The Project Management Profession
On December 14, 2016 President Obama signed into law the Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act.
The Project Management Institute is the most globally recognized organization for project management and program standards. The Project Management Institute worked with both the Republican and Democratic senators to support the formation of this important bill. See pmi.org for all details. They reported the following on their website:
"The PMIAA reforms federal program management policy in four important ways:
1. Creating a formal job series and career path for program managers in the federal government.
2. Developing a standards-based program management policy across the federal government.
3. Recognizing the essential role of executive sponsorship and engagement by designating a senior executive in federal agencies to be responsible for program management policy and strategy.
4. Sharing knowledge of successful approaches to program management through an interagency council on program management."
Types of Project Management / Program Management
Project managers vs program management: In today's world project managers usually manage several related projects at a time so they are called program managers by many organizations.
Program management: is also directed at an enterprise level, and these high-level program managers work with senior management to align all projects to the strategic goals and objectives, and realign them when initiatives change. However, to qualify as a program manager one must understand the enterprise-wide business acumen and should be able to perform fiduciary management.
Portfolio Management: Portfolio management is an overarching governance of programs and projects within an enterprise.
IT Development: Adaptive (Agile for IT Software development) project management and Predictive (Waterfall) or traditional project management are the two types of project management used for IT development.
PMP® and PMI-ACP® Certifications: PMI-ACP Certification (Agile) and PMP Certifications (Traditional) are both essential for all IT project management. IT requirements are ever changing at enormous speeds and there's no time for PMS to be less informed. They will not be able to compete for the opportunities. Agile projects must welcome constant change. And traditional project managers need to understand the complexity of those projects and how to plan for all aspects of the project.
Why do Agile projects require PMP Certification also? In order to have a firm grounding in overall management. PMP certification is the grandfather of best practices and standards, and much of the standards and skills are transferrable such as, Communications, Stakeholder Management, Business Case/ feasbility, Value-driven delivery, benefits realization and management, relationships with the business stakeholders impacting your projects, identification of stakeholders and stakeholder engagement. Problem Solving, analytical techniques, emotional intelligence, leadership skills, environmental and organizational environments impact projects. Aspects of Agile Project Management that are different: There is no project management plan for Agile.
What about the Business Analyst and their Projects? The BA does not participate in the Agile project as they hand over the backlog to the Agile Product Owner. In traditional projects the BA also creates the Business Case and owns the requirements for the Project Manager's project and they collaborate throughout the PM's project and the BA's job is not done until the Project Review or Reviews post project closure are performed in order to measure realized benefits. In Agile projects, the backlog is given to the Product Owner by the BA or developed by the APM whose works with appropriate business stakeholders to collect the NEWs - Needs, expectations, and Wants. Quality and Risk are handled differently in Agile.
As many companies experiment with Agile methods for their smaller projects, adjustments are sometimes made. Sometimes the BA in smaller companies will also be asked to be the Product Owner. The APM should not be the Product Owner as the business side / customer side needs representation.
In larger organizations using traditional project management, the BA and his or her team, performs a BA project to trace the requirements' over the PM's project/s and may also be part of the project selection before the project manager is chosen.
Summary: This is a summary of the Project Management Profession. This summary gives you a brief overview of the Agile Practitioner, the traditional PM, and the importance of the BA, as well as the role of the PgMP and the PgMP at the enterprise-wide level.
Note: Higher achievers seeking success at the top of the corporate world, may also want to achieve PgMP® (Program Management Certification) and PfMP® Certification for Portfolio Management. To do this, they should have an enterprise management background.
The Project Management Institute is the most globally recognized organization for project management and program standards. The Project Management Institute worked with both the Republican and Democratic senators to support the formation of this important bill. See pmi.org for all details. They reported the following on their website:
"The PMIAA reforms federal program management policy in four important ways:
1. Creating a formal job series and career path for program managers in the federal government.
2. Developing a standards-based program management policy across the federal government.
3. Recognizing the essential role of executive sponsorship and engagement by designating a senior executive in federal agencies to be responsible for program management policy and strategy.
4. Sharing knowledge of successful approaches to program management through an interagency council on program management."
Project managers vs program management: In today's world project managers usually manage several related projects at a time so they are called program managers by many organizations.
Program management: is also directed at an enterprise level, and these high-level program managers work with senior management to align all projects to the strategic goals and objectives, and realign them when initiatives change. However, to qualify as a program manager one must understand the enterprise-wide business acumen and should be able to perform fiduciary management.
Portfolio Management: Portfolio management is an overarching governance of programs and projects within an enterprise.
IT Development: Adaptive (Agile for IT Software development) project management and Predictive (Waterfall) or traditional project management are the two types of project management used for IT development.
PMP® and PMI-ACP® Certifications: PMI-ACP Certification (Agile) and PMP Certifications (Traditional) are both essential for all IT project management. IT requirements are ever changing at enormous speeds and there's no time for PMS to be less informed. They will not be able to compete for the opportunities. Agile projects must welcome constant change. And traditional project managers need to understand the complexity of those projects and how to plan for all aspects of the project.
Why do Agile projects require PMP Certification also? In order to have a firm grounding in overall management. PMP certification is the grandfather of best practices and standards, and much of the standards and skills are transferrable such as, Communications, Stakeholder Management, Business Case/ feasbility, Value-driven delivery, benefits realization and management, relationships with the business stakeholders impacting your projects, identification of stakeholders and stakeholder engagement. Problem Solving, analytical techniques, emotional intelligence, leadership skills, environmental and organizational environments impact projects. Aspects of Agile Project Management that are different: There is no project management plan for Agile.
What about the Business Analyst and their Projects? The BA does not participate in the Agile project as they hand over the backlog to the Agile Product Owner. In traditional projects the BA also creates the Business Case and owns the requirements for the Project Manager's project and they collaborate throughout the PM's project and the BA's job is not done until the Project Review or Reviews post project closure are performed in order to measure realized benefits. In Agile projects, the backlog is given to the Product Owner by the BA or developed by the APM whose works with appropriate business stakeholders to collect the NEWs - Needs, expectations, and Wants. Quality and Risk are handled differently in Agile.
As many companies experiment with Agile methods for their smaller projects, adjustments are sometimes made. Sometimes the BA in smaller companies will also be asked to be the Product Owner. The APM should not be the Product Owner as the business side / customer side needs representation.
In larger organizations using traditional project management, the BA and his or her team, performs a BA project to trace the requirements' over the PM's project/s and may also be part of the project selection before the project manager is chosen.
Summary: This is a summary of the Project Management Profession. This summary gives you a brief overview of the Agile Practitioner, the traditional PM, and the importance of the BA, as well as the role of the PgMP and the PgMP at the enterprise-wide level.
Note: Higher achievers seeking success at the top of the corporate world, may also want to achieve PgMP® (Program Management Certification) and PfMP® Certification for Portfolio Management. To do this, they should have an enterprise management background.