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How research in PM impacts practitioners
Teaching Project Management as a life skill
FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE PMSA
JULY
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web: www.pmisa.org.za email: [email protected]
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ProjectNet is an alternate monthly
publication produced by Cyan Sky
Communication Consultancy and distributed
free of charge to the members of PMSA, on
behalf of PMSA.
Editorial Director:
Prof Les Labuschagne, Ex-officio President
Managing Editor:
Taryn van Olden
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Please direct editorial submissions
and enquiries to:
The Editor, ProjectNet, [email protected]
or 082 779-1314.
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to The Editor at the above email address.
For extra copies of ProjectNet and any
PMSA-related enquires such as training
and membership, please contact Elise Airey
or Catherine Morake at the PMSA office
on (011) 706-6813
or via [email protected]
General contact details related to this
magazine:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.projectnet.co.za
Address: PO Box 518 Featherbrooke Estate
Ruimsig 1746
Cover image:
Speakers at Conference 2006
- See page 20
Copyright©
The copyright of all material in this
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except where expressly stated. The editors
will, however, consider reasonable requests
for the use of information provided the
source and author are clearly attributed.
Please note: Editorial submissions are welcomed but are subject to review by the PMSA Exco, ProjectNet’s editorial team and editor before a decision is made regarding inclusion. Product- or service-specific information submitted in the form of a news item may be considered for publication in the Our World section, but may not be accepted in any other section. Please contact the Editor for content classifications to guide your submissions. The editor reserves the right to shorten articles but will consult the author should any adjustments be deemed necessary.
th is e
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Editorial Message from the editor Pg 2
President’s Pen A word from the president Pg 3
Thought Leadership Exploring the human element of PM Pg 4
PMI: now and in the future Pg 7
Global Network Quality First Pg 8
Competition Enter the Project of the Year Awards Pg 12
Case Study Teaching Project Management as a life skill Pg 14
Branch News News and updates Pg 18
Seen and heard at Conference 2006 Pg 20
Industry News PPM forum launched for PM professionals Pg 21
How research in PM impacts practitioners Pg 22
Academic corner Managing IT projects in South Africa Pg 23
Reviews Project disasters and how to survive them Pg 25
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P r e si de
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So, what’s to do? As the cat tells Alice, “if you
don’t know where you are going, any road will take
you there.”
*George Barna, opinion researcher and writer,
describes vision as “a clear mental image of a preferable
future imparted by God to his chosen servants and is
based upon an accurate understanding of God, self and
circumstances.”
Hmm. But, a vision of what?
The same speaker at the last conference also told us
that project management was considered a life-skill in
government circles, and that it needed to be brought into
the school curriculum.
Talk about being presented the solution on a platter!
What a marvellous opportunity!
I “managed” and executed my first IT project in 1974.
My boss sent me off to a customer to develop a debtors
application using ledger cards (anyone remember what
those were?) with a magnetic stripe similar to that on a
credit card to store the pertinent data. Manuals taught me
how to program, and my customer taught me that debits
were on the window side (or was that, credits?)
Since then I have been particularly blessed with a rich
and varied career that has included many small and some
of the largest IT projects in South Africa, including one of the
most notable failures ever.
Been there, done that, have the t-shirt. And the stories.
So, what is my vision for project management and PMSA?
I see a future where children are taught the basic
principles of project management. Where each school,
fund raising and home project is approached with a clear
picture of what is to be achieved, where they are able to
estimate whether it can be completed given the resources
they have.
Then I see some of these children dreaming about
becoming a leading rare diseases specialist, another an
aeronautical engineer, another a chartered accountant,
and another becoming a member of the Institute of
Chartered Project Managers, who will lead the other three
and thousands of others in the mission to establish the first
human colony on Mars.
And PMSA? Oh, I thought I had mentioned it ... the Institute
of Chartered Project Managers.
But that is just what I see. What do you see? Why don’t you
share it with us and make it happen.
You can do this by becoming an activist – in your support of
specific interest groups, in your local chapter, in contributing
to and attending local conferences, in becoming a part of
the PMSA Exco.
If you are a member of another professional body,
by encouraging it to forge closer ties with PMSA.
And if you cannot do any of these things you can tell others
about what it is you do, and why PMSA has such a role to
play in our collective future way beyond 2010.
Do it! To it!
QUO VADIS, project management?
The biggest PMSA event for the year, the PMSA
international conference, has come and gone and
feedback received to date indicates that it was a great
success. We welcome our new readers of ProjectNet: those
conference delegates who were not previously members of
the PMSA but have become so as a result of having attended
the conference. We hope you will find value in these pages
and will be inspired to make your own contributions in time
to come.
Those who attended will remember completing evaluation
forms. These are being processed and we look forward to
sharing the results with you, as an indication of who the
most popular speakers were, which workshops received the
highest acclaim and generally what delegates thought of the
overall event.
In this and the coming editions of ProjectNet, we will
be featuring some of the topics that were covered at the
conference, for the benefit of those members who were
unable to attend (see page 4). In this edition, we also provide
a pictorial review of the conference – perhaps you were
spotted (see page 20).
You will notice that we are paying increasing attention to
research being done in project management. A presentation
at our conference by Edwin Andrews, who heads up PMI’s
research function, and the recent PMI Research Conference
in Montreal (see page 20) highlights the reality that South
Africa is far behind in terms of research outputs in the industry.
Our inclusion of a research section in ProjectNet (see page 23)
is just a small way of acknowledging its importance, and we
hope that those institutions that so kindly support ProjectNet
through their advertising will also see this as an opportunity to
showcase the good work being done by their researchers.
In addition, we bring you articles on global trends (see
page 8), a very local and heart-warming case study (see
page 14) and a special section to encourage you to enter the
Project of the Year awards (see page 12).
As always, we welcome your feedback. Send comments
E d i t
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CONFERENCE feedback
President: Elmar Roberg - [email protected]
Past President and VP International Liaison
Prof. Les Labuschagne [email protected]
Past Chairman PMSA Board: Bruce Webb
Chairman PMSA Board: Robert Best - [email protected]
VP Public Relations: Hester Mende
VP Finance: Robert Witte - [email protected]
VP Marketing: Valerie Carmichael-Brown
VP Technical & Education: Jurie Smith
VP Projects: Sthembiso Ntshangase
VP Branches: Sinaye Mgolombane
Admin Manager: Elise Airey - [email protected]
Branches
Gauteng Branch President
George Mhlangu - [email protected]
Tshwane Branch President
Nkululeko Buthelezi - [email protected]
KZN Branch President
Sandro Quattrocchi - [email protected]
WCape Branch President
Arnold Schachat - [email protected]
* Barna, George. The Power of Vision. Regal Books. 1992.
PMSA Exco 2006
At the AGM in June, a new national executive
committee (Exco) was elected. The following people
and portfolios apply for the next two years:
Some piercing questions were asked at the last two international project management conferences.
Two years ago, a senior executive from the PMI suggested that if the statement we so often hear
that “everything is project management”, then maybe, “nothing is project management.” This time,
there was some debate as to whether project management is a profession or not and we were
urged by a non-project manager to get in and “shore up” or the initiative would be taken away
from us and others would determine our future.
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As featured at Conference 2006There is a general acceptance that the success of
a project is largely dependant on the abilities of the
project manager. This “human” component of project
management poses themes for many studies into what
makes a good project manager and how an individual can
become a better project manager. It was, therefore, no
surprise that the number of presentations submitted to the
recent PMSA conference dealing with the topic warranted
its own stream of presentations. In this edition of ProjectNet,
we look at two of these presentations and the key assertions
and conclusions they offer.
Coaching for Improved Emotional Intelligence
In his presentation, “Can Coaching and the Coaching
Relationship Improve an Individual’s Ability to Project
Manage?” Saul Goldblatt spoke of a research project which
set out to explore this very question. The base assumption
made with regard to effective project management at
the outset was that project objectives are achieved by
the people assigned to the project; if project managers
can improve their personal efficiency and effectiveness
as well as their relationships with the project personnel,
the probability of project success will be increased. It
was hypothesised that increased emotional intelligence
contributes towards improved inter-personal relationships
and improved personal efficiency and effectiveness, and
that coaching results in increased emotional intelligence.
Given the above, the focus of the project was soft
skills development. To identify which project management
characteristics and competencies are considered to be
required, various literature was reviewed, including PMI’s
Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
and Kerzner’s ‘bible’ of project management. For the link
between leadership and emotional intelligence, recent
leading international research (including that by Swinburne
University of Technology (Australia)) was reviewed.
The competencies selected were:
• Confidence and assertiveness
• Humility
• Honesty
• Self-organisation
• Time management
• Versatility, flexibility and adaptability
• Decisiveness
• Initiative
• Delegating
• Empathy
• Effective communication
• Facilitation
• Influencing the organisation
• Leading
• Negotiating
• Problem solving
Each competency was categorised as either a personal
competence, i.e. relating to self-awareness, self-regulation
or self-motivation; or a social competence, i.e. relating to
social awareness or social skills.
The case study presented experienced the symptoms
of work overload, trouble meeting personal deadlines,
unhealthy stress, poor work/life balance and being
generally demotivated. The coaching goal was to improve
time management. By exploring the person’s mindset, it was
discovered that he couldn’t say no and believed that being
liked was extremely important. The intervention required a
change in this belief and a change in behaviour. Through
coaching, the subject was able to start saying “no”, began
delegating more, was able to close his door to complete
his own work and allocated time in his schedule for his own
work. The outcome was that he started meeting deadlines,
worked less overtime, was less stressed, developed a greater
self-esteem and experienced greater esteem from others. The
average rating associated with each identified competency
showed improvement after coaching had taken place.
The research findings confirmed the assumptions that
coaching results in increased emotional intelligence, and
that improved personal efficiency and effectiveness ensued
as a result.
The recommendations emanating from the study include
the usage of a combination of coaching and mentoring/
consulting for the further development of project management
competency, and the initiation of coaching programmes or
other initiatives aimed at increasing the emotional intelligence
of managers and leaders. It is also recommended that
techniques for self-organisation be taught as part of the
training curriculum for managers.
Saul Goldblatt is a specialist program and project manager,
as well as Master Coach, with over 25 years’ experience in the
IT and consulting industries. He is associated with Corporate
Project Management based in Cape Town.
• UCLA research indicates that only 7% of leadership success
is attributable to intellect; 93% of success comes from trust,
integrity, authenticity, honesty, creativity, presence and
resilience (cited in Cooper and Sawaf, 1996)
• An analysis of more than 300 top executives from 15 global
companies showed that six emotional competencies
distinguished the stars form the average: influence, team
leadership, organizational awareness, self-confidence,
achievement drive and leadership. (Spencer, LM Jr, 1997)
• Research by the Center for Creative Leadership has shown
that the primary causes of derailment in executives involve
deficits in emotional competence. The three primary ones
are difficulty in handling change, not being able to work
well in a team, and poor interpersonal relations.
Determining what it takes to be a master project manager
In his presentation, Derek Smith shared insights gained from
research that used storytelling to assess the competencies of
a master project manager.
According to the Standish Chaos Reports, over the last
decade the level of IT project failures remains consistently high.
Recent Gartner research identifies a new breed of IT project
manager who they refer to as a master project manager.
What distinguishes these master project managers from
ordinary project managers is their ability to perform at higher
EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEENEI AND LEADERSHIPHUMAN ELEMENT
TH
ANTH
ANTH
AN ELELELOF PMOF PM
coaching results in increased emotional
intelligence with improved personal efficiency and effectiveness as a result.
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The organisation has developed a detailed strategic plan and
designed an operational programme to make this envisioned
goal a reality. The success of the operational programme will be
measured using a balanced scorecard methodology.
PM as Strategic Partner
Louis Mercken completed the three-pronged view with his
presentation on Project Management as a Strategic Partner. He
referred to the full menu of programmes, products, and services
on offer from the PMI that can help elevate your professional
profi le, as well as that of your organisation’s project management
maturity.
In his presentation he referred to:
• Standards to help keep you and your organisation up to date
on professional best practices. These included the Guide to the
PMBoK and its extensions for government and the construction
industry; OPM3; the Project Management Competency
Development Framework; and Practice Standards for Work
Breakdown Structures and Earned Value Management.
• Certifi cations including PMP and CAPM that could help you
get recognition for your training and experience.
• Career development programmes to help your organisation
plan career paths for talented professionals. These include
the Competency Development Framework, Knowledge
Assessments and Role Delineation Studies for project and
programme managers.
• Virtual communities that could put you in contact with service
providers, other professionals in your fi eld, and volunteer
opportunities.
In a series of three presentations at Conference 2006,
representatives from the PMI spoke of the key plans that this
institute is rolling out for the foreseeable future and the value of
a PMI membership.
The State of Project Management
Iain Fraser, PMP and PMI CEO posed the question: “What are the
prospects for project management, and how does that affect
you?”
His presentation looked at recent research, perspectives from
large organisations that depend on project management, and
growth statistics from around the world. All of this pointed to strong
professional growth potential for project management based on
the following:
• Major employers being predisposed towards the profession.
• The growth potential measured in the growing numbers of
certifi ed professionals (as of December 2005, there are 184 461
PMPs worldwide)
• Increasing demand for accredited education and training
providers
• Rising salaries paid to project managers indicate their rising
value to society
• Regional economic profi les suggest growing demand.
PMI’s Strategic Plan
South Africa’s only representative on the PMI Board, Bruce
Rodrigues, spoke about the future that PMI envisions and is
working to achieve. The organisation’s long-term goal is that:
Worldwide, organisations will embrace, value, and utilise project
management and attribute their success to it.
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levels of complexity and effectiveness. These master project
managers are able to run complex projects successfully
and are also assisting organisations to manage their project
offices. Their characteristics and competencies include the
ability to take a long term holistic view, manage high risk
projects and act as mentors to junior project managers
(Gomolski, 1999).
This research attempts to identify the characteristics of
a master IT project manager from the research literature.
A selection of 10 highly experienced project managers
were approached and requested to relate an exceptional
project management experience using a storytelling
technique.
The storytelling framework involved 1) an introduction
which comprised the title and context (specific
circumstances and the problem environment of the story)
2) a body comprising the problem (the issue and possible
solutions, which solution options were rejected and why)
and the consequences of implementing the chosen
solution, 3) a conclusion explaining what was learned from
the experience.
These stories were captured and analysed into themes
to determine the specific characteristics and competencies
the project manager required to handle the situation. The
themes were as follows:
• Project communication – an essential competency but
the stories identified project manager to client, project
manager to team, project manager to team member,
team member to team member and team to client as
the key communication lines that require considerable
focus.
• Managing team dynamics – the leadership approach,
communication approaches, staff selection and work
scheduling are seen as vital.
• Project manager involvement – Sometimes a PM “has to
roll their sleeves up”; other times they should stand back
and oversee the big picture.
• Project administration – in complex projects, keeping
good records is necessary. Issue logs are useful and PM
software assists communication with all stakeholders.
• Project risk management – risks must be very carefully
assessed and planned for – especially for complex
projects.
• Project methodology selection – there is no one-size-fits-
all methodology.
• Project manager competencies – the skills and
personality of the PM / project team are unique to a
specific project. Specific behavioural skills mentioned
included the PM’s vision, level of trust in the team, PM
reputation, courage, negotiation skills, flexibility and
adaptability.
• Technical skills – An understanding of the technical issues
relating to the business is important. Thus in an IT project,
the PM must have a reasonable level of understanding
of IT.
• Project manager authority – both positional power as
the PM on the project and personal power as a leader
in the organisation are required.
• A High level vision of the project and organisation
The derived competencies were compared with those
determined from the literature.
The resulting key characteristics and competencies
of master project managers included strong, focussed
communications, courage, team leadership, authority and
vision. These relate strongly to leadership qualities. However,
good project administration and issues management were
also identified as vital ingredients for success. Project
success was described as not simply satisfying the “iron
triangle” but also relating to the value the project added
to the organisation.
And what can project stories be used for? Derived
themes can guide the topics for advanced project
management courseware. The actual stories can be re-
used for action learning in seminars. New stories can be
researched from organisations, captured and analysed.
Project stories can be used as cases in books and for use
in examinations.
Derek Smith is a professor of Information Systems at the
University of Cape Town. The other co-authors were post-
graduate Information Systems students in the department
in 2005 completing a research project. Derek has published
widely in the project management field and is a PMP.
PMI Now and in the Future:IIIIII
Iain Fraser q q
Louis Merckenq
Bruce Rodrigues
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QUALITYFIRSTimprovement in your project outcome, because I don’t think
the kind of people and facilitation skills needed to effectively
lead a team are emphasised in Six Sigma. So much of it comes
out of a manufacturing environment.
Companies now are looking at how they can ensure
their Six Sigma experts understand their project management
processes and vice versa. What Lynn was describing sounds
like an effective way to make sure you bring multiple resources
to a project, but I’m afraid we’re focusing on those things that
are most easily measured. It’s still an extremely rare sight for
an organisation to emphasise the quality of the collaboration
on a team and the effectiveness of an employee in terms of
serving on teams.
If we took a Six Sigma approach to it, we would be
building quality-assurance activities into our collaborative
process throughout the project life cycle. That’s what we can
First it was total quality management. Now Six Sigma is
generating the buzz in quality circles. However, it may
not be the be-all and end-all. Of the 156 business-
technology executives surveyed by Optimize magazine,
only 38 percent said their companies employ Six Sigma.
The big question is whether it focuses too much attention
on process rather than people, who can make a true
difference in improving project management quality. Lynn
Crawford, DBA, of the University of Technology in Sydney,
Australia, and Jeanne Dorle, PhD, PMP of Western Carolina
University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States,
tackle the quality issue.
Overall, how are companies approaching quality? Dr Crawford: The whole concept of quality has become
very blurred. It’s being given different names and annexed
into other areas. As it moves into IT, organisational change
and things of that sort, what constitutes quality? It’s not just
the quality of the end-product. Often, the way in which
you have delivered is just as important as what has been
delivered—sometimes it’s more important. In a way, good
project management in an organisation is, in itself, a quality
management process.
Dr Dorle: If you integrate quality into your organisation and
you build quality-assurance activities, quality is everyone’s
responsibility. As organisations grow more complex, there
are a lot of incentives for looking at quality.
I couldn’t agree more with Lynn that it’s called all kinds
of different things. That’s probably a good thing, because
it needs to be part and parcel of the way a company
operates— and not a unit or a saying on the building as
you walk in.
When it comes to quality, what’s more important: people or process? Dr Crawford: You can survive not having process, but it
puts a lot more pressure on the individual. When you have
the process, the people make the difference every time,
because the way in which the processes are used comes
back to them.
People skills make the difference between poor,
average and superior quality. You need people skills to
get the commitment from team members and to follow
through on the process. You need the process skills for the
quality-assurance aspect.
Dr Dorle: It’s fine to have good people skills, but then you
need the discipline to make sure you have scheduled
quality-assurance activities into your process and that you
are collecting data. That requires process skills.
One of the things quality and people skills share is they’re
both difficult to measure. Project managers have suffered
because we tend to focus on those things that can be
easily measured—schedule, budget and so on. I am deeply
concerned. We must figure out a way to measure quality
and the specific behaviours associated with effective
people skills and start trying to prepare people. Until we
can develop better measurements, it’s going to be very
hard—other than at the gut level—to know how well we’re
performing these skills.
Can Six Sigma help companies with quality? Dr Crawford: That’s a really interesting question because
I see Six Sigma coming up in programs for improving
project management within organisations. One company
I work with has project managers, business analysts and Six
Sigma black belts included within a project management
job family. They’re all applying these skills in different tasks
of the project process.
Dr Dorle: One concern I have is a commitment to Six
Sigma is often seen as a commitment to quality, which, of
course, it may well be. But it focuses even more attention
on the process side of the equation. You need to be
cautious about assuming its going to make a substantial
anticipate seeing in the future—assuming companies believe
people skills are essential to successful projects. And if it’s
essential, then we darn well better figure out how to describe
it, define it, measure it and train it. We’re not there yet.
Is improving quality an ongoing effort or a onetime focus on process? Dr Crawford: It’s not so much improving, because a lot of
organisations put the effort into that. What you have to do is
maintain the improvement that you have achieved. One of
the real dangers is that organisations put resources into it for
a period of time and then they say. “OK, we are terrific at this
now.” Then they move on to something else. That happens to
project management capabilities in organisations, and it can
happen to quality.
As the never-ending quest for project management quality continues, companies are looking at people and processes.
One of the real dangers is that organisations
put resources into it for a period of time and
then they say, “OK, we are terrific at this now.’ —Lynn Crawford, DBA, University of Technology in Sydney
Project Management Institute, PM Network,
Project Management Institute, Inc., 2006
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Successful organisations have one or more people
committed full-time to managing mentoring and coaching
within the organisation. Very few organisations see the
value of that, however. They see it as overhead, and it’s
hard to get that commitment.
Dr Dorle: It’s a long-term commitment characterised by
incremental change. You can’t buy a solution and spend
two or three years on it and then be done with it. You’re
never done.
The message that executives should give—and really
support—is an ongoing commitment to sustaining quality.
Employees need to be systematically coached and
exposed to good practices. We can buy Microsoft Project
Server and develop project portfolios and don’t get me
wrong, I’m all for that. But it’s like buying Word—it doesn’t
turn us into Pulitzer Prizewinning authors. Software and
sending people off to training is often done with the best
of intentions, but organisations assume it’s going to solve
their problem. We need to make sure we have as strong
a commitment to developing and nurturing people skills
as we do with concrete skills like scheduling, resource
management and budget management.
Do you think an organisation can improve quality without being effective in either people or process?
Dr Crawford: I don’t think they can do it if they’re not
effective in people skills. A project manager can manage
the quality on a project with just process skills—but only on
a very well-defined, well-contained project isolated from
external influence and stakeholder engagement.
Dr Dorle: You can’t do everything yourself as a project
manager. How you work with people is a very important skill,
and it’s getting more complex all the time. For example,
many people who are effective when everyone is in the
same building have tremendous difficulty creating the
collaborative environment needed in a virtual setting. The
more complex the work, the more important the people
skills are. Unless we start recognising that, we are only
going to get worse at completing complex global projects
successfully.
How can a company determine if the problem is with its people or its process?
Dr Crawford: In benchmarking project management
practices within organisations, we look at both the approach
that the organisation uses and the way in which it’s
deployed. The real trick is that very rarely do the approach
and the deployment match. Deployment regularly lags
approach—except, interestingly enough, in the area of
human resources where often the processes are lacking.
Some project managers have good people skills and
operate very well in the absence of methodologies. One
example is rewards and performance appraisals of team
members. Most organisations are fairly poor in those areas.
But very often an individual project manager will devise ways
of dealing with that, because they consider it important.
Dr Dorle: Let’s say leadership can agree on the competencies
that they want their project managers to have—at least
people can get some understanding of what skills are really
valued. Now, part of the problem is not everybody is capable
of meeting the requirements for the way that work needs to be
done. Yes, we can train these skills, but I don’t think you can
take someone out of a specific kind of job environment and
turn them into someone who can manage projects on three
continents. That’s a difficult thing for a company to wrestle
with. After you go in and measure, how do you ensure the
core competencies of your resource pool match where you
want to be organisationally?
If the organisation is struggling with people, what’s the best course of action?
Dr Crawford: Certainly mentoring, coaching and work
placement opportunities. A good academic program is
effective, because it requires time. I would make a strong
distinction between training and education. I hate training
courses. They’re so easy. You can measure training, though. If
your organisation is really bad at scheduling, you send people
off to courses. You say our measure is: We sent X number of
people this year for training. But do you know whether there
has been any improvement? Training is short-term. I don’t
expect to see much reflection coming out of that.
People’s way of seeing the world has to he challenged for
them to be willing to change. Mentoring, coaching and the
challenge of a good post-graduate course over a couple of
years can do that.
Dr Dorle: Coaching and mentoring is the most successful in
really changing the way people manage projects. Sometimes
it’s the low-tech stuff, sitting down next to the person and
helping them work through issues, brainstorming with them
about how to handle difficult interpersonal situations and
just being available. That’s coaching in a way that’s safe for
people to use. To some extent, it’s not necessarily tied to your
chain of command.
On the flip side, how should companies respond if the problem is process? Dr Crawford: That’s much more readily dealt with. The first thing
is they need to have good processes in place, so there’s the
organisational aspect. Then companies need to ensure people
have the skills, and this is where you can use training. If you put a
methodology in place, be sure that you train people to use it. These
kinds of process and technical skills are easily learned and therefore
appropriate for training.
Dr Dorle: I would just add one thing: Hold them accountable.
Dr Crawford: That’s where I think governance comes in, making
sure that the methodology or processes are actually used. Ideally,
the reward systems will reflect that commitment, so everything is
systemic. Of course, the way and effectiveness in which it’s done is
going to still be dependent on people.
You can’t do everything yourself as a project manager. How you work with people is a very important skill, and it’s getting more complex all the time.
—Jeanne Dade, Ph.D., Western Carolina University
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• Exhibited technical aspects and advancement of the project
management profession through effective application of the
nine PMBOK® Knowledge Areas
• Demonstrated complexity of the project and unusual
conditions, issues, and barriers requiring special management
team action and performance
Terms and Conditions The applicant must agree that:
• The nomination package will be completed in close
conformance with the established format
• All necessary clearances, releases and permissions needed
for public release of all submitted materials will be obtained
in writing
• Expenses will not be reimbursed for assembling the nomination
package nor for any presentation materials that may need to
be created should the project be selected as the winner
Submission RequirementsNominations must be concise, yet contain enough information
to adequately represent the project. Submittals must be in an
8 ½” x 11” or A4 format, not to exceed twenty-fi ve (25) pages,
plus supporting documentation (i.e., Work Breakdown Structure,
Organisation Charts, etc.) not to exceed ten (10)
additional pages. Submittals must be in English.
Contacts for securing peripheral project
information by the judging committee should be
identifi ed in the project application. The release
or clearance of such peripheral materials should
be provided by and will remain the responsibility
of the nominating group.
In addition to other details below, the submittal must contain:
(a) Written consent/support by owner and/or
client recognising the submittal of the project
and stating that the project has been accepted
as complete
(b) Written agreement of relevant stakeholders to assist in
preparing a Showcase Project article to be published in the
PM Network® or ProjectNet.
The benefi ts of the PME Award are expected to be considerable
for you, your fi rm and the project driven industry in general. Get in
line for some national and international publicity by entering your
excellently managed project in the PME Award right now! Please
address all your enquiries to Jurie Smith at [email protected] or
visit the website at www.pmisa.org.za.
Historically, Project Management South Africa (PMSA)
organises an annual award for excellence in project
management. PMSA organises the local Project
Management Excellence (PME) Award, while Project
Management Institute (PMI) administers the international
Project of the Year (POY) Award. The original PMI Project
of the Year Award program was established in 1989. South
Africa has had three previous international winners since the
inauguration of this prestigious award.
The aim of the Awards is to recognise, honour and widely
publicise the accomplishments of the project and the project
team involved for excellence in project management
performance.
All quality submissions shall be recognised with an
acknowledgement letter and certifi cate. The overall winner
and category winners shall be presented with a fl oating
trophy, certifi cates of recognition and prizes at a gala event
hosted by PMSA.
Entry Process
The process involves three successive tiers of competition:
1. Level 1 - PMSA Competition: A project may be nominated
by anyone and the Nomination Template must be used
as a guide for project submission. Ten copies of the
completed Nomination Template must be received by
PMSA at, 65 Westminster Avenue, Bryanston or PO Box
68913, Bryanston, 2021 by 31 December 2006.
A representative panel consisting of industry leaders and PMSA
Executives shall adjudicate the submissions against rating
criteria aligned to the PMI Project of The Year Award. Although
no specifi c categories are predefi ned, the evaluation panel
may constitute and award category winners in the event
that suffi cient entries in a certain category are received e.g.
Information Technology projects.
The overall PMSA winner is submitted to the Level 2
competition.
2. Level 2 - Semi-Finalist Competition: Acknowledged by PMI
Global Operations Center and sponsoring PMI Components.
Three Finalists from around the world will be selected from
entries submitted to advance to the Finalist Level.
3. Level 3 - Finalist Competition: PMI Global Operations
Center and PMI Board of Directors will acknowledge the
PMI Project of the Year Award winner. The winning project
and other two fi nalists will be announced at a PMI Award
event towards the end of the second quarter of 2006.
Eligibility Projects from all industries in South Africa are encouraged
to participate. Any project which is perceived as having
effectively applied project management principles and
techniques is eligible to submit for judgment providing:
• The project has an approved scope, schedule and
budget
• The project is essentially complete at the time of nomination
and has been accepted as complete by the Client/Owner
prior to nomination. There can be no restrictions on the
use of the submitted information after the fi nal date of
submission
• Research or development projects, which may contain
proprietary or confi dential, technical or commercial
information, must be publicly disclosed by owner
• The nominated project must have been successfully
completed using processes and approaches consistent with
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK® Guide – Third Edition ). That consistency must be
clearly delineated in the submitted materials.
• Although the project itself can be located anywhere in
the world, and may be from private or public sector work,
the project manager and/or team directly responsible for
the project must be located within the boundaries of a
participating Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
• The project may or may not have won awards or other
recognition from other professional associations.
General Evaluation Criteria• Met or exceeded Owner/Client’s needs as evidenced by a
letter from the Owner/Client
• Met or improved on budget and schedule performance
when compared with original established budget and
schedule goals
• Demonstrated originality and uniqueness of applied project
management techniques, including innovative application
of practices/methods
2004 Project Title: Haradh Gas Plant Project
Submitted by: Saudi Aramco
2003 Project Title: 2002 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Submitted by: Salt Lake Organizing Committee
2002 Project Title: HAWIYAH GAS PLANT PROJECT
Submitted by: Saudi Aramco
2001 Project Title: MOZAL SMELTER PROJECT
Submitted by: SNC Lavalin and Murray & Roberts
2000 Project Title: TROJAN REACTOR VESSEL PROJECT
Submitted by: Portland General Electric Co.
1999 Project Title: QATARGAS LNG PLANT
Submitted by: Chiyoda Corporation
1998 Project Title: MARS PATHFINDER
Submitted by: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
1997 Project Title: ADVANTIX, ADVANCED PHOTO SYSTEM
Submitted by: Eastman Kodak Company
1996 Project Title: 1 B PROCESSOR STORY
Submitted by: Lucent Technologies
1995 Project Title: BENFIELD COLUMN REPAIR PROJECT
Submitted by: Sastech Engineering Services
1994 Project Title: LOGAN EXPANSION PROJECT
Submitted by: Fluor Daniel, Inc.
1993 Project Title: METRO RED LINE SEGMENT 1 PROJECT
Submitted by: Rail Construction Corporation
1992 Project Title: ATIGUN MAINLINE REROUTE PROJECT
Submitted by: Alaska Pipeline Service Company
1991 Project Title: NEW PROPYLENE/POLYPROPYLENE FACTORY
FOR SASOL CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES (PTY) LTD.
Submitted by: Sastech
1990 Project Title: LIMERICK GENERATING STATION UNIT 2
Submitted by: Philadelphia Electric Company
1989 Project Title: DELTA AIRLINES TERMINAL 5 EXPANSION AT LAX
Submitted by: Daniel, Man, Johnson & Mendenhall
PMI Project of the Year Award Winners
1989- 2004
It’s Time to Shine!THE
AWARDS
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Our project has recruited 12 students from Langa
Township who attend the Langa Educational
Assistance Project (LEAP) Science and Math
School. These disciples were motivated to see that an
adequate study facility be constructed for them. Their
current environment, consisting of a wooden shack with no
furniture and very little lighting, was getting outdated.
Project-based Project Management Training provides
an extremely effective environment that guarantees
learning will take place. That we are undertaking a project
which provides an almost immediate desired benefit to the
learner is icing on the cake.
Any successful project must strike a balance between
time, resources, and the product of the project. This
became an important concept that governed how we
progressed through the project. Many times during our
team meetings we struggled as a group to achieve this
equilibrium. This became very painful as we realised that we
would not be able to include many of our requirements in
Phase One due to the constraints of time and budget.
The 12 students are now enjoying their new facility
complete with desks, chairs, lighting and a paraffin heater.
They are justifiably proud of their accomplishments. This
sense of dignity is evident in the way that they are taking
ownership of this new facility and caring for it.
Why was Phase One so successful? What did we do to ensure that we would be enjoying the fruits of our labour?
We began by teaching the students that Project
Management is phase and process driven and that the
best way to understand and apply a standard process is
to decompose it into manageable chunks. To that end,
we decided to frame our project utilising the five stages
of Project Management as espoused by PMI; Initiating,
Planning, Executing, Controlling, and Closing. Sure, you know
what these phases represent, and in the event that you do
not, you could open the PMBoK and find out. But, how do
you communicate these processes to high school students?
During the initiation phase we stressed the importance
of developing a vision, one that should be shared by
the entire team. Once the team was assembled and we
agreed that:
1. This project needed to be done. The students needed
a place to study. The current environment was not
satisfactory. The small shack was cramped and lacked
the ambience of a study environment.
2. The outcome must be specific. These students are all
too familiar with projects that never quite seem to finish.
There’s no stigma associated with such behaviour in
their world. It was our job to ensure that these students
develop the self-esteem associated with getting things
done.
3. There must be an objective supporting the efforts.
Keeping the team focused on the task at hand could
only be accomplished through frequent discussions
around our original intent.
4. It’s important to identify the expectations of the students
and teachers. There are two primary stakeholders; the
students who will utilise the facility and the teachers
who agreed on this fresh academic approach. Each
group has their own idea of what to expect from this
initiative. In order for the project to succeed, we must
satisfy both.
5. We must develop a scope statement. This took us a
while, but we eventually achieved consensus on what
would be included in this phase and what would either
be omitted or included in a latter phase.
6. The group needed a project leader. All projects should
have an organiser; someone who can step up and
keep the team focused and motivated.
Once this was documented, we moved on to the Planning
Phase, where we spent the majority of our time.
During Planning we:
1. Refined the scope – For most of the students and teachers
this was an excruciating exercise. Most, including the head
master of the school, felt that building a study facility was
relatively straight-forward and that we should just get on
with it. All we really needed to do was make a few minor
renovations to the container, prep, paint, and move furniture
in. It wasn’t until we began to formalise this process that we
became aware that each team member had a different
idea of what renovating the container entailed. We spent
several team meetings debating this topic.
2. Created a task list – Once we agreed on what we would try
to do, we decomposed the activity into discreet tasks. This
list served as our framework for completing the project and
formed the basis of the project action list that we constantly
updated. Our project mantra became “Say what you’re
going to do and do what you say”.
3. Ordered the task list – As a team, we agreed on the
sequencing of the tasks. Several tasks could in fact run
concurrently, which enabled us to fast-track the project.
Several of the team members would work on the outside
of the container while some would work inside, and others
could work on the site. The buzz that this created in the
neighbourhood was nothing short of spectacular.
4. Developed a budget – For each item in our task list we
created an estimate of cost. When we added all of the
costs together it became evident that we were not going
to be able to incorporate all of our requirements in Phase
One. The landscaping would have to wait for subsequent
phases. The carpeting and bookcases would also be
Any successful project must strike a balance between
time, resources, and the product of the project.
By Reggie Brown (VP PMSA Western Cape)
Project Management competency is not only relevant for the professional who must rely on the skill for the successful completion of projects. Learning how to apply project management can enable youth as they undertake their specific projects. These skills learned at an early age can be leveraged as they pursue their respective careers.
TEACHING PROJECT MANAGEMENTas a Life Skill
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added later. For the first time, the students became aware
of how important it is to understand the impact of a project
budget on successful project completion.
5. Assigned resources to tasks – Every person on the team
would be involved. There would not be any inactive
participants. If we had any chance of completing this
project on time and within budget everyone would have
to get involved.
6. Approved the plan – We presented our completed plan to
Mr Gilmour, the head master and project sponsor before
we proceeded to the next phase.
By the time we reached the execution phase, everyone
had a clear picture of what we were going to do and how
we were going to proceed. We had gone over the details of
the project plan several times. In fact, on one occasion the
discussion became a bit heated as several (including some
teachers) questioned our insistence on detailed planning. After
all we were just going to renovate a small container, right?
Now that the real work was about to commence our focus became:1. Conducting regular team meetings to report status The
team worked after school and on weekends to complete
this project. Students had different schedules and the
work team composition changed each day. Our weekly
meetings became critical for reporting project progress
and adjusting the plan.
2. Securing the necessary resources (money, people,
equipment, and materials). This project was atypical in
that we had more budget than either time or people.
Nevertheless, we were constrained by human resources
available to work on this project. .
During controlling we:1. Monitored the budget and schedule,
2. Controlled changes to scope
3. Revisited our plan, the project roadmap, to keep
us focused.
At the conclusion of the phase one we:1. Celebrated with a braai. Firing up the grill seemed an
appropriate reward to the project team for a job well
done. And judging by how fast the food disappeared I
think the team concurred.
2. Discussed Lessons Learned. There are several things that
we will do differently in subsequent phases. The templates
that we used, for example, to develop the project
documentation need to be modified to make them
relevant to this age group.
3. Reviewed the process and the outcomes with team.
The decision was unanimous. The process and the rigour
associated with following the process were valuable. The
team believed that they would never have accomplished
what they had without them.
This exercise proved to be a wonderful learning experience for
the students as well as the instructors. We believe that we now
have a framework that we can use to build on and utilise for
future endeavours of this kind. Phase One was a huge success and was achieved due to the following factors;1. We developed a comprehensive plan.
2. We identified exactly what we needed to get the job
done.
3. We did not try to do more than we could do.
4. We communicated regularly.
5. We maintained a “can do” attitude; team members
believed …“I can do this”.
6. We stayed focused.
Where do we go from here? Phase Two is about ready to
commence. Before we move into this next phase, however,
we have agreed to perform a Phase One audit. The group
will document the Lessons Learned from Phase One before
proceeding into the next phase.
The leadership team has also agreed that we would
allow the students of the project team to execute Phase Two
with minimal assistance. This confidence is possible due to
the growth that we have seen in the team. They have taken
ownership of this project and we are very proud!
A second container, which will be used for a computer
lab, is being donated to the site and the students are eager to
move into this next phase. We’ll be sure to provide you with an
update in a few months time. We appreciate the opportunity
to share our story with the Project Management community
from around the world.
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PMSA’s Western Cape Chapter ensures a constant flow of interesting speakers at its monthly meetings.
In May 2006 Cornelis (Kees) Vonk PMP spoke
about his Epic Journey (12 000 km) Cycling from Cairo
to Cape Town.
Projects come in all shapes and sizes. Kees (still active
as consultant and as volunteer with PMI®) and his wife
Jenny shared their experiences on how they planned and
executed their trip, and other humorous moments along
the way whilst cycling from Cairo to Cape Town to the
PMSA Western Cape community recently. They were raising
funds for a humanitarian organisation called PLAN.
Some Facts:
• Start in Cairo 14 January 2006
• End in Cape Town 13 May 2006
• 96 cycling days, 8 sections
• Almost 12 000 km
• Over 66 000m of climbing
• 30% (3 600 km) unpaved road, potholes
• Organisation: Tour d’Afrique (Toronto)
• AfricanRoutes: logistics (trucks)
Altitude Profile
Besides taking in the wonders of Africa, the travelers learned
some valuable lessons about:
• Their relationship (even after 37 years!)
• Mental preparation being as important as physical
• Living for 4 months in a small “village”
• Africa being different!
We s t e r n C a p e T s h w a n e
In July, the Tshwane branch hosted James Aiello, Contract
Management Advisor to the Gauteng Government and a
Principal Consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Contract and Procurement Management are critical
components of running any project, especially medium to
large projects. These areas are however not given the required
attention and focus, hence breakdown in contracts and non-
delivery after project completion. James shared his experience
and wealth of knowledge in contract and procurement
management. For more information about this presentation,
go to: http://www.pmisa.org.za/events_tsh.asp
Look out for:
• T he Tshwane “Women in Project
Management” Network Session, coming
up on 24 August.
• PMSA Golf Day In September
(consult website for more information)
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In July 2006, Rory Burke Project Management Entrepreneur
delivered a presentation. His topic looked at the Project
Management Entrepreneur: Creating New Ventures, offering
a new way of looking at the management skills required to
manage new venture creation from generating the idea,
to implementation, to running the business on a day-to-day
basis. All these management skills were discussed against
the background of the product lifecycle.
Entrepreneurship, Project Management and Small
Business Management are usually presented as separate
management disciplines with different governing bodies
and a different body of knowledge. But when you consider
that it is the entrepreneurial skills that starts a new venture
(or project), and it is project management skills that
implement or set-up the new venture, and it is the business
management skills that run the new venture on a day-
to-day basis - then you can see there must be a form of
symbiotic relationship between the three disciplines.
Rory holds an MSc Project Management (Henley), and
has worked on capital projects in Britain, South Africa and
the Middle East. Rory is the author and publisher of books
on Project Management, Entrepreneurship, Fashion and
Bluewater Cruising. Rory is a visiting lecturer to universities
in Britain, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa.
Project Management Planning and Control Techniques
4ed is widely used on management programmes worldwide,
but particularly here in South Africa.
PMSA Western Cape-
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The Project & Portfolio Management
Forum (PPM), is making its resources
available directly to organisations
through its newly launched PPMforum website.
The PPM Forum is a professional membership
programme designed to provide organisations
with the information they need to identify,
understand, and adapt best practices
to improve their project management
performance.
Membership in the Project & Portfolio
Management Forum gives project professionals
access to:
• PPM Knowledge Bank: a password-
protected website that houses the
complete PPM library including newsletters,
research reports, benchmarking forum
reports, presentations, and measurement
tools. The PPM Knowledge Bank also features
a database of project management best
practices and other resources, such as blogs
for the active exchange of best practices
among peers.
• PM Practices Book Series: Members receive
one copy of each of the PM Practices books,
including the award-winning Strategic
Project Offi ce, for their corporate libraries.
• Project Management Benchmarking Forums:
Membership entitles Forum members to
one free delegate pass to each of the
PPM’s Project Management Benchmarking
Forums.
• Customised Research Survey: The PPM
will work with all member organisations
to develop a customised benchmarking
survey to identify the best practices
appropriate for their own organisation.
Surveys and results will be posted in the
PPM Knowledge Centre.
An unlimited number of professionals from
each organisation can join the Project &
Portfolio Management Forum.
“According to our research, 96
percent of organisations believe that
project management is valuable to their
organisations,” said Paul Viviers, director
of the PPM Forum. “Yet the research also
shows that organisations continue to have
problems with inconsistent approaches to
project management, resource allocation,
project prioritisation, and projects late and
over budget. Clearly, companies recognise
the need for project management, but
lack a means to acquire the best practice
knowledge they need to ensure that their
project management initiatives add value to
their organisations.”
Viviers continued, “Membership in the
Project & Portfolio Management Forum is a
simple, affordable way to transfer proven
knowledge to entire organisations, so that
successful project management becomes
an integral and permanent part of their
businesses.”
For complete details on the Project
& Portfolio Management Forum
membership, visit www.ppmforum.co.za
SEEN AND HEARD ATThe three day international conference from 30 May to 1 June held something for everyone, including workshops, specialist conference streams and topical plenary sessions. And of course the gala dinner, which featured an interesting presentation by Gary Bailey (who represented South Africa as football goal keeper) on the opportunities presented by the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Here the pictures tell the stories:
Conference 2006
Hiroshi Tanaka, president of the Project Management Association of Japan, who delivered a presentation and hosted a workshop
Delegates listen to the plenary presentations on Day 1 of the conference
Dancers entertain delegates at the conference dinnerInternational guest speaker, Terry Cooke-Davies during his plenary session on Day 3
From left are Hiroshi Tanaka, Robert Best, Bruce Webb, Sandro Quattrocchi, Louis Merken, Edwin Andrews and Iain Fraser
Spotted at the conference dinner, enjoying food from four continents…a really “global” experience
Taking time out for lunch in the exhibition hall, which featured exhibits by the leading project management product and service providers
Platinum sponsors, the X-Pert Group presenting awards to the winners of the lucky draw to promote their Project Manager of the Year (PMOTY) awards, at the gala dinner
Newly elected PMI SA Chapter President, Mohamed el-Bassuni, guest speaker Gary Bailey, KZN Branch President Sandro Quattrocchi and international guest speaker, Hiroshi Tanaka at the “World of Opportunity’ themed gala dinner
PMI CEO, Iain Fraser presented a plaque which commemorates the PMI SA Chapter’s 25th Anniversary, to JC Kruger and Mohamed El-Bassuni
PPM Forum launchedfor Project and Portfolio Management Professionals
Project & Portfolio Management Forum (PPMFORUM) gives member organisations access to the resources they need to identify,
understand, and adapt best practices
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The PMI held its 4th Research Conference since 2000
from 16–19 July in the city of Montreal, Canada. The
conference was well attended with approximately 350
delegates from both academia and, more interestingly,
industry. This was the biggest research conference yet,
with representation from 27 countries, a clear indication
that project management is no longer the reserve of
practitioners. Formal research is starting to play a much
bigger role in project management than before. At the
conference, fi ve main themes emerged. These were:
1. Anecdotal evidence is increasingly being supported
by scientifi c research. For many years, practitioners have
suspected and even experienced some phenomena in
managing projects. These are now being confi rmed by
evidence from several research projects. These include:
• Accurate estimates for projects are still a big
challenge across the board despite the existence of
several techniques;
• Underestimation of overhead costs on construction
projects is still a problem despite the availability of
historical data;
• Selecting the right projects is diffi cult as initial cost
estimates remain inaccurate;
• Different types of projects require different project
strategies to be successful. One size does not fi t all,
contrary to what some standards may claim; and
• More and more methodologies from other disciplines,
such as 6 Sigma from quality management, are
fi nding their way into the project management
domain.
2. Despite the existence of the PMBoK, practitioners are
not always following best practice. We know what to do
yet we don’t do it.
• Risk management is still one of those areas that are
often neglected despite being considered a best
practice.
• Following a project life-cycle with clear stage-gates
for decision making is often still not followed. Projects
that are started are often taken to completion
despite not being able to deliver the initial projected
benefi ts.
3. Organisations fi nd it diffi cult to quantify the value
being delivered through projects. Everyone suspects that
practicing good project management helps organisations
complete projects successfully yet there is no clear evidence
of this, yet.
• There is currently no information on the organisational
value of project management. Initial research has
shown that organisations themselves do not know
how to measure this value.
• Organisations are unsure of the value of their Project
Management Offi ces (PMOs). A survey of over 500
organisations have shown that almost half have
considered shutting their PMOs down due to a lack
of clear value being delivered.
• Organisation factors have a huge impact on the
effectiveness of project management. Again, one
size does not fi t all.
4. There is a lack of organisational learning. Organisations
do not seem to learn from their own experiences.
• Knowledge transfer still seems to be a challenge.
Projects are completed and new ones started without
transferring the lessons learned. One suggestion is
to have a lessons learned session at the start of a
project and not just at the end.
• Many organisations do not strive for “zero defect”.
There are no initiatives to measure the effectiveness
and effi ciency of processes. This means that
organisations continue using ineffective and ineffi cient
processes because they do not know better.
• For organisational learning to take place team members
must have a desire to learn. This is often determined by
the organisation culture. If there is no desire to learn, no
improvements will happen.
5. The hardest part of managing projects is the soft issues. The
social science part of project management is often overlooked
yet it impacts most projects to a large degree.
• Most of the existing standards address the hard issues in
project management. The more challenging issues are
the soft or people issues. This seems to be an area that
is still not well understood.
• More research is being conducted on the theoretical
basis on project management. Complexity theory
seems to be one approach to try and explain the
cause and effect of projects. There also seem to be
several different perspectives on explaining project
management.
• Project management is still based on the fundamental
concept of accurate estimation.
One of the emerging areas of research is how projects and
project management fi ts into the broader organisation. Topics
such as the role of the project sponsor, project governance
and implementing strategy through projects have all been
touched upon. These are set to grow in importance as they
are starting to overlap with general management theory.
Only one paper from South Africa was presented by
Carl Marnewick and Les Labuschagne entitled “A structured
approach to derive projects from the organisational vision”.
For South Africa to become a global player in project
management, more research from our country must to be
presented at forums such as this. Many papers were based on
survey results that were obtained from mostly North America
and Europe.
At the end of the conference during the closing session,
attendees were given the opportunity to give their comments
to the PMI Research Group that is responsible for research in PMI.
Two of the comments that were made that stood out were:
• Why is the development of standards such as the
PMBoK, OPM3, Program Management and Portfolio
Management done without any input from the research
community?
• Most of the articles are based on results from developed
countries. Are these results relevant to developing
countries such as South Africa, China and India?
It is up to South African researchers to conduct and present
localised research at global forums such as this. We have
the responsibility to develop more research capacity, not just
in academic institutions, but also in industry. The alternative
is that we as South Africans will always have to make do
with standards that do not take our unique situation into
consideration. Given the fact that South Africa has won the
PMI Project of the Year Award three times since 1989, it is clear
that we have the knowledge and abilities locally.
The most surprising thing about the conference was
not a specifi c paper, but the number of practitioners and
organisations that attended that are interested in the latest
developments in the fi eld. Organisations that are serious about
succeeding do not only focus on doing but also understanding
what they are doing.
The next research conference in scheduled for 2008 and
will be held in Warsaw, Poland.
HOW RESEARCH IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
IMPACTS PRACTITIONERS
By Les Labuschagne
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This article discusses research being documented by Andre Malan under Prof Leon Pretorius at the University of Johannesburg (UJ.)
R e vi ew
‘Disasters Happen’, this is the premise upon which
this book is based. The goal of the authors is to
assist project managers who may fi nd they are
dealing with situations that are in some way a disaster for their
project. The authors observe that organisations with a blame
culture are more likely to need such advice and are less able
to take advantage of it.
The text defi nes disasters as events whose impact is to
prevent the project achieving its objectives. They arise due to
one of six main causes, though a few less common causes are
also mentioned. The authors, one of whom has an IT project
background, sets out two additional causes that they noticed
are common to IT projects. These are poor requirements and
the sheer complexity of many IT projects. The main advice in
the book is applicable to all projects and it draws examples
from construction and aerospace as well as IT.
The book has several checklists including one entitled
‘Auguries of impeding doom’. This provides a list of clues that
things are going wrong. Early warning is also the theme of a
chapter on Risk. This is supported by a useful table that maps
the six main causes of disaster with a set of primary causes
of the problem. Of the primary causes change is common in
all and the authors advise the Project Team to ask each day
‘what has changed?’
The authors suggest one of three strategies when disaster
strikes, abandon the project, start again, or salvage the
situation. The process begins with root cause analysis. There
is a whole chapter devoted to an approach to sorting out
a disaster situation. A key point made in the book is that
an organisation that gets to the end of a disaster needs to
conduct a thorough debriefi ng to obtain the lessons learned.
The aim is to avoid a similar situation arising in future, or being
better prepared should it do so. They emphasize that it is not
about fi nding someone to blame.
Andre completed his Masters in Engineering Management
in 2002 and has since been investigating the management
of IT projects for a variety of clients. The dissertation is
for the degree D.Ing in Engineering Management and
bears the title A FRAMEWORK FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS IN SOUTH AFRICA.
It will be available from UJ library.
Globally, the art and the science of project
management (PM) have contributed in no small measure
to the advances in the delivery of Information Technology
(IT) based solutions. In South Africa, it has been shown that
IT projects are currently, generally performed in a basic, but
rapidly maturing, project management environment.
In order for the organisation (or project environment)
to mature, certain processes must first be institutionalised.
These processes are identifiable by inspection of the
standards that relate to PM in general (and to IT PM in
particular) and by excluding the activities of the delivery
and development methodologies that relate to specific
technologies and products.
The portion of total IT PM that one is left with, are those
processes that are technology and product independent
and should therefore be applied to most (if not all) IT
projects in SA most (if not all) of the time. These processes
were identified and used to iteratively create a Project
Management Framework that assists its target market in the
following ways:
• Simplify and facilitate project managers’ access to a
common set of PM processes and tools;
• Promote the usage of best practices for PM for all
projects, both simple and complex;
• Increase the level of assured competence project
managers bring to PM endeavours;
• Establish a commonality of process and standardization
of terminology within PM; and
• Provide a common method of project progress tracking
across the enterprise.
The baseline version of this Framework is presented as
a web tool, based on a body of research consisting
of (1) the PMBoK® Guide processes, (2) some CMMISM
process areas and (3) other authoritative, non-conflicting
resources. In order to increase the capability of the
Framework’s constituent processes, the CMMI is applied
to it via the continuous representation, focusing on project
management process areas.
The target market for this product is the enterprises that
are seeing the need for the benefits outlined above. These
range from organizations now commencing on the project
management path to those who consider “management
by projects” to be a strategic option for the organisational
design of the company. A further market for this product
is those companies that realise that the first step towards
process improvement, according to the CMMISM, is a focus
on project management.
The pilot sites where the product has been implemented
include a banking / retail operation, a large mining
company and a financial services consultancy.
There is a chapter dealing with the impact organisations
and projects have on one another. Emphasis is placed
on a culture of openness. Information sharing and active
client involvement are common in such a culture. The open
culture is less likely to experience a disaster and more likely
to recover when one does strike.
Two primary sources of support are suggested in the
book, the company HR department and the public relations
function. The HR department can assist in fi nding special
skills needed in the crisis. This is perhaps their most important
role in assisting the project manager.
The public relations aspect of projects that are in trouble
is discussed in some detail. Cases are drawn from public IT
and construction projects to show how critical managing
this aspect of a disaster is. There are tables and checklists
to assist in dealing with the media and press. These include
ideas about what the media might be looking for in the
situation. The key advice is to engage a professional to
deal with these external parties and to have a thorough
communication plan in place.
The last chapters of the book deal with what to do and
what not to do. The three survival strategies are dealt with,
setting out the benefi ts of each. A step by step method
is outlined for those who fi nd themselves confronted by a
disaster. A fi nal chapter gives advice on what not to do.
This book would be of value to any manager with an
interest in project risk. Where many books cover planning
to avoid risk, this one deals with risks after they have
materialised.
‘Project Disasters and how to survive them’ by David Nickson
and Suzy Siddons. Published by Kogan Page London 2005
ISBN 0-7494-4308-1
Book review by Ian Jay, PMP
PROJECT DISASTERS & HOW TO SURVIVE THEM
I
By A. Malan, L. Pretorius, University of Johannesburg
MANAGING IT PROJECTSin South Afr ica
Reference:
ANSI/PMI 99-001-2004. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 2000 and Third Editions.
Brooks, F. P. Jnr. (1987). No Silver Bullet. Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering. Computer Magazine; April 1987.
Malan, A. (2006). A Framework for the Management of Information Technology Projects in South Africa. University of Johannesburg.
SEI (2002). Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMISM), Version 1.1.
For Members and Friends of Project Management
South Africa (PMSA)
Name Title Cell E-mail
Arnold Schachat Branch President 082 3533467 [email protected]
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Featured Branch – Western Cape Executive Committee
