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Historical Perspectives on PM: The Benchmark Report

When you don't learn the lessons taught by history, you're bound to repeating the same mistakes. We delve into recent history lessons delivered annually from the Arras People PM Benchmark Report (PMBR). We're gearing up for another run of influence on project managers in the next two months, so this edition of Project Management Tipoffs explores results of Benchmark Reports since its inception seven years ago. You'll learn about areas like how we apply for jobs; what we really think of accreditation, and sustainable goals for our projects.

• If there's an issue you think the 2013 PM Benchmark Report should cover, please tell us about it in this short survey.

The Practitioner's Historical View of Accreditation

WORDS: Dan Strayer

How have practitioners viewed the relevance and viability of PPM certifications since were first started tracking it in the PMBR? The evolution of the importance of accreditation is something we've long wondered about, starting particularly in the pre-recessionary days.

2006: The Qualified Incompetent Rises

In the midst of a year that saw a tornado hit London, the Prince2 storm gathered momentum, though critics wondered to what effect.

Two key points from this year's PMBR:

November 2012

• There was "a massive increase in Prince2 Foundation and Prince2 Practitioner accreditation, which have seen threefold and fourfold increases respectively since 2000."

• Employers were "increasingly demanding formal professional accreditation. 77 per cent of respondents agreed that they had seen a 'significant increase' in employer demands (20% agreed strongly)."

Yet as we'd learn throughout the course of delivering the PMBR each year, dissension appeared in 2006 in regards to the true value accreditation brings to the project management table. Several complained of "organisations which require accreditations in Prince2 and PMI, but who do not follow the methodologies in practice."

Another respondent said "qualifications are not a substitute for experience", and also talked about the "qualified incompetent", one capable only of bringing down the reputation and valuation of their peers.1

2007: A Rush on Accreditation and a Cry for Consolidation

Accreditation matters started heating up in the same year the new Wembley Stadium debuted. "The debate continues, and the temperature is rising," PMBR 2007 said.

Increasingly, it was en vogue to hold a certification. Only 24% of respondents didn’t have one, compared with 46% in 2006. "There appears to have been a substantial rush for qualifications," we wrote. PRINCE2 Practitioner and Foundation still ruled the roost, maintaining similar numbers to 2006 and staying at the top of the heap for the next 5 years.2

Little would change in the new calendar year on an employer’s desire for accredited candidates. "76% of all respondents believe that accreditation helps them gain employment. 21% believe this strongly," we wrote. But despite popularity, employment may have been driving accreditation in an increasingly detrimental way. There was a relatively even split on the true valuation of a certification - 42% believed that the value of qualifications was "overstated," whilst 40% believed it was not overstated.

Ultimately, practitioners remained dubious about employers’ understanding of project management capability. Seemingly, there was a belief that some hirers associated certification with competence - 67% believed employers "onfused qualifications with competence." But they let employers off the hook a little, too: we wrote that "the wide number of accreditation bodies tends to add to the confusion, and at the same time undermine the value of accreditation."

With this in mind, we asked: "Are there simply too many accreditation bodies?", and; "Should there be a single competency standard?"

From the PPMs we asked, you could trace the roots of a desire for Professional standards. With regard to those who wanted a single competency standard, 73% said they did. On the matter of there being too many accreditation bodies, 71% said there were.

2008: Employers Driving the Trend

In the year where both John Terry and the world economy both lost their balance at the worst possible moment, accreditation’s importance gained firm footing with younger generations of practitioners.

Nearly half (42%) of our respondents stated "I believe this supports me in my role" when we asked. Only 21% felt that accreditation was of little importance in their role, and 15% stated they'd been driven toward certification by "market demand". The other 20% held no accreditations, but would plan to attain some form of them in 2008.

Importance, as stated, was not uniform for all age brackets. Signs emerged that the accreditation rush held more sway with younger PPM practitioners. In all, 67% of those polled under age 50 revealed they either "(had/would take) accreditation to support their delivery." Those over 50 weren’t having it so strongly, with just 50% responding they had one or would get one.

Unlike their younger colleagues, Over 50s were more vehemently against certification: 34% said accreditation was not important, compared to 16% (<34s) and 19% (35-49).

2010: Competence and the Hierarchal Variance

As the UK welcomed its first official coalition government in 70 years, PMBR tracked which types of competencies one needed to work in PPM. The Technical competency was synonymous with certifications in this study, as we asked people which five skills out of a possible 13 were most important. As we wrote in 2010’s PMBR, the need to understand competence had arisen out of PRINCE2’s perceived synonymous existence with capable application of project management.

Here's what we wrote in 2010: "(We) have consistently been troubled by the lack of attention given to the question of competence in the field of Programme and Project Management. It feels like the educationalists have stolen a march on us all by convincing the market that attaining 'knowledge based certifications' such as Prince2®, bestows upon an individual the capacity to deliver projects and programmes."3

But as one rose on the supposed hierarchy of the PPM ladder (namely, from support capacities to Programme Manager), the competency valuation chart below revealed that the value of a certification held much less sway against Leadership, Planning & Organising and Relationship Management.

Since we started tallying competency data, this trend has stayed the same.

2011: The Future of PRINCE2

PRINCE2 remained accreditation king amongst PPMs in the year we were awed by The King's Speech, but of increased interest were those who told us they had no certifications.

"The second highest return (of possible choices) came for 'none' with 27.2%, which would appear to back up the feeling that there isn't always the need to invest in formal qualifications and accreditations," we wrote in the 2011 PMBR. "The 2007 reported level was 35.9%."

Very revealing numbers, in retrospect. It told us that though the competences indicated that accreditation didn't really hold that much sway, more people still got one anyway. With MSP4 and then Agile5 seeing a rise in popularity and relevance, PRINCE2 - something of a cash cow since the millennium - was running out of room to grow6 in a still widely-variable certification marketplace that still lacked a certified professional standard.

Below are some more responses we got in 2011 to questions we’d asked in previous years as well. They indicate that while we got accredited, we didn't trust its merits:

• "57% agreed that employers expect them to have PPM qualifications and accreditations." • "63% agreed that PPM qualifications and accreditations help them to secure new roles." • "69% agreed that they see PPM qualifications and accreditations as an important part of their ongoing

professional development." • "66% agreed that most employers confuse PPM accreditation with PPM competence."

There were a plethora of comments from those that supported, questioned the relevance of and demanded clarification on PPM qualifications and accreditations:

• "My employer does not view accreditation as important - I disagree strongly with that view" • "Not sure whether client organisations require certain qualifications or whether agencies suggest them (to

make filtering easier?)"

and finally:

• "Until it is possible to become a Chartered Project Manager there is no Profession. Accreditations are therefore based on commercial organisations’ views on what PM is."

1 - 2006 PMBR: "One PM in Central Government said "a lot of people who are not project managers call themselves project managers and go to interviews and

drive prices down – then fail to deliver. Not good for the industry." 2 - Interestingly, this PMBR discovered that ITIL Foundation (Green) and Six Sigma rose up the Certification tables from the previous year. 3 - (Cont.) "Whilst at the other extreme we have a quest for chartered status to legitimise the 'professionalisation' of our art. What appears to be missing is the

bit in the middle; a recognised industrial measure of competence that can be aligned to lifelong learning and development of the individual against a peer based

matrix. This is further compounded by many organisations when they recruit programme and project practitioners asking for certification (whether relevant or

not) and though it is illegal under age discrimination legislation 'a minimum of X years experience'. It is our belief and that of many respondents to our surveys

over the last five years that these two metrics are, in many instances, flawed as they do not indicate competence." 4 - 2011 PMBR: "MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) is a rising star from the previous data increasing its coverage from 6% to 13.5%. The other significant

change is the APM’s APMP qualification, which did not register in the top 10 in the 2007. Whilst returning 9.4% in this survey, there is a significant difference

between contractors and employees at 12% and 6%, respectively." 5 - 2011 PMBR: "Whilst many practitioners continue to talk about Agile, it has barely registered on the scale with the APMG and DSDM offerings chalking up just

0.7% between them. As recruiters we are still not seeing the market being driven for agile skills so it will be interesting to see how well the APM-Groups new Agile

offering does during 2011."

6 - Peter Richards on the new PRINCE2 Professional qualification for How to Manage a Camel, June 2012: "This new PRINCE2 qualification will be pragmatic,

intensive… and more difficult than ever. At first, it is said that pass rates across the board are expected to be low in comparison to the earlier courses. Why would

they do that? While it may not be an intuitive solution, it is an astute one. I am inferring from this logic that a more difficult qualification system will separate the

wheat, functionally speaking and with no disrespect intended, from the chaff."

Influence the Project Management Benchmark Report

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Applications - A History of Project Managers Finding Work

WORDS: Dan Strayer

Since starting the PMBR back in late 2005-early 2006, have project managers changed the way they find new opportunties?

2007: 1 in 5 Contractors Troll the Internet for Jobs

"Employees and contractors have very different approaches to job seeking. Only three contractor respondents used traditional media advertisements to find jobs. The typical source of new contracts is agencies (44%), followed by contractors' personal networks (35%). The internet is used by 21% of respondents."

It was good news for us at the time, but it was also a testament to how people were networking before professions fully entrusted their faith in the online job search process. Did this mean that people (contractors, anyway) got out more back in the day? Did networking events from governing bodies and trade organisations have more of a “must attend” feel on the annual working calendar?

Answer: yes, if you were a contractor. Because employees in 2007 didn’t rate it at all: only 12% tapped their personal networks first for jobs. Indeed, employees did things a bit differently that year: over half (56%) used the web as their first port of call, followed by agencies (28%).

"To all intents and purposes, traditional media is dead as far as this sample of project management practitioners is concerned," we wrote then. "You can forget the Thursday Telegraph for this sample."

Bold statement. Would it hold?

2008: Traditional Media is Dead, Long Live the King

Yes, it would. By age or by gender, traditional media was now on its last legs for the PPM job applicant, tallying a scant 2%. Nearly half of all hunting (48%) was tied to the internet, with agencies riding close behind in second place at 36%. Job boards and agencies alone accounted for more than four out of 5 sourcing opportunities, with agencies gaining in popularity.

"The web was interestingly down 8% on the 2006 response, with agencies taking up that drop," we reported.

Only 2% of 2008 respondents’ rate traditional media as a typical source of new job opportunities, another percentage point down from last year with the remaining 14% maintaining a network of personal contacts through which opportunities are filtered.

In 2008, we broke it down by age group as well, and the tendencies were all too predictable:

• The older you are, the more personal networks come in to play; • The older you are, the less that internet is used when finding new roles; • The older you are, the more traditional media is used for finding new roles.

2011: Unemployed vs Employed

As part of the 2011 survey we took a look at the challenges of job hunting and specifically those associated with changing sector. The data was compiled from those practitioners who are unemployed and also those currently in employment (PAYE & Contractors) who are seeking to change roles. Overall amongst those employed, 62% said they were looking for a new role (66% public sector vs 60% private sector). This probably reflects the impending challenges for public sector workers, whilst in the private sector after a period of stagnation 2011 for many have been the year to make a change.

Sources of opportunity

We asked both groups of job hunters to indicate their perception of how effective various channels are when it comes to identifying new opportunities:

• Online Job Boards As the top result for the unemployed practitioners, 78% saw this channel as effective, whilst the employed job seekers rated this at 74%.

• Personal Network As the top result for the employed job seekers 76% saw this channel as effective,whilst the unemployed practitioners rated this at 62%.

• Agencies 71% of the employed job seekers saw this channel as effective, whilst the unemployed practitioners rated this at 66%.

• Social Media Both sets of practitioners are not sure that this is yet an effective channel for new opportunities with 60% either not using or finding it ineffective.

• Trade Journals Both sets of practitioners do not see this as an effective channel for new opportunities with 75% of the unemployed practitioners and 65% of those employed either not using or finding it ineffective.

• Newspapers The most ineffective channel for both sets of practitioners with 81% of the unemployed practitioners (and) 75% of those employed either not using or finding it ineffective.

We weren't all that surprised, writing "Many organisations are still trying to fill roles without actively marketing through agencies or jobsites but preferring to use word of mouth, employees' personal networks and referrals."

"Agencies such as Arras People are seen by many organisations as suitable for their 'hard to fill roles' when they have exhausted their in-house channels, though for others they are the first port of call."

Social media - then as now - was "unproven, although sites such as LinkedIn are trying to tie together the personal networks and some of the offerings of the job boards and is certainly one to watch."

The fork remained stuck firmly in the back of print media for job sourcing. "Trade journals and newspapers continue to suffer and appear to be no longer an effective channel for most job seekers. Interestingly, public sector workers rate them higher than others!"

Looking forward to 2013 will social media be used increasingly by project managers or will job boards still rule the day? Will there be other ways of sourcing opportunities? The Project Management Census will be open from next month and we'll be keen to see if there is anything new or innovative on the horizon.

Dan Strayer is the Marketing/PR Coordinator for Arras People, serving as the editor of Project Management Tipoffs and How to Manage a Camel, and host of the Arras People Project Management Podcast.

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Sustainability - A Matter of Performance and Benefits Realisation

WORDS: Dan Strayer

Some matters in project management get special coverage under the spotlight of the PM Benchmark Report in a given year, be it due to recent news (economic collapse), tendencies (the rise of social media) or movements (professionalisation).

In 2010, this manifested itself in the form of our addressing the matter of greenality and sustainability. In that edition of the PMBR, "concerns about the environment and 'green practises' were continually in the news and seemingly weaved into every agenda."

What did greenality mean to project management then? We'll reflect on our findings from three years ago and, almost three Benchmark Reports later, talk about where sustainable practises are at the moment.

Are we concerned?

Naturally when it comes to talking about a crucial worldwide issue, the 2010 PMBR asked its respondents about their own level of concern about green issues. We learned that "the vast majority in all cuts of the data were firmly in the 'somewhat concerned' grouping that averaged around the 50% mark. Those who indicated they were "very concerned" were "also a consistent cut across all groupings at 26% of all respondents," a figure driven particularly hard by those in the Charity / NFP sector at 43%.

Green Business?

In spite of the high profile associated with greenality, a mere 9% of respondents said they were measured in their business against green objectives. This increased to 13% in the Public sector, leading us to conclude that it "may suggest that commercial business drivers (profit) have not yet been identified by the Private sector."

Despite these setbacks to greenality, practitioners did appear to hold a strong amount of regard for it. 26% said that "Although unmeasured, I personally include green objectives in my/our activities".

"32% of respondents reported that their organisations are looking to pursue the competitive advantage that being green may offer, though 41% report that they can see no competitive advantage at this time. So it looks like early days for the majority of organisations looking to unlock the 'value' rather than the 'cost'."

Green PM?

At this point of the 2010 PMBR Green section, it seemed that sustainability was a mixed bag with PPM practitioners. Sustainability, according to comments, was seen then as "a compliance issue which will add complexity, cost and time to their programmes and projects." This arose out of a lack of comfort in familiarity with long-term benefits of greenality. "Just 7% indicate that they have a clear understanding regarding green project management."

But there was optimism amongst the ranks toward the possibilities that the green movement presented. 31% of practitioners said they "believe that a market will emerge for Green PMs; 30% are undecided, whilst the remaining 33% believe that practitioners 'will just add it to their skill set'".

Three Years On: Earth PM Reflects on Greenality in PPM

So where does the real-world impact of green measures sit within the project management field these days? Having talked with, reviewed and solicited advice from them previously, Rich Maltzman and David Shirley were the sensible authorities on green practices within project management to speak with. Through their enlightening website Earth PM, and having lectured on PM sustainability in the United States, Malaysia, South Africa and currently Canada, Rich and David are sensing further changes on the ground in the approach to this world-affecting matter, though the move is rather tepid.

"As we look at the survey results from 2010 and consider the reaction to our posts, tweets, and our talks, we do see a change in attitude," they told us in a recent email. "Of course, there continues to be a voice of protest against the very concept of sustainability in project management, sometimes rooted in a disbelief in climate change, or at least human-caused climate change. But as we continue to assert that it doesn't matter what you believe politically about climate change, this is more about how we as project managers can do a better job – we seem to be getting more clarity and more buy-in even amongst that population."

Can Project Managers Change their Success Measurements?

The nature of project management suggests an ending to the work, i.e. the delivery. Ergo, detachment after handover will often set in. Maltzman and Shirley are pushing the idea that success for a project manager comes by way of the long-term deliverables.

"The way we see this now, it's much more about a true definition of project success – and whether that project success occurs at handover with simple measurements of schedule, budget, and requirements, or whether, in fact, project success also includes more of an organizational, more of a holistic, more of a portfolio, and yes, more of a long-term, sustainable view," they wrote. "We always push our PMs – those who are willing to listen – to the far end of that spectrum. Project success considerations should absorb the ideas of whether the project's deliverable truly delivers in the steady state. And that can (should, we assert) take into account the organization's CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) goals, not only their financial goals."

They've noted that things are changing - gradually, leaving much room for an improvement of its awareness.

"We see a slight growth in maturity in accepting this view," they told us. "Only a slight growth – and still, one that needs advancement. That's why we continue to push, post, blog, speak, and teach."

Recently, Tipoffs explored benefits realisation management, and the mention of handover led us to wonder if a project manager's apathy toward BRM and performance after delivery affected sustainability. Maltzman and Shirley both acknowledged that apathy was a reality of today’s projects.

"Yes, apathy is a good word to describe how many project managers relate to benefits and steady-state performance," they wrote. "It's hard to blame them. Projects (we are told over and over again) have a definitive beginning and end – so it's in a PM's 'programming' or 'DNA'. It would be impossible to start a project, hand it over, be responsible for the steady-state results, and continue working on scores of new projects simultaneously, so I empathize with the apathy."

"But we assert that there is an advantage in risk identification and stakeholder engagement (as two big examples of many other advantages) in considering benefits management and steady-state performance management when PMs run their projects."

Reaching Out to the PPM Hierarchy

I also asked the guys if programme, portfolio and PMO management, with their connection to the higher end of the organisational hierarchy, might lend a sympathetic ear to sustainability principles.

"We have started to put more effort into the portfolio level," they responded. "A PMO – with a view over a family of related projects and programs – is perhaps a better 'market' for these ideas. We will continue to push at the grass-roots PM level, but we will also have to work at the PMO, portfolio, and program level if we want to assert that project managers (and of course, program, portfolio and PMO leaders) have a role in injecting sustainability into our discipline."

They added that even the basic sustainability terminology is facing some issues when they try to get a foot in the door of the PPM conscience. Maltzman and Shirley recalled their experience helping PMI update their PMBoK Guide, now in its fifth edition.

"We faced the same kind of apathy when we proposed about 20 specific line-item changes (aimed at integrating sustainability thinking) and had most of them initially rejected or deferred," they told us. "We finally got one implemented, but the reaction indicates to me that maybe PMs (and even the PMI) are not yet ready to accept the more holistic, more organizationally-focused, more sustainable role for which they have the potential."

"I think it was very telling that a recent PM Journal article* which discussed this very topic did a great job of technically expanding 'project success' to a more holistic view and to the level of organizational success – but still fell short of even using the word 'environment' or 'sustainability' even once."

Rich Maltzman and David Shirley collaborate on Earth PM, a blog & resource centre "at the intersection of Green and Project Management." Both are registered PMPs who have consulted and also taught postgraduate courses at a variety of New England establishments of Higher Education. Their book Green Project Management won the 2011 PMI Cleland Award for Literature. Dan Strayer is the Marketing/PR Coordinator for Arras People, serving as the editor of Project Management Tipoffs and How to Manage a Camel, and host of the Arras People Project Management Podcast.

*PM Journal, October 2012, Volume 43, Number 5, page 68. 'A Perspective-Based Understanding of Project Success'

Should We Revisit the Topic?

Should we delve in the green issue again or would you recommend another issue for the 2013 Project Management Benchmark Report? Please take our one question survey to help improve our extensive study of the project management industry, be your issue greenality, project failure or anything else.

CAMEL: Our Motivation

Throughout 2012, Arras People have celebrated their 10th year in business through a popular prize competition called Ten in Ten: A Celebration of Project Management.

This year-long series of grand prize draws has been our way of saying thank you to everyone who helped us out along the way - candidates and clients alike.

We conduct it through a new & insightful survey each month designed to learn more about our industry. With this in mind, for the latest post from our company blog How to Manage a Camel, Arras People continues our study of project managers by tackling what we learned in October through our PMI UK Chapter survey. Complete with some brief notes of appreciation from the winners for their prize, we learn about a project manager's motivation, the trends

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