Be a better project manager: skill up on Microsoft Project
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For much of the public sector, project management is only an emerging discipline - despite the size and scope of many development projects. As Nick Saalfeld finds out, there is a skills gap in the project management discipline, but plenty of training on offer in order to bridge the divide.
Project management needs a better press. The public sector suffers from the media perception that there are too many bureaucrats wasting public money on projects that over-run. Rather than hiding their light under a bushel, project managers need to shout about their contribution, because the role of the Project Manager (PM) is only going to grow, thanks to a renewed government focus on value.
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) analysed the performance of major public sector projects (not just in IT, and not just healthcare, either) and tried to identify the reasons for the failure of big projects. At number 4 on the list was “Poorly trained project managers”.
One of the reasons projects fail is lack of experience. Vince Hines of project management consultancy, Wellingtone, says, “60% of projects are run by people who have never run a project before. Traditionally that means a line manager, or a subject area expert. So we have lots of projects headed up by people who are unaware of the formal tools and techniques of project management. Furthermore, subject area experts will naturally focus on ‘their’ area, because it’s what most interests them; meaning other aspects of the project get forgotten.”
“A good project manager, meanwhile, when they find slippage on a project, will immediately look to recover it and get it back on track. To do that, you need to have a logically linked plan in the first place, with a lucid understanding of the dependencies involved. A good PM is logical, recognises the benefit of progressing the project plan, has the skills to evaluate its progress against a baseline, and also the people-skills needed to get people in over the weekend if he has to!”
The Project Management skills gap
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“Unfortunately, many projects don’t even get to the ‘logically linked plan’ stage.” Why is this? Independent research for Microsoft suggests that over 90% of major projects are managed using Microsoft Project (Server or Desktop editions), but Hines says that a lack of training means that many PMs – particularly those many first-timers – are ill-equipped to use it effectively or even scratch below the surface of its functionality: “I wouldn’t expect you to use Word if you couldn’t read and write”, he says, “Yet we give Microsoft Project to people who have no formal project management training, and there’s a fundamental flaw with that. PMs need the training both in basic techniques and the software to see real results.”
Improving project management
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As a step towards improving the quality of project management in government, the OGC has introduced Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O), which is a set of guidelines for establishing, developing and maintaining appropriate business support structures.
Bob Walker of Microsoft sees P3O as an important development, because it ties together business processes and software tools. “Government recognises that project management as a discipline is very important and requires investment, time and energy,” he says. “Government projects are actually closely monitored and audited. What I think we’ve got to do is complete the circle: government has historically been good at training people in the business process but hasn’t then invested time in training people on how to use the business process with the tools it gives them.”
Project management techniques have a much wider application than is sometimes recognised, argues Walker: “Even when you are managing something that is being outsourced, you still have to have a project programme management discipline to do that. Whether you’re looking at putting in a new IT system, or putting in a new claims or benefits system, these are massive complex projects that need management.”
Industry-acknowledged Project training from Microsoft
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Walker says there are three tiers of training on offer to Project Managers and the technology teams which support them. Advanced courses are available for Project Server users and administrators, but the Basic training course (Managing Projects, MCTS 70-632) is fine for managers of individual projects. He says, “The basic MCTS Desktop course is ideal for a standard Microsoft Project user on a standalone desktop PC. It gives an organisation the confidence that a PM – who often will have been brought in for the specific project – has reached a level of aptitude measurable across everyone else in the organisation.”
It’s also worth mentioning, he adds, that Microsoft Project is “highly configurable, and that means that working practices can change from job to job. At a time when all too many Microsoft Project users are self-taught, MCTS Desktop training is not just a benchmark for the employing organisation but also means that their PMs will use Project as the organisation would like it to be used.”
Hines’ company, Wellingtone, also recruits project managers for contracts in both the private and public sectors, and says that Microsoft qualifications like MCTS Desktop are recognised and respected in the marketplace. “Microsoft qualifications are considered formal training in the marketplace, and mark a candidate out for consideration. Above all, it proves that the candidate has the right knowledge and competence – rather than just saying ‘well, this is how I did it at my last job’. It’s the difference between mastery of the formal techniques of project management and just having a bit of experience.”
Walker agrees. “Doing the MCTS exams says that you have reached a certain standard of capability. It’s not just that you’ve been on a training course, it’s that you understand the tool to a certain level.” The certification provides a good differentiator, he adds: “As a manager, as soon as I’ve got someone who’s certified with an MCTS, then I know I can compare. If I was looking for the right person and the candidates were equal on business processes, on experience, on understanding of project management, but one person had the MCTS, I’d take that person.”