New qualification for NGO Project Managers launches today

Occasionally, someone comes up with a new qualification, like PMI’s risk certificate, or the P3O exam.  But sometimes you get the impression that the qualification bodies are not exactly breaking new ground.  The PMD Pro (Project Management in Development Professional) qualification launches today, and does get credit for being original.

The qualification has been put together by APMG-International and PM4NGOs, and it was successfully piloted in South Africa and Zambia in March.  It’s aimed at project managers working in the development sector, and this is a growing employment sector for project managers. Read more »

Book review: PMP: Project Management Professional Exam Review Guide

PMP Project Management Professional Exam Review Guide has a practical, descriptive title – and it’s a practical, descriptive book.  Kim Heldman and Vanina Mangano have written this book specifically for those project managers aiming to sit their PMP exam.  It’s structured logically, taking you through the project lifecycle.

The book starts with a review of the foundations of a project: all the basics about what constitutes a project and the project environment.  Then it gets into the detail of what PMPs need to know to manage a project from start to finish.  It covers Initiating, has a large section on Planning, followed by Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing.  Finally, the book ends with an interesting section on social and professional responsibility – something all project managers, regardless of whether they choose the PMI accreditation route or not, should be interested in.

Each chapter finishes with review questions so that you can test yourself against what you have learned.  I also liked the ‘Exam Essentials’ boxes that are scattered throughout the text and highlight key pointers essential for exam success.

Overall, the book is graphically very interesting and the authors use a lot of diagrams, graphs and charts to make learning the PMP syllabus more appealing.  However, a lot of the book is made up of lists, especially inputs and outputs of processes.  This is because the book is essentially a review guide, not a comprehensive study tool by itself.  It is a partner text to the Sybex PMP: Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide, which is twice as fat.  As a result, the Review Guide covers the topics in exactly that – review format.  It’s not the most comprehensive of texts, but it is concise, which is perfect if you don’t want to carry your copy of PMBoK or the Study Guide around with you all the time.

It’s difficult to read the Review Guide from start to finish, and it probably wasn’t designed to be used that way.  This is perhaps why it has a fabulous index.  It’s not a habit of mine to praise the index in books, but I did find this one really good!

Overall,  my experience of this book is that it is solid but dry, and the review questions at the end of each chapter are the only place where you’ll find any reference to scenarios or real life.  The bulk of the text focuses squarely on getting a candidate through the exam, and it wiill certainly help do that.  It also comes with a CD, which is another learning aid.

If you are studying for the PMP exam and need a handy reference guide to the key processes, this could be a good book for you.  However, if you want to learn how to manage a project and put those skills to work in the real world, don’t start with this book.  It is good, but only for the right audience – and that’s prospective PMP candidates.

Construction Software State of the Industry from Software Advice

My friends at Software Advice have sent over another interesting original article that they have put together pertaining to software in the construction industry. This one comes from Houston Neal and it kicks off a series of reports the group is doing on trends within the construction software industry. Please visit their site at www.softwareadvice.com for the original report.

Construction Software State of the Industry Report

This is the first in a series of “state of the industry” reports in which we will share our observations on construction software industry trends. While reporting the recessive state of the industry is not breaking news, there are some interesting trends that we can share. Not everything is gloomy, and significant technological shifts are underway.

Our observations are based on roughly 6,000 conversations with construction software buyers over the past year. In these calls, our team listened to buyers’ “pain points” – the business problems they were looking to solve with new software. From there, we recommended what we felt were the best solutions. We later surveyed each buyer to find out if they ended up buying software, what they bought and how it all went.

Estimating and takeoff solutions are in demand

We’ve seen a very healthy level of interest in construction estimating software across all divisions. Over and over we hear contractors saying something to the effect of, “Bidding has gotten very competitive, which means I’ve got to be as accurate as possible.” As a result, we’ve seen a lot of estimators replacing their spreadsheets and manual processes with database-driven estimating systems.

We’ve also seen plenty of interest in on-screen takeoff software. We’ve seen three primary reasons for this:

• Increasing the speed and accuracy of takeoff measurements (see previous paragraph);
• Avoiding the printing costs of paper plans; and,
• Responding to increasing electronic plan delivery and use of online plan rooms.

While demand for onscreen takeoff appears fairly strong and growing, we have seen a considerable amount of downward pricing pressure in that market.

Software as a Service is in the right place at the right time

Software as a Service (SaaS) is gaining momentum in many software markets. In fact, we would agree with other IT prognosticators that SaaS is a major structural shift in software deployment and is here to stay. We’ve seen this model succeed in the project management segment where there is a clear need for the collaborative benefits of web-based software. Moreover, the current recession is making the SaaS model more attractive to contractors because:

• Subscription pricing can easily be added to a project’s general conditions;
• Low up-front costs allow project managers to avoid an onerous approval process; and,
• Faster and less expensive implementation makes the new systems more digestible.

We have not seen much demand for SaaS accounting, estimating or service management, although we do get asked about it now and then. We also have not seen many vendors emerge to deliver that sort of solution. We would not be surprised to see SaaS accounting and/or estimating solutions emerge over the next few years.

LEED credit tracking creates new demand

Another trend driving the adoption of SaaS project management systems is the increasing demand for LEED credit tracking. LEED certification has grown in popularity; so too has the need to track the detailed documentation requirements related to earning LEED credits. At their core, projects seeking LEED certification need document control and efficient communication. This is the core of what project management systems deliver. Going one step further, we are seeing a number of project management vendors building in specific LEED credit tracking modules within their system. Houston Neal wrote a great post on how to Track LEED v3 Credits in Project Management Software back in July.

Stimulus funds are trickling down, slowly

Government and other civil construction has remained healthier than commercial and residential construction. However, we have not seen the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) have a big impact on software spending. We believe that the temporary nature of stimulus spending is not enduring enough to drive capital investment in software systems. Our hope is that ARRA will help accelerate the economy to a point where traditional IT investment levels resume. However, Chris Thorman recently wrote a quick analysis of the ARRA that showed that stimulus spending has had a nominal effect on putting roughly 1.6 million unemployed construction workers back on the job.

There has been speculation that Stimulus-funded construction projects would drive sales of project management software. The thinking behind the forecast was that ARRA projects would require a higher level of accountability. Project management software – known for strong document tracking capabilities – would provide the audit trail needed for this transparency. However, we have not seen this translate into a meaningful increase in sales.

Fewer accounting & job costing replacements

We’ve seen fewer firms replacing their core accounting and job costing systems over the last year. In prior years, we had seen replacement activity when company growth pushed existing systems to their limits. In the absence of growth, more firms seem to be staying put with their existing systems. Firms that are buying new accounting systems tend to identify one or more of the following three pain points:

• Inability to achieve detailed job cost reporting from “generic” accounting systems;
• Lack of integration to project management or service management systems; and,
• The need to accomplish same amount of work with fewer employees.

Outlook for 2010

As the construction industry begins to rub its sleepy eyes, we agree with most experts who say that 2010 will be a transitional yet slow year for the industry as a whole. Company budgets likely won’t fully recover in 2010, limiting the purchase of construction software. However, so far we’ve noticed more activity this quarter than any other this year. Hopefully this level of interest will carry over to 2010.

This article originally published at: Construction Software State of the Industry Report.

Phases of a Construction Project Life Cycle – Part 4

In Part 4 we will examine the final two construction project phases as described by F. Lawrence Bennett in his book “The Management of Construction – A Project Lifecycle Approach.” In this final installment, we review the project operations and project closeout and termination phases.

Project operations phase

In presenting the contractor’s activities on the construction site, we will suggest, perhaps too simply, that the responsibilities involve three basic areas: monitoring and control, resource management and documentation and communication. Five aspects of monitoring and controlling the work are important. Actual schedule progress must be compared against the project program to determine whether the project is on schedule; if it is not, actions must be undertaken to try to bring the program back into conformance. Likewise, the cost status must be checked to establish how actual performance compares with the budget. An equally important part of monitoring and control is quality management, to assure that the work complies with the technical requirements set forth in the contract documents. In addition, the contractor has an important role to play in managing the work safely and in a way that minimizes adverse environmental impacts.

In managing the project’s resources, the contractor will, first, be concerned with assigning and supervising personnel and assuring that the labor effort is sufficiently productive to meet schedule, cost and quality goals. In addition, materials and plant must be managed so that these same goals are met. Because construction projects require large amounts of paperwork, a special effort is required to manage this documentation effectively. Examples include the various special drawings and samples that must be submitted to the owner or design professional for approval prior to installation, the frequent need to respond to requests for changes in the project after the on-site work has begun and the all-important process for periodically assessing the value of work completed and requesting payment for this work. Various on-line and other electronic means are available to assist contractors with document management and project communications.

Project closeout and termination phase

Finally, as the project nears completion, a number of special activities must take place before the contractor’s responsibilities can be considered complete. There are the various testing and startup tasks, the final cleanup, various inspections and remedial work that may result from them and the process of closing the construction office and terminating the staff’s employment. In addition, a myriad of special paperwork is required, including approvals and certifications that allow the contractor to receive final payment, a set of as-built drawings that include all changes made to the original design, operating manuals, warranties and a final report. The contractor will also be responsible for transferring and archiving project records and will conduct some sort of project critique and evaluation; operator training may also be part of the contractor’s contractual responsibilities.

The Misconception of PMP Certification

I can’t get in to the PM Tips site at the moment due to a server issue in order to post comments, so I’m just going to write an article on the subject…since I think I can post an article through the login.

There have been great comments and discussions on the article I wrote entitled “Project Management: Is PMP Certification Worth It?” In fact, there have been nearly 100 comments posted on this article – by far the most of any on the site. I appreciate everyone’s comments and I think it’s been an incredible discussion – and it’s probably convinced many non-certified PMs to just go ahead and get certification.

The Premise

Remember, the premise of the article is that HR departments and hiring managers are becoming lazy in this job market by requiring PMs to have certification to even be considered for a position – it is happening on many jobs that are up for grabs out there. However, the overall perception is, it’s a game…if you want to play you probably should get certified. I agree.

Direction of Recent Comments

The comments are still coming through, but now they’re only trickling in. And what’s coming through now is equating PMP certification to an MD, or a CPA, or a certified CPR. I’d like to get my two cents in on these comparisons. I think they’re crazy.  (The comparisons, I mean…not the people making them.)

While all of those are important, they don’t equate to what a PM does. First, it’s not illegal for a PM to practice project management without certification. No one’s life is at stake. It is, however, very illegal to practice medicine without the degree. And sure, a person can administer CPR without being certified and a person can do taxes or manage your finances without being a CPA, but you’re probably more comfortable with a CPA doing your taxes. And as one comment suggested, if two people are standing over you when you’re choking and one is certified in CPR and the other isn’t but just knows it, you’d probably choose the certified CPR person if you’re given the choice. I would too.

Applicable to PMP?

How does this compare or apply to PMP certification? It doesn’t at all. PMP certification indicates you have a minimum amount of experience and passed a test so you know the fundamentals of PM and the PMI methodologies. What it doesn’t indicate are the soft skills that a PM must have to be very successful. A CPA or a person who is CPR-certified really doesn’t have to have the same interpersonal skills. They wife of a choking victim doesn’t care if the CPR responder can negotiate with someone or interact with the crowd of bystanders. They have one job to do and that’s it. The person having their taxes done by a CPA doesn’t care if that individual knows how to massage a customer and smooth over bad news. Or lead a team of project resources every day to accomplish all of the behind the scenes tasks. Not at all. They only care if their taxes are done correctly. And the CPA is pretty much a one-man show and he does the taxes correctly and that’s it. No song and dance.

For the PM, things are different. The work is not more critical or more important, just different. The PM must be able to inspire a team, bring confidence to a customer, manage a multi-million dollar project, answer to executive management, keep the CEO happy and do this on several projects at once. Again, not more important, just very different. And lots of soft skills that no test can ever validate. You either have it or you don’t. Some of these things you can’t get no matter how much experience you have, but experience usually can help you get there on most of them. Pass a test and getting certified won’t get you there.

I’ve been called in to fix projects where the customer was dissatisfied with the way the project was going so many times that I’ve lost count. A test doesn’t validate leadership, confidence, and that kind of experience.

Final Thought

So, yes, we all probably should be certified because that’s just the nature of how things are going. But, in my opinion, it’s very short-sighted to equate the PMP to an MD, a CPA, or CPR certification. It’s apples and oranges.