I am writing this at the start of April and, at our house, the “Spring Clean” is well underway!
This year, I have two new best friends: white wine vinegar and bicarbonate of soda!
Oh my!!!! Where have these been all my adult life?!!!????!!!
Actually, I can tell you exactly where both have been … the bicarbonate of soda hadn’t moved from the cake-baking-stuff cupboard (probably bought after watching an episode of The Great British Bake Off and waiting for the moment I, once again, channel my inner Paul Hollywood) and the white wine vinegar has permanent residence in the condiment cupboard (from when I made a spectacular vinaigrette*!).
So, both bought with a different, single purpose in mind … but the cleaning tasks that that these two ingredients can handle are amazing!! From cleaning shower doors and bathroom mirrors to eating through limescale and hard water marks to bringing up the stainless steel to look new, the white vinegar is a manna from spring clean heaven … and I’ve used bicarbonate of soda (with lemon juice) to freshen the grouting, to remove tea stains from mugs and, as a bicarb and vinegar paste, worked wonders on the oven door.
I doesn’t have to white wine vinegar by the way, the regular 35p bottles of distilled white vinegar do as good a job in most places – the aroma just lasts a little longer!
Anyway, before I turn fully into Lynsey Queen of Clean (who IS my new cleaning hero!), let’s bring this back to IT Project Management … two questions:
1 – Should you “Spring Clean” your IT Project Management approach?
2 – Is there a magic secret weapon (like bicarb and vinegar) already in your cupboard?
The answer is yes … to both.
A SPRING CLEAN FOR IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Have you just had your budgets for the next financial year? Are you expected to deliver more with less money? What better time to make your operation as efficient as possible?!
A Spring Clean for IT Project Management is a great way to refresh processes, improve efficiency, and reduce risks. Here are six key areas you could focus on:
1 – Project Backlog & Priorities
• Review all ongoing and planned projects.
• Reassess priorities based on business goals.
• Cancel or sideline outdated or low-value projects.
2 – Project Documentation & Governance
• Update project charters, roadmaps, and risk logs.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and industry standards.
• Remove outdated or redundant documentation.
3 – Tools & Technology
• Audit project management tools (Are Trello, Asana, etc., still working for you?).
• Eliminate unused or redundant tools.
• Check for updates, integrations, and automation opportunities.
4 – Team Roles & Responsibilities
• Clarify roles and responsibilities.
• Ensure proper resource allocation and workload balance.
• Identify training or upskilling needs for the team.
5 – Processes & Workflows
• Optimise workflows for efficiency.
• Identify bottlenecks in approvals or task management.
• Improve Agile, Scrum, or Waterfall processes if necessary.
6 – Stakeholder Communication & Reporting
• Review stakeholder engagement strategies.
• Simplify or improve reporting formats.
• Enhance collaboration with better transparency and feedback loops.
Now, these are just illustrative examples of areas you may focus on during an IT Project Management spring clean, you may identify different priorities, perhaps: budget and cost management; knowledge/lessons learned documentation, culture and team, AI integration, etc.
I mean, it’s the same with your spring clean at home, your oven door might be pristine already, but your sink and drains may need unblocking! It’s great knowing that you have a secret weapon waiting in your cupboard! (Bicarb and vinegar great for both these tasks, by the way.)
Happily, you have a potent secret weapon for your IT Project Management spring clean too …
YOUR IT PROJECT SPRING CLEAN SECRET WEAPON
IT Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) can provide significant elbow-grease to your IT project management spring clean with flexible, expert-driven support – and it’s not just resources!
Like the bicarbonate of soda and the white vinegar, there are many ways that Stoneseed’s PMaaS can help your spring clean, and it goes way beyond the PMaaS “uses” that you know and love – like a project manager when you need one!
Here’s how PMaaS can help in each of those six focus area examples:
1 – Project Backlog & Priorities
PMaaS can conduct a professional portfolio review, identifying low-value projects and ensuring alignment with business goals.
Helps prioritise initiatives using data-driven decision-making and best practices.
2 – Project Documentation & Governance
Benefit from standardised templates, frameworks, and compliance checks to ensure consistency.
PMaaS talent have a wide experience of different approaches and can help documentation clean-up, reducing clutter and improving governance.
3 – Tools & Technology Stack
Offers expertise in tool selection, integration, and optimisation, ensuring teams use the best-fit tools efficiently.
Identifies redundant tools and implements automation to improve efficiency.
4 – Team Roles & Responsibilities
Helps define clear roles and accountability, reducing confusion and improving team collaboration.
Can provide temporary or permanent project management resources to fill gaps in expertise or capacity.
5 – Processes & Workflows
A fresh pair of eyes and broader experience brings industry best practices to optimise workflows.
Can identify bottlenecks and implement process improvements to increase efficiency.
6 – Stakeholder Communication & Reporting
Using Stoneseed’s P3MO platform, you can access standardised reporting and dashboards, improving transparency and decision-making.
PMaaS can also provide external, unbiased insights and “better ways to work” (which can enhance stakeholder engagement and expectation management.
SPRING FORWARD – FROM CLUTTER TO CLARITY
PMaaS had always given you scalable, on-demand expertise to streamline your IT project management, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency – without the need for full-time internal resources … but when it comes to spring cleaning – it’s more than that.
Spring cleaning your IT project management approach isn’t just about tidying up, it’s about creating a more efficient, agile, and resilient system that can drive real business value.
By reviewing key areas, like backlog prioritisation, governance, and tool optimisation, you can eliminate waste, reduce inefficiencies, and ensure projects align with strategic goals. When you focus on budget control, risk management, and knowledge sharing, you can lay stronger foundation for long-term success.
Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) can be the secret weapon because, instead of relying solely on internal teams (that may be stretched thin already), you can access expert-led support and clean up processes, improve decision-making, and implement best practices. Whether it’s optimising workflows, streamlining communication, or filling critical skill gaps, PMaaS provides the flexibility to enhance project management without the overhead of full-time hires.
When you spring clean, or take any proactive approach to project management maintenance, you’ll be amazed how you can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and boost team performance and enjoy all the benefits of a well-structured, well-managed project environment, such as improved collaboration, greater stakeholder confidence, and ultimately more successful project outcomes.
With the right strategy and support, your IT project team can turn its project portfolio into a streamlined, high-performing innovation and growth engine!
So … you up for a spring clean?
Call 01623 723910 – I’ll grab my marigolds and the bicarb!!!!
PS * My vinaigrette was: 1 part white wine vinegar; 1 part lemon juice; 5 parts extra virgin olive oil; pinch salt/pepper (to taste)