Our approach to project management: people, process, tools and methodologies
BlackSwan associates develop their own unique methodology tailored to each client and project needs. As a client-centric firm, we know that each proposal has its own challenges and we will do our best to answer to individual needs and requests. However, we tend to follow industry wide practice and standards such as the one described below:
1. Entry & Contracting
When you reach out to us, the first step will involve an initial meeting and or call to determine your project needs. During this first meeting, we will:
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explore what the problem is
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send a sample of consultants profiles and cvs to determine the right fit
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make a list of your expectations, project needs and requirements
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specify your expectations, goals and objectives from the start to avoid any unwanted surprise
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figure out to get started in terms of timeline, deadline and project scope
2. Data collection and diagnosis
The second phase involves data collection and initial diagnosis in order to who is going to be involved in defining the problem; what methods will be used; what kind of data should be collected; and how long will it take. In order to do so, we usually use the methods described below:
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Questionnaires are one of the most effective way to collect data. They contain fixed-response questions, can be analysed quickly and easily fed back to your staff.
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Interviews: we might meet with some key stakeholders in order to gain in-depth insight and explore new issues
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Observations; either as part of your team or an external observer.
3. Feedback
Following phase 2, we will provide you with detailed report of our findings. We will take the mountain of information that has been collected and reduce it so that it can be managed and understood.
This phase is pretty much is also known as the planning phase and includes setting the goals for the project and selecting the best action steps.
4. Implementation
This step involves taking everything that has been decided previously and implementing the solution decided upon.
Some projects start implementation with an educational event. This should be a series of meetings to introduce some change. It may require a single meeting to get different parts of the firm together to address a problem or a training session.
