lsc technology initiative grant conference 2015 | session materials - tig 2015 fast and forward
TRANSCRIPT
Fast and Forward
A look at project management
TIG Conference, 2015
Agenda and Presenters
Agenda● Backwards Planning
● Gearing Up
● Meetings and Implementation
● Sharing Results
● Managing Sideways
Presenters
Anna Hienline
Technology Coordinator,
Legal Assistance of Western New York, [email protected]
Jessie Posilkin,
Training & Implementation Specialist, Legal Services Corporation, [email protected]
Xander Karsten,
LawHelp Program Coordinator, Pro Bono Net
Backwards Planning
Jessie Posilkin
How can you get where you want,
if you don’t know where you’re
going?
Starting from the end
• Many project plans start on the date you want to get started.
Instead, start on the date you want things done by.
• Using your tool of choice, figure out what you want done, and by
when.
• Then start planning.
Gearing Up
Anna Hineline
Choose your tools
➔Collaboration
➔Control
➔Oversite
➔Replication
My TIG
Internal
Contracts
Milestones
Proj. Mgmt.
P1
P2
P3
Budget
Create Your Workspace
Take the time for a thorough initial setup
➔Templates
➔Naming Conventions
➔Directories
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
➔Milestone/Deliverable Tracker
➔Administrative Plan
➔Budget Worksheet
➔Contracts
➔ Issue Log
➔Meeting Minutes/Notes
➔Project Plan
Gather and Create Documentation
Issue Log
Project Plan
Documentation Tips and Tricks
Milestone Tracker➔ List the milestones in each period
➔ Reverse chronological order
➔ As you work toward completion,
make a note!
Budget Worksheet➔ Track hours each milestone period
➔ Track money in/out period
➔ Include LSC final budget template
Documentation Tips and Tricks
Project Management Tools
Choose wisely, commit and train!
Grant Partners and Contacts
➔Share email address and phone numbers
➔Who to contact if I REALLY need someone
➔ Initial setup
◆ Share collaborative workspace
◆ Do any partners need training on tools?
Grant Partners and Contacts
Jessie Posilkin
Quick Chats, Standing Meetings,
Working Meetings.
Grant Partners and Contacts
If we all hate meetings, why
do we still have them?
Grant Partners and Contacts
1. Have an agenda. (You laugh.) Or, know why you’re
having the meeting.
2. Don’t be afraid to end them early.
3. If you have a chatty group, schedule them for the
shortest possible time you’ll need.
4. Make sure people know their role.
How to keep meetings effective
Grant Partners and Contacts
1. Can you see it coming? Don’t be afraid to draft an
agenda.
1. There’s no framing.
1. You didn’t do the pre-work.
1. There’s no buffer.
Why bad meetings happen to good people:
Grant Partners and Contacts
● Assumptions going in: you’ve had an inclusive
process for selecting your new tool, or the project
partners are bought in already
● Weekly or bi-weekly check-in
Sample set of meetings for project implementation
Grant Partners and Contacts
● A clear set of deliverables in a shared place.
(GoogleDocs, Box, Shared Desktop, Trello)
● If people don’t want to buy into a system, then a
weekly (or more) meeting is critical. “Meeting” can
include a ten minute call “Hey, on our docket for this
week is…. How’s that going?”
● Daily Standups via email
Tracking activities across partners
Xander Karsten
Sharing Results
Webinars
Captures
● Project components
● Background & results
● Replicable aspects
Example: SMS Toolkit
Collect information early & often!
Toolkits
Social Media
"Social Media Platforms” by U.S. Department of Agriculture is licensed under CC by 2.0.
New Tool? Great! Use it!
Emerging Tools or Formats
Anna Hineline
Project Transition
Grant Partners and Contacts
➔Preparing for staff transition
◆ Create transferable systems
◆ Loop in other staff
◆ Ensure all project partners are on the same page
Project Transition
Grant Partners and Contacts
➔Taking over a project mid-stream
◆ Review grant application documents
◆ Reach out to project partners
◆ Review milestones and evaluation plans
● Is everything still on target?
◆ Check in with TIG staff
Project Transition
Xander Karsten
Managing Sideways
Grant Partners and ContactsWhat is “Managing Sideways”?
influencing the performance of people who don’t
report to you
Managing Sideways- Getting Things Done Without Authority,
Alison Green, The Fast Track, 4/8/14
Grant Partners and ContactsFour Keys
● Be transparent
● Act with confidence (or fake it)
● Ask Ask Ask!
● Know your grant
● Plan Plan Plan
● Know the grant
● Communication- clear, concise and short
Take Aways...
Anna Hienline, Technology Coordinator, Legal Assistance of Western New York,
Jessie Posilkin, Training & Implementation Specialist, Legal Services Corporation,
Xander Karsten, LawHelp Program Coordinator, Pro Bono Net
Thank you for attending!