PMGT 574 – Final Paper Summary

Background:

I work as a Project Manager for a business intelligence based Data Warehouse project at the
Department of Children and Families at the State of Wisconsin. I am a single point of contact for the
child support agencies on all aspects of the data warehouse project from a customer standpoint and I
play a role to bridge the communication between the child support agencies and the technical business
intelligence data warehouse development team. My other key responsibility is to ensure a qualitative
delivery of reports churned out of the data warehouse and to drive its successful adoption by the child
support agencies.

We were a traditional waterfall methodology shop and are now transitioning into Agile Methodology.
Initial challenges with the waterfall methodology are the following:

a. Customers long wait times for the report until the software has been completely developed.
b. Heavy documentation.
c. Inadequate testing and understanding of requirements.
d. Bureaucracy and multiple levels of approvals within the government sector.
e. Minimal customer interaction and level setting of expectations.
f. Increased costs of delivery due to re-work and bug fixes.

Key Principles applied: The child support data warehouse program depends on the application of the
below lean principles for a successful outcome.

Eliminate Waste: Ensure a simple robust process is taken into consideration that prevents work flowing
between multiple hands. Instead identify one person to complete the end to end requirement with solid
test cases identified for unit testing. Reduce dependency by clarifying all the requirements right at the
beginning stage of design and development

Build Quality In: Instead of having the end user arrive at defects, prevent them in the first place by
establishing a set of common test scenarios across the board to ensure that most of those defects are
caught and fixed during unit testing. This helps build customer confidence and a better solution delivery.
Eliminates cost of the back and forth communication and reporting and unnecessary delay in the delivery
of solutions

Optimize the Whole: The overarching goal of the child support data warehouse program is to successfully
manage the various projects while constantly delivering value to the end users, as we choose to eliminate
waste in the individual areas of projects. This is crucial as the fundamental rule is to provide consistent
value by means of adopting lean to the end customer

Application of Value Optimization: Project-value optimization is a continuous process, and we work with
customers on an ongoing basis to identify opportunities for improvement at various gated stages of the
project. At each key milestone in the design phase, we perform value-optimization exercises. This process
enables teams to improve the overall project value by minimizing the total cost of ownership of project,
simplifying processes, improving design and development from the initial phase of the project and
productivity during the development phase, and maximizing value.

Also, every project proposal should include a detailed rationale, an explanation of alternatives, and a
calculation of the expected return or qualitative benefit, timing, context, and risk. Each aspect is likely to
evolve as the program portfolio takes shape. A standard model or system for identifying the sources of
value of each project helps reduce uncertainties, eliminate cognitive biases, and build an empirical
foundation for portfolio optimization. Flag projects over schedule or budget, instituting a formal review
process for every project no matter how small, and tracked ROI by project and budget cycle to allow
comparisons.

Emerging Practices: Since the data warehouse program started in 2014, the adoption rate for these
products is just a stagnant 5% to 10%. The Lean Startup Approach will be the go-forward solution to enable
lean throughout the child support department. As an end customer, the first and foremost need is an
exceptional product that benefits the agencies. The quality of the data warehouse and supporting data is
required to be reliable, stable, quick to analyze making it easier for end users to consume data to fulfill a
business need which is to increase child support collections. In the current case, customers complained
about the performance of the product, ease of use of the tool and not being able to understand what the
reporting tool meant. Some of the critical strategies to leverage emerging practices in the state
government evolve around identifying minimal requirements to be met, identifying metrics to measure
and address customer pain points, experiment with the actual product, shorter time to market coupled
with a robust marketing strategy.

The sticky engine of growth model helps retain customers over a longer period. We will need to pursue
every feedback obtained from the customer to keep them coming towards the product and using it
regularly. Critical factors leading to the sticky engine of growth is to comply to all customer’s feedback
within a shortest turnaround time, and focus on their business and day to day management of work.

Continuing Lean in Government: Though the government sector is bureaucratic, it is the role of leaders
to create a constancy of purpose toward improving work product and service outcomes at all levels as the
basis of a culture of continuous improvement. The long-term sustainability of lean in the government
would be to switch from a process improvement tool kit to lean value-stream management, to employee
engagement in problem solving and to an aligned culture focused by self-aware leadership on the right
business problems. Lean success is sustained only when leaders and managers develop the environment,
structures, and aligned incentives to foster an educated and trained workforce that is empowered so that
a work product can be produced consistently with value added capabilities.