Innovative Approaches to Project Management

It is breaking old techniques and adopting new rules to do things that have never been done before. Innovation has become a core competency and essential skill to success in a rapidly changing environment.

The Role of Innovation

It is a competency developed by the people involved in projects. In another sense, innovation refers to the translation of an idea into a commercially viable product. It may not be creating something new but to do something in a new way.

Traditional Project Management frameworks have focused mainly on the delivery of products and services with set criteria. That model also requires some sort of innovative methods to address risk and make contingency plans.

A newer project management framework mainly focuses on successful outcomes. Apart from focusing on project management constraints – scope, cost, and time (schedule), it is to manage an initiative in different areas of an organization.

This framework demands more creativity and innovative ideas to tackle issues and add value throughout the project life cycle to ensure that the result is achieved.

In both cases, innovation has become one of the core competencies for project managers. Some critical obstacles stand in the path of project managers developing that skill. These are…

  1. Risk: Many Project Managers operate in risk-averse enterprises so they can’t implement new ideas but follow the established procedure.
  2. Lack of Knowledge: Some enterprises lack knowledge about the tools and techniques required to support an innovative culture.
  3. Lack of time: The Project Manager always fights for time so it leaves little space for innovative solutions.

Innovation for the future of work

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s personal and professional lives. People’s look towards life has changed and also affected our living and working preferences. Businesses are also experiencing changes in their operation, customer attitudes and choices, and supply chain methods. As per a survey conducted by McKinsey & Company on 200 organizations, more than 90% of leaders expect a fundamental change in doing business due to COVID-19 over the next five years. Innovation is the only key to unlocking the success of sustainable growth.

What makes innovative projects?

It is nothing but purposefully reorganizing the ideas keeping society at the center stage. This may not be completely revolutionary but follows a series of small iterations to improve and adjust the path toward achieving great results and creating impactful changes in human lives. Project Management Institute has also understood the fact and introduced agile practices.

The innovation models are:

  • Employee innovation
  • Customer innovation
  • Partner/supplier innovation
  • Competitor innovation
  • Public innovation.

We have witnessed many examples of which LEGO has started changing the materials of its toys to biodegradable oil-based plastics.

Brainstorming

It is a blend of creativity and efficiency. Generally, it is followed by a team for generating a staggering quantity of ideas. It also recognizes non-negotiable constraints. In the first step of brainstorming, the problem should be defined clearly and it should also clearly spell out the problems and expectations at the end of the discussion.

Clear guidelines have been given to all the participants well in advance for the fruitful outcome of the final discussion. In the line, the following questions are to be answered.

This allows participants to engage with the problem and reduces the “blank stare” that may void the purpose of a brainstorming session. Some guidelines for result-oriented brainstorming sessions.

  1. Give the brain time to think alone
  2. Give it a try to generate an idea – it may be silly
  3. Encourage discussion and dissent
  4. Consider “brainwriting.”

The 6-3-5 Method

  • It means that in a group of 6 people, generate 3 ideas per round and allocate 5 minutes per round.
  • Too many people in a group are uncontrollable, and at the same time, too few limit the generation of ideas.
  • Each participant starts with a prewritten brainwriting statement. The problem to be addressed is written at the top.
  • Each person read all the ideas on the sheet. This include others idea also so that the person can add new ones or modify already suggested ideas. Ideas from other participants should foster new idea creation.

Pomodoro

It is a popular time management method to follow focused work sessions with frequent short breaks for long-lasting concentration and to avoid mental fatigue. Ideally, it is suggested to take a break after every 25 minutes. This is very important for productivity enhancement and focused workflow. During the break time, it is recommended to avoid all kinds of activity. This may include checking email, answering the phone, or switching to a different task. The break period may be approx. 5 minutes long so that allow stand up and walk around. If the task is unfinished in the 1st Pomodoro, the same task can be continued in the 2nd Pomodoro.

After completion of four to five Pomodoros, the thirty-minute break may be thought. This allows following up with co-workers who may have needed to discuss something with you while you were focused on the task at hand.

For project managers, substantial benefits can be achieved just by using the technique for a few hours at a time. In particular, the Pomodoro technique is useful when:

  • You struggle with staying focused on a task.
  • You would like to document how you spend time to improve.
  • You need to hit a deadline on a task, but you aren’t able to check out completely from your team.
  • You feel yourself losing steam on a difficult task.
  • You lose your sense of how long tasks take you to complete.

Rishikesh Manuprasad Upadhyay

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