How to Attain More Value from Projects



How to Attain More Value from Projects

Jan-Feb 2009  Print

Whether you read about it in the media or hear about it from your colleagues, it’s hard to ignore the fact that there will be significant financial pressures this year. With Australia firmly positioned in the global economy, the impacts of an imminent global recession will likely affect everyone in some way.

For local businesses, this means an increased need to focus on core strategies and invest in what matters most as organisations seek ways to create efficiencies.

In an environment such as this, businesses need to be able to adapt and respond to rapidly changing market dynamics. It is therefore critical that organisations take time to look internally and identify the processes they use to run their business. This will enable them to plan and build a streamlined approach that will help them meet their business goals – quickly, efficiently and on budget.


Matching skills with business needs in the downturn

The processes that drive effective organisational strategy come from sound project management (PM) and business analysis (BA).

Good PM and BA skills can provide an organisation with the necessary leadership, management and technical qualities needed to make projects work. More importantly, these skills can play a valuable role in managing change and delivering on strategies within time and budget constraints.

In the current economic climate, successful organisations will be those that match these priorities to employees who have the skills to deliver on them. PM and BA are critical disciplines and only when organisations have access to the right level of skills in these areas will they be able to succeed.

For example, organisations can apply project management principles to help streamline internal programs, departmental initiatives or other change management processes. Businesses that adopt these skills throughout their organisation will reap the benefits.


Recognising the value of skills

A report from project performance specialists The Standish Group found that organisations that recruited skilled project managers experienced a marked improvement in organisational project management processes.

Having the right skills is a key way to ensure you have project success and create efficiencies within your organisation.

Failure to recruit or invest in process skills can result in:

▪ Inability to deliver projects on time or on budget or within the project brief
▪ Devaluation of the roles of project managers and business analysts
▪ Difficulties in change management ranging from staff commitment levels to maintaining board level support


Improvements to efficiencies never stop

To deliver on project efficiencies, many organisations use project maturity assessments to review the processes involved, project management skills (such as qualifications and alignment to professional bodies), technical competencies and project management leadership skills.

It is obvious why these factors need to be assessed during the commencement of a project however how often does your organisation assess ongoing project management before the project is complete?

The results of such an assessment will uncover whether a project is on track to deliver on time, within the capability of resources and to budget.

Particularly in times like these, organisations should look for every opportunity to improve processes or increase efficiencies.

In the next Newsletter, we will continue to report on the effect of the current global economic climate within organisational project management and business analysis processes.

We will offer a high level assessment guide that can be used to gain an insight into strengths and weaknesses of your organisation’s current state of efficiency.

To find out more about DDLS Process training services, please contact 13 12 01 or visit www.DDLS.com.au