Operationalized Project Management: Importance And Use

operationalized project management

Operationalized project management is the process of directing a project along its crucial path. An established business may use projects to enhance its current procedures or offer customers a novel, new product or service.

Professionals in project management might be in charge of managing building projects, software development, product development, or marketing campaigns. Continue reading, you will more about operationalized project management below.

What is Operationalized Project Management?

To operationalize a task or activity means to do the following:

  • Make the procedure for doing the task a standard one.
  • Record the task’s measurable, precise results.
  • Verify that the task is in line with the project’s and the company’s objectives.

The goal of operationalization is to make sure everything is measurable and to get rid of any uncertainty surrounding project variables and ambiguous requirements. In addition to enabling consistency and repeatability, operationalizing tasks enables them to be carried out in the same manner consistently.

What is the Importance of Operationalized Project Management Processes?

Let’s look at a specific example—product testing—to illustrate why operationalizing processes is crucial.

How would you make sure the test results are accurate if product testing was not operationalized?

For instance, one tester might claim to have found ten bugs, whereas another tester might claim to have found none. What’s the problem here?

Without operationalization it could be any of the following:

  • What constitutes a “defect” is defined differently by each tester.’
  • Each tester carried out various tests.
  • One tester finished ten test scenarios while the other finished just two.

Even worse, how can you be sure they tested the right things or that the tests can be repeated if the testing process isn’t operationalized? Consider the scenario where the tester with the ten defects forgot to record his tests and is now unable to duplicate them.

How Will Your Developers Investigate and Resolve the Reported Issues?

To successfully carry out and manage your project, operationalization is a crucial element. There are four primary methods that you can use to operationalize:

Measures and Controls

Removing any ambiguity from your project requirements is one of the reasons operationalizing is done, as was previously discussed. Measures and controls must be developed and put in place to achieve this.

Measures

If the definition of success is not clear, it is impossible to know if something was completed successfully. There must be a measurable benchmark against which to compare any project requirements.

A client might have requested “fast reports,” for instance.’ You will need to determine (in conjunction with the customer) what speed is necessary to meet the requirement. To make sure it satisfies the requirement, you will then need a trustworthy method to gauge reporting speed.

A typical tool for describing project requirements and how they will be evaluated is a Verification Cross Reference Matrix (VCRM) or a Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM). You must first divide your scope requirements into distinct, quantifiable sections before you can create one. You then go into detail about what constitutes an acceptable result and the test that will be used to ensure that each requirement is met.

The report may also include information such as the following:

  • how requirements relate to a project’s or company’s goals.
  • Who is in charge of conducting tests?
  • Who will appoint the tests?
  • When testing will take place.
  • the testing’s present state.
  • Comments and notes.
operationalized project management

Defining controls

The first step is figuring out which project components need to be controlled. For instance, you might decide that while you don’t need to control who writes the software code, you do need to control how the code is tested.

The following action is to decide on the techniques, devices, or procedures that will be used to manage your project. These may be manual controls, like requiring your signed consent before making any changes. Or the controls could be automated, like restricting software access to “read-only” for everyone but the developers.

Automation

As it increases the likelihood that the tasks will be performed consistently, automating tasks can aid in operationalizing them. Additionally, automation can shorten the time it takes to complete tasks and enable them to take place outside of regular business hours.

As machines are not perfect, there is some risk in relying too heavily on automation. Have you heard the saying, “code is only as good as the person who created it”? If the person who built the test program didn’t think to test for those particular errors, the software could miss some errors.

Including some human oversight in any automation process is the best way to reduce this risk. For instance, even though machines may produce a product, every fifth one is manually inspected.

When deciding what to automate on your project, consider the following:

  • What is standardized and repetitive?
  • What is not likely to change?
  • Possessing the necessary equipment, know-how, and other resources required to automate the process?

Optimization

It’s critical to examine all of your project’s tasks, activities, and processes and determine which ones can be optimized.

Process automation is one method of optimization, but it’s not the only one. For example, DRY stands for, “don’t repeat yourself” and it is a key software principle that can be used for optimizing projects.

This principle holds that any system can be divided into smaller and smaller components until you reach individual knowledge representations and that each of these representations is only permitted to occur once within a system.

By mandating that there be no duplication at the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) level below, you can apply the same principle to your entire project. Redundancy may be required, but it should be kept to a minimum to improve optimization.

Take into account the project’s sub-projects where you or your team are repeating tasks. For instance, do you have to manually enter updates into both your schedule software and your cost tracking software when you update your project progress? You would save time, lower the possibility of a keying error, and guarantee that both systems are always in alignment if the two systems were connected.

Collaboration

There are two aspects of collaboration that are relevant to operationalizing your project:

  1. Knowledge management
  2. Delegation

Knowledge management

operationalized project management

There is a saying, “Everyone has some knowledge, though nobody is an expert.”

Projects consist of a lot of connected parts. Any modification to one aspect has a ripple effect on many others. A change in scope, for instance, could affect the budget, schedule, testing requirements, and other factors as well as introduce new risks.

Because of this interconnectedness and the fact that nobody is an expert in everything, knowledge management is essential to the success of your project. If a scope change is decided by a lone individual, that individual is likely to be unaware of some considerations or potential effects.

Knowledge transfer and sharing are the two main types of knowledge management. Although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, one study on knowledge management defined them as follows:

  • Knowledge transfer refers to the overall flow of knowledge, including the systems used, the prerequisites, and the challenges and barriers preventing successful transfer.
  • The act of learning from one another is referred to as knowledge sharing.

Knowledge transfer in this context refers to any databases, systems, techniques, and tools that you implement on your project to disseminate information to people.

A method of knowledge transfer might be a SharePoint site with the project documents on it. Another example is a system for managing changes that alert users to impending changes.

Conversely, knowledge sharing would involve activities like coaching system testers, debriefing your project sponsor, and training junior staff.

Consideration of who needs to know what is crucial when planning knowledge management. Unless they are high-priority flaws, your project sponsor probably does not want to know about system bugs. Your developers, on the other hand, require knowledge of every bug in order to assess it and decide on a course of action.

The knowledge transfer will be pulled or pushed is another factor. Pushing knowledge entails distributing it to people irrespective of their requests. Examples include sending an email or configuring an automated software alert.

Pulling knowledge entails that information must be sought out. To check for impending design changes, for instance, they might need to log into the SharePoint site, locate, and then open the change log. In this case, they are pulling the knowledge.

Delegation

It’s critical to assign the proper tasks and responsibilities as the project manager, as opposed to trying to handle everything yourself. By using this method of collaboration, you can delegate tasks to people who are better suited to do them and free up your time for more important tasks.

The six steps to successful delegation are:

  1. Be specific about the tasks you are assigning and the expected outcomes. Include details like how often they should update you and when they should do so.
  2. Give your delegate the tasks and permissions they need. Clarify any pertinent information, such as the timing of the activities, the allocated budget, and the deliverable’s required format.
  3. Verify that the delegate is aware of the obligations placed on them and their areas of responsibility. Asking the person to describe the delegation in their own words is one way to achieve this.
  4. Verify that your delegate is aware of any repercussions for the business, the project, or themselves if the task is not completed as required. Make certain that person is dedicated to writing it down.
  5. Don’t take back tasks you’ve given to others. Refrain from taking over a task that a worker is having difficulty with and instead concentrate on how to help the worker.
  6. Make sure the person you assign a task to is responsible for seeing it through to completion.

The following teamwork course will teach you more about effective delegation and other techniques for improving your project team.

operationalized project management

What Are the Tips for Operationalized Project Management Using?

Below are five project management process groups I follow to complete new projects assigned by the board:

Initiate

Create the project charter. You can precisely define at a high level the scope of work that needs to be done to satisfy the board’s request by developing a project charter. Basic project charter items include:

  • the business case for the action item (e.g., linking it to the strategic plan)
  • the goal statement and scope of the requested project
  • setting the start and end date of the project
  • identifying key stakeholders such as the project sponsor (board or committee requesting the project)
  • the project manager (staff liaison) and the process owner or project team (committee or task force this project aligns with, in addition to other staff members)
  • budget allowance
  • all internal and external resources that are needed to complete the project

Additionally, the charter is also a great way to provide board updates throughout the life cycle of the project if you include a “progress to date” section as it includes the background and current work/status of the project between board meetings.

Plan

Based on the project charter, develop a work plan that includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • project delivery deadline and key milestones
  • objectives and tasks to be completed that support each milestone
  • detailed budget
  • human resources (who is responsible for what)
  • communications plan
  • a risk management plan (how you plan to manage change and/or issues that may arise during the project’s life cycle)

Additionally, it’s crucial to always check with your team to see if this project corresponds with another one already underway because you’ll need to make sure to take into account their work schedule, or vice versa.

Execute

Once the plan is in place, it is time to direct and manage the project in accordance with the work plan.

Monitor & Control

Now that the plan is in motion, it is essential to check in with the project team monthly and monitor the work plan weekly in order to validate and control the project’s scope, schedule, costs, quality, communications plan, and risk management, as well as to address any issues that may have emerged since your last meeting (if they can wait that long).

Close

Deliver project deliverables or complete action items, close the project plan, and set up a debriefing meeting to document and discuss the project, including any lessons learned and suggestions for team improvement.

Last but not least, remember to rejoice! Since planning and finishing a project require a lot of work and frequently lead to another project because you nailed it, be sure to take a moment to recognize your accomplishment before the next request comes in. You deserve it. You might do this by treating yourself to a special lunch or hosting a happy hour with the project team.

What is the Difference Between Project Management VS. Operational Management?

A definition of a project is given by the Project Management Institute or PMI. PMI states that “Every project is a short-term effort to produce value in the form of a distinctive good, service, or outcome.” Instead, operational management concentrates on the ongoing tasks needed for an organization to continue providing goods or services.

operationalized project management

Project and Operational Management Responsibilities

Project managers are expected to leverage their skills and knowledge to:

  • Create and assign project activities to teams
  • Develop project roadmaps
  • Provide resources needed to complete tasks
  • Manage deadlines, budgets, and contractors
  • Track and report on project status

Teams in operational management perform similar duties with various objectives. These tasks include:

  • Overseeing daily production operations
  • Identifying and addressing problems and opportunities
  • Managing the budgeting, planning, reporting, and auditing
  • Ensuring regulatory compliance
  • Developing operational policies and procedures

Both roles have different requirements for education and experience, and these requirements can vary between projects and organizations. Strong systems and software are needed to manage either side of the production process; Monday.com provides a solution.

FAQs

Why Should Operations Managers Understand Project Management?

The task of optimizing current systems and processes falls to operations managers. Developing project management skills can give you fresh insights to incorporate into your daily activities.

Project managers collaborate with numerous teams from various disciplines. For the purpose of reallocating the workforce to handle changes, management teams discover which tasks certain people can complete. In order to succeed, operations managers use this ability to reassign tasks and resources. Your ability to respond appropriately to emergencies and make up for lost productivity is another benefit of project management skills.

Being agile during production is a key competency acquired during project management. An agile mindset is required to handle stakeholder requirement changes such as deadline adjustments, supplier swaps, and request modifications. When prompt and efficient solutions are discovered, operations managers can better support their teams. Monitoring these alterations and evaluating the outcomes will help you gain confidence.

What Most Distinguishes a Project from Day-to-day Operations?

While operational management seeks to enhance current processes or procedures, projects aim to alter something about an organization.

Once the project’s end goal is achieved, the project’s life cycle is complete, and operations teams take over the completed work for ongoing upkeep and modifications. Another significant distinction between project and operational management is quality control. Delivering the final good or service for a project only needs to happen once. Once a project’s objective is attained and made available to numerous clients and customers, operations teams support consistent quality.

What is a Project VS. BAU?

Simply put, a project lasts for a specific period of time, whereas BAU, or business, as usual, refers to tasks that an organization expects to complete for the foreseeable future. Assignment of tasks, upkeep of the office, scheduling, payroll, and operational management are all BAU activities. BAU refers to routine tasks that are regarded as essential to the smooth operation of an organization.

Tasks in projects have a narrower scope. Instead of following a continuous schedule, projects follow predetermined timelines. In contrast to BAU teams, which are focused on a single job function, project teams frequently wear several hats. In comparison to the routine, repetitive tasks carried out by BAU teams, project tasks are also more limited.

Conclusion

By standardizing and quantifying any ambiguous or erratic aspects of your project, you can enhance its execution, monitoring, and control.

Implementing controls and measures is one of four key operationalizing techniques. automating operations and jobs. enhancing procedures and jobs. fostering cooperation through delegation and knowledge transfer.