tutorial exercise--weeks one and two v1.0

8/2/2019 Tutorial Exercise--Weeks One and Two v1.0

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Tutorial ExerciseWeeks One and Two

Background

Purpose: This tutorial will introduce a structured approach that will assist you inevaluating your organizations overall project management capability and comparing

it to that of your competitors. The organization you choose to evaluate does not

have to be your own, but it should be an organization you are familiar with. If you

dont have an organization you can use, then you might wish to work with a course

colleague who does. We encourage you to share your thoughts and conclusions in

the tutorials. That way, everyone benefits from the wonderfully diverse perspectives

represented by the course member body.

Reading: Read the article Project Management Maturity Model by Ken Robertsonof KLR located at both URLhttp://www.klr.com/white_papers/pdfs/pm_maturity_model.pdfand under

Learning Resources/Week One folder on BEN610 Blackboard. Dont worry too much

about the nature and role of project maturity models at the moment, well look at

that topic in depth along with a range of maturity models in a later session.

Over Weeks One and Two: This exercise will be undertaken in the tutorials held inWeeks One and Two and will be facilitated by your tutor. Like all tutorials, this

activity is neither compulsory nor assessable. Nonetheless, you will find the

outcomes very helpful in completing the formative assessment.

Capability Maturity Levels: Youll see that the project management maturity modelmeasures an organizations capability using the following ordinal scale:

o Level 1: Ad hoco Level 2: Foundationo Level 3: Managedo Level 4: Integratedo Level 5: Optimization

The Theory: The theory underpinning maturity models hypothesises that anorganizations project management capability develops progressively through a

series of sequential Levels. For example, an organization cannot instantaneously

achieve Level 3. Rather the organization must evolve its capability to Level 3 via

Level 1 and then Level 2. It is like our own growth into adulthood. To become adults

we must progress through the infant, child, and adolescent stageslearning and

developing maturity along the way.

What is the Right Level?: At the same time, though, the fact that there are fiveLevels, doesnt mean that every organization should try to aspire to Level 5. Rather,

organizations must find the Level that is most appropriate for their situation. The

cost of moving upwards between Levels and then maintaining that new Level,

generally climbs exponentially. For example, the cost ofraising the organizations
http://www.klr.com/white_papers/pdfs/pm_maturity_model.pdfhttp://www.klr.com/white_papers/pdfs/pm_maturity_model.pdfhttp://www.klr.com/white_papers/pdfs/pm_maturity_model.pdf


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capability from Level 4 to Level 5 and then maintaining Level 5 is usually

disproportionately greater than transitioning from Level 2 to Level 3. Some

organizations will feel quite comfortable around Level 3; whereas, others would lose

their competitive advantage at anything below Level 5.

Task

Organizations Current and Future States: Using the detailed descriptions of eachLevel in Robertsons article, assess:

o Where your organization currently fits (well call this the current stateinsome literature it is referred to as the as is state).

o Where you think your organization should fitbut please be pragmatic (wellcall this the future stateit is also referred to as the to be state).

Should the Future State Always be Higher than the Current State? Although it islikely that the future state will be higher than the current stage, this will not

always be the case. You may feel that your organizations project management

capability is already at the right levelin which case the current and future

states will be the same. Indeed, it is even possible that you might believe that the

organizations current project management capability is too great and should drop to

a lower level to conserve resources and /or increase profitability.

What If the Organizational Capability Falls Between Levels?: If you feel that yourorganization falls approximately midway between two Levels, this can be recognised

as a half-way increment. For example, if your organization is about midwaybetween Levels 2 and 3, we will call that Level 2.5. Similarly if your organization sits

roughly midway between Levels 3 and 4, we will call that Level 3.5.

What are the Causes of the Gap Between Current and Future State, if any? Nowidentify which knowledge areas and process groups (using PMBoK terminology)

primarily contribute to this gap if any between the current and future states. Use

the Pareto 80/20 rule--select only those few knowledge areas and process groups

that account for around 80% of the gap. Or alternatively limit your consideration to

no more than five knowledge areas and/or process groups.

How Would You Eliminate these Causes? What major actions would you suggest toeliminate the cause identified in the previous question? Again limit your

consideration to no more than five to seven actions.

Am I Better, Equal or Worse than my Competitors? How does your current projectmanagement capability compare with your competitors? How does that affect your

organizations competitive advantage?

[Optional Question If Time Allows] Are these Problems Common Across theIndustry Sector in which the Organization Operates? To what extent are the causes

identified in the previous question common across the industry sector in which the

organization operates? If so, are there any obvious reasons?


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Getting to Know the BEN610 Class Survey: As discussed in class, please do theanonymous Getting to Know the BEN610 survey at

http://survey.qut.edu.au/survey/171397/2e08/.

[Optional If Time Allows] Should I Think About Using Other Development andDelivery Methodologies? In the Week 2 lecture, we talked very briefly abouttraditional and non-traditional development delivery methodologies. Are you

confident are you that your organizations current development and delivery

methodology offers the best value (however your organization defines that? If not,

what changes would you suggest and under what circumstances?
http://survey.qut.edu.au/survey/171397/2e08/http://survey.qut.edu.au/survey/171397/2e08/http://survey.qut.edu.au/survey/171397/2e08/

tutorial exercise--weeks one and two v1.0

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