Pope Woodhead case study:

Question: How do you change perceptions of project management from a boring, tedious admin task to a function that is critical to the success of the business?

Answer: By illustrating the consequences of not managing projects efficiently, correctly and consistently across the business. When the systems and procedures already exist, as they do at Pope Woodhead, the challenge is to identify and overcome the barriers to using them. It was also crucial that everyone had a clear understanding of the importance of effective client management and how to walk the tightrope between effectively managing the client relationship and delivering a result that is commercially viable.

We brought together small groups of people with a wide breadth and depth of project management experience to work together to gain a better understanding of how the existing system is meant to be used and to identify the possible ramifications of not using it – from the relatively minor to the potentially catastrophic.

This two-day programme was split fairly evenly, focusing on the more technical aspects of project management processes, procedures, language and tools in the first day and on the ins and outs of client management on the second. The mix of the groups meant that everyone, from the least experienced to the seasoned veterans, all had opportunities to contribute to the discussion and learn from colleagues.

Result:  Examples of feedback at the end of the two days included:

'I enjoyed the style of learning. The pace was good. Not too little, not too crammed.'

'Running through the flow worked well. It would be useful for all (especially seniors!)'

'I really enjoyed the scenario playing. It helped to bring the subject to life.'