LEGO Agile-Stage-Gate Project: EEFs, Strategies, and Communication

This report provides a detailed analysis of LEGO's transition to an Agile-Stage-Gate project management model, focusing on Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs), benefit realization, and communication strategies. The report identifies both internal and external EEFs, such as organizational structure, government regulations, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, using frameworks like PESTLE and McKinsey 7-S. It evaluates the impact of these factors on project management processes and proposes strategies to optimize potential benefits, drawing from successful implementations in companies like Chamberlain and Danfoss. Furthermore, the report outlines a communication management plan, detailing communication types, stakeholders, and frequencies. The report emphasizes the importance of considering EEFs, developing benefit realization plans, and establishing effective communication to ensure project success.

Introduction
Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs) are the influencing factors that can constrain or direct the
project; however, not under the control of the project team, and these factors might be internal and
external to the organization (PMI, 2017). Particularly, for longer projects, the conditions under
which the project operates from initiation to execution phase changes significantly. One noteworthy
EEF to consider at the current situation is COVID-19 which had brought enormous global economic
upheavals.
It is crucial to consider these factors during the planning phase of the project and these factors
should never be taken as granted no matter how minor impact it seems to make. Rad (2013) had
mentioned that if EEFs are not approached properly: how to identify, isolate and analyse and if
possible proper response plan is not prepared, these factors might impose a significant impact on
the team’s competency, performance and progress of the project ultimately.
For more clarification, while considering the case of LEGO, the company had intended to lunch new
project on integration of Agile and Stage-Gate model which is a new project. In the planning phase of
this project, LEGO should consider all the internal and External EEFs during the planning phase of the
project. Furthermore, since LEGO was initiating a change, another significant aspect to consider is
benefit realization management. Changes must be carefully planned and undertaken so that benefits
are genuinely generated which might be in tangible or intangible form.
Evaluation of the internal and external factors
As LEGO was intending to transition from Stage-Gate to hybrid model of Agile-Stage-Gate model, it is
important to evaluate EEF and reflect upon them right from the start of the project because it
significantly influences whether the project is feasible in the first place at the current time and state
of LEGO. The evaluation of EEFs (although outside the control of project team) helps LEGO to
identify constraints and puts project into context so that the project can capitalize the available
opportunities and mitigate threats.
There are number of tools and frameworks that can be helpful for LEGO to identify internal and
external EEFs and appropriate project management plan can be formulated. A number of tools are
suggested by various students as seen in discussion forum. Some important frameworks for
evaluation of EEFs as used by my peers are VRIO, PESTLE, McKinsey 7s, SWOT Analysis,
Brainstorming, Scenario Analysis and MOST analysis. After a deep insight on each of these
frameworks, I personally realized that PESTLE and McKinsey 7-S models are most vibrant and
important frameworks for assessing external and internal factors respectively. My peer Prosper
Mandela Amaltinga Awuni has highlighted that these frameworks can reveal tip of iceberg
metaphor of issues and factors which can never be identified by general management meetings. To
elaborate her highlight, the PESTEL framework provides a deep insight into political factors,
environmental factors, social, technological factors, economic and legal factors which provides
comprehensive view of external factors that might constrain or influence the project. Similarly,
McKinsey 7s model is an important framework for assessing the internal factors of the organization
where 7s stands for skills, staff, style, and shared values, strategy, structure and systems of an
organization (Jurevicius, 2013). McKinsey 7s model is used for conducting qualitative impact analysis

of EEFs where strategy, structure and systems are the tangible aspects of the company and skills,
staff, style and shared values are soft assets(intangible assets) of the company (Jurevicius, 2013).
Looking into the case study of LEGO which is moving into Agile-Stage Gate, the management style, ,
project governance, project team structure and decision making style have to be changed where
personnel might have to be relocated or some employees might have to be fired. In this case, LEGO
has to navigate labour laws and fulfil a legal obligation which is an important external EEF to
consider. They should change the organization structure (scrum master, product owner,
development team) and have to consider political conditions inside LEGO .Moreover, another
important consideration is communication structure in LEGO that may have to be changed for the
new model. Additionally, the tools and techniques required for the new integrated model would be
different and the available technical resources should have to be considered. They should
reconfigure the Project Management Information System (PMIS) for the new model. Some
important EEFs to be considered are tabulated in table 1 below.
Table 1: Internal and External EEFs of LEGO
S.N. Internal EEFs(LEGO) External EEFs (LEGO)
1 Organizational Culture, Structure,
communication system and Governance of
LEGO
Government Regulations(Labour law: Some
employees might be fired during company
reconfiguration)(Major)
2 Information technology software(Software
department of LEGO)
Pandemic (COVID-19, Ebola)(Major)
3 Internal Political Conditions Global recruitment of expertise, Global Tax laws,
Inflation(Major)
5 Available Resources( PMIS, recruitment of
new employees)
Industry Standards, Market conditions
6 Employee expertise and capability Public holidays and vacations
7 Job roles and responsibilities Natural disasters(Minor, as the change is internal
to the company)
Impact of EEFs on project management processes
Out of 49 processes in project management, PMI (2017) has enlisted EEFs as input to most of the
processes. As EEFs are important risk factors for not only a project or project team, but for the
operation of entire company or business. There are various tools to evaluate impact of the EEFs on
the project (49 processes are the breakdown of the project from initiation to closing) which are

PESTEL impact map, Ishikawa diagram, Pareto Analysis, mapping technique, probability analysis and
conversion of SOWT to TOWS. Number of tools can be used to validate the impact of EEFs and one
tool can seldom fulfil all the impact analysis requirements. However, for the case of LEGO, the
PESTEL impact map is formulated to evaluate the impact of EEFs on a new project of LEGO which is
illustrated in the table 2 below.
High Medium Low PESTEL Impact
Map
Low Medium High
Positive Negative
Political Internal
Political
Conditions
Environmental
Social Public
Holidays
and
Vacation
Innovative
new
technology
reduces time
to
market(spent
4 years in
Story telling
preoject
IT
department
using LEGO
for long
time
Technological PMIS, New tools
and techniques for
hybrid model
Economical Global taxation
Legal Government
Regulations(Labour
laws
The table 2 clearly shows high negative impact on technology on acquiring new tools and techniques
which definitely impacts the budgeting process and ultimately cost management plan. Similarly,
hiring and firing of employees’, expertise and capability of personnel and job roles and
responsibilities, necessity of new tools and techniques impacts resources management plan and
procurement management plan. Similarly, new organization structure, decision making styles and
management style impacts communication management plan. These are only examples of some
EEFs that impacts project processes; however many processes are affected by various internal and
external EEFs.

Development of strategies to realise and optimise potential benefits
PMI(2017) has mentioned that the benefit management plan is a document that explains how and
when the benefits of the project will be delivered, and mechanism that are used to measure those
benefits. Furthermore, Bradley (2012) has described Benefit realization management as the process
of organizing and managing, so that the potential benefits arising from investment or change can be
realized. For LEGO, the benefits perceived by stakeholders of this new project are faster time to
market, increased productivity, cater dynamic customer needs, improve image and improved
customer satisfaction (Copper and Sommer, 2018)
As LEGO is intending for new project, it should clearly develop strategies to realize and optimize
potential benefits from the company. LEGO could study contemporary manufacturing forms where
similar pilot projects are executed. Cooper & Sommer (2018) had mentioned that the introduction of
this new model in the companies like Chamberlain, Danfoss, General Electric and Tetrapak
succeeded undoubtedly with an average reduction in project life cycle by 35% as shown in below
table 3.
S.N. Company Project Life Cycle
1 Chamberlain 20-30 % reduction in project life cycle
2 Danfoss 30% reduction in time to market
3 General Electric 50% reduction in testing of aero-engine from 3 years to 1.5
years
5 Tetrapak 30% reduction in time to market and 30% improvement in
productivity
PMI(2017) has identified key elements for benefits realization which are tabulated below in table 4.
S.N. Key Elements of Benefits Strategies to realize benefits
1 Target benefits Finish their target Story Telling Project which was
floundering for 4 years on time and reduce time to
market for other future innovation projects. In
short, LEGO should finalize its benefit profile which
consists Benefit realization Plan and framework for
benefit tracking reports (Bradley, 2012)
2 Strategic Alignment Developing innovative products and USP in the
global competitive market with increased
productivity and reduction in time to market to
cater dynamic market needs.
3 Timeframe for realizing benefits 2 months as Agile Project Management was already
used by IT department of LEGO
4 Benefits Owner LEGO
5 Metrics Direct Measures( Reduction in time to market,
reduction in project life cycle)
Indirect Measures (Meet dynamic customer needs.
Completion of one project gives in 35% less

timeframe gives more flexibility in future innovative
projects planning and R&D of high end technology
products ), Sustainability of the company
6 Assumptions Currently, LEGO was floundering in its Story Telling
project for 4 years with Stage-Gate Model.
Assumptions are likely to succeed in this project by
studying the success of its contemporary users like
Danfoss and Tetrapak.
7 Risks Internal and External EEFs as mentioned above
Furthermore, Benefits Dependencies Map can be formulated by LEGO as suggested by Bradley
(2012) ,and it provides bigger picture for realization of the benefits. Benefit to Cost Ratio method
can be used as a tool to quantify the benefits realized by LEGO. Bradley (2012) has explained
following key elements that LEGO should consider for effective Benefits Realization Management.
Figure 1: Benefit Realization Management( Source: Bradley, G. (2012))
Drafted communication plan and outcomes to diverse stakeholders
PMI (2017) had described project communication management as processes through which
information needs of key stakeholders and the project is fulfilled to achieve effective information
exchange. An important need of the project is to communicate with key stakeholders in order to
make them contribute as per the project needs. The level of detail of the information varies as per
the interest and the power of the stakeholders. LEGO should formulate a communication
management plan involving its key stakeholders. The plan consists of identification of key
stakeholders, communication types, description and frequency within the communication
management plan.

The key stakeholders identified are project owner, SME, Customer, scrum master, development
team and project administrator. The table 5 describes the communication management plan drafted
by LEGO.
LEGO: Agile-Stage-Gate Project Communication Plan
Communication Types
WHAT DESCRIPTION OWNER FREQUENCY
Project Charter Ideation, Concept,
Business case
Project owner (LEGO)
and SME(IT department
of LEGO and external
SME), Torrens
University(Customer)
As required/ scheduled
Ad Hoc Ad HoC activities during
the sprint as
necessitated
Scrum master,
Development team
Random
Meeting Minutes Development of project
in a given sprint period
for each sprint planning
meeting, daily stand- up
meeting and
retrospective meeting.
Project Administrator As requested by the
project administrator,
Sprint outcome Outcome of each sprint
in various phases of the
project like ideation,
concept, business case,
development, testing,
launch and customer
feedback/VoC
Scrum Master,
Customer (Torrens
University for
feedback),
Development team
Every two weeks
Sprint Planning
Meeting
Progress vs. plan
meeting shown in the
burn down chart and
Kanban board activities
and feedback from
development team and
VoC
Scrum master,
development team
Daily
Daily Stand-up
meetings
Sprint activities,
discussion on list of( To
do, done, and doing
activities)
Development team and
scrum master
Daily
Demo Demonstration of
targeted Sprint
outcome
Customer(Torrens
University for story
telling project), SME(IT
department of LEGO
and external SME),
Scrum Master
As required on the
testing phase
Retrospective meeting Detailed meeting at the
end of each sprint for
future planning and
improvement
Development team and
scrum master
Every two weeks

Personal Reflection
First of all, I would like to acknowledge and thank Glenn Smith for providing valuable insight about
the integration project management. Also, the case study that he chose for describing Agile-Stage-
Gate model further enhanced the applicability of the subject matter in the real project management
world. This subject had provided some key takeaways which are foundational blocks for any aspirant
looking to pursue his career as a project manager. Integration project management basically
integrate all 9 knowledge areas of project management to achieve project objective.
I understood that the integrated change control process is an important mechanism to conduct any
change in the project, and every change carries significance and any project manager must execute
the change through this mechanism. Change identification, change analysis, and impact of change in
various processes and project life cycle are key takeaways of the subject.
Although I have already worked upon EEFs and impact analysis in my previous job, it’s theoretical
and academic dynamics provide a quite meaningful insight to me which I can actually apply in future.
Identification of EEFs, analysing their impact on project management processes for a company
identified in case study had boosted my confidence to work in the real world as soon as I graduate
from the University. The applicability of various tools like PESTEL, McKinsey 7s model, SWOT, VRIO
to identify EEFs and conduct impact analysis had further increased my enthusiasm and boosted my
confidence to equip myself as a project manager. From this subject, I could relate the theory with
what I had done before in my professional life practically.
As a PM, it is crucial to understand the concepts of Project Integration and apply in real world. The
case study and theoretical insight of the subject had enhanced my understanding for dealing with
the real world project management. I would say, these concepts could even be used in personal life
to deal any complex situation. Additionally, discussion posts and peer review had developed my on
spot thinking and ability to respond to a situation. This made me realize that as a PM I can discuss
critical issues with project team to visualize their viewpoint which will help me finding a solution to a
problem.
Additionally, I liked the collaborative approach of teaching of the lecturer. Getting views of students
through poll and through one to one discussion on a subject matter was definitely helpful to
establish powerful insight in the subject and to attract the attention of the student. The professor
was a savvy project manager having long working experience and theoretical knowledge, and thus
was able to clear all doubts of the class in regard to subject matter. However, face to face teaching
would be more powerful and I am looking forward lthat the university would conduct face to face
study soon once the pandemic normalizes.

References
Rad, M. (2013). The effects of external events on projects. Proceedings of PMI Global Congress EMEA
2013, Istanbul, Turkey. Newtown Square, PA: PMI.
Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK Guide) (6th edition.). Newtown Square, PA: PMI.
Jurevicius, O. (2013). McKinsey 7S Model. Retrieved from
https://strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/mckinsey-7s-model-framework.html
Bradley,G. (2012). Benefit Realization Management. A practical Guide to achieving benefits through
change. Copyright © 2012. Gower. All rights reserved.
Cooper, R. G., & Sommer, A. F. (2018). Agile–Stage-Gate for Manufacturers: Changing the Way New
Products Are Developed Integrating Agile project management methods into a Stage-Gate system
offers both opportunities and challenges. Research-Technology Management, 61(2), 17-26.