One of the toughest jobs of the project manager is making sure you actually receive the resources you have been given for your project.  People resources are the trickiest of all because each person assigned to you can choose to come to your meetings or not, answer their phone or not, respond to your e-mails or not, review materials you send them or not, do their work on time or not, and so on.

If your team members are also your employees, then you have tremendous influence over these decisions.  But in many project situations – virtually all large project situations – your team members are not your employees, instead they are ‘borrowed’ from other managers in the company. 

This means their number-one priority is NOT you or your project; their top priority is pleasing and meeting the needs of their line manager.

If you get people resources on a ‘dedicated’ basis – meaning you get 100% of their time for the duration of your project – then their manager has pretty much handed them over to you.  You effectively become their line manager for that time period, usually up to and including giving input to their performance, salary and bonus reviews.

However, in any situation where an employee has to split his or her time between working for their line manager and working for your project – even if you negotiate prorated input to their performance reviews – you need to understand that the other manager has far greater influence over their time and decisions than you have.  You will have to deal with that fact for the duration of your project.

It is a good practice to be wary of time commitments for any resource assigned to you on a split-time basis, particularly if anyone is allocated to you less than 50%. Here is:

Why a less-than-50% allocation so often fails:

• Human nature is such that both you and the person’s line manager will both attempt to task this person 100% anyway, creating a situation in which all three of you will lose.

• Human nature also dictates that if it comes to making a choice between pleasing you or pleasing a line manager, then the person will choose the one who has the most impact on salary, bonuses, performance reviews, and job security. In a matrix situation, you lose.

• People in this situation inevitably find their energy and attention is fragmented between the project and all other work. It takes more time and effort on your part to keep such team members up-do-date on what’s happening in the project. They, in turn, lose track and lose momentum switching back and forth.

• People whose time is fragmented miss meetings. Your project is now subject to the whims and inefficiencies of whatever else is going on in their non-project time. When emergencies crop up in those areas, your project suffers.

The worse case I ever saw of this was when I was working as a consultant to one Fortune 500 company during a time period in which they started and concluded buy-out negotiations with another Fortune 500 company. People who had been assigned to my project on a split-time basis suddenly began skipping project meetings because they were getting pulled by their line managers into meetings related to the buy-out.  The impact to my project was that after 90 days the program had only received 60% of the resources we needed.  

The smaller the time commitment, the lower our project sat within each individual’s priority list. Once the buy-out was announced, missed meetings and delayed meetings became rampant. Within this 90-day window, we had only one three-week period where we operated at full strength.

It is worth noting that even with this chronic 40% matrixed resource shortfall, our project suffered only a 20% delay in deliverables. The reason is we still had dedicated resources in the most critical positions, and they were able to create all sorts of workaround solutions that helped us make substantial progress in the face of otherwise overwhelming resource losses.

Since matrixed resources with split-time allocations are a fact of life in projects, how can you manage them successfully?

The solution is 3-fold:

1)     Staff your team with the ‘right’ mix of dedicated and split-time resources.

For medium and large projects, in general, the shorter the timeline, the more dedicated resources you need. And, the more complex the project, the more dedicated resources you will need, so each key aspect of the project gets needed attention and creative leadership brainpower.  Even if your project is well underway as you read this, you can always step back and re-negotiate time commitments, if needed.

2)     Track the time you actually receive from your resources each week and note any shortfalls, no matter how small. 

This is largely a guesstimation exercise you and your leads conduct at the end of each week.  If you wait till after the weekend, you will have already forgotten how the week went.  If you wait for your time tracking reports – in the event your company not only has time tracking tools but actually uses them – not only will the data be too late, it will usually be incomplete.  In most companies, your pivotal business and management people aren’t required to use those tools. 

3)     Take immediate action to win back your allocated time from any shortfall resource(s). 

Don’t take a ‘wait and see’ approach if someone misses a meeting or is late in a task or a response.  Instead, immediately follow-up and find out if this is a one-time event or a warning sign of more misses to come.  Find out what your team member needs in order to be able to attend all future meetings.  Work with them, and their line manager if necessary, to clear up any conflicts or issues. Then figure out to make up for the time that was lost, so you can make sure your project stays on track.

These three items are common sense solutions, but it is surprisingly uncommon to see a project manager do them all.  Be one of the uncommon few!  Since missing-in-action resources are such a challenging and chronic issue in many projects, there is a good chance at least one of these three options can help you today. 

For more information visit www.Barbsbook.com to check into the book, look for Barb’s micro project management sessions on U-Tube, or e-mail Info@BarbaraPratt.com with any questions.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  So said Albert Einstein.  Yet every year countless projects hit trouble for the same reasons, again and again.  Why?  Because the fundamental principles that determine project success are not being respected.  These principles can be distilled into five laws, realities that always hold true irrespective of the nature or complexity of project.  Here they are:

Law #1  Ambiguity kills Projects

Ambiguity is the enemy of project success.  Clarity is what is needed.

Without clarity there is confusion.  Confusion is not hard to find in projects.  Look for ambiguities in roles and responsibilities, goals, objectives, requirements, scope, estimates, status reports and more.  Each ambiguity is a potential source of conflict, rework and failure.

Make it a priority to seek out and remove ambiguity from every element of your project.  Thoroughly.  Start by reviewing project scope.  Is this as unambiguous as possible?  Is everyone clear on what is in scope and what is out of scope?  Do not rely on assumptions or memory.  Insist on clear communication.  Document every important decision.  Clarity is everything.

Law #2  Credibility requires Detail

Detail is the basis for accuracy in all projects.  Plans that lack detail cannot be believed.

Most projects are underplanned.  They are already late before they start.  Project teams that claim not to have time for detailed planning, typically end up working all hours to meet deadlines.  Insufficient detail in the plan means time and effort requirements will be underestimated.  Only when we get to the detail is the full extent of work revealed.

If you do not know the detail then you will not have credibility in front of your team or your boss.  Define what completion specifically means for each task and deliverable.  If it is at too high a level, break it down.  Avoid surprises.  Get to the detail.

Law #3  No Truth, No Trust

Projects are performed by people.  And people work together best when there is mutual trust.

But trust does not come free.  It is tied to truth.  You cannot have one without the other.  So trust but verify.  Assigning tasks demonstrates trust but what are sometimes missing are the accountability for results and adequate checks to verify status.  Without ownership and truth, we cannot trust ourselves to be focused on the right things.

When you know the truth, good or bad, recognize it, openly.  Be honest about the challenges ahead.  Reward outstanding commitment and performance.  Acknowledge the reality of delays and tough decisions.  Do not hide bad news.  Tell the truth or face the consequences.

Law #4  Uncertainty is Certain

Plans are not crystal balls.  Plans are incomplete views of the future, which means they are at least slightly wrong.

Most project managers ignore most risks.  Yet as sure as the sunrise, sudden events and changes will occur, triggering changes to the plan.  But sudden does not necessarily mean unpredictable.  Experience and a little insight will always expose risks that we can plan ahead for.

Ignoring project risks is the first and biggest risk to the project.  There is no such thing as a risk free project.  Prevent risks where you can and have contingencies ready where you cannot.  Expect the unexpected!

Law #5  Satisfaction is not Guaranteed

Projects do not carry guarantees, whatever the customer was told.  Satisfaction depends on competence, commitment and communication.

Respecting all the preceding laws will count for nothing if this trio is lacking.  Project management is a discipline that has to be worked at.  Learn as much as you can on each project, then use that knowledge to energize yourself and others on the next project.

Communicate with focus and sensitivity, to align the varying interests of stakeholders and team with the needs of the project, repeatedly, throughout the ups and downs of its life.  This is no simple task!  So if you want to be a great project manager then you will need to be an outstanding communicator.  Period.

Stop the Insanity!

I do not claim that observing these five laws alone are a panacea for all project ills.  But they are the strongest forces for shaping success or failure on most projects, most of the time.  Stop the insanity.  Respect the laws!

There are many institutes which offer project management certificates throughout the world. The need for certified managers is increasing unfailingly day by day. All the business and industrial organizations have understood the importance of qualified PM’s. These organizations are willing to pay handsome salaries to the qualified PM’s.

It is really encouraging to note that there is an ever-increasing need to execute projects in almost every kind of industry. Therefore, the role of the project manager has become all the more important. It is no wonder that certified project managers are one of the highest paid and most sought after professionals today.

Project management certification is very vital for the aspiring management professionals. A survey conducted by Payscale.com real-time salary surveys concluded that Project Managers with a project management certification earn a median salary of as high as $84,000 in the State of California with other states not far behind. It clearly reveals the importance of certified PM’s.

Project management is set to become even more important in the times to come, as projects become more complex with increased time and cost constraints. Those who have certifications like the PMP (Project Management Professional) are in great demand both at present and will be far in future. Once you become a qualified PM, you will have complete knowledge in project management fundamentals: Project Initiation, Project Planning, Planning and Project Resources.

Certified project managers convey, through its attainment, that have adequate knowledge in Planning Time through Gantt and Pert Charts, Planning Quality, Building and Managing the Team, Planning Risks, Procurement Planning, Work Plan Execution, Monitoring the Plan Execution and conveying status through tools like Gantt Diagrams, Controlling Change and Closing the Effort. With the wide knowledge of PM skills, they can easily help any organization to increase the productivity to a great extent.

Project Management Certification is very well recognized all over the world. Certified PMP’s get jobs very easily with very attractive salaries. At the same time, these higher rates are justified by the amazing results the PM’s show to their host organizations. They apply the latest techniques and help the organization to increase company profits considerably. They can increase productivity and profits and develop their organization’s good name.

Project Management, as we know it, began to gain ground around the beginning of the 1960s. At this time industrial and business organizations were starting to recognize there were benefits associated with arranging work into separate projects. In doing this, work could be done by multiple departments, working as a cohesive whole. It was this realization that led to project management gaining widespread acceptance.

Towards the end of the 1800s, due to increasing complexity within the world of business, modern management developed more fully from existing management principles. Major players in important decision making were huge government projects. Vast, complicated projects necessitated hiring thousands of employees, sourcing materials in bulk and finding or making machinery and equipment on a large scale.

Business organizations wanted to apply some powerful techniques so that the labor, material, and machinery were effectively used to give maximum results. In early 20th century, Frederick Taylor analyzed work patterns and behavior and found out that better methods can increase the productivity considerably. This type of analysis is now known as time and motion study. Time and motion can suggest better methods to reduce labor and material costs. Taylor was dubbed the “father of scientific management”.

Henry Gantt first introduced the world to his charts in the 1920′s. After intensive study of the work process and its organization, he developed the chart which was later named after him. These charts followed the progress of work in large projects, showing time schedules along with dependencies between tasks. This allowed completion of projects to become easier. In effect, the charts have been used since their introduction.

Taylor, Gantt, and a many notable others helped evolve management into a distinct business function that requires study and discipline. After a few decades, marketing approaches, industrial psychology, and human relations became the integral parts of business management. In the mid-20th century, PERT charts and Critical Paths Methods were introduced. Seeing their usefulness, many organizations, including the military, began to use these techniques. They are popular even now.

Today’s project management is different from what it used to be in the beginning. Nowadays, project management is considered as a human being, which means that for a business to survive and prosper every functional part of the being should work in tandem and coordination towards achieving specific objectives. Over the time project management evolved into the current modern forms that is now prevailing in the world. The project manager manages the project and is responsible for its completion. A project manager, integrates various resources into a team, organizes and coordinates the whole project in order to get the best possible results in terms of productivity and profits. And finally the project manager delivers the completed project on time and within budgets.

A project manager, quite simply defined, is an individual who is responsible for the entire project. He or she is not responsible for completing every task. Indeed, it is unlikely that the manager would even have every skill needed to complete all the work. He or she is simply the final decision maker. This person will usually be considered responsible for the success or failure of a project, unless other reasons for the outcome are blatantly obvious.

A successful project manager uses a variety of skills. He or she must be able to efficiently obtain information which is then used to make informed predictions and business decisions. The ability to thoroughly analyze, create and implement successful projects requires dedication and foresight. A very organized, self-disciplined individual with experience in presentations is well fitted to a managerial position. This kind of manager stands out as a team leader who inspires employees and at the same time effectively achieves positive communication with customers when needed.

After the formalities of decision-making are over, the manager’s hard work begins. Managers must envision the progress that should be made with an impartial eye. Adjustments may need to be made in the progress of goals and the effectiveness of actions. Team motivation and focus is essential and managers should be vigilant with these things as teamwork equals quality. Quality is pivotal in the overall progress of the project. Amidst all of this the manager has to keep an eye on time constrains and budgeting. A watchful eye for quality assurance will determine success or failure of any project. Effective planning eliminates actions not useful or damaging to the project.

The project manager will also need to define a plan and manage any changes to that plan, all while keeping project goals in mind. The goals for the project must be created, as well as a plan of action for accomplishing them. The process of bringing these goals to pass must be managed without allowing them to go beyond the scope of the goals themselves. There must also be a contingency plan for identifiable risks should they come to be a problem. There must also be a determination of any changes to the scope of the project, as well as an estimation of costs, all of which must be put in writing with the customer.

Evaluation of a team’s assets and liabilities is essential to good leadership. The good project manager will also be able to use this knowledge to achieve the most successful results from his or her team. Diplomacy combined successfully with assertiveness, rather than aggressiveness, is a useful combination of skills. Clear lines of communication to the team and among team members are important. It should be noted that, while maintaining the schedule is the manager’s responsibility, team members should have input into developing this schedule.

In 1969, the Project Management Institute, or PMI, came into existence. It was meant to ensure that project managers got the skills they needed for current success and future advancement. In 1981, PMI directors published a set of appropriate standards and guidelines. This frequently updated guide to project management is referred to as the PMBOK, and should be carefully reviewed by those who wish to be successful project managers.

Is project management an art or a science? How do I deal with problem employees? How can I improve employee morale and boost productivity? What skills can I develop that will ensure that my projects will run smoothly and to a successful finish. This essay tries to answer these questions, drawing from lessons I have learnt on the job. While the examples I provide are from a software company perspective, most of the article applies to any kind of domain. Being a Project Manager, I have found, calls upon 5 different sets of skills:

• A. Organizational skills
• B. Communication skills
• C. Problem-solving skills
• D. Leadership skills
• E. Team-building skills

A. Organizational skills

Do you consider yourself an organized person who can generate and keep track of multiple documents? If so, you already have one of the most important skills needed as a Project Manager. On the job, I was called upon to keep track of requirements and design documents, contracts, schedules, personnel records, project reports, communication (email) records, hiring history, meetings and status reports. Luckily for me, I have always been a meticulous record-keeper (since I don’t trust my memory ), and this saved me from being overwhelmed.

B. Communication skills

This does not refer to just giving presentations, but to various forms of written and oral communication. A Project Manager is expected to produce high-quality project planning and design documents, and send out meeting agendas, updates, status reports and courteous and effective email. A good manager, I observed from my peers, is able to get his/her ideas across clearly and in a non-confrontational manner, without seeming to impose views on subordinates. This is a skill I am still learning. Good negotiation skills also fall into this category.

C. Problem-solving skills

A good manager has the knack of seeing the big picture for any problem, while others may miss the forest for the trees. I was frequently called upon to analyze a problem, research and compile a list of alternative solutions, determine the best course of action and get it implemented by my team. The trick is to never lose sight of the big picture – the overall problem we are trying to solve.

D. Leadership skills

This one is not easy. It is tricky to get your team to go with your idea without making them feel that the idea is being thrust on them. The team looks to the Project Manager to provide direction and vision. To be able to do that, I had to work constantly towards enhancing my knowledge – breadth of knowledge is very important, but depth is important too – superficial knowledge fools noone. A manager must earn the respect of his/her team, and the best way to do that is to lead by example.

E. Team-building skills

This is an often-neglected area, forgotten in all the excitement of project deadlines. But the effort spent motivating a team to perform to the best of its ability is worth its weight in gold. Four easy points to remember are: reward achievements, provide feedback, recognize strengths and provide challenges. 

Instead of talking in generalities, let us follow the lifecycle of a project step by step, and see how these skills come into play. A Project Manager is involved in all of the following 5 phases of a project.

• Phase 1: Scoping the project
• Phase 2: Planning the project
• Phase 3: Launching the plan
• Phase 4: Monitoring progress
• Phase 5: Wrapping up the project

There are a number of project management certifications available worldwide. Here is a quick summary of what they are about, and links to learn more.

prince2.com is the de facto standard used extensively by the UK Government and is widely recognized and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally.

aipm.com.au/ Australian Institute of Project Management – This project management certification – there are several levels – is primarily geared toward Australian professionals and organizations, although it is based on international standards and best practices.

certification.comptia.org/project/default.aspx is inexpensive, has no prerequisites, requires no continuing education, and there is no application, but there is a test based on international standards.

pmi.org Project Management Institute – PMP and CAPM The PMP and CAPM Project Management Certifications he Project Management Professional (PMP) is the most widely known and accepted worldwide. The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is entry level and does not require experience.

ipma.ch/Pages/IPMA.aspx IPMA – International Project Management Association This Swiss organization – the oldest in the project management profession – is primarily comprised of national project management associations worldwide.

iil.com/apmc/ APMC – Advanced Project Management Certification – This is a specialized advanced certification for senior project managers who complete “The Kerzner Approach to Best Practices”.

projectmanagementcertification.org AAPM – American Academy of Project Management MPM™ Master Project Manager, CIPM ™ Certified International Project Manager ™ or PME ™ Project Manager E-Business ™ certifications are by application base upon completion of approved education, which looks to be exclusively by education institutions, and not private businesses.

brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/taketest.xml?testId=2309 The test is based on the PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). What is unique about BrainBench is that they specialize in “Delivering easy-to-use assessment products that predict success on the job.”

You can see all of these at: PMcrunch.

Introduction 

The title of project manager (PM) is used to mean different things in different companies.  Fortunately there is a standards body called the Project Management Institute which provides excellent guidance around the role and function of a project manager.  

Some will disagree, but I don’t care if your project manager is PMI certified or not.  You need to care about having a project manager with the skill to carry out the role as the Institute defines it.  It’s your change management strategy, and it’s your reputation on the line. 

Finding a Project Manager 

Do you need a certified Project Management Professional (PMP)?  As I said above, I don’t care.  There are newly certified PMP’s who have taken their tests and gotten the certification, but they may not be battle tested.  There are veteran project managers who never got the fancy title, but they know how to manage projects.  And there is everything in between.  The track record is what you need to care about. 

Do you have a strong PM on your team now?  Is that person well respected, perhaps a key opinion leader in your organization?  Do they treat project management as a profession?  Then by all means use them.   

If, on the other hand, project manager has been a title used by junior, untrained people who walk around with a task list and a clip board, it’s time to bring on stronger talent. 

Your fastest route to a proven project manager will be a contract hire, either from a reputable firm or an independent.  There are many good ones out there.  Get and check references, and interview at least three.  Let your key opinion leaders and managers interview them as well.  Look for their track record and for good chemistry. 

Set the Project Manager Up for Success 

Simply put, everyone needs to understand that the project manager is your alter ego.  Everyone includes you. 

Your managers and project leaders must understand that they are accountable to the PM for providing all of their tasks, their dependencies on other tasks and other work units, their schedule commitments, and their resource requirements. 

They need to understand that the PM will review all of their information and look for problems.  These could include missed tasks, schedule inconsistencies, resource overloads, etc.  Often managers will tell the PM that they can handle some of these problems, by working people longer hours or by overlapping some tasks “by a day or two”.  A good project manager is going to challenge such claims, and you’ll need to stand behind the PM. 

The PM is going to hold everyone accountable for milestone deliverables.  In most projects, especially those that are complex, milestones are missed and contingency plans must be activated.  Again, you as the leader need to support the PM as they hold people accountable. 

Handling Conflicts 

It’s entirely possible that the PM will have conflicts with managers, team leads or others in the organization.  Make it safe for people to discuss and bring up such conflicts.  Just because the PM is your alter ego doesn’t make them right — any more than you are always right.  

Engage your key opinion leaders along with the project manager and others.  Find out the facts contributing to the conflict, and make the decisions necessary to get the change management strategy back on track. 

Change management strategies that fail often do so because of poor project management.  Don’t let that happen to you.

A Project Manager is the person responsible for the overall success of the project.

What does a Project Manager do?

Having received the Project Mandate (detailing the reason for the project and the expected outcome) from Corporate/Programme Management, it is the Project Manager’s job to:

• Decide how the expected outcome can best be achieved
• Draw up a Business Case justifying the proposal
• Create a Project Plan, including expected budget, timescale and necessary resources
• Build a Project Team and ensure that each member of the team understands and can perform expected project tasks
• Monitor project progress, control deviation from Project Plan and provide the Project Board and Stakeholders with regular updates
• Anticipate risks and assess the impact of proposed changes
• Overcome day-to-day challenges
• Deliver the final product to the budget, timescale and quality agreed with the Customer at the beginning

What skills does a Project Manager require?

• Organisation: project managers are the people who make sure that everybody else is organised, so self-organisation is an essential skill.

If you are the kind of person who lists everything down to the number of potatoes you put on your shopping-list, then Project Management is definitely for you. If not, then you need to learn project management organisational skills – and fast.

• Communication: as the project manager, you will be responsible for ensuring that everybody knows what is going on and what they are supposed to do.

Are you a good communicator on every level? Can you explain the basics of the project need to the most junior team member, and the next moment chair a meeting with senior representatives from your customers and suppliers?

Learning to be a communicative Project Manager doesn’t mean that you have to be a natural talker or have the acting skills of Laurence Olivier – it is far more important that you are aware of your communication responsibilities (who needs to know what), that you have confidence in your project management decisions and that you explain these decisions and their implications clearly and concisely to all the relevant people.

• Leadership: not project management, but people management

It may seem contradictory, but the most important part of the Project Managers job is not managing the project, but managing people.

It is the Project Team who will get your project done. With a set of well-trained, motivated and carefully instructed individuals, you will be able to assume the role of conductor, rather than nanny.

An excellent Project Management leader is somebody who knows how to set objectives not tasks, how to inspire staff with vision not fear and how to deliver accurate and constructive feedback. A good leader shows interest in staff not only as project resources, but also as capable and important members of the project team.

Many Project Managers believe that to enjoy total project management success, you need to manage projects using a formal project management methodology. They say it helps give you direction, it saves you time and it improves the quality of your deliverables. But does it?

Most good managers use a methodology of sorts, whether it be written on post-it notes stuck to their screen, documented in a stack of procedures on their desk, or included in software that they have bought. Regardless of the type of methodology used, there is one common theme – that it typically helps them to manage projects and therefore improve their project success.

What is a Methodology? A methodology is “a set of methods, processes and practices that are repeatedly carried out to deliver projects”. The key concept is that you repeat the same steps for every project you undertake, and by doing that, you will gain efficiencies in your approach.

What is a Standard? So what is the difference between a methodology and a standard? A standard is “a collection of knowledge areas that are generally accepted as best practice in the industry”.

Standards give you industry guidance, whereas methodologies give you practical processes for managing projects. Standards are not methodologies, and vice versa. The two most popular standards are PMBOK and Prince2.

What should be included?

When you buy a project methodology, it should give you:

• A core set of processes to follow for delivering projects;
• A set of templates to help you build deliverables quickly;
• A suite of case studies to help you learn from past projects;
• An option for customizing the methodology provided;
• The ability to import your existing processes into it.

MPMM is one of the few methodologies that provides all of these features

What will it not do?

A Methodology is not a silver bullet. It will not fix projects by itself or guarantee success. It is fair to say that no methodology “out-of-the-box” will be 100% applicable to every type of project. So you will need to customise any methodology you purchase to ensure that it perfectly fits your project management environment.

Why use a Methodology?

While a methodology is not a silver bullet for projects, it should help you by giving you a clear process for managing projects. After you have customised it to perfectly fit your environment, your methodology should tell your team what has to be completed to deliver your project, how it should be done, in which order and by when.

Using a methodology you can:

• Create a project roadmap;
• Monitor time, cost and quality;
• Control change and scope;
• Minimise risks and issues;
• Manage staff and suppliers.

Of course, you will need to use the elements of the methodology that are most suitable to each project you undertake. For instance, when managing smaller projects, you will only want to apply lightweight processes to your project. When managing large projects, you should apply the heavyweight processes to monitor and control every element of your project in depth.

But if you can manage every project you undertake in the same way, then you will gain efficiencies with your approach, work smarter and reduce your stress. You will also give your team a clear understanding of what you expect from them and boost your chances of success.

If you want a methodology to help improve the way you manage projects, you are likely to want:

• A core set of processes to follow for delivering projects;
• A set of templates to help you build deliverables quickly;
• A suite of case studies to help you learn from past projects;
• An option for customising the methodology provided;
• The ability to import your existing processes into it.

You can discover more about project management methodologies at www.llewellyn-group.com