On Project Management:

The Aurora North Way

The Pursuit of Perfection

At Aurora North, we believe that strong project management is essential for successful services engagements, regardless of firm size.

Over the last 15 years, we’ve completed over 700 services engagements across the US and UK, and have deep familiarity with law firm business applications and systems, as well as the policies, people and processes we need to navigate to deliver successful outcomes. Our proven methodology addresses human factors, training and change management.

Most importantly, our team is committed to your long-term success. We value long-standing relationships with our clients and want you to view Aurora North as part of your team.

Right-sized Management for Real-world Success

At Aurora North, we execute projects in a way that is best suited to your specific environment, priorities, culture and timelines. We know that not every law firm operations team is the same.

Reporting

Some teams welcome detailed technical reports, distributed widely; others prefer more concise high-level updates that are shared with one person or a limited group on a weekly basis.

As part of our kick-off meeting, we’ll agree on the reporting format and frequency that works best for you. By delivering status updates in an easily digestible format, we can ensure that time isn’t wasted compiling extensive reports that no one reads. And we’ll ensure we’re delivering the right information in the right frequency and format, so it has the right impact we all want it to have.

Team Meetings  

Similarly, we will structure any team meetings and calls to ensure that we’re making the best use of everyone’s time. Whether your team prefers tele- or video- conferences, our project managers will ensure that each meeting starts with a clear agenda and concludes with clear action items and deadlines.

Milestones 

We can also work with you to create project snapshots — summaries that enable you to share the achievement of key milestones with your key stakeholders and firm management. We understand that periodic updates can help to build internal excitement and support for any new implementation, and we are committed to helping you lay the groundwork for a successful rollout.

Project Standards

Working with our project managers, you and your firm can expect:

  • Systematic documentation and analysis of your goals, objectives and requirements

  • A clear statement of work and project plan, including an overall schedule

  • Management of the project team as we execute to plan

  • Regular communication of project status, including milestones reached, challenges faced, and further guidance or inputs required

  • Discussion of issues that could impact project delivery dates and budget, including risks, technical considerations or other developments

By collaborating closely with your internal team — and keeping an eye on how we’re progressing to plan — we are better positioned to help you achieve your objectives, meet and even exceed expectations, and avoid surprises.

Finally, we are firm believers in “teaching to fish” and aim to make your team self-sufficient — so you’re not dependent on us for future modifications and training — although we are also happy to assist if the need arises.

When Your Project Requirements Change

Planning for the unexpected — and helping to navigate when project requirements change or issues arise — is critical to project success. At Aurora North, we’re committed to working with you to ensure that any issues that could affect the project are addressed and taken care of as soon as possible.

Our project managers also help with contingency planning — identifying what could go wrong, so that we’re ready with a Plan B and C if and when needed.

If we identify deviations in how we’re tracking to schedule and budget, we’ll work with you to identify the issues that are affecting progress, determine whether we need to add more resources, and develop a workable solution.