leftover. The Accenture Group is aiming and targeting at
the acquiring of beneficial government projects in order to accelerate its productivity and
profits. Hence, the implementation of the LPM principles shall make a way for its increment
in productivity and make it stand among the leading organisations.
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