If you want a badge to present your project management credentials to prospective clients then APM, PRINCE2 or MSP are worth the investment,
…but most organisations will still want to ensure that projects are delivered consistently and successfully.

A qualification does not give your staff or your organisation project maturity – this can only come from hands on project delivery.

Many process improvement projects are delivered at the front line of organisations and this is where common sense really pays. These projects may be low value individually and therefore may not appear to be the best place to make savings in your business.
But add up just how many small to medium sized projects are delivered by front line staff and you will find that there is a huge potential saving to be made if each one is delivered more effectively. Not to mention the increase in motivation and decrease in stress levels for all concerned.

54 degrees can help you make these savings…

…by starting with a set of accessible, practical, common sense tools and techniques.

Here are five common sense tips from 54 degrees to help you get started:

1. Get operational staff to write a simple project summary to you before they start on project delivery – this might only be a paragraph but it will start the thought process which is essential to project success,

2. Encourage them to hold a meeting with the other operational areas concerned in the project. This will also encourage the thought process and increase the range of expertise involved in the project. It will also gain buy in from other areas of the business and help with workload planning,

3. Design a simple document to record information from the meetings – this can include decisions taken, decisions required, actions required and by whom, and any concerns (or risks) raised…

Or use this one supplied free from 54 degrees – Actions Report template

4. Request a brief but regular update, this could be verbally or by email depending on the situation. This process will not take up much time but will encourage some thought to go into the progress against actions,

5. Be available and supportive to operational project leaders who need some help with problems – this will encourage honesty and will start the process of confidence building in the operational team.

By following these simple five steps you will start your organisation on the way to project maturity.