Using technology to improve the way you do business

Project management to the rescue

By Michael Burns

Project management is essential for any decent-sized project. Without it, you’re up the proverbial creek. No wonder lack of project management figures on the top-10 list of mistakes for both software selection and implementation (see December 2007, p. 14 and January/February 2008, p. 16, or visit www.CAmagazine.com).

The project manager’s job is to manage scope, timing and costs. Unfortunately, most people learn those skills at the school of hard knocks. That is what happened to me. I was responsible for a large team of software developers and was asked to become the project manager, even though I had no formal training. I made a lot of mistakes. One was trying to please everyone. As I soon discovered, it can’t be done. If someone wants to add something to the project, it will usually lead to cost overruns or delays.

On the plus side, project managers have access to a variety of tools for managing scope, time and budget. The one with the largest market share is Microsoft Project. This program and others like it help in managing all the data related to a project, such as tasks, duration, dependencies between tasks, resources and costs. The system will generate a schedule based on the data provided, as well as a means to effectively communicate the schedule. Some of the new features of the latest version, Microsoft Project 2007, include undoing and redoing multiple changes, assigning cost resources across multiple tasks and projects, and turning on change highlighting to help identify the impact of each change made in the plan.

Microsoft Project 2007 comes in two flavours — standard and professional. The main difference is that the pro version is integrated with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, which is a server-based project management solution that allows multiple users to work together over the Internet. A powerful new feature of Microsoft Project Server 2007 is the ability to schedule and staff projects (including proposed projects) entirely using Project Web Access.

Over the past few years, effective project management has taken on another dimension. A successful project is not just on time, on budget and within scope; it must also be aligned with corporate strategy. There are a number of ways to determine alignment. One is to score the project’s contribution against the organization’s critical success factors (what it must do well to be successful). There is also the balanced scorecard method, which allows an organization to assess its business performance from a financial perspective as well as that of internal business processes, customers and innovation and improvement activities. Before a project is undertaken, key performance indicators should be selected that can measure to what extent the CSFs or balanced scorecard are met. The project should be deemed successful if the KPI targets are met, which clearly shows the project is “on strategy.”

Portfolio management software is available to keep projects on strategy. PPM helps organizations select the programs, projects, resources and investments that will maximize business value, while project management helps ensure that the investments are successfully executed and deliver the forecasted benefits. In 2006, Micro-soft purchased a PPM system called UMT. And now its website reads, “Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 helps your organization realize its potential by identifying, selecting, managing and delivering portfolios that align with your strategic priorities.”

Project management can make or break any project. A good project manager listens well and sees the big picture, but is also detail oriented and can communicate effectively. The project manager is highly motivated to succeed and enjoys challenges. Probably most important, the project manager has the backing of senior management and the respect of his or her peers. Respect is not earned by doing friends or colleagues a favour. It’s earned by doing the right thing.

For more on project management, visit the Project Management Institute (www.pmi.org).

Michael Burns, MBA, CA, is president of 180 Systems (www.180systems.com/), which provides independent consulting services, including business process review, system selection and IT audit. Contact: 416-485-2200 or mburns@180systems.com.