Every Journey needs a Roadmap

Maturity models are extremely valuable in establishing an organisation’s current capabilities in project, programme and portfolio management (P3M) and providing a roadmap for future improvement. With uncertainty still hanging over the PMI’s OPM3 model, AXELOS’ Project, Programme and Portfolio Management Maturity Model (P3M3^®) is now the leading global P3M maturity framework and p3m global, an AXELOS Consulting Partner (ACP), have discovered a bitesized way for you to benefit from it.

Last year (2015), AXELOS made some major revisions to P3M3, expanding it in both breadth and depth by including such additional elements as commercial management, asset management and behaviours. It has also been restructured to enable common ‘Threads’ across each of the Project, Programme and Portfolio models to be evaluated, in order to better diagnose areas of improvement across the Seven Perspectives. Lastly, the authors have deliberately improved alignment with other (non-AXELOS) methodologies and bodies of knowledge to make it more appealing for PMI/IPMA aligned organisations.

At a high level this new version (v3) is compatible with the previous version (v2) such that scores from 0 to 5 across each of the Perspectives remain valid. It is at this high level where significant value can be obtained from very little investment.

The AXELOS P3M3 Model

Within a few days, a facilitated self-assessment from p3m global can provide a good initial evaluation of an organisation’s capabilities in project, programme and portfolio management ensuring that it doesn’t have to cost a lot to find out where you are.

So why do one?

• ​Map your route (and know why you’re going!): Evaluating and benchmarking current levels of P3M by discipline (Perspectives and Threads) can help justify the business case for improvement initiatives and provide clear performance metrics for these improvements in the future. Moreover, its structure can provide a convenient roadmap to success.
• Stick to what’s important to YOU: Focus the improvements required to achieve levels that are desirable and appropriate to your particular organisation. There is no point in investing in the parts of P3M3 that your organisation does not value.
• Wear the badge: a rapid, facilitated self-assessment can quickly establish a P3M3 maturity score for your organisation that can be easily translated to a full, official certification when you are ready, showing your customers and partners that you are serious about P3M.
• Unlock the benefits of improved P3M maturity:
• improved selection and delivery of the organisation's portfolio of projects and programmes ('doing the right projects and programmes' and 'doing the projects and programmes right')
• improved realisation of value from investments
• improved quality of deliverables leading to improved customer satisfaction
• easier to maintain control of projects and programmes leading to improved employee satisfaction
• improved predictability leading to better financial forecasting 

Will all this on offer for a fraction of the cost of a traditional CMMI or OPM3 assessment it’s not surprising that P3M3 is starting to take off.

Contact the p3m global team for details on +44 (0)1962 676 321 or email sales@p3mglobal.com

1 week assessment slots are currently available throughout June and July, contact the team today to ensure you don't miss the opportunity!

p3m global | assess

p3m global offer a suite of assessment services to better your ‪#‎P3M ‬teams. 

Discover how we can help you today http://p3m.global/assess/

p3m global rebrand night

Thursday 15^th May, PM-Partners officially announced the relaunch of what was PM-Partners EMEA to p3m global. An evening of celebrations with music, refreshments and an introduction to the new brand was enjoyed at the IceTank in Covent Garden, London.

Everyone at p3m global would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who joined us. We received some great feedback from the night.

For those of you who could not make it, we encourage you to visit the p3m Facebook page, where more photos and information can be found.

Over the next few months you may notice that we will be gradually phasing out the PM-Partners brand and as of September 2014 we will officially be running solely as p3m global. We are very excited about what the future will bring and to continue working with you moving forward.

Best wishes from the p3m global team!

Like us on Facebook to catch a glimpse of the fun & some bits about the future as well. You can also catch a glimpse at our Google+ page.

Post by p3m global.

Photography c/of Amber-Rose Smith, re-used gratefully with permission

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Jennifer Parmenter-Brown serves as Marketing & Events Coordinator for p3m global. Connect with her on LinkedIn today. 


Stewart Ball is Business Development Manager of p3m global. Connect with him on LinkedIn today. 

Dan Strayer is Marketing Coordinator of p3m global. Connect with him on LinkedIn today.

The Conscientious Project Manager

Let me start by asking you a few questions about your attitude towards administration. We all know that some of us are better organised than others.

Even so, take a moment and answer the following questions;

• Are you one of those PMs that is excellent at planning and managing what others do, but not so good at managing your own tasks and time?
• Do you feel as though everything is under control, as you know all that is going on and therefore, there is no need to review or update the risk register, etc.?
• Have you learned something useful and incorporated the lesson into the project, and so there is no need to document?
• Are you lazy?

Buried in Paperwork? Let Derek Bland and PM-Partners help you sort out your priorities.

None of the advice below excuses the lazy – sorry, guys.

There will be some of you that need to adhere to a PM method that is document heavy, and the application is not proportionate to the size and complexity of the project. It may be that there is no company-wide method or project, programme or portfolio management (P3M, for short) standards being applied. The advice below will not get rid of this problem, but may help you to organise your time. p3m global is a Portfolio, Programme and Project Management consultancy and training company that is involved with the design and implementation of project management methods; therefore, we can help define and/or streamline your processes.

The advice below should be adjusted to your own needs and those for the project.

1. KNOW WHERE IT IS - BE ORGANISED: It is essential to be organised form the start. Ensure you have a good folder structure that helps you to find documents easily as this will save you time. An example would be to have a folder for; strategies, registers, schedules and work packages and a folder for products to be produced. Let’s be honest, communication is driven by email and so it is as important to have a similar folder structure for your emails.

2. KNOW WHAT IT IS AND WHAT THE CURRENT VERSION IS: It is imperative that you version (yes, it's a verb in this case!) your documents. A good practice for documents that are being worked on (WIP) are to use a decimal place and once approved/signed off, the version is rounded up to a whole number. This process is then repeated for all subsequent versions. Example of WIP versions, v0.1, v0.2 etc. Once signed off it becomes v1.0, followed by the next version earning a label v2.0, and so on. Another option for documents or registers is to use a date format. I like to use YYMMDD. Therefore, my Risk Register will be Risk Register, PMP Project 140131. This ensures that it will always be the latest version. Make sure you have a good naming convention for all project documents and ensure that all of those producing product documentation follow these protocols.

3. KNOW WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO DO TASKS – BE DISCIPLINED: We all know that projects in a fast-paced and or complex state can throw up urgent issues. However, it is important to schedule set times so that you can review documents - even if only a quick check - to verify that they do not need updating. Make a recurring schedule item in your calendar and add a checklist of activities to the calendar appointment. Break-up mundane activities into small manageable tasks. A simple example* might be;

4. BEWARE THE MEETING, ESPECIALLY THE IMPROMTU ONES: Meetings are necessary and can aid greatly in communication and assist in team building. However, avoid agreeing to a meeting if you feel it is for said meeting's sake. I once worked on an extremely large Government Project. The main project team took up one floor, with additional staff distributed thorough the building. The floor was open plan and so it was easy to see what was going on around you; ergo, it became easier to be distracted. I estimated that around 35% of my day could be taken up with impromptu meetings or chats at the water cooler. Do not be afraid to say that you have something urgent that you are working on and arrange a time to meet to discuss. However, consider if the meeting is really necessary or whether the person just wants a chat or the person may simply want to get something off of their chest. Although this may not be a priority for you, you should try and find some time to listen to concerns, because you never know: something productive may come out of it.

5. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED: I am not just referring to lessons to be logged in the Lesson Log; rather the way that you work. Ensure that you actively audit yourself by taking time to reflect and think about;

• How have you been perceived in a particular instance; did you try something new which worked, could you have communicated better? Did you provide information to the correct level of detail and in the correct format?
• How well have you managed your time? Could you have performed some tasks more quickly without compromising quality? Were some of the meeting necessary or did they drag on too long and how could you improve this the meeting next time? Remember you are the Project Manager, many of the team will want to learn from you. Anything that you can learn for yourself needs to be acted upon and so log it – learn it – embed it.
  

* - Please note that the above list is a very simple example and does not negate the need to update or review project documentation as required. The very act of recording a risk or issue often promotes ideas on how best to deal with it.

Derek Bland is Project Management Consultant & Trainer at p3m global. His experience includes consultancy on design and delivery of bespoke Project Management methods, conducting Project Audits and advising PMs on best practice improvements. As a trainer, Derek delivers on a variety of Project Management Courses, including PRINCE2 and MSP.

A New Day Awaits With p3m global

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Project people, get ready - it's time to empower your business change potential and optimise your delivery capabilities.
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