The Situation
A large non-profit, recognized as a “soft target” by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), had completed two Security Assessment at First Entry (SAFE) assessments over five years. A SAFE assessment helps facility owners and operators understand and reduce their exposure to security risks.
The most recent assessment found new areas to improve, on top of ongoing work from the previous one. The changes touched every part of the organization: better training, upgraded facilities and security systems, new plans and procedures, new equipment, and system integrations. All of it had to fit into a fast-paced environment.
Like most non-profits, the organization had no dedicated project management staff with risk management expertise, and no system that could track so many connected activities.
Budget, operating cycles, and staffing limits also had to be considered. The approach needed to be simple, flexible, easy to maintain, and clearly documented.
Our Solution
Edwards applied its project management and enterprise risk management expertise to quickly assess where the organization stood and lay out a clear roadmap toward a more secure, resilient environment.
The first step was breaking down the most recent DHS and SAFE reports. That analysis identified more than 90 individual activities. Edwards organized them by category, mapped how they depended on each other, and assigned priorities using a scoring method that weighed impact and feasibility. This made sure the highest-value actions happened first.
With the current state and the goal defined, Edwards built a visual project management tool to guide the work: the Organizational Resilience Program (ORP) tool. It uses Agile techniques to sort, prioritize, and fold the steady stream of new tasks into existing resilience and security work. A backlog and progress tracker keep everything managed as a whole.
Simply working through the assessment would have been easy. But the organization needed a system that would carry it into the future and stay useful beyond today’s needs. Building the ORP tool on Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Planner, which the organization already had, kept costs down. Separate, secure workspaces let internal and external team members share access.
Agile project management was a natural fit. It delivers value quickly, stays flexible, and gives a steady rhythm for managing a large volume of work, helping the team achieve both operational resilience and long-term success.
