PROBLEM
Meridian Technologies was engaged with developing process, frameworks and methodologies to stand up an enterprise project-management office for the CIO of the Army. The engagement addressed the following needs:
- Project-management support to individual projects at risk
- Strategic planning and execution
- Framework development
- Methodology development including training
PROCESS
Meridian worked with the CIO office to implement the program needs at all levels with an emphasis on immediate impact for the client. Given strict resource constraints, this included hands-on work in direct project management. Rapid successes through implementing basic budgeting procedures and defining standardized metrics for progress reporting helped Army leadership identify and prioritize weak programs. Technology implementation, including implementing and customizing MS-Project to support the Army’s process also substantially improved the Army CIO’s situational awareness.
Along with implementing processes upon best-practice frameworks, Meridian also focused on providing senior Army staff members with training in project-management methodologies. Weekly training classes were conducted to evangelized the need for and the value of consistent focused Project Management processes.
SUMMARY AND DELIVERABLES:
Project related artifacts:
- Estimation and work-breakdown structures
- Project schedules
- Project budgets
- Project issues and risks
- Status reports
- Training program and curriculum
RESULTS
Like any large organization, the Army has tremendous inertia, but by showing value in incremental improvement, the Meridian team helped the Army Office of the CIO drive real change and developed a following that supports the goals of an enterprise program management office.