7 Reasons Why Project Management and Business Analysis Skills Equal Project Success

7/30/2019 7 Reasons Why Project Management and Business Analysis Skills Equal Project Success

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7Reasons Why Project Management and

Business Analysis Skills Equal Project

Success! By Christa Tsoukalas

Corporate Education Group

In a perfect world, the project manager and business analyst role would be two distinctroles; however when it comes to smaller sized projects and the need to reduce projectcosts, organizations are now looking for candidates who are knowledgeable andcompetent in both roles. Whether you‟re a project manager or business analyst (or

already wearing both hats!), we‟ll help you explore why diversifying your knowledge

will not only increase your marketability, but will also make you a project superstar!

Reduce Rework on Your Projects

Do it right the first time. Wouldn‟t that be nice? Did you know that according to Carnegie

Mellon, 25%-40% of all spending on projects is wasted as a result of re-work 1? And that

70% - 85% of all project rework costs are due to errors in requirements2?

The key is tocollaborate with your stakeholders and define complete and accurate businessrequirements at the beginning of the project (business analysis),so the right activities canbe implemented throughout the project lifecycle to meet these requirements (projectmanager). If you can wear both hats, not only you can ensure the project is delivered ontime and within budget, but you can also bridge the requirements gap between the

business line and IT so that everyone is happy with the end result!

Manage the Project Better from the Start

“Coulda, shoulda, woulda.” Start with a solid foundation and decrease your chances of

hearing these types of statements when it‟s time to wrap up your project. When a project

is just getting underway, there are areas such as project scope definition, development of the project statement of purpose, project objectives, and identification of business risksthat require expertise in both project management and business analysis. Having a goodhandle on business analysis ensures that the scope is feasible and that the correctrequirements are being gathered, analyzed, and documented to meet the stakeholders‟

needs. On the flip side, having a strong grasp in project management will enable you toreview the requirements, adjust the plan as necessary, and accurately review the ultimatesolution.

Control Change

So, your project is up and running. You've defined project requirements and they weresigned off by the project‟s stakeholders. All you need to do now is watch your project



team execute and deliver, right? Ahhhhh no. Projects are never that simple, and you canmost likely expect that the requirements will change throughout the project‟s lifecycle;

and that‟s why change management is so dependent on the convergence of both projectmanagement and business analysis skills. Being able to find a happy medium betweenconflicting priorities — push forward to meet deadlines and stay on budget (project

manager), or take a step back to champion for the stakeholders and push for therequirements (business analyst) — is both an art and a science. Diversifying your talentsand abilities in both areas can help you more effectively manage last minute changes andmake the best decision for all parties involved.

Improve Communications Between IT, the Business Team, and the Project Team

According to PMI®, many project practitioners have observed that over 90% of projectissues arise due to communication problems. This establishes the significant role of communication when it comes to project successes. One of the biggest challenges withwhich project managers are tasked is making sure that their team knows what they aredoing, what is expected of them, and what their priorities are. Consequently, if the projectteam members do not know their tasks and how they should go about accomplishingthem, the entire project can turn into a chaotic mess.

In addition to all of this, the absence of business analyst know-how could cause a lack of communication between the project‟s stak eholders (customers, business line, IT, etc.) andoverall understanding of what the project‟s requirements are. When this is missing, notonly does the project fail to get off the ground or move forward — but essentialrequirements, changes, and risks could be missed and your project could fail.

Increases Your Job Security within Your Organization

As the economy has tightened, organizations have decreased their project budgets;however, they still need projects to be completed, and combining the role of the projectmanager and business analyst on projects has been one method to help cut costs, withoutcancelling the project altogether. A recent survey from BA Times™, a leading authority

in the business analysis field, found that an equal number of "project professionals" (aterm to encompass both project managers and business analysts) feel that the projectmanager and business analyst role will be combined on many projects3. Unfortunately,the people who don‟t have both skill sets may be the ones left in the dust when pushcomes to shove.

Increases Your Value in the Marketplace

Economic issues aside, there are many organizations with reduced head count andsmaller-scoped projects. Often times, these projects cannot be cost-effective with both theproject manager and business analyst involved and there will generally be one personassigned to act as both roles. Hence, companies large and small, are looking forindividuals who can play this dual role and meeting these high expectations will makeyou more valuable in today‟s competitive business environment. Challenging? Of course.But you‟ll find that the payoffs are huge— especially at your next interview!



Acquire Project Success

The Standish Group's CHAOS Summary 2009 report showed us the highest projectfailure rate in over a decade. In 2008, 32% of all projects succeeded and were deliveredon time, on budget, and with required features and functions. Furthermore, 44% werechallenged (late, over budget, and/or with less than the required features and functions)and 24% failed (cancelled prior to completion or delivered and never used).4

Project failures are not only expensive, but can have very negative consequences for thereputation of the company and project team. How can we prevent failure? According toresearch, the vast majority of this waste is completely avoidable and better requirementsmanagement could help. Did you know that according to Meta Group Research, 60-80% of project failures can be attributed directly to poor requirements gathering, analysis,and management?

5

While having project management skills are critical, the project can come to a grindinghalt if the business requirements are not correctly defined upfront. In order for yourprojects to be successful, you also need solid business analysis skills to successfullydetermine business requirements so all the stakeholders‟ needs are met and understood

early on in the process.

« Back | Home » Resources » Pm : Ask the Project Management Training Expert

Ask the Project Management Training

Expert How can a greater focus on sponsor and project manager roles generate better businessresults? Project management training expert, Rick Cusolito, explains…

There are many reasons projects fail, but at the root of most failures is resources notknowing what their roles are, or lack of education about how to fulfill their roles. As aproject management consultant, I have worked with dozens of companies on hundreds of projects; as a project management training instructor with Corporate Education Group, Ihave second-hand knowledge of hundreds of companies and thousands of projects. All of this direct and indirect information has led me to the conclusion that there are many

highly intelligent people in the world who are not given the tools to do their jobs.

Defining Project Manager Duties

The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines project management as the applicationof knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meetthe requirements of a particular project. Unfortunately, if key stakeholders on a project

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either lack the skills or don't know which tools to apply to a particular project, they havevery little chance of meeting the requirements of that project.

For some readers, the idea that people don't know their roles will seem far-fetched. Infact, many organizations assign staff responsibility to fill key roles as soon as a project is

launched. In my experience, however, filling roles on an org chart does not necessarilymean that each staff person knows what they are supposed to do next. I have spent one-on-one time with some highly placed, highly educated people who did not know whattheir specific responsibilities were on projects.

Many of my clients have fiduciary responsibility for multimillion (or billion) dollarprojects. Given the role of project sponsor, they usually fall back on one of two things:authority or experience. If authority is their choice, it means that they hold peopleaccountable for the things they understand. Unless they have formal project managementtraining and skills, understanding ends at schedule and budget. This type of sponsor willpush hard to bring the project in on-time and in-budget but will have very little

understanding of the work involved. If experience is their guide, the sponsor will likelyget too involved in the day-to-day project management duties and not use projectresources efficiently. These are examples in which the entire organization would benefitif there had been enough time spent on defining the project manager role and educatingthe staff who would fill that role.

As a project management training expert, I have a solid understanding of what projectmanager duties should be; being in the project manager role, I also have a wide range of experience of what that job actually is. Call it the trickle-down effect if you want, butwithout a clearly defined role for the project sponsor, the project manager role becomes acatch-all of unassigned tasks. Even with a solid sponsor, some of the most disastrous

projects have been because of the lack of necessary project manager skills to successfullyhold the project manager role.

I can recall many projects in which the project manager role is filled by the person whoknows the most about the project. In software development, the project manager isfrequently the most highly skilled developer. Unfortunately, there are at least two thingsworking against the success of the project: first, that the Peter Principle has no betterindustry example than high-tech; second, that people place too much emphasis on whatthey know and are mostly unaware of what they don‟t know. The corollary to this

problem is that incompetent workers generally think they are doing fine. So here you arewith your business riding on a project being run by your most technically proficientworker and you have no idea (nor do they) that the project was doomed from the start. If time had been taken to define the project manager role and enhance the project managerskills, it would have a chance.

Clearly Define Each Role with Project Management Training

While the roles cited above are directly involved in project execution and are well knowneven to project management novices, there are some roles that are just as important butmostly ignored by project management organizations and journals alike. One key role



that is rarely considered when putting a project together is that of staff, or functionalgroup, managers. In a matrix organization the project manager duties include planningand executing a project, but he rarely has a readily available resource pool to staff theproject. For this, there is the time-honored tradition of begging, borrowing and stealingresources to help the project.

A better practice in any type of organization has always been to give people the 'bigpicture' and show them where they fit. A project organization is no different; the staff manager, who knows about projects, understands project schedules and can evendecipher an earned value management system, will be an advocate rather than anadversary when the resource/time/money crunch comes (and it will come).

Your executives and managers might think they know enough, but cost-benefit analysis isnot the beginning or the end of the sponsor‟s responsibility; Gantt charts and work

breakdown structures do not a project manager make; leaving stakeholders in the dark usually leaves the project in the lurch. As anyone who has formal project management

training knows, the real answer to the question "What is each person‟s role?" is "Itdepends." Getting your entire staff to understand what it depends on may be thedifference between success and failure on your next project.

« Back | Home » Resources » Pm : Eight Powerful Ways Project Management Training Will

Boost Your Career

Eight Powerful Ways Project

Management Training Will Boost YourCareer

Is your job becoming more complex and you need new project management skills tohandle your new responsibilities? Is your employer requiring PMI® Certification oradditional project management training?

Successful executives in fields such as finance, health care and IT are harnessing thepower of their careers and updating their project management skills. Additional project

management training can often mean a higher salary, better job satisfaction and expandedcareer opportunities. Whether you require IT project management skills or PMI®Certification, here are eight ways that project management training will enhance yourcareer:

Project management training helps you be a more valuable contributor to your

company, make more money and receive recognition within your organization through

potential job promotions.














You will be able to develop accurate project schedules to help you meet timelines, track

resources, anticipate risks, deliver projects on time and keep projects within budget.

Project management training and PMI certification will help you successfully manage

teams across organizational and global boundaries.

You will be able to determine the correct number and type of resources for your project

to ensure its success, saving you time and costly mistakes.

Project management training helps develop team-building skills. You’ll work more

smoothly and achieve a higher level of commitment with your team members — even

team members who don’t report to you.

You’ll learn how to confidently develop project success criteria and methods to clearly

demonstrate a project’s success.

You’ll discover how to use resources more efficiently, improve stakeholder

communications and multitask in a more efficient manner.

Project management training and PMI® Certification will help you and your team

communicate more effectively, resulting in less downtime and smoother workflow.

« Back | Home » Resources » Pm : Project Manager and Business Analyst: Sorting Through the

Role Confusion

Project Manager and Business Analyst:

Sorting Through the Role Confusion

By Christa Tsoukalas, Corporate Education Group

So what's the difference between a project manager and business analyst? This seems tobe quite the popular question these days for those who are evaluating career paths,performing both roles in projects, and/or experiencing major confusion due tooverlapping responsibilities and job descriptions.

One way to clear up this role confusion is by outlining what tasks project managers andbusiness analysts are generally responsible for during a project. Starting with projectmanagers, they are mainly concerned with completing projects on time and on budget,and are typically charged with the ultimate success or the failure of the project.

Project managers have the responsibility for the initiation, planning, execution, andclosure of a project. They must also define the project, reduce it to a set of manageabletasks, obtain appropriate resources, and build a team to perform the work; in addition toall of this, project managers must be prepared to monitor and mitigate project risks alongthe way, as well as discover ways to adapt to change, since no project ever seems to goexactly as planned.














On the other hand, business analysts are mainly concerned with the end product andensuring it meets the requirements and demands of the project's key stakeholders.Business analysts' primary responsibilities are communicating with stakeholders,gathering requirements, and making sense of these requirements in order to ensure thatthe end products will solve the business problems at hand.

One source of contention between business analysts and project managers is often theissue of change. It's not unusual for project managers to strongly advise against changingthe project scope by adding functions or features to a product (as this could significantlyimpact project schedule and costs), while business analysts often recognize that changesto the project scope are necessary in order to effectively meet their stakeholders'requirements.

While it's very common for a single individual to perform both roles, especially insmaller organizations with limited budgets, most experts will agree that the best casescenario is a project with an effective project manager and an effective business analyst.

Assuming the rest of the project team is capable, the project will strike the perfectbalance between thorough requirements gathering and project progress.

When a project manager and a business analyst are both present on a project team, theproject manager can focus their efforts on project schedule, cost, and resourcemanagement, and the business analyst can spotlight their time and energy on ensuringaccurate requirements management — all critical components of a successful project.

« Back | Home » Resources » Pm : Project Management Professional (PMP)® Credential: The What, the How, and the Why

Project Management Professional (PMP)®

Credential: The What, the How, and the

Why

By Bonnie Cooper, PMP

Attaining the PMP®

credential makes a strong statement. It says that you are seriousabout the practice of project management, but more important, that you are willing toinvest in yourself and in your career. If you have experience leading projects, here arethree good reasons to consider the PMP

®credential:

1. The PMP®

credential is marketable.2. The PMP

®credential is internationally recognized.














3. The PMP®-certified project manager is a credible source of project managementbest practices, which can be leveraged in any organization.

Project managers who achieve the PMP

®

credential can have the following impact intheir organizations:

1. A better understanding of the project management discipline2. A better understanding of what is required to launch a project3. An increase in stable projects through the use of consistent, repeatable processes4. Increased confidence from vendor and business partners in working with your

organization5. Decreased costs due to more streamlined and successful projects

The PMP®

credential is administered through the Project Management Institute (PMI), amember association for project management professionals. The Project ManagementInstitute, A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK

®Guide) is a

widely-accepted statement of the sum of knowledge within the profession of projectmanagement. Getting the PMP® credential means you qualify in experience and can passthe 200-question test based on the PMBOK

®Guide. Who should apply for the PMP®

credential? Those who have demonstrated competence in leading and directing project

teams. To qualify, you must be able to document 35 hours of project managementeducation and provide:

1.

A bachelor‟s degree, plus 4,500 hours of documented experience leading anddirecting project tasks, accrued within eight years of the date of application

OR

2. A high school diploma, plus 7,500 hours of documented experience leading anddirecting project tasks, accrued within eight years of the date of application

Note: If you graduated from a GAC-accredited program*, only 3,000 work experience

hours need to be presented.

*Project Management Institute Global Accreditation Center for Project ManagementEducation Programs

In documenting your experience, overlapping months will not be double counted.Additionally, you should have experience in all five process groups: Initiating, Planning,Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing. Assuming good record keeping,



estimate about eight hours to complete the application process. The Project Management

Professional (PMP)®

Handbook provides all the details you need to apply, and can bedownloaded from PMI‟s website. Experience verification forms can be filled out in hard

copy or online.

PMI conducts application audits to confirm the experience and/or education documentedon credential applications. The purpose of the audit is to enhance the credibility of thecertification program and of the credential holders. For the PMP® credential, a percentageof applications are randomly selected for audit. Anyone can be audited for any reason atany time. If audited, you will be asked to submit supporting documentation includingcopies of your diploma/global equivalent, signatures from your supervisor(s) ormanager(s) from the projects you recorded, and copies of certificates or letters fromtraining institutes for the courses you recorded. You are given 90 days to submit thesupporting documentation.

Once your online application is submitted, PMI will process the application within five

business days. Your one-year eligibility period (the time during which you can take theexam) starts on the day your application was approved. Now you must schedule the testdate and prepare to take the test! PMI suggests that you schedule your test at least sixweeks in advance of your preferred test date and at least three months before theexpiration of your one-year eligibility period. You may take the examination up to threetimes within this one year eligibility period should you not pass on the first attempt.There are fees associated with the application process. When you first sign up, the fee is$405 for PMI members and $555 for non members. The re-test fee is $275 for PMImembers and $375 for non members.

Consider these tips to prepare for the PMP® examination:

1. Get and study the latest edition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of

Knowledge (PMBOK ®

Guide). 2. Review the Project Management Professional (PMP)

®Examination Content

Outline, (available on the PMI website) which identifies the proportion of questions on the exam from each of the five domains, as well as the tasks that aremeasured through the certification process. Also identified are cross-cuttingknowledge and skills used in multiple domains, including PMI’ s Code of Ethics

and Professional Conduct. 3. Take a prep course, which simulates the experience of taking the test and will

cover the PMBOK ®

Guide content in detail. It will also give you references forsupporting material; for instance, books or papers on the psychology of humanbehavior which include key concepts for what motivates individuals, or howteams move through phases of behavior.

4. Get additional PMP® preparation resources from the marketplace. For example,practice exams and workbooks specifically geared toward helping you pass thePMP® examination.

5. Memorize the PMBOK ®

Guide formulas and the nine knowledge areas coveringintegration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, and

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procurement, all which include inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs for eachof its key processes.

6. Form a study group.

In taking the test, keep in mind that out of the 200 questions, 25 are considered pre-testquestions (not scored), placed randomly and used to test the validity of future testquestions. All unanswered questions are scored as wrong answers, so it is better to guessat an answer if you are stumped on a question. You must successfully complete 106(61%) out of 175 questions to pass. The exam is scored immediately, so you will know if you have passed at the conclusion of the test.

It takes less than one minute for the results of the exam to appear on the screen once theapplicant indicates the exam is complete. There are two levels of information provided onyour score report. The first is the overall examination results that tell you whether you

passed or failed. The second is a picture of your overall strengths and weaknesses withineach domain. Each domain is assigned as Proficient, Moderately Proficient, or BelowProficient, based on the number of questions answered correctly within the domain.

To maintain the PMP®

credential you need to earn professional development units(PDUs). The PMP

®credential requires earning 60 PDUs per three-year cycle. The three-

year certification cycle begins the day you pass the exam. PDU categories (listed below),fall under two divisions - Education and Giving Back to the Profession. There is no limiton the PDUs earned within a 3-year cycle in Educational PDU categories. However, amaximum of 45 PDUs has been imposed within a 3-year cycle (for PMP

®) in Giving

Back to the Profession PDU categories.

Education

A. Courses offered by PMI„s Registered Education Providers (R.E.Ps), chapters, or

communitiesB. Continuing educationC. Self-directed learning

Giving Back to the Profession

A. Creating new project management knowledgeB. Volunteer service

C. Work as a professional in project management

Keep in mind that a PMP®

credential alone does not make someone capable or a good fitfor the profession. Strong project managers demonstrate excellent people skills,leadership, problem solving, and organizational skills in addition to the technicalknowledge they gain by studying best practices. Still, there is a demand for legitimate

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credentials, as well as individuals who know how to manage projects, and if you look atthe numbers (over 410,000 credential holders), there certainly is a buzz around the PMP® designation that will translate into increased marketability and legitimacy for your careerin project management.

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7 Reasons Why Project Management and Business Analysis Skills Equal Project Success