| |
| UTOPIA…or how to bring up a real project manager? |
| Real Estate Review #4'2004(42) |
- I beg your pardon Milan for childish question: What, in fact, is project management?
- If I hated something in school, these were definitions. On the other hand, it is clear to me too, that broad audience of readers and, probably, you personally need explanation. I will try to give a spur-of-the-moment answer.
Project management is a group of experts - high professionals who on the basis of knowledge, skill and experience manage competently certain PROJECT, or group of projects. In broad sense, it is a METHOD of DEALING business. I‘d like to emphasize, that the concept of project management became popular here in Ukraine at the time of introducing market economy and attracting foreign investors. You cannot convince me that thousand years ago or more, people were not able to construct churches, to build the ships without any plans, both in direct, and in methodological sense. The block-buster “Troy» shows actually the idea of managing the project of defense and conquest of Troy…
We’re today at another moment in time – time of new technologies, and, not less important, new methodology of managing process (projects) based on the rules of market economy.
- Who is project manager, and how does he differ from classic manager?
- Manager – acts a general director of the project, carrying out the precise task: managing the certain project in the set frame of time, budget and quality (cost, time, quality).
Manager per accepted implication? Generally speaking, it is a manager who has completed his education and old-school trained while modern project manager is computer trained. One important factor to add – a traditional manager should also take into account element of politics. And if till recently this element was one of the most important ones, nowadays it is forbidden for project manager to politicize or lobby any interests.
I want to add one more fact: existing tendency is to give negative opinion about period of socialist epoch – “power of communists”. I categorically disagree, that everything was so bad. The human recourses selection, by the highest standards, was one of the most positive effects. Don’t forget the popular soviet slogan: “Staff solves everything!” - it really makes sense.
Nowadays, staff problem, especially in the sphere of project management, is usually difficult to solve.
- Whether project manager should be only bound for expert (for example, necessarily constructor, if he manages a real estate project)? Or you hold on to Lobanovsky’s philosophy of total player (it is possible to replace a goalkeeper with the forward if necessary)?
Lobanovsky is one of a rare world authority in the field of management. The highest proficiency in project management is team management.
It may sound absurd, but in construction business there are seldom project managers, who are civil engineers by profession. On "battlefield", meaning on site – yes there are. But at logistical center, in the office the project manager is a person who combines experience of the lawyer, economist, and technologist in the field of certain project and if it is construction project he should clearly understand the principles and details of architecture, civil construction, engineering, fit-out works, design... Anyway, his team should consist of an expert in each question. He should know, but he also should trust to his team.
- To what kind of project manager can you have a respect or even admiration for? It might not, at all, be people at the post “project manager”? What projects, in your opinion are the most successful in world practice?
- I respect very much the managers who search for any possibility of problem solving, instead of that one who prefers to search for reason, why something is not realized.
I admire such people who in the heaviest situations continue realization of the project and successfully finish it!
The most successful projects are already completed projects. Certainly, completed in the set term, with the set budget and quality.
To take out country from crisis, to cure the patient, to stop war or, even better, to prevent it, are those projects, which not only inspire, but also raise positive energy of the nation or peoples.
- What is the feature of construction project management?
- I will answer this question otherwise: the company “Slav-Invest” is still remembered as the company, which managed 9 project of restaurant construction at 6 cities in the same time. You can ask: small restaurant – it’s not a big deal? Look around, what kind of buildings are constructed across all Kiev, across Ukraine. Yes, but to finish each of such restaurant in precisely set term, within the framework of the given budget, on the basis of high requirements to the quality - in Krivoy Rog, Simferopol, Dnepropetrovsk, Sumy, Kiev, Lvov... and to make orders, checking, delivering, coordination in the same time for all sites!.. This is the result of teamwork; by the way, this team sees the RESULT OF ITS WORK very quickly.
No one like construction project manager can brag by result of the work or be dishonored because of it.
- Whether the Ukrainian business has come to the Project management in the pure form, that is when the professional project-manager, having never been engaged in project management in the given branch, but having good track record is appointed manager of the project?
- I can’t say, that project manager can be real professional and absolutely successful without an operational experience in the field of certain project. It is possible, but only with the condition that his team has the experience in similar sort objects.
(I cannot say I agree with the thesis)I do not agree with theses, that only knowledge and skill (the certain methodology) without working experience in the given field can give a good result.
We build our policy in different way: project manager should be the real professional - the player who can play at worthy team, by any authority and at any market. Certainly, it is very few of them [, but Sheva also is ….unique? And he can play at any team, though it is important to remember about your team... One man doesn’t make a team!]
- In what cases creation of projects portfolio is necessary and when it is better to leave each project (in the presence of several) independent?
- With this question we should talk not about the necessity of creation of a portfolio as such, but about the creation of a control system for projects portfolio. The projects portfolio exists in any company, which has several contracts on project management.
Usually the companies transit to portfolio project management at the certain stage or level of maturity. Transition to portfolio project management assumes certain structural changes of the organization. It is necessary to organize the subdivision which will methodologically provide local project management teams. I mean project management center.
There is no fixed decree when the company should pass to portfolio management with corresponding structural transformations.
In different sources there is description from 5 up to 8 levels of a maturity of the project management company. Usually the companies start structural transformations at 4-5 levels.
But a lot depends on a level of professionalism of company’s staff. Transition at an earlier stage is possible too. In this case creation of project management center can promote to the accelerated increase of company’s level of maturity in sphere of project management.
- What additional qualities the portfolio project manager should have?
- The portfolio project manager accordingly to his level of tasks should have wider outlook, than the manager of single project.
The level of portfolio project manager in organization structure belongs to the top-management, therefore he should think about interests of all enterprise, not only about one concrete project. Such manager is obliged to be able to estimate the priority of this or that project and redistribute resources accordingly.
He should be guided well in a situation in the corresponding market. In our case, when we basically manage projects of construction investments: it is the real estate market.
I could say, that manager of portfolio project management should have the qualities of director of the enterprise.
Generally, his qualities are determined by his tasks:
- to represent project management as a direction of the enterprise on top-level of management of enterprise;
- to ensure the functioning of project management center, to support and improve methodology of project management;
- to provide a qualitative management of a portfolio and of project managers;
- to carry out the tutorial help and administrative support to project managers;
- to develop and improve processes, a policy, procedure and practical aspects of project management;
- to operate risks at an enterprise level, by the ratio of various projects’ risks;
- to distribute resources of the enterprise between projects according to their priority;
- to resolve inter project conflicts.
- Whether it is possible the creation and efficient management of portfolio of projects in our country where the conditions vastly differ even within the framework of one inhabited locality (for example, because of regional authorities of one city), not speaking about various regions?
- I think that it is possible and necessary. Portfolio project management assumes, first of all, usage of uniform methodology and complex approach to management of all contracts’ package from the side of the managing company. That is, on the foreground stands a transformation of work of the concrete managing company.
Certainly, you are right, that external conditions have influence on a course of this or that project, and one of managing company tasks is to know possible influences of these conditions and to take into account them in the work. There are no identical projects, and this follows also from definition of project concept: project is temporary event for creation of a unique product. Uniqueness of projects includes and consists of various external conditions of each of them.
The problem of transition on portfolio management, by my opinion, is a problem of the approach of the managing company to methodology of management, and this is an internal problem of the company.?
- Whether will be actual such kind of name of work (a film, a book): “Features of national project management”, or it is universal activity for all countries?
- I think, yes. After all there is construction in Emirates, and in China, and in the same Yugoslavia. And, certainly, construction was, is and will be, and here, in Ukraine.
Latest example: the program of revitalization of "khruschevki" is solving. There is your answer: the certain period of time had dictated the certain rules in construction when volumes had been important, and not other parameters.
Four years ago your previous colleague asked me about features of Ukrainian project-management. In my answer I have specified two important moments at that time, which I considered as “force major”:
“Potatoes season” is the problem which we have faced with on construction of “McDonald’s” restaurants. During the period from 24.04 till 13.05 we could not hold by anything Ukrainian masters on building sites, neither for any fee, nor under threat to remaining them without work, it was useless.
The second, very important moment is the possible decisions of the government and bodies of local authorities, which can affect a course of construction.
This is what we could enter to our contracts as "real" force major, and the “potatoes season” was left in the domain of folklore, or a theme for art works...
I would like to note, that for today both the first and the second factors of “force major” are not so terrible, as they were five or more years ago.
The fact, that Ukraine has implemented a number of arrangements which have entailed regulation of an investment climate in the country and have made it more attractive to investors, speaks about prospects of this market. In fact, everything is not so bad, as someone wants to show.
- How incipient project-managers in Ukraine can secure themselves from the incorrect attitude from the side of direction (for example, “Oh, we have another project burning so we will cut down your budget, and then we will cover somehow”)?
- Real project manager should have such quality as persistence. But in order to show it, he should be the absolute authority on his team.
The example from my own experience. Eighteen years ago I was director of project of construction of factory of integument concentrates for the tanning industry in the city Shebekino, Belgorod area, on the basis of the contract of Yugoslavian company “Invest-import” with Light Industry Ministry of RSFSR.
There were hard times of work in the Union: it was felt, that the country, to put it mildly, collapses... In our company, except for investment projects in the Union, and there were several of them, projects in ten countries were conducted: Libya, Algeria, Iraq, Burma, East Germany, South America...
At one meeting, where it was spoken about problems in the Union market, President approached to me: “Director of project "Shebekino" will tell you about a developed situation of his project now”. I have pretended that it does not concern me. Then he raised voice and said: “Mister Pajevic, I’m speaking with you!”
I certainly stood up.
- Why are you silent?
- If you would like me to tell you something as an expert, I will report. But as a director of the project
- I can not.
- Why? - President was surprised.
..... ... silence in the meeting room, because nobody couldn’t talk with President in that way.
- Because you, mister President, are director of the project. Every morning you, not asking me who has exposed urgent accounts on payment knowing that there is money on payment of "my" project, invite financial director and give him an order which accounts should be paid. Thus, you have discharged me from one important instrument - the instrument of project management...
Everybody kept silent. President looked at me, I looked at him. People said, that it lasted for a considerably long time.
- Ok. Tomorrow morning be at my office.
I didn’t fight for my status, I fought for my project.
But that moment had somehow determined my destiny too. But it is long, though interesting story, I might tell you another time...
-There are rumors going on that you are writing a book. Could you tell us what is it about and when will it be published?
- Yes, I do write a book. It is about what we are talking now.
It will be published when I have time to finish it, may be, when I retire. But notwithstanding my wishes (I am very tired) it will not happen soon.
- Good project manager is a natural gift or anybody can learn it to be? After all in the real life everyone faces with Project management in this or that form: correct plans of studying at school, institute, marriage, building of the house, all life, at last, - and hardly everybody succeeds in it; may be it is wrong project-management?
- The first part is the answer to some to your previous questions.
Not everyone can be a violinist, a football player, a doctor. The same refers to the subject profession.
I shall return to the issue of the book, which working name is "UTOPIA". The book tells about the process of creation of the successful project, naturally based on quality of Project Manager, on importance of designed office and, certainly, about psychophysical characteristics of such people, after all they are human.
U – means STABILITY as a personal characteristic.
T - PATIENCE, TOLERANCE, TALENT.
O - OPTIMISM, determination, will to success.
P - PROFESSIONALISM, PUNCTUALITY, loyalty (to interests of project, customer, own company and its management).
I - INTELLIGENCE, INTUITION.
A - AUTHORITY (knowledge, skill, experience) and absolute authority in relation to customer, team, executors.
Is that Utopia? No.
Hard to achieve - yes. To find, raise, train, and set in fire and not lose him, this is the process. Not only we don’t suffice such staff, the whole world doesn’t suffice it. The real project-manager puts a question about salary on the last place. Before all he should ask:
- About a subject of the action - the project;
- About a level of his competence;
- About a volume of his responsibility;
- About a team to realize a project with;
- About instruments of managing the process.
After these key questions one may speak about the salary, but this also is of no importance. If to mention competent leaders of the company they should know, that project manager if he has such set of qualities we spoke above, should have the salary in firm at a level of the first person of the company, certainly, for the period set for realization. Project-manager should constantly demonstrate his qualities. His project is realized on the ground, but he examines it in a foreshortening of these three positions.
We want to prepare that kind of professionals in our company. And our result will show that this is not the UTOPIA. This word will remain only the name of a book which has been started twenty five years ago, by my first project.
Interview to Milan M. Pajevic
General Manager of "Slav-Invest"
<<<Other articles
|
 |
|
|
