Project management

“Several boot camps have taken place in the past few months. Usually, these are always on-site events that lasted several days, but this was no longer possible due to the corona situation. The solution? Hold the boot camp virtually, as project manager for vehicle bodies and exteriors Michael Roth, who helped design and organise the format, explains: “Because of social distancing, we let the boot camp take place virtually for the first time. Unconnected from the coronavirus, project work is increasingly taking place in virtual space, anyway. We had been planning for a long time that we would further develop the format in this direction so that in future we could offer our customers increasingly digital processing of their projects. This is faster, more efficient and more cost effective, too.”

“But what happens during the four-day boot camp? The central component is the processing of a practical but unrelated case study: the 22 participants from different business areas had to submit an offer for the development of an aircraft and prepare milestone releases. “We deliberately designed the processing of the case study to be challenging. The participants had to sift through and process a large amount of information in a very short time. In addition, the teams had to make decisions very quickly and finally pitch their results in front of a committee,”says Michael. “We designed the case study together with the former head of Audi production planning, Arne Lakeit. His practical expertise has greatly enhanced the format.”

Anyone who wants to survive in such a demanding environment needs the right tools. The boot camp was repeatedly interspersed with training content on various topics: conflict management, pyramidal structuring, solution-oriented ways of working. Professional trainers from the xm-institute taught content by means of lectures and practical exercises.

Most of the boot camp participants took part from their living room or study at home. The right methods and tools were therefore required for successful collaboration in virtual space. The Zoom video platform formed the basis for the participants' daily exchange. In addition, virtual whiteboards and the digital learning platform Moodle were put to use. Some of the boot camp’s learning content has also been digitised for virtual output. For example, "Delegation Poker": the xm-institute converted the actual "analogue" deck of cards for digital use. It is a card-based method that teams use to quickly agree responsibilities and decision-making powers.

“Working in digital space has its own challenges, as revealed by participant and vehicle safety expert Matthias Bauer: “during the boot camp, we received extensive training in virtual work. In presentations, for example, it is very important to increase your presence through the use of your voice and active gestures in front of the camera in order to be convincing.” In addition to requirements when presenting, successful virtual collaboration is also heavily dependent on a methodical and structured approach: “Responsibilities and tasks must be clearly established to efficiently achieve objectives,” explains Matthias. “If you're sitting in the same room, anything that is unclear can be dealt with faster than with virtual collaboration.”

“During the four days, the participants constantly improved. What appeared to be an almost insurmountable task on the first day was made possible through consistent teamwork and dedication. “As in previous boot camps, our colleagues showed a very steep learning curve with the virtual output," says Erhard. “The cohesion and team spirit were first-class and our colleagues did an excellent job in the final pitches. Success also celebrated with a well-earned beer online.”