Project Management Case Studies

Case Study: Going Beyond Conventional Leadership Skills

A global consulting firm found that their enterprise managers were engaged in more and more projects and other temporary endeavors as part of their day to day job. Conventional leadership and management skills were not enough. They needed additional competencies to be more successful. They brought in BTS to deliver a two day project leadership program as part of a three day program over three years to train all of the enterprise managers. After three years they continue to run the program for new managers as they are promoted from within or hired from other companies.

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Case Study: Directors Struggling to Manage Their Business

A global telecommunications firm found that Directors were struggling in their project roles. We helped them determine that directors play multiple roles in their project system: As sponsors of projects with project managers reporting to them; as executives influencing the environment for project success in general; and as project managers themselves leading peers in projects. BTS developed a two day custom project management program which provided discovery learning to help directors improve their project execution in all three roles.

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Case Study: Micro-Simulations Deliver Connected Learning

A major oil and gas company approached BTS with a project development process alignment issue. They were finding that they needed help to align their project managers on a new process for all of their upstream and downstream development projects. BTS developed a set of micro-simulations delivered as connected learning on line as an initial learning event. These covered the more basic issues and common problems in each phase of the development process. For more complex systemic issues BTS developed a custom computer based process simulation delivered in a classroom setting as a capstone event. The capstone included a simulated review by senior executives on each team’s simulated project to drive home the connection to the real world that they would experience on returning to work.

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How Dow Built Project Leadership for Six Sigma Projects

To meet the demand for quality products and services at reasonable prices, The Dow Chemical Company announced plans to implement the Six Sigma management philosophy company-wide to revitalize productivity improvement efforts. For the initiative to be successful, Dow needed to make Six Sigma a core element of the company’s culture.

While Dow employees had the basic tools and techniques to implement projects, they needed to learn how to lead and manage them successfully with a full understanding of the organizational, departmental and interpersonal implications of their project management decisions.

Enhancing the Capabilities of Dow’s Black Belts

BTS custom tailored and delivered Project Leadership, an interactive learning solution that enhances the capabilities of Dow's Black Belts to implement Six Sigma projects more effectively. In addition, it enables their Master Black Belts to serve as better coaches on project related issues. Participants engaged in preliminary self-study activities using BTS’s Understanding Project Management™, a connected learning multimedia tool that helps users understand and apply the project management process. After playing three rounds of BTS’s Project Leadership simulation, participants engaged in robust discussions led by one of BTS’s expert project management consultants. By combining interactive simulation with high levels of consultant led facilitation, Dow’s Black Belts were able to apply their learning to the unique challenges of Six Sigma projects.

Results: 1,500 Projects Exceeding Expectation

As of 2001, Dow had over 1,000 certified Black Belts and 1,500 projects underway. Lyn Pugh, Six Sigma Performance and Training Leader, attributed this success, in part, to BTS’s high quality solution in project leadership best practices. “Since beginning Black Belt training in 1999, the success and financial return of the Dow Black Belt projects has greatly exceeded our expectations,” Pugh said. Based on the success of the Project Leadership course, Dow has continued to utilize BTS’s learning solutions in its Six Sigma initiatives. According to Pugh, “We are expanding the project management content with the use of BTS’s newly revised Project Leadership simulation, as well as piloting a module on Advanced Issues in Project Management.”

By the end of 2005 Dow has trained over 2000 Green Belt Leaders and 3000 Black Belt Leaders using BTS simulation training solutions. According to Debbie Ramsey, SCO Site Integration Leader, M&E Master Black Belt who was managing the program, “Dow has been using BTS simulations for a number of years, training well over 3,000 people with the Project Leadership Simulation. In the Black Belt curriculum, Project Leadership gives the participants a chance to make decisions and interactively relate to the consequences in a positive learning environment. Project Leadership helps to round out the person with good technical skills into a successful project leader.”

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