A Vision for an Engagement Management Services Organization

I’ve talked about this one before as well as re-iterated my discomfort with having an organization that separates project management completely from the sales or project initiation portion of an engagement. In my opinion it is wrong and it puts not only the PM but the company as a whole behind the 8 ball from the beginning in trying to deliver the right solution to the customer and keep them happy.

Any startup, small or even well established company that is proceeding down the path to a more structured and standardized organization could benefit from this mentality. Project Management needs to be first and foremost in their minds as they work to engage a new project or customer. Nothing bad will come from this early injection of PM, only good will be realized.  PMs or a PMO can provide an organization with proven leadership and defined processes that will help fill the gaps as an organization works to not only acquire new customers  but to really excel in performing for all customers.  The right processes will take an organization from a $50 million company to a $500 million company.  Product excellence and retention of customers is key, and you get there by engaging the right experience early in the process.

What I am really proposing here as an ideal solution is an internal organization that oversees not just Project Management, but the entire delivery process and what that means to various parts of the organization (Sales, Accounting, Legal, IT, etc.).  It would eliminate the surprises that an organization is hit with on a weekly basis because they are still lacking particular structures and defined processes within the Sales to Delivery functionality.

I’ve included below a basic high-level definition of what I see the Engagement Management Services organization to be in a typical company.

Engagement Management Services

Engagement Management is a systematic approach that initiates with the sales process and ends with the engagement closing.  This typically has an accounting component associated with it – overseeing the profitability of project engagements within the organization.

Engagement Management would provide direct oversight of Project Management within the company.  Additionally, it would have touch points with Sales, Legal, Technical Professionals (developers, business analysts, network administrators, etc.), Accounting, and others as necessary.  The processes that Engagement Management follows would support the organization as a whole in delivering products and business capabilities, not just the individual groups.

Project Management is a more narrow focus of providing management of an organization’s projects.  Engagement Management would include Project Management, but would also focus on providing an organization’s enterprise-wide capabilities and services to outside customers and partners in an attempt to increase revenue and profitability while overseeing much of the Sales and other related areas that interact with the project and project teams as well as the customer.

Engagement Management would provide the tie between Sales and the actual technical solution.  It would be the glue that holds the delivery process together with the intent of avoiding many of the disconnects faced by organizations when Sales, IT and PM are all working under their own assumptions and priorities.  Currently, many organizations experience frustrating disconnects between Sales and Delivery.  I’ve been a part of organizations that experience these frustrations on a weekly basis.  An Engagement Management structure would help “standardize” the sales process and how that “sold” solution translates into a “delivery” solution.

A Proposed Organizational Structure

• CEO
  • Sales
  • CIO
    • Technical Staff
  • Engagement Management
    • Project Management Office
  • Operations
  • Etc.

Benefits of an Engagement Management organization:

• Customers see a standardized and professional engagement process across all implementations
• Brings all of PM together and allows for future growth
• Allows for the ability to standardize the PM approach and reporting
• Ability to define standardized PM templates and processes
• Not hindered or biased by a reporting relationship through Operations or IT
• Ability to define a change management process and change order/scope management process
• Engagement Management provides general oversight to all inputs and deliverables in the delivery process
  • Business Requirements Docuement (BRD) delivery and signoff
  • Statement of Work (SOW) delivery and signoff
  • Project Plan/timeframe definition
  • Solution or product implementation
  • Post-implementation reviews
  • Customer satisfaction

In my solution there would still be a PMO led by a PMO Director or at least a structure of PMs leading projects and reporting to a centralized leadership. The Engagement Management Services organization must be led by a very senior individual – preferably a VP.  All PM support personnel would report up through this person’s organization.

Summary

Some organizations are probably doing this now and doing it right. What I’m trying to say here is, if your organization is floundering because of the disconnect between PM and other support organizations, then incorporating an Engagement Management Services type structure to ensure that the proper oversight is given to mission critical engagements may be an answer. It’s frustrating for the customer and for the PMO to continue to deliver projects that are not what the customer wants and not in either organization’s best interests and and to continue to experience issues that could have been avoided had project management been brought into the process at the beginning.

RCM Technologies, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Project Solutions Group, Inc.

As reported by Global News Wire.

PENNSAUKEN, N.J., July 14, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — RCM Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:RCMT) announced the acquisition of Project Solutions Group, Inc. (PSG), a Marlborough, MA-based specialty provider of project portfolio management and training services for a diverse client base. PSG is a Microsoft Gold-Certified Partner with multiple offices and sales locations nationwide.

PSG has an attractive range of competencies that include Enterprise Project Management, Information Worker Solutions, Portals and Collaboration, and ISV (Independent Software Vendor)/Software Solutions. PSG’s major customers include American Family Insurance, Autodesk, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Continental Airlines, Intuit, M&T Bank, Microsoft, Revlon, Toys R Us and University of Wisconsin – Madison. A newly formed Enterprise Project Management business unit, which encompasses former PSG business, will be part of RCM’s Enterprise Business Solutions group under the leadership of Dale Mansour, RCM Senior Vice President. Former PSG principals Tom Westcott, Tod Monchecourt, and Anisha Mason will manage this new unit.

The RCM Enterprise Business Solutions group’s core mission is to create value-oriented offerings that produce proprietary customized solutions and include intellectual property by bundling software, systems, tools and services into integrated and comprehensive business and technology solutions. PSG’s services fit well within RCM’s overall strategy by complementing and supplementing its existing service offerings. By acquiring PSG, RCM has strengthened the foundational technology layer of its Enterprise Business Solutions group. PSG’s solution expertise, including its Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, enhances RCM’s diversified Microsoft-focused consulting and solution services.

Leon Kopyt, Chairman and CEO of RCM, commented: “We are pleased to welcome PSG into the RCM family and believe that their established Microsoft expertise will greatly contribute toward expanding our Enterprise Business Solutions offerings.”

Read more here.

Project Management Jobs

Mechanical Project Manager

Location:      Hampshire
Salary:      £40-45k + package
Company:      Management Recruitment Group
Job type:      Permanent

Role Summary:

One of the UK’s leading privately owned M&E Contractors with a proven track record in successful delivery of multi-million £ projects our client is seeking an experienced Mechanical Project Manager / Contracts Manager. Able to demonstrate a successful track record in management of projects values ranging up to £5m you will be responsible for timely completion to budget & spec.

The Company:

One of the UK’s leading privately owned specialist ME&P Contractors our client is able to offer their established client base co-ordinated Project Management service covering HVAC & electrical building services installations. In addition they are able to provide in-house ductwork fabrication, pipework prefabrication, refrigeration, electrical, and controls services. They have also taken a leading role in the monitoring and control of refrigerant gases and the introduction of alternative gases as recommended by the Institute of Refrigeration.

Flood Defence Project Manager

Location:      Bath, Avon
Salary:      unspecified
Company:      Project Resource
Job type:      Permanent

The role:
The client is seeking a Project Manager who has experience in flood defence as our client is a leading provider of integrated river and coastal management solutions.
The Project Manager will be part of a growing team that design sustainable projects for drainage, river, estuarine and coastal environments and help coastal communities adapt to climate change.

The Client:
The client are a leading consultancy with a global presence who specialise in environmental, water and energy projects. Our client is well established within there respective sectors and are at the forefront of sustainable projects.

Location: Wiltshire

Remuneration: Dependant on experience ( Basic salary plus good benefits package.)

Requirements:
The project Manager must have flood defence, coastal or river experience and have come from a technical background within this field as well as over 5 years Project Management experience. Degree qualifications would be preferable but not essential.

Job: Project Management Officer, London Borough of Tower Hamlets

• Employer: London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• Posted: 18 Jun 2009
• Location: London, Tower Hamlets
• Sector: Local Authority
• Position: Project Management Officer x 2
• Salary: £34,707 – £37,476

This post is within the Development and Renewal Directorate which brings together a number of key service areas including Strategy, Regeneration and Sustainability; Major Project Development, Development Decisions and Strategic Property; and, Olympic and Paralympic Games Liaison.

The Directorate also includes a dynamic Programmes, Performance and Accountability Team which is responsible for managing a number of strategic funding and grant programmes. Together the Directorate’s services offer a seamless approach to the co-ordination of the regeneration of the Borough in line with the needs and aspirations of local communities and the government’s agenda to build sustainable communities.

We are currently seeking 2 Project Management Officers to join our Programmes, Performance and Accountability Team. You will be responsible for monitoring funded projects to ensure that outputs, outcomes, service standards and expenditure targets are being met and appropriately evidenced. This will include making scheduled visits to advise/support lead partners and delivery organisations; the receiving, checking and verifying of projects claims and reports in line with agreed procedures.

Apply here..

Project And Portfolio Management Applications Get SaaS-y

Historically, project and portfolio management applications have been used by big companies to bring order to their IT management and software development processes. But in these days of tight budgets and increased need to control IT spending, SMBs could use some of those same capabilities.And they are getting them, with the growing number of PPM applications being offered today on a Software-as-a-Service basis, making them easier to scale to a midsize company’s needs and budget.

“We’ve seen a tremendous uptake in the on-demand business,” said Jose Mora, senior director of product marketing at CA, which unveiled an “Essentials” version of its CA Clarity PPM On-Demand application in April that’s easier to implement and is particularly suitable for midsize companies. CA is among a growing number of PPM software developers offering customers a greater range of hosted/on-demand PPM options.

Sales of CA’s on-demand PPM applications have been growing by a factor of three with sales to both new customers and customers switching from on-premise software, Mora said. But SaaS still accounts for only about 15 percent to 20 percent of the company’s PPM sales.

PPM company Planview, Austin, Texas, began offering a SaaS version of its portfolio management application in December, and that offering, combined with a hosted version of the vendor’s software, also accounts for 15 percent to 20 percent of the company’s sales, said Patrick Tickle, executive vice president of products. Compuware also provides a hosted version of its Changepoint PPM software.

All of this comes as the recession has had a mixed impact on demand for PPM applications, according to some of the leading PPM software vendors. Some companies have frozen or even slashed IT spending this year and that includes purchases of PPM software. But for others, the downturn has brought home the need for tools such as PPM to help get their IT operations under control and reduce costs.

Read the full story here.