We live in a fast-paced world where automation is at the core of any process-orientated or data-driven organisation. From employee onboarding to daily operations and decision-making, automation simplifies workflows and accelerates business outcomes. Manual work, once the norm, now often slows progress.
In the realm of project management, automation goes beyond planning-it involves automating the entire methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid), from portfolio planning to project close-out. This approach fosters a structured, efficient, and repeatable process. But before diving into tools, the most critical step is understanding what needs to be automated. Additionally, being cognizant of the business processes that need to be aligned with the methodology.
What is a project management methodology?
A project management methodology is a structured framework used to plan, execute, and control projects. Despite its importance, many organisations still misunderstand or underutilise it. Most of the organisations run projects like Business as Usual (BAU), which is detrimental to the project delivery. Let’s explore the typical phases:
1.Portfolio Planning In this phase, stakeholders assess why a project is needed, define its scope, evaluate its benefits, and prioritise initiatives. Sponsors and executives review proposals and business cases and identify key project triggers.
2.Initiation and Planning Once approved, an initiation/scoping workshop is held to define the project’s scope, feasibility, cost, and strategy. Planning documents are developed to guide execution.
3.Execution This is where plans are implemented. The focus is on delivering results while managing risks, reporting alignment, and ensuring quality.
4.Monitoring and Controlling This phase spans the life of the project, tracking progress, performance, and compliance with plans.
5.Close-Out At the end, lessons learnt are documented, close-out and financial reports are compiled, and a final review is conducted with all stakeholders.
Why Automate the Project Management Methodology?
Automation involves simplifying business processes so they can run with minimal human intervention. In this context, it means digitalizing every step-from portfolio planning to project closure-using predefined templates and workflows. This automation is not necessarily AI-driven. Simple platforms like Office 365 can power automation using tools such as:
•Power Automate
•SharePoint
•Power Apps
•Power BI
•Microsoft Project
•Microsoft Teams
For projectized organisations, methodology automation significantly improves delivery speed, governance, decision-making, accountability, and consistency.
How to Begin the Automation Journey
These steps outline how an organisation can begin the automation journey given the underlying circumstances.
1.Establish a Methodology Automation cannot exist without a defined methodology. Ensure one is documented and followed.
2.Conduct an As-Is Assessment Understand how current business processes align with the methodology. Identify gaps and inefficiencies.
3.Choose Automation Tools Select a platform that fits your environment-Office 365 is a robust choice for most organisations.
4.Formulate Automation Plan Define objectives, timeline, deliverables, and team roles. Include risk assessments.
5.Develop and Integrate Systems Ensure seamless communication between tools (Power Apps with Teams, SharePoint with Power Automate, and Power BI with Microsoft Project).
6.Test and deploy the solution Pilot the system with a small project. Gather feedback, make improvements, and scale across the organisation.
Takeaways
Automating your project management methodology enables greater efficiency, visibility, and control as an organisation. With the right tools and a structured approach, organisations can eliminate repetitive manual tasks and focus on strategic execution. In upcoming articles, we will explore real-world examples, tools, and templates that bring project methodology automation to life. We will be back!