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Tutorial ExerciseWeeks One and Two Background

Purpose: This tutorial will introduce a structured approach that will assist you in evaluating your organizations overall project management capability and comparing it to that of your competitors. The organization you choose to evaluate does not have to be your own, but it should be an organization you are familiar with. If you dont have an organization you can use, then you might wish to work with a course colleague who does. We encourage you to share your thoughts and conclusions in the tutorials. That way, everyone benefits from the wonderfully diverse perspectives represented by the course member body. Reading: Read the article Project Management Maturity Model by Ken Robertson of KLR located at both URL http://www.klr.com/white_papers/pdfs/pm_maturity_model.pdf and under Learning Resources/Week One folder on BEN610 Blackboard. Dont worry too much about the nature and role of project maturity models at the moment, well look at that topic in depth along with a range of maturity models in a later session. Over Weeks One and Two: This exercise will be undertaken in the tutorials held in Weeks One and Two and will be facilitated by your tutor. Like all tutorials, this activity is neither compulsory nor assessable. Nonetheless, you will find the outcomes very helpful in completing the formative assessment. Capability Maturity Levels: Youll see that the project management maturity model measures an organizations capability using the following ordinal scale: o Level 1: Ad hoc o Level 2: Foundation o Level 3: Managed o Level 4: Integrated o Level 5: Optimization The Theory: The theory underpinning maturity models hypothesises that an organizations project management capability develops progressively through a series of sequential Levels. For example, an organization cannot instantaneously achieve Level 3. Rather the organization must evolve its capability to Level 3 via Level 1 and then Level 2. It is like our own growth into adulthood. To become adults we must progress through the infant, child, and adolescent stageslearning and developing maturity along the way. What is the Right Level?: At the same time, though, the fact that there are five Levels, doesnt mean that every organization should try to aspire to Level 5. Rather, organizations must find the Level that is most appropriate for their situation. The cost of moving upwards between Levels and then maintaining that new Level, generally climbs exponentially. For example, the cost of raising the organizations

capability from Level 4 to Level 5 and then maintaining Level 5 is usually disproportionately greater than transitioning from Level 2 to Level 3. Some organizations will feel quite comfortable around Level 3; whereas, others would lose their competitive advantage at anything below Level 5.

Task
Organizations Current and Future States: Using the detailed descriptions of each Level in Robertsons article, assess: o Where your organization currently fits (well call this the current statein some literature it is referred to as the as is state). o Where you think your organization should fitbut please be pragmatic (well call this the future stateit is also referred to as the to be state). Should the Future State Always be Higher than the Current State? Although it is likely that the future state will be higher than the current stage, this will not always be the case. You may feel that your organizations project management capability is already at the right levelin which case the current and future states will be the same. Indeed, it is even possible that you might believe that the organizations current project management capability is too great and should drop to a lower level to conserve resources and /or increase profitability. What If the Organizational Capability Falls Between Levels?: If you feel that your organization falls approximately midway between two Levels, this can be recognised as a half-way increment. For example, if your organization is about midway between Levels 2 and 3, we will call that Level 2.5. Similarly if your organization sits roughly midway between Levels 3 and 4, we will call that Level 3.5. What are the Causes of the Gap Between Current and Future State, if any? Now identify which knowledge areas and process groups (using PMBoK terminology) primarily contribute to this gap if any between the current and future states. Use the Pareto 80/20 rule--select only those few knowledge areas and process groups that account for around 80% of the gap. Or alternatively limit your consideration to no more than five knowledge areas and/or process groups. How Would You Eliminate these Causes? What major actions would you suggest to eliminate the cause identified in the previous question? Again limit your consideration to no more than five to seven actions. Am I Better, Equal or Worse than my Competitors? How does your current project management capability compare with your competitors? How does that affect your organizations competitive advantage? [Optional Question If Time Allows] Are these Problems Common Across the Industry Sector in which the Organization Operates? To what extent are the causes identified in the previous question common across the industry sector in which the organization operates? If so, are there any obvious reasons?

Getting to Know the BEN610 Class Survey: As discussed in class, please do the anonymous Getting to Know the BEN610 survey at http://survey.qut.edu.au/survey/171397/2e08/. [Optional If Time Allows] Should I Think About Using Other Development and Delivery Methodologies? In the Week 2 lecture, we talked very briefly about traditional and non-traditional development delivery methodologies. Are you confident are you that your organizations current development and delivery methodology offers the best value (however your organization defines that? If not, what changes would you suggest and under what circumstances?

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