2011 Topics

Great Project Managers – How They Do It    By: Mike O’brochta

What does it take in project management to be the best-of-the-best, the top dog, a superstar, or world-class? What does it take to practice project management at the high-end? What does it take to be a great project manager? Thanks to recent studies and research the answers to these questions are closer now then they have ever been before.
This is a how-to paper. It describes how to become a great project manager and it identifies a list of top factors associated with great project managers. Great project management is defined through the compelling story of one of the greatest sea-going explorations of all time. This paper draws on recently published results of studies and research about what top project managers know and do, about why their projects succeed or fail, and about their project manager competencies. This paper explores how great project managers are successfully dealing with the evolving and expanding definition of project success, with the expanding complexity of projects, and with their increasing dependency on executives and others for their success. A central theme is that great project managers have mastered the basics, and have the discipline to adhere to them.
Project managers at all experience and skill levels who are interested in moving their performance up a notch will benefit from being able to identify common characteristics of great project managers, drawing upon studies and research for insight into what it takes to be a great project manager, and understanding the importance of having the discipline to stick to the basics to become a great project manager.

Building Organizational Capacity and Core Competencies through Collaborative Leadership – The IDCoP Model    By: Daniel Adewumi

The presentation will focus essentially on how Organizations can develop and build capacity and core competencies towards the actualization of their Vision and strategic objectives using collaborations rather than ‘destructive competition’. In a world where competitive advantage is earned through pragmatic positioning of organization resources and capabilities to outwit competitions and creating a niche through a centric winner takes all approach, it is inevitable for industry leaders to evolve a re-engineering strategies and process innovation that will focus on a win-win situation for all the players. This paper examines the possibility of how the cultivation of strategic collaborations on shared values among organizations could be optimized to engender a management systems with cross functional creativity and standardization using Project Management strategies.

Portfolio Management, a Strategic Instrument for National Governance        By Chima Okereke

Portfolio of projects should be used to produce unique services and products in alignment with national strategic objectives. However, since failure of projects occurs in both developed and developing economies, we suggest a model comprising projects portfolio management (PPM) with earned value management (EVM) tools as components of a national project management office (PMO). Such a PMO could be used not only to reduce projects failure rates but also to optimise and control project management such that it provides effective strategic contribution in national governance.
In this paper, we have cited some examples of models used in project management by governments in such advanced countries as United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. We have also considered the failures in our major national projects, particularly in the electricity industry. We have discussed features of our model and also examined them in the light of problems that militate against the success of projects in our national industrial environment. We have gone on to recommend suggestions for improvement.
Lastly, we realise that our problems are not just technological or infrastructural but also greatly affected by our institutionalised unhelpful human practices. We have recommended how to begin to curb these practices. We do this in the conviction that irrespective of how well designed technologies and processes are, the people who should implement or use the solutions will determine their successes or failures.

The impact of national cultural imperatives on the perception of project success and project failure    By Udechukwu Ojiako

 In this study, the author sets out to examine how cross-national cultural differences influence (i) perceptions of project success and failure over the project lifecycle and (ii) the importance project management practitioners assigned to project success and failure factors. Understanding how cross-national variations influence when perceptions of project success/failure are formed and revised in the project lifecyle is of relevance to scholars and practitioners interested in predicting decision choices of project management practitioners. A mixed approach consisting of interviews and a two-stage questionnaire survey is utilised to obtain data from 902 project management practitioners across seven countries including Nigeria. Data is analysed using multi-layered and combined statistical methods.

The study finds that Nigerian project management practitioners showed low uncertainty avoidance, but less appetite for risk. The findings also suggest that Nigerian project managers were more likely than respondents from other countries sampled, to form an early view of whether a project is a success or failure. They were also less likely to revise such opinions than project management practitioners from other countries.

Definitive Project Manager Attributes, Tools & Techniques        By: Adedoyin Odunfa

Is Project Management a science or an art? No doubt there are established principles, frameworks and methodologies that claim to lead to successful projects but these have been around for so long – why do we still have so many failed projects?

The Project Manager is undoubtedly instrumental to the success of projects. Is a Project Manager a Manager or a Leader? Are Project Managers Born or Made? A question many have tried to answer for many years. You can train somebody to be a good project manager, but great project managers have something more than training, they posses certain innate characteristics that result in excellence – some argue that these are in-born. Or are they really?

Problem statement:

This paper reviews the attributes, tools and techniques of an effective project manager based on wide spread research and personal experience. It outlines the required skills, desired attributes, functional tools and techniques for an effective project manager. It positions an understanding of technology, subject-matter, business, the Project Management process and behaviour as key success factors for success. Whilst all of these are important, the paper argues that the behavioural competence (attribute) is pivotal as it impacts all the other competencies/factors. Moreover, it is more difficult to teach and may be the key determinant of success or failure. Simply put, a Project Manager can be described as someone who gets things done through people. A project is almost always executed in the context of a team with multiple stakeholders. An understanding of behaviour/ behavioural competence therefore permeates the ability of the project manager to build a productive team, deliver stakeholder expectations and manage emanating conflict.

Furthermore, an effective project manager through an understanding of the PM process is able to focus on the things that make or break a project. A toolkit to achieve this are outlined in the paper.

Solution

This paper outlines models of behaviour that provide insight on the likely tendencies and consequences of various behavioural profiles on a project team as well as on resulting conflict and conflict management styles. Further, the paper highlights critical aspects an effective project manager must focus on to keep the project in a good state of health and achieve success.

Benefits

Without an understanding of behaviour, many already trained and indeed practicing project managers may still find themselves struggling with the typical symptoms of project failure: scope creep, missed deadlines, budget overruns, quality challenges, un/under-delivered expectations. An ability to understand and focus on critical aspects that determine the health and outcome of the project with a functional toolkit of impactful tools and techniques also improves the effectiveness of the Project Manager.

Organizational Project Management      By: Marvin Hargrove

The Organizational Project Management Maturity Model known by most of the world as (OPM3) was introduced to the profession and to the world in 2003.  Over the past eight years the OPM3 brand has expanded to include not only a standard, now in its second edition, but products, services, and communities of practice as well.

There is an increasing global interest in OPM3 as a potential solution for better performance, as more and more organizations begin to think outside the project in search for more reliable results.

The session will answer questions that many may have about OPM3. The objective is to provide a simple and concise overview that will equip each participant with a level of understanding that allows for effectively sharing the information or acting upon it depending on organization’s needs.

Entrepreneurship as a project management tool in the Nigerian environment    By: Paul Onwuanibe

Paul will discuss the perceptions of the world from the developed and undeveloped perspectives. He will chart his journey of entrepreneurship from Europe to Africa and seek to explain the parallels and deviations. His talk will highlight some of the lessons he has learnt and his views on what makes a good entrepreneur, and excellent project manager, but a great leader.
The talk is intended to be light hearted and not an academic lecture. It will be geared towards stimulating thought and provoking discussion rather than prescribe a definitive route to being a good entrepreneur, project manager or a great leader! The terms project management, entrepreneurship and leadership are sometimes used interchangeably as a Project manager is often described as an individual who influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal whilst an entrepreneur is described as one who uses innovations, finance and business acumen and transforms these into economic goods. Many believe entrepreneurs are born, project managers learn and leaders are made. The discussion is intended to explore the links in the unique Nigerian environment.
It is Paul’s conviction that the principles an Entrepreneur lives with are the same principles that make a Project Manager successful as they are both geared to learning from others, following best practice, using innovation and overcoming challenges in the environment to achieve positive results. Paul will share the unique lessons he has learnt in his 25 year journey of entrepreneurship from Europe to Africa.

Nigeria – A Peculiar Project        By: Tope Fasua

Tope Fasua will talk about the project management peculiarities for Africa, and Nigeria in particular, pointing out many of the underlying assumptions guiding African/Nigerian societies and economies that may militate against the quest for development.  He progresses from the definition of development as a society’s proclivity for science and technology to solve its problems, and raises well-founded alarms about the long-term sustainability of African economies and societies, given the fact that many other economies are better project-managed and scientific in orientation.  This fact is further compounded by what he calls ‘The Malthusian Reality’ – a coming to being of Thomas Malthus’ 18th Century prediction that there will come a time when the resources of the Earth will not be enough to keep up with population growth.  The current strife and class wars around the globe are perhaps a pointer to this reality.

The importance of documentation, and the innovation of processes that are peculiar to societies in the achievement of development will be dwelt on by Tope, as he urges a deep rethink of the African/Nigerian society along fundamental lines, and the uptake of more responsibility by Africans/Nigerians, for the optimal management of the African/Nigerian project.