w gloc52 - Emerging Trends in Project Management, Książki IT

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Expert Reference Series of White Papers
Emerging Trends in
Project Management
1-800-COURSES
www.globalknowledge.com
Emerging Trends in Project Management
Daniel Stober, PMP
Introduction
The technical aspects of managing projects notwithstanding, project managers are increasingly asked to lead
the organization in transformative ways. Since project managers often interact across the entire spectrum of
departments within corporations and are not stuck in a certain corporate “silo,” they are often exposed to
emerging trends within the industry that other functional or departmental managers are not. Among the trends
that project managers have noticed are:
• Anincreasedemphasisonprojectmanagementsoftskills
• Viewingtheprojectmanagementofice(PMO)asapotentialproitcenter(vs.acostcenter)
• Aggressivelyplanningsustainabilityintoprojectsandanincreasedemphasisoncorporatesocial
responsibility.
Increased Emphasis on Project Management Soft Skills
Thereisainelinebetweenartandscienceincertainprofessions.Abrilliantsurgeonwillneverreachfull
potentialifheorshehasanawfulbedsidemanner.AstheProjectManagementProfessional(PMP)credential
becomesmoreandmoreimportant,andasmoreandmoreprojectmanagersobtainthePMPcredential,itis
nolongerenoughtomasteronlythescienceofprojectmanagement.EarningthePMPcredentialdemonstrates
that a project manager understands the “hard skills” of project management: earned value management, devel-
opmentoftheworkbreakdownstructure,projectschedule,projectbudget,andriskmanagementplan.How-
ever, there is another set of skills a project manager must master to reach his or her full potential: “soft skills,”
such as interpersonal communication, leadership, negotiation skills, inluencing, and personnel management.
Soft skills are much more art than science. Companies that invest in the development of their project managers’
set of soft skills are the ones that have the greatest chance of achieving project success.
Communication
Amongthemostdificultskillsforaprojectmanagertomasteriscommunication.Theabilitytoplanandbuild
acommunicationmanagementplanisahardskillthatdoesn’trequireinesse.Softskillscomeintoplaywhen
theprojectmanagerhastohavedificultconversations,negotiatewiththesponsororstakeholders,ortodetail
subparperformancetoamemberofaprojectteam.A2012studybyBrandeisUniversity[1]citedthatamong
the top ten reasons why projects fail is that there is inadequate communication within a project or among the
project teams. That same study rated the soft skill of communication, including progress tracking and reporting,
asmorethantwotimesmoreresponsibleforfailureorsuccessthanthehardskillsetofcreatingthecommu-
nicationmanagementplan.Spendingtimecommunicatingwithyourteammembersinaone-on-onesetting
Copyright ©2013 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved.
2
demonstratestothemthattheyareimportanttotheteam.Communicationtiesdirectlybacktotheissueof
employeesleavingtheirjobsbecausetheyfeelliketheirleadersdon’trespectthemandtheirtalents.Show
themotherwisebytakingsometimetocommunicatedirectly.Manyprojectmanagersliveinthecomfortable
worldofbeingabletomakeaplan,monitortheplan,andcontrolcosts,timelines,andscope.Buttheoneswho
willindthegreatestsuccessinthenextdecadewillbethosewhocancommunicateclearly,inluencestake-
holders, and display team leadership.
Leadership
Leadershipwithinteamshaslongbeensomethingofamystery.Asaprojectmanager,thenumberoneresource
thatyouhaveisyourprojectteam.Whatisholdingyoubackfromtakingcareofthem?Doyouhavetheneces-
saryleadershipskillstorallytheteamanddeliverthebigprojectontimeandonbudget?Whatconstitutesa
goodleaderisasdificulttodeineaswhatmakessomeonemorepronetolikechocolateicecreamovervanilla.
Differentpeoplerespondtodifferentstylesofleadership;thetrickistoadaptyourleadershipstyletothepeople
on your team. If you are a project manager who has decided that your team has to adapt to you, then you are
inforarudeawakening.Today’semployeesarenottheemployeesofyesterday;thoseemployeeswhowere
hiredbyalarge,respectablecompanyandstayedatajobfor35years,despitelittlepersonalsatisfaction,simply
becausetheywerehappytohaveajob.TheU.S.DepartmentofLaborhasreportedthattheaverage18-to-38-
year-oldstaysatajobanaverageoffouryears.Twomillionemployeesquittheirjobseverysinglemonthinthe
U.S.AlanHallofForbesMagazinehasstatedthatthisispurelyaleadershipissue[2].Manyemployeesdonot
feelthattheyarerespectedbytheirbosses.Theyalsofeelliketheyarenotpaidwhattheyareworth,andthat
whentheteamachievessuccess,theyarenotincludedintherewardsforthosesuccesses.Manyemployeesare
also convinced that leaders within their organization are not invested in their personal development and don’t
underwrite honest mistakes. This all adds up to a growing sense within teams and organizations that those who
are supposed to lead are only looking out for themselves, not for the health of the team or individual employees.
Retaining Team Members
Howcantheleadershipgapbebridgedandhowcanprojectmanagersholdontotheirbestandbrightest?The
answerisininspiring,coaching,andmentoringyourprojectteammembers.Inspiringyourteammembersisnot
adificulttask,ifyougettherightpeopleonyourteamtobeginwith.Thiscanbedificultifyouareinaweak
matrixorganizationthatassignsteammemberstoyourteamwithlittletonoinputfromyou.Butifyouareina
project-oriented organization or a strong matrix that allows you to have full or nearly full autonomy over hiring
projectteammembers,thentheinspirationquestionbeginsandendswithyouastheprojectmanager.Ensure
that you are hiring people who are in line with your organizational and project goals. Solicit input from those
whoarealreadyservingonyourteamandaskfortheirfeedbackonthehiringprocess.Inspiringteammembers
whoalreadybuyintotheprojectandyourorganizationalgoalsismuchmoreeasilyaccomplishedthanmotivat-
ingsomeonewhoisonlyinspiredtwiceamonth:onthe1stand15th.
Coaching and Communicating
Theabilitytoeffectivelycoachyourteammembersisalsoimportanttotheleadershipdynamicwithinyour
team.Theprocessofcoachingthemembersofyourteamisawaytomaintainconstantcommunication,set
expectations,andcreatearoadmapforsuccessforyourteammembers.Coachingisallaboutachievingproject
objectivesandleadingyourteamtoapredeterminedoutcome.Inacoachingrelationship,thecoachisseton
improvingperformanceinadirectivestyleandassumesresponsibilityfortheoutcome.Justlikeafootballcoach
makesagameplanandthendirectsteammembershowtoperformontheield,theprojectmanagermakes
Copyright ©2013 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved.
3
theprojectmanagementplananddirectsprojectmembersonhowtoworktotheplan.Aneffectivecoaching
strategy for your project team can raise performance and improve the chances for project success.
Setting Expectations
Settingclearexpectationsforthemembersofyourprojectteamisanothercriticalleadershiptask.Itcanbe
extremelyfrustratingforteammemberstoconstantlywonderwhetherornottheyaremeetingorfailingto
meet the project manager’s expectations. While ground rules for a project are addressed in a kickoff meeting,
individualdutiesanddeliverablesarenot.Takingthetimetoaddresstheseniormembersofyourprojectteam
individually and setting the expectation that they demonstrate leadership will create a cascading effect within
yourteam.Youareresponsibletosettheirroadmapandleadthem,andthey,inturn,areresponsibleforthose
who report to them.
Mentoring
Developingamentoringprogramwithinyourteamisonewaythatprojectmanagerscanprofessionallyde-
veloptheirteammembers.Seniormembersoftheteamshouldbereceptivetotakingajuniormemberofthe
team“undertheirwing”andsharingsuccesssecrets.Newteammembersshouldbeencouragedtoindamore
seniormemberoftheteamwithwhomtheywouldliketoestablishamentor-menteerelationship.Theagree-
mentbetweenthetwoteammembersmustbemutual;therecanbenomentoringordevelopmentifoneof
thepartiesisnotinterested.Thesharingofamentoringrelationshipbetweenteammembersleadstogreater
teamsuccessbybuildingcamaraderieandtrustwithintheteam.Thepayoffforthejuniormembersisreceiving
guidance and career advice, which strengthens their commitment to the team and to the project. The payoff for
theprojectmanagerandleadershipteamisthatcommittedteammemberswilldeliverbetterresults.Forward-
lookingcompaniesembraceandcommittodevelopingprojectmanagementsoftskillsintheirprojectmanagers,
whichinturnreducesturnoverandbuildscohesiveprojectteams.
The PMO as a Proit Center
Whentimesgettight,oneoftheirstthingsthatcompaniesdoislookatwheretocutcostsandreducestaff.A
temptingtargetformanycompaniesisthePMO.Thisnaturalpredilectiontofocusthebudgetslashingcross-
hairsonthePMOiscausedbyseveralfactors.Amongthosefactorscouldbeasimplemisunderstandingofwhat
thePMOdoes,viewingthePMOonlyasacostcenterorasanaturalextensionofprojectfundingcutbacksand
the elimination of projects.
InorderforPMOdirectorstosparetheirdepartmentsfromthebudgetaxe,itisincreasinglyimportanttotrans-
formthePMOintoaproitcenterforthecompany.Itmayseemcounterintuitivethatacenterwithinacompany
thatconsumesresourcescanbetransformedintoarevenue-generatingcenter,butitcanbedone.ThePMOhas
uniqueskillsandorganizationalknowledgethathavebeenhonedbyyearsofmanagingcross-departmental
projects.Whentheslashingbegins,thePMOdirectorcansellhisdepartmentasthego-tosubjectmatterexperts
(SMEs)whocanreplaceallthosehigh-pricedconsultantsthatwereletgointhenameofbudgetsavings.
ThePMOcanprovidefunctionalanddepartmentalmanagerswithmanpowerandcangeneraterevenueby
assigningtheselaborcostsouttotheotherdepartments.Itismoreaffordable,inalmosteveryinstance,touse
in-houseSMEsthantohireanoutsideconsultantorconsultingirm.Transferringcostsfromonedepartmentto
Copyright ©2013 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved.
4
therevenuestreamofanotherdepartmentcanbeseenasaccountingvoodoo.However,therealsavingsand
revenuegenerationwillberealizedwhenthePMOmustquicklyreassembleateamtotackleahigh-priority,
high-proitprojectopportunity.KeepingthePMOstaffandusingthemasin-houseconsultantsforotherfunc-
tionaldepartmentskeepstheexpertisethatyouhavedeveloped,generatesrevenueforthePMO,andmaximiz-
estheopportunitytoquicklyseizetheinitiativewhenprojectsrequirereactivationofarobustPMO.
Social Responsibility and Planning for Sustainability in
Projects
Sustainability
Creatingvaluethroughsustainabilityhasbecomeincreasinglyimportantinbusinesstoday,anditsimportance
willcontinuetogrowinthefuture.Worldwide,ascompaniesandsocietiesbecomemoreattunedtotheneces-
sityofreducingwaste,increasingrecycledcontent,andintegratingsustainabilityintothesupplychain,the
importanceofplanningsustainabilityintoprojectswillgetincreasedfocus.Sustainabilityinprojectmanage-
mentcanbeviewedasequalizingthebusinessbeneitsofyourprojectwiththeenvironmentalandsocietal
impactsthattheprojectwillhave.Inanutshell,itisbeingabletomeettoday’sprojectneedswhilesecuringthe
abilitytomeettheneedsofthefuture.
Manyorganizationsarebeginningtoplansustainabilityintotheirprojectsinavarietyofdifferentways.Whether
planningsustainabilityonthefrontendofaproject(materielprocurements)oronthebackend(reducing
landillwaste),youmustgivecarefulconsiderationwhencreatingtheprojectmanagementplan.Sustainability
doesn’thappenbyaccident;itmustbeaplanningandorganizationalpriorityforitsbeneitstobefullyrealized.
Itmayseemsomewhatdauntingtobegintheprocessofplanningsustainabilityintoyourprojects,buttheintro-
ductionoftheconceptcanbeginincrementallyandbeexpandedastheprocesstakesroot.Theinitialstepinin-
troducingsustainabilityistobenchmarkwheretheorganizationcurrentlysitsandtoestablishachievablegoals
forincreasingsustainabilityandreducingwaste.Settinggoalscanbeaccomplishedbycarefullyplanningways
to save energy on projects, planning procurements to include products or components that are manufactured in
anenvironmentallyconsciousmanner,andbyreducingtheamountofsolidwastegeneratedbytheproject.
Sincemoreorganizationsandbusinessesaretryingtoincreasesustainability,itstandstoreasonthatthey
willlookatdoingbusinesswiththosewhosharethosevalues.TheUnitedStatesDepartmentofDefensehas
stronglyencouragedtheimplementationof“green”procurementsandhasbeenaggressivelyfundingprograms
andprojectsthataredesignedtoreducewasteandincreaserenewableenergyinitiatives.Embracingandunder-
standingtheconceptofsustainabilitywillenableyourprojectteamandyourorganizationtoreapthebeneits
ofthegrowingdrivetowardsustainability-basedprojectmanagement.Lookatsustainabilityasanopportunity
tohelpyourorganization’sbottomline.
Social Responsibility
Alongwithsustainability,thereisanemergingtrendtoconductbusinessinasociallyresponsiblemanner.There
hasbeeneverincreasingscrutinyplacedoncompaniesthatexploitforeignworkers,wastethenaturalresources
ofunder-regulatedcountries,ordamagetheenvironmentthroughnegligenceorinthenameofincreasedproit.
Intermsofprojectmanagement,corporatesocialresponsibility(CSR)canbedeinedasprojectplanningtoen-
Copyright ©2013 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved.
5
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]