RPP Assessors' Training Day

Spent a good day yesterday at the APM's RPP Assessors' training day.

It's great to see how committed to the standard everybody is.

RPP (Registered Project Professional) is also being well supported by more and more organisations, and in time it's likely to become the first thing employers look for when recruiting Programme/Project Managers. One or two corporates have already declared that it will be compulsory when they recruit in future.

The verification process that has been added to the assessment process should ensure that all candidates receive a consistent evaluation, and in time all assessors will achieve a common view of what constitutes a successful application.

Once APM achieves Chartered status for this denomination the slow burn of applications we are seeing at present will become a raging fire!

I'm really pleased to have been part of it right from the start.

Adding Project Management Value

I heard yesterday about an excellent manager who has fallen victim to the public sector cuts. I'm sure he won't be the only one, and anyone who thinks the cuts are an opportunity merely to discard the deadwood is sadly mistaken.

Don't think for a minute it couldn't happen to you.

Now more than ever it's essential for project and programme managers to demonstrate that they add value for organisations.

It's not enough to merely maintain marvellous governance documentation. Documentation and methodologies are only enablers to help deliver programmes and projects effectively.

Project professionals need to be able to show their worth by bringing projects in on time - or sooner - and on budget - or below it! They should also always be looking for ways to cut project spend without compromising quality. In austere times especially, organisations often want to see "Good enough" for purpose, not all-singing, all dancing deliverables that cost the Earth.

Striving to identify ways in which your project can reduce your customer's operational costs is also something good project professionals do as a matter of course.

There will always be sceptics out there who believe project management is an unnecessary overhead. We know they're wrong, but we have to demonstrate it in our behaviours.

My contract at IBM is in a highly competitive market and there is always tremendous pressure to drive down costs without compromising quality for the end client.

Similarly, I'm currently helping with the next edition of the APM's BoK as well as being an assessor for the new project professional standard, due to launch in March 2011. I'm sure the quest for value for money will loom large in both activities.

Make sure that your customers recognise that you add value to their organisations to strengthen your position in these difficult times.

APM Awards Ceremony

I've a hectic day's work for IBM today before heading off to the APM Award Ceremony in Central London this evening.

The award is for the new Project Professionals' Standard, hopefully to soon be chartered status.

Awards will be going to founder members of the Association's new Professional Standard Register and to those people who qualified as assessors for the standard.

I qualify on both counts I'm pleased to say!

The new standard will boost the professionalism of Portfolio, Programme and Project Management and reassure potential employers that they are engaging someone who is judged by his/her peers to be knowledgeable, experienced and professional.

I was delighted to be selected as a Fellow of the APM to help with the pilot process. It gave me the opportunity to put something back into the profession and to help create a meaningful standard.

It will be good to meet up again with all the other people who worked on the pilot. I'm really looking forward to the official launch next year!