Project Management

Project Management methodologies and structures are pivotal as foundations. However, the major success factor for Project Management is the ability to foster genuine relationships based on trust and respect. 

 

Mark has over 20 years Project Management experience, including: software development, software upgrades, operations, and digital learning. Over 10 years of this has been in consulting and he has taught Project Management at Swinburne.

 

We bring this bounty of experience to your fingertips.  

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Project Management Case Studies

ANZ Stargate [Technology Example]

Situation

The ANZ Bank (ANZ) was in the middle of an initiative to centralise multiple legacy learning & management systems. The project called Stargate, was being delivered by BizEd (a consulting company), and the key stakeholders of both organisations were located across Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra.  

 

Issue

The project status was ‘Green’ one week prior to a specific tollgate, then became ‘Red’ on the tollgate date with no plan or revised resolution date. ANZ lost confidence in BizEd and planned to terminate the project unless BizEd could provide a compelling case to proceed.

 

Resolution

I was engaged as Project Manager by BizEd and charged with the responsibility of restoring confidence with ANZ as soon as possible. I met with ANZ the next morning and was able to instil enough confidence for to allow me a window of 2 weeks to define the issues, create a resolution, and provide a plan. 

 

My priority was to meet with team members individually to gain an understanding of the deeper issues. As is often the case with derailed projects the main issue was communication. Each key team member had concerns but didn't feel safe to communicate them for fear of being undermined. 

 

I was able to create a safe space for genuine communication as well as a new project plan, which I communicated to ANZ. The plan wasn't pretty, but it was real, and ANZ appreciated the transparency. 

 

The project team felt heard and after two months ANZ communicated that they were happy to proceed as long as I continued as the Project Manager. The technical issues grew as we dove deeper, but I provided regular, consistent & honest updates which were appreciated by ANZ.   

 

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Occupational English Test [Operations Example]

Situation

The Occupational English Test (OET) was a bi-monthly written and verbal English test for medical professionals looking to migrate to English speaking countries. The OET was conducted at the same time of day worldwide to mitigate fraud. Essentially, staff at the OET operate on behalf of the Australian Government in a border patrol capacity. In 2008 Talent2 was awarded the contract of running the OET.

 

Issue

Talent2 was awarded the OET contract with provision to run the first test in Sydney and Melbourne within 6 weeks. The process for achieving this was to gain a full understanding of running the OET, then employing and training 170 team members. 

 

Resolution

I was employed by Talent2 to run the OET and had under 6 weeks lead time. My plan was:

 

1. Gain an understanding of the operations.

2. Simultaneously commence employment of the 170 team members.

3. Identify and personally train the leaders for each site.

4. Ensure all team members study the training material provided by the OET prior to test day.

 

The main challenge was employing 170 team members within 4 weeks. I achieved this via unconventional methods such as approaching Universities for junior staff. It went down to the line, but we got there. 

 

The first test was delivered successfully, and my next deliverable was to run the test Australia wide and training consistency was my next priority. We transposed the PDF based OET training material into eLearning modules, uploaded them to a Learning Management System, and ensured all team members were accredited prior to all events.

 

I replicated this process as. we expanded the event management to sites such as London, Egypt, Dubai, Japan, N.Z., U.S.A., Manilla, and Singapore, whilst never leaving my office in Melbourne. 

 

I managed 12 OET events over 22 months with a total of 12,500 learners, an average of 230 staff per site, and zero client escalations. 

 

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Talent2 Digital Training [Multiple Project Example]

Situation

Talent2 was predominantly a recruitment and payroll company with a smaller digital learning division. I was employed as a stop gap to replace the 2nd Project Manager, having had no experience in digital training. Approximately 6 months after I started, I became the sole Project Manager.

 

Outcome

I initially accepted the role thinking eLearning modules were slightly more advanced than elaborate PowerPoint slides. I was wrong and needed to upskill rapidly whilst located in Melbourne when the rest of team was in Sydney. 

 

I then progressed to the position of sole Project Manager and held the position for the next 2 years. I managed managing high end clients such as NAB, CBA, Westpac Bank, Macquarie Bank, Allianz, IAG, BP, Origin Energy, Medibank, GrainCorp, Vodafone, APRA, Department of Immigration, Ministry of Education NZ, and the Department of Defence.

 

I managed up to 16 projects simultaneously ensuring all my clients had a positive experience with successful outcomes.