Contmporary Project Management a millenials Perspective

Contemporary Project Management: A Millennials Perspective Prof Ernest Mnkandla 20 March 2013

This talk will cover:

• Introduction• The Millenials• Contemporary Project Management• Agile project management• Agile Adoption• conclusion

PMSA Gauteng Event 20 March 2013

• How many of you have worked as Project Managers?• How many of you have worked in project teams?• What is project management?

– Definition of PM: application of knowledge and skills, tools and techniques to the management of a set of processes in a project environment in order to achieve the desired goal (Schwalbe 2010:25).

Introduction


• If you were given a number of various SD tasks and potential projects how would you determine which ones qualify as projects?– Project complexity determines the difference between a project and some ‘difficult’ task.

Introduction


Introduction…

• Changes in technology and project complexity• Reducing complexity through iterative development

• So how do we continue to improve our effectiveness?– By increasing our rate of adoption of new technologies and using them, we improve our effectiveness. So you cannot avoid it if you want to survive.


• Who are they?– Generation Y,

• There are no precise dates when this generation starts and ends but they follow generation X

• They were born anywhere from 1979 to the early 2000s.

The Millenials


Generations


Generations Traits


Generations Traits…


The Millenials’ PM Challenge

• All these generations work in one place• They may be in one project that you are managing.

• Hence you need a revolutionary approach to project management


The Millenials’ PM Challenge…

• Training across multigenerational workplace:– We learn:

• 10% through formal training.• 20% through materials and access to IT systems such as books, manuals, procedures and systems.

• 70% of learning occurs on the job.


• Commonly used guides & standards:– PMBOK– APMBOK– PMAJ

• Methodologies are developed based on existing standards:– A lot of research has been done to show that there is no meaningful conflict between most methodologies and standards.

Contemporary Project Management


Contemporary Project Management

• Examples of contemporary methodologies:– Prince 2– RUP– Agile


• Definition:– The application of agile principles to the management of application development projects.

• Phases of Agile PM:– Initiate (justify project, define requirements, document requirements)

– Construct(Model project, create prototype, test)– Deliver(Release, test, rework)– Support (find defects , manage change)

Agile project management


Agile project management…

• Principles of Agile PM:– Increase ROI (focus on flow of value)– Deliver reliable results (engage customers) – Expect uncertainty and manage it iteratively– Unleash creativity and innovation: individuals are the ultimate source of value

– Boost performance: group accountability ,& shared responsibility

– Improve effectiveness and reliability


• Adoption depends on significant changes in three key areas:

• (1) The people: – Must be empowered through training in agile practices such as collaborative work.

– Collaborative work implies informing your project teams about project changes as they happen.

– Use of tools for collaboration in cases where your project teams are distributed.

Agile adoption


Agile adoption…

– Adopting agility implies change in culture, and people may initially resist the change for various reasons, this can be solved by hiring an agile practitioner.

– Remember to introduce the agile culture change to the executives as well.

– Executives need to understand that agile will change the process and deliverables but the release rates and product quality either stay unchanged or improve.


Agile adoption…

– Use of agile tools may change the roles for project managers, e.g. instead of canvasing for progress reports from individuals, tools track progress.

– Create teams, according to the types of capabilities you are looking for.

• (2) The adopted processes:– Apply agile to your entire production process not just development.


Agile adoption…

– Tune your agile methodology into consumable practices that can be adopted easily.

– Work with stakeholders every iteration for timely and effective feedback.

– Each activity, (e.g. going on vacation or writing code or testing), must be a work item that’s estimated and prioritized.


Agile adoption…

• (3) The implemented tools for success:– Provide tools for teams to exchange information and stay on the same page (especially if your organisation is large).


• According to the Millenials:– A PM is a colleague, titles don’t matter– Work is a social phenomenon– Projects are a nice place to meet colleagues, show kindness and still deliver quality products

– Clocking is pathetic– Performance appraisal contracts are a violation of their rights.

– Set goals, give me resources, free me, receive a quality product.

Conclusion


• So what must PM do?– Sharpen your social skills– Acquire soft skills– Learn at least one tool from each of the most commonly used communication technologies.

– Always remember to trust these guys to deliver and therefore give them space.

Conclusion


Questions


• UN. (2009). Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y (and Generation Z) Working Together. From http://tinyurl.com/cgbz7zl

• Cockburn, A. 2008. The declaration of interdependence for modern management. Available from http://tinyurl.com/38f69he accessed 24 January 2013.

• Ambler, S.W. 2002. Agile Modelling. John Wiley.• Tryon, C. A. (n.d). Modern Project Management. Tryon and Associates.

From http://www.tryonassoc.com/pdffiles/Paper%20‐%20Modern%20Project%20Management.pdf

• This talk was presented at the Project Management South Africa (Gauteng Chapter) Event on 20 March 2013, see: http://www.projectmanagement.org.za/events/event_details.asp?id=307578

References


Design

Contmporary Project Management a millenials Perspective