contractors and 2. Dedication to service. Firms

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1 WP01 10 Keys to Project Management Excellence BY: HOWARD BIRNBERG Project management (PM) is the centerpiece of design and construction organizations. Many firms have only basic or partially developed project management systems. The benefits of improving your PM system includee better client service, reduced staff turnover, higher profits and improved communications. Achieving project management excellence requires constant effort. Use this guide to review 10 important keys to project managementt excellence. 1. Access to information. Project managers must have complete informationn about their projects. This includes regular project status reports, details on outstanding accounts receivable on their projects, schedule updates, staff availability and dozens of other pieces of information. Ideally, this information should be on-demand where the firm s computer network is designed to allow immediate access to data. By collecting daily time sheets (preferably by using electronicc time sheets), time charges may be posted each day allowingg a project manager almost up-to-the-minute status reports when they arrive the next morning. This same access should be available on outstanding accounts receivable and other data. Databases of past project histories, cost information, schedules and programs, consultants,, contractors and subcontractors and other material must be available to project managers. These databases should also be available on-demandfocused on project management excellence have a total It is vital to keep this information up- to-date. 2. Dedication to service. Firms commitment to client service. The entire project management structure is focused on meeting client needs, achievingg schedule deadlines, staying within the design budget and, as much as possible, within thee construction budget. Dedication to service is the driving force of these firms even where short-term profits may suffer. Project managers understandd this and are judged on successful relationships, not on the profit level of any particular project. All aspects of the organizationn are focused toward client service. Often, little things make the difference. For example, firms committed to project management excellence have voicee mail systems but a live person always answerss the telephone. Voic is used only for messages. Callers are never left on an excessive hold and everyone in the organization is courteous and does their best to help. is not used as a substitute for personal communications. Internal communications aree excellent, allowing all team members to be current on project status and problems. As a result, every team member can be of assistance to clients, consultants, contractors and others. axium.com All Text and Illustrations 2010 Axium

2 3. Excellent communication skills. In design and construction organizations committed to project management excellence, project managers are good communicators. Written, verbal and listening skills are all highly developed. It is the obligation of the organization to enhance these skills through training, support and encouragement. Necessary forms and systems, open lines of communication, written position descriptions, clear organizational systems, a written project management manual and dozens of other communication structures exist. Excellent internal communications requires an efficient meeting process to quickly provide a forum for discussion and to convey needed information. Project managers do not need to write every letter, memo or report or attend every meeting. However, those who prepare these items must allow the project manager the opportunity to review their efforts. Individuals who attend meetings must inform the project manager of discussions, decisions and directions. Excellent external communications requires an understanding of the information needs of outsiders. Clients want to be kept informed and to provide input on decisions. Consultants and contractors also need accurate information quickly to efficiently complete their work. 4. Continuous improvement. Complacency is an enemy. If it isn t broken, don t fix it is the path to failure. The world changes constantly. Economics, regulations, laws, codes, client needs, the labor force, technology, terminology, ecology they all constantly change. Your project management system must adapt to meet these challenges. Some aspect of your project management can always be improved. New ideas come along every day. Borrow from others in and outside our industry and adapt it to your situation. No organization is so perfect that it can t be improved. Develop the philosophy of what economist Joseph Schumpeter called creative destruction in your firm. 5. Staff development. This requires far more than simply providing the occasional in-house seminar or paying for a project manager to attend a workshop. Staff development includes a very broad range of activities. For example, your firm must provide a pleasant, challenging workplace with competitive salaries and fringe benefits. Make sure you have up-to-date tools and systems. There are many other aspects to staff development. You must have an aggressive crosstraining program. This is intended to enhance client service by having many team members capable of responding to client needs, Cross-training provides ready, able and willing individuals to fill roles in growing organizations. Most importantly, cross-training provides everyone in your office with a better understanding of others information needs, problems, methods, etc. and improves all around performance. Mentoring is another aspect of staff development. Mentoring can be informal where a more experienced individual takes a junior employee under their tutelage. A formal mentoring program requires a much more extensive investment requiring the development of career paths, training methods, testing processes, etc. Few firms in the construction industry have formal mentoring programs. Less costly informal programs should be strongly encouraged by senior management. This process begins by matching up senior staff with less experienced individuals. 6. Roles and responsibilities. Firms seeking project management excellence have complete clarity of the roles and responsibilities of all individuals within the firm. Written position descriptions exist and are followed. Organization charts are effectively designed and communicated. Initiative and decision-making are encouraged. Individuals within the 10 Keys to Project Management Excellence Whitepaper 2

3 organization must have a rough equality of responsibility and authority. Any significant imbalance in this relationship will severely hinder job performance. Taking responsibility is not likely to happen if the individual in question lacks authority, training or the proper skills. For project managers, decision-making requires three steps. First is the authority to make decisions without being second-guessed by senior management. Second is the willingness to make decisions. Third is the capability to make the right decision. If any one of these three elements is absent then project managers will not perform to the best of their ability. 7. Technology use. Keeping current on technology is a great challenge for many organizations. A computer purchased today was out-of-date six months ago. The pace of change is incredible. Much hardware (especially computers) seems to have a shelf life of 12 to 18 months although plotters and printers generally have a longer useful life. Manufacturers produce new software versions often with only minor enhancements, but still different enough to require you to make the investment in an upgrade. Firms seeking project management excellence strive to balance economics with the need to have the proper technology. Your staff must have the correct tools to do their work. However, the absolute latest technology may not be necessary if your current systems are satisfying staff, client, consultant and contractor needs. 8. Leadership skills. Senior staff in organizations striving for project management is responsible for providing the firm with leadership, direction and goals. The keys outlined in this article should guide their decision-making and planning activities. They must avoid becoming so involved in day-to-day project activities that they fail to provide leadership for the firm. It is their job to set goals, provide and muster the resources to achieve goals, communicate to all parties (staff, clients, etc.) who will help to achieve the goals and to ensure that the goals are fulfilled. On the project level, the project manager must provide this same leadership for the project team. A project scope, schedule and budget are the goals for the project. It is the project manager who provides the leadership to meet these objectives. Project managers also must keep in mind that their team includes not only the staff they see in their office every day, but also includes the client, consultants, contractors, suppliers and all others involved in the project. The project manager must provide leadership to these individuals as well. 9. Technical excellence. You and your firm are hired by clients for your skill and ability to meet a need. Your expertise is needed by clients. Technical excellence means not only accurately performing engineering calculations, but also being aware of unmet client needs. During the course of a project, you may observe a problem with a facility, find a better way of helping the client solve a problem, uncover a way to save design or construction costs, etc. Communicate these ideas to clients, consultants and contractors. Be willing to embrace new delivery methods such as partnering, commissioning, design-build and other methods and ideas. 10. Documentation excellence. The organization achieving management excellent keeps well-organized and comprehensive records. Information is the life-blood of your firm. Project managers must learn what to document, how to document, when to document and whom to copy (and when). Keeping everything does not make sense, however, incomplete documentation may lead to disputes and future conflict. Poor documentation may leave consultants, contractors and your own staff with incomplete or incorrect information. Your firm must provide a framework and structure to this documentation process. Often, this 10 Keys to Project Management Excellence Whitepaper 3

4 includes providing required or suggested forms, checklists, project notebooks, etc. The 10 keys to project management excellence should guide your everyday activities. You must continually strive to improve your performance for your own sake and that of your clients and other project team members. 10 Keys to Project Management Excellence Whitepaper 4

5 Ajera Provides Project Management Excellence Project Managers must have on- project information to be productive and demand access to complete profitable. Designed for flexibility and ease of use, Ajera provides real time access to project information and applies standard A/E methods and terminology for setting up projects, entering time, invoicing clients and running reports. Ajera s Project Command Center provides quick and immediate access to the tasks and reports that are necessary in managing all the elements or a project, making better decisions, and improving profitability. The heart of Ajera is the innovative Project Command Center designed to show up-to-the-minute, detailed reports on project status, outstanding receivables, WIP, consultant costs and an unlimited amount of project and budget information. Ajera s Project Command Center offers a uniform interfacee to allow for quick project setup and easy to interpret project reporting; the Snapshot gives you an ideal view of the information you want without searching through menus or waiting for reports. From the Project Command Center you can: set-up projects update percent complete review invoices view project detail Ajera s reporting system uses state-of-the-art technology to give you immediate access to information such as employee s time and the time charged to your projects. Time management reports can be viewed in a standard or customized format to meet your requirements. Project managers are able to view timesheet totals for each employee assigned to their job for this week, last week or for the total job to date, preventing you from having to manually route timesheets. Employees can choose a timesheet for entering new time, which provides them with direct feedback of their billable time vs. their targeted utilization rate, helping them to focus on producing billable work. They can also separate billable project time from non-billable overhead time. 10 Keyss to Project Management Excellence Whitepaper 5

6 It is proven that the more timely the entry of information, the more accurate it will be. Ajera gives project managers instant access to time charged to their projects so they can monitor progress, make adjustments where necessary and keep their projects on time and on budget. One of the key components to Ajera is that it provides project managers real-timee project information to identify potential problems as they happen and allows you to access the detail you need to avoid them. Each project manager can quickly sort columns of information they need to manage their projects. Projects can be viewed as an overview, in detail at the phase level, or reviewed by individual line items. Ajera gives project managers the tools to make better decisions to improve performance and profitably. 10 Keys to Project Management Excellence Howard Birnberg is Executive Director of the Association for Project Managers and Publisher/Editor of The Project Manager. The material contained in this whitepaper was originally published in the The Project Manager and is reprinted with the permission of Howard Birnberg. Copyright 2011 by The Project Manager. All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission of the publisher. The Project Manager 1227 West Wrightwood Ave. Chicago, IL Phone: Keyss to Project Management Excellence Whitepaper 6