I hear from some companies « we’re not very good at Project Management… »

…but aren’t they simply getting what they deserve for the poor attention they’re dedicating to this difficult profession?

Indeed, the PM profession needs to be:

1. managed: with defined evolution, certifications’ path, best practices and training

• Project Management Center Of Excellence / Best practices
• PMO to develop and improve methods
• specific training curriculum
• Worldwide certification approach (external and internal)

2. facilitated and animated: an active community of Project Managers

• a leader for the PM profession at company level shall be appointed and eventually one in each major entity of the company
• local leaders and facilitators (an integral part of the PM certification board)
• coaches and mentors for junior PMs (associate PMs and newly confirmed PMs)
• regular internal Certification Boards (culture, tools and methods that can be specific to the company and its industry)
• PM Days to promote project Management and its practitioners within the company
• knowledge management and collaboration tools (wikis, forums, document sharing, reuse, Enterprise social network)
• reward programme for the profession (Involving human resources and managers with clear development plans)

Shouldn’t the companies complaining about Project and Programme management implement what some of the best have done and implement a clear professional development framework for Project Managers ?

Do you have a clear and simple model supported by external certification and/or internal ones, and with proper collaboration tools and coaching in place within the company?

As an example, they could implement 4 levels of PM expertise corresponding to clearly defined levels of complexity and importance for their projects (budget, size, durations, strategic importance…): I named these Associate PM, PM, Senior PM and Project Director in the picture here below.

These could lead to the preparation of their future programme directors and portfolio managers, even if this is certainly not the unique path to reach this sort of responsibilities.

It is a simple and easy to read framework where moving from one level to the next happens via external and internal certifications or peer reviews.

This model needs to be accompanied all along by a collaborative electronic environment where PMs can share documents, learn from prior projects and get coaching and advice from their peers, the PMO and other experts via forums, enterprise social networks or wikis for example.

It is really in the best interest of the company…

1. risks are managed more effectively

• 

  proper definition of projects

• proper governance
• identified and proactively managed risks

2. productivity increases

• clear definition of roles, responsibilities and deliverables
• empowered and certified PMs
• faster deliverables through the use of knowledge management

3. communication becomes easier

• common terminology, methodology and performance indicators
• customer transparency for greater visibility and satisfaction
• plans, schedules, actual performance against objectives and commitments are clearer

and also, it is in the best interest of Project Managers, Programme Managers, Project Directors…

for a rich and diverse profession

• 

  competencies: technical, financial, contractual, soft skills

• broad range of environments and roles, greater diversity in projects undertaken

with jobs that carry tremendous value add for the company and its customers

• the PM is the ultimate responsible person for the project
• projects ranging from a few thousand euros to several millions

the PM clearly evolves with experience

• within the PM profession with larger projects, more strategic programmes…
• bridges to other professions (consultants, external versus internal customer projects, customer account management…)
• transfers to the management profession

Have you experienced implementing such a framework in your company?   Please leave a comment for our readers.