Programme and Project Management Maturity Model - Essay Example

Project Management Maturity Background Project Management is conceptualized as general purpose management tool that can help the project managementteam to successfully complete the projects and meet the requirements of stakeholders. Project management techniques involve variety of key elements such as defining project scope, budgeting cost of the project, scheduling deadline, maintaining quality throughout the project deliverables (Kerzner, 2013; Cooke-Davies and Arzymanow, 2003). Organizations use ‘The Portfolio, Programme, and Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3)’ to assess current performance of the project. Based on the assessment, project improvement plans are designed (P3M3, 2014). In such context, the study will use a case organization to understand the functionality of Project Management Maturity Model in real world business project scenario. The case organization is Construction Company that specializes in handling real estate and facility management projects. For sake of confidentiality, name and operational detail of the Construction Company will not be revealed throughout this paper. Discussion AXELOS Limited (2013) reported that P3M3 involves three types of managements such as, 1- Portfolio Management (management control, financial management and benefits management), 2- Programme Management (financial management, risk management and stakeholder engagement) and 3- Project Management (risk management, organizational governance and resource management). These three models are self sufficient and there are no interdependencies between them. Therefore, independently assessing particular management model does not decrease importance of other management models. Interesting fact is that organizational maturity and project management maturity are conceptualized as divergent ideas. Organizational maturity is defined as comparative level of advancement for organizations such as using actively used policies, having established practices and standards. More mature organizations are expected to have well established standards, policies, organizational hierarchy and practices (Demir and Kocabaş, 2010; Kerzner, 2013 and Cooke-Davies and Arzymanow, 2003). On contrary, Project Management Institute (2007) defined project management maturity as the phase where organizations successfully initiate projects, plan activities, execute planned activities, monitor outcome of activities and control outcome of individual projects. Therefore, it can be assumed that organizations get assurance of continuous improvement during project management maturity phase. Considering the report of AXELOS Limited (2013) and research work of Demir and Kocabaş (2010), it can be said that five-level maturity framework is used for assessing the Project Management Maturity. These five levels are, Level 1 – awareness of process, Level 2 – repeatable process, Level 3 – defined process, Level 4 – managed process and Level 5 – optimized process (AXELOS Limited, 2013). In order to develop theoretical background for further discussion, all the five levels of project management maturity model needs to be discussed. Level 1 –Awareness of Process: during this phase, organization recognizes the importance or urgency of the project. In most of the cases, individualistic efforts are needed for identifying the urgency of the project. At the ad-hoc phase, senior management support remains unavailable while basic project management structure is designed on the basis of available information (AXELOS Limited, 2013). Level 2 – repeatable process: informal project management data are collected and on the basis of collected data, informal project management procedures are defined. At this level, minimum coordination or consistency is observed (AXELOS Limited, 2013). Level 3 – defined process: in this phase, organizations decide whether the new project can be integrated with own centrally controlled project processes or it needs separate attention (Kerzner, 2013; Cooke-Davies and Arzymanow, 2003). Based on such understanding, degree of customization is adopted by organizations to design processes to manage the new project (AXELOS Limited, 2013). Level 4 – managed process: in this phase, organizations take help of external project management team to provide training to project team and improve their performances. Project management training helps in implementing the planned actions in successful manner. Project management performance measurement techniques are implemented for analyzing as well as improving the quality of deliverables throughout the project (AXELOS Limited, 2013). Level 5 – optimized process: in this phase, organizations want to sustain the benefits of implemented projects. As part of continuous process improvement, best practices are identified and implemented by organizations. In order to improve the project management process to further extent, stakeholders are encouraged to come up with innovative ideas and share knowledge between each other (AXELOS Limited, 2013; Kerzner, 2013; Cooke-Davies and Arzymanow, 2003). The case organization works in construction sector and stakeholders for this organization can be described in the following manner; Table 1: Stakeholder Management (Project Management Maturity) Level of Interest Level of Interest Low High Power Low Local community and people who uses the constructed properties, real estates. Local governments and employees of the case organization are show interest towards outcome of the construction. However, this group of stakeholders does not have the power to influence outcome of the project at individualistic level. Power High Shareholders and project managers have the power to intervene in the construction project. As their stake is associated with the construction project, shareholders and project managers do not show interest in executing their power. Financial investors who invested money in the project and the client have both power as well as level of interest in the project. In case of deviation from construction project objectives, financial investors and client may cancel the project. (Source: Project Management Institute, 2007) All the five Project Management Maturity phases for the case study construction company (organization of the author of this paper) can be elaborated with the help of the following Project Life Cycle diagram. Figure 1: Project Life Cycle of a Constructed Facility (Source: PMBOOK, 2008) Level 1 – Awareness of process: planning for construction site or facilities is done on the basis of client requirements. Local government and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies belong to the list of clientele for case organization. After rigorous bidding process, the case organization gets the contracting opportunity to execute construction projects such as building sports facilities, warehouses, school building development and others. Definition and objective of the construction project is determined on the basis of client requirement, existing market trend regarding building structure, environmental sustainability and other factors. Project management team of the construction company consults with managers of procurement, technology and supply chain division of client. Scope of the construction project is determined through collective discussion and there is hardly any scope of individualist effort integration (PMBOOK, 2008; AXELOS Limited, 2013). Level 2 – Repeatable Process: the construction company has its specified standard regarding various aspects of building construction such as floor space, height of the building, air roofing, open sunlight system, environmental sustainability of the building, supplier contract for raw material sourcing and others. Client’s requirement for the new building is compared with specified standard regarding. In case of compatibility symmetry, existing processes or procedures for building development are selected by the company as probable project management technique to manage the new project. In case of compatibility asymmetry, probable project management technique is decided on the basis of feasibility study and consultation with engineers (PMBOOK, 2008; AXELOS Limited, 2013). Level 3 – Defined Process: fortunately, the case organization has its own centrally controlled project management technique for handling building or facility development projects. Conceptual plan and preliminary design of the project building is done in such a manner so that it can fit into centrally controlled project management technique (PMBOOK, 2008; AXELOS Limited, 2013). Sourcing of raw material for building construction is done through existing supplier and procurement contractors. In case of change in client requirements, engineers and project consultants of the construction company works together to modify the building design. Level 4 – Managed Process: depending on the complexity of the building structure, duration of the construction project varies. As part of implementation of construction plan, project management team handles multiple activities such as estimating cost of the entire project, sourcing raw material to contraction sites, managing material movement, managing labour activities, developing the building and certify the building as par government standards. After completion, school building or ware house or sporting facilities are delivered to client. In order to assess performance in the project, the construction company uses financial parameters and numeric parameters such as, 1- whether the project has exceeded the critical time limit or not, 2- whether cost of the construction project has exceeded the budgeted level or not, 3- amount of waste has occurred during the period of construction project and 4- whether the project has followed quality criteria and environment sustainability norms (PMBOOK., 2008; AXELOS Limited, 2013). Level 5 – Optimized Process: the construction company follows balance scorecard technique to create scope for learning and growth. In order to ensure continuous process improvement, the case organization follows three mechanisms. In the first mechanism, the company benchmarks industry standards for sustainable as well as cost effective building development processes. Engineers and suppliers are advised to follow industry best practices during project implementation phase. In the second mechanism, rigorous training program is designed for internal stakeholders of the construction project for improving their competency and skill level (PMBOOK, 2008; AXELOS Limited, 2013). In the third mechanism, states of art technologies are introduced by the construction company so that the project management process gets updated. An updated project management process helps the case organization to execute future construction projects in efficient and cost effective manner. Reference List AXELOS Limited., 2013. Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3®) Introduction and Guide to P3M3. [pdf] AXELOS Limited. Available at [Accessed 21 August 2014]. Cooke-Davies, T. J. and Arzymanow, A., 2003. The maturity of project management in different industries: An investigation into variations between project management models. International Journal of Project Management, 21, pp. 471-8. Demir, C. and Kocabaş, İ., 2010. Project management maturity model (PMMM) in educational organizations. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, pp. 1641-1645. Kerzner, H. R., 2013. Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. P3M3., 2014. P3M3® Model. [online] Available at: [Accessed 21 August 2014]. PMBOOK., 2008. Project Management for Construction. [online] Available at: [Accessed 21 August 2014]. Project Management Institute., 2007. Construction extension: To the PMBOK guide. 2nd ed. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute (PMI). Read More