Ferris Healthcare Case Study

Ferris Healthcare, Inc recognizes that their growth as organization was depending on their rapid implementation of project management. Their line managers have been performing as project managers, which most of the times resulted on delayed and over budget projects. All employees agree that a project management methodology is necessary in the organization.
They outsourced and gave a quick training on project management for 50 employees (out of 300), some of which were place as part of the committee to create a project management methodology for the company. After two months of meetings, and mainly due to personal interests, three stage-gate models were created: information systems, new products/services provided, and one for acquiring new

In the case of Ferris Healthcare Inc. it was not a big issue as the three models they created were similar. Creating a single methodology for a company is a complex process that must be developed according to the culture of the organization, their project management maturity, and following specific steps: organizing, planning, and managing (Kerzner, 2010. Pages 154-156). For Ferris, it was actually mandatory to develop a single methodology showing guidelines to proceed as they needed an easy to follow procedures to adapt in their new project management implementation, considering their inexperienced executives, line manager, project managers, and line

According to Kerzner (2010) external factors will interact with the development of the methodology (such as change in the marketplace, needs for advancement, organizational growth, change on customers’ demands, etc.) and will impact its failure or success. Having that in mind, there are few things that Ferris need to consider to ensure the success of their single methodology:
- They need experienced project managers to lead them through the process of implementing project management as they are just starting the journey towards project management maturity. It is necessary for them to outsource for a longer period of time and not just for training in order to follow the right direction on their PM implementation.
- Their methodology must be developed around company’s culture and maturity level. As they are immature in project management, they need specific policies and procedures that dictate how to perform in the organization, which must be easy to understand and follow by executives, project managers, line managers, and line employees.
- Make sure that their methodology is accepted by clients. Methodologies can be flexible enough to be adaptable according to customer’s demands. If the customer is not satisfied with the methodology, there is a great chance for failure in the project, and to lose the customer for further