“Our initial priority was
Manchester City Council – project management
capital projects;
however we have now
widened the scope of
our project
Manchester City Council developed a public sector tailored model for project management to ensure
management approach
consistency and reliability in the delivery of major projects. This model, the ‘Manchester Method,’ has now
to include change
projects within service
been widely adopted and adapted by others within both the public and private sectors.
delivery. We selected
QA as our training
provider due to their
industry experience,
The challenge
cost-effective delivery
QA has been working with Manchester City Council since 2007 to
and their desire to help
update the Manchester Method to reflect the growing diversity of
us achieve a higher projects delivered by the council. The new version is supported by
level of project maturity training modules which focus on the different roles within the
within the organisation.” methodology.
QA’s development of the course has increased the inspirational
Kevin Fletcher
material included in the course, giving a number of examples of
Strategic Planner
where projects using the Manchester Method have succeeded.
Manchester City Council
Creating ‘champions’ of the methodology and communicating this
to those who are new to the practice has proven important in
ensuring strong uptake of the new skills.
The solution
Manchester City Council QA is working with the council on a three-year contract to evolve
www.manchester.gov.uk
and maintain an industry-leading programme of training in the
Manchester Method. The training is a great opportunity to deliver
the innovation that will help take Manchester City Council to
another level of project management maturity.
18
The learning has been developed to increase interaction, so the
training becomes a hands-on experience. For example, practical
experience is included of going through a change control
process. Time is also included on the course to discuss issues
that attendees may be having with their day-to-day role, and how
to use the method to improve their situation.
Attendees are taught to think outside what they think they know –
how to drill down to establish what stakeholders actually want,
even if this is outside what they were expecting from the project.
A number of significant benefits have been seen as a result of the
introduction of the methodology. It has begun a cultural change in
the organisation, as teams have a greater focus on ensuring they
understand why a project is taking place. They have a greater
understanding of the bigger picture, and how the project affects
the rest of the organisation.
The approach to realising benefits has become more structured,
with capture, review and assessment taking place throughout
projects. Stakeholder management is recognised as of increasing
importance, and teams are taught to identify their stakeholders
and present a benefits-based view of the project.
Where this approach has really changed the organisation is in the
approach to business as usual. Whether or not an activity is a
project in the formal sense, with specific goals and objectives, the
project management discipline has provided a far more structured
way of thinking. Teams and individuals are communicating goals
more clearly, and thinking more closely about the purpose of the
actions they’re undertaking.
The method has delivered a significant increase in the number of
projects delivered within agreed time and cost parameters with an
improvement of 30-35% over the last five years. This means that
92-95% of projects are delivered within tolerances.
“Attendees are taught to think outside what they think
they know – how to drill down to establish what
stakeholders actually want, even if this is outside what
they were expecting from the project.”
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