The Client
A technology-focused consulting firm
Results that Matter
This team wanted to better understand the project manager's experience throughout a project lifecycle and how project managers might catalyze team success.
We delivered a data-driven journey map that illustrates the phases of onboarding, managing projects, and mastery which includes relevant experience markers project managers might achieve along their journey toward becoming more mature in their role.
Journey Map
We developed a concept to align four distinct process flows into one interconnected cross-team process model that illustrates the journey from sales to project sustainment in order to highlight handoffs and to identify the role project managers play across the project lifecycle. This process model illustrates where in the lifecycle existing templates may be used and opens conversations about opportunities for further refinement.
Process Map
Causal Loop Diagram
We also delivered a Causal Loop Diagram that illustrates the influence project manager mastery has on dimensions of business value. The diagram describes the relationships between measures of business performance in order to help the team identify the most appropriate ones to measure the success of their work.
How We Did It
We conducted qualitative research with stakeholders to better understand the current project manager experience, what is working well, and what opportunities there may be for growth and improvement. We took a deep dive into annual company objectives, the role project managers play in catalyzing team success, current processes, and other supporting documentation systems that allowed us to determine areas where further alignment could be made. The goal was to understand how the role of project managers could facilitate team alignment and enable success throughout the lifecycle of a project, and how to support project managers when growing in their role. Leveraging qualitative research, we surfaced early insights, distilled and categorized key quotes, and assessed existing processes and templates to identify key areas where project managers could facilitate an even bigger impact. We iterated on these concepts and prototypes and incorporated feedback from project managers and stakeholders to reflect as-is and aspirational experiences. We delivered a journey map detailing the project manager's experience from onboarding to managing projects to mastery, a streamlined process map highlighting handoffs and a project manager's role throughout a project lifecycle, and a causal loop diagram illustrating the influence a project manager's mastery has on dimensions of business value.