As organisations navigate new ways of working digitally, understanding the cycle of work is essential to deliver innovative and successful work. ASI Solutions has developed an easy-to-implement, six-step methodology to help businesses embrace technology solutions and gain maximum value. This methodology supports organisations to achieve the best outcomes.
This blog series explores the various phases within the cycle of work methodology and highlights the ways organisations can benefit from a more strategic approach to digital work.
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Step 3: The cycle of work: planning to execute
The planning phase is crucial for organisations to be able to action relevant ideas. During this phase, additional stakeholders will need to be involved to shift from the ideation to implementation stages.
This phase starts by outlining the next steps and actions, including the responsibilities of any team members who are involved from across the business. Success depends on having buy-in from everyone involved and advice from key business areas.
Creating a clear and specific plan
Planning to execute often means that the initial project team is about to expand as additional people are recruited to help turn ideas into reality. Many of these new team members may not be familiar with the original question or challenge that is being addressed. Therefore, it’s essential to include some time to get everyone on board and up to speed. This stage is indispensable when it comes to getting stakeholder buy-in for the project and ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
The ultimate success of the implementation phase relies on how well this planning step is conducted. Creating a clear and specific plan and defining the project scope helps to keep the team and project on track and prevents the team from wasting time and resources as the project evolves.
Getting stakeholder buy-in can help ensure that the plan is realistic and achievable and that no key elements have been missed.
What to include in a plan
With a solid plan, the organisation will be able to avoid potential pitfalls during the delivery phase. For example, when plans are vague, people can complete tasks that may not be necessary, which can add cost and time to the project without necessarily delivering extra value. There are nine key elements to include in a plan for best results:
1. Potential roadblocks and risks
Project stakeholders should come together to identify possible roadblocks that could put the project at risk. By identifying these upfront, along with a strategy to overcome them, project teams can move forward more confidently.
2. A vision for success
Teams work best when striving towards a common goal. It’s important to clarify the measures of success at the outset of this process so that everyone knows what they’re trying to achieve. Without a common vision for success, teams could find themselves being pulled in different directions.
3. Project scope
Understanding where the scope for the project begins and ends is essential to avoid scope creep and associated costs and complexity. It can often be easy and almost natural for teams to keep expanding on the original idea or tacking on additional ideas. Laying out the scope sets boundaries and helps keep the team on track.
4. Project budget
All projects have a budget so it’s important to know from the outset what that budget is. Ideally, the budget should be determined based on the project scope and vision for success; however sometimes, the budget comes first. Team leaders should understand whether the budget is flexible or fixed so they can avoid overruns.
5. Project timeline
A timeline is essential to keep the project on track and deliver on time. Without a timeline, project teams can struggle to reach any conclusions.
6. Roles and responsibilities
Everyone in the team needs to know exactly what’s expected of them for the project. This eliminates any confusion or missed deadlines due to lack of clarity.
7. Resources
It’s important to give projects the right resources in terms of people and budget allocation to meet their goals. This part of the plan should outline who is required to be part of the project, both internal and external, and include the timeframe and cost of their involvement. Projects are often conducted alongside business-as-usual activities so it’s important to understand how this additional workload will affect individuals and overall operations.
8. Communication
The project team will need to communicate effectively internally to keep the project on track. The team may also need to manage communication with the wider organisation to ensure everyone is in the loop and on board with any changes that may affect them. Change management can also fit into this category and is a key discipline for organisations introducing significant new initiatives.
9. Quality
It’s essential to include a quality control process into the plan to ensure that the final product meets the organisation’s (or industry’s) quality standards. This might take the form of user acceptance testing, for example.
Planning saves time
Research on the importance of planning has shown that there is often pressure to spend less time planning to move to project execution sooner. However, the same research has revealed that this approach does not save time, especially in the long term. For example, in the construction industry, the level of planning is directly correlated with project success. Projects with more planning had an 82 per cent chance of meeting their project goals versus projects with less planning time, which had a 66 per cent chance.[1]
Project planning is vital to the overall outcomes and costs involved in project implementation. It is also important to use the correct tools to create and track the plan.
The right technology at the right time
Supporting workers with the right technology at the right time can increase the odds of successful outcomes. In the planning phase, this can include:
- Microsoft OneNote, Outlook, and To Do for plotting out activities, schedules, and deadlines
- Microsoft Planner and Project for tracking the progress of the project
- Microsoft Excel for analytics and correspondence
- Microsoft Power Automate and SharePoint for creating automated workflows.
Where to from here?
Planning is just one step in the cycle of work. To learn more about the cycle of work and what comes next in the ASI methodology for modern work habits and practices, download the eBook.
ASI Solutions aligns directly with Microsoft’s vision of empowering every person and organisation to achieve more. ASI Solutions can coach your business to deliver each step of the cycle of work so you can achieve optimum outcomes. To find out more about how ASI Solutions can help you embrace the modern cycle of work, contact the team today.
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