During protracted periods of economic uncertainty, companies always prioritize corporate initiatives and more often than not increasing conversion rate and other revenue generation activities give way to improving operational efficiency, or enhancing customer experience, as the main business drivers for programmes. However, such programmes are continuously put under financial scrutiny to shed expensive resources like contractors and consultants, and replace them with cheaper internal resources. Naturally, the PMO is the obvious candidate department for business managers to raid, and replenish their lost resources.

Here lies the opportunity for PMO directors to turn the situation to their advantage. Rather than capitulate PMO resources for free, the PMO director should charge resources out to the programme concerned. This can be done for instance on a cost plus pricing model. No matter how bitterly business managers complain, a well trained PMO resource equipped with vital organizational knowledge and available at a fraction of the price of an expensive consultant, is too good to ignore. Besides, business managers know they will not get a better deal. Alternative resources take too long to learn programme specifics and become conversant with organizational politics—this includes nuturing sound relationships with executives and senior managers.

A change of mindset is therefore required, if the PMO director is to succeed in the department’s full conversion to a profit centre. Firstly, key enterprise programmes must be identified, where PMO resources not only replace contractors and consultants, but offer services of equal or better quality. Secondly, ensure that the revenue generated from such placements is sufficient to meet all of PMO’s internals costs (including training and staff development) while making a small profit. Thirdly, develop key competencies and actively vie for placement of PMO staff on other corporate programmes, especially those programmes that have proven longevity and business value. Finally, ensure that staff placed on enterprise programmes regularly augment the routine PMO work (e.g. the aggregation of risk/issues, preparation of executive reports, etc) performed by PMO staff left behind.

During this period of transformation, the PMO director is sure to run into a myriad of challenges, out of which, active CFO support and the effective management of staff utilization on programmes, are the biggest hurdles.

In practice, many PMO directors rarely put up a stern defence of their department before CFOs—often fearing the worst. Normally, CFO’s are not obnoxious people and are in many ways open to innovative ideas that reduce costs and assist in the retention of business value. The PMO director must be prepared to convince CFOs that in challenging economic circumstances, there is the potential to generate profit and deliver value to business units. At this juncture, the PMO director should leverage executive relationships to buttress the arguments in the favour of PMO’s makeover from a cost centre to a profit centre.

When the PMO director is triumphant in soliciting CFO support, and the PMO is successful on a few corporate programmes, the utilization of staff becomes the next insurmountable obstacle. Other business units exasperated by the CFO’s moratorium on external recruitment place relentless pressure on the PMO to provide resources. At this point, many executives, and senior managers will go to great lengths to remind the PMO director of their support and past favours. This is a predicament that the PMO director will find hard to fathom, and difficult decisions will have to be made.

Abid Mustafa is a seasoned professional with 18 years’ experience in the IT and Telecommunications industry, specializing in enhancing corporate performance through the establishment and operation of executive PMOs and delivering tangible benefits through the management of complex transformation programmes and projects. Currently he is working as a director of corporate programmes for a leading telecoms operator in the MENA region.

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Will developing new infrastructure actually result in a boost to economies in the developing world?

The developing world needs to double its food production by the year 2050, and the G20 contends that stable food prices have a positive effect on developing nations’ long-term prosperity. Therefore, the development would need to be primarily in making access to cheap, nutritious, safe food sources and water supplies, as well as in transportation systems that could be used to improve access to food and water supplies for those in developing regions. Global population increases mean the need for food is a critical one, which must be addressed.

Countries such as the UK also have a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. According to the WPI economics consultancy “energy crops” (agricultural crops which can be used for bioenergy) can help deliver crucial negative emissions and also play an important role in supporting jobs, levelling up rural communities, helping nature recover and improving biodiversity.

The G20’s ability to effect positive change for developing countries, as well as low-income areas in the US and Europe, would not just be a badge of honour for the G20. It could also be a template for the way future global crises are handled.

What is the role of a professional project manager in helping the G20’s goals become a reality?

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https://www.projectaccelerator.co.uk/contact/

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Paul Naybour and John Bolton, Parallel Project Training

The social media revolution

The last ten years have see an explosion in social media with an estimated 307.4million unique visitors to social network sites in December 2009, an increase on 82% on the previous year (Nielsen Company, 2010). Many dozens of sites exist but the most recognisable and relevant to project managers are probably LinkedIn and Twitter, but these goliaths of the cyber world are not alone. Social networking sites abound, the growth of easy to use ‘blogging’ sites and the availability of open source software (such as WordPress) means that just about anyone armed with very little technical knowledge can express and exchange ideas in an interactive way with many thousands of others in a matter of days. The combined social networks and blogs are now the most popular form of online activity, according to the market research company Nielsen.

Social networks do not need to be external to an organisation like LinkedIn. An internal social network is a closed or private community that consists of a group or people within a company, association, society, education provider or other selected list. These facilities are often created for specific groups to support the real social networks within an organisation to help establish communities of practice to share knowledge, information and experience about a particular area or business interest.

The project management community have been part of this revolution with 2.8million project managers registered on LinkedIn alone. Resourceful project managers are always looking for tools to help them manage projects more effectively but are these social networking tools a help or an unwanted diversion with the potential to detract from delivery focus? In this article we will look at how social networks could be one part of the solution to the management demands of our increasingly complex projects.

The Growing Complexity of Global Project Management?

Projects have not escaped the globalisation trends. Modern technologies enable teams to work around the world with apparent ease. But in so doing they introduce for themselves a whole raft of new problems than did not emerge when teams were all co-located in a single geography or even office. This dispersal is a one of the key factors in the nature of the projects complexity. The problems created as a result stem from several factors all of which have their roots in ambiguity and uncertainty. Research in the Australian Commonwealth Defence Department identified seven themes which contribute to this increased complexity (Remington, 11-13 October 2009) which can be summarised as:

1. Ability to achieve goals including lack of clarity, incomplete or inadequate requirements or earlier decisions which are no longer valid.
2. Stakeholders including multiple and diverse stakeholder groups, changes in senior stakeholders, varying, unclear, unrealistic or ambiguous stakeholder requirements or multi sponsor projects in which no one sponsor is able to set clear direction.
3. Increased interfaces and interdependencies results in a lack of control due to multiple owners with different philosophies, interfaces between different projects, problems in retrofitting or upgrading existing systems due to lack of information, cross-organisation interdependencies and quality integration issues.
4. Technology including innovation, cutting edge and changing technology.
5. Management processes due to varying contractual arrangements which increase the challenge of getting alignment between the client and the supplier.
6. Working practices including different cultural attitudes between participating nations, time-zones, language differences and the inappropriate use of project methods
7. Time, including changes in requirements during the project duration, changes in decision making and the requirements to frequently re-shape the plan.

These complexity factors put our traditional assumptions of project management under strain because;

1. We assume that we can reduce the complexity by de-composing the project into ever more tightly defined and simpler compartments. Paradoxically it has been shown that these reductionist approaches in fact lead to increased complexity within the project as each further level of breakdown generates even more interfaces that need to be managed and controlled.
2. We assume a “clockwork universe” in which the future is predictable and repeatable and the outcomes are in proportion to the inputs. This may be true for relatively simple tasks, but as the complexity increases these rules of predictability become less and less true.
3. We assume that the future is controllable by the development of detailed plans and management control over the workers actions. The job of planning and control becomes increasingly more difficult as the level of formal control increases.
4. We assume we can eliminate all major risks through identification, assessment planning and management. Ultimately we cannot identify every risk and fail to recognise the dramatic effect of the ‘unknown unknowns’ associated with projects involving diverse and geographically distributed project teams.

In reality these assumptions were never quite true for all but the simplest co-located projects and with greater dispersal of teams and stakeholders across different cultures and environments these classic assumptions become even more challenged.

How to Manage Complex Projects

The management of complexity is a topic of much debate (Whitty SJ, 2008) and a full discussion is beyond the scope of this article and although the guidance is still developing current advice can be summarised as:

1. In so far as possible design the complexity out of the project. Use work and organisation breakdown structures, methodologies and contracting strategies;
2. Adapt project planning to include long term strategic and short term tactical approaches by adopting a flexible approach such as rolling wave techniques to only plan in detail what you can reasonably forecast;
3. Become familiar with ambiguity and uncertainly and seek to understand and explore the root causes;
4. Actively seek out the ‘unknown unknown’ risks by engaging a wide range of stakeholders;
5. Take active steps the build a social network within the project to support the flow of information and attempt to replace what would otherwise happen naturally in a co-located project team.

Each of these would justify a volume of work on their own. The social networking theme of this month’s magazine drives us to consider the last topic here, that being the contribution that a developed social networking facility can make to reducing complexity and making the project mangers efforts more effective.

Can a social network help?

Every project relies on an informal communications network supports the more structured approaches enshrined in communication plans, stakeholder management plans, reporting procedures and so on. These informal meetings used to happen in the corridor, at the ‘water cooler’, coffee shop, elevator, in the car park. They are a key component of the social glue which keeps the project team moving in the right direction, highlighting risks, resolving issues and cementing progress before they get anywhere near the more formal systematic project management umbrella. This glue holds a project together. It represents the linkages between individuals and coalitions within the wider project team. Each social network has a ‘social capital’ which forms from the sum of the knowledge in the network, the strengths of the links between members, the alignment of the actors objectives, the collaboration between them and the effectiveness of the team leadership. (Hanifan, 1920). The skill of the best project mangers has always been to balance the use of the formal project approach with empathy for the social network to build a high performing team. With increasingly divers geographic teams we have lost much of this social glue.

Social Networking in the Virtual Team

Recognising the importance of the project social network is the first step in understanding how fundamental it is to the successful delivery of project. In a virtual team it is not possible to bring groups together on a regular basis (if at all), individuals cannot be forced into interacting with people they have never met. Could it be that the use of the social network tools will allow us to replace the lost interaction of the co-located team with a surrogate version hosted in one of these systems? Could they offer a replacement for that chance corridor meeting, the informal conversation over the skinny latte with extra caramel, the beer after work?

It’s possible that as with a traditional co-located team, debates and discussion could take place outside the constraints of formal communication, with on-going discussion of project issues and risks using the informal networks between team members. It might just be that we do not need to provide a procedure so individuals can interact with each other. Now there’s a thought.

Would I put my project on facebook?

A public forum like Facebook or LinkedIn may not be the most appropriate place to build a project network for obvious security and confidentiality reasons. The technology is so cheap and available though that this functionally can be easily replicated on a company intranet (available only within the organization) of extranet (which is available to partners). Typically based on propriety or open source platforms they have the potential to support and facilitate this valuable informal communication and knowledge sharing across a geographically dispersed project team. Many organistions already use internal discussion boards to provide technical support or project blog sites to keep a diversely distributed project team in touch with the latest project news. The extension of these approaches to develop a project social network is a relatively easy step.

If it’s such a good idea, why don’t we all do it?

We have been socially interacting for millions of years and arguably doing reasonably well as a result. As soon as a new mechanism, concept or idea comes along there is a natural human tendency to seek out opportunities from it but at the same time a reluctance on the part of the ‘establishment’ to change. Eventually we adapt but it can take a while. This cultural reticence stands in the way of an immediate and wholehearted adoption of things (like) social networking systems. This will over time wash out of the system as people reared and inculcated on these new and innovative techniques take their place amongst the traditionalists.

For now though there are a few things that need to be considered by an organization considering adopting such a system to encouraging staff to interact.

• There is a fear that it is abused and merely becomes a faster mechanism for staff to build cabals and cliques and potentially drive negativity;
• There will be staff who do not want to use the facility, take an adverse view and simply disenfranchise themselves from others;
• Once a group has formed it is difficult to become a member later and this may alienate those late adopters;
• The real social network will still exist outside the virtual network;
• The informal network may simply end up undermining the necessary hierarchical control and communication that project managers are taught to develop?
• Systems, technology and time all cost money. Whilst the system itself can be inexpensive the moderating activities could be substantial;
• Are we just facilitating a magnificent opportunity to waste time?

Conclusion

Modern communication technology has enabled projects to become increasingly fragmented and multinational adding exponentially as they go to the complexity of trying to manage them using the traditional methods. The co-located social networks that used to support the development of a performing team are increasingly more difficult to develop and maintain. Social networking systems seem to offer one way of maintaining this loose, unstructured but essential contact so as to underpin a more diverse project team. These tools are not without their dangers but rest assured that the downsides will not be solved through misguided attempts to regulate them. How effective will they be? It has taken thousands of years to become used to the written word, hundreds for telephones, tens for visual tools, perhaps the dawn of a new and more liberated way of interacting may be closer than any of us think. Ask a young adult just out of university, here’s a quote from one of them.

“I think social media, when used effectively, can be very useful for project management. Project teams are increasingly composed of young professionals. Rather than stifle their interest in social networking, why not utilize the creativity and initiative? Applications such as Twitter and Facebook can be effective tools for communicating in real time with project team members. Information sharing tools such as Digg, StumbleUpon, and Google Buzz are great ways to send relevant articles and research papers to the team as well as promote your project”

Watch this space!

Bibliography

Hanifan, L. J.-1. (1920). The Community Cente. Boston: Silver Burdett.

Nielsen Company. (2010, January 22). Led by Facebook, Twitter, Global Time Spent on Social Media Sites up 82% Year over Year. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from Nielsen Wire: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/led-by-facebook-twitter-global-time-spent-on-social-media-sites-up-82-year-over-year/

Remington, K. a. (11-13 October 2009). A model of project complexity :distinguishing dimensions of complexity from severity. Proceedings of the 9th International Research Network of Project Management. Berlin.

Whitty SJ, M. H. (2008). And then came Complex Project Management (revised), . Int J Project Management , doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.03.004.

Parallel Project Training

John Bolton and Paul Naybour of founders of Parallel Project Training the newest APM accredited training provider. Parallel Project Training aims to improve the access to learning resources by using modern technology such as podcasts, e-learning, communities of practice, moderated forums and webinars to complement traditional printed study guides and training workshops. Join them at a free webinar on the 19^th April to discuss these issues in more detail. Visit www.parallelprojecttraining.com
to book your place.

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As I write this, the feeling is that the jobs market for project managers is beginning to pick up. At Project Challenge this week many recruitment consultants, journalists, and specialists on the PMI an APM stand said that the number of advertised jobs for project managers is beginning to pick up. So if you are looking for a new job will a project management certification help you get a job?

Will a project management qualification get me that job?

Increasingly employers have the pick of candidates to interview for job vacancies. Regrettably this means that they look for more specific set of requirements from candidates to pre-screen CVs before an interview. This means that minimum requirements for a professional qualification are becoming increasingly more common. However it remains true that a qualification is only going to get you considered for an interview the most important factor is going to be you demonstration of competence within your CV. Can you show how you effectively used project management to deliver successful projects in a professional way? How did you plan your stakeholder management? Can you give examples of risk that were avoided by effective management? Employers are looking for those who demonstrate a consistent approach to the delivery of projects.

Which project management courses should I take?

Given that project management qualification can help you get on the short list for the interview. Which one should you take? Well if you just need something to boost your qualification then anything will do, well almost. It is best to target the qualification that most suits to industry you are targeting. PRINCE2 is very strong in the UK public sector and its supply base, especially in the IT sector. The PMI PMP is most widely recognised in global organisations, especially those with their roots in the USA. The APM is strongest in the infrastructure, defence and IT sectors.

Blended approaches to training?

The traditional approach to project management qualification has been a full 5-day course with the exam at the end of the week. These types of course are too expensive for many seeking a new job. However a number of providers now offer blended solutions with increasing levels of self study and support. The options can be highly cost effective using podcast, printed study material, e-learning and fast track workshops. Using these materials job seekers can now search for jobs on a much more cost effective way.

Parallel Project Training offers APM PMQ training (previously know as the APMP) by distance learning and podcast.

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Who is the risk owner?

In the post credit crunch era will anyone believe risk management again? Risk management has gone down the road of building ever more complex and sophisticated databases of project risk. Each risk is categorised and analysed to death. Do we run the risk of missing the wood for the trees? Most critical risks are not associated with the project we are delivering, more specifically they are linked to the effect of other project and associated uncertainties. These unknown, unknowns are difficult to put your finger on and many of them are outside the control of the project. They belong more to the organisation or the portfolio. Programme Managers are not stupid; they much prefer to keep pushing the risks and accountability back down to the project manager.

May be it’s time for a change?

Maybe we should put our risk management efforts not in to worrying about the risks to the delivery of the project, but the risk of the project to the organisation and other projects. The issue is who would own these risks and where would we record them. How many organisations have programme risk registers.

It is much easier to go back to the old ways of managing the project as an island.

For more podcasts visit project risk management

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What is the project risk management process?

The project risk management process is well known. With initiate the project, identify the risks, asses the risks, plan risk reduction measures, implement the responses. These processes apply to the different levels of an organisation project, programme and portfolio, it is just the ways of application that are different.

Differences in impact?

The main difference is the level of the impact.

In a Project Management environment the impact being considered is the impact on the project success criteria, typical time, cost and quality but also issues such as quality and safety. These are quite tactical project objectives.

In a Programme risks will have an impact on the programme benefits. Will the organisation receive the benefits from the completion of the projects in the programme. Typically this will include the user application of the system or the increased sales of a service.

In a Portfolio the risks are associated with the future health and growth of the organisation. Risks at a portfolio level include things such as the lack of competitiveness or innovation within the organisation or increased competition in particular markets.

The basic risk process is the same at each level, but the way it is applied is different for each level. For example a brainstorming workshop might be appropriate for a small project team however for senior directors a series of face-to-face meetings followed by a board presentation may the more appropriate and cost effective.

To learn more about project risk management courses visit Parallel Project Training

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In the most basic sense, populations cannot be sustained without adequate infrastructure. In terms of the economy, businesses cannot operate without power, a healthy and capable workforce, and the means to transport materials and products.

In some parts of the US, the infrastructure is insufficient to support large populations. These are typically isolated, rural areas without adequate water supplies or ready access to large highways. In other parts of the country, extensive infrastructure is present, but it is outdated, in need of repair, or has reached maximum capacity.

Most infrastructure was originally constructed through a combination of low-interest government loans and government grant monies. Highways and roads are examples of public infrastructure that have been maintained through the periodic infusion of government monies. Railways and telecommunication systems are examples of privately owned infrastructure that have been maintained by private companies, but from which the public benefits.

Large, essential infrastructure such as bridges and public water or wastewater systems are examples of public infrastructure that are often poorly maintained. Maintenance on these structures frequently involves interruption of services while the maintenance is underway, and very few bridges or water utilities were designed with secondary access that would allow the primary system to be taken offline for any appreciable length of time.

When government funding was used to initially install water and wastewater systems, funding agencies sought to prevent misuse of the funds by requiring that all funded infrastructure projects be “modest in size, design and cost.” As a result, systems were designed and constructed with very limited excess capacity. Forty years later, communities have grown, and water transmission lines are often too small in diameter to meet the needs of additional growth. Many manufacturing facilities use large volumes of water and create large volumes of wastewater. If a community’s system cannot support their demand, then the facilities are simply built elsewhere and employment opportunities are lost.

According to the WPI Economics Consultancy paper “Moving Forward Together: Delivering the transport infrastructure that businesses need”, infrastructure projects boost economic development in several different ways.

1. First, they force the purchase of construction materials. Pipes, wiring, steel and concrete are basic supplies for most infrastructure projects. The manufacture of all of these materials provides employment.
2. Second, the infrastructure project itself creates jobs. Pipefitters, bricklayers, electricians, construction contractors, truck drivers, backhoe operators, painters, and many other professions are required to successfully complete a project.
3. Third, local economies benefit from large construction projects. Workers eat at local restaurants, shop at local stores, buy gas from local fuel stations, and many times even rent temporary housing while the project is being constructed.
4. Finally, communities with improved infrastructure have the potential for growth, and this potential is attractive to new business developments. New business development attracts workforce populations not just in that community, but in surrounding communities from which workers might commute.

Professional project managers play a critical role in the initiation and delivery of infrastructure projects. Mayors or City Managers are often uninformed about the availability of government funding opportunities. When they are aware of opportunities, they often lack experience with the application process and have no relationship with the funding agency. When government funding is not available, elected officials often lack the presentation skills cooperative techniques needed to effectively demonstrate that infrastructure projects funded through municipal bonds or tax mechanisms effectively pay for themselves over the life of the infrastructure.

Professional project managers, with knowledge of the applicable government regulations, the ability to build consensus among neighboring communities or stakeholders within a community, and the ability to effectively implement and construct the project enable projects to be completed more quickly, and faster completion generally equates to lower construction costs.

Many project managers step into infrastructure projects that are already funded and ready to begin, but a more active role in the initiation of the project, from conception to funding to construction, is far more beneficial

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Project Management Training helps its students gain self confidence and dependability by developing strong leadership skills for success in the workplace. Students will learn to define clear project objectives and set realistic goals to complete projects in a timely manner, ensuring employers of successfully reaching well defined deadlines. With improved organizational skills and the ability to lead a motivated team effectively, goals can be reached successfully. While enrolled in project management classes you will learn to properly plan, manage and deliver projects, thereby satisfying customers expectations. Certification in project management is perfect for those who want to improve and strengthen the skills they already have, or it can serve to enrich and promote career advancement within their company. A career can easily be obtained in health care, computer technology, sales and marketing, and many other fields.

Certified Project Managers are highly valued and respected by their companies. They are highly skilled in the use of improved techniques of project management, technology software, and other tools to bring a project to completion with their newly acquired knowledge. Companies gain a solid reputation with their customers when they utilize the skills of a certified project manager because projects are completed in a timely manner with greater efficiency and improved procedures. Communication and organizational skills are practiced by those who are enrolled in Project Management Training. After certification, project managers must continue their education so that they can renew their certification each year. They will learn the latest techniques used in the ever growing field of project management. Project management re-certification can be attained either online or in the classroom.

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If you’re called upon to plan a restructuring project, while it’s much like managing any other project in some respects, there are a few aspects that you really need to pay attention to when you start changing org charts. Follow these tips below and you’ll be on your way to a brighter future.

Start off on the right foot

In addition to the legal ramifications of formally making employees redundant, any proposed downsizing can be fraught with emotions like fear, anger and sadness. It is particularly important that you manage the message – internally and externally – in a sensitive way and keep on the right side of the law. Start by involving your company’s legal advisor and identify a spokesperson to make any company-wide announcements and interact with the media, if required. Review the business case for the restructure and determine the approximate number of positions affected.

Follow procedures to the letter

There are specific legal requirements to follow regarding redundancy consultation, legitimate reasons for redundancy and selection criteria. If you get any of this wrong, it increases the likelihood that an employee could feel they’ve been treated unfairly and bring a case to an Employment Tribunal. At present, compensation of up to one year of the employee’s salary can be awarded.

Focus on the notification event in your project plan

In addition to all the usual aspects of a project plan, how you manage notifications is absolutely critical. Everything should happen on the same day, and you should plan it meticulously. Some key things to consider include:

• Plan for two streams of activity: everyone who is at risk and everyone else
• When will you do it? (Friday is the worst day of the week for such an announcement; Tuesday or Wednesday is better so you are available to answer questions and manage the immediate impact).
• How will you notify everyone at risk simultaneously – including remote workers and those on leave (including maternity leave, etc)?
• Plan security measures at company sites in case of any extreme reactions
• Plan an announcement to those not directly at risk soon after (and on the same day)
• Put a process in place to handle any media enquiries or adverse social media activity
• Do you need some employees to be retained longer than others (for example, to complete key projects)? If so, what retention strategies will you use?

Plan how you’ll support affected employees

Job loss is recognised as one of the most stressful life events anyone can experience – and in our current circumstances, that’s never been truer. The good news is that both those being made redundant and the people managing the project don’t need to go it alone. Providing outplacement allows you to support departing employees and means you can tap into their experience and expertise for things like notification training for managers. Using an outplacement provider during a workforce restructure also reduces the burden on the project team and your HR department and has been shown to reduce the risk of employees taking legal action.

Communicate throughout with remaining employees

You should also plan how you’ll manage the impact on people who aren’t leaving as part of the restructure. Some might be asked to take on more work, for others their job role may be changing. Many employees can become anxious and unsettled by a restructure – even if their job wasn’t affected – productivity may take a dip, or they start looking for a new job elsewhere.

The only way to address all these issues is for line managers and project leaders to have open conversations with their teams to understand how they’re feeling and take steps to address any worries or concerns individuals may have.

Managing a workforce restructure that affects people’s careers and livelihoods can be one of the most challenging projects you’ll undertake. One thing to bear in mind is that if you know that anyone being made redundant has been well looked after, and the company is going to be in better shape after the changes, your own resilience should be boosted and you’ll be able to deliver future projects successfully.

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