Project Alignment seeks to improve performance in key projects through a series of facilitated workshops engaging senior management through to operational levels. In these workshops, issues, expectations and aspirations are debated and appropriate actions set in place and consistently reviewed. The process promotes collaborative practice and ‘win- win’ outcomes as core values.
Specifically, the purpose of a Project Alignment workshop is to align the leadership teams of client and contractor (and/or elements of a joint venture.) This is done to minimise surprises, generate trust, remove misunderstandings and enable continuous improvement. In certain circumstances, it also provides a mechanism to overcome the challenges of working in cross-cultural environments.
The alignment process takes place throughout the project, with workshops being at major operational nodal points, such as the move from home office to site. Additional workshops can be designed specifically for individual groups, such as site construction and engineering Disciplines. Workshop activities can include:
Overcoming the challenges of cross-cultural environments
Discussing and understanding project drivers
Identifying, agreeing and committing to common goals and objectives
Understanding the roles and responsibilities of all parties and the interfaces between them
Developing ways of working together in the contract environment
Managing inevitable conflict
Identifying and understanding the expectations for success
Determining the factors critical to project success
Building trust as a cornerstone for project performance
Facilitated individual team alignments are usually conducted before holding a joint alignment workshop.
