Management Concept Style

If we are involved in managing change, we will come across the terms Stakeholder Analysis, Stakeholder Management and Stakeholder Engagement. So what is the difference between these three concepts? Let's take a look at some definitions from dictionary.com.

To Analyse

Management Concept

1. to determine the elements or essential features of
   
2. to examine critically, so as to bring out the essential elements or give the essence of
   
3. to examine carefully and in detail so as to identify causes, key factors, possible results, etc

So essentially, Analysis is about understanding.

To Manage

1. to take charge or care of
   
2. to dominate or influence (a person) by tact, flattery, or artifice
   
3. to handle, direct, govern, or control

So while Analysis is about understanding, Management is about control.

To Engage

1. to occupy the attention or efforts of a person
   
2. to secure for aid, employment, use, etc.
   
3. to attract and hold fast
   
4. to attract or please

So Engagement is really about attraction.

In my seminar, The Art and Science of Stakeholder Engagement, I refer to Stakeholder Analysis and Management as the 'science' - it's about understanding your stakeholders and communicating with them in an ordered and controlled way.

The 'art' is the pure engagement aspect and is very different. This is all about attracting people to you and your proposition and engaging them emotionally so that their interest is sustained. This is the part that is often missing from what we do.

Science takes place in the head, whereas art comes from the heart. We need the science to keep us rational and organised. But, since people operate and communicate at an emotional level most of the time, we also need to connect with people more deeply and keep their interest. That's the art.

Meet Simon Barnes at www.meetsimonbarnes.com [http://www.meetsimonbarnes.com]

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The origins of the concept of a project management maturity model, is lost in the mists of time. With the evidence of project management skills as far back as the time of the building of the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China and other great wonders of the world - it is quite logical to suppose that there could have been an early model to map the progress of developing project management skills. After all, for an ancient project manager the price of failure came high!

In more recent times the concept of a project management maturity model has evolved considerably from the software industry. There is the need to understand and measure many variables, manage great complexity, obtain consistent results and achieve stringent delivery targets within budget.

Management Concept

With regard to which model is the "best" or most appropriate for any specific situation [I fully appreciate that project management professionals reading this may disagree with what I am about to say, but] I feel the far bigger challenge is actually in getting ANY model applied.

From that point on, and with director level sponsorship and support - all things are possible. There are many maturity models [I am aware of over 35] and the dominant model is the P3M3 Model created and sponsored by the OGC [UK Office of Government and Commerce] in association the APMG [UK Association of Project Management Group.

This is a composite and enhanced model that addresses the 3 related aspects of large-scale project management and that glories in the full title of "Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Mode".

Try this test...

In relation to your [or your client's] organisation:

- Do you use project management?

- Do you use programme management?

- Do you know the difference?

- Do you know why knowing the difference matters?

Try this simple test - review the different levels listed below based on the P3M3 maturity model - firstly in relation to project management and then secondly with programme management - and see which best describes your organisation:

> Level 0 - No process - the organisation has no project and /or programme management skills or experience

> Level 1 - Awareness process - the organisation is able to recognize projects and/or programmes - but has little structured approach to dealing with them.

> Level 2 - Repeatable process - there may be areas that are beginning to use standard approaches to projects and/or programmes but there is no consistency of approach across the organisation.

> Level 3 - Defined process - there will be a consistent set of standards being used across the organisation with clear process ownership.

> Level 4 - Managed process - the organisation monitors and measures its process efficiency, with active interventions to improve the way it delivers based largely on evidence or performance based information.

> Level 5 - Optimised process - the organisation will be focussing on optimisation of its quantitatively managed processes to take into account changing business needs and external factors.

Where you and your organisation sit on the maturity model is one of the biggest key factors in leading change that will determine your chances of success [the others are (a) the quality of leadership, and (b) the cultures in your organisation].

Why bother?

In 2003 "The Project Management Institute" came up with the following definition: "Organisational Project Management Maturity describes an organisation's overall ability to select and manage projects in a way that supports its strategic goals".

Well that all sounds very noble - but the simple rationale for having and using a project management maturity model is quite simply that projects fail! [And the same is true for programme and change management.]

A survey conducted in 2003 by the Standish Group(US)showed that 66% of IT projects are either totally abandoned or fail against a measure of budget, scope, time or quality (i.e. 'challenged').

A similar study in the UK by Computer Weekly that 84% of projects either failed or were challenged. It has been estimated that the cost to US business of failing or abandoned IT projects runs into hundreds of billions of dollars.

Closer to home the UK government have wasted countless billions of pounds on failed projects. At the programme level - with the wider perspective beyond a project delivery of capability to the actual realisation of a defined organisational benefit - the failure rate is a consistent 70%.

And given that every programme encompasses a signifcant change element, the same failure rate applies to any significant change management initiative.

Progress driven by pain

In most organisations the evolution of project management, programme management and change management skills typically lags far behind the development of other capabilities within the company. So the state of maturity to a large degree reflects the prevailing dominant corporate culture.

Given that companies [or more accurately directors] don't know what they don't know - the level of maturity of the company remains invisible. In fact the very concept of a maturity model remains invisible. So nothing changes until things go wrong - and pain is felt and someone at director level is facing an exposure as a result of a significant project failure.

This is the point at which progress becomes possible as progress needs sponsorship. And as the focus shifts to improving performance, there are two principal targets.

(1) To improve how any specific project, programme and change is managed.

(2) To improve performance in overall organisational capability in project, programme and change management.

The purpose of this assessment is to show the extent to which the infrastructure within the organisation supports the project, programme and change management efforts.

Benefits of a structured assessment

The main benefits of the subsequent structured assessment of maturity within the organisation isn't in understanding the current level at which the company is performing, but rather in setting direction, prioritising actions and beginning cultural change.

So, taking project management as an example: an organisational project management maturity model provides guidance to an organisation regarding how to:

- Articulate project success

- Measure project performance

- Make the delivery of projects more predictable

- Help projects work together instead of against each other in a multi-project environment

In 2003 The Centre for Business Practices produced its 'Project Management - the State of the Industry' survey. This survey measured organisational improvement over time, as a result of project management improvement programmes.

The highlights of this survey show significant improvements in terms of financial performance, customer retention and satisfaction, project and process improvement, employees satisfaction and productivity, and a dramatic 70% increase in project alignment with strategic objectives.

In a change management context, after enough pain has been experienced, a mature project culture will evolve into the holistic and wider view perspective of a programme based approach to change management.

But you can get there much more quickly and with far less pain IF [and only if] you know how to navigate the issues that directly cause the catastrophic 70% failure rate of ALL change initiatives.

For more on this: "Questions before initiating change"

Equip yourself to avoid the 70% failure rate of all change initiatives with the "Practitioners' Masterclass - Leading your people through change, putting it all together and managing the whole messy business."

Stephen Warrilow, based in Bristol, works with companies across the UK providing specialist support to directors delivery significant change initiatives. Stephen has 25 years cross sector experience with 100+ companies in mid range corporate, larger SME and corporate environments.

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We are all familiar with the concept of "time", but when you add the word "management" behind it, things can get a little cloudy. Simply put, time management is the process of managing your time. People can make this more confusing and harder than it has to be when they try to get too technical and start creating "time maps" and flow charts.

When it comes down to it, it is a lot simpler than that. We all have twenty four hours each day. By practicing time management strategies, we are deciding how to use those hours to accomplish all the tasks we have on our to-do lists.

Management Concept

Having a schedule is a fundamental part of time management. You can imagine your schedule as a road-map. It provides important information about where you are going and how you can get there. Without it, you may take a wrong turn somewhere and find yourself lost. Once someone is lost, it may take some time before they get back on track, and they usually arrive to their destination a bit later than they would have liked.

When you have a schedule, you can look at it and see what you need to do each day. You'll know if you are on track, and if you aren't, what you need to do to get back on course.

How To Make a Schedule

One of the first things to do when making a schedule is to write down all the things you have to do on a piece of paper. Some people keep separate work and family schedules, and if you decide that would work best for you, you can divvy those tasks up later. For now, simply write out everything that needs to be done on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis.

Once you have everything written out and in front of you, it's time to start sorting between the common themes. You can do this by assigning a highlighter color to each theme (such as family, work, daily, monthly, weekly) or by taking out another piece of paper and writing those columns on it, and rewriting all the tasks into the appropriate column.

Now that you have all of your tasks sorted out, try to give a time estimate to each one. You may even want to time yourself for a week or two on these tasks, as you may be very surprised at how long some things take.

For instance, you may think it only takes 45 minutes to go to the grocery store, but in reality it could take an hour and 15 minutes. You may think it only takes 15 minutes to run up to the school and pick up the kids, but may find it actually takes 25 minutes.

In many cases, people underestimate the time it takes to do things, and this is one of the reasons they think they aren't getting enough done. By timing yourself, you will get a visual picture of your time. When you see how long it really takes to accomplish your regular tasks, you will be able to see how many things you can fit into a normal day. You won't constantly be trying to push yourself to do more.

Once you have written down your tasks and estimated the time it takes to accomplish them, you can start planning your schedule. Some people like to have a daily schedule that is very organized with certain tasks assigned to certain times and others prefer to keep a weekly schedule that is more flexible.

Jim Sanderson writes custom articles for an online marketing company.  Call today to receive a FREE website marketing strategy for your small business ( http://BusinessMediaPublishing.com ).

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