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Improvement project. Quality improvement project

Systems approach to project management is becoming more and more popular for the simple reason that when using it, the likelihood of successful completion of each individual project implemented by an organization, and all projects of the organization as a whole, increases significantly. Each project is successfully implemented, and specific results are achieved in accordance with the adopted schedule and within the established budget. With the implementation of a single project, the organization's ability to conduct a successful operation and its overall value objectively increase.

Among the main reasons for the successful application of the principles of a new approach to project management are the following:

the organization selects for execution only those projects that best match the organization's development strategy;
all obligations are accepted only for realistically feasible purposes: technical, budgetary and calendar;
responsibility for the management of project portfolios, programs and projects is carefully allocated and rigorously implemented;
each project is planned, executed and monitored (managed) so that all obligations on it are fulfilled;
project management teams must work collaboratively and in line with commitments to project goals, plans and timelines

In this study, a range of project management costs was specified, which ranged from 0.13 to 15% of the project cost. The largest expense was wage or other types of compensation paid to staff. The costs of licensing project management and related software, consulting and training in project management were also significant costs. However, no amount of costs or profit margins can show the magnitude of the benefits and benefits that organizations derive from new approaches to project management. These benefits do not directly affect ROI, but they can be objectively measured and measured.

Currently, the managing managers of many companies have learned to effectively use in their practice various ways to determine the value of certain management methods and the overall value of the organization's management system. One of them is the Balanced ScoreCard Approach.

Multivariate studies assessing the impact of project management methods in an organization on the level of its added value show that new project management methods significantly increase the business and organizational potential of an enterprise. This conclusion was recently reached by the research group of one of the leading consulting companies in the field of project management, PM Solutions, which numbers more than a hundred top managers with extensive practical experience in the field of project management. According to this group, more than 94% of respondents said that “applying project management practices adds value to their organizations. This is reflected in significant improvements in financial performance, increased customer satisfaction, organizational capacity and staff training, and improved project / process management. ”

Recommended method for improvement in project management

identification of symptoms of ineffective project management;
correlating the identified symptoms with possible causes of ineffective project management by, firstly, studying the literature on project management, secondly, conducting an audit of current projects and, thirdly, analyzing completed projects;
identifying opportunities for improvement in project management and ranking these opportunities;
development of an improvement program or a special group of projects aimed at eliminating and correcting possible causes of ineffective management;
executing the improvement program, evaluating the results and looking for additional areas for improvement.

Research carried out by the PM Solutions group has shown that “most companies in their strategy rely mainly on a system of coordinated initiatives to improve project management, and not on one or two separate initiatives. Such organizational measures include: creation of a special management body for the organization's project system - a project office; development of methodological principles for project management, the necessary software; integration of project management into the main processes of the company; training of personnel in methods and means of project management; deployment of a development program (professional growth) for personnel involved in the implementation of the project. Over 70% of surveyed organizations have made more than three improvements in project management over the past three years of their work ”.

Identification of opportunities and need for improvement in the area of project management.

An organization's need to improve performance and improve its ability to manage projects can be determined by honestly answering a number of fundamental questions about each individual organization.

Are there projects in your organization?
Does each project support your organisation's adopted corporate strategy?
How effectively have the risks associated with each project been identified and how effectively are they being managed?
Have these projects been completed or are being completed in accordance with the original (reasonably revised) schedule, budget, contract prices and other parameters set by the relevant contract or other authorized documents?
Have the intended profit targets for commercial projects been achieved? Have fines and compensation been paid?
Is the existing management structure and planning, management and control system of your organization suitable for the effective management of larger projects, a larger number of projects, or other projects necessary to implement the organization's growth and development strategy or for other long-term goals in the short or long term?

If the answers to these questions are in the affirmative, the organization's ability to manage projects can be assessed as exceptionally high. If not, your organization needs various project management improvements. Possible areas of activity in which changes are needed could be:

knowledge and professional skills of people;
assignment and distribution of responsibility;
project management policies, processes, procedures, systems, tools and methods of project management, or all areas at once.

Symptoms and possible reasons ineffective project management.

Not enough symptoms High Quality execution of projects can be attributed to:

failure to meet deadlines - delays in the execution of work, cost overruns and fines under contracts; low performance level person / ha - high turnover of personnel employed in the project, excessive level of psychological stress, insufficient motivation and an unfavorable psychological climate in the organization;
insufficient financial discipline - actual costs exceed the planned budget;
low quality of management - excessive involvement of senior managers in the details of the project;
poor quality of resource management - too frequent switching from one type of work to another (multi-tasking), duplication of efforts, ineffective use of specialists from functional departments.

Identifying and addressing the root causes of these common project performance deficiencies typically requires a very vigorous effort by project management professionals.

Using a formalized process for revising the project management system.

AT & T's Project Management Excellence Center has developed and implemented a formalized process for revising the project management system with the aim of developing “workable ways to translate the project management concept into practical work… to assess and identify performance improvement goals.” These formalized review processes have been reported by management consultants as a result of their practical work. Analysis of the existing project management systems allowed them to also highlight weaknesses existing management practices, the identification of which is of fundamental importance in determining the necessary measures aimed at improving performance.

Potential management improvement efforts.

To achieve significant improvements in such a complex area as project management, it is necessary to carry out changes in all areas of activity - human resources, organizational structures, processes, systems, procedures - and all these changes must be precisely linked to each other. Some typical improvement projects and tasks in each of these areas are outlined below. For special situations, additional efforts will undoubtedly be required.

Strategic portfolio management.

Implement improvement projects in the area of:

developing and implementing an appropriate process for managing the organization's portfolio of projects;
formalization of procedures for selecting new projects and mutual ranking of all projects in each of the portfolios;
active use of risk and uncertainty management methods in the implementation of programs and projects.

Management system development and personnel training.

Make the necessary efforts to develop a personnel training management system in order to:

improving understanding and acceptance at all levels of the organization of the main ideas and principles of project management, as well as practical measures for their implementation;
developing staff planning, management and supervising skills, as well as other skills required from the perspective of project managers and project support specialists;
developing the leadership qualities of program and project managers;
creating the necessary understanding of the staff of the project management policy, as well as modern methods, systems and tools for project management;
improving understanding of basic principles and practices of teamwork.

Establish a policy and develop the necessary procedures for:

selection criteria (appointments) of project managers by type and size of projects;
development and professional growth of personnel involved in project management;
assessing the level of achievement and remuneration of project managers and others involved in the implementation of projects.

Assignment and distribution of responsibility.

Complete the following projects to improve project management that your organization needs:

establish at a sufficiently high level of management of the organization a project / program management office (project office), the staff of which will be responsible for the implementation and continuous improvement project management processes, as well as for the creation and improvement of methods and tools for project management;
Establish an operational planning, management and control office to provide support in solving common problems encountered during the management of small projects;
assign responsibility for the execution of each portfolio of projects, each program and each project at all levels of the organization, and ensure that each responsible person clearly understands and accepts his share of responsibility;
improve the understanding by all project participants of the basic principles and practices of teamwork;
develop an appropriate policy in the field of determining the status and functions of senior managers, project portfolio managers, project sponsors, program and project managers, as well as the status of functional managers and project leaders;
Create a matrix of responsibility allocation based on the project / work breakdown structure diagrams in order to clarify the relationship of all managers and project participants.
Provide a description of all items and a specification of key project management functions for all types of projects;
formalize the design-functional matrix of responsibility allocation and take the necessary measures to ensure that real assignments and control of performance are carried out in accordance with this matrix.

Integrated systems, tools, methods and procedures.

Initiate improvement projects. Target:

identify and categorize the projects carried out by the organization and document the integrated management system life cycle project (CMJTsP) for each category;
improve the LCM for each category of projects (see text below);
establish the necessary procedures to ensure the required coordination of plans and actions of all types of work / functions (marketing, technical support, purchases, production, etc.) during:

- accepting project proposals or accepting changes to existing contracts;
- project execution;

introduce new or revise existing procedures necessary to:

- ensure that realistic commitments are made for all new projects;
- to develop and introduce framework restrictions on the cost and timing of the execution of bids for projects;
- to authorize work on projects within supporting organizations and control the expenditure of project funds;
- timely control the accounting reports on the costs and costs of the project; monitor and control the expenditure of funds for payments to executors;
- plan projects using structural schemes of project / work decomposition and network planning methods;
- predict the required number of personnel employed in the project, and the need for other resources;
- create an information structure to support projects;
- manage (arising during the implementation of projects) changes in value, calendar plans, as well as in the characteristics of the final product;
- regularly analyze projects and re-evaluate the cost of projects for all types of work;

implement an integrated information system project management based on the use of the Internet and other means of communication;
create a separate office for the management of the largest programs and projects and develop the procedures necessary to support its activities.

Depending on the specific situation, the responsible manager (project manager) must select the necessary tasks to improve project management, establish the relationships between them, determine the priority for each of these tasks and, taking into account the available resources, develop a comprehensive improvement program.

Pilot project method.

The nature of project-oriented situations provides a unique opportunity to develop and validate individual groups of changes (project management improvements) from one carefully selected project, even before full commitments of improvements are made. The performance improvement pilot is not only a concrete mechanism for introducing and testing new approaches and project management methods, but also an excellent experimental model for the study and use of personnel management systems and their training.

When referring to the pilot project method, special attention should be paid to the choice of the project (program) that will be used in this capacity. Such a project should:

have a not too long life cycle;
be typical of the organization;
not contain intractable issues (such as commitments that cannot be met) that the benefits and gains from improved governance cannot save the day.

There is always a danger that the pilot project will receive increased attention from management and other interested parties. As a result, such a project may be so successful that the impact of the investigated changes in management will be simply impossible to measure.In a situation where all resources are invested mainly in one project, other projects will be in an unequal position and all comparative assessments of management efficiency will become meaningless. In addition, there is whole line changes that, in principle, cannot be implemented only on one of the projects.

If the goal is to maximize the benefits, such changes should affect all actively existing projects of the organization. For example, designing and implementing a project portfolio management process obviously requires an entire group of projects to be included in the experiment. The introduction of a computer system for planning, managing and controlling a package of projects is another example when a researcher cannot fully work with only one project.

Using real and educational projects in the development of management and training systems.

Ono and R. Archibald provide a detailed description of how to form and train project management teams in the process of real-life projects. This approach turns out to be most effective in mastering the principles of project management and improving existing management practices. In universities, training in project management on real examples is widely used.

Improving the project life cycle management system

To extend the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) to the organization's project management, it is recommended to use an approach that avoids fragmentary, ad-hoc improvements and suggests:

document an integrated project management process,

- document and describe the ICLP for each category of the organization's projects;
- define the phases of life cycles for each category of projects;
- identify the boundaries between the different phases of the life cycle;
- describe and identify the processes within each phase of the project, as well as identify intermediate and final outputs / results for each phase;
- identify and mutually agree on the risk analysis, planning, management and control processes for each phase, as well as the documents and confirmations corresponding to these processes;

reengineer the integrated project management process, Apply appropriate reengineering techniques to the LCM in each category in order to:

- identification of “bottlenecks”, “white spots” and weaknesses of the system;
- correlating, where possible, undesirable project outcomes with their possible causes related to the AILC;
- reworking the MCLT, starting with the most obvious bottlenecks, gaps and weaknesses;

Implement improvements, obtain the necessary approvals, and conduct appropriate tests or analyzes to substantiate the adequacy and feasibility of the proposed revision of the ISLC; plan, approve and execute an improvement project to implement the revised ISLC;
repeat all necessary steps until the optimal ISLCP is built.

Improving the new product life cycle process

R. Cooper et al. Describe helpful approach to improve the new product development process, based on their extensive practical experience in a number of industries:

Many companies conduct internal audit only to conclude that their new product creation process is not working. Projects are too long; the main types of work and tasks have not been completed; solutions like go / kill (all or nothing) are problematic. As a result, they begin to redefine the process using Stage / Gate methods.

Numerous win / lose comparative studies point to the following list of goals recommended for successful implementation new product development process:

Goal 1: quality of execution ...
Goal 2. clearer focus, better prioritization of projects ...
Goal 3: Clear Market Orientation ...
Goal 4: Good pre-development and clear early definition of product characteristics ...
Goal 5: a truly cross-functional team approach ...
Goal 6: supply products with competitive advantages- - differentiation of types of products, unique benefits, value for the consumer ...
Goal 7: short, fast steps and process flexibility ...

Application of bottleneck theory to improve the LCM

Over the past few years, bottleneck theory and its application to project management — the critical path method — have generated considerable enthusiasm among project management professionals and consultants.

In general, the theory is a reflection of common sense in the approach to understanding general systems: “Each system has special problem points (“ bottlenecks ”) that limit the output of the system. In his work "What is bottleneck theory and how to apply it?" E. Goldtratt argues that: "... before starting to improve any part of the system, we must clearly define the global goals of the system and methods of measurement that will help assess the impact of any subsystem or any local decision within the system on this global goal."

The global goal of any LCM is to move as quickly as possible from the initial concept of the system to the complete completion and closure of the project, with the maximum saving of resources (people, money, materials and equipment). L. Leach gives a detailed description of the bottleneck theory, means and methods of its application together with the concept of TQM to improve project management systems. It also describes how bottleneck theory and critical path method in planning, monitoring and managing projects can improve project execution in terms of lead time and cost.

Overcoming barriers to improvement in project management

Practice use system management projects and the necessary formalization of project management functions usually require significant changes in attitudes, attitudes, and understanding of responsibilities, methods and reporting relationships at all levels of the organization. Such changes can also affect the parent organization and organizations represented on the project teams.

Factors operating within the project, such as the level of organizational culture of the organizations involved, industry, geographic and national characteristics, create persistent obstacles, or barriers, to change. Overcoming these barriers requires a very serious effort. However, if not overcome, such barriers can significantly reduce the effectiveness of actions aimed at improving project management.

To successfully implement the required changes, we recommend the following five-phase strategy to help overcome or mitigate these barriers:

try to identify and clearly understand the possible obstacles that may arise in the way of the proposed changes;
create an atmosphere in which the need for change is clearly recognized, find and use motivation to help overcome barriers;
carry out the necessary explanatory work and, using the knowledge and experience gained in the two previous stages, train all people involved in the project;
develop “blueprints for change” to introduce new approaches to project management and use this practice to plan and execute these “projects”;
modify and develop these approaches and how to apply them to overcome existing and prevent possible cultural and other barriers.

Identification of barriers.

To successfully overcome resistance to change, each organization must first identify and prioritize key changes aimed at creating an effective project management system. Thereafter, the barriers to each of these changes should be identified so that a strategy for overcoming them can be developed and implemented. Among the main barriers are the following:

inconsistency of directives from two bosses - functional and project;
the difference between the goals of the project and the unit;
combination of teamwork and individual remuneration.

In addition to the barriers related to the field of “pure art” of project management, one should not forget about the intercultural barriers associated with numerous misunderstandings on national, ethnic, historical and other grounds. They appear in the most unexpected places - joint venture projects (when different corporate cultures), projects spread across different industries, and, of course, multinational projects where people generally speak different languages.

Project management is change management. Improving the organization's ability to manage projects requires significant change. Making improvements in project management itself requires the application of good management practices and should only be considered in the long term, aimed at radically increasing the value of the organization. There is no universal means by which you can solve all life situations and overcome all obstacles at once.

The management concept in each case should be formulated in strict accordance with the situation and taking into account the “industrial and cultural” characteristics of all teams involved in project management. Success in overcoming these barriers to effective management can be facilitated by the five-phase strategy described above.

The editors would like to thank the leadership of the Russian Project Management Association (SOVNET) for their assistance in obtaining permission to translate and publish this article.

Russell D. Archibald

This article is a shortened translation of Chapter 3, “Improving Project Management in an Organization,” of the third edition of Russell D. Archibald’s monograph Managing High-Technology Programs and Projects. - New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. The main ideas of this chapter were presented by the author in his report at the 17th World Congress on Project Management, held on June 4-6, 2003 in Moscow.

Benefits and costs of systematic project management

A systematic formalized approach to project management has a number of advantages over other approaches based on functional management principles, i.e. when managers responsible for individual management functions informally coordinate work on a given project with colleagues from other functional departments. At the same time, each of the managers, as a rule, adheres to the rules and procedures developed for their functionally oriented division in their work. A systematic approach to project management is becoming more and more popular for the simple reason that when it is used, the likelihood of successful completion of each individual project implemented by an organization, and all projects of the organization as a whole, increases significantly. Each project is successfully implemented, and specific results are achieved in accordance with the adopted schedule and within the established budget. With the implementation of a single project, the organization's ability to conduct a successful operation and its overall value objectively increase.

Among the main reasons for the successful application of the principles of a new approach to project management are the following:

• the organization selects for execution only those projects that best match the organization's development strategy;

• all obligations are accepted only for realizable purposes: technical, budgetary and calendar;

• responsibility for the management of project portfolios, programs and projects is carefully allocated and rigorously implemented;

• each project is planned, executed and monitored (managed) so that all obligations on it are fulfilled;

• Project management teams must work collaboratively and consistently with commitments to project goals, plans and timelines.

With regard to project management costs, their value will vary depending on the type, size and number of projects, as well as on the level of development of the project management system in a given organization. W. Ibbs and J.-H. Kwok [I], having analyzed the activities of 20 companies, report that "80% of companies said that they spend less than 10% of the total project cost on project management work and services." In this study, a range of project management costs was specified, which ranged from 0.13 to 15% of the project cost. The largest expense item was wages or other types of compensation paid to staff. The costs of licensing project management and related software, consulting and training in project management were also significant costs. However, no amount of costs or profit margins can show the magnitude of the benefits and benefits that organizations derive from new approaches to project management. These benefits do not directly affect ROI 1, but they can be objectively measured and measured. Currently, the managing managers of many companies have learned to effectively use in their practice various ways to determine the value of certain management methods and the overall value of the organization's management system. One of them is the Balanced ScoreCard Approach. Multivariate studies assessing the impact of project management methods in an organization on the level of its added value show that new project management methods significantly increase the business and organizational potential of an enterprise. This conclusion was recently reached by a research group from one of the leading consulting companies in the field of project management. RM Solutions, numbering in its ranks over a hundred top managers with extensive practical experience in the field of project management. According to this group, more than 94% of respondents said that “applying project management practices adds value to their organizations. This is reflected in significant improvements in financial performance, increased customer satisfaction, organizational capacity and staff training, and improved project / process management. ”

1) identification of symptoms of ineffective project management;

2) correlating the identified symptoms with possible causes of ineffective project management by, firstly, studying the literature on project management, secondly, conducting an audit of current projects and, thirdly, analyzing completed projects;

3) identifying opportunities for improvement in project management and ranking these opportunities;

4) development of an improvement program or a special group of projects aimed at eliminating and correcting possible causes of ineffective management;

5) implementation of the improvement program, evaluation of results and search for additional areas for improvement.

Research carried out by the company group RM Solutions, showed that “most companies in their strategy rely mainly on a system of coordinated initiatives to improve project management, rather than one or two separate initiatives. Such organizational measures include: the creation of a special body to manage the organization's project system - a project office; development of methodological principles for project management, the necessary software; integration of project management into the main processes of the company; training of personnel in methods and means of project management; deployment of a development program (professional growth) for personnel involved in the implementation of the project. Over 70% of surveyed organizations have made more than three improvements in project management over the past three years of their work ”.

Identification of opportunities and need for improvement in the area of project management. An organization's need to improve performance and improve its ability to manage projects can be determined by honestly answering a number of fundamental questions about each individual organization.

• Are there projects in your organization?

• Does each project support your organisation's adopted corporate strategy?

• How effectively have the risks associated with each project been identified and how effectively are they being managed?

• Have these projects been completed or are being completed in accordance with the original (reasonably revised) schedule, budget, contract prices and other parameters set by the relevant contract or other authorized documents?

• Have the intended profit targets for commercial projects been achieved? Have fines and compensation been paid?

• Is your organization's current management structure and planning, management and control system suitable to effectively manage larger projects, more projects, or other projects required to implement the organization's growth and development strategy or other long-term goals in the short or long term?

• knowledge and professional skills of people;

• assignment and distribution of responsibility;

• project management policy,

processes, procedures, systems, tools and methods of project management, or all areas at once.

Symptoms and possible causes of poor project management. Symptoms of insufficiently high quality project execution include:

failure to meet deadlines - work delays, cost overruns and contract penalties;

low performance level of staff

high staff turnover employed in the project, an excessive level of psychological stress, insufficient motivation and an unfavorable psychological climate in the organization;

insufficient financial discipline - actual costs exceed the planned budget;

poor quality of management - excessive involvement of senior managers in the details of the project;

poor quality of resource management - too frequent switching from one type of work to others (multi-tasking), duplication of efforts, ineffective use of specialists from functional departments.

Identifying and addressing the root causes of these common project performance deficiencies typically requires a very vigorous effort by project management professionals.

Using a formalized process for revising the project management system. AT & T's Project Management Excellence Center has developed and implemented a formalized process for revising the project management system with the aim of developing "effective methods of translating the project management concept into practical work on ... assessing and identifying performance improvement goals" [3]. These formalized review processes have been reported by management consultants as a result of their practical work. The analysis of the existing project management systems allowed them to highlight the weaknesses of the existing management practice, the identification of which is of fundamental importance in determining the necessary measures aimed at improving performance.

Potential management improvement efforts. To achieve significant improvements in such a complex area as project management, changes must be made in all areas of activity - human resources, organizational structures, processes, systems, procedures - and all these changes must be precisely aligned with each other. Some typical improvement projects and tasks in each of these areas are outlined below. For special situations, additional efforts will undoubtedly be required.

Strategic portfolio management.

Implement improvement projects in the area of:

• developing and implementing an appropriate process for managing the organization's portfolio of projects;

• formalization of procedures for selection of new projects and mutual ranking of all projects in each of the portfolios;

• active use of risk and uncertainty management methods during implementation

programs and projects.

Development of the management system and staff training. Make the necessary efforts to develop the management system and staff training in order to:

• improving understanding and acceptance at all levels of the organization of the main ideas and principles of project management, as well as practical measures for their implementation;

• Developing staff planning, management and supervising skills and other skills required by project managers and project support specialists;

• development of leadership qualities of program and project managers;

• creating the necessary understanding of the staff of the policy in the field of project management, as well as modern methods, systems and tools for project management;

• improving understanding of basic principles

and teamwork practices.

Establish a policy and develop the necessary procedures for:

• criteria for selection (appointment) of project managers by type and size of projects;

development and professional growth of personnel involved in project management;

• assessing the level of achievement and remuneration of project managers and others involved in the implementation of projects.

Assignment and distribution of responsibility. Complete the following projects to improve project management that your organization needs:

Establish a project / program management office (project office) at a sufficiently high level of management of the organization, the staff of which will be responsible for the implementation and continuous improvement of project management processes, as well as for the creation and improvement of methods and tools for project management;

Establish an office for operational planning, management and control to provide support in solving typical problems that arise during the management of small projects;

Assign responsibility for the execution of each portfolio of projects, each program and each project at all levels of the organization, and ensure that each responsible person clearly understands and accepts his share of responsibility;

Improve the understanding by all project participants of the basic principles and practices of teamwork;

Develop an appropriate policy in the area of determining the status and functions of senior managers, project portfolio managers, project sponsors, program and project managers, as well as the status of functional managers and project leaders;

Create a responsibility assignment matrix based on project / work breakdown structure diagrams to clarify the relationship of all project managers and participants. Provide a description of all items and a specification of key project management functions for all types of projects;

Formalize the design-functional matrix of responsibility allocation and take the necessary measures to ensure that real assignments and control of performance are carried out in accordance with this matrix.

Integrated systems, tools, methods and procedures. Initiate improvement projects. Target:

Identify and define the categories of projects implemented by the organization and document an integrated project life cycle management system (IPLC) for each category;

Improve the LCM for each category of projects (see below in the text);

Establish the necessary procedures to ensure the required coordination of plans and actions of all types of work / functions (marketing, technical support, procurement, production, etc.) during:

a) accepting project proposals or accepting changes to existing contracts;

b) project execution;

Introduce new or revise existing procedures necessary to:

a) ensure that realistic commitments are made for all new projects;

b) develop and introduce framework restrictions on the cost and timing of the execution of bids for projects;

d) timely control the accounting reports on the costs and costs of the project; monitor and control the expenditure of funds for payments to executors;

e) plan projects using structural schemes of project / work decomposition and network planning methods;

f) predict the required number of personnel involved in the project, and the need for other resources;

g) create an information structure to support projects;

h) manage (arising during the implementation of projects) changes in cost, schedule, as well as in the characteristics of the final product;

i) regularly analyze projects and re-evaluate the cost of projects for all types of work;

Introduce an integrated project management information system based on the use of the Internet and other means of communication;

Create a separate office for the management of the largest programs and projects and develop the procedures necessary to support its activities.

Pilot project method. The nature of project-oriented situations provides a unique opportunity to develop and validate individual groups of changes (project management improvements) from one carefully selected project, even before full commitments of improvements are made. The performance improvement pilot is not only a concrete mechanism for introducing and testing new approaches and project management methods, but also an excellent experimental model for the study and use of personnel management systems and their training.

When referring to the pilot project method, special attention should be paid to the choice of the project (program) that will be used in this capacity. Such a project should:

Have a not too long life cycle;

Be typical of the organization;

There is always a danger that the pilot project will receive increased attention from management and other interested parties. As a result, such a project may turn out to be so successful that the impact of the investigated management changes will simply not be measurable.

In a situation where all resources are invested mainly in one project, other projects will be in an unequal position and all comparative assessments of management efficiency will lose their meaning. In addition, there are a number of changes that, in principle, cannot be implemented on only one of the projects.

The use of real and educational projects in the development of management and training systems. V and D. Ono and R. Archibald provide detailed descriptions of how to form and train project management teams in the process of real-life projects. This approach turns out to be most effective in mastering the principles of project management and improving existing management practices. In universities, training in project management on real examples is widely used.

Improving the project life cycle management system

To extend the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) to the organization's project management, it is recommended to use an approach that avoids fragmentary, ad-hoc improvements and suggests:

document an integrated project management process,

1) document and describe the ISLCP for each category of the organization's projects;

2) define the phases of life cycles for each category of projects;

3) identify the boundaries between the different phases of the life cycle;

4) describe and identify the processes within each phase of the project, as well as identify intermediate and final outputs / results for each phase;

5) identify and mutually agree on the risk analysis, planning, management and control processes for each phase, as well as the documents and confirmations corresponding to these processes;

reengineer the integrated project management process,

6) apply appropriate reengineering methods to the LCM in each category in order to:

a) identification of "bottlenecks", "white spots" and weaknesses of the system;

6) correlating, where possible, undesirable project outcomes with their possible causes related to the AILC;

c) reworking the LMIC, starting with the most obvious bottlenecks, gaps and weaknesses;

make improvements,

7) obtain the necessary approvals and conduct appropriate tests or analyzes to substantiate the adequacy and feasibility of the proposed revision of the ICLIC;

8) plan, approve and execute an improvement project with a view to implementing the revised ICLCP;

9) repeat all the necessary steps until the optimal ISLCP is built.

Improving the new product life cycle process

R. Cooper et al. Describe a useful approach to improving the new product development process, based on their extensive practical experience in a number of industries:

“Many companies conduct internal audits only to conclude that their new product creation process is not working. Projects are too long; the main types of work and tasks have not been completed; solutions like go / kill (all or nothing) are problematic. As a result, they begin to redefine the process using Stage / Gate ™ 2 methods.

Numerous win / lose comparative studies point to the following list of goals recommended for a successful new product development process:

Target 1 : workmanship ...

Goal 2: clearer focus, better prioritization of projects ...

Goal 3: clear market orientation ...

Goal 4: quality pre-design and clear early definition of product characteristics ...

Target 5: a truly cross-functional team approach ...

Goal 6: supply of products with competitive advantages - product differentiation, unique benefits, customer value ...

Goal 7: short fast steps and flexibility of the process ... ".

Application of bottleneck theory to improve the life cycle life expectancy

The global goal of any LCM is to move as quickly as possible from the initial concept of the system to the complete completion and closure of the project, with the maximum saving of resources (people, money, materials and equipment). L. Leach gives a detailed description of the theory of "bottlenecks", means and methods of its application together with the concept of TQM to improve project management systems. It also describes how bottleneck theory and critical path method in planning, monitoring and managing projects can improve project execution in terms of lead time and cost.

Overcoming barriers to improvement in project management

The use of systematic project management practices and the necessary formalization of project management functions usually require significant changes in attitudes, attitudes, and understanding of responsibilities, methods and reporting relationships at all levels of the organization. Such changes can also affect the parent organization and organizations represented on the project teams.

To successfully implement the required changes, we recommend the following five-phase strategy to help overcome or mitigate these barriers:

1) try to identify and clearly understand the possible obstacles that may arise in the way of the proposed changes;

2) create an atmosphere in which the need for change will be clearly recognized, find and use motivation to help overcome barriers;

3) carry out the necessary explanatory work and, using the knowledge and experience gained in the two previous stages, train all people involved in the project;

4) develop "draft changes" to introduce new approaches to project management and use this practice to plan and execute these "projects";

5) modify and develop these approaches and ways to apply them to overcome existing and prevent possible cultural and other barriers.

Identification of barriers. To successfully overcome resistance to change, every organization must, first and foremost, identify and prioritize key changes aimed at creating an effective project management system. Thereafter, the barriers to each of these changes should be identified so that a strategy for overcoming them can be developed and implemented. Among the main barriers are the following:

• inconsistency of directives from two bosses - functional and design;

• the difference between the goals of the project and the unit;

• combination of teamwork and individual remuneration.

In addition to the barriers related to the field of "pure art" - project management - we should not forget about the intercultural barriers associated with numerous misunderstandings on national, ethnic, historical and other grounds. They appear in the most unexpected places - joint venture projects (where different corporate cultures clash within the same enterprise), projects distributed among different industries, and, of course, in multinational projects where people generally speak different languages.

The management concept in each specific case should be formulated in strict accordance with the situation and taking into account the "industrial and cultural" characteristics of all teams involved in project management. Success in overcoming these barriers to effective management can be facilitated by the five-phase strategy described above.

The editors would like to thank the leadership of the Russian Project Management Association (SOVNET) for their assistance in obtaining permission to translate and publish this article,

Based on the report by Russell D. Archibald, Improving Project Management Capabilities, 2003 prepared by O. V. Puchkov

1 ROI (Return on investment) - profit per unit of assets. Approx. ed.

2 Such an approach to project management for the creation of new products involves the development of a strict control system for the passage of each phase (stage) of the project at special control points (gate). The person (gatekeeper) who makes a decision (go / kill) on the expediency of continuing work on the project has the ability to reject questionable projects at the early stages of their implementation and concentrate resources on the most successful projects. - Approx. ed.

LIST OF USED LITERATURE

William Ibbs C., Kwak Young-Hoon. The Benefits of Project Management: Financial and Organizational

Rewards t0 Corporations. Newton square, PA: Project Management Institute, 1997.

Kent Crawford J., Pennypacker James S. The Value of Project Management: Proof at Last, Proceedings of

the PMI 2001 Seminars & Symposium, Nashville, TN, November 1-10, 2001. Newton Square, PA: Project

Management Institute.

Schneidmuller James J., Balaban Judy. An Invaluable Tool: a Proven Project Management Review Process.

Proceedings of the Project Management Annual Seminar & Symposium, Nashville, TN, Nov. 1-10, 2001.

Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Daniel P. Ono, Archibald Russel D. Chapter 29. Team Infrastructure Management: Project Team Planning

and Project Start-Up. Project Management for Business Professionals. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2001. Pp. 528-549.

Archibald Russel D. Chapter 11. Project Team Planning and Project Start-Up. 2003. Pp. 280-299.

Cooper Robert G., Edgett Scott J., Kleinschmidt Eiko J. Portfolio Management for New Products, 2nd Ed.,

2001. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.

Goldratt E.M. What Is This Thing Called Theory of Constraints, and How Should It Be Implemented?

Croton-on-Hudson. - NY: ASQC Quality Press, 1997.

Leach Lawrence P. Critical Chain Project Management. Norwood, MA, USA: Artech House, Inc., 2000.

The situation in almost every city today is difficult: the roads are bad, the construction is chaotic, there is no understanding of what needs to be done and what, on the contrary, is prohibited. Even in the case of a documented master plan, the city may not develop as well as it could. We present you ideas for the development of any city.

We decided to make a list of ideas that will be useful to any city- and took into account the best experience from the implemented projects - in Russia, Europe and the USA. We've categorized all ideas into three difficulty categories: easy, medium and hard. Each of them requires more time / resources / costs for implementation.

However, it is not so difficult: the only thing that you need to have in any case is a clear will and desire to work. We are sure that the implementation of at least one idea from this list can change the life of the city.

Fast and inexpensive

Free digital library

When was the last time you went to the library and borrowed a paper book? That's just it. The Soviet type of librarianship is becoming a thing of the past, and even schoolchildren and students, the categories of the population who would regularly use libraries, have no desire to go there.

In the digital age, when every home has at least one gadget, it’s foolish not to exploit this potential. To begin with - in cooperation with companies, as the experience of MTS in large cities of Ukraine shows. And then it will already be possible to think about something more modern.

Bicycle rental service

Returning to the topic of cycling, you cannot popularize it without giving people a try. Gradually, but surely, points where you can rent a bike for an hour, two or a whole day are appearing on the territory of the countries of the former USSR.

Remove outdoor advertising from the historic city center

Walk along the main streets and squares of your city, look around and up - how much can you see? Is the city itself visible? No, you can't see it, because the beautiful facades are hidden behind the wretched billboard advertising, which in Lately it has become so much that the brain simply does not pay attention to it.

Billboard defenders (usually city officials and advertising agencies) will say: "How, this is impossible, the city will lose income!" In return, we will show them the current experience of Moscow, which proves that it is not only worth it to shoot billboards, but also useful. From now on, the places on the billboards that remain are sold on the basis of an auction, and have already brought the city budget 70 billion rubles.

Establish rules for the design of store signs

20 different fonts, 30 different colors - and when a beautiful street turns into your average Shanghai. Permissiveness and chaos in local self-government, on the one hand, and total bad taste among shopkeepers, on the other, caused the appearance of facades cluttered with signs.

To prevent this from happening, it is enough to do only 2 things: to adopt at the legislative level the rules and requirements regarding the appearance of these signs, and gradually dismantle the old and terrible ones with new ones. Do you think it's difficult? Again, no. This year Moscow adopted a street design code developed by Art. Lebedev Studio.

Indicator lights

Public free wi-fi

When a tourist arrives in Tbilisi, he is invited to join the free wi-fi network, which is called “ Tbilisi loves you”. What do you think are the chances that the person will like it and want to come back here again? That's right - big. Therefore, free Wi-Fi on the central streets and squares of the city is not such a hopeless idea.

Single online center for citizens' appeals

Interactive sculptures

It is interesting to look at the monuments, especially if they are hundreds of years old. But now we can make interactive sculptures - which move, transform, and attract the attention of thousands of people. For example, like a sculpture of lovers in Batumi, which “converges” and “diverges” every 15 minutes.

Green spaces and flower beds

Building a park is not cheap, just like planting trees. A quick and cheap way of landscaping the street is vegetation in special barrels / pots / flower beds. It looks no less cool, requires little maintenance and is not as expensive as it would seem.

Public toilets

Few people like to talk about it, but when you are "called" by a natural need, our cities turn out to be completely unadapted to this. Usually among the public toilets in the center there are 1-2 points of the Soviet type and type.

Board with a timetable

Waiting for public transport is tantamount to guessing on coffee grounds: you never know when the bus will come, what direction it will take, or if it will come at all. However, the idea will only work with a comprehensive improvement of all transport in the city.

Social containers

In contrast to trash cans, it is advisable to establish several points around the city for collecting used clothes: after all, often, when doing general cleaning, we decide to get rid of dozens of things that could still be useful to people with poor social status.

Painted walls

A significant part of the housing stock of our cities was built in Soviet time, and now our houses are gray, unsightly and sometimes even creepy. It's easy to fix the situation: give the walls of the houses to the artists for painting, and then the gloomy district will receive a new bright life.

Provoke creativity

Art does not arise by itself, like the rest of the cultural life in the city. It needs to be stimulated, given an impetus for development, and most importantly - not to interfere.

Wall "Before I Die"

It all started with a Chinese girl, Candy Chang, who installed a black wall in her city with stenciled inscriptions “Before I Die, I want to…”. Passers-by were asked to add their own dreams and desires, which they want to fulfill during their lifetime.

The idea became so popular that it quickly spread around the world: now such walls can be found at festivals, city streets and holidays. Why not find out what the inhabitants of our cities dream of?

Navigation for buses

The transport system must be viable not only for the residents of the city, but also for its guests. When an unknown bus turns around a corner with a smudged number and a list of little-known streets, typed by Capslock, this does not help much to navigate in the choice - to get on it or not.

Interactive museums

The time of boring exhibitions and contemplation of jugs is passing: the world is actively using new technologies to attract visitors to museums. Create an interesting video, put up a projector, put up screens, invite visitors to take part, join the exposition - but do not force them to be passive spectators - no one wants to pay money for this. This also applies to all "glorious and ancient" castles on the territory of Russia, which more resemble a pile of stone.

People exchange

If you take a sober look, then we generally know almost nothing about those with whom we live in the same country. But we all have common problems. Why not try to dispel stereotypes, share experiences, problems and jointly develop ways to solve them? Short-term exchanges of people to improve cities would be an excellent example of cooperation.

Arrangement of wastelands

Every city has unoccupied lots that have attracted stray dogs, people, trash for years, and are virtually useless. Why not turn them into something more civilized? Wastelands, even those that are already owned, can be used with noble intentions.

Average duration and cost

Creation of bike paths and bike parks

For a start - at least in the historical center, and in the long term - in all quarters. Yes, we are aware that we still do not even have roads for cars everywhere, not to mention bicycles. Changing to bicycles is a common European trend in recent years: it is environmentally friendly, cheap and healthy.

Without the proper infrastructure, no one will pull a bicycle out of the storeroom for fear of being run over by a car and stuck in an open sewer hatch.

And by the way, for those who say that bike paths are unprofitable and useless, there is an ironclad argument: they have been proven to increase the profitability of establishments and the value of houses located nearby.

Create a city logo and brand

Of course, in the absence of a city development strategy and bumpy roads, it would be foolish to develop a brand. But sooner or later everyone will understand that it is these visuals that are the language of communication between the urban environment and its guests.

The way a city positions itself depends on its future in the geosocial space. In the meantime, we can study negative experiences - for example, the corporate identity of Dnepropetrovsk, for which they paid 300 thousand hryvnias, and which, to put it mildly, is not very impressive.

City navigation system

No matter how cool your city is, it is quite difficult for a person who enters it for the first time to find their way around the first time. All the more so if these are cities of the medieval type (tight, confusing center and large surroundings). If you want the guests of your city not to get lost, see all the sights and be satisfied, create a navigation system. A good experience is Lviv and Kiev, where numerous boards were installed for tourists with the definition of key places on the city map and how to get to them.

Restricting the use of LFAs

Small architectural forms or, as they are also called, MAFs are a disaster modern Russia... If in the 90s everyone traded from one-day tents, now they use plastic or wooden kiosks for this, appearance which does not fit far into architectural ensembles surrounding streets. In order to prevent the city from turning into Shanghai again, it is worth limiting the use of MAFs - for a start, at least establish a cool design and permitted places for them.

Streamline street markets

As much as you feel sorry for the grandmothers, selling vegetables, fruits and dairy products from the ground is wrong. The law must be equal for everyone - you must not allow spontaneous markets to produce unsanitary conditions and clutter on the sidewalks.

Public transport at night

In large cities, this problem is not so urgent, but in cities with a population of up to 500 thousand late in the evening or even at night, it is quite difficult to find a bus that will take you home.

If this question is really relevant for your city, then perhaps it is worth launching night flights? Which, for example, will run once an hour on a certain route?

Inventory of all property and land

It seems that in one Russian city they do not know exactly what, where, and whose property is located. Land plots are alienated several times, state property is imperceptibly written off, and houses of state importance belong to no one knows who.

Only the presence of a transparent cadastral system, which is available for viewing by anyone, and an inventory of everything that is in the city, will make it possible to see what resources it possesses.

Energy saving lighting

Even banal energy-saving light bulbs have not yet become widespread in Russia, so that one can speak of their complete victory. In Europe, on the contrary, incandescent lamps, which not only harm the environment, but also inefficiently consume energy, have been legally banned.

Waste sorting

At the moment, from 2% to 3% of the territory of Russia is landfills. In order for the garbage not to accumulate, but to be recycled, first you need to sort it. And it is desirable that people do it on their own. The first signs of progress can be seen on the streets of some cities: in Lviv, over the past few years, they have been actively introducing a separate waste collection procedure near houses.

Safe playgrounds

In dozens of Russian cities, the old Soviet-style iron, which is called children's merry-go-rounds, is still functioning, and children suffer from its malfunction every year. Such emergency sites must be closed and new ones equipped. Let this happen in cooperation with well-known brands and companies - such PR is better than human sacrifice.

Free sports grounds

If you do not want young people to play alcoholism and get-togethers with "semki" in the evenings, organize an additional leisure option. Each residential area should have free public sports grounds to which anyone can come. Not everyone has the money or the desire to go to gyms, and such initiatives would be a great way to encourage and promote healthy lifestyles.

Landfills

The longer it takes a person to find a landfill, the less chances that garbage will get to the target, and not past it. In crowded places, landfills are vital - even the most conscientious citizens will not have the patience not to throw something under the nearest tree. And one more thing: it is advisable to place these dumps not near the shops, Artemy Lebedev will explain to you why.

Speed bumps

A simple yet highly effective way to protect pedestrians on busy streets. If there is no need or opportunity to organize traffic light traffic control, then speed bumps very effectively stop drivers who like to drive - especially near educational and public institutions.

Adoption of the master plan of the city

No reforms are possible without something basic - a roadmap, instructions, rules that will govern everything. The general plan should become such an instruction for each city.

Not a falsified leaflet with edits for the temporary benefit of local oligarchs, but a real action plan for the coming years. It will be from him that it will be necessary to build on in all further reforms.

CCTV Cameras

How can crime be prevented? At the very least, warn. CCTV cameras will help not only to record possible crimes, but also to protect problem areas: few people want to do bad things in front of cameras. Or even their dummies: it would be interesting to conduct an experiment with such dummies, assuring everyone that these are real cameras and real video surveillance. People will believe and the result will be the same 🙂

City greening program

Planting 100,500 ragweed bushes is not to green up the city, but to harm it. A program with competent landscaping, the creation of parks, the maintenance of existing plantings, should be part of master plan. If you don't want to turn into a soulless and grubby city, take care of greenery.

New public spaces

A city is, first of all, a public space, places where events, destinies and lives intersect. First of all, you will go to the square, square or other secluded corner, and not another shopping center. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure that such places exist and develop. It's not so difficult - a small corner of the public space can be made with your own efforts. [Lviv Experience]

Long and expensive

Transfer old factories and premises for coworking spaces and creative centers

In every city, wherever it is located, there are several Soviet buildings with broken windows, which have stood idle for years.

Usually - these are the remnants of old enterprises or institutions that did not survive the collapse of the once great country. So why not use these buildings for a good cause?

Many young people have enough ideas about what to do with themselves in life. But they simply do not have enough space to implement these ideas: startups, artists, designers and other creative and young people simply do not have the money to pay for expensive rent and hire offices.

For the success of this project, two components are needed: the will of the city government, which is not a pity to give something back, and an investor, who will bring the building back to normal condition.

A year or two, and when the scary and abandoned territory will become a new city magnet, where young people and creative intelligentsia will be drawn.

Separate lanes for public transport

The key message to be understood is that a city is for people, not cars. That is why dozens of passengers on buses and other ground public transport do not have to wait in traffic jams as much as the owners of jeeps.

The experience of Enrique Peñalosa, the mayor of Bogotá, who in just three years transformed the city from wilds into civilization, proves that this is the right way.

Tourist information centers

For those for whom a map of the city with attractions will not be enough, it is worth looking into the special tourist information centers, which can be found from capital letter“And” in a green circle. The initiative to create such centers, which, by the way, are already functioning in many cities of Russia, should come from the local authorities.

In such a center, a tourist can get a free city map, find out about the possibility of settling, buy tickets for public transport, book excursions, and the like.

Live communication with trained specialists (preferably also those who speak English) is much more pleasant than chaotic asking passers-by how to find the station.

Solar panels on the rooftops of stops

To make energetically independent public transport stops that would not frighten people with darkness at night, but, on the contrary, be illuminated - solar panels that can be placed on the roof of the bus stop are quite capable of doing this.

Demolition of overpasses in favor of urban transport

The problem of traffic jams is not solved by the construction of new highways and overpasses: it is like fuel for cars, more roads means more traffic jams. In Paris, fortunately, they understood this and decided to demolish the flyovers for the benefit of the tram.

Reconstruction of streets to improve safety

What does an ideal street look like? This is not only a piece of asphalt on which a car can pass, it is also a cycle path, sidewalk, branches, sewage systems, markings, pedestrian safety islands, accessibility for people with disabilities.

Ideality is made up of little things: the experience of Orlando and the experience of Paris.

Elimination of heat loss

Once someone thought to put on thermal imaging cameras in winter and take a look at our streets. The result was incredible: a significant amount of heat, which is designed to heat houses, is simply lost along the road, warming up the asphalt and the air. One of the tasks of modernization utilities Is the elimination of such losses.

Underground car parks

Instead of allocating such necessary and expensive land plots for parking, it is better to use underground space.

On the surface, you will need to equip entry and exit for cars, while the space above the parking lot can be used much more efficiently. If you do not want the side of your streets to be jammed by cars, build parking lots. And hide them underground.

Removing business centers in separate quarters

A pan-European trend is the withdrawal of large business centers beyond historic center... This makes it possible to relieve transport hubs and concentrate the city's business activities in a certain place. One of the most striking examples of such a process is the De Fans area in Paris.

Reconstruction of water supply systems

It seems that we do not live in the desert, but with water it is extremely difficult for us. Not all cities can boast 24/7 water supplies, and this largely depends on the perseverance of local administrations and utilities. It is commonplace to provide round-the-clock water supply and to establish filtration of effluents, but the task is still relevant for Ukrainian cities.

Facade restoration

If you do not want the houses in the city center to fall on the head of passers-by, and tourists still had something to photograph, you need to preserve the historical facades. A sad situation: the cafe on the first floor has found finances and a desire to restore its part of the facade, and the rest of the buildings will soon collapse.

It is necessary to outline the boundaries of the historical center, to certify each facade, and on the basis of separate funding (50% - the authorities, 50% - the owner) to restore them.

Fully pedestrianized streets

What impudence is it - to prohibit cars from entering and turn the street into a completely pedestrianized one? It turns out that this has its own benefits - it is not only another public space, but also a specific benefit for everything that is located on this street. Pedestrian streets make the city more attractive.

Have own ideas who could complement this material? Do you want to object / add / criticize something? We will be glad to hear your opinions in the comments. Better yet, a reference to a practical — real, not virtual — way of solving problems. You can consider this post as a theoretical beginning, from which we will begin to talk more about the useful things that can change the life of our cities.

A systematic formalized approach to project management has a number of advantages over other approaches based on functional management principles, i.e. when managers responsible for individual management functions informally coordinate work on a given project with colleagues from other functional departments. At the same time, each of the managers, as a rule, adheres to the rules and procedures developed for their functionally oriented division in their work. A systematic approach to project management is becoming more and more popular for the simple reason that when it is used, the probability of successful completion of each individual project implemented by an organization and all projects of the organization as a whole significantly increases V.Ya. Gorfinkel. Economics of the company: Textbook for universities - M .: UNITI-DANA, 2003, p. 139 .. Each project is successfully implemented, and specific results are achieved in accordance with the adopted schedule and within the established budget. With the implementation of a single project, the organization's ability to conduct a successful operation and its overall value objectively increase.

Among the main reasons for the successful application of the principles of a new approach to project management are the following:

1) the organization selects for execution only those projects that best match the organization's development strategy;

2) all obligations are accepted only for realizable purposes: technical, budgetary and calendar;

3) responsibility for the management of project portfolios, programs and projects is carefully allocated and rigorously implemented;

4) each project is planned, executed and monitored (managed) so that all obligations on it are fulfilled;

5) project management teams must work together and in accordance with commitments to goals, plans and schedules for the implementation of the project.

1) identification of symptoms of ineffective project management;

3) identifying opportunities for improvement in project management and ranking these opportunities;

4) development of an improvement program or a special group of projects aimed at eliminating and correcting possible causes of ineffective management;

5) implementation of the improvement program, evaluation of results and search for additional areas for improvement.

Possible areas of activity in which changes are needed could be:

Knowledge and professional skills of people;

Assignment and distribution of responsibility;

Project management policies, processes, procedures, systems, tools and methods for managing projects, or all areas at once.

Symptoms and possible causes of poor project management. Symptoms of insufficiently high quality project execution include:

Failure to meet deadlines - delays in work execution, cost overruns and contract penalties;

Low performance level of staff

High turnover of personnel employed in the project, excessive level of psychological stress, insufficient motivation and an unfavorable psychological climate in the organization;

Insufficient financial discipline - actual costs exceed the planned budget;

Poor quality of management - excessive involvement of senior managers in the details of the project;

Poor quality of resource management - too frequent switching from one type of work to others, duplication of efforts, ineffective use of specialists from functional departments.

Identifying and addressing the root causes of these common project performance deficiencies typically requires a very vigorous effort by project management professionals.

Potential management improvement efforts. To achieve significant improvements in such a complex area as project management, changes must be made in all areas of activity - human resources, organizational structures, processes, systems, procedures - and all these changes must be precisely aligned with each other. Some typical improvement projects and tasks in each of these areas are outlined below.

Implementation of projects to improve activities in the area:

Development and implementation of an appropriate process for managing the organization's portfolio of projects;

Formalization of procedures for selecting new projects and mutual ranking of all projects in each of the portfolios;

Active use of risk and uncertainty management methods in the implementation of programs and projects.

Development of the management system and staff training. Making the necessary efforts in the development of the management system and personnel training in order to:

1. Improving understanding and acceptance at all levels of the organization of the main ideas and principles of project management, as well as practical measures for their implementation;

2. developing staff planning, management and supervisory skills and other skills required by project managers and project support specialists;

3. development of leadership qualities of program and project managers;

4. creating the necessary understanding of the staff of the project management policy, as well as modern methods, systems and tools for project management;

5.improving understanding of basic principles

and teamwork practices.

Development of the necessary procedures in the field:

Selection criteria (appointments) of project managers by type and size of projects;

Development and professional growth of personnel involved in project management;

Assessment of the level of achievement and remuneration of project managers and others involved in the implementation of projects.

Assignment and distribution of responsibilities to improve project management:

1) the establishment of a project management office at a sufficiently high level of management of the organization, the personnel who will be responsible for the implementation and continuous improvement of project management processes, as well as for the creation and improvement of methods and tools for project management;

2) establishment of an office for operational planning, management and control in order to provide support in solving typical problems arising in the course of managing small projects;

3) distribution of responsibility for the implementation of each project at all levels of the organization and the conviction that each responsible executor clearly understands and accepts his share of responsibility;

4) improving the understanding by all project participants of the basic principles and practices of teamwork;

5) a specific policy in the field of determining the status and functions of top managers, project portfolio managers, project sponsors, program and project managers, as well as the status of functional managers and project leaders;

6) creation of a matrix of distribution of responsibility, based on structural schemes of decomposition of projects / works in order to clarify the relationship of all managers and project participants. Carrying out a description of all positions and the specification of key project management functions for all types of projects Bukhalkov MI Intrafirm planning: Textbook. A manual for universities. M .: Infa-M, 2000, p. 147 ..

The performance improvement pilot is not only a concrete mechanism for introducing and testing new approaches and project management methods, but also an excellent experimental model for the study and use of personnel management systems and their training.

When referring to the pilot project method, special attention should be paid to the choice of the project that will be used in this capacity. Such a project should:

Have a not too long life cycle;

Be typical of the organization;

If the goal is to maximize the benefits, such changes should affect all actively existing projects of the organization.

Based on the studied material, and for a more grounded presentation, the main proposals for improving the efficiency of project management at the enterprise and their expected results (effect) are presented in Table 4.

Table 4 - The main proposals for improving the efficiency of project management at the enterprise and their expected results (effect)

Event	Result (effect)
1. Creation of the document "Scope of the project, its goals and approach", which enshrines the main assumptions, assumptions and the definition of what results should be obtained.	1. The absence of contradictions between the customer and the contractor in the correct understanding of the goals of the project and the final result of the project.
2. Creation of a matrix of distribution of responsibilities of personnel, which is based on the structure of the project.	2. Improving the execution of discipline, including in terms of meeting deadlines and quality of work.
3. Creation of a special commission, which is responsible for regular reviews of the project quality at each stage of the project life cycle.	3. Allows you to identify the shortcomings of the project at an early stage and quickly correct the situation.
4. Establishment of an office at the enterprise for operational planning, project management and control.	4. Providing support in solving common problems arising in the course of project management.
5. Application of a systematic formalized approach to project management, where managers responsible for individual management functions informally coordinate work on a given project with colleagues from other functional units. At the same time, each of the managers adheres to the rules and procedures developed for their division in their work.	5. Allows you to significantly increase the likelihood of successful implementation of each individual project implemented by the organization, and all projects of the organization as a whole.

This table shows the main recommendation measures. When implementing these proposals to improve the efficiency of project management, the company may well count on successful activities in the field of project management.

By focusing efforts on these activities in the first place, the organization has a better chance of success.

For successful holding and implementing process improvement initiatives, the project manager can implement ten main activities:

Choosing the right direction for improvement.
Start a project by setting goals, vision, goals and scope.
Using frameworks (frameworks) of the process.
Using agile methods.
Collecting ideas and suggestions from employees and managers.
Creation of a process map "as is" and "as it should be".
Benchmarking the process "as is"
Building knowledge management within the process.
Understanding when it is possible to solve a problem without IT support.
Getting support from your organization.

In the following sections, we look at all ten activities in detail.

Choosing the right direction for improvement.

While every part of the business is likely to benefit from an improvement project, some processes will still benefit more than others. However, it is especially important that the first area selected has the potential to generate significant benefits. Many successful projects process improvement failed only because the return on investment was not as great as originally anticipated.

Choosing a large, complex area for your first project is not a good idea, as this greatly increases the risk of failure. There is a high probability that your team will run out of energy and money until the project is completed. Therefore, it is very important to "learn to walk before starting to run."

Choosing your first process improvement project carefully will allow you to quickly realize the benefits. The resulting positive effect will create an impetus for the implementation of further projects to improve processes.

A few tips:

Choose a business process that is visible and has the potential to generate quick and high value.
Don't choose a business process that suffers from "political" problems.
Don't choose a process that is too large or complex.
Choose a process whose owner is truly competent and interested in the improvement results.

Start a project by setting goals, vision, goals and scope.

The improvement process should be seen as a project and not as a day-to-day activity. Organizations that viewed the improvement process as burdening their employees in their day-to-day operations did not succeed in improvement and, as a rule, never see good results.

By starting with well-written, well-defined objectives, vision, and project scope, you ensure that the project team and stakeholders have the same understanding of its results. The improvement process should be defined as a project with the following attributes:

formulation of the problem
clear, measurable goals such as “10 percent reduction in customer complaints” or “2 days less processing time”;
clearly defined scope;
a clear plan of who is responsible for what and in what time frame;
properly allocated resources (people and money).

Using frameworks (frameworks) of the process

Global companies today are facing an unprecedented amount of change. Technology has blurred the lines between business segments, allowing ambitious companies to enter new industries with game-changing offerings. In a world of financial instability transnational corporations emerging markets have sufficient strength, experience and market share coverage, posing a great threat to existing players.

Advances in Business Process Management (BPM), software, tools, approaches and process execution models provide the business with greater flexibility in order to remain competitive even in a changing environment. These changes have allowed organizations to become more agile and improve key business processes in response to changing conditions, using industry standard and functional best practices.

Support process analysis, design, and activity modeling for process improvement initiatives, wireframes, and reference models. By starting with a process wireframe or reference model, you can dramatically accelerate activities that deliver professional analysis based on a solid foundation. The framework helps the organization in three key areas: benchmarking, content management, and defining business processes. The value of using a process framework is the time saved for the process design team to develop their own process models and agree with all stakeholders.

There are a number of process models, including frameworks developed by Accenture, APQC, SAP, Supply Chain Council, Telecommunications Management Forum, and Value Chain Group. The APQC's Process Classification Framework, developed in 1992, is a particularly useful business tool used in various industries Worldwide. These frameworks are commonly referenced in business books, are also included in numerous process improvement and reengineering consulting techniques, and have been translated into many languages including Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Polish, and Portuguese.

Benchmarking and measuring processes, without using process frameworks or a reference model, is usually too expensive. Using a process framework or reference model as a common language reduces the effort required to benchmark activities. Internally, organizations need a consistent way to describe performance in a way that can be consistently and repeatedly measured. Outwardly, organizations normalize internal processes according to the framework or reference model, and, depending on the objectives, standardize the definitions in the framework to enable comparison of processes across the organization.

Content management activities are based on a common taxonomy. Using a process framework or reference model as the basis for a content management taxonomy will help competent managers to quickly reach consensus among various stakeholders, even if the structure of the reference model does not exactly match existing enterprise process models. The process framework, or reference model, acts as the interface between the way content is organized and the way work is done. Business analysts and process improvement teams should take a responsible approach to using the process framework from the outset.

Using agile methods.

The best way to manage a process improvement project is to apply agile development methods. Break the project down into small, fixed-length iterations (two to four weeks). Material results should be obtained within each iteration. The work performed in each iteration must be prioritized, and the project team must focus its efforts primarily on high priority tasks. An analysis of the work done should be carried out at the end of each iteration in order to draw conclusions and implement improvements in the next iteration.

Collecting ideas and suggestions from employees and managers.

Often times, improvement project managers bring together a number of managers to review the process. The consultant presents various process maps on the board and hopes that in a miraculous way, the congregation will develop new process... In practice, it just doesn't work. Managers' fees have their place, but they are often better used at the beginning of a process improvement project, to create business processes top level and reflecting the scope of the project. They are also useful later in the project for detailing models of existing processes, and for identifying and agreeing on improvements. Other techniques, such as interviewing, observing, modeling, simulating, and testing, are most likely necessary to achieve the stated goals.

It is a bad idea for process improvement projects to collect ideas and suggestions based only on the knowledge of the managers. Managers play an important role in projects to improve business processes, but the main ones are those who get the work done, since they are the ones who actually carry out the business process day after day and know its problems and workarounds. They often have good ideas to improve existing processes. By listening to them, you keep them engaged and make it easier to implement changes. Managers often have an understanding of the business process that does not reflect the current situation (sometimes, referring to previous practical experience of many years ago).

The members of the process improvement project team should observe the workers in their daily activities. Relying on information that employees simply tell you about their activities, you risk losing large chunks of the process. It is not uncommon for people to only tell only the "perfect picture of the day" when everything is going well. Major improvements, often related to bug fixes or reductions and workarounds. Once a detailed model of the existing process has been prepared, it should also be reviewed with employees to identify possible performance and improvement. Workers often have great ideas for improving the process, and getting them involved is very important.

With rare exceptions, today's managers spend most of their time responding to problems and critical situations. Such management is often called crisis management. Process improvement projects must spend significant effort working with managers to determine what information managers need to manage the process. Using this information, the improvement team should help leaders get out of crisis management so they can focus on good governance operations.

The improvement project team must be confident that they have a complete understanding of how the process works and all the information needed to control and monitor the process. Teams can then determine the best method for providing timely information to managers, allowing them to move from reactive to proactive management and ultimately to intelligent management. These changes will significantly increase the maturity of management, and will provide the organization with long-term uninterrupted and steady growth productivity.

Creation of process maps "as is" and "as it should be".

Many business processes today are in a deplorable state. Processes are broken down into separate functional units and suffer from multiple transfers of work within the organization. Submissions are a source of non-value-added work, causing delays, errors, and lack of flexibility. The work transfer results are as follows:

people involved in the process without understanding it from start to finish;
processes or sub-processes remain invisible, not measurable, and unmanageable;
lack of accountability and responsibility for managing the end result,
different divisions or departments look at each other with suspicion.

Process mapping is a technique that allows you to thoroughly study and understand a business process. Process maps are used to get an idea of the current situation ("as is"), as well as to document the ideal state ("as it should be"). The activities identified during the process mapping reveal the relationships between resources, goods and services produced and supplied to customers. The process map should provide a detailed picture of the business process, which leads to significant improvements. Process maps are a key tool for performance analysis and for understanding customers and supplier relationships.

Benchmarking the process "as is"

Organizations use benchmarking to measure their performance against other organizations. Comparisons may be to peer organizations in similar or similar industries, or to world class organizations in other industries or sizes. Comparative analysis provides information to identify opportunities for improvement, an understanding of what urgently needs to be changed, and mechanisms for finding new ways to improve business processes.

To cut costs, increase revenues, speed of delivery, and increase customer satisfaction, companies must apply comparative data to their processes. Comparison should be closely related to the organization's value proposition, core values, strategy, goals, objectives, tactics and actions. Benchmarking can help an organization achieve operational excellence.

Building knowledge management within the process.

Knowledge management enables a more efficient improvement process. APQC research shows that to maximize the benefits of knowledge management, organizations must not only implement tools and approaches for sharing knowledge, but also implement their employees' day-to-day work. Staff should view the search and exchange of knowledge as part of their work process, and not as a separate additional activity. That is, for knowledge management to be effective, it must be integrated into business processes.

A focus on knowledge management is the next logical step for an organization, and allows all the intellectual capital and main memory of the organization to be collected. Knowledge management helps you find the information you need the right people at the right time. Businesses compete on the basis of knowledge capital. Knowledge of business strategy, operations and processes, combined with skills and experience based on employee knowledge, enables organizations to serve customers more effectively and be competitive. All process improvement projects should include the development of knowledge management capabilities.

Understanding when it is possible to solve a problem without IT support

Many managers and process improvement teams still believe that acquiring the latest and most expensive IT system is the magic bullet that solves all problems. However, it should be noted that well-designed business processes supported by simple and inexpensive automation tend to be much more efficient than inefficient business processes supported by large, expensive enterprise systems.

It is important to understand that many processes can be successfully improved without IT at all. For example, by paying attention to the points listed below, you can significantly change the efficiency of the process without a huge investment in IT tools.

Reducing the number of transmissions between people and departments.
Prevention of losses.
Elimination of non-value-adding activities.
Using less expensive resources to carry out activities.
Investigation of the causes of errors (for example, provide forms that are easier for customers to fill out, which should reduce the number of incorrectly completed forms).
Creation of procedures to ensure uniform execution of the process by all employees.

Of course, IT tools can help with any of these activities, but they will not work until the organization addresses the underlying issues. IT tools should complement and support improvement activities in the organization, but they should not be at the center of improvement.

Getting support from your organization.

Without support throughout the organization, process improvement projects are almost always doomed to fail. Just appointed new way work is rarely triggered and often leads to employee resistance. This resistance makes it very difficult for the project team to implement the new process, and usually leads to the fact that employees only pretend that everything has changed, but continue to work the same way as before.

Proper organizational participation is one of the most important keys to successful process improvement. Doing the following will greatly increase your chances of success:

Ask employees for their views and ideas for improvement.
Explain to employees why everything needs to be changed (reason by showing them comparative data).
Be open and honest about questions and concerns.
Keep employees informed throughout the project.
Involve employees in the process improvement project team.

Conclusion

These ten keys to process improvement depend on communication, understanding, and making informed decisions. Mechanisms and tools such as APQC's Process Classification Framework and Enfocus Requirements Suite ™ help organizations accomplish these tasks, but they cannot replace the human labor of changing processes and ultimately organizational culture. to help you achieve your process improvement goals.

Material prepared by Andrey Garin
based on materials from foreign publications
http: //www.site/

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