Everyone can cook, but not everyone is a cook. We can all sing, but not all of us are singers. Our profession is no different: everyone can coordinate the tasks of a team, but that does not make them project managers. To know if a cook is a good professional, we do not need evidence certifying that he follows certain procedures. Let’s go to the value result: we tried their food .
For ours to truly be a profession, recognized as such by society (bosses, subordinates, colleagues, friends, family, universities, companies, NGOs, public administrations, etc.), it should be possible for anyone to be able to show when a project manager is good or bad professional. Just as everyone knows how to recognize a good or bad singer, cook, etc., people should be able to give an objective opinion about our work, with simple evidence of performance that does not require having a PMP® qualification, or similar.
«Non-experts should know how to give their opinion on whether a project manager is a good or bad professional.»
To lead the project economy , organizations must streamline management processes: bureaucracy, approval flows, documentation, meetings, etc. Project professionals must master social skills ( power skills ). The success of today’s projects happens only when people collaborate in managing them. Quoting the well-known Agile Manifesto :
«People and interactions over processes and tools.»
In August 2021, PMI published the 7th edition of the PMBOK , redesigning from processes to performance domains, or in other words: from outputs (documents) to outcomes (value results) .
The 8 domains of project performance , understandable by stakeholders, help anyone know if the project is being well managed:
- Stakeholder Domain : Are stakeholders properly involved? Are your requests for changes, comments, feedback, etc. attended to in a timely manner? Is communication adequately managed?
- Team Domain : Does the team work synergistically and cohesively? Do team members know what role they play within the global context? Can you make anonymous comments? Do they waste a lot of time on non-productive activities, such as allocating hours and expenses? Does the project manager effectively lead the team?
- Life Cycle Domain : Do we know what phase the project is in? Is the appropriate management approach used, whether predictive, hybrid or agile? If the approach is agile, is it iterated cyclically to refine the scope?
- Planning Domain : Was the project adequately justified? Was it approved by a management position? Has it been broken down into manageable elements? Are the main milestones clear? The main dependencies? Does the project manager know in advance what needs to be done today, this week, this month, etc.? Do you know who will do what activities? when? how much will they cost? When will the project end?
- Work Domain : Are follow-ups carried out? Can you know what was done a month ago? Are changes controlled? Are the relevant facts and lessons learned being recorded?
- Delivery Domain : Are partial deliveries made at the appropriate cadence? Are the deliverables validated?
- Measurement Domain : Are time and cost deviations measured? Are time and cost forecasts made with a reasonable level of precision? Are corrective and preventive actions taken? Are the hours worked and expenses incurred controlled?
- Domain of Uncertainty : Are serious problems anticipated before it is too late? Are there too many surprises? Too many crises? Too much improvisation? Are risk responses effective?
Demonstrate Results in Projects with PMPeople
PMPeople is the tool for Project Economy. In all organizations, of any type, projects, programs and portfolios are managed with the aim of transforming ideas into reality. Organizations are experiencing increasing “projectization” and need project professionals who can be accountable, predictable, and ultimately accountable for achieving success on every project.
In PMPeople , stakeholders can check the good or bad performance of the project in the 8 domains , based on evidence recorded in each work package of the project :
- Stakeholders : “In the project, a productive relationship must be maintained with the stakeholders, ensuring their adequate level of involvement. Stakeholders in favor of the project should be satisfied, and those opposed should not have a negative impact . ” In PMPeople , the project manager can update the registry of interested parties indicating the level of involvement (unaware, reticent, neutral, supporter and leader), address the changes they request, their comments, their feedback, etc. The project manager can decide concrete actions with stakeholders by reviewing the stakeholder log, the issue log, the feedback log, and the change log.
- Team : “The project requires a high-performance team, empowered, resilient and aligned with objectives. They must take responsibility for deliverables and results in a collaborative environment, based on mutual trust . ” In PMPeople , the project manager can explain the expected results to the team members, read their comments (which can be anonymous), approve allocations of hours and expenses, etc. Team members can see their assignments, complete their tasks, know who their colleagues are, update a team charter , write comments, information for retrospectives, read feedback from managers and other stakeholders, allocate hours and expenses with their mobile phone. , etc.
- Development Approach and Life Cycle : “The project must follow a life cycle (predictive, agile, or hybrid) that is consistent with the development approach of the deliverables. The different phases of the life cycle should facilitate governance and allow for early termination if strategic criteria are no longer met . In PMPeople , the project manager can indicate the project management phase (initiation, planning, execution or closure) and the technical phase used in the business area. The project manager can manage predictive, agile and hybrid projects, regularly publishing information on progress, in successive follow-ups .
- Planning : “The project advances in an organized, coordinated and planned manner. The planning model is complete, including all the components necessary to satisfy the expectations of the interested parties, and is developed progressively as better information becomes available . In PMPeople , the project manager can practice gradual planning of scope, schedule, cost, financing, resources, deliverables, requirements, tasks, etc.
- Project Work : “Project performance is effectively monitored through tracking reports. Ensures tight procedures are followed to ensure quality. Communication with interested parties allows their information needs to be satisfied. Subcontracting and utilization of physical resources are appropriately managed. In predictive projects, changes are controlled. In agile projects, the list of requirements is updated. The equipment is capable of minimizing rework and optimizing its speed . ” In PMPeople , the project manager can record periodic follow-ups at the level of each work package, manage acquisitions, documentation, comments, changes, lessons learned, retrospectives, etc. The project manager can control work on agile projects and outsourced projects .
- Delivery : “The project must justify its alignment within the organization and the business, deliver the benefits according to a pre-established plan, deliver products in accordance with the requirements and meet the expectations of the stakeholders who validate the deliverables . ” In PMPeople , the project manager can document the project charter and the business case , manage deliverables, requirements, etc. The project manager can measure stakeholder satisfaction based on their comments, requested changes, and feedback .
- Measurement : “On each monitoring date, the project must allow the evaluation of the status and the measurement of certain performance indicators so that managers can make timely and informed decisions that allow deviations to be corrected . ” In PMPeople , managers can check performance on each monitoring date against baselines. Certain tracking information is also offered to interested parties. Trusted organizations can certify traces on the blockchain .
- Uncertainty : “The project management team must remain alert to anticipate opportunities and threats that may benefit or harm the project objectives and value delivery . ” At PMPeople , project professionals can manage risks, contingency reserves and management. The management team can search for similar projects in the risk repository : “Yesterday’s problems are today’s risks . ” Team members can anonymously report potential problems.
PMPeople is a technology designed to facilitate collaboration between project professionals through defined roles. Its first commercial version was launched in April 2018. This platform is aimed at PMOs and project professionals, who can significantly reduce bureaucracy through collaboration. It offers 12 roles that allow you to work in teams dedicated to projects, programs and portfolios, all in a cloud environment.
PMPeople is not limited to following simple workflows, chains of supervision, processes or document templates, but rather encourages genuine interaction between people. Project managers have the ability to manage projects across multiple organizations, applying predictive and agile management frameworks. Stakeholders can monitor multiple projects and provide feedback through the mobile app. Team members can know who they should collaborate with, what tasks they should perform, they can send feedback, record work hours, expenses, etc.
PMPeople was designed to unify the professional management of organizations’ projects, highlighting the following points:
- Designed by and for professional project managers, following professional project management standards .
- Online productivity (fewer meetings, fewer documents, fewer flows) through collaboration distributed among 12 specialized roles : Organization Owner; 6 roles for demand management and 5 roles for supply management.
- Freemium application (free use for unlimited time, pay per use) with equivalent usability via web and mobile application .
Start using PMPeople for free , no time limit, no user limit. In premium organizations only managers have a cost . Some roles (stakeholders, team members, sponsors and resource managers) are always free . You can add or reduce premium users according to the real needs of your organization. At all times, you will have access to our interactive, online support. Our servers are located within the EU. If you prefer, the software can be hosted at your facilities.
