I work for a small IT company (70 employees) that has experienced very rapid growth in the last 12 months. For the most part we were almost always exclusive to the development and implementation phases of a project, as we would sub to larger organizations that would handle the overall PM responsibilities.
With this growth, we are increasingly responsible for the entire lifecycle of a project. We have very few employees that have done what would constitute as PM, so trying to fit developers into the role is causing problems.
We are in the process of rolling out Project+ training to our designated PMs/team leads, but I don't feel as though this will be enough. I'm sitting for my PMP, but it will be hard to apply any knowledge I gain from this by myself across the organization.
While we can't stop working, are there steps we can take to structure consistent PM around what we are doing and provide a foundation for moving forward? Where should we start (processes, training, etc?) Curious to know if other people have been in similar situations.
Also, would it be beneficial to bring in a pro that could help guide us? If so, any recommendations?
Thanks for your time and assistance.
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Niels MalotauxProject Coach| N R Malotaux - ConsultancyMedebach, Germany
As a coach I teach projects to be more successful in shorter time. Not with theoretical models, but by teaching a very pragmatic approach of project planning, based on producing Results and Value to the customer. That's not instead of what you will learn for PMP, but it rather complements the basic PM methods and makes them operational.
Have a look at www.malotaux.nl/Booklets and first read booklet#2 then #5 and then the others, to get some idea, although the devil is in the details.
This approach doesn't take long to learn: within several weeks it will be obvious that projects are working more focused and much more productively. They will learn to predict quite reliably when what of the project will be done. This allows program/portfolio/resource-management to manage on realistic data in stead of on hope.
The funny thing is that it’s not even very difficult. Rather a different view of what it takes to run projects successfully, taking human behavior into account, to make it work. This has been taught and coached in more than 100 projects in over 25 organizations in 10 countries in the past years, which lead to a wealth of experience in which approaches work better and which work less in real practice.
Please have a look in the booklets and let me know what you think.
Niels Malotaux, Project Coach Saving Changes...
Juanita WoodsAcademic Director, Clinical Assistant Professor| New York UniversityNY, United States
Hi there. Your "problem" is not exclusive to small companies and is common when a great idea takes off. Project management should not get in the way of delivering your product, but it can help ensure that what you are delivering is what you wanted to deliver in the first place.
Assuming you have a development life cycle in place, I would first look at the pieces/interactions that have caused you the most grief. Is it in the schedule planning (are you delivering on time)? Is it in the cost containment (do you know how much the project is going to cost you before you start)? Are your development teams overworked? Do you have any bottlenecks in the process?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then that is where you should start putting your project management processes to work. For example, if you always deliver late or over budget, then good planning tools should be applied at the beginning. These can be simple or complex, ranging from simple spreadsheets to complex project software. Remember, it's not the PM process that drives your business, it's what you deliver to your customers that matter.
Finally, you asked if a professional should be brought in to help. If you want to have staff that is focused on project management, then use a consultant to facilitate the process improvement and train the staff that will be acting as project managers. Too many times, I have seen consultants hired that create a great process, but when they leave, the knowledge goes with them, and the company is left thousands of dollars poorer and none the wiser.
Good luck! Saving Changes...
Al TaylorI.T. Contractor| IndependentWaterloo, Ontario, Canada
A few thoughts...
1. First, find the leader(s) in the shop and let them do the PM. If your PMs can't lead then training will not help.
2. Buy a couple of copies of PMBOK and for each project (based on risk, cost, etc) identify the set of best practices to apply. You should do at least a charter, WBS, and risk assessment for every project.
3. Get the right people doing the right things in the right frame of mind and you will do fine.
good luck! Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Hi Anon,
In your post you ask, "are there steps we can take to structure consistent PM around what we are doing and provide a foundation for moving forward?" The answer is yes. I would highly recommend that you have a look at the gantthead PMO Management Package. Provided is a customizable framework for project management (and learning) that you install on your own network, tailor to your environment and level of needs, and use with the tools that you already have and know. You can request a demo and see for yourself. There is absolutely no reason to struggle in this area.
