NCB Element 3. Management by
Projects; the Project-Oriented Enterprise
by Stacy Goff © 2004, asapm
Management by Projects is the preferred organizational strategy and management
approach of Project-Oriented Enterprises. With this strategy, projects are
the method of choice for management of all or most of your organizations’ operations.
As a result, most enterprise efforts are prioritized, staffed and managed as
projects, rather than as ongoing processes.
Project-Oriented Enterprises are those organizations that fulfill their organizational
goals primarily through the successful completion of projects. They do so by
simultaneously carrying out many different types of projects and programs,
ranging from unique to repetitive, internal and external, and internal organizational
improvement and customer-facing projects.
The Project-Oriented Enterprise that embraces Management by Projects has key
support structures such as expert resource pools, a consistently-used Portfolio
Management process and a Program or Project Management Office (PMO). The Project-Oriented
Enterprise is a lean, flexible and adaptable learning organization. It must
be to be effective in managing multiple cross-functional projects or programs
concurrently. It may staff projects with skilled internal resources, with strategic
external partners, or contractors. It leverages its options with superior project
management performance.
Effective Portfolio Management is a strength of organizations that thrive
with Management by Projects. This key process assures that all projects and
programs align with enterprise strategies, are well-funded and staffed with
the best resources available, and that they achieve their promised results.
The portfolio management process usually includes the following functions
• Project Request and Request Evaluation procedures to assure all project
candidates are considered
• Portfolio Prioritization of requested projects is based on strategic contribution
and other enterprise-specific factors
• Interdependency analyses evaluate the cross-impact of pending projects in
the portfolio
• The organization’s Budgeting process reflects annual and multi-year
portfolio priority commitments, plus
contingencies or reserves. A mechanism
exists for unanticipated or mandated projects to gain supplemental
funding
• Resources and skills are allocated to the top priority projects according
to urgency of need; lower priority
projects are not started until either their
priorities change or new resources are available
• Prioritized projects under way receive executive management’s periodic
review of key performance measures
• Summary and detailed portfolio performance reporting is provided on a regular
basis to all stakeholders
• In each post-project review, executive management, the project sponsor, customers
and resource managers
work with the project manager to evaluate project results
and assure that promised benefits were received.
• Lessons Learned and Prior Lessons Applied are captured as key performance
measures in a learning organization
The Program Management Office is the owner of the project management process,
which it acquires or develops, then monitors and continually improves. It may
be central or decentralized in the organization (or both), depending on the
nature of the organization and project and program needs. It manages project
metrics, coordinates establishment and evaluation of project performance measures,
assesses PM Competence and organizes PM training, and evaluates and summarizes
enterprise-wide project progress for executive management.
As well, it may:
• Perform administrative functions in support of Projects
• Monitor and manage cross-project dependencies among multiple concurrent projects
• Evaluate and acquire project management tools
• Share best practices, lessons learned and new tools and techniques across
the enterprise
• Perform project audits to assure effective completion of results
• Integrates and monitors project performance measurements
As well as requiring organizational change in many environments, Management
by Projects may involve a significant culture change, as well as a mindset
change in executive management. Some organizations that move from traditional
hierarchical structures and methods to a project-oriented, Management by Projects
structure and methods may not successfully make the change.
Effective use of Management by Projects requires a supportive environment that includes
• Consistent minimum project processes enterprise-wide
• Consistent decision-making process for prioritizing and staffing projects
and programs
• Ability to summarize and compare status from the project to the departmental
to the enterprise level
• Project Management Maturity in processes, in management, and in stakeholder
Competence development
• New Competences for some, including team empowerment, integration of diverse
results, and effective
virtual or remotely-distributed teamwork.
• A learning organization that demonstrates re-use of learning and of project
results
• Changes in Measurements from backward-looking trailing indicators, adding
also forward-looking leading indicators
• Changes in the way executive management formulates, evaluates and rewards
enterprise efforts and processes
• Changes in the way the organization measures success
The logical extension of the Projectized Organization, Management by Projects,
overcomes the weaknesses of both the Functional and the Matrix organization
approaches. As it proliferates, Management by Projects may render obsolete
both organizational models, as administrative support functions remain as the
only business functions that Functional Managers manage. And, in this new management
model, those administrative support functions serve the projects, not the inverse.
Competence Criteria: The Candidate is able to: (verb, object, and condition
of the activity)
K# Knowledge Criteria
1 Criteria: Describe the purpose and approach of Management by Projects, and
show where it differs from traditional management models.
Evidence: A paragraph highlighting the approach and its differences from traditional
methods.
2 Criteria: List the typical functions of a Portfolio Management process.
Evidence: A list of typical functions, and some demonstration of an understanding
of their purpose.
3 Criteria: Identify the role of a Project/Program Management Office in a Project-Oriented
Enterprise.
Evidence: A list of the strengths a PMO can bring to any enterprise, especially
a Project-Oriented one.
4 Criteria: Describe the organizational, support, role, process and cultural
changes caused by successful adoption of Management by Projects. Evidence: A summary list of the changes Management by Projects tends to cause,
with some indication of the ease of the organizations’ change process
for each.
C# Competence Criteria
1 Criteria: Demonstrates key characteristics of Management by Projects in a
project. Evidence: Documentation showing which aspects of Management by
Projects are relevant in the project, and the impact on the project.
2 Criteria: Assures linkage of the project to Enterprise Strategy.
Evidence: Project Plan or other project documentation that shows the organization’s
preferred method of showing linkage of projects to Enterprise Strategy (if
it exists), and illustrates that linkage. In the case where no linkage exists
(e.g., mandated project, and those areas not pre-scribed in the Enterprise
Strategy), provide documents that identify the compelling business case.
3 Criteria: Establishes a Portfolio Management process, or provides project
information in support of the portfolio management process.
Evidence: A list of the Portfolio Management process functions implemented,
or supported by the project.
4 Criteria: Assures that the project consistently uses the organization’s
common project methods, procedures, reporting and documentation.
Evidence: Project Plan information that demonstrates support for the organization’s
common project methods, and documentation either of a waiver of use of that
standard, or verification (internal audit, PMO review) that it is followed.
Analysis
So on a 1-10 scale (10 high), how do you score against these
criteria? each of the IPMA Project or Program Manager levels has a target,
most above midrange
on
the scale. This
is one of the 60 Elements in the US National Competence Baseline. Competent
Project and Program Managers will score well on most of the 60. People who
know a little about project management may not.
Curiously, just as the smart PM learning providers are those who helped the
knowledge-based project management certification to gain acclaim, today's smartest
providers are recognizing the benefits of asapm's Competence-Based Certification
program.
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