Guiding the 'Yes and No' Management Decision of Projects
A Real Life Example of How to Get Creative Projects Approved

by Patti Saathoff, CIGNA HealthCare of Arizona

Have you ever had a great idea that you know would really help your company but were unsuccessful in getting the idea executed? Have you ever reached a point while pursuing a project where it is suggested that the project be halted, but the momentum of the project continues and later the project just fades away without being completed? Companies face these dilemmas all the time. Creative energy rather than being nourished is stifled or ignored. Projects that should be ended continue and waste untold hours and resources.

At CIGNA HealthCare of Arizona the Program Management Office (PMO) assists employees to develop their creative ideas into approved projects. The PMO in the context of project management assists employees to make go/no go decisions on projects on a regular basis. The PMO is charged with ensuring projects are aligned with CIGNA’s strategic goals; standardizing project management and reporting activities, providing a discipline for managing complexity in projects and implementing a business case approach for determining/monitoring Net Benefit of projects.

The PMO recognized that frequently the best ideas for successful projects reside in front line employees. Front line employees do not typically have the ear or eyes of senior management to approve projects. Knowledge of this gap influenced the PMO to develop a process to assist employees to get their project ideas heard and approved. This process includes idea generation, engagement of the PMO to assist with business case development, presentation to middle and senior management for approval and PMO support throughout the effort.

An example of how this process works is exemplified by a project generated by an employee in the sales department. She identified a specific need and came to the PMO for assistance in the development of a business case to demonstrate that the idea would generate revenue for the company. After the business case was written and reviewed by a number of financial staff, she created a presentation to highlight the net benefit of this project and presented this project to Senior Management for approval. This project was approved and the PMO not only supported her through the approval process, but also supported her through the implementation of the project. During implementation, multiple Go/No Go reviews were conducted to ensure that the project was on target for completion and realization of benefits.

FranklinCovey has partnered with CIGNA HealthCare of Arizona to present Project Management Workshops to CIGNA employees for several years. FranklinCovey staff have actively marketed the PMO and its processes in all of its project management classes at CIGNA U. This has assisted the PMO in disseminating information to employees about the existence of a department within CIGNA to whom they can turn to develop their creative ideas. FranklinCovey is a strong advocate of Go/No-Go decision points during a project life cycle. Their active support of the PMO process in their classes to CIGNA employees has been an invaluable partnership and an excellent means to let employees know they have help available to them when creativity strikes.

Use of existing PMO type departments to advocate and assist in the development of your ideas is a great way to tap into senior management for authorized approval and resources for implementation of projects. If your company does not have a PMO, begin to advocate the implementation of such a department. And while the political wheels turn towards that innovation in your company, tap into the talent of company Project Managers. Utilize their expertise and experience to develop a business case for your idea so you can give your idea life through approval by senior management.

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