Andreea Daly

​In July 2019, the nine separate research council communications teams were merged into a single UKRI communications and engagement function comprising 150 people.

As a result, a completely new directorate was created, and no single planning tool or digital asset management (DAM) library existed for the new directorate to collaborate and plan.

I managed these two projects, from requirements gathering to procurement, configuration, implementation, and roll-out.

Due to the technical nature of the planning tool and DAM projects, the services of a specialist PM were required, with in-depth knowledge of specific communications IT systems to ensure an accurate:

• Understanding and documentation of the technical requirements
• Migration of projects and assets from old systems onto the new ones
• System configuration that would reflect the UKRI communications and public engagement teams’ workflow and process needs

We needed to ensure we could procure the very best tools to meet maximum needs across the UKRI family.

I used my off-the-shelf project management software and DAM systems experience to suggest the best system requirements, migration methods, and configuration recommendations.

I helped map out the current processes and ways of working, building up to the magic wand scenario, which means what would this look like if you could wave a magic wand.

Identified the tools needed to achieve this and managed the procurement process to obtain the required tools. Afterward, I managed configuration, implementation, and rollout to the team, while phasing out the current working methods.

I managed to document the tools and processes and put in the training and reference materials for new starters' onboarding.

I helped manage the rollout of a helpdesk tool to a business of 7,000 colleagues, including the beta launch, testing, iterating, and full launch.

The team has now been transitioned from managing incoming requests via various channels like emails, phone calls, and walk-ups through one helpdesk tool, tracking and managing SLAs they're now able to offer to the business, improving turnaround times and the team's existing capacity to allow for more work to be delivered without increasing head-count.

The new standard operating procedure is considerably easier to onboard and maintain up to date.

I consulted with the creative department at Walgreens Boots Alliance in London. This department managed around five brands' creative requests in a very manual, laborious way. They were growing in traffic and brands and needed a much more efficient way to manage, track, and allocate the work.

I managed the requirements gathering, scoping out processes, and designing new modules in a software package we were configuring to create a bespoke system and method for them to use in the studio.

The studio increased the turnaround in acceptance of new briefs, the volume of briefs they could handle, and improved the delivery time on all work without increasing head-count.

The system went on to be used to manage over 22 brands' work and quickly became the foundation for the team's ways of working, especially allowing work to continue during the pandemic as it was already digital and set up to account for a large volume of freelancers, all working in different geographies.