Welcome

From the Editor:

You've responded to our layout changes, and kindly at that! Over 1800 readers last month delved into our takes on the latest breakthrough in project management research - the 2009 Arras People Benchmark Survey. But we don't want you to stop showing your platonic love for it now - as the Barclayscard commercial instructs, let it flow like a mountain stream by reading on for more survey information by project managers about project management.

And another thing: Keep your eyes peeled for a fantastic giveaway in this issue of PM News. As always, there's never been a better time to ramp up your project management knowledge, so keep reading Project Management News!

Dan Strayer, Editor

By Tom Saunders

We all too frequently see news of projects that fail to deliver as originally envisaged and in some cases, projects that fail to deliver at all. The tabloids have had their fun, often stretching the facts to make their stories more sensational. Project sponsors seek to avoid blame and the arrows of criticism find their way to the project or programme manager and/or the supplier(s) – all of whom are expendable compared with the career safety of the senior executives who agreed to delivery and funding plans. Sadly the vast majority of people who work as project or programme managers have witnessed these types of event, our professional bodies recognise the scenarios and yet they still occur with awful regularity and sometimes with grim consequences for the public or the organisations in which the projects are run.

Nobody could argue with the motherhood statements that "change is a constant" and "the speed of change continues to accelerate". Neither of these were "news" when I was speaking regularly on project, programme and portfolio management a decade ago. So what has been done by our profession and its sponsors to ensure that individual and organisational capabilities match expected/required performance? While methods have matured and the paperwork and labour required to deliver the constituent techniques has increased, reporting cycles have remained the same or have been shortened, and expectations of accuracy, relevance and timeliness have grown. Project management tools have matured little in the last decade and certainly don't provide a basis for a step-change in speed or efficiency for project and programme managers. So here we are, with the same demands on the managers of change and all that has significantly changed in years is the expectation that Superman or Superwoman will keep all the plates spinning with nothing falling and with all wobbles addressed like lightening.

The diagram isn't a complete facsimile of the project manager's world, but hopefully explains a little of the extraordinary hybrid capabilities required for success. Of course, most of the complexity has always been there, but formalisation of modern methods such as PRINCE2 and MSP have demanded more rigorous and formal expression.

So...the "entry ticket" skills haven't changed, the principles haven't changed, expectations of the capability of Project Managers to remain effective and "in control" haven't changed. What has changed are the degree of formalisation, the requirement for evidence-based reporting on all that moves, the speed and currency with which organisations expect status to be reported. In many organisations, the appetite for risk has radically reduced and clarity of controls and reporting cause accountability and responsibility for impacts to project outcomes become harder to fudge or avoid. The result is an uncomfortable time for the senior folk who once were able to preside over projects with authority, but still be able to avoid accountability. No longer is it easy to just blame the PM and expect the organisation to accept that "it's all too confusing to explain". Paradoxically, once organisations start to recognise the awful complexity in the diagram above and to invest resources and tools in effective management, the project manager's life starts to become much more the management of a complex but understood system rather than mystic art and the people who populate steering committees and project boards start to feel the steely hand of accountability.

In short, as Project and Programme Managers become more professional, better trained and better equipped, so the old "just push them harder" culture is breaking down and shared responsibility and accountability for project success is becoming more widely the norm. Of course, none of this is good news for the "old style" executives who demanded late and expected miraculous delivery. Perhaps the real challenge is "are executive managers keeping up with the professionalism washing through programme and project management?" For the organisations who say "no", perhaps the image of incompetent generals being allowed to direct highly-trained crack troops – with obvious risks and consequences coming to mind.

Tom Saunders is an interim IT Director/CIO specialising in organisation performance and efficiency improvement in both private and public sectors. Tom has been a reviewer/editor to PRINCE2 and authored Managing Successful Programmes (MSP). You can contact Tom at itdirector.cio@btinternet.com.

By Lindsay Scott

Many project professionals turn to the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) range of programme and project management products for guidance, knowledge, training and accreditation. The suite includes the popular PRINCE2® methodology, Managing Successful Programmes (MSPTM), Management of Risk (M_o_R®), ITIL® and the recent newcomer P3O® (Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices).

The OGC has certainly been busy in recent times, not just with the launch of new guidance but also with refreshes in its popular titles. Here's the lowdown on the recent changes.

PRINCE2 – The 2009 Refresh

The refreshed project delivery model sees the introduction of "Principles", "Key Themes", a reduction in processes, publication of two titles "Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®" and "Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®". The principles or the guiding principles are almost like a code of conduct or a baseline of set standards, for example;

Roles & Responsibilities...

"...A PRINCE2® project must have defined and agreed roles and responsibilities with an organisation structure that engages the business, user and supplier stakeholder interests"*

The process model has become slightly simplified but the real improvement comes from the introduction of key themes and supporting information on techniques. For many the downside of PRINCE2® has been the lack of guidance on how to initiate the project, how to create the plan etc, here's hoping this section lives up to expectation.

The PRINCE2:2009™ is due for publication in May 2009 and you can be notified of all the latest news by using the alert service.

*TSO

New Guidance for Project Offices

For many professionals working within the field of programme and project office, the new P3O® guidance (Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices) has been long awaited and the new guidance doesn't disappoint. Covering both the implementation of new project offices as well as guidance on reinvigorating an existing office, the guidance borrows a lot from the principles of Managing Successful Programmes. Indeed, implementation of such an organisational structure is deemed to be a programme in its own right and it is only fitting that the delivery of implementation is managed using best practice programme and project management principles.

The guidance is not solely aimed at organisations or individuals who are looking for help on setting up a PMO; it also covers the service offerings of the PMO and guiding principles on that age old issue of how to sell your PMO to the wider organisation.

The guidance is available now from the TSO Bookshop now.

See the presentation from Sue Vowler, Lead Author.

Test Your Maturity Today

Organisational maturity may not be at the top of your list of priorities right now but the new P3M3™ (Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model) gives an insight to how your organisation is performing today.

There is an online self assessment tool that you can complete right now.

There are five maturity levels and most organisations are usually between level 1 and 3 (Awareness process – Repeatable process – Defined Process). The idea behind P3M3™ is ultimately a tool that allows organisations to see a return on investment of best practice programme and project management. As an individual working within the field of programme and project management it's also a useful tool to understand where your own organisation is in its maturity and ultimately where you fit within that.

At the recent BPUG Congress, Rob Sowden, Lead Author for P3M3™ also gave some statistical figures for the benefits of P3M3:

Cost Savings – 34%
Scheduling Improvements – 50%
Productivity – 41%
Quality Improvements – 48%
Customer Satisfaction – 14%

See the presentation at this address.

And The Rest

Portfolio Management(PfM) is still in public consultation draft stage but is available for anyone to download and review now. Portfolio Management has been perceived as the missing link by many professionals, it figures in both the programme management principles of MSP™ and the new P3O® guidance.

Download your copy here.

Management of Risk (M_o_R®) underwent a refresh in 2006 and saw improvements made in the framework, principally around the four core concepts. M_o_R® principles, the approach, the process and embedding and reviewing management of risk have been given an overhaul, essentially making the method more streamlined.

Find out more about M_o_R™.

Managing Successful Programmes (MSP™) had responded to the changing face of programme management over the last 5 years – specifically in reaction to the emergence of "transformational change" and "portfolio management".

Find out more about MSP™.

PRINCE® is a Registered Trade Mark and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce
PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce
PRINCE2:2009™ is a Registered Trade Mark and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce
M_o_R® is a Registered Trade Mark and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce
MSPTM is a Trade Mark and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce
P3O® is a Registered Trade Mark and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce
P3M3TM is a Trade Mark and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce
ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce.

Lindsay Scott is Director of Arras People. To read more of her work on project management, click here.

PM BARTENDER: Like the rest of the advice we have given, these are strictly our opinions so here goes. Project support roles like project co-ordinator, project administrator, project support officer, etc., are no easier to walk into than a project manager role. Many people make the mistake of thinking that the support roles in project management are less skilled or people will need a lesser understanding of project management to be able to perform the job – wrong! OK, the project co-ordinator doesn't direct the project or direct the team or act as decision maker but the project co-ordinator does need to know the project management techniques like project planning for example and the processes and procedures – like the risk management process.

The Project Co-ordinator must also be a professional – someone the project manager and team can trust and delegate to.Once you've made the mistake of thinking this is an easy job to get into you will quickly realise that there are many project co-ordinators out there in the marketplace who are dedicated to project support and have no interest in moving on into the role of project manager – they have created a dedicated specialist role in project management and are no longer just seen as a stepping stone to the upper echelons of project management (For more information, see the PPSOSIG – The Programme and Project Support Office Specialist Interest Group). Some Project Support roles can also be just as financially rewarding as project manager positions.

To answer the question - should I be looking at project support roles first and are these role easier to get into? Yes you could look at these roles first but be aware of the stiff competition you might face from other experienced co-ordinators and you could quickly find out that no, they're not easier roles to get into.

E-mail careersadvice@arraspeople.co.uk with your questions for the PM Bartender.