When I was working in SAP for a variety of companies in high tech. The whole team went into the project as a cohesive team, a collection of talented individuals. Everyone knew what someone did and where they were. Project management was handled by the project manager, he handled everything from the beginning to the end; from hiring resources, to scheduling to budgeting. Looking back today it was really very time-consuming, because so much was a moving timeline and planning was getting lost along the way. As on a PRINCE2 Foundation training courses uk.
Since the early days of SAP the importance of project management is becoming ever more critical. Running and maintaining project teams is the most critical aspect of running any type of business. Whether it is a large corporation or small business, any organization needs a good planner to keep their project team focused and on track.
Even if you are not in the IT field, you probably still come across an organization that has a program that lacks project management, this can kill your business in an area called the “cholution gap”. The solution gap is the gap that exists between the programs you have and the programs that your business requires.
Here are a few of the areas you need to look at in order to improve your program:
- What projects are running behind schedule or over budget?
- Constraints and issues such as problem scope and missing documentation, missed deadlines, Incredible schedule variances
- Time and cost overruns
- Hidden costs
- What you need and need not
To better understanding the process of project management, if you have never been involved in one, just think how overwhelming it would be trying to handle a project of this magnitude and complexity without the proper tools and techniques. It certainly took me a year to learn the basics and of course a number of other organizations have some issues that they need the proper tools to manage.
In my seminar I describe a process that I now follow to help ensure a successful project. This is a general process and not to be written in stone, if you are specifically involved in a project (like trying to get an MBA completed), then you will have your own process. If you are working with a consultant to assist with a project you will have your own. This is a commonly used process – team leader and team, it is a logistic process. As a team leader you are the one setting the tone, setting the schedule, and the budget. Team members act as good subordinates, there is no substitute. The team works together to bring together a common goal.
I never advocate that new resources be hired in one of the projects that I handle. New PM’s and consultants are encouraged to let the team grow together. When the team member is ready to accept an assignment, they are evaluated, held up for their peers, and they are considered part of the success of the project. This allows you to spend more time building and less time managing a team. Some people use this as a cover-all strategy to tell you that they cannot accomplish the project on their own. Your role in the process comes now as part of the success of the overall mission.
By managing a series of smaller team projects you gain significantly more the opportunity to understand the infrastructure, scope, and processes of the organization. By managing the large projects you have more control over more pieces of the system, but you are not consistent in your ability to monitor and impact those parts of the system. Keep the pace faster, more efficiently and avoid the “ring of silence” by closely monitoring and reporting what is happening.
By working through the process and having the dots connected to bring it together, you are able to move ahead faster and easier. And remember when you think of the movies “Make a visa for life” the sound and action was very cliche, but it never said anything different without the “v”. Stay focused, stay on point.
