[2/4] Our Approach to Project Management: Systematization and Learning

In the previous article, we explained why we run project management thoroughly and efficiently. The reason is to let the whole team spend its time on what really matters: increasing the value of the product.

This time, we take a concrete look at how we have systematized project management and created opportunities for learning within the company.

Preventing Project Management Failures

One reason project management fails in many organizations is the absence of a clear policy.

When project management depends on specific individuals, or relies on intuition and experience, the following problems arise:

• Each project is managed in a different way

• Confusion arises every time a new member joins a project

• Best practices are not shared, so the same mistakes are repeated

• Continuous improvement is difficult

To prevent these problems, we developed comprehensive guidelines and put an in-house training system in place.

The Three Pillars of Project Management

Our project management is built on the following three pillars:

1. Planning: Sprint Planning

Frequency: every two weeks / Purpose: select the tasks to tackle in the next sprint, and decide estimates, assignees, and schedules

Sprint planning is divided into two phases: a preparation phase and the planning meeting.

Preparation phase (3 to 2 business days before the end of the sprint):

• The product manager selects tasks with the product owner

• The product manager and the project leader read through the specifications together and adjust the tasks

Planning meeting (on the last day of the sprint):

• The project leader and all members decide the details of each task

• Assignees, estimates, start dates, and completion dates are set

• The sprint goal is shared with the whole team

2. Execution & Sync: Daily Scrum

Frequency: every business day / Duration: 15 minutes or less / Purpose: synchronize progress across the whole team, and detect and resolve obstacles early

Each member shares the following:

• Tasks completed yesterday

• Tasks to work on today

• Obstacles preventing the team from achieving the sprint goal

In the daily scrum, we avoid detailed technical discussions and focus on sharing progress and spotting issues early. When a detailed discussion is needed, we set up a separate meeting.

3. Visibility: Reporting

Frequency: automatic and continuous / Purpose: make progress visible so that every stakeholder understands the current situation

The following four types of reports are created automatically:

1. Daily report (every business day at 20:00 NPT): tracks the status of tasks that have reached their due date

2. Weekly report (at the end of the week, 21:00 NPT): tracks progress on a weekly basis

3. Sprint report (on the last day of the sprint, 21:30 NPT): summarizes the sprint as a whole

4. Daily scrum summary (AI-generated): summarizes the daily report and the daily scrum minutes

All reports are posted automatically to the project's Google Chat space and also saved to a database.

Comprehensive Guidelines

To systematize project management, we created comprehensive guidelines.

The guidelines consist of seven documents and cover the purpose, methods, and mindset of project management.

Structure of the Guidelines

000: Overview

• The structure of the guidelines as a whole, and a reading guide

• The three pillars of project management

• Key principles (transparency, inspection, adaptation, psychological safety, teamwork)

001: The Purpose of Project Management

• Why project management is necessary

• Purposes by stakeholder (members, leaders, managers, owners)

• Research-based evidence (the CHAOS Report, PMI surveys, and more)

002: Problems Without Project Management

• What happens when project management is absent

• Why team performance declines (cognitive load, unclear priorities, and more)

• Why project management gets lost

003: The Project Management Flow

• The three main processes (sprint planning, daily scrum, reporting)

• How information flows and how it relates to the tools

• Members' main activities

004: Sprint Planning

• Detailed procedures (preparation, planning meeting)

• Defining and breaking down tasks

• Managing task dependencies and automatically managing blocked status

• Estimation guidelines

005: Daily Scrum

• How to run it effectively

• How to facilitate it

• Managing minutes and posting them automatically to Google Chat

• Best practices and things to avoid

006: Reporting

• What the four types of reports contain and how to use them

• How to read the reports (what the numbers mean, criteria for deciding on actions)

• The right attitude for each stakeholder

007: Mindset

• Alignment with the company's purpose, mission, and vision

• The spirit of Agile and Scrum

• The importance of psychological safety

• Mindsets by stakeholder (all stakeholders, members, leaders, managers, owners)

Available in Both Japanese and English

Every document is available in both a Japanese and an English version. This means our clients in Japan and our team members in Nepal can understand the same content.

Reading Guides by Role

The guidelines also include a reading guide for each role:

• People joining a project for the first time: first grasp the big picture, then understand the day-to-day activities

• Project leaders: focus on sprint planning and how to use the reports

• Product owners: understand how to read the reports and how to set priorities

• People considering introducing project management: learn step by step, from recognizing the issues to picturing the implementation

In-House Training System

Creating guidelines alone is not enough. Without people who put them into practice, they remain nothing more than a plan on paper.

We use the guidelines to create opportunities for learning within the company.

Training with the Guidelines

When new members join a project, we ask them to read the guidelines relevant to their role. As a result:

• They understand the purpose and methods of project management

• They are clear about what is expected of them in their role

• The whole team shares a common language and understanding

Mindset Training by Role

The guidelines set out a concrete mindset for each role.

The mindset shared by all stakeholders:

1. Value transparency

2. Aim for the success of the team as a whole

3. Pursue continuous improvement

4. Prioritize communication

The project member mindset:

• Update task status right away

• Review before leaving for the day

• Ask right away when something is unclear

• Support fellow team members

• Always keep the sprint goal in mind

• Self-organize

The project leader mindset:

• Practice servant leadership

• Check the reports every day and act early

• Understand the context behind the numbers

• Protect the team's psychological safety

• Protect the sprint goal

• Support the team's growth

By sharing these concrete mindsets, we foster a consistent culture across the entire organization.

Putting Agile and Scrum into Practice

Our project management follows the principles of agile development and Scrum.

The Four Values of the Agile Manifesto

Here is how our approach puts the Agile Manifesto into practice.

"Individuals and interactions over processes and tools": in the daily scrum every day, the whole team shares progress and issues face to face. Tools are only a means of encouraging dialogue.

"Working software over comprehensive documentation": by automating report creation, we can focus on achieving the sprint goal (actually building the product) without losing time to writing documents.

"Customer collaboration over contract negotiation": through ongoing alignment with the product owner, we adjust flexibly based on feedback rather than following a fixed plan.

"Responding to change over following a plan": even during a sprint, we adjust tasks to fit the situation and keep improving.

The Five Scrum Values

To live out the Scrum values (commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect), we place great importance on psychological safety. We value an environment where no one is blamed for reporting a problem, a system that lets us share progress transparently, and a culture where the whole team aims for success together.

Each member commits to achieving the sprint goal and takes responsibility for their own tasks. We create an environment where people have the courage to share problems and obstacles instead of hiding them, and the courage to do the right thing. We focus on the sprint goal and minimize task switching. We have systems in place for sharing progress transparently and talking openly about issues and concerns. We respect our fellow team members and welcome diverse opinions and perspectives.

Building Psychological Safety

As research from Google's Project Aristotle shows, psychological safety is the most important factor in team success.

Our project management promotes psychological safety in the following ways:

• Clear goals and roles: everyone knows what is expected of them, which reduces anxiety and confusion

• Transparency: progress is visible to everyone, creating an environment where things can be shared without hiding anything

• Early detection and sharing of problems: sharing problems early is encouraged, and no one is blamed for reporting a problem

• A culture of mutual support: the whole team takes responsibility for the sprint and helps members who are struggling

Practicing a Reliable Methodology

Our project management rests on three elements: systematized guidelines, an in-house training system, and a reliable methodology.

The guidelines cover purpose, methods, and mindset, and the in-house training system gives people a way to learn them and put them into practice. On top of that, we practice project management based on a reliable methodology that follows the principles of Agile and Scrum and places great importance on psychological safety.

As a result, we practice project management based on proven methodology rather than intuition or experience.

However, guidelines and training alone are not enough. Running project management with high quality and efficiency requires thorough automation.

In the next article, we take a concrete look at how we have digitally transformed our project management so that the whole team can spend its time on what really matters.