May 2009 EMPOWERING PROJECT DRIVEN BUSINESSES Issue 7 Dear Readers, POINT OF VIEW n many instances, I usually get asked if it is true that project Imanagement is only applicable PROJECT MANAGEMENT to construction, oil and gas, IT and other mega projects. My answer is always “no”, because frankly, proj- PROCESSES FOR PUBLICLY ect management is no more than common sense being applied in a TRADED COMPANIES formal and rational way. Human beings have been doing projects as (Part 1 of 2) early as when they rst go to school ® (if not earlier). Projects could vary Bassam Samman, PMP , PSP, EVP | CEO & Founder from having a birthday party, taking a vacation, learning a new language, cooking a meal, having friends over for a movie and many others. Regretfully, the majority of these projects and many other mega projects are being managed by project managers who did not get for- mal project management training thus making them what is known as “accidental project managers”. These are project managers who have been given the responsibility to manage project investments and teams but do not have formal knowledge of what it takes to man- age a project successfully. Of course many might argue and say that many of these who have been called “accidental project managers” have successfully delivered some of the most important projects of the world compared to those who have become formally certied project managers, and my response is, that is true. But is it not also true that this is the case with many common sense activities such as playing an instrument, learning a language, swimming and riding a bicycle, among many others? or organizations that their what they promise. The importance of formal project management training is that we business be project driven, Project management looks can ensure that project managers and team players have common un- Fapplying professional proj- into every project in terms of derstanding of project management terminologies and the particulars ect management practices would ve processes. The rst process of this science. This will help project managers to better manage their enable them to proactively bal- is known as the project initiation projects and increase their chances of success. ance the business requirements where its objective is to dene To help these organizations and individuals whose growth and for delivering a project and at the project and explain why it is success depends on delivering successful projects, CMCS will start the same time the expectations of needed. This requires studying offering new training programs that are designed to offer project stakeholders. Project management the business case that identies managers the exibility to choose the topics that they are interested provides the tools and techniques the need for the project as well in instead of having a single program that covers all. that addresses the project triple as the project feasibility study re- We at CMCS will continue to listen to what the market needs and constraints namely time, cost and port. This will enable the organi- respond positively to those needs. scope. zation to clearly state the project Project management process- objectives, scope, needs dates, Keep tuned to our monthly newsletter. es aim to manage the life cycle of budget, risks, assumptions and a project which details the phases constraints. It will also enable Best regards, that a project will go through to them to identify what will make Bassam Samman convert the needs and ideas that this project a success and how were the reason for creating a to measure this success. These project into tangible products and ndings will be documented in IN THIS ISSUE services. These processes will also a report known as the project Message from CEO .................................................................................. 1 address how to identify, analyze charter. When this charter is ap- Primavera Success Story ......................................................................... 2 and manage the dynamic stake- proved by senior management, it Project Management Professional Certication......................................... 4 holder needs. Should these pro- will become a formal document Enterprise Project Portfolio Management ................................................. 5 cesses get implemented properly that will authorize the project Professional’s Corner .............................................................................. 6 by experienced, skilled and quali- manager to proceed with the Service Review ........................................................................................ 7 ed project team members, then project. CMCS News ........................................................................................... 8 there will be a greater chance that The second group of pro- Featured Employee ................................................................................ 10 projects will be delivered on time, cesses is known as the planning CMCS Wins ........................................................................................... 11 within budget and in accordance processes. The objective of these CMCS Course News .............................................................................. 12 to the set scope of work. Achiev- processes is to delineate the road Tech Talk ............................................................................................... 14 ing these objectives will enable map that the project life cycle CMCS Events ........................................................................................ 14 business-driven organizations to must go through to produce the Q&A ...................................................................................................... 15 meet their stakeholder expecta- deliverables that the project has Course Calendar ................................................................................... 16 tions and increase condence on Continued on page 3>> ABOUT CMCS SUCCESS STORY: PARSONS AND PRIMAVERA: INTEGRATION OF Our Vision Empowering project driven businesses to enable TECHNOLOGY AND PROCESSES them to get rid of failed project investments FOR COMPETITIVE EDGE Our Mission To help organizations deliver a complete solution to propose, prioritize and select strategic project ecognizing the opportunity for seam- investments and then to plan, manage and control less integration and standardization their entire portfolio through to its successful R of both technology and business pro- completion. Our solutions are custom tailored to cesses, Parsons pulled all programs together ® each organization’s needs. They include developing with Primavera software. policies that are in line with internationally recognized standards and enabling the organization to deploy Optimizing Project Management them by developing their resources’ skills to enable Processes them to take ownership of the solution and providing For most engineering and construction state-of-the-art IT tools to support the solution companies, coordination is not an easy task. operation. This was the case for Parsons Corporation. The organization is a full-service engineering, proj- Products That We Represent ect management, and construction management company that is known for its ability to create innovative solutions and manage complex proj- ects. The company employs 9,500 engineers, designers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel in more than 80 countries. At any giv- en time, the internationally recognized company source, you know that all of the numbers are has more than 2,500 clients and 8,000 projects correct and that everyone has the same infor- worldwide. The largest of the ve operating mation, from the project engineer to the proj- business units—the Parsons Infrastructure & ect manager up through the corporation to Technology Group (I&T)—oversees 4,000 the President of Parsons I&T and the CEO of the organization’s projects while managing of Parsons, Inc.” commented Stultz. 5,000 employees and approximately 1,000 sub- “We believe integration is where project contracted workers. control is headed, and where it has to be,” Professional Education Bodies At any given time, Parsons I&T works Stultz added. “We view this philosophy as a That We Are Certied At on approximately 1,000 projects simultane- way to integrate business processes, not just ously. The group also supplies project con- software solutions. By enforcing an overall trol support to other Parsons companies. The program control cycle, projects are unlikely group wanted to consolidate its projects into to be over budget and/or experience delays, APPROVED EDUCATION PROVIDER programs for use in a multi-user environ- which leads to substantial savings in overall ment where consistent access to project data revenue. is needed to maintain control of the projects We are currently in the process of inte- and the 6,000-member team. The business grating Primavera with human resources and unit was able to accomplish its objectives by accounting systems, as well as our analyti- integrating Primavera with all of its disparate cal tools and cost engines. This strategy has software systems. proved to be more cost effective in terms of time and money than developing our own in- Parsons’ Philosophy house system.” of Integration “It gives us an advantage over our com- Parsons I&T realized that one application petitors when we utilize more advanced ap- does not t all projects–small projects require plications, integrate