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Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
I’ve been looking at my professional development goals for the year and while I’m not quite ready to put them out there for everyone to see, one of things I am reflecting on is continuous improvement in project management and what that means for me and my teams.
If you’ve been around project management for any length of time you will have come across continuous improvement as a concept.
For me, it means an ongoing process where teams evaluate their performance, identify areas for improvement, and implement changes that lead to better project outcomes. Sounds simple, right? The challenge I have is that even if we have the headspace to come up with the improvement ideas, we rarely have the time or the authority to make the changes.
So, what can we do? First, focus on what we can change. It’s about creating a mindset of constant reflection, learning, and evolving. And second, encourage the team to focus in on the ‘why’ of continuous improvement so the ideas we are coming up with are small enough to implement in the time and boundaries we have.
So why does it matter?
Beyond the obvious (we’re all trying to do more with less, because somehow the appetite to deliver change is just as big if not bigger than it always was, but with less staff), here are some formal reasons we are reflecting on:
Efficiency gains: How can we deliver projects more efficiently, reduce waste, and optimise resources? While working within the processes we have.
Mitigate risk: What have we learned from past projects that helps us identify and act on risks on future projects?
Collaborate: Generally, the conversations about improvements help teams build relationships and work together effectively. Any time spent together helps us understand more about how colleagues work and what ways of working are the most effective.
And what are we looking for?
Project professionals should be looking for ways to:
Deliver change incrementally: What are the small, iterative changes we can put in place that won’t overwhelm the team and that feel we are taking steps towards more effective ways of working? If it’s a big (potential) improvement, how can you break it down and make it into smaller steps so it can be phased in over time.
OK, if you have the time and capacity to do the change all in one go, and are confident that it’s the right thing, by all means go for it. But if you feel like doing things at a slower pace would be beneficial – and I think that’s the right approach – then go at that pace.
Empower people to take ownership: How do we encourage individuals to take responsibility for identifying and implementing changes? And the big challenge here for me is making sure that I have the time available to do the implementing!
Use data to make decisions: Let’s not dive in and make changes without having a real understanding of what that would affect. For example, in one project a good few years ago, a process was changed but it impacted teams downstream. Without an understanding of what that team did, I think we inadvertently made their lives harder until we did a proper process mapping exercise to understand how work flowed through the organisation.
You could also use data points from your project management software, feedback or databases and statistics, dashboards or reporting. Just don’t guess at what would be an improvement.
That’s the what and the why. Next time, I’ll look at how you can start building a culture of continuous improvement in project teams because it’s important to have some practical strategies as well. See you then!
Posted on: April 01, 2025 04:03 PM |
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