The Value of Project Management when Budgets are Tight

by Seth Gillespie, MBA, PMP® Certified

What is Project Management?

Project management is the discipline[1] of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is often closely related to and sometimes conflated with program management.

A project is a temporary endeavor, having a defined beginning and end (usually constrained by date, but can be by funding or deliverables[2]), undertaken to meet particular goals and objectives[3], usually to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast to business as usual (or operations)[4], which are repetitive, permanent or semi-permanent functional work to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate management.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals[5] and objectives while honoring the preconceived project constraints.[6] Typical constraints are scope, time, and budget.[2] The secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives.

What is a Project Manager?

Overview

According to a recent survey by CareerBuilder.com:

47% percent of workers say they have taken on more responsibility because of layoffs within their organization

37% said they are handling the work of two people

30% said they feel burned out

http://CareerBuilder.com

Do you face these issues?

Projects completed late, over-budget, or without meeting the functionality requirements of your client

Weak standard processes and techniques used inconsistently by project managers

Project management is reactive and not seen as providing value

The time required to manage projects proactively is not built into the work plan, since it is considered 'overhead'

http://www.portal-step.com/open/0.0.1ValueofPM.htm

What the Research says – Where do we have to go? What do we have to learn?

http://pmi.org

Risk Management

Linkedin.com Survey – 17 responses

Why is Project Management even more important (or not) when budgets and staffing are tight in this economy? (Marked Best Below)

Think of the steps related to getting ready for a game in football.

1) Review tapes from competition and study 2) Study playbook 3) Develop game plan strategy 4) Develop lineups 5) Develop game day play calling plan

During the game, the coaches will MANAGE the clock, the teams that come off and on the field, getting the plays communicated to the team, etc. All of this is managing tasks.

The players though must execute. They must know where to be, when to be there, where to line up, what to do, how to adjust to unplanned circumstances.

They must be synchronized in all of their actions, lest they be called for penalties, or at a minimum, they will not make progress, and may even lose progress as measured in yards.

The Proposition

Better expectation-setting through up-front estimating, planning, and project definition.

Faster execution through the reuse of common processes and templates.

Fewer project problems encountered when utilizing proactive project management processes.

Better organizational decision making through more effective project communication.

Higher client satisfaction and less rework by building a higher quality product the first time.

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-1060365.html

Leverage Existing Technology

E-mail has exploded and migrated from being an efficient communication method to an often oppressive form of technology.

The Take Back Your Life program leverages Microsoft Outlook to help individuals and teams more effectively manage this form of communication by reducing the time and impact e-mail has on the workday.

http://mcgheepro.com

Leverage Existing Technology (cont)

Use Microsoft Project to:

Efficiently plan all types of work

Manage resources more effectively

Gain visibility and insight

Communicate and collaborate with ease

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project/HA101321721033.aspx

Reduce Overwhelm

Most stress originates from loss of control, which leads to feelings of overwhelm.

But when your team knows how to eliminate day-to-day distractions and focus on the right things, they will be more in control.

They will have the confidence to make decisions and to disengage from activities that do not relate to their objectives.

We suggest holding weekly 1:1 meetings with your team to discuss priorities and progress related to their objectives.

http://mcgheepro.com

Facilitate Teaming

When your workforce is aligned as a team to unifying goals, they will be more prepared to help each other out in times of stress because they know how each person is contributing to a longer-term vision of success.

http://mcgheepro.com

Emphasis Work/Life Balance

By focusing on strategic activities versus day-to-day distractions and e-mail, your workforce is able to produce more results with less effort allowing them to free up their calendar for truly enjoyable activities.

Encourage employees to disconnect when away from work and allow them to plan personal activities on the same calendars they use at work to reduce the likelihood of double booking themselves.

http://mcgheepro.com

Offer Training

Providing productivity training is a simple solution for getting employees better equipped to work efficiently and manage their stress.

Through our training, workers not only learn an efficient system for processing information, but also for making strategic decisions based on objectives.

http://mcgheepro.com

Use Trial Software

Microsoft Project to manage the important components of your project, track your progress and create dynamic reports to visually explain your progress.

To learn more about how Microsoft Office can help you manage your projects and download a free 60-day trial check out the website here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project/FX100487771033.aspx

Training Opportunities

Go virtual when you can to save on travel costs

Look at free programs offered by companies such as Microsoft (contacts @ end)

Go Social (next slide)!

Go Social!

Follow the latest on Microsoft Project with your favorite social networking tools...

Twitter

Facebook

RSS

Blogs, etc

Additional Resources (RSS – Project Management):

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FProjectManagementTemplates

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.gantthead.com%2FRSS%2Fgantthead.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.pmhut.com%2Ffeed%2F

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2Fpm411org

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FPmi-svcast

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.pmthink.com%2Fatom.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.thepmpodcast.com%2Fpmpodcast.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.4pm.com%2Fatom.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2Fprojectshrink

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.projectconnections.com%2Frss%2Fhome.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FThePMStudent

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.botinternational.com%2Fthepmopodcast.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FArtofPM

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fblogs.pmi.org%2Fblog%2Fvoices_on_project_management%2Fatom.xml

Additional Resources (RSS – Project Server):

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fappleparkltd.spaces.live.com%2Ffeed.rss

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fblogs.msdn.com%2Fbrismith%2Frss.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fblogs.msdn.com%2Fchrisfie%2Frss.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fblogs.msdn.com%2Fproject%2Frss.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.msprojectreporter.com%2Fposts.xml

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fgroup%2Fmicrosoft.public.project.server%2Ffeed%2Frss_v2_0_msgs.xml%3Fnum%3D50

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Foffice.microsoft.com%2Fdownload%2Fafile.aspx%3Fassetid%3DHX102133001033

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FProjectified

To learn more about FREE Training:

Derek Loar, PMPdeloar@microsoft.com

Mark "Doc" Dochtermann, PMP, PMI-SP, CISSP, MCTSdocdoc@microsoft.com

Mike Kremer, PMPmikekr@microsoft.com

About the author…

Seth is a results-oriented IT Project Manager with over a decade of knowledge and experience in managing significant Enterprise Project Management initiatives that produced value and met given objectives. Experienced in initiating, planning, controlling, executing and closing of small to complex IT related projects. Proven abilities include leading high performance local, global or virtual teams, working with cross functional groups and communicating effectively with stakeholders.

Seth Gillespie, MBA, PMP® Certifiedhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/sethgillespie