Having a plan is of little value if you can’t implement it. Thankfully, there is one management method that, if used properly, can ensure the successful implementation of any project or program, no matter how complex. The method is Cross-Functional Team (CFT) project management.
A CFT is a group of workers with different functional areas of expertise. The project is led by a CFT leader who works within the functional area responsible for completing the project. If it’s a prisoner re-entry training program then the CFT leader is from the training group. If it’s a budget project then the CFT leader is from the financial group.
To get things started, the leader needs to create a first draft of an implementation schedule. This schedule includes a detailed list of discrete tasks required to complete the project. It includes best-guess estimates for deadlines associated with each task. The schedule is organized – that is, the discrete tasks are grouped together – by functional area. It’s critical to include every functional area that is in any way affected by or required to accomplish the project; this ensures that every functional area team member is aware of all implementation issues – even those from other functional area, because often one group’s issues spill over and have some impact on others’.
Each task in the implementation schedule has an owner – a subject matter expert within a given functional area – and a due date. So while overall project success or failure rests with the CFT leader, every other CFT member is accountable for accomplishing their own tasks.
Creating the initial draft of an implementation schedule is not easy. It requires of the CFT leader the ability to visualize how the project or program will be carried out, or at least to identify the functional areas that need to be part of the implementation process. Fortunately, the first draft needn’t be – and almost certainly won’t be – complete. That’s okay; as we’ll see, the subsequent CFT implementation meetings will fill the gaps.
Once the CFT team leader completes a first draft of the implementation schedule, she consults with the heads of each functional area associated with the project to agree on who from each functional area will be part of the team. The CFT leader adds or revises these names to the appropriate tasks in the implementation schedule they’re associated with. Once chosen, these functional area subject matter experts will attend each CFT implementation meeting.
The scheduling of regular (typically weekly) CFT implementation meetings is where the magic happens. In each meeting the schedule is reviewed and team members identify missing tasks or possible obstacles to successful implementation, causes of possible delays or even ways to accelerate the implementation. The CFT leader incorporates these changes into the task list and timetable and send the updated schedule to the team shortly after each meeting.
Two key features of a CFT are the secrets to its success:
its flexibility to adapt to changes, and accountability that
comes from assigning an owner and a deadline to every task.
In each weekly meeting there are discrete tasks that are due. For example, in our illustration the CFT team leader, Ms. Smith, is to report out on whether she completed the task of finalizing CFT members by June 3. If she did, then that task is shown as completed in the following meeting’s updated implementation schedule. If it is not completed, then she needs to explain why not and a revised due date is established, which will also be reflected in the next implementation schedule update.
Importantly, one missed deadline might impact other team members’ deliverables and that will need to be discussed and resolved during the meeting. Due dates for the other affected tasks might also need to be changed. This illustrates a key feature of the CFT process: its flexibility. Changes are identified quickly, their impacts are discussed by the full team, and agreed-upon revisions are reflected in an updated implementation schedule.
By the way, as CFT lead Ms. Smith also needs to report up to her supervisor(s) on a regular basis on the progress her team is making. It’s particularly important to notify her supervisor promptly if something new is threating the overall success of the project or delaying its completion.
A second key feature of CFTs is accountability. The CFT leader is accountable for overall project success but each CFT member is equally accountable for identifying and executing their tasks by a deadline.
In the 30+ years I’ve been part of or led CFTs in both the private and public sectors, if properly managed and properly staffed I’ve never seen the process fail, no matter how complex the project.
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