February 21, 2010September 27, 2013 Linky

Stakeholder Management Best Practices

Are you actively managing project stakeholders?

Stakeholder Management Best Practices audio

Stakeholder management is as key to a successful project outcome as communications management. Today I want to focus on best practices relating to managing stakeholders on projects.

For complete clarity about stakeholder management, let’s look at it from the angle of:

What a stakeholder is
Who stakeholders are
Why you must do stakeholder management
When to communicate

Stakeholder definition

What is a stakeholder? Stakeholders are people who are actively involved in projects, who exert influence on projects and whose interests may be positively/negatively affected by projects. Source: PMBOK

Who are stakeholders?

The key stakeholders on projects are the project manager, project team members, the project sponsor, the customer and the performing organization. Other stakeholders could include:

Internal and external owners and funders
Sellers and contractors
Team members & their families
Government agencies and media outlets
Society at large

Why do stakeholder management?

On any project a project manager needs to identify project stakeholders in order to determine their requirements and to manage and influence the requirements. Identify stakeholders during initiation phase of Project life cycle.

Throughout the project you need to actively manage the stakeholder’s requirements and expectations. Influencing the organisation involves the ability to ‘get things done’. This requires from a project manager an understanding of both formal and informal structure of the organisation involved, for example the customers, partners, contractors, office politics etc.

One golden rule to remember is when there is a difference between stakeholders, it should be resolved in favour of the customer. Finding appropriate resolutions to such differences can be a major challenge of project management.

The reason why you need to do stakeholder management is to drive stakeholder satisfaction. This requires reliable, dependable, repeatable effort from your side. You need to know the needs and expectations of stakeholders and invest in those needs. A frequent investment (weekly, ever daily) in the needs of the stakeholders helps projects to be successful.

When to communicate with stakeholders?

You need to communicate with your project stakeholders a number of times as documented in your communications plan:

Beginning of a project
Weekly at progress meetings
Regular Reviews and reporting
At the end of a project

In summary a project manager needs to manage and influence stakeholder requirements to ensure a successful project.

In the next blog post about stakeholder management, I am going to share some best practices tools that you can use to really ensure customer satisfaction.

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If you liked this article, please subscribe to my blog (to the right) and receive more project management tips and articles.

Please click HERE to listen to a recording of this article. If you wish to download a free copy of this audio file, please right click on the link and select “save link as” to save to your desired location.

About the author: Linky van der Merwe is a former Microsoft Project Management Consultant and an IT Project Manager with 14 years IT industry experience and 11 years Project Management experience.

She consults with small-medium business owners and service professionals about project management and project processes, best practices and successful delivery through projects. She is most experienced in corporate infrastructure projects (upgrades, migration, deployment etc) and process optimisation. She can be reached at linky@virtualprojectconsulting.com

January 24, 2010September 27, 2013 Linky

How to achieve Customer Satisfaction with Project Communications Management

Project Communications Management Case Study

While I was an IT project manager at a corporate insurance company, we were approached for a printing solution that would provide:

improved network printing performance,
100% uptime and
failover (setup of 2 servers, if one server fails, the other server takes over) in order for the printing service to be always available.

The solution that we proposed was too expensive. It would involve procurement of expensive hardware and software and the customer didn’t have enough budget provision.

Accepted printing solution

We then proposed a scaled down customized solution, using existing hardware and software with some upgrade to RAM and disc space and a different architecture design. This proposal was accepted by the customer and the project could start.

Initially it was estimated to be a 3-month project, but it took 5 months to complete due to many unforeseen problems. Even though this was one of my troubled projects, I managed to have a satisfied customer who was happy with the end result.

How did we achieve stakeholder satisfaction?

In all honesty, I would attribute the success of the project to following project communications management best practices. We had a communications plan which attributed to building a very committed project team, as well as a supportive customer.

The team met for progress meetings weekly and minutes and progress reports were distributed afterwards. The customer was well informed throughout the project and we had 2-weekly feedback sessions with the customer as planned in the communications plan. Consistency with information distribution and performance reporting was key.

Through my regular verbal and written communications, I built trust with the customer who accepted the problems (risks that became issues) and delays that we experienced as we kept it totally transparent. Change requests were submitted to obtain approval for changes and the consequent impact on the timeline. The engineers who were part of the project team persevered and kept going while having to resolve many issues, as they were clear about the end goal of the project. The project team members acquired good skills while working on the project, which they, as well as the project manager, could reference in their future careers.

Project communications management as a best practice

As you can see from this case study example, it is sticking to simple best practices in project communications management that will enhance your chances for successful projects significantly. In this instance we delivered the project to budget and with quality, but in spite of being ‘late’, we managed the stakeholder’s expectations and achieved customer satisfaction at the end. This is why I think this case study is a good example of the difference that project communications management best practices can make.

Please join my virtual project management community

You are welcome to share examples from your own experience so that we can all learn from one another. For more BEST PRACTICES project management articles, please subscribe to my RSS feed.

NEW to project management? Have little project management experience and want to know more? Build or sharpen your skills to manage your own business projects or to deliver specific services to your customers more efficiently through projects!

Have a look at my Solid-as-a-Rock Project Management toolkit with a practical process, templates and tools that will show you how best to employ project management techniques to improve project delivery.

January 20, 2010September 27, 2013 Linky

Project Communications Management Best Practices

Project Communications Management – Main Piece of the Puzzle?

Project Communications Management Best Practice audio

As part of the project management best practices posts, project communications management is a topic that is close to my heart. Project communications management is probably the main piece of the puzzle when it comes to best practices for running successful projects. I know that it has been one of the best reasons for my track record of successful projects.

It is an accepted fact that communications will take up about 90% of a project manager’s time. This is the reason why I start with project communications management as a best practice and excellent communication skills are at the top of the list for a skilled project manager.

What is project communications management?

In theory project communications management is about appropriate generation, collection, storage and distribution of project information. During the project planning it requires determining the information and communications needs of stakeholders, during execution it is about distributing the information in a timely manner, doing status reporting and progress measurement, during closure it is about gathering information to formalize project completion. How is all of this applied in practice?

This is where you must pay special attention…

When is project communications management a best practice?

For project communications management to be used as a best practice, it needs to be applied in a regular, consistent manner throughout the life cycle of a project, from initiation, to planning, during execution, controlling and closing. Project communications management must be done to the point where it becomes a routine task on the project. It keeps all stakeholders well informed and gives them the re-assurance that the project is in good hands. (That is what project managers are paid for, not true?)

Project communications management in 4 simple steps

1. Project communications management needs to be planned for:

Who needs what project information?
When do they need it?
How will the information be given?
By whom?

Document in your communications management plan which information will be written, which will be oral (progress meetings, presentations), whether it is formal or informal. How will information be stored and distributed. The communications management plan is part of the overall project plan and can be as simple as a one-page communications matrix to a detailed communications plan depending on the size and complexity of the project.

2. How will information be distributed?

Information distribution is about making information available to project stakeholders in a timely manner. It deals with how the information will be stored, shared and exchanged (written, oral, internal, external, formal and informal, etc)

3. Report on performance

Performance reporting is to provide stakeholders with information about project status, progress and forecasting. It generally provides information on scope, schedule, cost and quality, as well as on risk and procurement where applicable.

4. Project is done and how do you communicate that?

Project administrative closure is a neglected aspect of Project communications management, but this is where project results are reviewed and documented. This is where project success is analyzed, lessons learned are discussed and archived.

Make project communications management your strong point

Following this project communications management best practice, will lead to a well structured project and a consistent performance by the project manager. If you practice your project communications management skills, you will be well on your way to be an efficient project management professional.

In my next post I will share a case study to illustrate that applying project communications management as a best practice, will inevitably lead to a successful project. Please subscribe to my RSS if you don’t want to miss the project management best practices future blog posts.
Please click HERE to listen to a recording of this article. If you wish to download a free copy of this audio file, please right click on the link and select “save link as” to save to your desired location.

January 7, 2010August 25, 2022 Linky

What is Project Management Best Practices?

Are you following project management best practices?

Project Management Best Practice audio

When I started out as a project manager, I always tried to apply project management methodologies and practices in a technically correct way. In that sense, I had a natural tendency to find and use best practices in project management before I even knew that such a term existed or what the proper meaning of project management best practices is.

According to Wikipedia, a best practice is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive, or reward that is believed to be more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. when applied to a particular condition or circumstance.

Best practice can also be defined as the most efficient (least amount of effort) and effective (best results) way of accomplishing a task, based on repeatable procedures that have proven themselves over time for large numbers of people.

Project management best practices can and should evolve to become better as improvements are discovered. It is about developing and following a standard way of doing things!

I would summarize it to say that project management best practice is a standard approach to follow that has been proven to work within a business industry or environment and then gets adopted by most people within that specific context.

Some consulting firms specialize in the area of project management best practices. A key strategic talent is required to provide good “best practice” consulting to organizations: the ability to balance the uniqueness of an organization with practices it has in common with other organizations.

Make-Up of a Project Manager

The make-up of a typical project manager consists of a person’s natural abilities or talents, learned skills and project management knowledge.

In the Project Management Paper: ‘Still more Art than Science’ by Kate Belzer, it has been stated that project management is both an art and a science. Understanding processes, tools, and techniques are the hard skills, also referred to as the science of project management.

For successful project delivery, project managers also need soft skills, referred to as the art of project management. Soft skills help to define the business value, clarify the vision, determine requirements, provide direction, build teams, resolve issues, and mitigate risk. Communication is quite simply the most important soft skill. The ability to apply soft skills effectively throughout the life cycle of a project will enhance the success of a project exponentially! Often projects fail because of a project manager’s inability to communicate effectively, work within the organization’s culture, motivate the project team, manage stakeholder expectations, understand the business objectives, solve problems effectively, and make clear and knowledgeable decisions. These are the skills that take time to acquire through experience, coaching, and mentoring.

To me the art and science of project management requires the intuitive application of your talents, your hard and soft skills, your knowledge and experience in the right combination that is applicable to a specific project situation. To find that kind of balance is a project management best practice in itself.

Does project management best practices work?

My work experienced has exposed me to working in organizations with too few specialist resources, lack of sufficient time for projects and inadequate project budget planning or allocation. I have also worked in highly controlled, standardized approach organizations with expert resources where everything in a project is set up to succeed. This means that planning is based on previous similar projects and expert judgement estimates, resources are dedicated to the project for periods when needed, adequate budget is allocated, proper scope and quality management is applied. Of course, all of this was based on project management best practice.

Even though normal risks and issues were experienced in both type of organization’s projects, the organisations where project management best practices were applied consistently, have shown more successful projects and satisfied customers, meaning that these projects always had a better chance of being on time, to budget and with the desired quality.

If you liked this article, please subscribe to my blog (to the right) and receive more project management tips and articles.

About the author: Linky van der Merwe is an IT Project Manager with 15 years IT industry experience and 12 years Project Management experience. She is currently at Microsoft Consulting Services, South Africa.

December 20, 2009September 27, 2013 Linky

Make projects work for your business!

Where the business owner and service professional learn more about project management skills, project management tools and templates and project management methodologies for managing business projects.

An effective way to speed up results with business projects is to apply a simple Project Management framework to deliver your projects on time, to budget and with desired quality.

For solutions to:

WHAT project management is,
WHY your business needs projects,
HOW to do project management,
WHEN to start a project and
WHO must do the work

Discover a basic tool to successful project management, download the Project Management Toolkit for all your business project management needs.

Take Action today and start making a positive difference to your business.

December 11, 2009September 27, 2013 Linky

What Is Project Success?

Why excellence in project management is not enough

By Robert Buttrick

The only reason for undertaking a project is to add value to an organisation in pursuit of strategic objectives. A project, which does not do this is useless or a sink for scarce resources.

Projects, however, do not directly create value. Projects deliver new capability to an organisation, but it is the organisation itself, which creates value by using those capabilities. Value creation (benefits realisation) usually happens after a project has been completed.

If a project is truly a vehicle of change which will add value, it must have:

Alignment: It is aligned to the company strategy
Priority: It has high priority relative to other change initiatives which may use the same resources
Positive impact: It impacts somebody’s budget, somewhere in the organisation either by decreased costs or increased revenues.

Define project success in project managment

When talking about successful projects we must understand what the word “successful” means. Success is too often interpreted through the differing eyes of stakeholders.

Successful project management ensures the delivery of a specified scope, on time and to budget. It is related to how efficiently a project is managed. This should be assessed during the project closure review, documented in a project closure report and measured by timeliness of delivery milestones, adherence to budgets and quality. This is associated with the role of the project manager.

A successful project realises the business objectives it was set up to achieve as stated in a business case^a. It is related to the effectiveness of the project in meeting the objectives set. The post implementation review (post-project review) assesses this. Measures of success here must be indicative of the business objectives being achieved. This review therefore has to happen some time after the output of the project has been put into use. It is associated with the role of the project sponsor^b.

A successful company drives towards its strategic objectives whilst fulfilling expectations of shareholders, managers, employees and other stakeholders^c. Measures for this are at a corporate level and should be financial and non-financial (e.g. balanced score card). This is associated with the role of the Chief Executive.

What actually counts is whether the organisation, as a whole, is successful or not. The likelihood of business success is increased if the projects undertaken align with the organisation’s strategy. Success can be enhanced if best practice project management is undertaken. The aim is to ensure the linkage from successful project management to successful projects to a successful company remains effective.

How to measure and realise benefits

For benefits realisation and measurement to be effective therefore, an organisation must have:

A business strategy and goals communicated in sufficient detail to be useful to decision makers: this will facilitate strategic alignment
A business plan, which explicitly demonstrates how the company’s resources are to be used in operating the organisation in its current state and investing in future capabilities in order to achieve future benefits;
Measures by which the whole organisation can monitor its progress towards strategic objectives and may be used to aid prioritisation decisions.

Without these three fundamentals, business-led, or benefits-driven project management has little to tie into, regardless of how well each individual project is managed or directed.

GLOSSARY EXPLAINING TERMS USED:

BUSINESS CASE: A document outlining the justification for the initiation of a project. It includes a description of the business problem (or opportunity), a list of the available solution options, their associated costs and benefits and a preferred option for approval
PROJECT SPONSOR: Individual or group within organization that provides the financial resources for the project.
STAKEHOLDERS: Individual and organizations that are actively involved in the project or whose interests may b positively or negatively affected as a result of project execution or completion; also some-one who exert influence over the project and its results.

References

This article is adapted from Part 2 of The Project Workout, 4th edition, Robert Buttrick, Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2009.

Do you think your business projects are creating value? Please share your thoughts……

December 6, 2009September 11, 2016 Linky

Make Projects Work For Your Business!

8 Project Management Methodologies and Standards

You will find a more current article on PM Methodologies and Standards here: 7 Facts on Project Management Methodologies and Standards

I have decided to do a series of postings about Project Management methodologies and Project Management best practices. The purpose for this is not to replicate information that is already out there, but to inform, equip and empower business owners and service professionals about the project management profession and how to put it to use to sustain and grow their business.

As an introduction to this I have 8 questions to help define what a methodology and a standard is based on a summary of the best information I could find and that I know from experience. I would then like to encourage the reader of this post to contribute in the form of comments towards more methodologies and standards that can be covered here (and I encourage you to link to sites that you recommend as worthwhile reading on these topics.)

1. What is a methodology?

A methodology is a set of methods, processes and practices that are repeatedly carried out to deliver projects. It tells you what you have to do, to manage your projects from start to finish. It describes every step in the project life cycle in depth, so you know exactly which tasks to complete, when and how.

The key concept is that you repeat the same steps for every project you undertake, and by doing that, you will gain efficiencies in your approach.

2. What is a standard?

A standard is “a collection of knowledge areas that are generally accepted as best practice in the industry”.

3. What is the difference between a methodology and a standard?

Standards give you industry guidance, whereas methodologies give you practical processes for managing projects. Standards are not methodologies, and vice versa. The two most popular standards are PMBOK and Prince2.

4. Why use a methodology?

A Project Methodology should help you by giving you a clear process for managing projects. After you have customised it to perfectly fit your environment, your methodology should tell your team what has to be completed to deliver your project, how it should be done, in which order and by when.

5. What should be included in a project management methodology?

When you buy a project methodology, it should give you:

A core set of processes to follow for delivering projects
A set of templates to help you build deliverables quickly
A suite of case studies to help you learn from past projects
An option for customizing the methodology provided
The ability to import your existing processes into it

6. What a project management methodology will not do?

A Methodology is not a silver bullet. It will not fix projects by itself or guarantee success and an efficient, effective experienced project manager is still required to deliver projects successfully. Remember that the finest carpenter’s tool-box will only be as good as the carpenter. No methodology will be 100% applicable to every type of project. So you will need to customise any methodology you purchase to ensure that it perfectly fits your project management environment.

7. What are the benefits of using a methodology?

By using a methodology you can:

Create a project roadmap
Monitor time, cost and quality (project triple constraint)
Control change and scope
Minimise risks and issues
Manage staff and suppliers

Of course, you will need to use the methodology that is most suitable to each project you undertake. For smaller projects, you will only want to apply lightweight processes and when managing large projects, you should apply the heavyweight processes to monitor and control every element of your project in depth.

But if you can manage every project you undertake in the same way, then you will gain efficiencies with your approach, work smarter and reduce your stress. You will also give your team a clear understanding of what you expect from them and boost your chances of success.

Flick - Cappellmeister — Flickr – Cappellmeister

8. A few project management methodologies examples with short descriptions:

PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE) is a project management method. It covers the management, control and organisation of a project.
Method 123 Project Management methodology, also called MPMM (Project Management Methodology Manager) is based on the worldwide project management standards PMBOK and Prince2 and contains all of the project management templates, forms and checklists needed.
Ten Step Project Management Process is a methodology for managing work as a project and it’s designed to be as flexible as you need to manage your project.
UPMM Unified Project Management methodology based on suite of knowledge management tools.
AdPM – a best practices project methodology.
MBP- Managing by Project from X-Pert Group. Programme and Project Management methodology and services.
MITP – Managing Information Technology Projects. IBM’s established project management delivery method.
Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) is a set of principles, models, disciplines, concepts, and guidelines for delivering information technology solutions.

Please add more project management methodologies that you have used and tell us more about them.

For related Project Management articles, click here.

October 29, 2009September 27, 2013 Linky

6 Reasons To Be A Project Management Consultant

6 Reasons To Be a Project Management Consultant

to Business Owners and Service Professionals

Following on from my previous blog post on ‘About Project Management Passion’, I wanted to explain Virtual Project Consulting’s 6 reasons for being Project Management Consultants to Business Owners and Service Professionals.

1. Core Desire To Help

As a Project Management Professional it is my core desire to help, equip and empower people to reach their full potential. I realized one way of doing this is to combine my calling to help more people with the sharing of my knowledge and experience in Project Management as a business tool. If life is about learning, earning and returning, you could say that my Project Management Consulting business is about returning my project management knowledge, skills and experience of the past 11 years to help other people grow.

In choosing a name for my Project Management Consulting Business, I decided on a name that will also work for doing business online with clients over the internet. Hence the choice of VIRTUAL PROJECT CONSULTING.

What does VIRTUAL mean to me? Virtual has several meanings as portrayed in the following graphic:

2. Our Vision

As part of our vision to be the Service Provider of choice for Project Management Consulting and related Products on how to manage successful projects in your business, the VIRTUAL component means that you can expect practical, effective and fundamental advice from us. We are the Virtual Project Manager in your business, without actually being there.

3. Support Our Mission

I believe in consistently delivering Professional Project Management Consulting Services:

That adds value
That meets the needs of clients
That provides inspirational leadership
That empowers people by equipping them with skills and knowledge required to be successful in business.
That is based on ethical business principles

4. Create A Community

Through interaction with different business owners and service professionals I want to use Virtual Project Consulting as the company vehicle to build a community of people who are passionate about what they do, to connect, to learn, to grow and to give back. Share success stories and learn from one another’s horror stories of what can go wrong in business. Aspiring project managers can read more Project Management related articles here.

5. Fill A Need

Many business owners and service professionals are entrepreneurs with no or very little project management training or experience. Any-one starting out on their own or being a small to medium business, cannot afford to employ a project manager full time for the occasional projects required to be finished from time to time. This is where Virtual Project Consulting will fulfill the need of providing a basic project management methodology and process, guidelines and tools, as well as ready-to-use project management templates that can be customized according to your own needs. These can be downloaded instantly and used by any-one with little or no project management experience. Solid As A Rock Project Toolkit will make you successful in managing your own business projects.

For service professionals who require assistance with their Online Marketing Strategy, I can help you plan and implement your Internet marketing plan helping you to attract more customers and increase sales for your business.

6. Community Involvement

One of my other passions that I care for deeply is educating people, including adults and school children. Through proper education they can too aspire to a better life. In my country we have a majority of people who are half-educated or completely illiterate – even in these modern times.

I aspire to donate a percentage of all earnings from Virtual Project Consulting to organizations that are positioned to educate less privileged children and adults. Through this my clients will also make a contribution to a good cause that can change the lives of many individuals in this country.

Please comment if you can associate with being a principled driven business who is passionate about what you do! Share your story with us.

Cape Town Waterfront, South Africa — Cape Town Waterfront with Soccer 2010 World Cup Stadium

October 22, 2009September 27, 2013 Linky

15 PROJECT MANAGEMENT TIPS

VIRTUAL PROJECT CONSULTING

Presents project management tips:

1. What is a project?

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. It has a clear start and finish, a set of defined goals and objectives and a sequence of activities.

2. What is a good project definition?

A project has a beginning and an end and is unique; unlike operations that are ongoing. It is about managing team priorities to deliver within time, cost and quality constraints.

3. Why do we need projects?

Some reasons why we need projects in business today are tighter budgets, diminishing resources, more time constraints, more competition and to achieve service excellence.

4. What are examples of projects?

Examples of projects are:

developing a new product or service
implementation of strategic objectives
restructuring your business organization
constructing a new facility
office move or re-arranging the office
planning a special event

5. What is project management?

The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to projects to meet project requirements and deliver projects successfully within budget, on time and with desired quality.

6. What does project management comprise of?

Project management comprise of a set of skills. Also required is:

Specialist knowledge, skills and experience are required to reduce the level of risk within a project and thereby enhance its likelihood of success.
A suite of tools for example document templates.
A series of processes. In professional project management various management techniques and processes are required to monitor and control time, cost, quality and scope on projects.

7. What is a project methodology?

A methodology is a set of methods, processes and practices that are repeatedly carried out as part of a project life cycle to deliver projects. The key concept is that you repeat the same steps for every project you undertake, and by doing that, you will gain efficiencies in your approach.

8. What is the power of project management?

The power of project management is that it makes it possible to focus on priorities, measure and track performance.

9. What are the industries that use project management?

Project management is used in industries like online publishing, banking, software development, information technology and manufacturing.

10. What skills do project managers need?

Project managers need to be very skilled in leadership, communications, human resources-, quality-, time-, cost management and integration.

11. What are the benefits of project management?

Some benefits of having project management in your business are:

it helps to meet or exceed customer expectations
it maximizes the use of resources (time, people, money, space)
it brings projects to successful conclusion within budget, on time and with desired quality
it documents what was done for future reference
it builds confidence in your team for future projects.

12. How is project management different from management?

In project management work is managed towards a single objective for a unique endeavor with a definite beginning and an end. In general management it is about multiple related objectives to manage the workload in an operations environment where work is done continuously.

13. How are projects different from standard business operational activities?

Projects are unique and do not involve repetitive processes
Projects have a defined timescale. They have a clearly specified start and end date within which the deliverables must be produced to meet a specified customer requirement
A project have an approved budget
Projects have limited resources like labour, equipment, material
Projects achieve beneficial change. The purpose of a project, typically, is to improve an organization through the implementation of business change.

14. Who is the governing body for project management?

The Project Management Institute, or known as the PMI. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is prescribed as their project management handbook.

15. Is there a special qualification for Project Managers?

The Project Management certification is called the Project Management Professional (PMP). The the title of a PMP certification is known and acknowledged worldwide.

Your VirtualPM

Linky

PS: For related Project Management articles, read here.

PPS: To use a Project Management Toolkit in your business, have a look at the Solid as a Rock here.

October 1, 2009September 27, 2013 Linky

ABOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT PASSION

Can one be passionate about project management?

Wikipedia’s definition of PASSION as an emotion, is a strong feeling about a subject, usually of intense desire and attraction.

In a learning context, PASSION can be expressed as a feeling of unusual excitement, enthusiasm or compelling emotion towards a subject, idea. A person is said to have a passion for something when they have a strong positive affinity for it.

I would say that I qualify to be labeled as a passionate project manager. It all started in school with my desire to help people, also to help themselves. This influenced my decision to do a Social Work degree, which is not the kind of ‘help’ that I intended. I finished my degree, but in Psychology and from there went on to obtain an Information Technology qualification. My first real job was behind the computer at a corporate Life Insurance company, not as an IT specialist, but as a Project Administrator.

Being in a supportive role, I naturally transgressed into a technical IT support role with a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) qualification to earn the respect of my mostly male colleagues. As part of a Server Support team and being the only female for years, all the project management work which required much communication skills, was passed on to me.

One of my managers recognized my natural talent and skills as a flair for project management and sent me for proper project management training, which was also training in a project management methodology. I never looked back… A few years later (2004), I gained the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification.

Throughout years of studying and learning on the job, I was blessed with the addition of 3 beautiful children that enriched my life to the point that I actually gave up my full-time, permanent position and started to work in contract project management (2 years at Microsoft Consulting Services). This way I had the flexibility to work part-time and still continue with a professional career.

It was also during these years that I discovered Robert Kiyasaki’s books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Cashflow etc which really brought about a huge mind shift for me in how I view work. Finally, I was on my way from being a permanent employee (working hard to enrich other people) to being a self-employed professional and eventually a business owner. I find the final transition to being a business owner a bit harder and with a steep learning curve. However, working hard for yourself and your own (and family’s) financial freedom is one of the most satisfying journeys of my life so far.

After establishing a successful home business 1.5 years ago (leveraging other people’s time, making a consistent profit) and learning much about running a small business, I ventured into the world of having an Internet-based business. Here I was much influenced by people like Rich Schefren, Tellman Knudson, Stompernet, Mike Filsaime, Jimmy Brown to name a few who are all highly successful and influential Internet Marketers. I am discovering more people who I resonate with and like to learn from every day.

Now I am faced with a steeper learning curve than ever before (maybe as intense as becoming a parent for the first time). I have a hard time juggling between learning, business building, information overload (emails, websites and meeting new people, networking etc) on the one hand, while continuing with a professional career and the needs and demands from a 5-person family on the other.

You may be wondering why I am sharing all of this with you?!

It is to prove that my core desire is still prevailing after all these years – my aspiration to help people, to equip people and to empower people to reach their full potential. This is part of a basic human need to self-actualization (see Maslow’s hierargy of basic human needs). If life is about learning, earning and returning, you could say that my Project Management Consulting business is about returning my project management knowledge, skills and experience of the past 11 years to help other people grow.

If you are also passionate about what you do, why not share it as a comment!

If you have business projects and you want to master project management, click here.

September 29, 2009September 11, 2016 Linky

8 Skills Needed On The Project Management Road To Success

By Linky van der Merwe

What Are The Project Management Skills Needed To Be Successful?

Find a more current version of this article: 10 Skills for your Project Management Path To Success

Are you cut out to be a project manager? I landed in the project management profession by accident, but I stayed there on purpose. It is because I love what I do and I suppose my natural strengths and skills are a good match for doing project management. Whether you have planned to became a Project Manager or whether it happened by accident, it is important to know what your strengths and skills are and if they match the skills needed to be a successful project manager.

Project managers need both leadership and management skills, with a knack for problem solving.

Project managers are there to plan and manage the work – NOT to do it!

So what is the Project Management Skills Set you need to be a successful project manager? Eight key skills needed for project management are explained here (but the list is by no means complete).

1. Be a Leader and a Manager

Leaders share and communicate a common vision (future state or end goal); they gain agreement and establish the future direction. They motivate others. Managers are results driven and focus on getting work done against agreed requirements. A good project manager will constantly switch from a leader to a manager as situations require.

2. Be a Team Builder and a Team Leader

Projects are often cross-functional in that they use people who may not have worked together before. It is up to the project manager to set the atmosphere of the team, and to lead them through the various team development phases to the point where they perform as a team.

3. Be an Excellent Communicator

Being a communicator means recognising that it’s a two-way street. Information comes into the project and information goes out of the project. All communications on your project should be clear and complete.

As a project manager you will have to deal with both written and oral communications. Some examples are documents, meetings, reviews, reports, and assessments. A good mental guideline is “who needs this information, who gathers and delivers it, when or how often do they need it, and in what form will I give it to them”.

4. Be a Good Organizer

Let’s just think of the aspects you will need to organize; project filing including all documentation, contracts, e-mails, memo’s, reviews, meetings, specialist documents, requirements and specifications, reports, changes, issues, risks, etc.

It’s almost impossible to stay organized without having Time Management Skills – so add this to your list!

5. Be a Competent and Consistent Planner

The skill of planning can’t be underestimated (and neither can estimating!). There are known and logical steps in creating plans. As a project manager you will certainly own the Project Plan, but it must be created with input from the team. Examples are Test Plans, Risk Management Plans, Hand-over Plans, Benefit Realisation Plans, etc. As long as you’re aware that planning should become second nature to you.

6. Be a Problem Solver

Fortunately, this is a skill that can be learned.

Firstly, you need to identify the possible ’causes’ that lead to the problem ’symptom’. Now, causes can come from a variety of sources, some are:

interpersonal problems
internal sources
external sources
technical sources
management sources
communication
opinions or perceptions

Having found the root causes, the next step is to analyze possible options and alternatives, and determine the best course of action to take in order to resolve the problem(s).

7. Be a Negotiator and Influencer

Negotiation is working together with other people with the intention of coming to a joint agreement. And for all these you need to have some influencing skills. Influencing is getting events to happen by convincing the other person that your way is the better way – even if it’s not what they want. Influencing power is the ability to get people to do things they would not do otherwise.

8. Set Up and Manage Budgets

At the heart of this is the skill of estimating – particularly cost estimates. Nearly always the project manager will need certain knowledge of financial techniques and systems along with accounting principles.

Part of the Project Plan will be something called the Cost Plan. This will show the planned cost against a time-scale. The PM will want to get involved in purchasing, quoting, reconciling invoices, time sheets, etc.

The project manager then needs to establish what has actually happened as opposed to what was planned and to forecast the expected final costs.

Well, this is only a summary of the main areas.

If you are new to project management, don’t be overwhelmed by all this – there are well understood methodologies, tools, guidelines, and procedures to help you on your way to developing the important life-skills of Project Management.

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September 18, 2009September 27, 2013 Linky

Efficiency Brings Effective Project Management

Efficiency vs Effectiveness

Effective Project Management

According to Wikipedia, a good way to distinguish between effectiveness and efficiency is to understand that effectiveness relates to ‘getting the right things done or setting right targets to achieve an overall goal (the effect)’. Efficiency relates to ‘doing things in the most economical way (good input to output ratio)’.

Companies are always looking, especially in this economy, for ways to make their work more efficient. This means new projects need to be efficient and streamlined: no wasting a company’s time or money. There is a high demand from corporations for technology that increases staff efficiency while keeping business costs reasonable. Poor project management is often the cause of lost revenue and resources for many businesses.

Billions are lost every year due to poor project management like when projects are handled inefficiently, dragged out beyond deadlines, or high costs beyond their means. Many different skill sets are necessary to ensure effective project management.

Effective project management eliminates any unnecessary costs associated with the project, making the work as cost-effective as possible. The project manager is responsible for keeping the project within the allotted budget. Keeping within budget can also keep the scope of the project in check; too often, both a project, and subsequently its budget, can grow out of control. Companies will pay for this mistake – a dual penalty of lost revenue and lost time.

Effective project management also guarantees efficient work by contractors for a task, matching the highest quality work to the best price. The responsibilities of project management are not limited to collecting bids from qualified individuals in order to complete the project, but also to determine if the company does in fact have the experience and knowledge to complete the work well. The project manager truly has to consider which company is best-suited for the task at hand.

A project manager must make sure that the project is meeting deadlines and keeping goals in sight. Effective project management will utilize software and other technology available to keep the project on target and meet scheduled goals. A company can lose a lot of money very quickly when one or more of its projects get off schedule.

Effective project managers ensure that all projects will be completed on time, within budget and with quality. They are responsible to control every aspect of the project, and regularly reporting its status back to company officials. An effective project management professional or firm can bring any project under control, no matter how unfocused or inefficient it was to begin with; their services can end up saving corporations millions in better-managed time and resources. It is commonplace now for companies to outsource their project management to consulting professionals or firms that will maximize efficiency and bring projects to completion within or even under budgets and deadlines, thus saving company resources.

As part of our Mission at Virtual Project Consulting, consistent delivery of Professional Project Management Consulting Services, Linky provides consulting to small to medium business owners and service professionals and supplies a Solid-as-a-Rock project management toolkit to help you be efficient in managing your business projects! Try it out now for only $27.