How Much Effort Should Scope Definition Take?

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We’ve looked at how you go about communicating scope, now let’s look at the concept of how much effort should go into defining the scope of your project or product development process. This article is based somewhat on text from the book “Customer-Centered Products” by Hooks and Farry.

Scope definition is one of the most critical aspects of project or product management. Without proper scope definition, a project is destined to experience continual scope creep resulting in ongoing timeline and budgeting issues.

When the scope creep happens, the only way around the timeline and budgeting issues will be to introduce many change orders to your customer which will likely decrease their satisfaction level significantly. You’ll still have the timeline issues and the budget issues, but you’ll be able to justify them with the stack of change orders – assuming the customer actually approves all of them rather than flat out canceling the project altogether out of frustration. A much better route is to spend the proper amount of time up front correctly identifying and documenting scope and gaining agreement with the customer on that carefully defined scope. Read more »

A Project Management Historical Timeline

While reviewing my latest copy of Project Manager Today – a UK-based PM magazine – I was reading their article entitled “A Profession is Born” which looks back on the 20-year history of the publication. Included in the article is a timeline of some key points in project management history – though with a very UK twist to it.

I decided to put together a more all-inclusive timeline by grabbing some info from Wikipedia and whatever other sources I could find.  The resulting timeline follows – I hope you find it as interesting as I did. If you have anything that should be added or revised – please let me know…I’m always interested in accuracy and completeness.

Project Management Timeline

1910s

• 1910 – The Gantt Chart developed by Henry Laurence Gantt (1861–1919)

1950s

• 1954 – Bernard Shriever (US Air Force) coins the term Project Management
• 1956 - The Critical path method (CPM) invented by Du Pont employees
• 1956 – The American Association of Cost Engineers (now AACE International) formed
• 1958 – The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) method invented and used on the Polaris project

1960s

• 1962 – DoD/NASA publish a description of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• 1967 – The International Project Management Association (IPMA) founded in Europe
• 1969 – Project Management Institute (PMI) launched to promote project management profession

1970s

• 1973 – International Computers Limited (ICL) offer PERT on a mainframe computer
• 1974 -PROMPT method launched (later known as PRINCE2)
• 1975 – PROMPTII methodology created by Simpact Systems Ltd (source: PRINCE2 manual)
• 1975 – The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by Fred Brooks published
• 1979 – Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA – later known as Office of Government Commerce or OGC – UK) adopt PROMPT II

1980s

• 1980 – First ‘on screen’ bar chart on early PCs
• 1981 – UK Army adopts PROMPT method
• 1984 – The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt published
• 1986 – Scrum was named as a project management style in the article The New New Product Development Game by Takeuchi and Nonaka
• 1987 – First Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide (PMBoK) published as a white paper by PMI
• 1989 – PRINCE method derived from PROMPTII is published by the UK Government agency CCTA and becomes the UK standard for all government information projects

1990s

• 1996 PRINCE2 published by CCTA (now OGC) as a generic product management methodology for all UK government projects.
• 1996 – First published edition of the PMBoK appears
• 1997 – Critical Chain by Eliyahu M. Goldratt published

2000s

• 2000 PMBoK second edition published
• 2001 Agile Alliance formed to promote “lightweight” software development projects
• 2004 PMBoK third edition published
• 2006 Total Cost Management Framework release by AACE
• 2008 PMBoK fourth edition published

Project Manager of the Year Award

As reported in Trading Markets.

New York, NY, Jul 02, 2009 (PRWeb.com via COMTEX) — JW/A | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating — International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL) has opened the application process for the 2009 Kerzner International Project Manager of the Year(TM) Award. A global leader in professional training in Project, Program, and Portfolio Management, Business Analysis, Microsoft(R) Office Project and Project Server, PRINCE2(R), and Lean Six Sigma, IIL established this prestigious international award in 2006 to recognize project management professionals who demonstrate superior performance, outstanding skills, and innovative project management techniques, as well as those who make significant contributions in business, industry, government, community, or not-for-profit environments. The Award bears the name of Dr. Harold Kerzner, Ph.D, M.S., and M.B.A., Senior Executive Director of IIL. Considered by many to be “the father of modern project management,” he is an expert in the areas of project, program, and portfolio management and is the author of a number of best-selling project management textbooks, including Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, which is now in its tenth edition. His most recent textbook, Value-Driven Project Management (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) will be released in September of this year.

“Dr. Harold Kerzner is a true visionary in the field of project management and it is with great pride that we pay tribute to his contributions through the Kerzner International Project Manager of the Year(TM) Award,” said E. LaVerne Johnson, Founder, President, and CEO of IIL. “IIL is delighted to reward outstanding professionals for their dedication to the pursuit of project management excellence.”

Previous winners of the award have seen tremendous growth in their professional endeavors as a result of the honor. “Following my selection as International Project Manager of the Year, I have been very satisfied to see my career make a ‘quantum leap’, my network expand, and my credibility grow. The honor has elevated my status in the field, resulting in a new career opportunity that has profoundly changed my life and the lives of my family,” said Scot Hanley, PMP, MCP, 2008 Kerzner International Project Manager of the Year. “I have also been asked to contribute to Dr. Kerzner’s latest book and have been invited to lecture regularly on project management at the University of Alabama.”

To be eligible, candidates must possess the PMI(R) PMP(R) cred

Agile Project Management and a SIEBEL PM Job

A rather thought provoking article I came across on Agile Project Management.

Agile teams: Focus on the people rather than the process

Rick Freedman believes the agile PM’s most important roles are to create a collaborative environment that enables teams to achieve creative results and to encourage contributors to focus on group goals and agendas rather than the individual.

The NBA Finals are over, and LA Lakers coach Phil Jackson has broken the record of the legendary Red Auerbach by leading his team to the NBA championship for the 10^th time. Jackson’s ability to coach superstar players Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, and to get superstar results from role players Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher, illustrates that leadership matters, and that a group of skilled, confident, and occasionally arrogant individuals can be guided to success and can coalesce as a team.

While other coaches struggle with players who are more interested in individual statistics and personal highlight reels than in getting team results, Jackson has been able to channel the ambitions and skills of his players, both in Chicago and Los Angeles, towards team achievement. Shaquille O’Neal and Scottie Pippen make winning championships a bit easier, but, despite all the outstanding players in the NBA, no other coach demonstrates Jackson’s ability to inspire teams to great outcomes.

What does the NBA have to do with agile PM?

Like Jackson, agile project managers often have teams composed of supremely skilled and confident contributors. Like Jackson, many agile project managers often struggle to get arrogant or immature team members to subsume their personal ambitions and instead focus on team results. And, like Jackson, agile project managers must develop a leadership style that inspires and enables team members to achieve.

The coaching metaphor is, in my view, an appropriate analogy to illustrate the type of project leadership that agile methods require. Great agile project managers are coaches, with the critical understanding that, whether it’s shooting hoops or developing software, only the player can make the right decision under the pressure of the moment. Creating the environment that enables the experts to do what they do and setting the strategy while allowing the players to create are attributes of a winning coach and an agile project leader.

SIEBEL CRM Senior Project Manager.

Our global multinational client in the french speaking part of Switzerland is now looking for a Senior Siebel Project Manager/Program Manager to join the project on a long term basis here in the French speaking part of Switzerland.

THE ROLE:
Senior PM for Siebel implementation with role evolving to Program Manager (multiple projects/more countries) as Siebel initiative is planned across next 3 years. You will be in charge of the overall Siebel global implementation.

YOU NEED:
At least 8 years CRM projects, Siebel experience (SFA/BI/Call Centre), global/large scale projects(multi-country deployment), strong project management skills (end-to-end project life cycle, good command of all project areas; technical, process, change, etc), process manufacturing experience, strong communications skills, experience of vendor management.

• University degree or equivalent. Good education is mandatory.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken)
• At least 10 years large complex international experience in delivery of IT/consulting services in the area of CRM with in-depth expertise in implementing CRM software such as Oracle CRM/Siebel
• Experience on business process re-engineering;
• Experience in international working environments; Experience of off-shore delivery model
• Management of project teams
• Advanced business consulting competencies

Nice to have:

• Deep understanding of leading and emerging IT solutions; experience of Siebel on-demand will be appreciated
• Selling skills on high added value services
• Good business acumen for marketing and sales in specific industry/process manufacturing/pharmaceutical/chemical are an advantage

Project Management Jobs

Project Management-Oman-Construction

Location: South Island
Salary: Negotiable
Company: Globester Recruitment
Sector: Building services
Job role: Project manager
Job type: Permanent

The client is a leader in the construction and engineering industries in Oman. With 30 years experience in this sector.

The company have an urgent requirement for a Project Manager to join their team in Oman. The successful candidate will have experience and knowledge of the Middle East construction sector.

The Requirements
o The candidate need to have a civil engineering degree
o At least 10 years experience in roads ,bridges and pipelines
o  Strong ability to successfully manage, delegate and motivate others
o  Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
o  Good technical skills
o  Fluency in English is required

This is an urgent requirement and to be considered for this position applicants should fulfill the above client requirements to be considered.

If you are suit this role and possess the relevant skills and experience please forward your CV for review to the email address provided. You will be contacted by a representative from Globester Recruitment to discuss before your application is sent to the client.

Please register your interest by emailing your CV to the email address provided (matt@globesterrecruitment.com) .

For all national and international vacancies, please log on to www.globesterjobs.com

Project Quality Manager

Location: Oman
Salary: £65000 – £85000 per annum + Car + Housing + Flights
Company: Digby Morris
Sector: Oil / Gas / Power
Job role: Civil engineer
Job type: Permanent

The Company

Digby Morris’ client has been providing a comprehensive range of professional services to the power industry for over 100 years. They focus on long term partnerships with their customers to develop and execute effective solutions to a diverse range of energy challenges facing the industry such as meeting growing energy demand, maximizing performance of existing assets, and reducing carbon footprint.

Their capabilities and experience cover the full spectrum of professional services from pre-feasibility and environmental delivered through Select to full scope project delivery and support of operations, including operations and maintenance of the asset via their ‘improve offering’.

They optimize their customer’s investments across the entire asset life cycle, from detailed engineering, through vendor quality assurance, construction management to start-up and operations. They pride themselves on a culture characterized by flexibility, capability and partnering. They can act as the prime contractor or work as a member of a joint venture to deliver the most effective service to meet their customers’ needs.

Purpose of the Job

To effectively manage the Quality Assurance / Quality Control resources required to safely execute and handover the Harweel project on schedule, to quality specifications and budget in a way that fulfils PDO’s policy of sustained mutually beneficial relationships with stakeholders and the environment.