Introduction to Project Management in Public Administration Karolina
Introduction to Project Management in Public Administration Karolina Muszyńska Based on: PMI ”Government Extension to the PMBOK Guide Third Edition”, PMI, 2006 D. W. Wirick ”Public-Sector Project Management. Meeting the challenges and achieving results”, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , PMI, 2009
Agenda • Characteristics and uniqueness of public sector projects • Project and stakeholder interdependencies • Project programs and portfolios and the role of the PMO • Private-sector versus public-sector projects • Reasons for public-sector project failure • The critical success factors for public-sector projects • Examples of public-sector projects • The triple-constraint model • Project process groups and functions
Characteristics of public sector projects • Every public project has the capability to improve the lives of citizens or the effectiveness and efficiency of government. • Primarily funded by and executed for the benefit of citizens, rather than for financial results. • Based on two factors peculiar to public sector • The law which stipulates precise terms for the execution and enforcement of fiduciary, managerial, and sociopolitical responsibilities • Responsibility of the project team to serve as stewards of the public interest
Uniqueness of government projects • • • The project management team must recognize the following unique characteristics in order to manage the project efficiently and effectively • Legal constraints on government projects - additional laws and regulations that can significantly impact government projects • Accountability to the public - project managers are accountable to many stakeholders beyond the immediate client - internal and external participants • Utilization of public resources - government budgets are funded with public resources that come from mandatory taxes, bonds, and other fees that require budget authority to obligate and subsequently spend the funds The project manager has a duty to use the public funds to meet the goals set by government bodies Project success is more often measured in benefits to the public (social good) rather than revenue or cost savings to the government body
Levels of government • National government. The government of an internationally recognized country. • Regional government. The government of a portion of a large country with a national government (states, provinces, landers, departments, cantons, principalities, republics, territories, etc. ). In small countries, there may not be any regional governments - only a national government and local governments • Local government. The government of a small portion of a country or region (counties, cities, towns, municipalities, prefectures, boroughs, shires, etc. ). There are sometimes overlapping local governments with different duties.
Project and stakeholder interdependencies • • • Government projects are determined by the government’s agenda, and have to be approved and budgeted in advance. Government projects are not normally analyzed on an individual basis - it is more practical to group them as programs from a budgeting and control perspective. The long approval and budgeting cycles require government projects to be much more strategically oriented than private sector ones. In the public sector project interdependencies are more clearly identified and documented. Almost every project has a core group of stakeholders with representation at higher levels (this provides project stability and alignment to program and higher levels, but could also create dramatic impacts generated by external factors, such as government or political direction changes)
Programs and portfolios – grouping projects for better management • Programs are groups of related projects • for example, a program consisting of multiple projects might be created to change the way an agency operates; projects in that program might include upgrading systems, improving processes, hiring new staff, training existing staff, and reorganizing the agency • Portfolios are groups of unrelated projects • for example, an agency at any point in time might have initiated a wide array of projects; they might, for example, have information technology projects, organizational change projects, process improvement projects, projects that implement statutory requirements, and projects that create new programs; although those projects might be unrelated in their outcomes, they probably rely on the same resources and might need to be prioritized and coordinated.
Programs and program management • Unlike commercial programs, government programs are used to set social goals, provide social services, and set priorities through public discourse (meetings and voting) and accountability (audits, hearings, legal actions, and the press) • Government bodies, especially larger governments, generally assign funds to programs rather than to individual projects • on regional or national levels, the legislative body sets program goals and priorities but cannot review the details of every project • in smaller governments, the legislative body may assign funds for individual projects and/or programs
Project Management Office • Used for project, program, and portfolio management; designed to provide coordinated management of the various projects in the organization • In the public sector, PMOs are often established in oversight agencies, such as central information technology offices • To be successful PMOs need to: • • Have clearly defined goals • • Be staffed with proven experts who know the business functions of the agency Operate outside of the information technology office Be supported by senior managers Delay the deployment of enterprise project management software until the organization develops some project management maturity Demonstrate their ability early with quick wins and visible successes
What makes public-sector projects difficult? • Service to the public complicates the management of public-sector projects, because it makes identifying objectives much more complex and even the public itself is difficult to define • Although simple project outcomes, like on-budget performance and timeliness, can be measured, larger outcomes, like the impact on public welfare, are more difficult to measure
Private-sector versus public-sector projects • Public-sector projects focus on constraints rather than results because of the inherent structure of public-sector programs, which find their roots in statutes, rules, and processes (penalties for nonconformance outweigh the benefits of attaining results in most public-sector organizations) • Public-sector agencies have a shorter planning horizon than private-sector organizations because of electoral cycles • But public-sector organizations are subjected to an organized political opposition so public-sector project managers operate in a hostile environment and they try to avoid visible failure at all costs
Private-sector versus public-sector projects • Public-sector projects can be more difficult than private-sector projects because they: • • • Operate in an environment of often-conflicting goals and outcomes • Require the cooperation and performance of agencies outside of the project team for purchasing, hiring, and other functions • Must make do with existing staff resources more often than private-sector projects because of civilservice protections and hiring systems • Are performed in organizations that may not be comfortable or used to directed action and project success • Are performed in an environment that may include political adversaries Involve many layers of stakeholders with varied interests Must placate political interests and operate under media scrutiny Are allowed little tolerance for failure Operate in organizations that often have a difficult time identifying outcome measures and missions Are required to be performed under constraints imposed by administrative rules and oftencumbersome policies and processes that can delay projects and consume project resources
Why do public-sector projects fail? • Project-sector projects fail for all of the normal reasons that any project fails • Public-sector projects can fail for a set of reasons related to the unique character of public-sector projects
Normal reasons that any project fails • Fail to identify the needs of customers or users of the product or the project • Create overly optimistic schedules and fail to anticipate the impact of late deliverables • Do not get the resources necessary to complete the project • • • Do not devote enough time to project planning Are subject to changing management priorities Employ technology that does not work as expected Do not get good performance from vendors Get overwhelmed by competing projects and do not apply solid project prioritization • Do not adequately identify, analyze, and address project risks • • Make assumptions that are not validated and agreed to • • Do not have the benefit of an experienced project manager • • Dissolve in the face of conflict among stakeholders Get overtaken by unexpected events Do not apply solid and repeatable project management methods Do not engage and involve stakeholders throughout the project Do not identify lessons learned from prior projects Define an overly broad project scope that cannot be welldefined
Reasons of project failure related to the unique character of public-sector projects • Lack the necessary resources because of requirements to use existing staff rather than to contract for the right expertise • Are constrained by civil-service rules that limit assignment of activities to project staff • • Lose budget authorization • Are overwhelmed by administrative rules and required processes for purchasing and hiring • Fail to satisfy oversight agencies Lose support at the change of administration due to electoral cycles • Adopt overly conservative approaches due to the contentious nature of the project environment • Are victimized by suboptimal vendors who have been selected by purchasing processes that are overly focused on costs or that can be influenced by factors that are not relevant to performance • Are compromised by the bias of public-sector managers and staff toward compliance over performance • Fail to identify project goals given the wide array of project stakeholders in the public sector and the challenges of identifying public-sector goals and metrics for success
The critical success factors for public-sector projects • • A project management methodology built specifically for the needs of the projects of the organization that is scalable based on project risk Capable project managers with both hard and soft skills who have the ability to: • Envision the project as a community endeavor and enlist a broad group in problem resolution • • Share credit for success • An interactive dialogue among stakeholders that continues throughout the process • A detailed process for identifying user and supplementary requirements • Respond quickly and positively to adversity, which is a constant of public-sector projects • Management support of the project management process • Manage conflict among stakeholders and to recognize the interests of even those who might oppose the project • Deal with the press when necessary Manage complex processes that may be required by law or administrative rule
Breaking projects into components • Projects can be broken down into phases for better management results • Project phases are collections of project activities that usually create a deliverable (needs identification phase, design phase, development phase, test phase, deployment phase, assessment phase) • The next logical way to break projects into pieces to make them more manageable is to identify the deliverables of the project - the things the project will create • The goal of project management is to make sure that every activity is associated with a deliverable
Examples of public-sector projects • • Military campaign Negotiation of a peace treaty Lawsuit Budget Program creation or deployment Adoption of a statute or rule Process improvement Program evaluation • • System deployment or upgrade Construction of a building or monument Environmental impact study or reclamation Agency reorganization Issuance of a complex permit Financial audit of another public-sector program Attempt to attract business to a political jurisdiction
Deliverables and Activities for an Agency Budget Request Deliverables Related Activities Budget schedule and resources - Identify budget filing deadlines - Identify resources necessary - Determine resource availability - Create a schedule - Circulate the schedule and resources for internal review by managers - Document the schedule - Update the schedule with changes as necessary Identification of agency needs - Survey managers to identify program needs - Evaluate expenditure patterns - Document performance information - Prioritize agency needs Presentation of identified needs to stakeholders and advocates - Identify stakeholder groups - Identify actions desired for stakeholders - Prepare presentations - Deliver presentations - Evaluate presentations and make budget changes (if necessary)
Deliverables and Activities for an Agency Budget Request Deliverables Related Activities Budget preparation and submission - Prepare budget forms - Check forms for errors and omissions - Submit budget - Meet with oversight agencies - Present arguments for budget Budget negotiation and modification - Present options for changes - Make changes Budget implementation - Enter budgets into accounting systems - Notify managers of approved budgets and limits -Monitor performance against the budget - Provide feedback to managers - Recommend changes and corrective actions - Create historical information for next budget cycle
The triple-constraint model • The triple-constraint model of project management implies that there must be a balance in every project between (1) the project’s scope, (2) the time available for the project, and (3) the resources available for it • If one of those elements is adjusted, one or more of the other elements will have to be adjusted as well
Project process groups • For every project we can apply what was commonly known as the IPECC model, which consists of project Initiation, Planning, Execution, Control, and Closing
Project Initiation • The goal of project initiation is simply to start the project or a project phase in an orderly manner, with as much agreement and understanding as can be mustered about it • At the close of project initiation, the project should have been authorized by the organization so that the assets of the organization can be employed for the project (particularly important in the public sector) • One of the goals of project initiation is to ensure that the organization understands the project and is fully supportive of it • It is important to assess all project options/alternatives and make sure that there is agreement about the project and a good understanding of it before getting started
Planning • In that process group, the project plan, which includes the project or phase scope, schedule, budget, risk management plan, and communications plan, is created • A balance needs to be reached between too much planning and not enough. There is an adage in project management that says that we have the choice of ‘‘sweating the planning’’ or ‘‘bleeding the execution’’
Execution • In project execution, the project manager ensures that the plan gets implemented and assigns work • The major output of execution is the creation of work results • If the work we are doing or need to do does not match the plan, we have two choices: revise the work that it conforms to the plan, or back up and revise the plan; in most complex projects, both is done
Monitoring and Control • • Monitoring and control compares the work results created to the plan that was built • In public-sector projects, changes always occur. The job of the project manager is to prevent unnecessary changes, and make sure that necessary changes are implemented and that the project plan is changed to reflect them. • Making the right trade-offs between the stability of the project plan and the flexibility necessary to take emerging conditions into account is one of the project manager’s most important challenges. • Monitoring and control phase includes scope verification when the stakeholders evaluate the results. Verification is performed at the close of a project or a project phase to ensure that products of use to customers have been created and to determine whether the project should be closed or proceed to the next phase. Two other functions that occur during project monitoring and control are managing project changes and ensuring the acceptance of the work
Closing • The purposes of closing projects are to: • • document the results and create the project archives, identify lessons learned so that the next project can be managed even better, celebrate success with the project team and stakeholders, send project team members off to their next projects with good feelings.
Project phases and related functions • Project Initiation • • Framing and initiating the project Planning • • Developing the project plan • Identifying necessary purchases and resource acquisition, working with purchasing offices to identify and select vendors Creating a scope management plan, defining and confirming project scope Defining project activities, creating the project schedule Creating the project budget Identifying project quality requirements Creating a plan for optimizing the use of human resources Creating a communications plan Creating a plan for risk management, identifying risks, analyzing risks, developing risk responses, creating a plan for managing the project’s legal and administrative constraints
Project phases and related functions • Project Execution • • • Performing project work Acquiring the financial resources for the project Managing project quality Motivating and managing the project team, resolving project conflict Providing information to project stakeholders Managing contracts and vendors
Project phases and related functions • Project Monitoring and Control • • • Comparing the work to the plan and managing changes Controlling scope, verifying acceptance of deliverables Managing project costs and reporting on project expenditures • Project Closing • • Closing the project and contracts Capturing and managing knowledge
The necessary skills for public-sector project managers • General skills: • • • Hard skills, like scheduling, budgeting, performance management, and quality control Soft skills, like team building, conflict management, negotiations, motivating team members, and managing stakeholder expectations Additional skills for project managers in the public sector • • • Understanding of government processes • • Operating among a vast array of stakeholders, including the public, administration officials, and legislatures • Managing conflict with internal and external stakeholders to an extent beyond that required of private-sector project managers Political awareness and sensitivity Managing employees without the ability to provide the types of incentives (and disincentives) available to the private sector Understanding the press and operating in an environment of high visibility with little organizational tolerance for failure and media ready to exploit that failure
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