IT Project Management and Support

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.

I'm passionate about digital transformations, the ways they can be delivered and the benefits they can bring to your organization. These initiatives require value to be delivered frequently and continuously. Your teams will need coaching or leadership to ensure they have everything they need to achieve this.

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 in the same way as 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).

The stakes for this project and for your company are too high to play "all-in" with just one point of view. A lack of rigor in project management will probably cause the scope, costs and duration of your initiative to explode. What about the quality of AI deliverables and expected results?

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, I'll be your advisor, looking after your interests as well as those of the project, while maintaining a healthy relationship with your supplier. 

I 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 to make your project a success.

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

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 at the "execution" stage? Have you considered the capacity of your internal resources? 

A lack of vision and/or rigor in project management will probably cause your initiative to overshoot its scope, cost and duration, demotivate your troops, lose players, and so on. Worse still, a solution inadequate to your organization's needs...

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 hybrid project management professional (" waterfall " vs " agile "), will support you by offering the best of both worlds in project management.

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

If your organization wants to compete more effectively in the marketplace and achieve organizational agility, i.e.: deliver more value, faster (" faster time-to-marketFrom a strategic point of view, an assessment of the current culture, the active involvement of corporate champions ("sponsors") in the new culture, its alignment with Agility and sound change management are crucial to the success of the desired state, otherwise it will be chaos and failure. We will be your trusted advisor during this transformation.

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'll need coaching (teaching, mentoring, facilitation and problem-solving) to take your organization and teams to the next level in line with your goals.

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

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