Project Management: Role, Career, or Profession?, Lecture notes of Project Management

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MODULE 1 UNIT 1

What is project

management?

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Table of contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. What is a project?
• 3. Project management: Role, career, or profession?
• 4. Summary
• 5. References

Uncertainty: Uncertainty is defined as “something that is not able to be accurately known or predicted”, as opposed to risk, which is the possibility of misfortune or loss. Figure 1: The attributes of a project. Have a look at the following examples. Would you consider them to be projects?

• The construction of the pyramids;
• A meeting or workshop;
• A call centre enquiry;
• Moving a company from one building to another;
• Getting married;
• A corporate event;
• Designing and developing a new product, and
• Building a house. Actually, true to the definition, all of the above could be defined as projects. A call centre enquiry is a temporary endeavour (each query will be unique) with a defined beginning and end (usually, all centre queries have to be dealt with in a specific timeframe) and a clear objective. Some of the other examples are more obvious – constructing a house or building the pyramids, for example; and moving offices requires many project management skills. With this in mind, why is it that a call centre query isn’t thought of as a project?

The key difference between a call centre query and, say, a corporate event, is that you are only likely to apply formal project management techniques to the latter. You are unlikely to create a project plan and schedule every time you handle a call centre query, but you will each time you plan and host a corporate event. While the sequence of activities required for a call centre query is implied (for example, you can’t address the query before you have answered the phone), you will not need to formally create a schedule to help you plan the process. A corporate event, on the other hand, would benefit greatly from tools such as work breakdown structures, network diagrams, and Gantt charts (all concepts to be covered in detail in Module 7 of Topic 1: Foundations of Project Management). So while nearly everything can be described as a project to the pedantic project manager, only specific projects will normally follow detailed project management processes. Have a look at the other examples and consider how they fit the definition and attributes of a project.

Projects vs. operations

To develop the definition of a project: A project is temporary with a defined beginning and end. In other words, the project only happens once: it is unique. The design of a new product is, then, a project, because once the design is complete and signed off, you will not complete this task again. On the other hand the daily production of these new products in a factory setting is not a project. Once the product moves out of design and into mass production, it becomes part of ongoing operations. When the same product is being produced en masse, there is no unique outcome. There is also no defined beginning or end as production continues indefinitely until the product is no longer needed or until a new product is designed that will replace it. The day-­‐to-­‐day financial activities performed in an organisation are also operations, while the planning and execution of a year-­‐end party for the finance department is a project. There are a few similarities between projects and operations:

• Both are performed by people (and therefore require good people management skills, a concept to be covered in detail in the second topic of this programme).
• Both are constrained by the resources that are or are not available.
• Both require monitoring and controlling. Table 1 highlights the differences between projects and operations:

“…the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements”. The interesting thing to note here is that people may be applying project management knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques without being aware that they are actually engaging in project management. Many people who manage projects are not formally known as project managers. Project management can be discussed as:

• A role or job performed by an individual when the need arises, even though this job or role does not form part of their official title or career path.
• A career, whereby people start as project team members, business analysts, general managers, or a host of other positions and progress to a project management role.
• A profession, as official certification can be obtained, and in many parts of the world, must be obtained, in order to work as a project management professional. Nature vs. nurture Are project managers born or made? Certain elements of project management, such as functional knowledge and technical expertise, are learned later in life, and are therefore not innate qualities. Other qualities, such as natural leadership skills and determination to achieve your aims, can arguably be said to be innate traits, present from birth and developed during adulthood. To read more about this and add your opinion to the debate, please visit this PMI blog article. 3.1 Project management as a role Typically, a project manager or individual performing the project management function will be responsible for the following tasks:
• Determine, agree to and sign off the project objectives.
• Represent stakeholders on the project team and ensure that the project is executed with the stakeholders’ interests in mind.
• Manage the many and diverse team members required for the project to run smoothly.
• Perform a risk assessment and identify and mitigate potential risks that may affect the project.
• Ensure that all of the objectives of the project are met, including the pre-­‐defined levels of quality to be built into the finished product, service, or result.
• Recruit the necessary people required for the project, which may include external contractors and specialists, who will in turn require monitoring and controlling.

• Keep track of the financial side of the project. Have a look at these examples for how employers might go about developing a job description for a project management recruitment advertisement:
• http://hrcouncil.ca/hr-­‐toolkit/right-­‐people-­‐job-­‐descriptions-­‐project-­‐manager.cfm
• http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-­‐best-­‐practices/recruiting-­‐hiring-­‐advice/job-­‐ descriptions/project-­‐manager-­‐job-­‐description-­‐sample.aspx If you were to apply for either of the above job descriptions right now, what do you think your chances are of getting the job? What areas do you need to improve in, and what can you already do? It is worth keeping these strengths and areas for growth in mind as you move through the programme. 3.2 Project management as a career Historically, organisational careers were seen as clearly defined linear paths with the employing organisation holding the responsibility for providing career development support. People considered jobs to be “for life”. This mind-­‐set has changed significantly, with multi-­‐ directional careers, multiple employers, and a variety of working arrangements (such as project-­‐based work) becoming the norm. People frequently switch careers and seek further development and education in new fields that were previously outside of their skill set. This leaves plenty of room for project management as a dynamic and legitimate career. Although a specific project cannot provide a career, as projects are temporary in nature, working as a project manager and moving from project to project, will develop your skills and your career will solidify as you gain mastery in the discipline. Project management has only recently emerged as a career path in itself, often as an entry into management. Beyond this role are other project-­‐based jobs like programme manager, head of the project management office, and even project portfolio manager. However, with the marked increase in demand for skilled project managers, this career option needs more attention. It is rare for a high school student to daydream about one day becoming a project manager, and this is mainly due to the ill-­‐defined and immature nature of a career path in this field. Organisations view project teams as temporary groups that are often dissolved once the project has reached completion, leaving employees with constant uncertainty regarding their next role within the organisation. A comprehensive human resources policy for managing and selecting project managers for specific projects may make the career more appealing, resulting in better employee adherence in the long-­‐term. As companies start to value project management in the future, clearer career paths will be established. Examples exist of companies that have established project management departments where project managers are based (rather than being temporarily seconded to specific projects). These companies also accept that the skill set required in a project manager can differ significantly depending on the specific nature of each project. Organisations that see project management as a legitimate career path tend to have different levels of expertise related to the field, allowing for project managers to advance their careers. Organisations that offer good career opportunities to project managers will

Another accrediting organisation, based in the UK, is the Association for Project Management (APM). This UK based organisation offers project management qualifications of its own, and is the certification body in the United Kingdom for the International Project Management Association (IPMA). Their qualifications available are as follows:

• Introductory Certificate (IC) : This certificate shows that you have the fundamental knowledge of project management behind you and consist of a short exam.
• APMP Qualification : This qualification is more in-­‐depth covering the 37 knowledge areas of APM and assessing a variety of project management elements.
• Practitioner Qualification (PQ) : This qualification is more practical in nature and allows individuals to become full members of the APM should they pass. For more information about these qualifications, visit: http://www.apm.org.uk/APMQualifications. The video below shows interviews with highly qualified and experienced professionals in the project management field. Watch the video to hear about their backgrounds, their work experiences, and their advice for advancing a career in project management. Video 1: Project management careers To download this video, click here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/UCT_PG_Programmes/AdvDip+2015/Topic+1/T1+M1/AdvDip+T 1+M1+U1+V2-­‐SD.mp

4. Summary

It is worth noting at this point that although many tasks can be defined as projects, this course will focus specifically on the projects that require formal project management

processes, tools and techniques in a business context. Although the skills used here may be useful in planning a wedding or for construction and engineering projects, the focus will be on those aspects of project management that apply specifically to business projects. Business projects themselves are extremely diverse and cover many areas, from creating a new online course, to planning an office move, to implementing a new customer management system. This unit should have given you a starting point from which to understand projects and project management that will help you build your knowledge and skills as you move through the entire programme.