You Can Get There From Here

[ Login/Subscribe ]

Features

Departments

PPM

Tools

Executive

Resources

About Us

Home > Executive Report > Opinion

You Can Get There From Here
Mark Mullaly, PMP (January 16, 2006)

Maturity models and assessments may help an organization peg its current project management capabilities, but the information is only of use if executive management supports a course of action to go from where the company is to where it wants to be, step by step.

This article continues a series that explores how increased maturity can influence better project results. The series is based upon results from the Organizational Project Management Baseline Study, a worldwide benchmarking effort to understand current capabilities, trends and best practices in the realm of organizational project management.

Maturity models provide a strong appeal in helping to communicate current capabilities, and helping to make the case for improving project management effectiveness. Their primary advantage is in distilling the complexities associated with how an organization manages its projects into a simplified model that typically expresses maturity in levels, most often using a 5-level framework. A Level 1 organization is one that is completely ad hoc, lacking processes and relying upon the expertise and persistence of its project team for success. At Level 3, there is a consistent process defined within the organization that is consistently applied for all of its projects. Level 5 speaks to a mature, rigorous process discipline that defines how the organization is managed and commits to an on-going process of continuous improvement.

While the simplicity of maturity model results is useful in terms of understanding where an organization is against a defined model, this high level overview leads to questions that require a more granular understanding and a larger context.

Please login/register to read the entire article.

Sponsored Announcements and Special Offers

Project Management Software That Breaks the Mold - Is your team is struggling under the weight of outdated schedules, multiple spreadsheets, and mountains of email? Get organized, get visibility, and save up to 3 hours a day with LiquidPlanner. Scheduling has never been easier with drag-n-drop prioritization that fits the way YOUR team works. Free for 30 days.

Resource Planning Summit, Sept. 19-21, 2010, La Jolla, CA - Resource Planning is HOT today! Opening Keynoter Mike Hanford, Research Director at Gartner, will describe why, and what firms must do about it. Nine industry speakers will describe the startling results they have achieved. If you have anything to do with resource management, register NOW!

ProjectWorld® & World Congress for Business Analysts® is the premier conference for advancing collaboration through practice. The high level content cannot be found at any other industry event because it stretches far beyond the fundamentals to provide leadership, strategy and enterprise wide information - exactly what you need to be more valuable to yourself and your organization.

Are you ready to gain the highest recognition for a BA and apply the best practices defined in the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge®? Let us help you prepare for Certified Business Analysis Professional® certification with our CBAP® Exam Prep Course. We also provide CBAP® Application Workshops (free webinars) to help you successfully get approved for the CBAP® application.

Are your Business Analysis Skills Current? Business analysis is not just about IT requirements anymore. Organizations are looking for a new breed of professionals to bridge the business and technology gap with value-centric solutions. Develop the fundamental skills and best practices you need to stay ahead of changes in your field with our business analysis training offerings.

@task
BAM! BA Newsletter
BAMentor
IIL
Keller Graduate School
LiquidPlanner
Management Concepts
Microsoft
PM War Stories
PPM Executive Newsletter
Resource Plan Summit '10
RMC Project Mgmt
Stanford University
Walden University

September 2010:

What are the main reasons that projects fall behind schedule?