Posts Tagged ‘PMP’

Does it matter what project methodology you use?

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Let’s start with the premise that you do need a methodology, a way to get from “what we want to do” to “we accomplished what we wanted to do.”

The choice of methodology is growing; we have PMI, and Prince2, as underlying approaches. We have waterfall, agile, and now Project Management 2.0. Glen Alleman has a great discussion on PM 2.0 on his Herding Cats blog.

Really methodology is the process of moving from start to finish in a project. The right methodology helps you to communicate where you are in your project, what is coming, what needs to be dealt with, and what is going really well. Using a consistent methodology within your organization allows you to measure your success against other projects, and apply improvement processes to become more efficient at project delivery.

I think it does matter what methodology you use, based on the project you are undertaking. I’m not sure that statement will be controversial.

What I see happening is that methodologies are chosen by bright shininess, not by appropriateness.

So, I think it does matter what methodology you use, even if it’s your own methodology. If you’ve been a PM for any time, you’ll have figured out your style and that adds the flavour to the methodology. If you’ve been one for a long time, you will have been doing agile before the name was applied to the methodology. After all, an agile project can’t be done through waterfall without lots of iterations of the planning process.

Someone out there is using the next best shiny methodology, they’ve created it to fill a gap in a project that is left by the current methodologies. We’ll all be discussing the new shiny one next year, or the year after, forever – well maybe not forever.

The key to success is that you choose – or make up – the methodology that works for your project.

In my experience, there are two kinds of project.

Type A = First we do A, then we do B, then we do C = commonly known as waterfall

Type B = first we figure out A, then we do A, then we figure out B and then we do B, then we figure out C and then we do C = commonly known as agile.

New and improved methodologies must help to make type A and B more efficient, more effective and more easily understood.

Let me know what you think.

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What’s the buzz about certification?

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

I’ve seen lots of postings on LinkedIn, and heard lots of arguments around the question of certification. I have to admit, I’m confused by the whole controversy. Certification isn’t a magic bullet, nor is it the political nicety that people seem to think it is. Certification is a choice for the most part. It’s often a must have to get a job, and it’s a validation that you’ve completed a minimum knowledge and experience requirement. Just like an MBA doesn’t mean you’ll be a successful business leader, a PMP doesn’t mean you’ll be a successful PM but it does say something about what you should know.

The experience requirement is interesting; it states a minimum number of hours, but not a success rate. So, you can participate in projects for the required number of hours (3 or 5 years depending on whether or not you have a degree) but never participate in what PMI would suggest is a successful project. The educational requirement is not that onerous, and can be completed by studying for the PMP certification exam.

I have to be honest; I did learn a few things as I prepped for the exam. I learned why some of the processes were needed; I realized why some issues rose again and again – it was because we weren’t doing a great job earlier in the lifecycle.  I also had to memorize things I’ll never use (or have to do manually). I can’t manually estimate duration to save my life – that’s why we have PM software – but, I do understand what the software is supposed to do. I can see where it’s wrong even if I can’t calculate it myself. I have never had to use Earned Value; I memorized it for the exam but I assume I will get a spreadsheet or something to use if I ever need to report Earned Value.

Are people afraid to fail? I did pass the first time (yes, I’m bragging) but I passed mostly on my people management experience. I know 5 other people who sat the exam, only one failed the first time – over thinking the questions is a killer. It’s no harder than any other exam, if you know your stuff, you will pass.

I recommend certification for people who want to be project managers, not just within their current employer, but as a career. When you are looking for a job, or contract, you will meet the criteria to apply. Right now, it’s a buyers market in the job hunting field. That said it’s rarely a sellers market. Why would you want to exclude yourself from eligibility for a job just because you are missing those three letters? As someone who used to hire project managers, I can tell you that I wanted certified applicants because I knew they had the knowledge, and hoped they had the skills. I couldn’t spend my time interviewing people who may have the knowledge and hope they had the skills.

I doubt you’d go to a doctor or a dentist if they didn’t have their certification; or fly in a plane with an unlicensed pilot. But, you have probably experienced a doctor with no bedside manner, a dentist who doesn’t have a gentle touch, and had a bumpy landing in a plane.  Why do you think project managers should be different, it’s a profession and as such has certification.

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