EL PROFESORADO Y LA TOMA DE DECISIONES

Introduction

This chapter states how a project manager should be selected and what are suitable terms of appointment. The principles set out apply whether the project is large or small, and whether the project manager is an employee of the client or is a consultant hired for a particular project.

Project management and the project manager

The primary task of project management is to deliver the maximum value in return for the resources employed. That usually means delivering a project to an agreed quality, safety, time and cost.

To achieve all this depends upon appointing a person as project manager who is dedicated to delivering the project. This role can be a separate job. It can be part of the tasks of someone working on the project, depending upon the size of the project, its risks and the competence of everyone, but in all cases the role is crucial through the planning and control of every project.

It is the role dedicated to the objectives of the project which is essential. Titles for the role vary. ‘Project director’ is appropriate for a project vital to an organisation’s future. Weak titles such as ‘pro-ject coordinator’ or ‘pro‘pro-ject engineer’ indicate weak intentions.

‘Project manager’ is preferable for most projects, as it acknowledges that the tasks are managerial and shows the organisation recognises the value of appointing one person to represent its interests in achieving a successful project.

Research confirms the authors’ personal experience that success in the role depends more upon human skills than on expertise in the content of the project. The project manager needs skills in how to manage. No one person can be expert in all the range of work packages for the project. What may be valuable for the project

manager is experience in the critical or most risky content of the project so as to be able to foresee problems and know the questions to ask. ‘What questions to ask’ is the fruit of all experience. It also establishes credibility in leading the team; engineers, for instance, prefer leaders who are engineers.

Requirements for project success

Before a client ever thinks about appointing any of its team, it needs to decide what it is looking to achieve from the project or assign-ment. Fully understanding and establishing the key success factors of any project is the most important stage, and that must be the first step.

The next step is to understand the skills required to deliver those success factors and, in turn, a successful project. There is no point in employing resources without fully understanding why they are required in the first place. This can be achieved by carrying out an initial SWOT analysis; this in turn will identify the real risks and the weaknesses in the team. There is nothing more certain than that, in the real world of project delivery, the weaknesses will reveal them-selves or come back to plague the project.

Such assessments need to address the soft and hard skills. The softer skills of personality, age, mental wavelength and social com-patibility are becoming more and more important. Can this person get the best out of this situation regardless of their harder technical skills?

All clients must apply the same means test to themselves because it is imperative for them to fully understand how knowledgeable they are and, particularly, to understand their own shortcomings. Are you an educated client with plenty of experience in your field, is it a new experience or is it that you are just short of time and resource?

It is very much a gap analysis exercise, because the project manager should be the client’s greatest ally and friend whilst at the same time covering for the weaknesses of the team and the client in particular. The adage of ‘you are only as strong as your weakest link’ applies equally to managing projects.

Therefore the qualities required are a vital consideration. Experi-ence shows that the best results come when the project manager is independent and does not have a dual role. As an example, archi-tects have found great difficulty in handling multiple roles within construction projects.

The qualities required are generally ones of leadership, reliability, authority, integrity, practicality, open-mindedness; the person must be flexible but decisive in a democratic and supportive way rather MANAGEMENT OF PROCUREMENT

than by pure dominance. These skills are in addition to the obvious relevant technical skills.

The first appointment in any project should be that of the project manager, even if only internally, because that person, in conjunc-tion with the client, must provide the essential direcconjunc-tion, discipline and drive. It is a common mistake to involve other disciplines first;

this causes difficulties of undermining the authority of the project manager because a direct link has already been forged between the client and the early-appointed consultants. A project manager with experience, enthusiasm and energy for the project is a good starting point.

Formal appointment

The project manager should be appointed formally so as to be estab-lished as representing the project sponsor. This is important for the project sponsor even if the person designated is already an employee, as the role can require leadership on internal questions as much as in external relationships.

Terms of appointment

Standard Terms for the Appointment of a Project Manager are published by the Association for Project Management (1998). The terms are in two sections. The first section sets out the basic terms of employ-ment of a project manager. This is not required if the project manager is already an employee.

The second part of the terms is a job description. It is a schedule of duties. Alternative schedules of duties are provided. Schedule S should normally be used, especially for small projects. Schedule C is for large construction projects. Schedule I is for IT projects, and Schedule M for manufacturing projects. These alternative schedules vary only in detail.

The standard terms should be used without alterations or addi-tions. Alterations and additions to standard terms are a habit in some UK organisations, despite a lack of evidence that these have improved the results. Alterations and additions lead to the risk of making the terms inconsistent or incomplete, and they divert time and commitment from the project.

Detailed terms published by some public organisations should be avoided. The task of project management is basically to do or get done what others are not doing that the project needs. All that can be forecast should be designed out by the initial attention to the objective, scope, risks and priorities of the project. Terms of

reference which attempt to specify all the actions which might be required of a project manager are so lengthy that there is not time to read them and also do the job.

Terms of payment and risks

Provisions are made in the Standard Terms for the Appointment of a Project Manager for payment to the project manager on the basis of fixed prices, time charges and/or reimbursement of expenses.

Fixed prices and time charges are normally considered to be alter-native terms of payment, but they can be combined.

Agreement on fixed prices is not recommended before the project has been defined in sufficient detail to provide a quantitative basis for estimating the amount of work to be undertaken by the project manager. Convertible terms of payment may thus be appropriate, initially based on time charges and changing to fixed prices at a defined stage of the project.

The terms of payment chosen should be stated when inviting offers of services from project managers who are not already employees. The Standard Terms provide for agreed amounts to be inserted in a fee schedule.

The Standard Terms provide for agreed definitions of the limits to the project manager’s authority, particularly spending authority, and requirements for professional indemnity insurance.

These provisions for payment and insurance are of course not required if the project manager is already an employee.

Pre-qualification

After deciding what is required of the project manager, it is then necessary to formalise that information and put it in an order that maximises the chances of selecting the most appropriate party for the job, whether relating to the individual or the organisation.

The collecting and ordering of those all-important thoughts and defining processes are essential.

This is normally delivered through a briefing document that defines the facts about the project and, more importantly, defines what is expected from the project manager. This document should be quite detailed in terms of defining the areas of responsibilities and any particular requirements the client may have. As an example, it could indicate the requirements or expectations in terms of meet-ings, reports and essential checks and balances to meet the client organisation’s needs.

At the same time, it is important to allow your candidates to express themselves and show how they can contribute to the MANAGEMENT OF PROCUREMENT

success of the project. The object is to select a project manager with initiative. Give them the opportunity to demonstrate they have understood your requirements and the key issues and then go on to show how they will deliver. This is an important process because the client will gain from the expertise of all the bidders rather than just the selected bidder. Pre-qualification is a two-way street inasmuch as it is also an information and knowledge-gaining time for the selectors.

Traditional practice in most sectors of business and public services does not allow bidders to demonstrate their skills, and selec-tion more often than not is just a funcselec-tion of the lowest price. In particular, this applies within the public sector, where there is not a meaningful accountable evaluation of value for money.

How to select the most suitable candidates is always challenging because, invariably, if there has been insufficient preparation then the chances of a successful selection are reduced.

The sourcing of suitable candidates is carried out in various ways.

Invariably, the type of project will have been carried out before.

Therefore it is not unreasonable to seek advice from colleagues in that line of business, perhaps via a trade or professional association.

There are then project-management-specific organisations such as the Association for Project Management, The Institute of Manage-ment, The Institute of Directors or the local Chamber of Commerce.

Such organisations bring the essential ingredients of independ-ence, impartiality and clarity of the requirements.

Depending upon how competitive the industry sector is or how knowledge-sensitive the project is, then it is sometimes possible to ask a competitor if they can recommend organisations and learn from their experience.

Traditionally, the process starts with a long list of, say, six to ten names if it has not been possible to find a suitable candidate by chance. Now is the time for doing homework and checking out what is known about each of them. This can be achieved by an initial expression-of-interest-type document that is concise by nature. The objectives of such an exercise are to establish the experience, avail-ability, suitability and details of the individuals and the organisa-tions concerned.

From this exercise, a short list is prepared by analytical means. As an example, there is no point in appointing the most qualified person if that person is already committed to another project. The object of this short-listing exercise is to arrive at, say, no more than five similar candidates who are all capable of doing the job.

Depending upon the importance of the project, it may well be necessary to interview and take references as part of the short-listing

process. However, this is tremendously time-consuming and gener-ally deemed unnecessary prior to short-listing.

The main focus is on selecting the right individuals, but it is important not to lose sight of the type of organisation also being selected, particularly in the light of any collateral warranties or contractual guarantees that may be required to make the project work. Therefore the period in business, professional standing, size and status, financial stability, and level of resource can be key considerations in certain circumstances.

Selection and award

After the short list has been prepared, the respective project managers are invited to make further submissions in detail, with the focus being particularly on the needs of the project. Such topics for the candidates’ consideration are the identification of the key issues and their proposals for their management and delivery.

This process needs to be undertaken in the knowledge and receipt of the latest information about the project, including an update of the brief, the scope of works, performance specifications, roles and responsibilities, appointment documentation require-ments, risks, contractual requirerequire-ments, programme, budget, and procedural issues. Projects are invariably continually evolving, and therefore this is a reiterative process with the aim of getting closer to the objectives at each stage.

Typically a project manager’s presentation and interview lasts for an hour and a half, with the time being split between the presenta-tion and time for quespresenta-tions and discussion.

Prior to commencing the interview, it is important to assemble your interview team. This needs to consist of the stakeholders, with the odd plant as an independent observer to throw in the ‘curved ball question’ to check out the candidates’ flexibility and under-standing rather than their delivering by rote. It is important not to be caught out by a bidder’s ‘A Team’ who go from interview to inter-view but are never seen on the project.

Obtaining a buy-in from all the stakeholders is essential, so careful thought needs to be given to who they are and ensuring that they participate in the selection interviews.

Preparation is all. It is essential to take time to prepare. Make sure there is a structured score sheet containing the vital success factors and key skills requirements. These can be weighted against the key criteria, after taking time to discuss them and prioritise them in advance.

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After the interviews the team should follow up immediately, pref-erably the same day, to score the candidates as a team whilst the issues and the performances are fresh to the mind. This gives an initial indication, but unless there is a truly outstanding candidate or the need to appoint is urgent then do not make a decision there and then. Take time to think, and most certainly make sure time is taken to talk to the key references at the earliest opportunity. It is surprising how one-sided a presentation can be without the recipi-ents even realising it.

After taking the references on the further short-listed candidates, revisit the key-criteria schedule and re-mark it in the cold light of day. A golden rule is that project management is a people business;

invariably, people are more important than organisations.

There is always a personality and character factor. In the real world, events do go awry. Hence every project has its difficult moments. This must be kept in mind in the selection process. It is essential to have the best person alongside when the going is tough and difficult decisions have got to be made.

Make your selection as quickly as possible without undue haste.

Tell the successful candidate first. Invite the person in immediately to review and complete the appointment documentation, because it is again far easier to formalise the arrangement whilst it is fresh, rather than use a letter of intent or instruction initially and then try to follow up with the documentation months later.

If there is a concern about inadequate information to complete the appointment then it is time to be brave and appoint for an interim period, ensuring that the long-term interests are safe-guarded. Attention to detail is essential at this stage.

Upon appointment, it is essential to advise the interested parties immediately and formally by stating the project manager’s role and responsibilities, output requirements, and authority levels. It is amazing the number of clients who carry out a selection process and then do not have the courage to back the appointee. It is essential to empower the appointee and reinforce him/her to ensure the maximum chance of success.

The appointment is just the beginning and therefore, just as with all parties, it is essential to review performance standards on a regular basis. In the early phases this should take place every three months, because it is a major failing of projects that performance is only reviewed after the project has been completed. The review should be against the measured criteria set down in the appoint-ment, adjusted to meet the changing demands along the way. The difficulty is in determining performance criteria that align the project manager with the client, rather than driving a wedge

between them. The focus should be on incentive and reward rather than penalty.

Forward thinking

There is of course a downside to selecting a project manager, because the sceptics see such an appointment as an opportunity to take a back seat, with the common perception that it is the project manager’s job to tell them what to do. Empowerment of all the team is essential, and keeping a watch in those early days to ensure the whole team is empowered rather than just the project manager is an essential act.

The whole object of having the team is to get the most out of all of the members. The ‘dream team’ is obtained when they are all star performers rather than one superstar with the rest being just mediocre.

Equally, the project manager is also looking for reassurance. Just as with any other member of the team, it helps to catch project managers doing things well and praising them for doing so. On the converse, if they are missing the point or the target then that must be brought to their attention promptly in a positive, analytical and factual manner.

The latest thinking is that perhaps the demands on the project manager are too much for one person, and it is becoming common practice to have a project management team consisting of the key stakeholders, who make joint decisions in the best interests of all parties and the project.

Completion of the service

The final task of the project manager is to review what went well on the project, and why, and what were the problems and their remedies.

This closing review is a duty of the professional project manager.

This closing review is a duty of the professional project manager.