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Leads Accreditation Action Planning (LAAP) model

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Leads Accreditation Action Planning (LAAP) model

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This template is taken from the Champions action plan, which is there to offer inspiration on the detail you can include in your own action plan. This is a higher level plan to complement the DAHA Accreditation Assessment spreadsheet, which acts as an action plan for the steering group.

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The Definitive Guide to Project Management Methodologies

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The Definitive Guide to Project Management Methodologies

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What are project management methodologies? A project management methodology is essentially a set of guiding principles and processes for managing a project. Your choice of methodology defines how you work and communicate.

So how do you choose a project management methodology?

What methodology you choose will depend on your team, project-type, and project-scope. Choosing project management methodologies (PMM) is one of the first decisions you'll have to make as a project manager. What methodology you pick will have a profound and ongoing impact on how you and your team works. Different project management methodologies have their own pros and cons for different project types. Some are geared for speed, some for comprehensiveness.

In this article, I'll give you a complete overview of different PMMs and how to choose them.

BONUS: Click here to get our totally free, curated list of 63 Project Management Templates with everything you need to streamline your processes today.

Types of Project Management Methodologies

On paper, PM methodologies are tool agnostic, i.e. you should be able to use any methodology regardless of what PM tool you use.

In reality, most project management tools are specialized to use a handful of methodologies. This will be a factor in what methodology you eventually choose to use.

The question now is: what are the different types of PMMs? What are their advantages and disadvantages? What kind of projects are they best suited for?

Below, I'll take a look at 9 of the most popular project management methodologies.

1. Waterfall

The Waterfall methodology is the oldest methodology on this list. It was first outlined by Dr. Winston Royce in 1970 as a response to managing the increasingly complex nature of software development. Since then, it has become widely adopted, most prominently in the software industry.

The Waterfall methodology is sequential. It is also heavily requirements-focused. You need to have a crystal clear idea of what the project demands before proceeding further. There is no scope for correction once the project is underway.

The Waterfall method is divided into discrete stages. You start by collecting and analyzing requirements, designing the solution (and your approach), implementing the solution and fixing issues, if any.

Each stage in this process is self-contained; you wrap up one stage before moving onto another.

Graphically, you can represent it as follows:

The above is from a software development perspective. Individual stages would be different for creative project management, but the approach remains the same.
Advantages
As Mike Wang, our Director of Training and Support, mentioned earlier:

"One of the driving factors behind waterfall management is that by investing time in the early stages of a project, managers ensure design needs and other requirements have been met-thus saving the time and effort generally associated with retroactively correcting problems"

Thus, the Waterfall method has several advantages, such as:

Ease of use: This model is easy to understand and use. The division between stages is intuitive and easy to grasp regardless of prior experience.

Structure: The rigidity of the Waterfall method is a liability, but can also be a strength. The clear demarcation between stages helps organize and divide work. Since you can't go back, you have to be "perfect" in each stage, which often produces better results.

Documentation: The sharp focus on gathering and understanding requirements makes the Waterfall model heavily reliant on documentation. This makes it easy for new resources to move in and work on the project when needed.

Disadvantages Best for:
The Waterfall methodology is most commonly used in software development. It works best for the following project types:

Short, simple projects

Projects with clear and fixed requirements

Projects with changing resources that depend on in-depth documentation

2. Agile

Agile, another software development-focused PM methodology, emerged as a response to the failure of Waterfall method for managing complex projects. Although Agile PM ideas had been in use in the software industry for quite a while, it formally came into being in 2001 when several IT representatives released the " Agile Manifesto"

In approach and ideology, Agile is the opposite of the Waterfall method. As the name implies, this method favors a fast and flexible approach. There is no top-heavy requirements-gathering. Rather, it is iterative with small incremental changes that respond to changing requirements.

Graphically, it can be represented as follows:

Advantages Disadvantages Best for:
The flexibility of the Agile approach means that you can adapt it to different types of projects.

That said, this methodology works best for:

When you don't have a fixed end in mind but have a general idea of a product.

When the project needs to accommodate quick changes.

If collaboration and communication are your key strengths (and planning isn't)

3. Hybrid

The Hybrid approach, as the name implies, is a combination of the Waterfall and Agile methodologies. It takes the best parts of both Waterfall and Agile and combines them in a flexible yet structured approach that can be used across different projects.

The Hybrid methodology focuses on gathering and analyzing requirements initially - a nod to the Waterfall method. From thereon, it takes the flexibility of Agile approach with an emphasis on rapid iterations.

By combining attributes of Waterfall and Agile, the Hybrid method (sometimes called "Structured Agile") gives you the best of both worlds.
Advantages Disadvantages Best for
The Hybrid approach is best-suited for projects that have middling requirements when compared to Agile and Waterfall, i.e. they require structure as well as flexibility.

Mostly, this would be medium-sized projects with moderately high complexity but fixed budgets. You would likely have an idea of the end product but you are also open to experimentation. You will need close collaboration, especially past the planning stage.

4. Scrum

Scrum isn't a fully-featured project management methodology. Rather, it describes an approach to Agile management with a focus on project teams, short "sprints" and daily stand-up meetings.

While it borrows the principles and processes from Agile, Scrum has its own specific methods and tactics for dealing with project management. As Mike put it earlier:

"Agile is the philosophy, and Scrum the methodology. While scrum is agile, agile isn't scrum."

The Scrum approach places the project team front and center of the project. Often, there is no project manager. Instead, the team is expected to be self-organizing and self-managing. This makes it ideal for highly focused and skilled teams, but not so much for others.
Advantages

Scrum "sprints": The Scrum approach is heavily focused on 30-day "sprints". This is where the project team breaks down a wishlist of end-goals into small chunks, then works on them in 30-day sessions with daily stand-up meetings. This makes it easy to manage large and complex projects.

Fast paced: The "sprint" approach with its 30-day limit and daily stand-up meetings promotes rapid iteration and development.

Team-focused: Since the project team is expected to manage itself, Scrum teams have clear visibility into the project. It also means that project leaders can set their own priorities as per their own knowledge of their capabilities.

Besides these, it has all the benefits of Agile - rapid iteration and regular stakeholder feedback.
Disadvantages

Scope creep: Since there is no fixed end-date, nor a project manager for scheduling and budgeting, Scrum can easily lead to scope creep.

Higher risk: Since the project team is self-managing, there is a higher risk of failure unless the team is highly disciplined and motivated. If the team doesn't have enough experience, Scrum has a very high chance of failure.

Lack of flexibility: The project-team focus means that any resource leaving the team in-between will hugely impact the net results. This approach is also not flexible enough for large teams.

Best for
The Scrum approach is best for highly experienced, disciplined and motivated project teams who can set their own priorities and understand project requirements clearly. It has all the flaws of Agile along with all its benefits. It works for large projects, but fails if the project team itself is very large.

In short: use Scrum if you're developing complex software and have an experienced team at your disposal.

5. Critical Path Method (CPM)

The above four project management methodologies emerged from software development. While you can certainly use them for non-software projects, there are better alternatives at your disposal.

One of the more popular alternatives is the Critical Path Method (CPM).

In the Critical Path Method, you categorize all activities needed to complete the project within a work breakdown structure. Then you map the projected duration of each activity and the dependencies between them.

This helps you map out activities that can be completed simultaneously, and what activities should be completed before others can start.
Advantages Disadvantages Best for
The Critical Path Method is best-suited for projects with interdependent parts. If you require tasks to be completed simultaneously, or for one task to end before another can begin, you'll want to use this methodology.

CPM finds a lot of application in complex, but repetitive activities such as industrial projects. It is less suited for a dynamic area such as creative project management.

6. Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)

Critical Chain PM is one of the newer project management methodologies out there. It was developed as an alternative to the Critical Path method with a focus on resource management.

With CCPM, you work backward from the end goal. You recognize the deliverables, then use past experience to map out the tasks required to complete the project. You also map out the interdependencies between resources and allocate them accordingly to each task.

This graph from TrackerSuite shows the difference between a traditional vs. a CCPM project schedule.

CCPM emphasizes resource utilization and minimizing lost productivity. It is heavily reliant on "monotasking", i.e. focusing on the task at hand and avoiding multitasking.

For resource-strapped project teams, CCPM can be a powerful methodology.
Advantages Disadvantages Best for
CCPM works best in environments where resources are devoted to a single project. If you have a dedicated team for a project, it works great. If your team is spread across several projects, you'll struggle with resource planning.

The resource-focused approach of CCPM is also ideal for resource-strapped project teams. If you find yourself constantly overworked or missing deadlines, the CCPM methodology might be for you.

7. Integrated Project Management (IPM)

Integrated Project Management (IPM) - sometimes also called "Integrated Project Delivery" - is a common project management methodology in creative industries. This methodology emphasizes sharing and standardization of processes across the organization.

The IPM approach came about as a response to the increasingly integrated nature of creative campaigns. You don't just produce a single ad; you integrate the ad with microsites, digital content, etc. Most creative projects are a piece of a larger campaign.

An integrated project has the following components:

By integrating processes across the organization, IPM gives project managers better insight into the project and access to the right resources.

This makes IPM particularly appropriate for creative agencies.
Advantages Disadvantages
Requires extensive planning: With the IPM approach, you will have to plan extensively upfront and ensure that all processes are well-integrated. This increases your burden significantly and can lead to delays.
Best for
Large agencies with diverse teams and processes benefit the most from Integrated Project Management. It works best for complex creative projects where you need resources from multiple teams and departments to interface with each other.

8. PRiSM

PRiSM (Projects integration Sustainable Methods) is a project management methodology developed by Green Project Management (GPM) Global.

As hinted by the creator's name, the PRiSM approach focuses on accounting for and minimizing adverse environmental impacts of the project. It is different from traditional methodologies in that it extends beyond the end of the project. Instead, it factors in the entire lifecycle of the project post-delivery to maximize sustainability.

Here's an overview of how activities are organized in PRiSM:

Advantages
The PRiSM approach is very pertinent for modern projects where environmental costs and sustainability are key success criteria. For large projects where reducing energy consumption, managing waste and minimizing environmental impact is critical, PRiSM offers a viable project management ideology.
Disadvantages
PRiSM is unsuitable for projects where environmental impact is not a concern (such as software or creative projects).

Success with the PRiSM approach also requires every part of the project team - including outside contractors and stakeholders - to be onboard with the sustainability principle - a hard ask in most organizations.
Best for
PRiSM is mostly suited for large and complex real estate and industrial projects where sustainability is a key concern.

9. PRINCE2

PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments) is the official project management methodology of the UK government (which means that most UK government projects use it). You can even get a PRINCE2 certification to make working as a project manager in the UK easier.

PRINCE2 is based on 7 principles, 7 themes and 7 processes. The 7 PRINCE2 principles, for instance, are:

1. Continued business justification

2. Learn from experience

3. Defined roles and responsibilities

4. Manage by stages

5. Manage by Exception

6. Focus on products

7. Tailor to suit the project environment

Wikipedia has a great introductory article on this methodology. I suggest you start there if you're interested in PRINCE2.
Advantages
Running a PRINCE2 project requires extensive documentation. Additionally, one of the guiding principles of PRINCE2 is to "Learn from experience". This focus on documentation and past experience can help reduce risk.
Disadvantages
The disadvantage of PRINCE2's extensive documentation is that changes can be hard to accommodate. If the requirements change, you have to redo the documentation and re-allocate resources, which can hamper project pace.
Best for
This methodology is best-suited for large and complex projects with fixed requirements. If you're in the UK, you'll likely want to know the PRINCE2 methodology. It is widely used in the country and is a requirement for government projects.

There are several other PMMs besides these, such as Six Sigma, Crystal, Feature Driven Development (FDD), Dynamic Systems Development (DSDM), Rational Unified Process (RUP), Kanban, and Lean Development (LD).

For the most part, however, you'll choose from one of the methodologies described above.

How to Pick the Right Methodology

From the above section, it is clear that different PM methodologies are better suited for different projects. You wouldn't want to use PRiSM for a software project, just as you wouldn't want to use Agile for a big real-estate development.

When you're picking PM methodologies, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Evaluate the Project

When choosing a project management methodology, it helps to start from the end. You need to know exactly what the final deliverable should look like and what you'll need to get it done.

Focus on gathering initial requirements. If the requirements suggest that you need a large and diverse team, pick a methodology that supports flexibility.

Similarly, if you have a clear idea of the end result, pick a more structured methodology such as Waterfall. If the end result is vague (common in case of in-house projects), pick an iterative methodology like Agile.

Some other things to consider when evaluating the project are:

Project budget

Timeline

Size and complexity

Stakeholder expectations

Project type and industry

2. Evaluate Your Team

Your project management methodology is essentially a blueprint for the project. It tells your team what to create and when to create it.

For this to happen, however, your team should be able to read the blueprint itself.

In other words, if your team isn't familiar with the project management methodology of your choice, you will struggle to get results. You will have to devote time to learning the methodology (which some of your team members might be resistant to), leading to delays.

Also consider your team composition. Identify its strengths and weaknesses. If the team thrives on collaboration, you can pick a less structured approach like Agile. If the team is highly motivated and disciplined, a SCRUM approach can work well. If you have limited resources, pick a resource-efficient approach like CCPM.

Here are a few things to consider when evaluating your team:

Team experience

Training

Self-organization capabilities

Team preparedness

Team location (remote, on-site, etc.)

Essentially, pick a methodology that fits your team, instead of forcing your team to fit the methodology.

3. Evaluate Your Organization

How your company is organized, its culture and its past records will have a big impact on your choice of project management methodology. Some methodologies only work with large organizations with established hierarchies. Others are more suitable for smaller, leaner outfits.

For instance, if your past records show that all your Agile projects have been delayed AND poorly received, it's a good idea to avoid this methodology in the future.

A few things you should consider when evaluating your organization are:

Past records and experience with different methodologies

Culture

Organization hierarchy

Level of flexibility

Organization maturity level

Organization size

Available resources, including external resources such as freelancers and contractors.

Your industry

4. Evaluate Your Stakeholders

When choosing a PM methodology, factor in:

Given the importance of stakeholders in the project's success, keeping their requirements in mind will make for happier stakeholders and more successful projects.

5. Evaluate Your Tools

Project management tools are seldom methodology-agnostic. They are usually designed to work well with a specific methodology.

Hence, the software tools you have existing access to and expertise in will impact your choice.

To do this:

Make a list of all software tools you currently use

List their limitations and capabilities

Compare their capabilities against the requirements for a specific PM methodology.

Ideally, the methodology you choose should work with your existing toolset. If you have to buy new tools, you will not only have to spend more but will also lose critical time in retraining your team.

Doing this in-depth evaluation will help you choose a methodology that aligns with your goals, your team's capabilities, and your stakeholder's requirements perfectly.

Conclusion

As a project manager, you have several project management methodologies to choose from. Each of these methodologies has its own strengths and weaknesses. Picking the right one will make running your project faster, smoother and more efficient.

Pick from one of the several methodologies listed above. Then evaluate your project, team, organization, stakeholders and existing tools to pick methodology that aligns with your strengths and requirements.

For questions and doubts, drop us a comment below.

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The Definitive Guide to Project Management Methodologies

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What are project management methodologies? A project management methodology is essentially a set of guiding principles and processes for managing a project. Your choice of methodology defines how you work and communicate. So how do you choose a project management methodology? What methodology you choose will depend on your team, project-type, and project-scope.

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1. What is my leadership role in this?

2. What leadership attributes do I need to use?

3. Ground level, Balcony or Helicopter?

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M5_Handout_TEN FIELDS OF ACTION FOR A DAHA LEAD

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Template for the activity we will do using the Zoom whiteboard and annotation tool.

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Abigail Phiri, DA Housing Coordinator, LBBD.

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Abigail Phiri, DA Housing Coordinator, LBBD.

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Template for the activity

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This is a very useful little video that explains the program logic method of planning

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This video was produced by the DAHA team for the DAHA Champions Induction Workshop.

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Circles of competence template - Word version (editable)

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Circles of competence template - Word version (editable)

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Analyse, Plan, Do, Review cycle of project management

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Analyse, Plan, Do, Review cycle of project management

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Screenshot from Abigail's presentation

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These learning outcomes have been established as part of the formal accreditation process for this course. All assessment tasks are against these outcomes.

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Participation – We ask that you take part as much as you can, we have included a variety of different activities so that everyone will hopefully feel able to join in as learning from each other is really valuable. If we have a skills practice session - just to reassure you, you will be in groups of 3 people and won’t have to practice in front of the whole group. You will just be asked to share feedback about how it went after practising in your small group.

Respect each other, we never know in the training room who may have their own lived experience of domestic abuse either now, or in the past as an adult or child. Be mindful of sharing any judgments and how that would impact a survivor in the room.

Challenge opinion not person.  It is ok to have differing opinions but let’s use that as an opportunity to be curious about the difference rather than challenge a person on theirs.

We also ask you respect this learning space by minimising distractions such as mobile phones and closing other tabs on your computer, especially email.

Confidentiality – Please do not share other people’s stories without consent or use their names. Throughout the day, we will consider why maintaining confidentiality is so important to survivors and this also applies to any colleagues who share their personal experiences. As trainers, we also have a responsibility to ensure that people are safe and if we hear information that indicates someone is at risk of harm, we may need to share that beyond this room. If this happens, we will speak to the person first before we do unless this puts someone at further risk. We are sharing this with you now so you’re aware and can make a choice about what you share with others.

Self-care - This training can be emotive. If you become upset or overwhelmed by any of the content, please take a break, turn camera off and mute yourself as part of looking after yourself – we are here to support/talk to at lunch/end of session. Can send a private message to the trainer in the chat (if Zoom) or contact us by email after the training.

Breaks: We will have 3 short breaks during the session – one 15 minute tea break and two 5 minute “stretch’ breaks

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1. For Leads to build their skills in project management and planning to help them in the role as a DAHA Accreditation Lead

2. For Leads to start building their own Accreditation Action Plan

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Link to stakeholder analysis (Mind Tools website)

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Link to stakeholder analysis (Mind Tools website)

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3. Building Understanding

By communicating with your stakeholders early and often, you can ensure that they fully grasp what you're doing and understand the benefits of your project. This means that they can more actively support you when necessary.

4. Getting Ahead of the Game

Understanding your stakeholders means that you can anticipate and predict their reactions to your project as it develops. This allows you to plan actions that will more likely win their support.

How to Conduct a Stakeholder Analysis

There are three steps to follow in Stakeholder Analysis. First, identify who your stakeholders are. Next, work out their power, influence, and interest, so that you know who you should focus on.

Finally, develop a good understanding of the most important stakeholders, so that you know how they are likely to respond, and how you can win their support.

When you've completed your analysis, you can move on to use stakeholder management to work out how you'll communicate with each stakeholder.

Let's explore the three steps of Stakeholder Analysis in more detail:

1. Identify Your Stakeholders

Start by brainstorming who your stakeholders are. As part of this, think of all the people who are affected by your work, who have influence or power over it, or have an interest in its successful or unsuccessful conclusion.

The table below identifies some of the people who might be stakeholders in your job or in your projects:

2. Prioritize Your Stakeholders

You may now have a list of people and organizations that are affected by your work. Some of these may have the power either to impede that work or to advance it. Some may be interested in what you are doing, while others may not care, so you need to work out who you need to prioritize.

You can map out your stakeholders, and classify them according to their power over your work and their interest in it, on a Power/Interest Grid (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Power/Interest Grid for Stakeholder Prioritization

The position that you allocate to a stakeholder on the grid shows you the actions you need to take with them:

High power, highly interested people (Manage Closely): you must fully engage these people, and make the greatest efforts to satisfy them.

High power, less interested people (Keep Satisfied): put enough work in with these people to keep them satisfied, but not so much that they become bored with your message.

Low power, highly interested people (Keep Informed): adequately inform these people, and talk to them to ensure that no major issues are arising. People in this category can often be very helpful with the detail of your project.

Low power, less interested people (Monitor): again, monitor these people, but don't bore them with excessive communication.

Your boss, for example, likely has high power and influence over your projects and high interest in them. Your family, however, may have high interest in them, but won't have power over them.

3. Understand Your Key Stakeholders

You now need to discover how your key stakeholders feel about your project. You also need to work out how best to engage them, and how to communicate with them.

Questions that can help you understand your stakeholders include:

What financial or emotional interest do they have in the outcome of your work? Is it positive or negative?

What motivates them most of all?

What information do they want from you, and what is the best way of communicating with them?

What is their current opinion of your work? Is it based on good information?

Who influences their opinions generally, and who influences their opinion of you? Do some of these influencers therefore become important stakeholders in their own right?

If they aren't likely to be positive, what will win them around to support your project?

If you don't think that you'll be able to win them around, how will you manage their opposition?

Who else might be influenced by their opinions? Do these people become stakeholders in their own right?

You can ask your stakeholders these questions directly. People are often quite open about their views, and asking for their opinions is often the first step in building a successful relationship with them.

A simple way to summarize the level of backing you have from your stakeholders is to color-code them. For example, show advocates and supporters in green, blockers and critics in red, and those who are neutral in orange. See the diagram, below. [1]

Figure 2: Example Power/Interest Grid With Stakeholders Marked

In figure 2, you can see that a lot of effort needs to be put into persuading Piers and Maureen of the benefits of the project, while Janet and Amanda also need to be managed effectively as powerful supporters.

Example of a Stakeholder Analysis

You can create your own example of Stakeholder Analysis at work - whether for your current role, a job you want to do, or a new project.

Conduct a full stakeholder analysis. Ask yourself whether you are communicating as effectively as you should be with your stakeholders. What actions can you take to get more from your supporters or win over your critics?

Create your own Power/Interest Grid using the downloadable template below, and you can then move your stakeholders around, or change their color, depending on what your analysis reveals. [1]

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Stakeholder Analysis - Winning Support for Your Projects

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Use Stakeholder Analysis to identify and understand people with influence over your project. Try our three-step process, with interactive app and template.

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The Circle of Competence methodology came from the business world

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The Circle of Competence methodology came from the business world

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“My advice is to spend some time thinking about where your circle of competence lies and explore the edges of the circle. Once you are comfortable with those edges, think about what areas ignite some excitement for you.”

Dave Ahern, e-investing for Beginners

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Welcome to the Investing for Beginners podcast. In today's show, we discuss:

Investing in Green stocks and some of the ways to go about finding alternative ideas to pure-play solar, wind, or hydro

Some of the challenges and opportunities to investing in ETFs

How a Robo Advisor works, and the pluses and minuses of investing with these vehicles.

For more insight like this into investing and stock selection for beginners, visit stockmarketpdf.com

Transcript

Announcer ( 00:02):

I love this podcast because it crushes your dreams and getting rich quick. They actually got me into reading stats for anything you're tuned in to the Investing for Beginners podcast led by Andrew Sather and Dave Ahern with a step-by-step premium investing guide for beginners. Your path to financial freedom starts now.

Dave: [00:00:31] all right, folks. Welcome to Investing for Beginners podcast. Tonight, we have episode 197. We're going to answer some great lists of questions we got recently, and we're going to do our best to answer them to our full capacity. So I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to my friend, Andrew. And he's going to go ahead and read the first question.

Andrew: [00:00:49] Thanks, Dave, this is a long one, but that's a good one. I'm sure we'll have plenty of chat about it. So this one says, hello, Andrew and Dave, first off before anything, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for your advice, education, and guidance over your podcasts. With the emphasis on education.

I really enjoy them and look forward to them every day. Most of my stocks I've researched a bit. To both of your advice and mostly have my portfolio is based on a possible future outcome. The future I am basing my portfolio on is a hopeful and cleaner future. I have stocks and wind and solar manufacturers and their energy companies, along with lithium mining and lithium manufacturing.

I'm trying to establish a good long time investment portfolio with some of these companies. And I'm looking to have some non-energy-focused stocks along with them. I currently have several. And he has some in his wet wishlists; he's looking into dripping or double double-dipping them and basically waiting for a good time for that.

He says I don't have anyone to talk to about stocks. I wish I did. And don't know how smart or incredibly stupid these decisions are or how the outlook on this investment is. I'm hoping maybe perhaps you or Dave might be able to shed some light on this or steer me in a better direction.

[continue reading...]

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Investing for Beginners 101 - How to Start Investing in the Stock Market for Beginners

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS Welcome to the Investing for Beginners podcast. In today's show, we discuss: Investing in Green stocks and some of the ways to go about finding alternative ideas to pure-play solar, wind, or hydro Some of the challenges and opportunities to investing in ETFs How a Robo Advisor works, and the pluses and minuses of investing with these vehicles.

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Assessment tasks for the Leadership Modules in the Task Workbook.  

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Assessment tasks for the Leadership Modules in the Task Workbook.  

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Appendix 1: Assessment Tasks and Due Dates

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_Task Workbook Appendix 1_Assessment Tasks & Due Dates_May 2021 (3)

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1. Planning x 6

2. Planning to predict

3. Planning to prepare

4. Targets

5. Influence

6. Being persuasive

7. Reassess - using the circles of competence

8. Clarity as the training develops

9. Recognising that plans are fluid and flexible

10. Busy using tools from this week to review current action plan to get focused on what we need to do to keep momentum for reaccreditation

11. Positive

12. Collaboration - hearing ideas I'd never thought about

13. Structure

14. Direction - a lot more direction

15. Clarity - if you know where you're going you can bring others with you

16. Inspired and supported, but also overwhelmed (first week in role) - out of comfort zone

17. Growth in understanding and confidence

18. Confidence as the weeks go on - out of comfort zone

19. Inspired

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https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TF323HN

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The main point of identifying and tracking specific metrics is to measure your progress toward specific goals. But not all metrics can give you the information you need right away. Lagging indicators take a long time to change, and show the later-stage results of your efforts. Leading indicators, on the other hand, measure the activities you think will help you reach your goal, and can be tracked on a more ongoing basis.

Because of the different time frames required by leading vs. lagging indicators, it's important to understand when you're tracking a lagging metric, so you can identify leading indicators to help guide you as you go. Understanding the difference between leading and lagging indicators and how they tie into your objectives will help keep your teams on track and help you accurately monitor progress towards your goals.

What are leading indicators?

Leading indicators give early indications of performance. These indicators "lead" to results by showing the progress you're making toward your goal. Typically, leading indicators are metrics that will help keep you on track so that you hit your strategic objectives.

Say your goal is to close 50 new deals, but your sales cycle is six months. You would want to set leading indicators to help you see if you're on track to meet your goal in the early months while you're still far enough ahead to make changes.

Leading indicators for sales revenue might be Pipeline Volume or Number of Calls/Meeting/Emails per sales rep. By tracking these metrics, you can monitor sales activity on an ongoing basis and see if your team needs to increase outreach efforts to meet your Deals Closed goal.

Benefits of using leading indicators

Faster feedback: By tracking leading indicators, your team can get feedback on their efforts more quickly and determine what actions they might need to take to achieve their over-arching objectives.

Team involvement: Because there are often many facets to broad goals, there are typically many leading indicators to track. Different team members and departments can own different metrics, so everyone contributes to meeting the company's larger objectives.

Weaknesses of leading indicators
Just a proxy: If you're using a leading indicator as a proxy for a lagging indicator, keep in mind that while the leading metric should affect the lagging indicator, it might not have the impact you expect. It's important to track both so you can monitor ongoing progress as well as the actual outcome of your changes.

What are lagging indicators?

A lagging indicator is a metric that takes a long time to impact or measure. Because of the time frame involved, lagging indicators are not a good option for providing feedback to teams as to whether their current projects are effective. However, lagging indicators are often the metrics that most accurately measures the actual business impact you're trying to achieve.

For example, if you're trying to improve customer retention, it's essential to track Customer Churn Rate. But Churn Rate is slow to change and can take a long time to show results.

Benefits of lagging indicators

A clear indicator of success: In many cases, the metric that best assesses the impact of your efforts is going to be a lagging indicator because it takes time for your changes to take effect.
Weaknesses of lagging indicators

They take time to measure: By definition, lagging indicators measure long-term trends, so they take weeks or months (or even longer) to change.

You can't see why: Lagging indicators show an outcome, but it can be unclear what variables impacted that outcome. You may know that your churn rate is high-your lagging indicator-but you don't know which of the actions you took as a company impacted that rate.

Difficult to change: Because lagging indicators are often high-level metrics like revenue, impacted by a lot of different departments within the company, small projects may not make a measurable impact. It can sometimes be difficult to tell whether minor changes in the metric are because of your actions or if they are just chance.

Leading vs. lagging indicators-work together instead of apart

A lagging indicator may be the best metric for measuring the outcome of your effort, but tracking lagging metrics alone is problematic. It takes a long time to see results, and lagging indicators can't help you make ongoing adjustments.

The solution is to use a combination of leading and lagging indicators. Look at leading indicators on an ongoing basis to make changes that will help improve your odds of success.

Use leading indicators that complement your lagging indicators and help you measure progress more quickly. Below are two examples of leading and lagging indicators that pair well together in different scenarios.

Pipeline volume (leading) + sales revenue (lagging)

Let's say you have a sales revenue goal of $100K for the quarter. Sales Revenue is your lagging indicator because it takes time to grow,and it measures what's already happened-revenue earned.To measure your progress on an ongoing basis, you focus on improving your overall Pipeline Volume.

Pipeline Volume measures the number of sales-qualified leads you have in your sales pipeline. If you've set lead quotas based on the $100K goal, Pipeline Volume should help indicate whether you're making satisfactory progress toward that revenue target or if you need to boost your lead generation efforts.

Sales Cycle Length (Lagging) + Average Stage Length (Leading)

If you're trying to reduce how long it takes to close dealswith new processes, then your lagging indicator is Sales Cycle Length. You won't be able to see the results of new processes until after going through the full sales cycle with several deals and comparing the length to how long previous deals took to close.

To track the progress of your initiatives, look at Average Stage Length for each stage in your sales cycle-the average amount of time an opportunity spends at that stage. This splits up your sales cycle so you don't have to track an opportunity end-to-end through the process. You can look at people who are currently in a certain stage and measure the time they spend in it, rather than having to wait until a new opportunity cohort moves through the entire cycle.

Average Stage Length serves as a leading indicator because if a lead spends less time in each stage, then they will spend less time going through the sales cycle as a whole. Looking at each stage individually enables you to more quickly identify (and resolve) bottlenecks that might be extending your sales cycle.

Track your leading vs. lagging indicators at different intervals

While it's essential to monitor both leading and lagging indicators on a regular basis, you don't need to track them at the same rate. Lagging indicators take a long time to change, so there's no reason to track them on a daily or sometimes even weekly basis. Instead, check them less frequently, perhaps monthly or quarterly, depending on the metric.

Leading indicators, on the other hand, change more rapidly and should be checked often. Consider adding them to a dashboard so you can track them in real time on a daily or weekly basis. Display the dashboard in your office or share it via Slack or email to keep your leading indicators top-of-mind for your team.

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Leading vs lagging indicators | Metrics and KPIs

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The main point of identifying and tracking specific metrics is to measure your progress toward specific goals. But not all metrics can give you the information you need right away. Lagging indicators take a long time to change, and show the later-stage results of your efforts.

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Palm Cards for Managing: moments to stop and think by Christopher Nailer

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Palm Cards for Managing: moments to stop and think by Christopher Nailer

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Look for the system that explains
Most things have complex causes
We only see the surface
That’s often misleading
What how each thing unfolds
Look for the elements, the linkages
How they interact –
That’s the complexity!
Start from the whole phenomenon
Find the logic, the pattern
The process, the underlying reason
Look for the system that explains.

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London Borough of Barking & Dagenham - DA Commission Report

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London Borough of Barking & Dagenham - DA Commission Report

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UK’s first Domestic Abuse Commission says community and professionals need huge culture shift in response to domestic abuse

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Last night, Wednesday 10 March, Barking and Dagenham Council launched its Domestic Abuse Commission Report. The Commission, which is a UK first, has brought together a panel of national experts and, chaired by Polly Neate CBE, CEO of Shelter, has been looking at attitudes to domestic abuse in the local community. The report, which is a culmination of 17 months of work, is intended to act as blueprint for others to follow in tackling this national issue, which has only been exacerbated by a year of lockdown caused by COVID-19.

The virtual event was attended by over 150 people including members of the Commission. Polly Neate, shared the key findings of the report, and Nicole Jacobs, the designated first Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, highlighted the national context of this issue. The event also heard from local survivors of domestic abuse who shared their experiences.

Domestic abuse is a national crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to domestic abuse which has been described as a 'shadow pandemic'. During the initial stages of the COVID-19 crisis in March 2020, Refuge reported a 50% increase to its National Domestic Abuse Helpline, and a 300% increase in visits to the helpline website. Local services report similar increases in demand.

It's a key moment for domestic abuse too with the National Domestic Abuse Bill going to the House of Lords, and through its Domestic Abuse Commission, Barking and Dagenham has been adding to the national evidence base. Tackling this issue is a huge priority for the Council. Barking and Dagenham has consistently had the highest rate of reported domestic abuse offences in London and a 2017 and 2019 school survey found that 26% of Year 10 to Year 12 students thought it was sometimes acceptable to hit your partner.

The Commission has been led by survivors of domestic abuse who have co-produced the report and its recommendations. The report is structured around seven survivor-based outcomes which details what life should be like for survivors of domestic abuse in the borough. One of the key messages of the report is "We Believe You". The Commission found that there was a culture of not believing survivors of domestic abuse amongst residents as well as professionals. One of its key recommendations is to create a culture change where professionals, and those in the community spread a message of "We Believe You". The Commission also recommends that domestic abuse should be part of the council's core business, with a 'Domestic Abuse Impact Assessment' that should be completed for each council decision. Core to the Commission's recommendations is that those with lived experience of domestic abuse should play a key role in the council's future approach to domestic abuse. A short film featuring three survivors of domestic abuse was also premiered at the event, which is available online.

Nicole Jacobs, the designated first Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, said: - "I have a lot to learn from this initiative and I hope we continue the conversation. The Barking and Dagenham Domestic Abuse Commission captures the ambition of where we want to go. Domestic abuse is everyone's business and what we need is a coordinated community response and the 'We Believe You' approach."

Polly Neate CBE, Chair of the Domestic Abuse Commission said: "Survivors of domestic abuse are met with disbelief and disadvantage wherever they turn, whether in their community or from professionals who should be striving to protect them and help them recover.

"This is not only the case in Barking & Dagenham, but everywhere in the country - the difference in Barking & Dagenham is there's the will to change. This commission recommends a dramatic culture change, led by the council, but affecting the whole borough. I hope our recommendations will improve things for survivors both in Barking & Dagenham and more widely."

Cllr Maureen Worby, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health integration for Barking and Dagenham Council said: "Domestic abuse affects too many of our residents and I'm proud that as a borough, we have acknowledged that there is more to be done through launching this ground-breaking commission.

"Domestic abuse has been a priority for our political leadership but as this report highlights, we still have a long way to go. The commissioners have given us a way of moving forward, and I look forward to working with survivors of domestic abuse in our borough to improve our response to, and understanding of, domestic abuse. I will be championing the message of "We Believe You" through-out the council and beyond."

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UK's first Domestic Abuse Commission says community and professionals need huge culture shift in response to domestic abuse

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Last night, Wednesday 10 March, Barking and Dagenham Council launched its Domestic Abuse Commission Report. The Commission, which is a UK first, has brought together a panel of national experts and, chaired by Polly Neate CBE, CEO of Shelter, has been looking at attitudes to domestic abuse in the local community.

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“Peace of Mind”  report highlights the positive impact of introducing a psychologically informed environment (PIE) into 5 Solace refuges.

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“Peace of Mind”  report highlights the positive impact of introducing a psychologically informed environment (PIE) into 5 Solace refuges.

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"Peace of Mind" report was launched today (Friday 20th September) at City Hall London and highlights the positive impact of introducing a psychologically informed environment (PIE) into 5 Solace refuges.

This report is an evaluation of the carried out by AVA for Refuge Access for All Project Solace Women's Aid using qualitative and quantitative data from service users, managers and staff.

A Copy of the report can be found here, and a summary is available here.

The evaluation concluded that the project has been successful on a number of measures:

A significant reduction in the number and proportion of service users turned away because their mental health needs could not be met.

A marked improvement in staff understanding, knowledge and confidence around the psychological needs of clients, and how best to support them.

Positive client feedback through the Trauma Informed Practice scales.

Staff and managers are able to clearly identify practical examples of improved service user support as part of the project

A number of policy changes have been introduced with the involvement and support of the Service User Forum and managers alike

Play therapy interventions have had a positive impact on children and also their relationship with their mothers.

For more information about AVA's consultancy work, including evaluations is available here or please contact us.

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Peace of mind evaluation - AVA - Against Violence & Abuse

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"Peace of Mind" report was launched today (Friday 20th September) at City Hall London and highlights the positive impact of introducing a psychologically informed environment (PIE) into 5 Solace refuges. This report is an evaluation of the Refuge Access for All Project carried out by AVA for Solace Women's Aid using qualitative and quantitative data ...

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