Eye Care for Detroit
Key Contributions
User research for home-bound eye care patients
Leveraged my entrepreneurial experience in project management and consultant
Team communication and team collaboration
Risk and change management, flexibility around scope.
Background
The City of Detroit is home to approximately 40,000 homebound residents. Many of these residents are most vulnerable and at greater risk of blindness and vision decline according to the Vision Detroit Project (2022). Eye Care For Detroit, Inc., was developed in 2022 as a sister-company to American Advantage Home Care, Inc., to help close the access to eye care gap for homebound Detroiters.
Our Goal
To create a database framework, a prototype of a mobile eye care unit, increased sign-up of care providers.
Our Response
Transformation of outreach and onboarding information and a polished slide deck
Design of a 3D prototype for mobile eye care unit and corresponding budget
Development of database architecture and sample framework to store patient data
Many primary tasks required engagement from stakeholders along the way which lead to delays
Sharing progress with client fostered excitement about product, increased buy in
Teamwork is easy with a shared goal
Used our diverse backgrounds to ask questions and solve problems uniquely
Key Project Highlights
Client engagement was sporadic, forced us to alter the scope
Difficult to precisely plan every element of dependency and delay
Project Phases
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Scope
To ensure project flexibility, we defined the initial scope broadly, enabling us to adjust expectations and change the scope as needed. This allowed for exploration of different options and ensured adaptability to evolving needs. The approach resulted in delivering the best possible outcome for the client while remaining within the defined scope.
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Engage
To ensure productive meetings, we focused on providing feedback and discussing potential steps for moving forward, keeping everyone engaged and motivated towards achieving the mission. The team's motivation towards the mission helped to keep everyone focused and working towards a common goal.
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Plan
For effective planning, we used Asana to create a timeline and prioritized research and defining deliverables early. We broke down tasks into smaller pieces and spread them out evenly to ensure steady progress and avoid last-minute rushes.
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Sell
Sharing progress with the client fostered excitement about the product and increased buy-in, creating a positive working relationship and ensuring satisfaction with the end product.
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Research
Thorough research brought us closer to the client's knowledge base, supplementing their lack of engagement at times and leading to informed decision making and a successful outcome.
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Innovate
Having the right information was crucial to the smooth process, and our diverse backgrounds enabled us to ask unique questions and approach problems creatively, leading to successful outcomes.
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Decide
Flexibility in decision-making kept tasks on track, and an established timeline encouraged quick decision models to be implemented, ensuring efficient progress.
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Manage
Divide and conquer was used to assign individuals to specific tasks, ensuring effective management and decision-making by the experts in each field, resulting in successful outcomes.
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Change Management
We emphasized new goals and effectively pivoted to a new workflow when unable to achieve the original set goals, allowing us to adapt and achieve successful outcomes.
Solution
Onboard eye-care physicians, develop a mobile-eye care unit, and create a database for homebound patients to enhance accessibility and ensure robust vision care for the client.
“I could not be any more impressed by the professionalism, diligence, creativity, and follow-through from the team that was assigned to me from the U-M Project Management Course. They worked cohesively to research and design the rollout of a new enterprise offering for our business that will positively impact the lives of thousands of Detroiters with the potential of growing our business by 400% over the next two years. This program ensures that students work through the nuances and pitfalls of navigating from concept to pre-commercialization while aiding client organizations confidentially, thoughtfully and intimately.”
Dr. Cleamon Moorer Jr.
President and CEO American Advantage
Client Feedback
Key Takeaways
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Scoping
Clearly defining the project scope, planning and regularly evaluating the plan, and developing contingency plans for unexpected events are key to project success.
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Building strong stakeholder relationships
Building strong relationships with key stakeholders, understanding their communication preferences, involving them in decision-making, and communicating the value of proposed solutions can increase client engagement and support
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Change management
Change management should be driven by a clear problem or need, and a clear change management plan should be developed that includes communication, training, and stakeholder engagement.