As organisations navigate new ways of working digitally, understanding the cycle of work is essential to deliver innovative and successful work. ASI Solutions has developed an easy-to-implement, six-step methodology to help businesses embrace technology solutions and gain maximum value. This methodology supports organisations to achieve the best outcomes.

This blog series explores the various phases within the cycle of work methodology and highlights the ways organisations can benefit from a more strategic approach to digital work.

Click here to read the other blogs in the series.

Step 6: The cycle of work: refining projects to improve processes and empower team members

At the tail end of a project, organisations have a significant opportunity to refine and optimise the work they’ve done to improve processes and empower team members. This final step is often overlooked because project teams are fatigued or believe there is no need for further refinement. Organisations that invest time in debriefing and refining projects can improve the results of the current project and set themselves up for future success.

With many people working from home either full-time or some of the time, this step isn’t as simple as a quick meeting in the boardroom to go over results and set up the next steps. Instead, organisations have to deliberately and strategically incorporate this stage into the cycle of work.

Taking the final step

This step of the cycle of work methodology involves taking on the learnings from the analysis and refining the initial concept. Doing so will better solve the original problem or opportunity. This step includes recycling ideas that worked and getting rid of those that didn’t, using a continuous improvement model to better identify what problems exist and to produce the right solutions to get the best results.

The refining stage is based on the lean methodology[1] and focuses on two principles: respect for people and continuous improvement. This phase requires team members to identify and remove waste from processes, encouraging continued learning and employee engagement. Through continuous refinement, businesses can deal with outstanding project risks and empower team members to solve the problems that frustrate them. As a result, businesses can lower costs, remain competitive, and improve employee morale.

Tracking the project and communicating successfully

Organisations should have set success metrics at the beginning of the project to help track the project’s progress and performance. At this final stage, the project team can compare the outcomes with the expected results to see whether it achieved the proposed results and delivered the expected return on investment (ROI). While it’s not uncommon for business objectives or problems to shift, organisations shouldn’t underestimate the importance of tracking the progression of the project to ensure it still aligns with original business goals and intent.

However, remote workforces across different time zones can affect how employees share information and collaborate. To overcome this challenge, businesses must leverage technology solutions that facilitates collaboration and targeted communication among teams regardless of their physical location. Solutions such as Microsoft One Note, Excel, Power BI, SharePoint, and OneDrive are ideal for remote work and distributed teams.

The right technology at the right time 

Getting the right technology to team members at the right time in the cycle of work can make a significant difference to the success of the project. In the refining stage, this can include:

  • Microsoft OneNote to capture learnings and areas for improvement
  • Microsoft Excel and Power BI to identify additional areas of the business that could benefit from the solution or project
  • Microsoft Visio, Publisher, Sway, and PowerPoint to develop reports and graphs, then present them to stakeholders
  • Microsoft Teams and SharePoint to share reports and findings with a broader audience
  • Microsoft OneDrive to make information available for future review.

Where to from here? 

The final phase is crucial but, without the entire cycle, your business won’t achieve optimum outcomes. To learn more about the ASI Solutions methodology and how the Microsoft product range can help you embrace the modern cycle of work, download the eBook.  

ASI Solutions aligns directly with Microsoft’s vision of empowering every person and organisation to achieve more. ASI Solutions can coach your business to deliver each step of the cycle of work so you can achieve optimum outcomes. To find out more about how ASI Solutions can help you embrace the modern cycle of work, contact the team today. 

 

[1] https://www.planview.com/resources/guide/lean-principles-101/what-is-lean/