STAFFING YOUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM (Part 6) – Acquiring the Project Manager

Selection Considerations

This McLaughlin and McLaughlin Project Professionals post is the sixth in a series of discussions regarding current challenges with the staffing aspects of your project management team.   This post (like Parts 4 and 5) addresses acquiring the human resources (people) or staffing.  In this case, we focus on acquisition of the project manager.  This acquisition of project manager resource will be the subject of several posts over the next several weeks.  The Subject Series can be viewed here.

This, the second post on acquiring the project manager, will address the selection criteria that are important in a professional project manager.  Before looking at sources for a project manager candidate, one needs to settle on the key characteristics (personal and other) that are needed in the specific project and the project execution strategy for your project. [Read more…]

STAFFING YOUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM (Part 5) – Acquiring the Project Manager

Personal Characteristics and Attributes

This McLaughlin and McLaughlins Project Professional’s post is the fifth in a series of discussions regarding current challenges with the staffing aspects of your project management team.  The focus is on the managerial aspects of human resource planning and acquisition.  This post (like Part 4, our last post) addresses acquiring the human resources (people) or staffing.  In this case, we focus on acquisition of the project manager. This acquisition of project manager resources will be the subject of several posts over the next several weeks.

A key action, many believe that this selection/acquisition (the project manager) is the most important activity in staffing the project management team.

In past posts, the acquisition strategies have been discussed and evaluated.

This, the first post on acquiring the project manager, will address the personal characteristics and attributes that are important in a professional project manager.  Before looking at sources for a project manager candidate, one needs to settle on the key characteristics (personal and other) that are needed in the specific project and the project execution strategy for your project.  From past posts, it has been asserted that enterprise environmental factors are key inputs.  These factors influence the characteristics and attributes that are needed for a project within your organization.

Please RememberTeams of people [not machines and not software] build projects. Consequently, if you cannot acquire the requisite staffing, you are not prepared to execute the project [at least as planned].

Please Remember This is a team, not a group of individuals. Have you noticed that so many sports teams with superstars rarely win championships?  Further, have you noticed that championship teams have few, if any, superstars?  It is the project team, not the individual that must be staffed and developed.  As they say, there is no “I” in team. [Read more…]

STAFFING YOUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM (Part 2) – Planning

This post is the second in McLaughlin & McLaughlins Project Professionals Blog series of discussions regarding current challenges being encountered in today’s efforts/environment associated with the human resource aspects of your project management team.  More specifically, we have titled the series STAFFING YOUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM, and we intend to focus heavily on the managerial aspects of human resource planning and acquisition.  This post focuses on planning the human resources or staffing.  In many respects, the planning is the most important activity or action in the process.  Proper and timely planning including documenting the plan will provide the roadmap for the path to success.  It will also tend to reveal problems and challenges before they become a problem.

In order to present this topic in a logical manner and with an industry-recognized lexicon, we are using the PMI Project Management Processes for a Project as presented in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

Sources that are used in this post are:

Please Remember People [not machines and not software] build projects. [Read more…]

Project Management – Single Asset Owners

This post discusses unique project planning and management challenges associated with projects that are owned by single asset owners.  Examples include power plants, large commercial facilities and process plants.  These assets tend to be project financed using the single asset as collateral.  The financing typically relies on revenue generated from operation of the asset.  Hence, delays in achieving revenue generating status can be extremely problematic.   Our conclusions and recommendations are based on decades of experience with many such projects.

Introduction

Revenue generating facilities (e.g. power plants, chemical process facilities) are sometimes owned by a standalone entity.  The design, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, startup and turnover of these plants and facilities can be particularly challenging for both owners and contractors.  The planning, scheduling and execution of these requires attention to some unique and compelling factors. [Read more…]