Project Management: Benco Dental Company
Recommendations
The recommendations for Benco Dental Company stem from the challenges that we have observed within the current management practices. Each of the three recommendations, then, involve a key challenge that we discovered. These recommendations are not imperatives but knowledgeable suggestions for improving the management of Benco. While we offer some practical methods for employing these recommendations, the creativity is open-ended and the management at Benco can adapt and implement as they see fit.
- Implement an initial selection process with criteria:
- Organize human resources and establish a system of accountability:
- Develop the Project Value Assessment and Prioritization:
One challenge identified in the assessment of Benco was the underdeveloped skill in identifying key requirements early in the life of the project. Benco is only starting to use the Project Value Assessment tool in order to inform its selection of projects. This will involve the NPD and the risk assessment phases that we will discuss below. However, at this point. Benco needs to have a process for gatekeeping, selecting the most desirable projects and eliminating the others or placing them on a secondary scale.
Benco can accomplish this by establishing a set of criteria for projects in order to determine their value quickly and efficiently. This will reflect the values of the company, such as finances, customer service, and employee wellbeing and skills, and then chose projects based on the criteria. The full project value assessment will come in handy later on in the project management process but initially needs to stream line in order to keep the projects flowing.
We observed a lack of disciplined resource allocation for project work. The question, “Who do you report to” is a vital one for project management. It relates to Stakeholder Register and is also discussed in NPD. As the survey informed us, for projects to be formally approved, a Project Value Assessment must be completed and submitted to the senior management team for review. Only then can funding be allocated and contracts be signed.
Thus, some amount of accountability is in place. However, at other levels of management, there lacks a specific system of authority and relationships. We do not necessarily recommend a traditional hierarchy for the Benco company. This may not suit its ethos well. However, consider a definitive set of relationships that occur within a system. This will establish a more reliable and effective allocation of work. Once employees know where and whom to approach, and the upper management knows exactly where to allocate, then the projects will run with ease.
We found an underdeveloped project value assessment and prioritization analysis. This is a vital part of any company’s project management process and relates directly to the North Goals as given to us by Jill. As commented in the survey, Benco claimed that they do not identify and track the risks of a project currently, though one of their goals for this year is to begin formalizing a project risk management process. There is a project value assessment currently in place but it needs to be developed. As mentioned above, this should cohere with the values of the company and their goals. The financial and service oriented goals should directly inform the value of a project. The future plans for growth, also, should not be overlooked. This will require the help from all employees, not only the senior managers. Each and every department and sector of the company will have a say in this evaluation. The value of a project arises from and influences each aspect of the company. This will require repeated meetings and cooperation among all the staff. We recommend firm agreement on the vision of Benco as a starting point.