When you need a new PM

I know what it’s like; all of a sudden a decision is made to hire a new Project Manager. The thought of that extra set of hands on deck is bliss, but first; where do you find this new PM and how do you know they’ll be up to the job?

Consultants or Freelancers?

I had an interesting chat yesterday with a guy in Sweden who was calling himself a freelancer. I saw him as a consultant actually. The distinction between the two terms might not appear important, but in a world where words often shape our behaviour and attitudes, it does become important.

66% fail, delay or overspend

Over the weekend I was in touch with Steve Lynn - a doctoral candidate at Kennedy Western University, USA and a Project Management Practitioner. Steve very recently conducted a survey among ProjectsAtWork.com subscribers to gather quantitative information on the importance of specific project management initiatives to their organisations.

Jack of All Trades Recruiter

In my years as an independent consultant, I’ve received hundreds of calls from recruiters. Like many, I have suffered the recruiter who has no idea of what a particular job he is trying to fill entails. He has never participated in an IT project, has no idea of what the letters PMP, PRINCE or ITIL actually mean, and does not understand the full range of qualities which make a high calibre IT Project or Programme Manager, particularly in the Middle East.

Should PMs be tech experts?

I was flicking through my blog role this morning and I came across an interesting article by Dick Billows which discussed the question of whether a PM should be a technical expert. I say ”no, providing they are supported by a strong lead architect or technical workstream leads”. I know plenty of people who feel otherwise, but I have also seen PMs pull rank (on technical issues) on technical gurus who have far more technical knowledge than the PM.

Take a look at Dick’s view on this at http://www.4pm.com/atom.xml

Why CEOs need effective PMs

Shock McHorror!
McDonald’s had a US$1 billion Project designed to tie all its operations into a real-time digital network and improve competitiveness. After just two years from conception, US$170 million was written-off and the project was cancelled. This marked the most expensive and extensive information technology project in the company’s history, according to the article McBusted on Baseline Magazine (July 2003 issue).

Would you believe it?
A joint venture between Marriott Corp, Hilton Hotels Cop, Budget Rent a Car, and AMR Information Services (AMRIS), designed to increase shareholder value ended in court after four years of poor project management, including unclear product definition, missed deadlines, overwhelming number of changes, and poor communications practices.  US$ 213 million where written off related to the project before litigation among parties began.

The writing’s on the wall
Standish Group’s 3rd Quarter 2004 Research on the IT industry indicated that 18% of all surveyed projects have failed (cancelled prior to completion or delivered and never used) and 53% are challenged (late, over budget and/or with less than the required features and functions).

These are just a few examples of how bad project management SERIOUSLY impacted corporate results and SERIOUSY mattered to CEOs, CFOs, COOs and shareholders! Am I getting my point across?

What can senior management do to ensure effective Project Management?

Paul C. Dinsmore is a PMI Fellow and the author of 11 books on management and project themes. Some time ago he wrote an article about why CEOs need good Project Managers. Here are the keys topics that require attention from top management to make sure strategic projects are carried out in alignment with the objective of increasing shareholder value:

• Project Portfolio Management
• A System of Governance
• Organisational Support and Tools
• Skilled Resources (Projects Managers & team members)
• Milestone or Stage Gate Reviews
• Transition to Operation and Benefits Management

Paul conculded that CEOs are constantly challenged to translate strategies into shareholder value. The stakes of not doing so are becoming extremely high. An organisation’s level of excellence in enterprise-wide project management is important to senior management that is focused on ensuring that value creating strategies are implemented as well as to security analysts who wish to develop improved insights about the value realization capability of organisations.

You can read Paul’s full article here