What makes projects successful? Many project managers will say:
Time, budget and quality.
Are that all? How about the following situation?
1. Initial problems or objectives for project justification are not solved or achieved.
2. Project sponsor and key stakeholders do not look good.
3. Customers’ satisfaction is not achieved or cannot be defined.
Imagine, if the project is supposed to deliver a sales system. The system is delivered on-time, within budget, and with expected quality and performance. However, what if:
1. The number of customers is not increased;
2. The yearly overhead is higher;
3. New promotion of products cannot be handled.
Then most of the PMs will say, "hey, those are not my problems ... I should not be blamed ..."
Of course, every reasonable people will agree with that, just that the customer is still not "happy" with the result, they still think that the project is not that "successful" ... is it a fair comment?
Yes, if we are talking about the definition of success of project, we can qualify that those problems or effects after the project delivery are not the PM's fault. But, that is the project objectives definition problem. The expectation out of the project should be clearly communicated during project initiation stage. If the PM is involved in the initiation stage, he/she should take initiatives to ensure the objectives are "defined" or "quantified" as much as possible. Take the business risks into consideration. Then the priorities of objectives can be a decision point for the project scope, timeline and quality expectation. A lot of human interaction here ... not only about the tripple constraints!
Monday, December 26, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
The Last Evening Talk in Year 2005
Finally, I was lucky to get my boss approval and sponshorship in hosting the evening talk at our auditorium for PMIMY (Project Management Institute Malaysia Chapter) and MNCC (Malaysia National Computing Council). It was a nice event and there were about 90 attendees that turned up. It was the first evening talk that I organized after I come back to Kuala Lumpur. When I was away to Johor Bahru for my PMO project at Johor Port, I missed many sessions of evening talks that were quite good. Now I am back to KL, so more opportunity for more exposure :-)
Monday, October 10, 2005
KPIs for Project Management
Here are something to read about PM KPI: KPI explained
When we want to create KPIs for PM, we need to use the CSC (Critical Success Criteria) related to project management. This means that the KPIs must be related to Time, Budget and Scope (TBQ) tripple constraints.
In order to relate to these three critical criteria, the assumption is that tasks contribute to scope. Each task involve resource. Each resource is related to cost. Each task needs time for completion. Therefore Earned Value Analysis or Management is the tool that we usually used to measure these three key performance areas.
The following are some sample of KPIs related to Project Management (or Earned Value elements):
Earned Value (EV) -- This is the value that we get back as a result of the investment. For example, after the contract is signed, nothing is done but the vendor is paid 10% of the project fee; so, the earned value is still $0. Unless some work already performed and can be translated to the value.
Schedule Variance (SV) -- To show what is the difference between the original plan and the actual progress.
Cost Variance (CV) -- To show what is the cost difference between the original project budget and the actual expenses.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) -- To show how well the schedule is managed against the baseline. This means that, for every $1 we spend on the resource, how much progress is achieved.
Cost Performance Index (CPI) -- To show how well the cost is managed against the original budget baseline. This means that, for every $1 we spend on the resource, how much value we got in return. For example, if we pay $1, but we get $0.5 of the value of the result, that means the CPI is poor.
Other KPIs that may be applicable are such as:
Customer Satisfaction -- For example, we can measure the return customer in quantity, or customer terminate the contract, etc.
Process Efficiency -- For example, the speed in getting one job done is compared between the post-project to the pre-project measurement.
Quality Efficiency -- For example, the number of defects, etc.
When we want to create KPIs for PM, we need to use the CSC (Critical Success Criteria) related to project management. This means that the KPIs must be related to Time, Budget and Scope (TBQ) tripple constraints.
In order to relate to these three critical criteria, the assumption is that tasks contribute to scope. Each task involve resource. Each resource is related to cost. Each task needs time for completion. Therefore Earned Value Analysis or Management is the tool that we usually used to measure these three key performance areas.
The following are some sample of KPIs related to Project Management (or Earned Value elements):
Earned Value (EV) -- This is the value that we get back as a result of the investment. For example, after the contract is signed, nothing is done but the vendor is paid 10% of the project fee; so, the earned value is still $0. Unless some work already performed and can be translated to the value.
Schedule Variance (SV) -- To show what is the difference between the original plan and the actual progress.
Cost Variance (CV) -- To show what is the cost difference between the original project budget and the actual expenses.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) -- To show how well the schedule is managed against the baseline. This means that, for every $1 we spend on the resource, how much progress is achieved.
Cost Performance Index (CPI) -- To show how well the cost is managed against the original budget baseline. This means that, for every $1 we spend on the resource, how much value we got in return. For example, if we pay $1, but we get $0.5 of the value of the result, that means the CPI is poor.
Other KPIs that may be applicable are such as:
Customer Satisfaction -- For example, we can measure the return customer in quantity, or customer terminate the contract, etc.
Process Efficiency -- For example, the speed in getting one job done is compared between the post-project to the pre-project measurement.
Quality Efficiency -- For example, the number of defects, etc.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
After my PMP ...
Before I have been certified as PMP (Project Management Professional), I was not so confident with my own knowledge; I was not sure whether the knowledge I have is sufficient enough for me to take on a bigger challenge.
For that self-pounding question, I enrolled myself for a proper project management course, plus a self-study period of 6 months at my own-pace, I eventually got my effort pay-off by getting certified as a PMI certified Project Management Professional.
A normal training is not sufficient. Only a training that exposes yourself to those realistic project environment questions and discussions is good enough to make you mentally-prepared for what challenges lie ahead. The trainers of the courses that I have attended became my mentors. They are also kind enough to introduce me to the activities organized by PMIMY (Project Management Institute Malaysia Chapter). The exposure is really beneficial for me to gain access to more senior people in the industry.
After the training, I realized that there are a lot more out there for me to learn in order to be better equipped with the critical skills in being excellent in my future undertakings. I put in countless hours on self studies and consistently seek answers to relevant questions from my mentors and friends in the industry. By going through the thought time in finding the answers, now I have become a better certified project manager than I was.
Being certified, it opens me to more opportunities to take up bigger challenges. Now, I am certified and people will look at me differently. The questions and challenges I got will be different from what I faced before. But, these kinds of challenges are good. They push me to want to be better and find out more. Eventually, all these challenges and achievements will make you a more valuable sought after resource in project management profession.
The certification is not a one time effort. It is a continuous learning cycle. That is why the Professional Development program is there for individual PMP to fulfill the requirements to continue the PMP recognition on every-three-year duration.
For that self-pounding question, I enrolled myself for a proper project management course, plus a self-study period of 6 months at my own-pace, I eventually got my effort pay-off by getting certified as a PMI certified Project Management Professional.
A normal training is not sufficient. Only a training that exposes yourself to those realistic project environment questions and discussions is good enough to make you mentally-prepared for what challenges lie ahead. The trainers of the courses that I have attended became my mentors. They are also kind enough to introduce me to the activities organized by PMIMY (Project Management Institute Malaysia Chapter). The exposure is really beneficial for me to gain access to more senior people in the industry.
After the training, I realized that there are a lot more out there for me to learn in order to be better equipped with the critical skills in being excellent in my future undertakings. I put in countless hours on self studies and consistently seek answers to relevant questions from my mentors and friends in the industry. By going through the thought time in finding the answers, now I have become a better certified project manager than I was.
Being certified, it opens me to more opportunities to take up bigger challenges. Now, I am certified and people will look at me differently. The questions and challenges I got will be different from what I faced before. But, these kinds of challenges are good. They push me to want to be better and find out more. Eventually, all these challenges and achievements will make you a more valuable sought after resource in project management profession.
The certification is not a one time effort. It is a continuous learning cycle. That is why the Professional Development program is there for individual PMP to fulfill the requirements to continue the PMP recognition on every-three-year duration.
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