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Case Study · Municipal Government

City of Birmingham:
Project Management Services

Conducting a Project Management Maturity Assessment and implementing standardized project management practices to support the City's 92-initiative strategic plan under Mayor Randall Woodfin.

Client

City of Birmingham, AL

BhamPMS

92 strategic initiatives

Covering 6 major goals outlined in The Woodfin Way Strategic Plan

19 departments interviewed

Discovery completed across all departments in just 3 weeks

60 recommendations identified

6 key recommendations extrapolated and fully accepted by the Mayor and Executive Leadership Team

7 solutions implemented

Including bPMM, SPMO, governance process, benefits tracking, and customized training

The challenge

Aligning 92 strategic initiatives to standardized project management practices across every City department

Projects completed by the City of Birmingham did not follow a systematic set of processes that were predictable or consistent in execution. Since the strategic plan touched every department, a centralized process was needed to add visibility and clarity to how each initiative would be accomplished. Common pitfalls routinely occur when these practices are not in place:

  • Strategic executive committee to prioritize, support and monitor plan initiatives
  • A standardized project management methodology to ensure consistency
  • Standardized tools and templates to manage and control initiatives
  • Resource management to allocate resources based on capacity
  • Project management oversight team to ensure adherence to the methodology
  • Standardized communications and reporting to engage and inform stakeholders
The requirements

Standardized project management practices aligned to the City's culture and adaptable by all stakeholders

The City of Birmingham recognized that in order to succeed in meeting their strategic plan objectives, they needed standardized project management practices. The practices would have to align with the City’s culture and be easily adaptable by all stakeholders.


Since execution time was a critical factor in meeting some strategic objectives, a customized, easily adaptable solution had to be developed and approved in a short period of time.


8 core process areas assessed:

  • Tools / Systems
  • Governance Process
  • Techniques
  • Back-office Integration
  • Resource Management
  • Health / Progress Reporting
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Key Benefit Realization
How We Help

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The solution

iSeek selected as local Birmingham-based consultant — conducting a Project Management Maturity Assessment across 19 departments in 3 weeks, then implementing 7 solutions

iSeek's maturity assessment began with Discovery — interviewing 19 distinct departments to understand and evaluate the type of project management practices being used. iSeek utilized their industry knowledge, experience and best practices to assist the City. Drawing from the interview sessions, iSeek consultants analyzed data and documentation collected from department heads and team leaders. The discovery/interview process of all departments was completed in just 3 weeks.

As a result, iSeek identified 60 best practice recommendations. From the 60, 6 key recommendations were extrapolated and presented for immediate consideration. iSeek's recommendations were fully accepted by the Mayor and his Executive Leadership Team.

7 solutions successfully implemented:

iSeek PMO Assessments consist of 11 key areas of observation by which best practices can be measured, garnered from decades of evidence-based study and hands-on experience. Benchmark data from successful PMOs was used to compare the University’s level of maturity.
  • Developed a customized City of Birmingham Project Management Methodology (bPMM) with standardized processes, tools and templates
  • Chartered and formed a Strategic Project Management Office (SPMO) to administer the bPMM and support City project managers
  • Developed a Project Governance Process for stakeholders to evaluate, decision, prioritize and approve projects
  • Developed a Benefits Tracking Process for tracking quantifiable benefits throughout the project duration
  • Piloted and initiated procurement of a Project Tracking Tool to organize, structure and manage project tasks, resources and timelines
  • Developed and delivered customized training to Project Managers, Champions and Sponsors from selected departments
  • Staffed the SPMO with a skilled Portfolio Manager to provide onsite coaching and ongoing training on bPMM execution

Recommendations

iSeek provided recommendations based on best practices and industry standards commensurate with similar institutions who experience high levels of project portfolio performance. Deliverables included a robust report with Likert scale grading based on a Capability Maturity Model (CMMI) for Project Governance, and a phased roll-out plan of simple, achievable, and quantifiable next steps allowing for ease-in-effort implementation.

Assessed

8 core project management process areas with 15-point review criteria for tools

Accepted

All 6 key recommendations fully accepted by the Mayor and Executive Leadership Team

Implemented

7 solutions deployed — bPMM, SPMO, governance, benefits tracking, tools, training, and staffing

Catapulted

City of Birmingham’s ability to successfully execute strategic initiatives

The results

Both projects delivered in tandem — with iSeek's methods adopted enterprise-wide

iSeek assisted in effectively managing and controlling project scope for two of the Firm’s projects. Both projects were executed and delivered in tandem. iSeek’s contributions included establishing clear communication, along with tools and techniques to ensure work efforts remained aligned with the financial institution’s expectations and goals for each project. iSeek met its client’s project management needs, but also went beyond by providing methods, tools and techniques that the financial institution adopted across the rest of the project.

"It takes more than raw will to make things happen, so we partnered with iSeek to develop an easy to understand, efficient, consistent & implementable project management methodology."

Ed Fields
Senior Advisor & Chief Strategist, City of Birmingham

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