Introduction
Telstra is among the leading telecommunication company based in Australia and operates in several countries across the globe. The organization has undertaken different projects to expand and achieve efficiency by enhancing its operations. The success of Telstra Corporation depends on effective project management. With a good project management model, effective stakeholder engagement, good governance, and a skilled and committed project team, the organization are more likely to achieve the established project goals.
Agile and waterfall are the commonly used project management methodologies by contemporary organizations. After extensive analysis, it is recommended that Telstra should focus more on using agile. The advancement of project governance helps manage projects through effective decision-making. Telstra should create a project management department with a departmental head to help manage project operations.
Active stakeholder engagement is required for the corporation to achieve its objectives. The corporation should create a culture of stakeholder engagement through appropriate policies. Telstra should effectively finance PMO to ensure it gets adequate resources to operate smoothly and adopt Asana as a Project Management Maturity Model. As shown in the infographic, the recommendations will be beneficial to Telstra because they eradicate problems associated with ineffective management of projects and create a conducive environment for project success.
Organizational Context
Telstra Corporation is an Australian-based telecommunication and information services organization providing various communication services. It is the leading internet service provider, creates and maintains telephone directories, and offers pay-television services (Madhani, 2018). The corporation has developed a fully integrated IP network and a reliable mobile network for its customers. Due to its strategic investments over the years, Telstra now has the largest privately owned subsea cable network in the Asia Pacific and properties across the globe.
One of the projects undertaken by Telstra corporation is the adoption of Microsoft Azure Sentinel. Microsoft Azure Sentinel is a system that offers intelligent security analytics for your entire enterprise, powered by artificial intelligence. The purpose was to help manage identity and access for internal staff and contractors (Glaser and Funaiole, 2019). Telstra has used waterfall and agile methodology in the management of their projects. The waterfall benefits the organization by ensuring the project is completed within the set timeline and budget (Andrei et al., 2019). On the other hand, agile methodology leads to quality output. The processes within the project are improved every time, which assists in creating a quality product. The success of Telstra’s project depends on aspects such as the advancement of project governance, stakeholder engagement, adoption of changes to the project management department, and the use of a Project Management Maturity Model.
Matters For Consideration
The Benefits of Adopting Waterfall and Agile Methodology
In the contemporary world, good project managers must be aware of different project management methodologies. When running a project, there is a need to choose a model that will work best to achieve the anticipated goal (Andrei et al., 2019). The methods are selected based on the project’s purpose, timing, budget, and other factors. Agile and waterfall are among the most popular methodologies in modern software development. In addition, they can be used by an organization in adopting a project, especially those linked with software development (Andrei et al., 2019). For example, most organizations use the waterfall model in managing projects with strict timelines and agile handling projects requiring quality. Therefore, an appropriate project methodology is chosen to help achieve the intended purpose.
The modern project team continues to employ the waterfall methodology for various reasons. Firstly, the model enables the management to commit to an end product, objective, or deliverable at the start of the project (Andrei et al., 2019). Most corporation uses waterfall in a project where the goals are clear because it allows the team to understand the purpose from the beginning. Based on this, it becomes hard for the project team to miss the details during the progress. Since a majority of projects have a clear goal that can be understood easily, the model becomes the most appropriate technique (Andrei et al., 2019). As a result, waterfall enables a project team to focus on attaining the set needs of an organization.
Secondly, the other benefit of waterfall methodology is delivering a project on time and within budget. The release date and final project cost can be determined before the development. The success of the waterfall method depends on how much and how well work is done on the front end (Andrei et al., 2019). This means that everything, including the user interface, user stories, and all feature variations and outcomes, must be written down in advance. Most of the research is done ahead of time to ensure that estimates of how long each need will take are more accurate and that the release date is easier to predict. With the Waterfall method, it becomes less challenging to adjustment of processes than with the Agile method.
Thirdly, because the waterfall method is very methodical in how it works, the project team can determine the correct transfer of information at each step. It enables the team to prioritize writing down information about a project through its lifecycle (Andrei et al., 2019). Each step involves a different group of people using this method to make software. In addition, the waterfall ensures that information is easy to find and that new team members can quickly operate if they need to achieve the set objectives. This is important whether you are handing off projects at each step or if there are unexpected staff changes.
There are several benefits that come with the use of the agile methodology in the management of a project. The model is open to change even in the final stages of development. Agile methodology prioritizes delivering features with the greatest business value (Cram, 2019). The subsequent sharing of real-time information makes it possible to precisely oversee the project’s cost, timeline, and scope. In addition, agile majors ensure that specific needs of the organization are met. Agile teams focus more on face-to-face communication and constant interaction. They usually undertake daily meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards the same objectives (Cram, 2019). Regularly communicating with each other eliminates potential mistakes to achieve the goals effectively.
Agile teams can organize and manage themselves because they have enhanced autonomy and control over their decisions. The team is protected against influence from the project’s sponsors and management by the project manager (Cram, 2019). The nature of the teams, which are cross-functional, makes it possible for members to acquire new project management abilities and develop further in their existing responsibilities. The team meets together frequently to discuss the issues and statuses they are facing, enabling them to work together more effectively (Cram, 2019). Therefore, due to the constraints placed on the number of team members, Agile fosters an atmosphere where groups can work together closely and adopt a flexible organizational structure.
The other benefits of agile include improved customer satisfaction and reduced risk. The agile approach keeps relevant stakeholders informed and demonstrates that they value their opinions by having them in the development process (Cram, 2019). Stakeholders want to be involved in all project stages so they can give feedback and ensure the end product meets their needs. These custom-made deliverables improve the overall user experience and make it easier to keep customers. In Agile, the project team often checks on progress during sprints, which gives them a better view and makes it easier to spot potential problems (Cram, 2019) effectively. This is a good approach to reducing the risks and gives the project a better chance of success.
Improvement of Project Governance by Telstra
Project governance is an important element in the effective management of a project. It is an oversight function linked with organizational function and provides the project team with processes, structure, and decision-making models (Barns et al., 2017). There is a relationship between internal governance and the attainment of the stated project objectives. A project’s management, sponsor or executive board, owner, and other stakeholders are interconnected (Derakhshan, Turner and Mancini, 2019). Furthermore, project governance defines the parameters for determining project objectives and tactics for accomplishing them and monitoring success. To enhance project governance, Telstra has an active executive and other stakeholders who ensure that the project team achieves the set objective.
Telstra corporation improves project governance by creating a conducive environment for attaining the vision. In a project-based organization, determining how to reach the goals is a two-step process (Saeed, Rashid, and Ahmed, 2020). The first approach is ensuring the organization has the proper infrastructure to ensure that projects can be done well. A framework for program and portfolio management is made to ensure that projects can be linked to the business strategy and that the right steps can be taken. The second aspect ensures that the organization can do tasks well and accurately (Saeed, Rashid, and Ahmed, 2020). As a result, project governance can be improved by developing appropriate governance policies and other environmental factors.
The organization develops a plan that prioritizes the significance of the project governance goals. Selecting the most appropriate objectives can help reduce the likelihood of complications, ambiguity, and disagreement (Saeed, Rashid, and Ahmed, 2020). To ensure proper governance of the project, assign responsibilities and ownership. The company’s board of directors should take responsibility for the governance system. In addition, it is not appropriate for a single person to be responsible for delivering, monitoring, or managing any governance initiative. On the other hand, the organization has a group of well-trained specialists to assist with enhancing project governance.
The organization enhances project governance by promoting accountability and responsibility. An organization’s ability to efficiently carry out its activities will suffer if accountability and obligations are not assigned correctly to the various members of the workforce. The most important part of a project manager’s job is to devise a system for tracking who is responsible for what (Saeed, Rashid, and Ahmed, 2020). During the process of identifying both factors, the project manager is required to not only determine who is accountable (Saeed, Rashid, and Ahmed, 2020). They determine who is responsible, consulted, and notified for each of the deliverables associated with the project.
The Telstra leadership team recognized the importance of establishing core credentials and consistent knowledge of managing projects. They wanted their project managers to be confident in handling customer and team expectations and, most crucially, to connect their approaches with their customers’ business goals (Saeed, Rashid, and Ahmed, 2020). The organization always had outstanding technical skills and wanted to determine what makes a successful project manager. Additionally, Telstra is serious about changing the culture and ensuring that professionals are proud of their abilities (Saeed, Rashid, and Ahmed, 2020). They aim to demonstrate that project managers are integral to our customers’ value chain.
Improvement of Stakeholder Engagement for Projects
The first approach to stakeholder engagement undertaken by Telstra corporation for their projects is the identification of stakeholders. The most crucial stage is identifying the organization’s internal and external stakeholders to participate in the project (Bahadorestani, Naderpajouh, and Sadiq, 2020). People who are already a part of the organization or team are considered internal stakeholders. Beneficiaries of the service, members of the family, or even public parties are examples of external stakeholders. After they have been identified, the organization comprehensively understands the environment in which they function (Bahadorestani, Naderpajouh, and Sadiq, 2020). Therefore, the duties and responsibilities of stakeholders in the project are specified at this stage.
After determining who the stakeholders are and what their roles are in the project, the organization develops an engagement plan. The main goal of the plan for engaging stakeholders is to make sure that communication stays open and works well (Elias, 2019). The plan is to have information about how often people should talk to each other, how many people are supposed to be involved in each segment, and how to involve focus groups, questionnaires, and interviews. With the right kind of confirmation from decision-makers and outside assurance, individuals can be challenged and confidently keep the plan in action (Elias, 2019). As a result, the organization creates an engagement program to ensure that relevant stakeholders are actively involved.
Telstra’s success in enhancing stakeholder engagement is continuous interaction through effective communication. Once a plan involving stakeholder has been completed, it is important to use it to build relationships with them (de Oliveira and Rabechini Jr, 2019). Stakeholders are more likely to trust something if communication is consistent, clear, and open to everyone. When working with different stakeholder groups, keeping track of the promises you make to them and letting them know how things are going is integral. Stakeholders want to know if their ideas are being taken into account, what steps will be taken to improve things, and how the results are being tracked (de Oliveira and Rabechini Jr, 2019). Therefore, a good idea to make monitoring results and major changes public to ensure that only the stakeholders who are directly involved and other interested parties are aware of what is happening.
The analysis of the influence and interest of stakeholders is one of the approaches that Telstra Corporation utilizes to improve stakeholder engagement. Following the compilation of an exhaustive list of project stakeholders, the organization provides a platform on which the team can collaborate. Every stakeholder does not need to be active in the project in the same capacity for its entirety. Additionally, the organization wants to identify the participants based on their power, interest in the project’s outcome, and potential to influence the project. The stakeholders are engaged based on their influence and interest. As a result, the organization is keen on knowing who has the most influence on the project.
Adoption of, or Changes To, A Project Management Office
The dynamics of change readiness are the foundation of the new paradigm for organizational transformation. How ready a company is for change depends on how much its stakeholders see the need for change and how well it can adapt to change (Wu and Zhu, 2020). One could be more ready for change if one knew the difference between being resistant and being prepared for change. To make an organization flexible, one must actively work to change the beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors of those who will be changing rather than merely reacting to signs of resistance (Wu and Zhu, 2020). To achieve this, the organization has established a project management office to assist in the management of projects.
Telstra’s world-class project management office (PMO) brings strategic and economic discipline to corporate Australia’s largest capital budget portfolio. It helps Telstra get a competitive edge by connecting the company’s strategy, business cases, and where money is spent (Wu and Zhu, 2020). Additionally, the office ensures that large, complicated projects are completed on time, on budget, and with the expected benefits. The project management office has shown it can manage projects better than other organizations by helping strategic initiatives succeed and adding value to the organization (Duarte et al., 2019). PMO has set up a plan for delivering value and has had a clear and positive effect on business results.
At the corporation, PMO is responsible for the project’s strategy and procedure and the steps required to complete the project. In the early stages of a project, they determine where the gaps exist by analyzing previous experiences or initiatives (Wu and Zhu, 2020). The primary objective of the PMO is to determine whether the project aligns with the organization’s goals. They must decide whether or not it adds value to the enterprise as a whole. If they discover while working on the project that it will not yield the desired results even if it is completed, they must make a difficult decision and abandon the process. This saves them time, money, and resources, and they can use the saved time to focus on projects that contribute to the organization’s success.
Any project can be controlled strategically and procedurally by the PMO, in addition to having control over the processes that are followed to complete the project. They do this throughout the early stages of any project, depending on the analysis drawn from past experiences or projects (Wu and Zhu, 2020). This helps the project team discover any gaps that may exist. The primary purpose of the PMO is to evaluate the degree to which the project contributes to achieving the organizational goals. If this is the case, they will need to determine whether it benefits the company as a whole.
The corporation has adopted PMO to ensure that all business processes and procedures are carried out in accordance with the best practices that are currently in place. The teams working on a project do not need to begin from scratch (Wu and Zhu, 2020). They can resort to the standard procedures developed by the PMO to advance the process and overcome the barriers. PMOs can increase the integrity of resource allocation, time estimation, budget valuation, and training management over time since they keep the paperwork for each project and better categorize it over time. Accuracy decreases the likelihood of failure while simultaneously increasing the likelihood of success.
The Value of Using a Project Management Maturity Model
One of the most important benefits of using the project management maturity model (PMMM) to analyze current project management processes is that it helps the organization build a strong foundation for future growth. Setting clear rules for project management gives the company’s team the framework it needs to measure the project’s success and determine if it was a success or not (Kerzner, 2019). PMMM is used to identify if the organization’s approach to project management is still suitable for the size of the team as it grows. Since this is the case, one of the most important parts of level five is to keep improving. Due to this feature, the project team can determine what works best for them as they move and grow.
The other benefit of using PMMM in the corporation is the ability to reduce miscommunication. When the organization establishes a standard method for project management, everyone on the team has the same tools and language to communicate effectively (Kerzner, 2019). For example, if the project team uses a variety of platforms such as Slack and email, it can be difficult to determine the true source of truth. However, the team can detect faults and reduce miscommunication by adopting work management models such as Asana in project management (Özkan and Mishra, 2019). The model allows the organization to manage plans, projects, and processes effectively in one location. The project management team can develop templates to ensure that everyone in the firm follows the same procedures.
PMMM enables the corporation to increase its performance through effective management of projects. They will not be stressed about how to communicate when the team has a defined structure for organizing their work, which will help them stay organized (Gasik, 2019). The project team is only required to concentrate on what matters: getting the job done and achieving the set objectives. This helps the team save time because they have an appropriate plan to follow (Gasik, 2019). Instead of wasting time on tedious tasks related to work, such as understanding email chains and pursuing approvals, the project team will be able to concentrate on the relevant work that contributes to the expansion of the firm.
Recommendations
Telstra Corporation should consider the following recommendations to manage projects successfully.
Project Management Methodology
- Due to its many benefits, Telstra should use the Agile methodology to manage its projects. Agile teams are known to be very good at getting work done because they share a culture of working together.
- The agile solution gives the team information about delivery trends to ensure they can eliminate bottlenecks and change workflow processes to make the business more productive.
Improvement of Project Governance
- Telstra should take the advancement of project governance as one of its core initiatives. This will give the corporation the ability to handle the projects effectively.
- The corporation should incorporate a project management department in its structure and assign it roles to undertake.
Improvement of Stakeholder Engagement
- As stated earlier, stakeholders’ involvement plays an integral role in ensuring that projects succeed.
- I recommend that Telstra creates a policy to enhance stakeholder engagement. This will ensure that the corporation has a culture of active involvement of stakeholders in the organization’s operations.
Adoption of or Changes to A Project Management Office (PMO)
- I suggest that Telstra effectively finance PMO to ensure that it gets adequate resources to operate smoothly.
- The organization should consider hiring skilled and talented personnel to manage the office’s activities and achieve the established objectives.
The value, if any, of Using a Project Management Maturity Model
- Telstra corporation should consider using the Asana model to manage its projects because it helps reduce miscommunication among the team.
- Additionally, the corporation should choose the most appropriate project management framework to perform effectively.
An Infographic
Reference List
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