Today’s market is littered with technology-based products that are essential to compete. Programs and applications have evolved into a more dynamic arsenal for efficiency; and smarter devices have diminished the need for massive and rigorous employee training. As a result, the organizational infrastructure of small and medium-sized businesses changed from functional to more project-based. With the change, the dynamics and procedures of the company also needed a makeover to adapt to the changes. The most apparent dilemma is how to create project managers or stream managers to dynamically engage with the changing organizational structure of the company and thus produce a more successful project-based operation. Project manager development requires project management training to facilitate better procedure, maximize efficiency, improve procedure, and improve overall performance.
Identify the problem:
The fundamental issue is to convert existing functional managers into project managers to tackle initiatives or projects successfully, which is now becoming the normal operating procedure of the company. The way the company operated for years with different functional departments working on specific operations tasks has morphed into more project-based initiatives, with the work tackled by a group of employees from multiple departments. This change created an issue where there are no procedures to follow, no form of scalable process, or no measure of success for started projects. Projects and initiatives have been completed on numerous occasions, but there are no formal indicators of successful or failed processes or documentation of scalable measures. So, operationally, it will appear to be working well, but there are missed opportunities that can be beneficial to the organization.
Analyze the tasks and work conditions:
The first task is to assess what procedures are in place to create a baseline for measurement. Documenting how projects or initiatives are received and delegated is a good starting point. This should serve as the first analysis task in the process. This involves documenting the current manager’s success rate in terms of how many projects they have successfully completed, as well as how many projects they are managing at any given time. Assessing the manager’s experience and skill set in project management is detrimental to the success or failure of the project. This will also help document a knowledge matrix to suit different roles in a project management team. With current conditions, such as the influx of multiple projects, there is an obvious limitation, such as the time to finish the deliverable, as well as to manage your current working hours. As the project spans the life cycle of the business, ongoing assessment is also needed to manage different aspects of the changes.
Identify the causes of the problem:
The change in the organizational structure is inevitable; all businesses will at some point change direction to drive profits. The company will change if the market demands a different service, product or solution. Many physical companies have embraced the Internet and launched their online presence strategies. Other companies have completely switched to online operations. The cause of the problem is that the company has to adhere to the project-based operation and for this, the managers and everyone who is involved in the operation to tackle the projects must acquire knowledge about the project management culture. Employees with previous project management experience are great for developing a project team. But, without a supporting cast for a successful journey in getting a project done on time, on budget, and a quality result to deliver, it becomes a very difficult job. Apart from this fact, there is also a performance analysis issue. How will the company measure the efficiency of the team in the execution of its task in a project without establishing both a systematic and systemic approach in its process? How can the company find room for maneuver for success if there is no procedural baseline as a starting point on a roadmap for improvement? Ultimately, the cause is that there is no training for the procedures to undertake a project and there are no guidelines to follow for success.
Identify the desired performance outcome:
There are many performance outcomes that the company wants to achieve when establishing project management training. The initial result is that everyone involved in any project is well informed and knowledgeable in the aspect of project management. Familiarity with project management practices and procedures is the first objective of the training; to be able to define and identify a project to manage. Understanding the project life cycle is the second priority, so managers can better prioritize time and schedules to work with other existing projects. In addition, it is also important to identify the different phases and order arrangements of the life cycle to have more clarity on the project timeline. Resource allocation is next in the desired performance outcome. The project manager should develop a systematic process on allocating funds, scheduling timelines for employees to avoid overtime, risk management to be better informed about unpredictable expenses, and a systemic approach to improve employee motivation. the employees. Above all, the company needs a performance baseline for the process in order to maximize efficiency on future projects.
Identify your training expectations in relation to the outcome:
The overall design of the training is to apply knowledge of project management methodology, to provide project managers with an easy way to come together to work on the how, what, and when of projects. This will give managers and their team more confidence in whatever project they have to carry out because they will be able to identify from the different parameters of the project management process and implement it. The training should also provide processes to apply in effective planning, execution and management to develop a simplified approach, such as categorizing and allocating the necessary resources where they belong. With the result of the training, project managers will be able to recognize objectives such as budgeting, planning, scheduling and risk management that will allow a better flow in the execution of the work of any project.
