Written Assignment Unit 1

BUS 5611: Managing Projects and Programs

University of the People

Dr. Pankaj Chaudhari (Instructor)

12 April 2023
Imagine that you have recently finished your MBA and have a company that has entered the
arena of Project Management. During your interview, you are told that project management is
not something that the company has always done. In fact, the company began as a retail
software design company. As the company grew from small to medium-sized, it became
apparent that they needed to employ Project Managers to help their clients rollout the use of their
software and not leave the PM to the client. As their newest hire, you have been asked to create a
proposal for the management team to consider the installation of a bonafide Project Management
Department. Your duty is to prepare a concise (about 2-pages) proposal addressing the value of
robust project management approach will bring to the company. Be as concise as possible and
ensure that at least three key benefits are clearly emphasized.

In order to build your argumentation, you have at your disposal the following reference
information:

- A PMI´s (Project Management Institute) paper discussing the project management benefits:
The Value of Project Management
(http://www.pmi.org/Business-Solutions/~/media/PDF/Business-Solutions/Value%20of
%20Project%20Management_FINAL.ashx).

According to McKinsey & Co, a strong project management discipline is part of companies top

three priorities for the future of the company (PMI, 2020). It means that the project management
department is a core department for the company well-being and influence in their industry. For

various organizations, leading their activity through project management help them to control

their spending and improve their results. Adherence to project management methods and

strategies enhances a risk management process, and costs reductions and improve the project

completion rates and success. 

Through the assignment of unit 1, the purpose is to demonstrate the importance of the project

department and the different steps of the implementation of a project department in a retail

software design company.

First, it is important to know that moving from a small to a medium-sized company, it is

essential for the company to get a project management department to reduce the negative impact

of the inexistence of the department on their costs management, budget, and customer

satisfaction. 

Then the project department through a standard process of project management department

supports a successful delivery project and ensures that clients will be satisfied with their services.

The proposal will explain the benefits of the project management department, the benefits to

enhance the company’s reputation, increasing the revenues how to implement the department. 

The benefits of the project management department

A good project management approach consists in facilitating the deliverance of projects based on

the scope of the projects according to the budget, and time constraints. The expertise of the

project manager is used to mitigate potential risks, control costs, communicate with different

stakeholders and meet their expectations. According to the paper Value of the project

management, 90% of high-performing organizations recognize the benefit of using project

management standards and processes to achieve their project success. 

The project management practices ensure to address of the customer's xpectationns with

adherence to service quality. It increases the company’s reputation on the market, leads to more

customer experiences, and repeats the buying experiences. As a project manager, the mission is

to make sure that the stakeholders’ expectations are adequation with the project definition,

requirements, and end-user satisfaction through a smooth delivery and requirements.

Moreover, the project management standards help to adhere to the compliance and monitoring

processes. It helps to increase the company revenues with strong control of a project, deliveries,

and customer satisfaction. Project management practices lead to efficiency, cost saving, and the

ability to deliver the project within the budget. In the article Value of project management, it has

been mentioned that investing in project management practices can yield up to 60 for every 1

invested. As mentioned by Ron Kasabian, “Good project management discipline stopped us from

spending money on projects that fail” (PMI,2020).

The project management pyramid demonstrated how project management impacts cost

management, time, and scope of the project. It helps to maintain the budget being economically

viable, consider the environmental requirement, and be socially responsible (Watt,2014). 

According to Watt (2014), the project management office (PMO) helps companies to oversee

and support the project through the organizations; it reduces the risk of failure with the

objectives to ensure an alignment of projects goals with organizations purposes; implement the

template, standardize process and procedures, provide training and mentorship, facilitate and

integrate flexibility with a case study approach through lessons learned from failures or project

successes. 
Implementation of the project management Department

Various reasons presented above demonstrate how the benefit will be a project management

department for the company. In the process of implementation, it is important to remind

ourselves of the purpose of project management to enhance competitive advantage, satisfy the

end users and deliver a project efficiently. Following the project management standards and

principles defined by the project management academy (2022), the steps will be:

- Define the department purpose with a primary objective of the project management

department with an alignment of the organization’s goals and objectives. The definition of each

function, role, and responsibility to inform the stakeholders,

- Develop a structure and governance principles to establish and create a structure a

governance approach through the department. It will lead the department and define the

structures based on the project management standards and processes,

- Identify the competencies and skills needed to drive the performance, and results and

achieve the expectations of the stakeholders through a customer satisfaction approach, within a

budget and time constraints.

- Implement the department process through a standardized matrix based on the processes,

tools, and template or the project management standard.

- Facilitate a learning model through skill gaps training and mentorship program to help the

team to be successful in their role and reduce the skill gap

- Execute the project management office strategy as per the directives implemented and the

goals and purpose of the organization and the department

To conclude it is important to understand that the project management office plays a key role in

organizations; instead of being only a cost-killing department, it facilitates the purpose of the

company by creating the best place where discussion with stakeholders can happen, meets their

expectation through various standards and practices, reduce the costs, meet the deadline with

high time management and constraints and create value through an increase of revenue with

customer satisfaction and better customer experiences. However, the practices and standards of

project management are the keys to that success; without complying with these and not

understanding the characteristics of the project itself, as each project is unique, without the

expertise of the project manager, failure is non avoidable.

REFERENCES

Project Management Institute (2020), The value of project management retrieved from

https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/white-papers/value-of-project-

management.pdf?rev=893cecac1fec4ea9b8557b80aab3213b

Project Management Academy (2022), How to Build a PMO: 8 Simple Steps retrieved from

https://projectmanagementacademy.net/resources/blog/how-to-build-a-pmo/

Watt A. (2014) Project Management 2nd Edition retrieved from

https://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/front-matter/accessibility-statement/