Project Management - Contemporary Issues and Practices - Research Paper Example

Sashidhar Professor Doe English 344 8 May 2000 Project Management – Contemporary Issues and Practices Project management approach has experienced an unprecedented growth in the last few years or so and the trend is likely to continue. For effective project management, there should be appropriate knowledge body, research, standards and application methodology. In an organization, typically, a project manager inspires and leads his team by setting examples, which is necessary for a successful project delivery. Through a review literature, this research paper delves into some of the relevant and significant insights on project management, its prevailing practices and role in managerial organizations. Project Management – Contemporary Issues and Practices In this competitive world, organisations constantly look for new products and services, new markets, new partners etc. Organizations need to make better business decisions at the project and portfolio resource level? They need to manage several projects for strategic business gains and sustainability. And in the process of dealing these aspects, companies need to administer effective project management practices to achieve their goals. It is also vital that the project has business continuity and improves the life cycle utility of the projects because project management in contemporary business is considered to be a significant business function. Today's customers require cost effective, efficient and faster time to market delivery. For this purpose, they appear whoever will provide the service, and at the same time show no mercy or excuses if things go other way around. This is not the way it was previously for organizations, before the Information Age, but today, it is a reality. We are heading towards a project management era and that’s the reason project management is permeating our lives. Call for Project Management In this dynamic business environment, there are more changes to be implemented. Be it new products or services, and every activity is a project in the sense that, it has a start, need resources to be dispersed after the activity and deliver something tangible. Since people take a call on this activity, projects needs to be better managed. Companies encounter many difficulties in delivering projects due to paucity of time, stringent deadlines, lack of understanding on running a project and of course ability (Harvey A. Levine1). In several cases, the puzzled business environment, scope, clarity and the "let's just do it" attitude leads project to failure. And the aftermath is losing a customer. This prompts organizations to have a process in place to make sure that projects are better managed and executed efficiently. Thus there is a growing need to focus on a structured and logical approach to meet the customer requirements. For years, IT units have grappled to successfully deliver the projects on time and within required budget. But with today’s prominence on getting more bang for the buck, coupled with cut-throat competition, IT has to monitor projects more intimately than ever. This challenge has led many organizations to turn to project managers as a way to increase IT efficiency, reduce costs, and improve on project delivery. Research strongly says that Project management is a Competitive Advantage In the study, "Utilizing Construction Project Management Technology to Create Best in Class Organizations," FMI surveyed construction firms and building owners and concluded using PM software increased project controls, improved visibility and standardized operational processes. In fact, organizations experienced tangible return on investment metrics and business value, reporting average annual savings of $230,000. (Some organizations reported annual savings of more than $1 million.) Annual cost savings increased each year the PM system was used. This shows that using a formal project management solution clearly influences a company’s success. Lack of document control and the need to standardize project management practices are something organizations look to tackle by implementing a formal project management solution. According to St. Louis–based Alberici Corporation, company, by having project management in place was benefited through the reduced risk exposure. Brooks Williams, director of project controls, believes a project management system is a requirement. “We couldn’t compete without it. Our clients realize the benefit of a contractor that has the communication and controls systems in place. It provides peace of mind,” Williams opines. CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), a global real estate firm felt in order to increase project control and lessen risk, the company considers project management system that aids its business development efforts and client management. “The fact that we have what we consider to be the best in class [capital project management software solution] available to our clients is a large part of our business development model. Our clients expect this of us,” says John Whitt, CBRE’s product management director. Modern Inc are desperate to uncover more about project management potential and embrace developing high-velocity projects. Further, corporations also want to identify the key factors in project management efforts on the organizational project management level. The Haskell Company has benefited well from project management by having greater visibility into the projects, controlled project response and lower operating costs. Susan McDowell, who manages Haskell’s technology applications, says, “It does save us money. Because it is web-enabled, this works even for our people who aren’t in the home office. It would be much larger of a capital expense if we were trying to run something ourselves in-house.” Also, leadership skills, and process comes into picture in this connection since they are of higher interest to standardization. They largely impact project success and so are typically customized to fit the company’s strategic purpose. However, that said, projects are not routine or ongoing. They are unique and temporary. For example, an office move, new product launch, the construction of a building, etc. And it is never the same project twice like this year’s product launch is different from that of last year’s. Also, the fact that projects come in various sizes, its duration also vary. There can be subprojects (project within a project) with master project consolidating all. These subprojects have specific outcome and delivery date. Organizations needs skilled workforce to complete a project within the deadline and under budget, without compromising on the quality front. And if companies kick off a project with fewer arsenals of skills, it implies that they are operating minus a competitive edge. This is where the role of project manger comes into picture. Project managers can help CIO’s by facilitating the required structure to standardize project management practices and enable IT project portfolio management establish methodologies for repeatable processes. Turn to The Sarbanes-Oxley Act—A regulation that requires organizations to disclose investments, (like big projects, which could affect a organization’s operating performance) is also a driver, since it forces organizations to keep an eye on project expenses and progress. All these practices reduce time-to-market and time-to-profitability – two critical factors for any organization since they envisage project schedule, cost and delivery. This is where project manager comes into picture as he proposes effective ways to prioritize, distribute and monitor resources. Projects and Project Manger Amidst tight deadlines, quick and efficient delivery, tight turnaround, contemporary businesses comprehend that project manger is the most valuable and rewarded member of a team. (Gary R. Heerkens2). In this context, project manager has to face several challenges like striking the right balance between team members’ needs and project requirements. Few project managers go a step ahead and even accept the responsibility of providing growth and development opportunities for team members. Let us review the role of project manager and his challenges. A project manager’s responsibility does not commensurate with the authority, which is necessary for a project delivery. And this gap between responsibility and authority would is subjected to organizational structure, be in purely functional or matrix structure. So project manager has to rely on expert power (superior knowledge) to oversee the project operations. But unfortunately, we live in the world of targets. And is it very important that project manager sets targets that are realistic that sets the pace of the project. It gives a credible estimation of what can be reasonably achievable. If this inference does not meet the business objectives, then project manager should peruse between systematic risks and return process until he gets a visibility on the project delivery. If the level of uncertainty is high, then detailed planning is not advisable since it time consuming. Project manager needs to define the scope and estimation of the project, plan it according to time and budget. After detailed planning, the next level involves resource planning and management, where he deals with procurement and other activities. But if a project manager could not come to an estimate of the project at this stage, things might prove to be fatal. He also has to study and understand the risk analysis. Generally, any project would be in line with the organization’s objectives. But what if the project’s scope is beyond that, manger needs to reconsider then. The leadership competencies come into picture, once the project is distributed to the team across. A good project manager, like discussed earlier, strikes a right balance between authority and responsibility to guide the project. Managers need to motivate employees to overcome the difficulties during project execution Leadership is a very critical factor to the project success because this aspect holds other elements of project management as a cohesive unit. As companies come to comprehend they cannot stay in business if they cannot manage their projects efficiently, project management has surfaced into a robust discipline practiced by highly qualified and trained professionals. Yet, many organizations are putting a ceiling on the application of project management only to the tactical level. But effective project management it is vital from the enterprise’s survival to ensure products and services are designed, framed and delivered successfully. In addition, savvy companies also identify project management as a critical strategic practice. They practice project portfolio management to oversee and support a portfolio of projects that take forward the enterprise to new heights and returning maximum shareholder value. As functional areas and divisions vie for scarce financial and resources, strategic project management provides the cogent decision framework necessary to make the right project investment decisions. These decisions enable enterprises to compete and win in the cut-throat competition. Peter F. Drucker’s Management by Objectives (MBO)3, a process of agreeing upon objectives and obtaining buy-in from management and employees, proved to be a failure. Soon Tom Peters introduced Management by Projects - project management skills to move an organization forward. Corporations now use project management as a strategic tool to execute projects. Since projects form the lifeblood of any organization, project management creates unique value through improved business process. It is very important in the proliferation of new products and services, whilst making easy for organizations to respond to market changes and uncontingencies. At the same time, too many projects and organizing them is also a problem (Johanna Rothman4). The time and again changing business environment needs can be satisfied only through efficient project management. Nonetheless, the Standish Group’s5 2004 Third Quarter Research Report of IT project surveys, shows some interesting facts that is evident in recent years: 5% fewer projects were deemed successful as against 2003; the IT project failure rate increased by 3%, while challenged projects increased by 2%. And the projects included in the fiscal 2004 budget – with a total cost of $20.9 billion – are currently at risk (Meta Group Research and Office of Management & Budget6). It further says that 70% of projects failed, 50% have been rolled back out of production, 40% of problems are found by end users; and 25-40% needs rework. The bottom line is that the current approaches simply don’t deliver the required improvements. And the root cause for all these failures is lack of understanding of business requirements from a strategic perspective. Application of project management as a strategic tool is the only solution. Strategic project management perceives all the organization’s projects collaboratively as components of a portfolio and makes strategic choices for their support. Key Elements of Project Management: Management is a reckoned to be a valuable tool that helps organizations plan their projects and key initiatives. Typically a project commences with a plan, but without a proper perspective and approach, the task of completely the project is highly unlikely, notwithstanding a great strategy. And here comes the question what is Task Management? In a nutshell, Task Management is perceived as an organized approach to planning, assigning and prioritizing the detailed tasks to be completed, so that team members can respond the several client questions: So what are those important tasks that need to work? And how do they work? Beneath are few critical key elements to be contemplated during project management. According to Geoff Reiss7, Project Management comprises of the following key elements. Scope – First and foremost aspect is to define the scope and type of work: gather business requirements, what are the action items, Defect, change management and so on. This brings visibility to the project and clearly expounds what needs to be done. Time (Milestone) – Plan your project based on the milestones. Monitoring projects and tracking the status is easier with metrics. This accentuates the remaining tasks to the completed by the team, thereby keeping them focused and working toward a common objective. Prioritize – All the members in the team should comprehend the priority system. Companies need to practice priority diversity system. Collaborate – Assigning right tasks to the right people would obviously be decided at the planning stage itself. But to strengthen that, managers need to ensure that ownership or delegation of work is clear and reasonable. Workloads have to be properly balanced and they should be supported at all stages from other team members. Check status – needless to expound, tracking the project status regularly holds the key. Deadlines should be realistic and tasks should be monitored so that it gives a clear picture as to what remains to be completed. That said, it is very important that managers and team members need to spend hours to get their acts together in this context. Charts – Managers employ charts to impress clients. However, charts are not reckoned to be like managerial smoke and mirrors and it should be more of a roadmap and a guideline. Charts should lead managers from point “A” to point “B” in a quick way. Risk – It has to be said that risk makes up the foundation of the project. And if it is to be asked how sure you are about project outcome, the similar a project is to erstwhile one, the more predictable the outcome is. And thus, the project must have a sense of stability. The more unique the project is, the less predictable the outcome is and the weaker the foundation could be. To make the project steadier, the project manager should initiate a revision plan of one or more elements – time, cost or scope. This brings to the fore that a project manager must have flexibility in at least one of these combinations of scope, time, or cost. And this flexibility is established by prioritizing the three elements. For instance, the price may be fixed at the initial stages of the project by the sales organization, but the project manager needs to attain flexibility over the cost factor in the project, particularly in the effort estimates by project team resources. The more distinctive the project is, the wider the variance threshold would be required by the manager. For this reason, to draw a clear demarcation, as how a project is initiated by various heads, that is, program manager, project manager and portfolio manager. Technology Supports Project, Program and Portfolio Management Project, program and portfolio management are closely associated. When managing projects, programs or portfolios, successfully, generally things could boil down to aspects like: Success Rate Plunge – Initiating a project for accomplishment by recognizing the exact team and scope, as well as establishing the association between the project and its position with the organizations on the whole charter. This means that the success rate is directly associated with the ability and skill to find the best resources for a job (i.e. the capability to institute a charter that plots the needs with the plan and overall objectives of the organization). All this would help rationalize costs of the resources and also other cost elements in a project. Creating Value - Creating value is reliant on the capability to escalate your team and ensure investments are in sync with business objectives, thereby enhancing the return on investment. Creating value requires the following processes: Nurturing Skills - Creating a skill development road map in line with the business needs and objectives is very vital. For example, project managers or program managers should maintain a repository of data pertaining to the skills and competencies of their team members. Also, should constantly identify the development resources needed, and then c and then interface with HR to get the appropriate training. Streamlined Implementation - Creating repeatable templates and project processes to use across the company is also a significant aspect. This particularly holds good in new product development where project teams follow a repeatable process with every new initiative. For example, companies can ensure efficient and accelerated successful delivery, for a sales and marketing application, if it has previously executed a repeatable process. Comprehend Program Risk - Combine and manage data from diverse projects that are aligned to the same goal impacts risks and changes on the costs and success of the program. So, it is advisable to drive down cost that initiates effective financial management with a portfolio system, thereby prioritizing investments and accountability. When a business wants to get control of its IT projects, two paradigms collide: the world of financial portfolio management and the world of IT. (Stephen S. Bonham8). This allows allocating and clearly defining the actual cost of projects, programs and services starting from question and access, to development and application rollout. The project, program and portfolio processes is to determine and establish the best possible mix and sequence the prospective projects to best achieve the company’s overall objective - typically expressed in terms of hard economic actions, business stratagem goals, or technical approach goals – whilst, honoring management constraints. Project Management Organizations (PMO) PMO typically addresses the fundamental perspective of managing all types of projects - public, business, engineering, technology, and so on. It further advocates specific techniques and insights that are essential to carry out in a unique way of accomplishment of projects (Jack R. Meredith; Samuel J. Jr. Mantel)9. The PMO plays a significant role to support and facilitate the assessment of prioritization of projects and opportunities. This role must be more like a facilitator rather than a decision maker. As consciousness of the role of projects in delivering strategy continues to grow by leaps and bounds, however, effectual facilitation is the ability that most companies would need. Prioritization and Approval – Amongst the most significant challenges in project management is empathizing and prioritizing a project approval. Since every project is treated on different parameters, PMO facilitates organizations to define clear guidelines of who is responsible for the project approval and in what way. Parameter for Prioritization – There is a clear need to dine the objective criteria of how a project is to be prioritized. In fact, prioritization refers to the qualities and attributes that a project should have in place to go ahead. PMO defines what dimension of a project should demonstrate and sustain if it is in line with the strategic plan. Understanding Budget - If prioritization is one side of a coin, resource capability is the other. Clear vision on budget and resource capability are particularly challenging since many companies lack the appropriate tools to effectively track the remaining work to be done. PMO addresses these aspects and infer methodologies that would give a clear idea on the effort estimates, duration and project cost. For instance, a Gantt chart illustrates a project schedule as per milestones and defines the work to be completed accordingly. Conclusion PMOs are no panacea for project challenges and failures, including current tepid business climate. PMO structure closely and monitor hews to an organization’s corporate culture. The PMO facilitates a process where there is willingness and commitment. But when company’s commitment is to be questioned, then a process cannot be induced on the organization. Upshot, the project prioritization can is reckoned to be a business choice, and not considering of how enticing it might be, a process cannot be imposed if the company is not willing to accept a process. More significantly, promise to follow the procedure reflects that all projects are subjected to the same prioritization process. For instance, if there is a project that has bypassed the procedure and not adhering to the original proliferation, then that process will not carry any credibility and the prioritization aspect will revert to gamesmanship. These days, organizations heavily reply on PMO skills to take their business to the new heights. So, it can be said that a PMO is an on-going and continuous operation, which demands constant monitoring to improve service levels. Works Cited Harvey A. Levine, Project Portfolio Management: A Practical Guide to Selecting Projects, Managing Portfolios, and Maximizing Benefits (Jossey-Bass Business & Management), 2005 Gary R. Heerkens, Project Management, Briefcase Books, McGraw- Hill, 2001 Peter F. Drucker, The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management, British Library Cataloguing, 2001 Johanna Rothman, Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects, The Pragmatic Bookshelf, Jul, 2009. The Standish Group International, Inc., 2004 Third Quarter Research Report, Resolution of Projects, 20 May 2005 Meta Group Research (now a part of Gartner), and Office of Management & Budget reported on March 26, 2003 “…771 Reiss Geoff, Project Management Demystified, Third Edition, Taylor and Francis, 2007 Stephen S. Bonham, IT Project Portfolio Management, British Library Cataloguing, Artech House, 2005 Jack R. Meredith; Samuel J. Jr. Mantel, Project Management: A Managerial Approach, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2006. Note: For further queries, please contact me at netlineglobal@gmail.com directly. 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