Chapter -6

Modern Developments in
Project Management

Dr. Wasihun T. 1
 6.1 THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT MATURITY
MODEL (PMMM)
All companies desire excellence in project management.

Unfortunately, not all companies recognize that the time frame

can be shortened by performing strategic planning for project
management. The simple use of project management, even for
an extended period of time, does not lead to excellence.
Instead, it can result in repetitive mistakes and, what’s worse,
learning from your own mistakes rather than from the mistakes
of others.
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The foundation for achieving excellence in project management

can best be described as the project management maturity model

(PMMM), which is comprised of five levels, Each of the five levels
represents a different degree of maturity in project management.

1. Level 1—Common Language: In this level, the organization

recognizes the importance of project management and the need for
a good understanding of the basic knowledge on project
management, along with the accompanying language/ terminology.

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2. Level 2—Common Processes: In this level, the organization
recognizes that common processes need to be defined and
developed such that successes on one project can be repeated on
other projects. Also included in this level is the recognition that
project management principles can be applied to and support
other methodologies employed by the company.
3. Level 3—Singular Methodology: In this level, the organization
recognizes the synergistic effect of combining all corporate
methodologies into a singular methodology the center of which is
project management. The synergistic effects also make process
control easier with a single methodology than with multiple
methodologies.
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4. Level 4—Benchmarking: This level contains the recognition
that process improvement is necessary to maintain a
competitive advantage. Benchmarking must be performed on a
continuous basis. The company must decide whom to
benchmark and what to benchmark.
5. Level 5—Continuous Improvement: In this level, the
organization evaluates the information obtained through
benchmarking and must then decide whether or not this
information will enhance the singular methodology.

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6.2 DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE PROCEDURAL
DOCUMENTATION
Good procedural documentation will accelerate the project
management maturity process, foster support at all levels of
management, and greatly improve project communications.
The type of procedural documentation selected is heavily biased
on whether we wish to manage formally or informally, but it
should show how to conduct project-oriented activities and how to
communicate in such a multidimensional environment.
The project management policies, procedures, forms, and
guidelines can provide some of these tools for delineating the
process, as well as a format for collecting, processing, and
communicating project-related data in an orderly, standardized
format.
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Project planning and tracking, however, involve more than just the
generation of paperwork. They require the participation of the
entire project team, including support departments, subcontractors,
and top management, and this involvement fosters unity.
Procedural documents help to:
 Provide guidelines and uniformity
 Encourage useful, but minimum, documentation
 Communicate information clearly and effectively
 Standardize data formats
 Unify project teams
 Provide a basis for analysis

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 Ensure document agreements for future reference
 Refuel commitments
 Minimize paperwork
 Minimize conflict and confusion
 Delineate work packages
 Bring new team members on board
 Build an experience track and method for future projects
Done properly, the process of project planning must involve both
the performing and the customer organizations. This leads to
visibility of the project at various organizational levels, and
stimulates interest in the project and the desire for success
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 6.3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
METHODOLOGIES
The ultimate purpose of any project management system is to

increase the likelihood that your organization will have a

continuous stream of successfully managed projects. The best
way to achieve this goal is with good project management
methodologies that are based upon guidelines and forms rather
than policies and procedures. Methodologies must have enough
flexibility that they can be adapted easily to each and every
project.
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Methodologies should be designed to support the corporate

culture, not vice versa. It is a fatal mistake to purchase a

canned methodology package that mandates that you change
your corporate culture to support it. If the methodology does
not support the culture, it will not be accepted. What converts
any methodology into a world-class methodology is its
adaptability to the corporate culture. There is no reason why
companies cannot develop their own methodology.
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6.4 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
All too often complacency dictates the decision-making

process. This is particularly true of organizations that have

reached some degree of excellence in project management,
become complacent, and then realize too late that they have
lost their competitive advantage. This occurs when
organizations fail to recognize the importance of continuous
improvement.

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As companies begin to mature in project management and reach
some degree of excellence, they achieve a sustained competitive
advantage. The sustained competitive advantage might very well be
the single most important strategic objective of the firm. The firm
will then begin the exploitation of its sustained competitive
advantage.
Unfortunately, the competition is not sitting by idly watching you
exploit your sustained competitive advantage. As the competition
begins to counterattack, you may lose a large portion, if not all, of
your sustained competitive advantage. To remain effective and
competitive, the organization must recognize the need for continuous
improvement.
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6.5 CAPACITY PLANNING
As companies become excellent in project management, the

benefits of performing more work in less time and with fewer

resources becomes readily apparent. The question, of course, is
how much more work can the organization take on?
Companies are now struggling to develop capacity planning
models to see how much new work can be undertaken within
the existing human and nonhuman constraints.

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6.6 COMPETENCY MODELS
 In the twenty-first century, companies will replace job descriptions with

competency models. Job descriptions for project management tend to

emphasize the deliverables and expectations from the project manager,
whereas competency models emphasize the specific skills needed to achieve
the deliverables.
 Project managers are expected to have competencies in three broad areas:

● Scientific/technical skills
● Leadership skills
● Process skills
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A primary advantage of a competency model is that it allows
the training department to develop customized project
management training programs to satisfy the skill
requirements. Without competency models, most training
programs are generic rather than customized.
Competency models focus on specialized skills in order to
assist the project manager in making more efficient use of his
or her time.
 Project managers can increase their time effectiveness by
reducing time robbers and rework.

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Competency models make it easier for companies to develop a

complete project management curriculum, rather than a

singular course. As companies mature in project management
and develop a company-wide core competency model, an
internal, custom-designed curriculum will be developed.
Companies, especially large ones, will find it necessary to
maintain a course architecture specialist on their staff.

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6.7 MANAGING MULTIPLE PROJECTS
As organizations mature in project management, there is a

tendency toward having one person manage multiple projects.

The initial impetus may come either from the company
sponsoring the projects or from project managers themselves.
There are several factors supporting the managing of multiple

projects.

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First, the cost of maintaining a full-time project manager on all

projects may be prohibitive. The magnitude and risks of each

individual project dictate whether a full-time or part-time assignment
is necessary. Assigning a project manager full-time on an activity that
does not require it is an over management cost. Over management of
projects was considered an acceptable practice in the early days of
project management because we had little knowledge on how to
handle risk management. Today, methods for risk management exist.

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Second, line managers are now sharing accountability with project

managers for the successful completion of the project. Project

managers are now managing at the template levels of the WBS with
the line managers accepting accountability for the work packages at
the detailed WBS levels. Project managers now spend more of their
time integrating work rather than planning and scheduling functional
activities. With the line manager accepting more accountability, time
may be available for the project manager to manage multiple projects.

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Third, senior management has come to the realization that

they must provide high quality training for their project

managers if they are to reap the benefits of managing multiple
projects. Senior managers must also change the way that they
function as sponsors.
There are six major areas where the corporation as a whole

may have to change in order for the managing of multiple

projects to succeed
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Con’t…
1. Prioritization- If a project prioritization system is in effect, it
must be used correctly such that employee credibility in the
system is realized. One risk is that the project manager, having
multiple projects to manage, may favor those projects having
the highest priorities. It is possible that no prioritization system
may be the best solution. Not every project needs to be
prioritized, and prioritization can be a time-consuming effort.

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2. Scope Changes: Managing multiple projects is almost impossible if the
sponsors/ customers are allowed to make continuous scope changes.
When using multiple projects management, it must be understood that
the majority of the scope changes may have to be performed through
enhancement projects rather than through a continuous scope change
effort. A major scope change on one project could limit the project
manager’s available time to service other projects. Also, continuous
scope changes will almost always be accompanied by reprioritization of
projects, a further detriment to the management of multiple projects.
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3. Capacity Planning- Organizations that support the
management of multiple projects generally have a tight control
on resource scheduling. As a result, the organization must have
knowledge of capacity planning, theory of constraints, resource
leveling, and resource limited planning.

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4. Project Methodology- Methodologies for project management
range from rigid policies and procedures to more informal
guidelines and checklists. When managing multiple projects,
the project manager must be granted some degree of freedom.
This necessitates guidelines, checklists, and forms. Formal
project management practices create excessive paperwork
requirements, thus minimizing the opportunities to manage
multiple projects. The project size is also critical.
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5. Project Initiation- Managing multiple projects has been
going on for almost 40 years. One thing that we have learned
is that it can work well as long as the projects are in relatively
different life-cycle phases because the demands on the
project manager’s time are different for each life-cycle phase.
6. Organizational Structures- If the project manager is to
manage multiple projects, then it is highly unlikely that the
project manager will be a technical expert in all areas of all
projects. Assuming that the accountability is shared with the
line managers, the organization will most likely adopt a weak
matrix structure
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6.8 END-OF-PHASE REVIEW MEETINGS
Today, end-of-phase review meetings take on a different

dimension. First and foremost, executives are no longer afraid

to cancel projects, especially if the objectives have changed, if
the objectives are unreachable, or if the resources can be used
on other activities that have a greater likelihood of success.
Executives now spend more time assessing the risks in the
future rather than focusing on accomplishments in the past.

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Since project managers are now becoming more business-

oriented rather than technically oriented, the project managers

are expected to present information on business risks,
reassessment of the benefit-to-cost ratio, and any business
decisions that could affect the ultimate objectives. Simply
stated, the end-of-phase review meetings now focus more on
business decisions, rather than on technical decisions.

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6.9 THE BUSINESS OF SCOPE CHANGES
(Reading Ass.)

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Thank You!!!

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