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by Vladimir Mikheev and David Pells
Modern project management is a powerful transformational management technology that has now been undeniably shown to help individuals and organizations successfully plan and accomplish many difficult programs and projects around the world. The Third Wave of professional Project and Program Management (P&PM) is a new Management Paradigm which, on the one hand, reflects the needs of a modern advanced economy, and on the other - meets the requirements for professional ethics and universal values of the authors.
Following the widespread advance and usage of modern P&PM across all industries and geographic regions, it is time for organizations to realize the maximum potential of this powerful technology. A view of this new paradigm can allow executives to understand how modern project management can provide a strategic resource through which almost anything can be accomplished. The authors call this new paradigm "The Third Wave of professional Project and Program Management".
The Third Wave of modern professional P&PM is examined in the context of organizations, the importance and selection of projects, the strategic importance of P&PM expertise and ethical behavior, and the potential for organizations to be more successful with great positive impact on the world. In order to appreciate that potential, however, some basic knowledge and understanding of the history, trends and current status of modern P&PM is necessary.
Read the full text at The Third Wave – A New Management Paradigm for Project and Program Management
by Laurence Nicholson
It seems that everywhere you look these days, someone is writing up a horror story about Project failures and the lack of benefits associated with Project Management or a PMO (Project Management Office).
Having been involved in a number of PMO implementations, there seems to be a theme appearing relating to what I call the softer aspects of the project, namely the change impacts.
A lot of time is dedicated to identifying the 'hard' tasks of defining the charter, business case, WBS (more on this later), risks, communications plan, scope and schedule, all of which are important, but little time is dedicated to the 'soft' tasks associated with HR Management.
At the end of the day, it pays to remember the soft skills of people management when implementing a PMO, as the PMO should be a center of excellence within the organization, and be a driving force behind change programs and a source of support for all resources.
Read the full text at The Softer Side to PMO Implementation
by Brian Willard
Project Management has traditionally viewed success and failure based on three metrics, those being: on time, on budget and meets specifications. However, today’s IT, and other areas, are looking to the PM’s to implement successful systems that actually succeed. This paper lists examples of projects that failed in the traditional PM metrics, yet are great successes. In contrast, projects that fully met or exceeded the metrics, yet were complete failures. This demonstrates the need for identifying, and monitoring different metrics at appropriate timeframes and using formal and informal processes for measuring the metrics.
Traditional Project Management metrics have served the PM community well over the years. However, these metrics are very often shortsighted in their view of whether a project will ultimately be successful or a failure in real business measurements. Identifying metrics and monitoring them throughout the process and as one or more post implementation audits is essential to fully understanding the success of the project in both implementation and business perspectives. The PM needs to not strictly focus on the specs, money and time; in many cases, this shortsightedness may doom a project’s ultimate goal.
Read the full text at Project Success; Looking Outside Traditional Project Metrics
Editorial Policy: The PMFORUM® has no connection to any national or international project management organization nor does it reflect the policy of any project management professional or commercial organization. The PMFORUM® maintains an objective and impartial view of project management affairs. In the interests of advancing professional project management the PMFORUM® will publish contending and objective views on issues that reflect collegial differences and perspectives