A Project Management Professional (PMP) is certified by the Project Management Institute. PMP requirements include application to and acceptance into the Institute, a full year of intense coursework and study, detailed documentation of 4500 hours of project-management experience, and rigorous final examination. To maintain certification, a PMP must satisfy continuing education requirements.

I attended a seminar earlier this year entitled “Best Practices in Project Management,” presented by Harold Kerzner. Dr. Kerzner  is Professor of Systems Management at Baldwin-Wallace College and President of Project Management Associates, Inc., a project management consulting company based in Ohio.

To be truthful, I expected the usual project management seminar, with as much specialized lingo and as little useful information as possible. I was pleasantly surprised. Dr. Kerzner was not only a skilled speaker but also came to the stage with a new look at the project management profession and its practice.

Historically, Project Management was practiced primarily in the industrial sector, and later in the software industry. The Project Manager was generally either an engineer or specialist in their industrial field (e.g., architect, software developer, or, in our field, a translator) and was expected to deal with already-defined project scope, budget, etc., and had little engagement with management or with standard business practice. The Project Manager was given complete charge of the project, including selecting and supervising personnel, often sharing these resources with functional departments. This is, in fact, the way many translation companies operate, with multiple project managers leading their assigned projects through every step, including translation, production, editing, client communication, etc.

A company such as McElroy would previously have been labeled a “matrix” organization—that is, with functional managers cooperating with a project manager and controlling the specialized activities in their departments. Dr. Kerzner envisions this kind of company as the future of Project Management and business—he describes it as creating a Project Management culture throughout the company, involving everyone from upper management to support staff.

As he described his vision for the future of Project Management and business, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that he was describing McElroy’s organizational direction and goals. Some examples of what he envisions in the future (which he defines as approximately 2010):

-    Companies will have real-time information available to all staff (not just management) via a network or web-based system

-    Employees will be able to telecommute because information is available remotely

-    Projects will be “sold” and developed with input from project managers and from line staff

-    Project Managers will be expected to understand business processes and goals, rather than simply act as technicians

-    Project Management principles will be encouraged company-wide

-    Companies will adopt more informal Project Management: for example, eliminating as much paperwork as possible (he refers to much of the paper generated in companies as “hernia reports”), excessive project team meetings, charts and graphs—and replacing that with a culture of communication, trust, and teamwork. Instrumental in this culture is free and uncensored access to project information, such as that we provide in our ELJOTS® network (this is much more unusual than you would think!).

Kerzner is now working on a new edition of his most recent book, “Best Practices in Project Management.” I suggested that he consider taking a closer look at medium-size companies, as much of the cutting-edge theory and practice emerges in such settings, in large part since smaller companies are not overburdened by layers of bureaucracy and process. The case study that I documented tracks the progression of Project Management culture at McElroy. It will be included in a chapter entitled “ The Journey to Excellence in Project Management.” With the inclusion of this case study, McElroy will join the ranks of companies like Dell and Raytheon that have been  studied by Kerzner.

It is tempting to look at “big companies,” and think that McElroy should emulate them. It should be heartening to know that we are actually on the cutting edge of business, and that relying most heavily on the strengths of our people in addition to technological solutions is what differentiates us, in a positive way, from our competitors.

Tina Cargile’s case study of Project Management at McElroy appears in this issue.