A considerable backlog of unfinished tasks had accumulated at a German company in the field of special machine construction for testing and inspection systems. Due to the lack of delivery reliability, several customers were on the verge of dropping out. In addition, the lack of incoming payments was threatening the company's liquidity. In this situation (2023), the company hired the interim manager as an expert in project management and business processes to design the agile transformation of the previously classically organized project management and anchor it in the company.
Frequent changes in priorities push production to its limits
When the interim manager took on the mandate, the company was already under noticeable pressure to act everywhere. Several major projects were overdue or close to their deadlines, but were far from ready to be handed over. Managers and employees at all levels were trying to complete the projects as quickly as possible. Everyone did their best, but hardly made any progress. Worse still, frequently changing priorities were pushing production in particular to its limits more and more often.
Project management was unable to cope with the large number of projects and processes
The interim manager quickly identified two main causes: On the one hand, the classically organized project management was unable to cope with the large number of projects and processes. On the other hand, many of the managers were trapped in a pronounced silo mentality. The project teams were fighting for their own projects and had lost sight of the big picture. The interim manager was therefore faced with the challenge of establishing efficient project management and breaking down the silo mentality of the managers.
He developed a stakeholder management system and an intensive project risk assessment using the FMEA method. This makes it possible to address known product experiences at an early stage and reduce project risks for new projects. In addition, many implementation experiences could be reproduced and standardized using design and process FMEA - both on the project and product side as well as in the manufacturing processes.
Management convinced by the agile transformation of project management
With the results of a value stream analysis of project design and layouts, the interim manager was able to convince the management to completely restructure project management. For this agile transformation of project management, he chose a framework based on the Nexus method, which visualizes and synchronizes multiple Scrum projects in their entirety and harmonizes them in daily sprints. This step made a significant contribution to planning and controlling production in terms of technical aspects and deadlines and synchronizing it with project management. At the same time, the interim manager ensured that reliable, up-to-date data was available for liquidity planning, procurement and resource management.
Agile transformation improved project management and production processes
The agile transformation of project management in special machine construction led to a significant improvement in project management and production processes. The introduction of the agile framework and intensive risk assessment enabled project risks to be identified and minimized at an early stage. The synchronization of production and project management as well as the provision of reliable data for liquidity planning made a significant contribution to stabilizing the company's liquidity. The successful handover of the new planning and control documentation to the division managers ensured the sustainability of the measures introduced.
