Amanda Please

 Option #1: Creating a Methodology—Essay Based on your review and analysis of the “Creating Methodology” case study (Kerzner, 2017, pp. 86-86), in a written essay paper, address the following assignment key elements:  Clearly and concisely define the construct of an enterprise project management methodology (EPM). Appraise the elements included the case study’s EPM. Clearly and concisely define the construct of a project management office (PMO). Critique the case study’s PMO structure in context of implementing the proposed EPM. Appraise the key requirements of the EPM required by John Compton. Differentiate the proposed project life cycle phases from the PMBOK® Guide (6th ed.) project life cycle phases. Identify specific aspects of a project management methodology that are distinctly unique to global organizations. Summarize how a project management system (PMS) can be used to support the case study’s EPM. Additional Instructions Be sure to properly organize your writing and include the following:  Cover page Introduction Body of your work in response to the assignment’s key elements, with headings and subheadings Conclusion List of references Appendices (as applicable). Consult the Sample Paper (Links to an external site.) template for more information on how to organize the paper.  The introduction, through conclusion sections of your paper, should be approximately 3-4 pages. Support your assignment with a minimum of three scholarly references. 

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a. An online computer system for a bank

b. Construction of a chemical plant

c. Developing an in-house cost accounting reporting system

2–3 What impact could the product life cycle have on the selection of the project
organizational structure?

2–4 In the development of a system, what criteria should be used to determine where one
phase begins and another ends and where overlap can occur?

2–5 Can a company be successful at project management without having or using a
project management methodology?

2–6 Who determines how many life-cycle phases should be part of a project management
methodology?

2–7 Under what conditions can a project be considered as both a success and a failure at
the same time?

2–8 Is it possible to attain an informal project management approach without first going
through formalized project management?

CASE STUDY

CREATING A METHODOLOGY

Background

John Compton, the president of the company, expressed his feelings quite bluntly at
the executive staff meeting:

We are no longer competitive in the marketplace. Almost all of the Requests for
Proposal (RFP) that we want to bid on have a requirement that we must identify in
the proposal the project management methodology we will use on the contract should
we be awarded the contract. We have no project management methodology. We have
just a few templates we use based upon the PMBOK ® Guide. All of our competitors
have methodologies, but not us.

I have been asking for a methodology to be developed for more than a year now, and
all I get are excuses. Some of you are obviously afraid that you might lose power and
authority once the methodology is up and running. That may be true, but losing some
power and authority is obviously better than losing your job. In six months I want to
see a methodology in use on all projects or I will handle the situation myself. I simply
cannot believe that my executive staff is afraid to develop a project management
methodology.

Critical Issues

The executive staff knew this day was inevitable; they had to take the initiative in the
implementation of a project management methodology. Last year, a consultant was
brought in to conduct a morning three-hour session on the benefits of project
management and the value of an enterprise project management methodology
(EPM) A t f th i th lt t l i d th t th ti d d t

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(EPM). As part of the session, the consultant explained that the time needed to
develop and implement an EPM system can be shortened if the company has a
project management office (PMO) in place to take the lead role. The consultant also
explained that whichever executive gets control of the PMO may become more
powerful than other executives because he or she now controls all of the project
management intellectual property. The executive staff fully understood the
implication of this and therefore became reluctant to visibly support project
management until they could see how their organization would be affected. In the
meantime, project management suffered.

Reluctantly, a PMO was formed reporting to the chief information officer. The PMO
comprised a handful of experienced project managers who could hopefully take the
lead in the development of a methodology. The PMO concluded that there were five
steps that had to be done initially. After the five steps were done, the executive
committee would receive a final briefing on what had been accomplished. The final
briefing would be in addition to the monthly updates and progress reports. The PMO
believed that getting executive support and sign-offs in a timely manner would be
difficult.

The first step that needed to be done was the establishment of the number of life-
cycle phases. Some people interviewed wanted ten to twelve life-cycle phases. That
meant that there would be ten to twelve gate review meetings and the project
managers would spend a great deal of time preparing paperwork for the gate review
meetings rather than managing the project. The decision was then made to have no
more than six life-cycle phases.

The second step was to decide whether the methodology should be designed around
rigid policies and procedures or go the more informal route of using forms,
guidelines, checklists, and templates. The PMO felt that project managers needed
some degree of freedom in dealing with clients and therefore the more informal
approach would work best. Also, clients were asking to have the methodology
designed around the client’s business needs and the more informal approach would
provide the flexibility to do this.

The third step was to see what could be salvaged from the existing templates and
checklists. The company had a few templates and checklists but not all of the project
managers used them. The decision was made to develop a standardized set of
documents in accordance with the information in the PMBOK® Guide. The project
managers could then select whatever forms, guidelines, templates, and checklists
were appropriate for a particular project and client.

The fourth step would be to develop a means for capturing best practices using the
EPM system. Clients were now requiring in their RFP that best practices on a project
must be captured and shared with the client prior to the closeout of the project. Most
of the people in the PMO believed that this could be done using forms or checklists at
the final project debriefing meeting.

The fifth step involved education and training. The project managers and functional
organizations that would staff the projects would need to be trained in the use of the
new methodology. The PMO believed that a one-day training program would suffice
and the functional organizations could easily release their people for a one-day
training session.

QUESTIONS
Wh t d t i b t th t lt f th f t th t th

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p. 42

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1. What can you determine about the corporate culture from the fact that they
waited this long to consider the development of an EPM system?

2. Can a PMO accelerate the implementation process?

3. Is it acceptable for the PMO to report to the chief information officer or to
someone else?

4. Why is it best to have six or fewer life-cycle phases in an EPM system?

5. Is it best to design an EPM system around flexible or inflexible elements?
Generally, when first developing an EPM system, do companies prefer to use
formality or informality in the design?

6. Should an EPM system have the capability of capturing best practices?

Notes
1.Rachel Alt-Simmons, Agile by Design (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2016), p. 33.

2.J. Charvat, Project Management Methodologies (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons,),
2003, p. 4. Charvat, Project Management, p. 5.

3.Charvat, Project Management, p. 5.

4.Rudolf Melik, The Rise of the Project Workforce (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons,
2007), p. 238.

PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Section 2.8 is adapted from Robert D. Gilbreath, Winning at Project Management. (New
York: John Wiley & Sons, 1986), pp. 2–6.

PMP is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

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