Lean Project Management Implementation in a Consultancy Firm

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Leading Lean Projects Assessment
Specification
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Memo
Introduction
The consultancy firm needs to implement lean project management so that it can increase the
business output as well as achieve the government work. There are various methods and factors
that the firm would have to address to fully implement the lean project management into its
structure. The aim of this memo is to show how to implement lean project management into the
consultancy.
Initial Reason for Implementing LPM
The consultancy wants to commence work that is given by the government. But the problem
which has been occurring is that if the consultancy wants to do this job then it is required that it
should follow the lean project management approach. By using lean project management the
consultancy will have more of a better way of completing the projects and will increase their
efficiency. Lean project management is also referred to as a lean six sigma.
Benefits of Stakeholders
According to Sunder 2016, it is seen that the stakeholders play a crucial role in lean project
management. The primary stakeholders are those that receive the end product, they benefit from
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TO All staff
CC Board of Directors
DATE 10 May 2019
SUBJECT The Introduction of Lean Project Management
(LPM) principles to secure government work

lean project management as they would receive a better quality product. Also, by using lean
project management the primary stakeholders will gain more than one option as lean project
management would make the consultancy look at various ways to do the project. Another factor
that can be seen is that the stakeholders will fell a sense of accomplishment because the product
or service is delivered quickly and is of high quality. For the internal stakeholders, it is seen that
they also enjoy the approach of lean project management. One benefit is that the consultancy will
be able to deliver faster and quality services to its customers, thus resulting in more profits for
the organisation. The dependent stakeholders will also benefit from lean project management as
the work will be completed on a quick basis in which the team members can directly value from
it (Bryde & Schulmeister, 2012). The competitors of the organisation will feel the effect of lean
project management and may apply it to their work processes as well.
Critical Success Factors
There are critical success factors that need to collaborate with lean project management for it run
successfully in the consultancy. One of the success factors according to Näslund 2013, is the
strategic alignment of the organisation. Strategic alignment for implementing lean training
project management should be done properly so that the change that is going to happen in the
consultancy would be linked to its structure. This needs to be done so that the consultancy can
plan for the long-term benefits of lean project management. Another success factor is that the
project needs to be properly managed. This needs to be done from the project commencement
state to its final stage so that the result can be successful. Training is another success factor that
is described by the author in their research. The team, which is working on the project, need to
be trained so that they have the skills and knowledge to perform that specific task. Is proper
training is not provided to them then they will fail to address the project with efficiency.
According to Ullah 2016, there are two methods that show success factors that need to be used
for decent lean project management. One of the methods is known as define, control, analyse,
and improve (DMAIC), in which it is seen that the consultancy would improve their work
process thus resulting in better quality. When there is a better quality of services provided by the
consultancy then the customers would be satisfied hence increasing its customer base. The other
method which was seen is Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) in which the user so that if a new
product is made there should be little to no issues when it is introduced into the market. The Six
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sigma used for lean project implementation makes sure that the product which is produced meets
the customer’s expectations. The six sigma method will also help in improving the operational
processes which are involved in the project.
Ensuring CSF and implementing LPM in Employees mindset.
There are various ways in which lean project management can be put into the mindset of the
employees that are working in the consultancy. According to Bamber et. al. 2014, whenever
change, such as strategy change, is bought into the organisations then the all of the decisions are
usually made by the top management and the employees are not even considered to be thought
of. But change such as lean management is introduced into the consultancy then through this, it
will be seen that the employees will be a part of the decision making the process. The lean
management system makes sure that the decisions of the employees are valued and are taken into
consideration. Another factor is that by using lean management for a project is that the
employees will start to attain new skills and gain new knowledge about various projects. This
can be helped for implementing the lean project management into the mindset of the employees
as it will increase their development both in the organisation and self. The lean project
management would also inspire the employees to come up with new and innovative ideas, this
will encourage the employees to work under the lean management system. According to De
Koeijer 2014, by implementing lean project management into the processes of the consultancy,
the performance of the employees will increase thus making them more satisfied. If the
employees are satisfied then they will accept the change of lean management into the system.
There are many steps that are involved in which it can be ensured that the success factors are in
place with the lean project management. Leadership is one of the steps that can be used to ensure
this process is working correctly, according to Sousa 2018. Leadership would make sure that
every one of the success factors is being achieved in the consultancy. Another step would be to
get feedback from the personnel in the consultancy. This would show whether the success factor
is working for the lean project management or would more success factors need to be added.
Training requirements
It is important that the employees of the consultancy have an understanding of lean project
management so that they can do their work accordingly. Adoption of the lean project
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management would require changes to be made in the structure of the consultancy firm so it
would require the employees to also make their changes in their job roles according to, Martínez-
Jurado & Moyano-Fuentes, 2013. The orientation of the employees is a necessary factor that will
make sure that the employees are working to their maximum level. If the employees of the
consultancy are trained well then there would not be a problem in training new employees that
would arrive in the firm. Another training requirement for the staff would be that they would
need to understand how lean management is better for the consultancy and for themselves. For
the employees they should understand that lean management would improve their current skills
as well as new skills will be learned and it will also increase their knowledge.
Training Plan
Objective Outcome
Understand Lean Management The employees can have a better understanding
of why the lean management is profitable for
them. It will also bring a change in their
behaviour towards lean project management.
Develop Skills New skills would be needed to develop the
employees so that they can use these skills in
lean project management so as to increase the
quality in the services which are provided
within the consultancy.
Increase Performance/Development The employee's performance would need to be
increased so that their work would be more
effective than before. Lean project
management would require that the work is
done is accurate and of high standards, so an
employee development program would have to
be set in place
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Assessment
One of the factors that can help in assessing whether the implementation of lean project
management has been successful or not is to see whether the quality is being produced. Quality
is a major aspect of lean project management and if it is not being produced then it will be
known that lean project management is not implemented properly. Another factor can be is
whether the time has been reduced in the operational processes and how many mistakes are made
due to this. If there are a fewer number of mistakes made with work being done in a limited time
then it will be known that the lean [project management is being done successfully. The
satisfaction of the employees is another metric that can be seen in lean project management. If
the customer is satisfied and the customer base is increasing then the lean project management
was a success. The goals in regarding lean management should have been achieved (Gupta et. al.
2012).
Conclusion
The decision to implement LPM has been made because the consultancy firm wanted to achieve
government tenders. In conclusion, it can be said the consultancy would need to take into factor
the stakeholders as well as various success aspects that would show how the implementation of
lean project management can be done effectively. Also, a training plan and monitoring of the
learning project management would need to be done to see if it has been fully implemented.
Yours Sincerely,
YESWANTH
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References
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