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In large companies with good governance, digital transformation projects are managed within a program or a portfolio (Lean).

Large-scale digital transformation projects are digital initiatives arising from needs or opportunities that have been identified, categorized, assessed, prioritized and authorized as part of strategic business planning, with the aim of delivering value to the organization (e.g. improving the efficiency, predictability, stability and end-to-end optimization of its supply chain, increasing revenues, building customer loyalty, reducing operating costs, etc.).

These initiatives can be projects (or products) emerging from software development (e.g. SaaS, PaaS, etc.), product modernization or enhancement (e.g. adding Artificial Intelligence and data science to an existing web platform), implementation/integration of business solutions to better support its operations, and others.

We're passionate about digital transformations, the ways they can be delivered and the benefits they can bring to your organization. These product initiatives require value to be delivered frequently and continuously. Your teams will need coaching or leadership to ensure they have everything they need to make it happen.

Are you a leader in your organization? Perhaps you're even the sponsor of an Artificial Intelligence and Data Science project?

Artificial Intelligence and data science projects are complex and cannot be managed like traditional projects. There are many challenges in finding the right balance of project management (" waterfall " vs " agile "), selecting the right use cases, the data aspect, the different technology layers to be used, the AI project lifecycle, stakeholder and communications management, etc. A professional in hybrid project management (" waterfall " vs " agile "), will work with you to offer the best of both worlds for your AI project.

In addition to your leadership duties, you probably don't have the skills, time or resources to: initiate (explore), plan (mobilize), execute, deliver and maintain the project (product).

Let's say you're the "Sponsor" of an AI project, and you award this innovative and highly strategic project to an external supplier (e.g. Integrator).  You're puzzled, because you're only allowed one perspective, that of the external supplier. The stakes for this project and for your company are too high to play "all-in" with only one point of view. A lack of rigor in project management will probably cause the scope, cost and duration of your initiative to explode. What about the quality of AI deliverables and expected results? 

Do you get all the transparency you need from your external supplier? Is the project being carried out according to the rules of the trade? Have your expectations been properly captured by your external supplier? Do you have the time, skills and project management resources to properly monitor and/or manage the supplier handling your project?

Having a second opinion from an independent hybrid project management professional (PMP®, PMI-ACP, Diciplined Agile®, Axelos PRINCE2 Agile) will mitigate project risks. 

Without managing the project itself, we will act as your advisor, looking after your interests as well as those of the project, without compromising the relationship with your supplier. 

We will act as an independent expert advisor, intervening only on an ad hoc basis to ensure that the best practices of the profession are applied so that your project is a success.

For each change you ask your solution provider to make, have you properly assessed the risks & impacts on other project constraints?

Before hiring a full-time employee for this purpose, use the services of a consultant to lay the foundations of your project, and we'll help you transfer the expertise to your next full-time PM.

Project management is both a profession and an art. Are your projects often late? Out of line with anticipated costs? Rather than being in reactive mode and putting out fires, would you prefer to anticipate hits instead of eating them?

Your IT projects may be " on scope ", " on schedule "and " on costs "But have their objectives really been met? Are your projects really delivering the expected business value to your organization?  

Do you have a multitude of parallel projects underway and nothing is moving forward? Is this really the right management approach? Have you thought through how to prioritize your Lean portfolio and achieve organizational agility? Is your Lean portfolio well tied up in its "execution"? Have you considered the capacity of your internal resources? 

In a project with an external supplier (e.g. integrator), the technical aspects of the solution are fully mastered by the latter, but what about the level of management required internally on your side (customer)?

• Initiation (SOW, MSSA, preliminary project plan, etc.)
• Definition (business requirements, scope, architecture, preliminary designs, etc.)
• Construction (integration, mobilization-coordination of stakeholders, acceptance testing, etc.)
• Transition (go-live management, training-procedures, support plan, solution evolution, etc.).

The stakes of your project and your organization are much too high to play with". All-in "Your project will bring about change inside (and perhaps outside) your organization. Your project will bring about changes inside (and perhaps outside) your organization. Have you considered..:

• Your change management strategy?
• Do you have the strategy and planning needed to manage stakeholder expectations? If so, are they adequately identified and mobilized?
• Are roles and responsibilities, processes and tools clearly defined and implemented?
• Do you get all the transparency you need from your external supplier (integrator)?
• How will you monitor and control project deliverables (supplier)?
• How will communication and coordination take place during the project? How often? For what audience? Via which channels?
• Do you have the internal resources to monitor and control project costs (Finance-PCO)?
• Does the quality of the deliverables correspond to the established requirements? Have you defined these requirements? If so, what method did you use to define these business requirements?
• How will the project transition to operations?
• What will be the solution's evolution strategy? What will be the solution's roadmap? What will be its anticipated functionalities (WSJF), and at what time of year?

A lack of vision and/or rigor in project management will probably cause your initiative to exceed its scope, cost and duration, demotivate your troops, lose players, and so on. Worse still, a solution inadequate to the initial need...!

Increase your chances of project success by using the services of a certified project management professional to lay the foundations of your project management practices.  A professional in hybrid project management (" waterfall " vs " agile "), will support you by offering the best of both worlds in project management.

We'll help you transfer expertise to your next project management employee.

Before hiring a full-time employee for this purpose, use the services of a consultant to lay the foundations of your project, and we'll help you transfer the expertise to your next full-time PM.

If your organization has the desire to deliver more value on an ongoing basis by transitioning from a "traditional" to a "product" mode, from a strategic point of view, buy-in (corporate champions) and sound change management are crucial to the success of your initiative, otherwise it will be chaos and failure.

At the tactical and operational level, understanding agility, its purpose, values, roles, artifacts, ceremonies, the development of people [+ their skills] and teams as well as their internal processes (e.g. agile frameworks/practices aka " Ways Of Working "are important elements to cover and track over time (" inspect and adaptevolution). 

You'll also need to consider the tools you'll need to support the above.

Agility is a means, not an end, and no matter where your organization or teams are in their agility journey, you will need coaching (teaching, mentoring, facilitation and problem solving) to take your organization and teams to the next level based on your goals.

If your organization operates a Center of Excellence, needs to add an additional transformation agent to drive its agility transformation initiatives and leverage its agility expertise, but is constrained by a hiring freeze (" hiring freeze "), opting for an independent change agent (consultant) is probably the first option to consider.

If your key accounts need to add an additional professional agility coach to its team for a transformation mission, before hiring a full-time employee, opting for an independent change agent (consultant) is probably the first option to consider.