Project Manager

Paul Norris

From the great pyramids of Egypt to landing on the moon, every human endeavour has needed someone to manage the project, writes Paul Norris.

Project management is about making things happen. It’s based on a can-do philosophy, and managing change is a significant new area in which project management is becoming important.
Yvonne Butler, general manager Business Project Management Division of the APP

Corporation in Sydney, says that nowadays the position of project manager is starting to mean a lot of different things to different people.
Butler describes her own career path in project management as an unusual one. “I’m not an engineer, I don’t have that base discipline. My first degree was in information management and I studied law and information management in Canberra. I went on to work in law firms in Melbourne in the role of legal information manager. I managed very large research departments for two of the country’s largest law firms,” she says.

Gordon Bartlett, president of the Sydney chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI), points out that project management is developing and maturing as a profession: “If you compare the less mature IT project management with the more mature civil [engineering] project management area — given that engineers have been constructing bridges, roads and buildings for a far longer time than we have been using computers — it is obvious that there is a future for project management. It’s important for the people in the profession to realise its status and treat it as a profession.”

David Baccarini, associate professor in project management at Curtin University in Perth, says that nowadays projects are happening in all areas of organisational activity. “Whatever industry or career background someone has, they will inevitably be requested to undertake a project. This brings the personal realisation that a qualification in project management would be highly desirable.”

Markus Meir-Lindner, corporate services manager at the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM), says that the role of project manager has not changed, but it is the tasks themselves which have changed over the last decade. “Project management used to be to just run a job or a task from start to finish, but that did not include the vision that project management can drive and achieve business outcomes. Now you find it [project management] exists basically across all industries and across all disciplines within an organisation. For example, finance and human resources…it is just starting to emerge that people are starting to choose project management as a career.”

AIPM national secretary Chivonne Watt says a lot people don’t realise that in aiming to reach specific goals they can be running or managing projects in their workplace, but paradoxically they don’t understand that they are. “The definition of a project is that it tends to be one activity. That might be something like the launch of a new product.”

Butler says a good project manager is a person who basically has a balance between “hard” and “soft” skills. They can think broadly, think strategically and be very good at planning and working within a team. “They need to both inspire and lead, but also to direct and drive. It’s a constant balance between process and task orientation but with that `helicopter’ holistic approach,” she says.

The “hard” elements of the discipline she refers to are the three basic cornerstones of project management — time, cost and quality.
“Don’t underestimate the importance of those at all. You’ve got to be able to ensure that the outcome you’re looking to deliver for an organisation, described by the project, is delivered within the timeframe that the organisation needs, to the agreed standard and within budget,” says Butler.

Meir-Lindner says a good project manager has a mix of technical skills in an area such as finance, but speaks of the importance of “soft” skills such as communications skills to interact within a project team. “These project teams can be very diverse. Either they are within one workplace or they are spread around a state a country, or if you’ve got virtual teams, across the world. This is where communication skills are very important.”

Bartlett points out that the PMI has a project management professional (PMP) certification and the AIPM has a RegPM certification, which guide employers with an assurance that any holder has been through both experience and academic studies in relation to the project management profession. “The PMP requires a given level of project experience (three or five years, depending on educational background) and then an academic exam that ensures you have studied and understand the PM essentials to allow you to apply this knowledge. RegPM also requires a minimum academic level and then an activity-based assessment on how you apply that knowledge.”

Neither can guarantee the competency of the individual that attains the certification, says Barlett. He says the best way of developing skills in project management is to be delivering projects.
“It is a very hands-on role and you do learn a lot, and as long as you do identify those lessons and learn from them you’ll continue to improve your skills,” she says.

Butler acknowledges professional industry associations are very helpful for advice regarding career development for project managers. “It’s really important that project managers are involved in those associations because of the networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities that they offer.” Currently the PMI has around 3500 individual members nationally and the AIPM has 5500.
Baccarini says formal qualifications in the project management field began in the early 1980s and have grown significantly since then.

“Originally, most of these programs specifically serviced the construction, engineering and property market. Nowadays most project management educational courses are generic, because organisations are realising that projects and project management provide the means of introducing change to achieve strategic goals.” Bacarrini points out that students who once would consider undertaking an MBA are realising that a qualification in project management is becoming more highly sought by employers.

Tertiary qualifications in project management offered by Curtin University include a graduate certificate, graduate diploma and master in project management. “Project management is the career for the 21st century. Furthermore, project managers understand that projects are a means for achieving strategic goals, which means they are ideally suited to move up the managerial ladder,” says Baccarini.

Butler advises those interested in becoming involved in project management roles need to be prepared to work hard, and be thoroughly challenged — but at the same time be prepared to have a career in which one can be exposed to all parts of an organisation.

“Project management is a great profession in its own right, and it’s a great springboard into senior and executive roles or across into other industry sectors.”

Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM)
http://www.aipm.com.au/html/default.cfm

Project Management Institute( PMI)
www.sydney.pmi.org.au