Abstract
IT is one of industries with extreme demand for skilled project managers. This claim is even stronger for IT consulting organizations – which have a projectized philosophy as their essence, because most of their revenue streams come from the execution of projects to external clients.
Therefore, for these professionals who have been working towards the accomplishment of a successful career in an IT consulting company, the development and combination of consulting and project management abilities are understood as mandatory, ranging in a wide sprectrum of hard and soft skills, as well as the technical and management ones.
This paper is intended to be a learning experience on the following aspects:
- Understand the current context and demand for project managers in the IT industry, which contains a large share of consulting firms;
- Understand the ‘projectized’ nature of Consulting firms and how important and indispensable project managers are for the success of these companies in a very competitive environment;
- Experience an example of a training program that covers a full spectrum of soft and hard skills in both Consulting and Project Management arenas.
Introduction
IT is one of industries with extreme demand for skilled project managers. This claim is even stronger for IT consulting organizations – which have a projectized philosophy as their essence, because most of their revenue streams come from the execution of projects to external clients.
A few decades ago, under a less competitive business environment, the pressures for excellence in project management were more relaxed. With less players in the market place and bigger IT budgets, IT Consulting firms were not questioned so hard as today when project time, cost and quality objectives were not met. Projects initially sold at premium prices and/or project extensions getting signed did not use to be difficult tasks.
But now we are living new times. More competitors. Reduced IT budgets. Cost-sensitive clients. Longer sales cycles and more scrutiny from potential clients are the norm when making an investment decision on IT projects. These factors, when combined, inevitably lend to tighter project budgets.
Then it comes the time for project managers. The key challenge for these individuals will be finding a balance point for all project stakeholders – often not easy, as client stakeholders may have different and competing interests, and the Consulting stakeholders will be very demanding for project communications.
With the above-described background, this presentation will show a few initiatives that can be taken to make Consulting project managers' skills more robust in several competency areas, including:
- Software products to be implemented
- Implementation methodologies
- Project Management soft skills (negotiation, business writing, presentation, leadership)
- Project Controls
- Project Management hard skills (external and internal certifications)
- Client industry
Goal and Objectives
Goal
To help ensure that individuals in project management roles are aligned to engagements that best meet their abilities so as to maximize their probability of success and to increase overall and individual project management competency by implementing consistent training and certification programs for project managers across an IT consulting organization.
Objectives
- The establishment of standard project management levels intended to rate (certify) individuals against and indicating the level of competency of the individual to manage certain sizes, complexities and types of projects/programs for the IT consulting organizations
- The establishment of a standard set of objective criteria which must be met for each level including but not limited to training/education, experience, and skills.
- The establishment of a formal nomination, board review and approval process for certifying individuals against the various project management competency levels.
- The establishment of an up to date inventory of individuals certified at each level and use of that inventory to appropriately match individual project managers to projects
Overview of the Training Program
A summary of the training contents for each one of the above six areas are as follows:
Product Training: this training track relates to knowledge required on the software products being utilized or implemented in a given project, such as: database software, middleware & integration software, development tools, enterprise business applications (such as ERP, CRM, Supply Chain, Business Intelligence applications, etc.).
Methodology Training: this training track relates to the knowledge required to deploy and manage projects on each one of the above-mentioned categories.
Business Practices Training: this training track relates to the knowledge that project managers must acquire to follow modern Corporate Governance principles and fulfill the requirements of other internal IT consulting organization's stakeholders, such as: contracts, revenue recognition, deal approvals, proposal development and review, etc.
Client Industry Training: this training track is about providing specific knowledge on the industry a certain customer belongs to, such as: Government, Financial Services, Retailing, Consumer Products, etc. This track is essential for IT consulting organizations focusing on specific industries but it cannot be affordable for those organizations more specialized in core technology or cross industry software products.
Project Management Soft Skills: this training track is specific to the arena of soft skills that must be possessed by project managers when dealing with his/her internal and external customers, such as: negotiation skills, presentation skills, leadership, multicultural projects, etc.
Project Management Hard Skills: this training track is the one that comes first to anyone's mind when asked about project management training. It includes training on project management related software tools and A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) knowledge areas. Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is derived and depends on the completion of training programs within this track.
Methodology Training Scope
Business Practices Training Scope
- Bid and Proposal Development (*)
- Contracts
- Fixed Price Projects
- Project Revenue Recognition
- Project Extensions
- Project Reporting & Peer Reviewing
Project Management Soft Skills Training Scope
| Achieving Results as a Cross-Functional Team | Finding Your Life Balance |
| An Essential Guide to Giving Feedback | Generating Creative and Innovative Ideas |
| Attracting, Motivating and Retaining Technical Professionals | Handling Conflict with Others |
| Becoming a Manager | Improving Your Cross-cultural Communications |
| Being Prepared for Change | Keeping Team on Target |
| Building Relationships to Get Results | Launching Successful On-site and Virtual Teams |
| Change Leadership | Lead and Communicate Effectively as a New Manager |
| Coaching Skills | Leading Virtual Teams |
| Communicating and reinforcing Change | Management Development for Technical Professionals |
| Communicating During Organizational Change | Managing Within The Law |
| Communication Skills for Resolving Conflict | Motivate and Recognize Employees |
| Competencies for Tomorrow's Managers | Negotiating Skills |
| Crucial Conversations | Presenting to Succeed |
| Cultural Awareness: India | Presenting Your Case |
| Customers, Conflict and Confrontation | Professional Assertiveness |
| Dealing with Problem Performance | Running a Meeting |
| Delegation Basics | Techniques for Better Time Management |
| Developing Fundamental Critical Thinking Skills | The Manager as Project Champion |
| Difficult People in the Workplace | The Master Negotiator |
| Dynamics of Leadership | The Negotiation Process |
| Effective Presentation Skills | Understanding Financial Statements |
| Enhancing Your Listening Skills | Virtual Project Management |
| Essentials of Internal Consulting | Virtual Team Communications |
| Executive Sponsor and Senior Project Managers Program | Writing with Intention |
Project Management Hard Skills Training Scope
Oracle Consulting Mainline training:
- Project Management Fundamentals
- Project Lifecycle Class (*)
- Project Management Masterclass (*)
Microsoft Project Skills:
- Microsoft® Project – Project Scheduling and Tracking
- Microsoft® Project – Project Schedule Optimization
- Microsoft® Project – Earned Value Using Microsoft Project
(*) Oracle is a PMI Registered Education Provider. These classes count 40-50 PDUs each.
Specific Courses on PMBOK® Guide knowledge areas:
- Communications
- Quality
- Schedule and Cost Control
- Risk Management
PMP® Certification Classes
Certification Programs
Internal Project Management Certification – Oracle USA
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | Level 6 | |
| Description | Team Leads | Technical / Functional Leads Functional/ Technical project leads responsible for managing teams within a large project / program |
Associate Project Manager Project Managers experienced managing small to medium T&M or FP projects of easy complexity |
Project Manager Project Managers experienced managing small to medium large T&M or FP projects or easy to moderate complexity. |
Senior Project Manager Program Managers / Large Project Managers - experienced in domestic initiatives, global single thread projects |
Project Executive/ Executive Project Manager Global Program Managers - individuals experienced in complex multifunctional transformational initiatives |
| PMI Certification | NO | YES | ||||
| Oracle Training | PM Fundamentals, Project Lifecycle | Project Lifecycle | Project Master Class | |||
| Project Complexity | 1 -2 | 2 - 3 | 3 - 4 | 4 - 5 | ||
| Offshore Content | NO | YES | YES | YES | ||
| Project Profile | Small – Medium T&M/FP Domestic <$USD1M/yr | Medium – Large T&M/FP Domestic <$3M/yr | Large T&M/FP Domestic or Global <$5M/yr | Very Large T&M/FP, Domestic or Global >$5M/yr | ||
Requirements for Certification:
- Nomination (based on nomination form with documented experience and references)
- Training completion
- Experience (based on experience form with details about the last three projects)
- Project Manager is expected to devote 40 hours/year as a ‘giveback’ to the project management community
- Board review meets quarterly to appraise candidates
PMI PMP® Certification
- PMP® is a defacto industry standard recognized by many of our clients. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for Levels 3 through 6 above.
- PMI certifications are critical ‘table stakes’ in many business opportunities.
- The PMP® does not apply to entry-level project managers.
- The internal Certification program is intended to supplement PMI certification (and in some ways be more rigorous)
- The internal Certification program requires (as a pre-requisite) PMP® certification for levels 5 and 6
Benefits
To the individual project manager:
- Assignment to right projects
- Mentorship
- Well-defined path for growth
- Shelf life and staying ‘marketable’: the certification process will provide the individual the opportunity to identify & obtain the skills the IT consulting company is looking for. This will enhance the value of the individual to the company.
To the IT consulting company:
- To implement an industry accepted practice for a project centric organization and create organizational credibility for project management activities
- Assignment of the right project managers to the right projects
- Improved delivery quality
- Improved project performance (scope, schedule, budget)
- Accurate and consistent evaluation of true resource capabilities (numbers and skills) that can then be compared with business needs and be used as input to the resource planning/recruitment processes.
To the IT consulting company's customers:
- Delivery Quality and Risk Reduction - The ability to better match resources to projects
- External Quality Assurance - Client re-assurance on quality of the IT consulting company's project management competency and resourcing model