1.

1 Introduction
This report is based on the project currently being undertaken in my host organization
for the skills and approaches for work- based learning module, and the methods being
used to ensure effective completion of the project.

At the time of writing , the first two parts of the project are complete: the negotiated
experientia l learning agreement and project outline . The third , the negotiated
experientia l learning project, is currently in progress. Therefore this report will reflect this
by providing an account of how project management techniq ues were used in the early
phases of the project, what could have been done better, and how they may be
deployed during the latter stages to ensure the project fulfils its aims and produces
tangible findings for my host organization .

Each section will contain a brief description of the element in question, before an
analysis and reflection of the integration of tools and methods used to manage it.

Before explaining PiJj ntial project management best practices that can be used, it is
important to define best practice. A best practice is an optimal way currently recognized
by industry to achieve a stated goal or objective . (PMI, 2018). Best practices will differ
for every situation, and are likely to change and evolve as the individuals involved find
new methods and efficiencies. This report will suggest some examples that could be
utilized for this particular project.

1.2 Leadership style

An important consideration throughout the project is the leadership style employed. The
style employed in this project is largely whiz bang leader ship, but also incorporating
elements of a servant leadership style for a number of reasons. Firstly, as with many
projects, the use of resources e.g. human, physical etc, is paramount. Success will
purely be judged based on results and therefore an effective plan should be made to
reach the goals set.

Elements of a servant leadership style will also be effective to some extent. (Blanken ,
2013) The reason for this is that in this case, staff working on the project have a much
greater technical knowledge than the project manager. Therefore whilst clear direction
needs to be given, there needs to be two way reporting in order to allow the specialists

INTERNAL
to utilize their knowledge effectively . For the same reason , a manipulating or
bureaucratic leadership style would not be effective in this case.

1.3 Change manw ment principles

The McKinsey 7s Model can be used to understand how the organizational elements
are interrelated and ensure that the wider impact of changes made in one area is taken
into consideration . As the name suggests, the model includes 7 elements which can be
seen in the figure below:

INTERNAL
 Structure

Strategy
Systems

Skills
Style

Slaff

Figure 1 McKinsey's ls Model

(Mindtools, 2018)

The hard elements from this model are key for the management of the project. Firstly,
systems are clearly important as this concerns the daily activities of the teams involved.
This relates to how business is done and ultimately, how the revenue is reported
between the management systems .

Structure is a crucial consideration throughout the project as each stakeholder needs to

be aware of their responsibilities to ensure that they are accountable and each required
task is completed efficiently . It also ensures that if any elements need to be changed,
this is easy to do and visible to all those with interest in the project.

Strategy is also likely to play a role indirectly as ensuring that the relationship managers
are more efficient means they can service the customer better and ultimately create a
compet itive advantage for the bank.

2.0 Negotiated Experiential Lea rning Agreement

The purpose of the NELA is to establish a focus of the project and gain approval from
tutors , supervisors and even host organizations before work on the project can be
undertaken . In order to do this, the NELA must clearly set out the project rationale,
aims, tasks required to be completed, tangible outputs expected and anticipated
resources required. In this phase it is also important to address conflicts of interests and
ethical considerations.

When establishing the rationale and aims of the project, it was important to engage key
stakeholders to ensure that the focus on the project was correct. The NELA effectively
served to incorporate two key project management tools - a project definition document
and the requirements docu'i nt. As well as defining purpose and specifications for the
project, these tools are also key for managing expectations and controlling the scope of
the project to ensure that resources are deployed effectively. This is important as the
success of the project will ultimately be judged on the extent to which requirements are
satisfied, so these need to be outlined clearly at the start to direct the focus of the
project.

As with any project , the resources required must be anticipated and managed
accordingly. For this section of the NELA, a forecasting tool can be utilized to estimate
the FTE, time and therefore cost requirements based on previous projects of a similar
nature. Using knowledge of past experiences , previous estimation models can be
adapted to fit this project, and the costs estimated accord ingly.

To ensure there is a match between tangible outputs expected and anticipated

resources required, a planning process flow diagram can be used. (University of
Waterloo, 2018) It will include the participants , inputs such as agreements and
stakeholder information etc. It will also include tools and techniques, and outputs such
as the scope baseline. At this stage, this will include limited details but as the project
progresses, this flow diagram can include precise information surrounding resource
requirements.

3.1 Project outline

The primary purpose of the project outline is to explain the aims and objectives of the
proposed context. For example, this will explain the significance of the project for the
host organization, what people will be able to do once the project is completed, which
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approaches and methods will be used to complete the project, a brief explanation of
how the project will be structured and a proposed timetable for the project. All of these
points are key information for any stakeholders in the project so that they can assess if
a ROI for the project will be produced.

The primary project management tool used in forming the project outline was the project
schedule, showing estimates of work efforts assigned to a calendar. Whilst key for
directing activities, it is also useful to management expectations and plan for when
scenarios change, such as key members of staff being unacceptable.

For example, setting out key dates and deadlines for the completion of tasks helps to
keep momentum of the project and minimize the impact of distractions.

3.2 The process of change implementation

As alluded to, it is inevitable that there will be changes to various elements of the
project, ranging from end-user expectations to staff changes and project priorities.
Firstly, throughout this time it is important to communicate effectively to ensure that all
stakeholders are informed so that each party can adapt their approach accordingly .
ilf ments from Kotter's 8 step change model can be applied to successfully manage
change.

Figure 2 Kotter':. 8 Step Change Model (Mind Tool:., 20l8)

Firstly, ere, · n g a sense of urgency is key, especially on a project with such tight
deadlines. This can be helped by creating a clear schedule with definite tasks that need
to be completed . Mapping this out will demonstrate the volume of work that needs to be
comp letely but also make life easier for those involved in the project.

As already mentioned, communicating the vision is key as all stakeholders need to be

working towards the same goal and be aware of any changes to the schedule that was
originally agreed . It is important that changes are managed effectively and that the
project does not lose focus.

It is important to consolidate the improvements that have been made throughout the
project. The project is largely related to month end reporting and therefore any progress
that is made needs to be maintained to ensure correct reporting month on month.
Maintaining efficiencies will reduce the amount of time spent correcting issues and
ensure that the relationship managers can do their job effectively.

As with any project, removing any obstacles is key to making progress. As management
buy-in has already been achieved, the only obstacles are around the time constraints of
staff in sales IT and business finance. However , this can be overcome by managing the
project effectively.

4.1 Communications strategy

The communication plan is "j essential tool for any project. Its role is to describe the
who , what, where and when regarding the flow of project information to stakeholders,
which is key for managing expectations and maintaining project buy-in. As this particular
project is fairly small by nature, this is included in the project plan.

A sample of the communications plan can be seen in the figure below. The project
manager is ultimately responsible for all of the areas .

Table 1 Communication Plan

What Who When How
Email support Sales IT As required By email.
Telephone support Sales IT and Weekly Using questions
Business Finance prepared prior to
the call.
Focus groups Global Business When the team are Discussing the
Finance Team located in New overall strategy and
York . any key technical
details.
Project update Project manager Weekly By email using a
report template and
contact lists
established.
Whilst undertaking the project, the strategy is largely based around the individuals
involved in the project. Initially, face-to-face meetings with my supervisor were the best
method to enable me to gain an understand ing of the project background and the
ultimate aims of the project These meetings enables me to find the correct specialists
to contact to move the project forward.

The majority of meetings are arranged on an ad-hoc basis. The exception is a meeting
that is scheduled weekly with a member of the business finance team which was set up
to work on a similar project, but can also function as the meeting for the NELP.

Outside of meetings, email is the primary form of communication as it is accessible for

everyone and useful for the sharing of la.rg e documents. Email will also make it easier to
track progress and refer back to decisions and agreemen ts made previously.
Symphony, one of the internal chat rooms at HSBC , will be utilized as a secondary,
more information form of communication .

A key project management tool to utilize during the project phase as part of the
communications strategy is status reports. Essentially these are periodic review of
actual progress expected progress. This will inform stakeholders of the progress made ,
and also identify where more action needs to be taken to reach the goals of the project

8An2implementation
Implementation plan and techniques
plan breaks each strategy into identifiable steps, assigns each step
to one or more people and suggests when each step will be completed. (Kaiser, 2010).
This is important as each person involved in the project should know their responsibility,
in order to avoid overlap of roles and improve efficiency.

In order for an implementation plan to be successful, there are a few requirements that
must be initiated. Firstly , staff must be aware of the change and also comfortable with
their role in the change. This is reliant on effective commun ication, as already
discussed. Then, the change process must be enacted, whilst aligning systems and
process. In the case of this project, staff outside the project team will be largely
unaffected as the work will be carried out behind the scenes and they will not have to
amend their processes.
Typically, roles may be allocated such as information gathering teams, external
specialists etc. In the case of this project, due to its smaller nature, the change
coordinator and information gathering role will be the project manager, with the Sales IT
and business finance teams taking the role of specialists or facilitators.

One project management best practice that should be noted at this stage is that when
stakeholders come to you with new requests, making sure to show them how the
change will affect your project timeline or budget. This is key to ensure that the scope of
the project does not deviate from the plan. It is also important to document all the steps
and changes in scope.

5.1 Project presentation

The project presentation is a key opportunity to present findings and most importantly,
gain feedback from supervisors on whether the project met its objectives. The
presentation is important as it serves as a bridge between the project and the
organization. Planning is key for this section as findings must be clear and concise in
order to convey to our audience . It is also key to note any considerations that need to
be taken into account moving forwards. The presentation will be to the project
managers supervisor, and other selected staff should they wish to attend. Examples of
areas to be covered in the presentation are as follows:

- Brief description of the issues

- The approach agreed to fix them
- Considerations for the interim period before project completion
- Analysis of the situation once the project has been completed
- Any lessons learnt and considerations for the future

There are a number of other best practices that need to be incorporated into the
presentation section of this report. Asking for feedback on management methods is
useful to learn more lessons that can be utilized for future work.

In terms of the presentation itself, it is important to leave time at the end for questions
and discussion between the project manager and the audience so that any issues can
be clarified surrounding expectations and technical details. Moving forward , the project
will not require staff to divert from business as usual, however it is important for them to
have a good understanding of the changes that have been made, as this may help them
to identify any issues sooner.

In this scenario, it may be useful to record the presentation, so that it can be distributed
among key staff who need to be informed by cannot attend the presentation either due
to scheduling or geographical location issues. They can then watch this in their own
time and reach out to the project manager directly with any questions .

The utilization of visuals in the presentation can be key to helping the understanding of
the employees. (ALA Annual, 201 7) From experience , I know that members of my team
prefer simple visuals as they find that this is easier to understand. Thus, it is important
to ensure that that use of visuals is maximized in the presentation where possible.

Once the NELP is completed , construction of the presentation will be fairly

straightforward, however it is important to consider the content carefully to ensure that
the right message is sent across. It is also important to be interactive and engaging so
that the audience can voice any concerns and ensure they have a clear understanding.

It will be important to practice the delivery for a number of reasons. This gives the
opportunity to review the timing , refine the materials where necessary, and verify the
setup. (Blash, 2008)

6.0 Summary
In summary, project management tools and methodologi es need to be integrated into
every stage of the Negotiated Experiential Learning Project (NELP) in order to ensure
maximum efficiency and maximum benefit for the organization . Complete utilization of
these tools will not only benefit the project manager, but also each team member
involved in the project so that they know their role and a.re fully updated on any
changes. Therefore the communication plan is one of the most useful tools used in the
project.
Whilst it is useful to be aware of various tools in the early phases of the project such as
the NELA and the project outline, it is during the NELP that they really become crucial to
the progression of the project and all stakeholders will be reliant on these to keep
updated with any changes .

Without the application of project management best practices, the project would be
likely to lose focus and ultimately be unlikely to reach the stated aims discussed before
the project initiation . However, use and development of best practices throughout the
project will ensure that the project scope is on point and the intended outcomes are
achieved to provide practical benefits to the organization .

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7.0 References

Abudi , G. (2009 , Januar y 01). Developing a project management best practice. Retrieved from :

https://ww w.pmi.org/learning/library/ developing-project-management-best - pract ice-6735

m
Best practices for presenter s. ( 201 7, June 22) . Retrieved from: htt ps:lj 2017.alaannual.or g/ best -

p ractices-present ers
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Blash, S & G. ( 2008, Februa ry 29). Top Ten Presentation Tips. Retrieved from:

https :/ / ww w.pro ject ti mes. com/ art i cles/ t op-ten-p r esentation-ti ps.htm I
fl
Coolman, A. (2017, May 03). Don't forget these 10 Project management Best Practices. Retrieved from:

https://www.wrike.com/blog/project-management-best-practices-i nfographic/
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Horine, G. (2009, February 12). Absolute Beginner's Guide to Project M anagement : Essential Elements

for Any Successful Project. Retrieved from:

htt p:lj www .informit .co m/ art icles/ arti cle.aspx?p=13 20244 &segNu m=
El
Kaiser, M. (2010, August 16). An Implementation plan. Retrieved from :

htt ps:// www.huffingtonpost.com / michael-kais er/an-implementat ion-plan b 682921.html

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Pritchard, Carl L. (1997, September) Lessons Learned in the Twenty -First Century: Haven't We Been Here
Before?, Chicago, Illi nois. PMI Annual Seminars & Symposium 1997.
m
The McKinsey's 7-S Framework. (2017, January 01). Retrieved from:

htt ps:/ / ww w.mindtoo ls.com/ pages/ art icle/ new STR 91. ht m

jj ive rs ity of Wat erloo . (2017) Project planning inputs and out puts. Retrieved from:
https://uwaterloo.ca/it-portfolio-management/methodologies/project-management/planning/project planning-

input s-an d-output s

mBlanken, R. (2013, January 15) . 8 Common leadership Styles. Retr i eved from:
https://ww w.asaecenter.org/resources/articles/an magazine /2013/january/8-common-leadership styles