am). (Brief context).

I was tasked with the formation and management of a project team to assess and work towards the achievement of a British Standard in ISO 9001:2018 encompassing a range of standards (see Appendix XXX), all the way to submission and assessment by the BSI, and ultimately achieving the standard, which would then follow on to a secondary project, to monitor and maintain the accreditation.

Describe how you have applied two project management/planning techniques during this project (show examples of their application). (2.1)

Project Management Technique One – Situation Analysis

The project required us to firstly review the requirements of the standard, assess this against where the organisation was currently position, and then plan and work to achieve the areas that were missing or needed further clarification and organisation. To do this a SWOT analysis was used as it was the most appropriate method to both gauge where we were now and what challenges were ahead of us. By highlighting our strengths (in terms of what we were already achieving or exceeding against the standard) and our weaknesses (looking at where we were lacking in procedures, administrative organisation and physical product), it allowed us a framework in which to assign roles appropriate to team members to best achieve the required outcome. Then, by highlighting the opportunities that an accreditation would mean for the organisation, it aided in focusing the team, enabling us to allocate tasks within specific timescales and raise moral and passion for the task, both within the team and through-out the organisation. The analysis of threats helped highlight the challenges ahead, before they became an issue, allowing us to plan, to a degree, for the unexpected, as well as being able to plan ahead for required resources before access to them became an issue. It also acted as a reminder of what our competitors were already doing and achieving ahead of us, and acted as a drive for the team and organisation. This was highly successful in focusing the team and ensuring we achieved the required standard on schedule.

Project Management Technique One – Project Schedule