ENTERPRISE PROJECT MANAGEMENT is based on the view that companies can be organized as portfolios of projects, and thus project management is applicable across the organization.
When I talk on the concepts outlined in Winning in Business With Enterprise Project Management [Amacom, 1998], I'm frequently asked about implementing the approach in an organization. People generally accept the concept as a valid one but want to know exactly how it can be put into practice. They want a road map that will make it possible to transform theory into a reality in their organizations.
Sizing Up the Situation. A cornerstone to implementing enterprise project management successfully is to carry out a full-scale size-up before embarking on the project itself. Making the move to manage an entire enterprise using project management principles is not a simple undertaking; it requires solid upfront analysis before the project is undertaken. Here are some questions and guidelines for doing the size-up.
Why Bother? Write a justification for implementing enterprise project management in your organization. (For example: “It's the most effective way for accomplishing tasks, to survive, to prosper. It's the trend.”)
Establish the Big Picture. Describe the context in which your organization operates. (For example: globalization, radical change, new culture, new niche market, pending merger.)
Who Are You? Describe your position from the standpoint of how you can influence the organization to adopt enterprise project management. (For example: major change agent, an interested stakeholder.)
Establish the Scope for the Implementation Project. Develop a project description that outlines the size and scope of the implementation project for enterprise project management. (For example: transformation of the entire organization, targeting just one area, aiming at one geographical unit.)
Establish the Desired Ends. Describe the objectives and goals to be reached for the implementation project to be considered successful. (For example: fully align project results with company strategies, achieve a project management culture, reach specific numerical goals.)
Paul C. Dinsmore, PMP, PMI Fellow, is the author of seven books, including Managing Organizations by Projects: Winning Through Enterprise Project Management (Amacom, 1998). He is president of Dinsmore Associates, affiliated with Management Consultants International Group, with headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Reach him by e-mail at [email protected]. Send comments on this column to [email protected].
The size-up sets the background and premises for carrying out the change project. Once these points have been determined, the rest of the project can follow a conventional project methodology.
A Phased Methodology. Like other projects, implementation of an enterprise project management approach takes time. It evolves through the phases of the project life cycle and eventually melds into a steady state, where the company behaves as a projectized organization. Here is a review of the phases through which an organization must pass to get from initiating the concept into a full-fledged, purring organization that is dynamically and productively managed by projects.
Getting Buy-in. This means exposing the primary organizational stakeholders to the enterprise project management concept and obtaining agreement to pursue it. This may involve influencing upward, laterally, and downward in the organization. Some of the steps required for getting buy-in to initiate the project are these:
■ Create awareness by distributing literature, promoting benchmarking encounters, and offering presentations by internal and guest speakers.
■ Develop and distribute an evaluation of the benefits and other pertinent project issues.
■ Conduct executive briefing sessions to spread the word, and obtain valuable input from key stakeholders.
■ Develop a project charter for the implementation of enterprise project management in the organization.
Planning. This phase includes defining the processes for managing the organization by projects and the roles of the various stakeholders. It involves making both policy and procedural decisions, such as:
■ Develop and refine a work breakdown structure for the enterprise project.
■ Define the project implementation team and sponsor.
■ Define form of project office most suitable for the organization: Project Support Office (PSO), Project Management Center of Excellence, Program Management Office, or some combination thereof.
■ Reevaluate or define policies and procedures about strategic alignment of projects, standard methodologies, competency standards, organizational maturity in project management, reward systems, integrated databases, selection of project sponsors and project teams, communications, project assessments, global reporting, and process improvement.
Implementation. Implementation means carrying out the necessary educational programs at all levels in the organization and putting into place necessary processes and procedures. Here fundamental change is taking place in the organization. These are the activities:
■ Educate across the organization on project concepts and methodology, team building, interpersonal skills, facilitation, and coaching.
■ Initiate use of a project priority board that has “go/no go” powers over company project and approves resource allocation to projects.
■ Put into place policies and procedures, and have project sponsors and teams operate in accordance with these processes.
■ Have internal coaches support project teams.
Testing. This is the wrap-up phase of the implementation project. It revolves around the key question, “Is everything working the way it's supposed to work for the organization to manage itself by projects?” And here's what needs to take place:
■ Make organizational adjustments as necessary, including final definition of project office concept.
■ Carry out a formal assessment of the new approach. Highlight the benefits achieved and pinpoint areas that need improvement.
■ Ensure that all the enterprisewide project management systems are working to the contentment of all stakeholders.
Operating Enterprise Project Management. All organizations are dynamic, so operating adjustments are inevitable. New communication or tracking technology calls for periodic changes. Organizational maintenance, involving continued education programs and management audits, is also needed, along with these action items:
■ Carry out periodic project management maturity assessments to evaluate how far the company has evolved toward a fully projectized organization.
■ Institute a continuous improvement program to guarantee that the process is kept up to date.
■ Maintain benchmarking relationships with other organizations.
Different Strategies. In practice, organizational change comes about because some internal force makes it happen. That force may originate in different places, but ultimately it must spread to and influence other parts of the organization in order to have enterprisewide impact. A top-down approach is the textbook route to change management but, in reality, change may be induced by other areas.
Top-Down. Although top-down may appear to be the most direct route to implementing project management enterprisewide, the challenge of implementing change continues to be a formidable one. Getting the rest of the organization to buy in doesn't happen just because higher management says it's a good idea. Such a start-at-the-top effort requires the same care and nurturing as initiating change from within the organization itself.
IT. The Information Technology group may be able to take the lead in the enterprise project management effort. Since, due to their complexity, IT projects are noted for coming in late and not fully meeting client requirements, they represent fertile ground for the “portfolio of projects” philosophy proposed in the enterprise approach. CIOs are increasingly open to using enterprisewide project management to increase the probability of delivering work on time. Since CIOs are encouraged to improve performance, and IT budgets are generally sizeable, they may choose to apply the enterprise concept solely within the IT area to solve their own challenges, as opposed to promoting the effort on a corporationwide basis.
Project Office. If the company has a project office set up somewhere in the organization, then that office might well take on the change agent role. Depending on the positioning of the project office within the organization, this project group may be able to spread the enterprisewide project management concept by showing the effectiveness of using the project approach and making the results visible within the company.
HR. The Human Resource area is often tagged with the change agent role. As HR has shed its old “personnel” role, HR people increasingly take the initiative to promote programs that they feel will have a positive impact on the company. Since the HR group has broad access to the organization, it is well set to promote change.
ENTERPRISE PROJECT MANAGEMENT is based on the premise that companies can be organized as portfolios of projects, and thus most company business can be administered as projects. Doing projects on such an enterprisewide basis represents a shift in the traditional way of doing business, so getting started is not an instantaneous task. And once the concept is accepted, how do you transform the company into a projectized organization? A situation size-up, is necessary to make sure that the implications of the change project are fully understood. Once the situation is sized up the implementation follows a conventional methodology. That methodology must take into account the vantage point from which the change project is being seen. If all these points are taken into account, there is a high probability for successful implementation of enterprise project management, which ultimately means that the organization will increase its productivity by bringing more projects in on time, within budget, and in accordance with quality specifications. ■
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