Best Practices in Project Management - Essay Example

Best Practices in Project Management Best Practices in management is a that arouses a considerable amount of interest because the implementation of such processes can help ensure success uniformly across organizations. As detailed below, the development of best practices includes the development of standardized processes to carry out business activities, which can be applied across a range of situations and organizations. Some of the components of Best Practices are examined below: The best practices in the effective management of a project may be constituted of common sense, good planning and paying careful attention to project processes. According to Visitacion (2003) it is most often “poor planning and fuzzy requirements” that contribute to poor management of projects and result in failed productivity.(www.amd.com). She states that if the planning process is improved by 20%, then there will be an 80% improvement in productivity. In particular, from the perspective of stakeholders, there is added pressure for the project to conform to the limitations of finances, time and resources, hence she recommends that many project failures can be averted through implementing good planning and developing a clear understanding of the project requirements so that they can be satisfied. LaBrosse(2007) recommends that a standardized, consistent approach be developed towards project management and has created the Cheetah Project Management method. This system boosts individual as well as organizational productivity through the development of a standardized, consistent system that includes best practices into the manner in which projects are managed. This standardized approach consists of the 5 S’s, which are very helpful in eliminating chaos in the work environment and can help team members to work efficiently and reduce delays caused by disorder in the working environment and work areas. The first item is SORT, where materials that are present within the working area are restricted to those materials which are used on a daily basis. The other materials are stored away elsewhere, and an efficient filing system is developed to enable a quick retrieval of the documents. The next item is STRAIGHTEN. This aims to smoothen the work flow by setting out specific spots for moveable items. Materials such as fax and copier machines and other items used collectively by several organizational members are labeled and schedules drawn up for rotating use of such machines, in order to promote efficiency. The third item to improve project management is SHINE, which involves keeping the work areas neat and functional by emptying trash regularly and sorting out recyclable items. The fourth S is STANDARDIZE, which is to establish commonly accepted procedures in order the use of items, for example by posting instructions on how machines are to be used and by allowing employees to have their own personal calendars while also placing collective schedules up in public areas, so that everyone is aware of their own responsibilities and the time frame within which their activities are to be completed. The last part of the project improvement process is to SUSTAIN, or to establish periodic routines to maintain the improvements that have been brought about. Standardization is highly recommended and best practices to project management often incorporate this approach successfully in enhancing productivity. The standardization of the work environment has been set out above, another aspect that can be standardized is decision making procedures. In the case of BAE Systems which in 2006, set out to improve efficiency and project management techniques, the end objectives were achieved through the use of streamlined decision making processes.(www.pmforum.org). Effective project management was deemed to be necessary because BAE Systems was reorienting itself from a purely production oriented Company into the delivery of multiple processes, for which costs had to be tracked and performances scheduled efficiently. The Company achieved this through the Earned Value Management Process in order to improve productivity. This process involved the tracking of all aspects of the overall process by standardizing and integrating SAP Systems with project management systems, notably by standardizing the process of data transfer between the two systems. This ensured that the lack of compatibility between two different systems was reduced thereby facilitating data transfer and streamlining the process of decision making that relied on such data (Fletcher, 2008). Managing the IT elements and successfully integrating technology into organizational processes is thus another important factor contributing to successful implementation of a project, as demonstrated by the BAE case study above. This aspect was also demonstrated in a case study of SAP implementation by AOL. The purpose of installing SAP was to ensure that data was easily available to the widest possible network of users, i.e, 90 core users and 1100 unlimited users.(Woodward, 2006). In this instance, AOL was already using the Primavera system in order to manage its data and the users within the Company appreciated its graphical displays and other features. This was also taken into account when the project to integrate and improve the use and networking of data was introduced at APOL. Rather than replacing the Primavera system, the company focused on successfully integrating the two programs rather than totally replacing it, because such a replacement would have been disruptive and unnecessary. This demonstrates that during the process of project management it is also important to take into account a multitude of factors, because what seems like the obvious solution may not necessarily be the best one. The development of standardized procedures is however, a vital aspect of project management and helps to develop the best practices, because it assesses which procedures appear to work for a majority of companies and can therefore be utilized on a wide ranging basis. The introduction of standardized process is also of invaluable benefit in terms of reducing costs and these processes can be categorized as Best Practices when they can be applied successfully in many organizations. For example, in 1995, the Air Force in the United States set out to modernize the spacelift ranges and also coordinate the data and tracking systems of both these ranges. (Braun, 2005). The objective of the program was to provide standardized design systems and interfaces while also ensuring that missions were successfully executed with a high level of customer support. As Braun (2005) points out, Lockheed Martin implemented a standardized cost estimation system that can be applied repeatedly and this has resulted in substantial savings for the Company. The reason is that the cost estimation process sis carried out three times a year and through the development of standardized processes that can be successfully applied in every instance, there is a considerable among of cost savings that results through the elimination of the repetitive elements. In the case of public sector entities, LaBrosse (2007) also recommends that the human aspects of project management be improved. For example, team dynamics should be improved and enhanced communication encouraged among individuals working on a particular project. She also recommends optimum scheduling of team member tasks, so that they are not overloaded, because this is likely to decrease employee motivation and enthusiasm for the project and impact negatively on that employee’s productivity. The significance of the human elements in a project is also emphasized by Lavell and Martinelli (2008), who have stated that changing human behavior is one of the most difficult aspects of project management. In order to tackle this problem, the Intel Company introduced a retrospective methodology in assessing the successful and wasteful aspects of a project. The team members working on a project came together periodically during the duration of the project program and discussed the elements of the program that were working well. This process also identified the weak elements within the program and areas that needed improvement because they were causing difficulties to team members or because certain sections of the process were failing to achieve the desired objectives. By introducing a retrospective process midway through the implementation of the program, this enables a review of the existing process to identify the areas of weaknesses before the damages really set in. This also provides an opportunity to improve on those discordant elements so that the negative trend is arrested and the chances of successful completion of the project are enhanced. Thus it may be concluded that some of the features of Best management practices that have been identified above include: (a) Effective planning before starting the project, so that planning processes are realistic and set to a time frame for completion (b) A clear understanding of the project requirements before it is commenced (c) The development of a standardized, consistent approach in the organization of the work environment. (d) The development of standardized and compatible information systems, (e) The standardization of IT systems, specifically through the use of the SAP information system that integrates data and makes it available in a common database to a wide user network. (f) Carrying out retrospective analysis of the project on a periodic basis, in order to identity the areas of weaknesses and strengths. This enables the development of best standards for those processes which are successfully carried out, while identifying the areas of weakness for improvements before the productivity of the project is very adversely affected. (g) Incorporating the human elements of project management into project planning. There must be provision made in project plans to handle changes and potentially unpredictable developments that may result due to human intervention and error. (h) Repeated use of certain standardized process that have been shown to be successful in a vast majority of companies. It must be noted however that in some instances, standardization of process may be successful as a best practice in one firm but it may not be possible to apply them across a range of organizations, for instance the cost estimation software of Lockhead Martin for space-lifts.. References * Braun, Greg, 2005. “Standardized processes for software cost estimation saves six effort months per proposal”, http://www.pmforum.org/library/cases/2005/cases05-1112.htm#02; August 26, 2008 * Fletcher, Liz, 2008. “Streamlined decision making and sharper project focus at BAE Systems”, PM World Today- Case Study-May 2008, http://www.pmforum.org/library/cases/2008/PDFs/Fletcher-5-08.pdf; August 25, 2008 * LaBrosse, Michelle, 2007. “Project Management: Best practices for the public sector”, Public Manager, 36(2):25-28 * Lavell, Debra and Martinelli, Russ, 2008. “The People side of program and project retrospectives”, PM World Today, http://www.pmforum.org/library/cases/2008/PDFs/Lavell_Martinelli-5-08.pdf; August 26, 2008 * Visitacion, Margo, 2003. “Project Management, Best practices: key processes and common sense”, Giga Information Group, http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/Giga_-_Project_Management_Best_Practices-_Key_Processes_and_Common_Sense_(1-03).pdf; August 25, 2008 * Woodward, Hugh, 2006. “Integrating SAP and Primavera at AOL”, http://www.pmforum.org/library/cases/2006/01.htm Read More