Innovation through Projects

By Linky van der Merwe

Innovation can mean different things, like a change made to an existing product, idea, or field. It can also be described as the process of translating an idea or invention into a product or service that creates value and for which customers will pay. Being innovative does not only mean inventing. Innovation can mean changing your business model and adapting to changes in your environment to deliver better products or services. Take the project from Google, for example, which delivered Google translator that translates to 100 different languages.

In this article we look at certain traits that innovative people seem to share, how projects are used for innovation, how to measure the outcomes and lastly some examples of innovative projects.

Traits of Innovative People

According to an article in Fast Company, “7 Habits of Innovative Thinkers”, emotional intelligence plays a big role in innovative thinking. People can all become more innovative and creative by developing the traits that innovative people share. Harvey Deutschendorf explains that some of the emotional intelligence-related attributes that innovative people share, are as follows.

Emotional intelligent people have their egos under control and are open to other people’s ideas. They don’t think their ideas are always the best. As a result of their openness to other ideas, they are able to accumulate a larger source of data from which to draw from.
They are confident, not arrogant and they see failures as temporary setbacks.
They are continually curious about people, concepts, and issues. They’re open to new information always on the lookout for new ideas that can be put into practice. Being avid readers, forever seeking out new ideas, and expanding their knowledge base increases their repertoire of tools for future use
They are good listeners who are adept at processing information that makes them excellent listeners. When someone is speaking, most people are formulating a response in their minds instead of just focusing upon what the person talking is saying. Good listeners are able to focus not only on the words that are being spoken, but are aware of the tone of the words, the body language expressed, and the emotions behind them.
They don’t let their emotions affect their innovation efforts. They don’t have to defend an idea that is proven to be wrong as they’re seeking to advance themselves personally and are looking to advance their ideas.
They can take direction and are able to give direction.
They show empathy towards co-workers and customers.

Now we understand how important the right character traits are for people to come up with innovative ideas. Let’s have a look at how projects can help with innovation.

Project as a Vehicle for Innovation

Projects are good vehicles for innovation as they can be used to solve real-life problems, bring new possibilities (creativity of entertainment at home), bring together subject matter experts through innovation hubs, or to help with goals towards sustainable development. Innovation is a collaborative process; where people in many fields contribute to the implementation of new ideas. This occurs most often through the execution of a project.

Measure of Success

Since projects are so important for implementing innovation ideas, we must consider how to measure whether the outcome of an innovation project was successful and if it was, how do we determine that.

Dr Harold Kerzner’s offers a helpful explanation of how to define success on innovation projects in his White Paper: “Defining Project Management Success with application to Innovation Project Management Practices”. According to Dr Kerzner:

There is no single approach for defining innovation project success or success on any other type of project. There must be multiple measures using the right timing.
Projects can appear to be successful once the deliverables or outcomes are completed, but real success may occur later when the desired business value is achieved over the longer term.
He acknowledges that effective project management practices are contributors to success and therefore must undergo continuous improvements.

Real world examples of Innovation Projects

In the 1990’s after a drop in sales, Lego changed their strategy to focus on the consumer by linking both business and creativity. In order to innovate new Lego sets, LEGO started “Lego Ideas”, an initiative based on a co-create open innovation model. In this online website, LEGO consumers can design their own LEGO sets either using LEGO bricks or computer 3D applications. Users then discuss the idea and vote for it, once the idea reaches a targeted vote, LEGO can consider it as a new product with giving a small part of the revenues to the creator of the set. This model contributes putting the consumer in the heart of the innovation process and help the team to target sets that can achieve success based on the LEGO Ideas votes and comments.

Coke followed a similar open innovation model through a product called ‘Freestyle dispenser machine’. It allows users to mix their own flavors and suggest a new flavor for Coca-Cola products. The new product records the consumer flavor so they can get it from other Freestyle machines using the Coca-Cola mobile application. With the open innovation model putting the consumers in the heart of the production process, the company uses the suggested flavors as part the external ideas that can be evaluated and processed as a new product line.

Managing Innovation Projects

There is no doubt that project managers need to create environments where innovative new ideas are created and implemented. Also visit this video explaining what will enable innovation through projects.

To create the context that is conducive for innovation, we need to understand traits that innovative people share and how to define success and measure the outcomes of innovation projects. This will help to differentiate you as a project manager who can take on that strategic innovation project that your company wants to embark on.

Please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss future articles, tips and success stories!

January 24, 2019February 14, 2022 Linky

7 Technology Trends in Project Management

By Joseph Harisson

7 Technology Trends for Project Management — 7 Technology Trends in 2019

Project management is changing every year as new approaches stem from the new ideas and technologies. Staying on top of your game is becoming harder for Project Professionals without keeping up to speed with the latest technological developments.

Many companies are looking for new ways to improve their development cycles. The technology trends of 2019 can help you make the right decisions about investments, team building, and reorganization. Here’s a collection of viral trends that may make a difference for your business strategy this year.

#1 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

This trend has been on the lists for the past several years, and is still here in 2019. The potential of these new technologies is so huge, each industry is discovering its abilities in regards to project management solutions.

AI can help your project management capabilities by making predictions about the tasks completed within certain periods of time, the resources used to get the projects done, and automation of numerous tasks thus optimizing the process, and much more.

In fact, all of the above is just the beginning. As AI and Machine Learning are taking over the tasks we used to designate dozens of people for, project financing is possibly having a bright future.

#2 In the Clouds

Internal or on-site servers are becoming outdated at the speed of light. Cloud is the trend, and it’s not going anywhere. More and more companies are switching to using project management systems in the cloud. In 2019, anyone who hasn’t done that is likely to feel the pressure and experience profit reduction.

The only industries which may avoid cloud project management solutions, may be those with extreme secrecy factors. Most companies will soon realize how much faster and cheaper the cloud-based systems are for their needs. And SaaS companies will need to focus on more targeted SEO solutions.

When it comes to cross-company interactions, a cloud is a must-have. The work can be done without providing another company access to the internal solutions. In 2018, the number of cloud project management systems has already exceeded the local systems’ demand. In 2019, the difference will become more obvious.

#3 Advanced Data Analytics and Presentation

In 2019, data analytics requires an upgraded approach with project professional being on the lookout for tools, which can help them analyze data and present it in the right manner to executive management.

While such project management software as Trello and Asana are helping managers present the data and organize the work process, they don’t connect the presentation layer to the real data. In 2019, we can expect a rise of data-rich presentation layers since the need for data and its analytics is growing within the project management context.

#4 Better Information Gathering

Information gathering tools are expected to be top of the list of technologies employed by project professionals. The specific type of accurate market research acquired in a short timeframe can put the company ahead of the competition (with the right analytics, of course).

Cloud-based software which tracks the team progress and allows interactions isn’t enough anymore. In 2019, we’ll be looking at technology constantly updating and adapting itself to the market’s changes. Data is always changing. It’s important to track the changes and avoid outdated and ineffective information.

#5 More Workflow Automation Tools

With AI and Machine Learning helping the teams optimize the workflow, the desire for automation processes is on the rise. Workflow automation tools are expected to be in high demand in 2019. Freeing team members from the routine tasks is vital for project management needs since it’s becoming harder to find the right staff.

The demand for project managers will likely exceed the “supply”, thus making automation tools a necessary solution. Older and experienced project managers are retiring while new employees are lacking experience. When looking for workflow automation software, it’s highly important to check if it’s adaptable to market changes.

#6 Going Virtual

With the rise in cloud systems, virtual collaboration is slowly becoming more predominant than physical communication. Online team software systems are expected to suit the requirements of the virtual team and work processes. With that the need for physical offices will decline.

The software designed for connecting team members from all over the world is in high demand. Skype for video conferencing is likely to stay in the past. Many enterprises will be investing in customized teamwork software to simplify the collaboration while cutting many unnecessary costs, such as office rent.

#7 Mixing Agile and Traditional Project Management

Cloud-based project management is becoming easier to access. Many businesses are adopting an Agile development framework. Research has shown that the Agile method improves employee communication, allowing the teams to inspect and adapt to changes faster and easier. Agile has a high ROI for small and medium-sized teams.

In 2019, enterprises are likely to adopt Agile faster than small businesses. With the appearance of workflow automation software, Agile is becoming more useful for teams of different sizes.

Modern technologies will help companies adopt hybrid PM methods (mixing Agile and Traditional approaches) to complete projects depending on the context.

Final Thoughts

Some of the most common reasons why many projects fail, are poor time management, lack of resources, the project complexity, and absence of specialists. The new technologies are helping project managers solve the majority of the above-mentioned problems.

If you manage to stay ahead of the trends and improve your project management skills while keeping the ever-changing industry demands in mind, you are likely to succeed in 2019.

If you’re still deciding on the best project management software to use, visit this All Project Management Reviews site.

About the Author:

Josh Harisson has 10 years of experience in IT industry as a web developer and cloud computing expert researching extensively for techendo.com. He frequently writes about IT and branding efforts. In his free time, you will often find him taking a walk, or playing video games.

Please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss future articles, tips and success stories!

January 22, 2019July 2, 2024 Linky

Key Project Management Skills Needed for the Future?

Key Project Management skills for the future

By Linky van der Merwe

This article explores two major trends that we observe and attempts to understand what impact these trends will have on the skills of project management practitioners in order to position ourselves better for the future.

“We are looking at a future in project management where the definition of success is determined by the creation of business value. There will be continuous scope changes and customer involvement will be mandatory.” says Dr Harold Kerzner, Executive Director for Project Management for the International Institute for Learning. “Project staffing is now all about capacity planning and resource management. The metrics of the future will have to track tangible as well as intangible elements.”
Future of Project Management

According to Dr Harold Kerzner, business metrics will include:

Business profitability
Portfolio health
Portfolio benefits realization
Portfolio value achieved
Portfolio selection and mix
Resource availability
Capacity utilization
Strategic alignment
Business performance

Major Trends

Let’s look at the major trends impacting businesses today and what it means to the future of jobs.

Trend 1: Customer Experience

By 2020 customer experience will become the key brand differentiator above price and products and customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.

Trend 2: Digitization

Digitization refers to things like Automation and Artificial Intelligence, the capability to move work offshore and the demands of the customer changing in frequency and complexity.

The impact of digitization to our workforce will mean huge reduction in jobs and big changes in skillsets. More than half of school children in primary school today will work in jobs that don’t exist yet.

The World Economic Forum is forecasting that 75% of businesses will become fully digital by 2020. According to McKinsey, organisations are responding by retraining, hiring and doing a mix between the two.

Impact on the Future of Jobs

The Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum states that the industries which can expect the biggest disruptions, include:

Financial Services and Investors
Infrastructure
Mobility
Information & Communication Technology
Professional Services
Energy
Consumer
Health
Media, Entertainment and Information

The skills that are in decline can be summarized as:

Project Management administrative and tactical skills
Data collection and data analysis
Predictable work and repetitive tasks

By 2020 skills will need to transition to:

Complex problem solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
People management
Coordinating with others
Emotional Intelligence
Judgement and decision making
Service orientation
Negotiation
Cognitive flexibility

Future Project Management Skills

For the past few years the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) emphasis on skills has changed to include a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise. The definition of each skill can be explained as follow.

Technical project management: Knowledge, skills and behaviors related to specific domains of Project, Program and Portfolio Management.
Leadership: Knowledge, skills and behaviors specific to leadership-oriented, cross-cutting skills that help an organization achieve its business goals.
Strategic and business management: Knowledge of and expertise in the industry or organization that enhances performance and better delivers business outcomes.

The Strategic Execution Framework

Stanford University has developed a White Paper called The Strategic Execution Framework to help companies stay on track, aligning projects with key initiatives to achieve desired outcomes. It is based on the concept that the building blocks for strategic execution are projects, put in place alongside regular operations to achieve speciﬁc goals.

The framework consists of six domains easily remembered by the mnemonic: INVEST

The domains include:

Ideationis your company’s understanding of what it is and how it appears in the world, expressed through its purpose, identi ty and long-range intention.

Nature creates the conditions for strategic execution. It embodies the culture and structure within which, you operate.

Visionincludes the goals, metrics and strategy that form the foundation for your business.

Engagement connects the enterprise strategy to IT project portfolio investments and clearly demonstrates that your company is funding the right IT projects to further its strategy.

Synthesisis where engagement meets execution, ensuring you’re successfully executing IT projects and programs in alignment with the IT portfolio as well as the enterprise’s overarching strategies.

Transitionis the ultimate measure of success, where you move the results of IT project-based work into the mainstream of operations.

Each of the domains presents opportunities for improvement. The framework helps you identify disconnects and barriers to successful strategic execution and it provides a common language and way of understanding how businesses successfully execute, innovate, change, and grow. You can assess your organization within this context and make necessary adjustments to create a foundation for balanced strategic execution.

Skills Gap in the Digital Era

A Price Waterhouse Coopers Report, based on a survey among 1300 CEO’s, indicated problem solving as the most sought after skill, then leadership, adaptability, creativity and innovation, STEM skills, risk management and digital skills.

Considering the survey results, the skills that Project Professionals seemingly need to develop the most are:

business acumen
leadership skills
versatility
technology skills
executive communications
application of emotional intelligence attributes.

Continuous Learning

Considering how much growth and development is required to close the skills gaps, there are many ways to learn. You can learn by doing (on the job, stretch assignments), learn from others (mentors, shadowing) and finally formal learning, like a degree.

Also refer to this excellent research article by Louise Worsley called: Be a Project Management Professional Learner, providing a break-down of The Future Work Skills 2020 Report.

PM Skills Development Action Plan

Here are some recommendations for you in 2019 to position yourself as a Project Professional in 2020 and beyond.

Develop an action plan
Keep reading to stay on top of industry trends
Grow others around you
Take every opportunity to demonstrate leadership
Be aware of culture as an enabler for project success
Build diverse teams
Always focus on your customers

Please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss future articles, tips and success stories!

Sources

The future skillset needs for Project and Program Management by John Daly, a PMI Organisational Agility Conference 2018 presentation
Future of Project Management by Harold Kerzner
The Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum, Forrester, Gartner, Accenture, Hay Group, 2020 Workforce
Customers 2020: A Progress Report by Walker Customer Experience Consulting, 2017
White Paper: The Strategic Execution Framework by Stanford University, developed by IPS Learning, LLC and Raymond Levitt and used in the Stanford Advanced Project Management Program.

December 10, 2018March 18, 2019 Linky

A Reminder of 10 Project Management Best Practices

When you think of best practice, it can 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. Wikipedia defines best practice as 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.

Naturally, in the domain of Project Management many standard practices have evolved into best practices over time. It is after all about developing and following a standard way of doing things!

In the Infographic below, you will find a reminder of 10 PM best practices that will help you be more successful on all your projects in a consistent and predictable way, with compliments from Wrike project management softwares.

November 14, 2018 Linky

How to Handle a Project Management Crisis

There are many examples of failed projects all over the world. Like the St. Helena airport, built on a island in the vast open Atlantic Ocean, known for it’s volcanic mountain rising 2600 feet above the sea. The reason for the airport’s opening being postponed indefinitely: “too windy for planes to land” (Source: International Project Leadership Academy). They failed to address the risks or to listen to the advice of experts.

Another project disaster and one of the most expensive scandals in modern history in September 2015, the admission that Volkswagen cheated government emission testing. The engineers intentionally designed and installed a so called “defeat device” into the engine’s control computer. The defeat device was programmed to detect when the car was undergoing emissions testing in order to adhere to the testing limits for clean-air standards. The technology needed to comply with the government regulations was available, but was decided against due to high costs and to protect profit margins.

On a smaller scale project disasters happen quite often, even on IT projects, for example when a record number of high defects are logged during a testing phase leading to re-design and expensive re-development work to the point where committed deadlines are missed or almost missed.

In following good Project Risk Management practice, you will always plan risk management upfront, identify all the risks, perform proper risk analysis (qualitative, quantitative), plan risk responses including assigning risks to owners and then control the risks rigorously throughout the project.

Below you will find a good approach for handling crisis on projects in the Infographic brought to you by Wrike free task management tools.

Let us know in the comments what project management crisis you have come across and how it was handled.

October 29, 2018October 31, 2018 Linky

Project Success Story: Leading Projects in a Chaotic Startup Environment

By Linky van der Merwe

This is the story of a project manager, Heinrich Kruger who worked on a complex set of projects in a business startup environment in the short-term insurance industry, within a large corporate.

The projects consisted of a mix of IT and operational initiatives in a business environment typical to that of start-ups i.e. lots of ambiguity and very little structure. Within the business there was no context of any formal project methodology and the stakeholders had to be nurtured with regards to good project governance in order to become more self-sustained over time.

Dedicated Team

It worked well to have a dedicated core project team consisting of a Project Manager, a Change Manager and a Business Change Manager. They had shared values and the same vision and understanding of the business need. The business could not be expected to adopt good, but unfamiliar project practices overnight. They needed constant support through-out, as well as after the project went live.

It was required for this team to take ownership and responsibility. In a start-up environment, the business is often immature as far as projects are concerned. People often don’t know what is expected of them and don’t know anything about following a project based, structured approach to get things done. You will rather find a lot of “survival” behaviour and “just getting things done”.

The project leaders had to educate the business gradually whilst at the same time being part of that start-up process and culture – this take time. It would be different working with with a group of people who were used to starting new businesses and in the process, have established specific ways to work, especially in that kind of environment. Instead the team found that they had to take ownership of processes, tasks and structures that would normally no be expected from a project team.

Immature Project Environment

Trying to establish new ways of work in a business environment that was largely immature in terms of project implementations. The project team had to do more support (spoon feeding so to speak) and some-times taking on responsibilities that would normally be expected from the business.

External dependencies

There were dependencies on other external projects which impacted the planned timelines of some of the projects. The business had to compete with other corporate business units and their respective projects with its demand on shared services suppliers and as such did not always get the audience needed to reach project and strategic goals according to desired timelines. A separate Project Board with the corporate executive was setup in order to create the necessary visibility of the business’ needs. Furthermore, external project environments also had no reference point for understanding the unique culture and the speed with which new initiatives had to be implemented in this environment.

Failure to reach project goals would ultimately mean a failed business case with the potential to impact roughly 200 employees. It would put the business in a position to seriously revisit and reconsider its strategic goals and approach.

Separate Project Board

Where insurmountable challenges were encountered, the businesses pivoted around its strengths and pushed forward with workarounds, even when it meant loss of efficiency for a time. This meant bypassing systems that weren’t ready and setup of an executive Project Board who would help to prioritise the business’s requirements in the greater corporate environment.

It also meant building an alliance with other business units who had a special interest in seeing the business’ initiatives succeed. Lastly, to gain greater awareness in the corporate environment and motivate prioritization of its own needs, the business promoted its initiatives in such a way that the implementation thereof would hold value for other business units, not necessarily being direct stakeholders, also. It achieved this by positioning itself as an incubation hub to the rest of the organization – this proved quite successful.

Lessons Learned

If an environment is different from what you as a PM is used to, learn to take ownership and responsibility and don’t be disappointed when you have to do more than your job description.

Innovate and try to find workarounds. It won’t help to wait for dependencies and challenges to go away. This means actively monitoring and managing all risks on the project.

Although the business is in startup mode, it will gradually mature into a project based organization provided the PM and his core team gently but assertively pushes the business into a more planned, structured approach to new project implementations.

Key Takeaway

Success Stories Shared

In future projects, the PM will follow a more determined approach to the planning phase. He will ensure to introduce more structure upfront and move out of “survival mode” sooner, and work according to more realistic, planned (with all required stakeholders) outcomes and timelines.

********************************************************************

About the Project Manager:

Heinrich Kruger has been working in project based environments throughout his career with experience primarily in the Fintech industry but also Internet business like MWEB. Apart from project management, he has also worked as programmer, business analyst and business architect.

He can be contacted at heinrich.kruger@gmail.com.

September 10, 2018September 11, 2018 Linky

How to Make a Project Proposal Your Best Sales Tool

When you are part of a service based business, your project proposal is your sales piece that will sell your services to the prospective client.

A project proposal needs to address the four key questions a prospective client has:

Do they understand what I need?
Do I trust them to deliver?
Can I afford them?
Can I work with them?

To accomplish this, your project proposal should have the following 10 key elements:

1. Client’s Requirements and Goals

The summary of the client’s requirements and goals is a critical part of your project proposal. Take the time to really understand what your prospect is looking for to ensure a better outcome. Furthermore, by showing how well you’ve paid attention to your prospect’s needs, you’ll set yourself apart from your competitors.

2. Tasks Involved and Your Fee for Each

List down the main tasks you’re going to do, along with the fee you will charge for each. Provide enough detail that anybody will be able to say when you have delivered or completed the task.

3. Breakdown of Each Task with Costs

It’s not enough to simply say what big tasks you will do. Break them down so your prospect appreciates how much work and skill it takes to complete each one.

If you offer different options, indicate the likely results they can expect from each option.

4. Priority and Delivery Schedule

Indicate which of the goals have the highest priority. Make it clear how long it will take you to complete each task and how milestones should be approved by the client.

5. Work Process

Describe how you usually work with clients. Will you have a meeting after the client approves your proposal? Describe how you will to track all client communication. Be specific now so you and your client won’t be in for surprises later on.

6. Mode of Payment

In this part, specify how you want to get paid. Do you require a deposit or full payment before starting on a project? Describe means of payment for example, electronic bank transfer.

7. Samples or Proof That You Can Do the Job

Make it easy for prospects to decide that you’re suitable for this project. Attach samples of work, or links to samples that show how you’ve completed similar projects in the past. Also give references of where you’ve worked successfully before.

8. Clear Indication of the Next Steps

Tell your prospect clearly what he should do if he either wants to proceed with the project, or if he has further questions before he can make a decision. Say something like, “If you need clarification on my proposal, please email your questions to me.”

9. Invoice for First Payment

Obviously, you should include an invoice only if you require a deposit before you start a new project.

10. Contact Information

Make sure your project proposals include your name and contact details–including your email address even if you are emailing your proposal. Don’t assume your prospect will simply hit the “reply” button, or take the time to find your contact information if he doesn’t see it right away.

In conclusion, for a successful project proposal, it should perform the following:

show that you understand what the client is looking for
prove that you are the best person for the tasks at hand
convince the prospect that either they can afford you or they cannot afford not to hire you

Always ensure that your project will deliver as per client requirements and outline that clearly in your project proposal.

By Linky van der Merwe
PS: Pictures were taken during our holidays in Botswana and the Bushveld, South Africa.

I’ve created a free Project Proposal Guide to remind you of the 10 key elements to include!
Click below for a free Project Proposal Guide.

August 30, 2018August 30, 2018 Linky

What’s the Future of Project Management?

By Linky van der Merwe

“We live in a world where change is not just constant but its continuous.”

This is according to an article in Toolbox, called: “The Future of Project Management” by Bryan Campbell.

The impact on how we do projects is tremendous. The planning and budgeting cycle of 12 months is becoming old as deployments become continuous.

Mr Campbell states that the traditional definition that a project is done when all of its scope is completed within schedule and budget needs to be re-assessed. In this new paradigm, projects end when they stop delivering more value than the next viable alternative. Budget and schedule are superseded by the value that projects deliver. This means that trying to fix a schedule and budget on a project is less important than understanding the value that the project is delivering.

Continuous delivery

What we’re heading towards is that Projects will eventually transition into continuous value delivery mechanisms and the roles of the project manager will change from monitoring schedule and budget to one focused on the continuous delivery of value.

In his talk at PMXPO2018: “Planning for the future of Project Management”, Dr Harold Kerzner makes several observations on the differences between PM 1.0 and PM 2.0 that I find fascinating. Here are a few:

Project requirements have evolved from well-defined to evolving and flexible.
Number of constraints moved from triple (time, cost, scope) to competing constraints.
Scope changes from minimum with low customer tolerance to possibly continuous with a high tolerance
Amount of documentation is changing from extensive to minimal
Project health checks, once optional, are now mandatory and so is customer involvement
Project management area of emphasis has changed from planning, measuring and controlling to benefits realisation and value management

Lastly, according to Dr Kerzner, the metric categories have changed as well.

FROM

Time

Cost

Scope

Quality

Resource usage

Stakeholder satisfaction

Project performance

Number of deliverables

Business profitability

Portfolio health

Portfolio benefits realization

Portfolio value achieved

Portfolio selection and mix

Resource availability

Capacity utilization

Strategic alignment

Business performance

Trusted Global Network

Another interesting perspective comes from Ray Granger, CEO of Mavenlink. He talks about a transformation where organisations change their processes and structures to align with a global, networked landscape.

“Work is being delivered in open and collaborative environments, with large groups of people from both inside and outside the organization”, according to Mr Granger.

This means that on any given project, you may be working with internal talent, external service providers, specialists, and even clients from around the world. I’ve experienced this phenomenon on recent software implementation projects which requires you to engage and mobilize larger and larger numbers of participants, and facilitate much more complex coordination of expertise and activities. Part of the complexity lies in the challenges around collaboration with virtual team members across different time zones and having to keep all stakeholders aligned.

These are just a few directions that give us an indication of where Project Management is heading. We need to ask ourselves: “Am I keeping up with the pace of change, adapting my skills and leadership abilities to stay ahead of the curve, to be future fit?”

Please subscribe to Virtual Project Consulting not to miss any future tips and articles!

July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 Linky

Top 10 Checkpoints for a Business Case

Are you facing the challenge of writing a business case? A business case explains why your organisation will invest time and resources into a project. Without a rock-solid business case your project is unlikely to get a return on investment.

Below is a short video giving you a checklist of questions to ask before you submit your business case for approval.

Here’s the checklist of 10 questions to ask yourself before you submit your business case to your sponsor for approval.

Have the reasons for the project been specified and are they consistent with any corporate strategies?
Has the preferred business option been stated?
Has it been explained why the preferred business option was recommended?
Are the benefits clearly identified and justified?
Have both the project timescales and the benefits realization timescales been identified?
Is it clear how and when the benefits will be realized?
Have both the project costs and the ongoing operational and maintenance costs been specified?
Have the funding arrangements been specified?
Has the investment appraisal used the organisation’s recommended standard?
Have the major project risks been stated, together with any proposed responses?

A good business case helps you or your organisation take sensible decisions about committing time and resources to a project or activity – make sure you get it right.

Click here for more details on how to write a Business Case and to download a simple, but comprehensive business case template with compliments from Knowledge Train, a Project Management Training Company.

June 18, 2018April 19, 2020 Linky

5 Project Management Trends shaping 2018

By Ashley Lipman

Project Management isn’t an industry that stays the same for a long period of time. It’s unpredictable, versatile, and subject to various trends at any given time.

Some of the trends influencing Project Management in 2018 may be old; others may have just emerged. However, the ones to look out for are those that are the most influential.

Want to know what these trends are?

Knowing about the emerging trends will help you manage your projects and get things done more efficiently in 2018:

1. Artificial intelligence is here to stay

AI, short for Artificial Intelligence, is no longer a concept dreamt of in science fiction. Technology like Siri, Echo, and Home are the most popular kinds, but AI is also the base of several PM applications.

Repetitive tasks have been automated and AI software has been applied to PM management more and more over the months.

Project managers are now making use of AI programs to enhance the efficiency of their projects. This includes dealing with resources, streamlining workflow, and giving valuable insights into future plans.

It’s also used in centralising data that could immensely help your team work together even from remote locations. Application performance management and server monitoring | AppOptics is just another example of how AI is becoming entrenched in this industry.

2. Embedded technology leads to faster project delivery

Source: Pixabay

We know that technology has become highly portable, even to the point where you can wear a smartwatch to replace your phone, computer, and tablet to some extent. As a project manager, wearable technology enables you to track and enhance your productivity at all levels.

Using smart glasses, head-mounted displays, and smartwatches can enhance the efficiency, safety, and the accuracy of any team. What’s more, the data from such wearable devices can help managers learn what makes team members tick.

Once project managers start paying more attention to what their team members need, they will better know how to motivate them and to create a culture that encourages and rewards high performance.

3. Remote workers are expanding the workforce

Source: Pixabay

Project managers don’t require the whole team to be co-located, in fact virtual teams and outsourcing specialist skills has become quite the norm.

With team members working from home or from remote locations, more flexible work hours make for a higher productivity level. Hence, project managers need to be aware of this and improve their skills around managing virtual teams.

4. Hybrid management is the next big thing

Project managers now have to embrace the fact that cookie-cutter solutions (read methodologies) are out of date. They may have followed a traditional waterfall type methodology in the past, but now, it’s time to tweak this according to their clients’ project requirements.

There are certain processes that can help with this kind of project management. One example of these is following an Agile approach, giving companies the ability for faster time to market.

Hence, a project manager who is comfortable with following a hybrid approach is definitely in order. You need to consider several methodologies for approaching different projects. This sort of personalisation and customisation continue to grow more important as time goes on.

5. Project managers with emotional intelligence are preferred

Gone are the days when solid, technical skills were adequate for a project manager. Soft skills and a high level of emotional intelligence are now highly valued in the PM industry, and with several good reasons.

In 2018, business owners are increasingly looking for managers who can keep their teams happy, satisfied, and motivated. This combination is one of the best ones for making up a highly productive workforce.

Find some more insights from the “Pulse of the Profession” PMI report here.

These 5 trends are by no means a comprehensive list, but certainly trends to acknowledge and consider for a project professional in 2018.

June 6, 2018February 14, 2022 Linky

Ongoing Value of the PMO

In light of the upcoming PMO Conference in London, UK, in June, I wanted to share some exciting information on PMO awards.

The PMO Global Awards is the PMO Global Alliance’s annual award for the most outstanding Project Management Offices in the world.

It intends to inspire organizations around the world to evolve their Project Management Offices and project management practices to achieve the best results.

Click here to find out more about PMO Global Alliance.

PMSA PMO Award

Locally, the Project Management South Africa or PMSA would like to introduce a PMO category as part of its Exceptional Project Management Awards programme. It will result in local recognition as well as nominations towards the Africa Region leg of the Global PMO Alliance Awards.

This programme will build on the requirements for the Global PMO Alliance Awards which examine the following components:

PMO’s journey
Client service
Best Practices
Innovation
Community
Value generation

The winners will be announced in November at the PMSA National Conference taking place from 14-16 November in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Renewing your PMO

Lastly, I want to refer you to a very insightful, researched article about improving the value of your PMO by Louise Worsley.