Management Processes Standardization: A Practical Study Case in Colombia
Vargas, H. Universidad de los Andes (email:
[email protected]) Paez, H. Universidad de los Andes (email:
[email protected]) Prieto, J. Universidad de los Andes (email:
[email protected]) Mesa, H. Universidad de los Andes (email:
[email protected])
Abstract Project management standardization processes for a young development division within a large Colombian construction firm were based on conceptual frames, firm´s experience and collaborative efforts. A best practices survey under project life cycle process mapping was conducted to integrate project manager functions, guide linkages between operational areas and external clients, enhance entrepreneurial learning from project developments and lead to a project management supportive information system. Emphasis on early structuring and planning project phases responds to legal and feasibility issues. Reviewed working breakdown structures and scopes have been built out of new project types and overall corporate standards. Keywords: standardization, processes management, best practices, entrepreneurial learning and project life cycle.
1. Introduction A well recognized forty year old Colombian construction firm searching for new business opportunities has recently evolved from public and private contracting and project management services to promote new prospects from its conception down to its operation and useful life end. Within this context, this recent organizational structure has to incorporate a management model to carry new processes and develop new activities to integrate the whole life cycle in its projects. A first step to consolidate this scheme of integrated management was to understand and standardize management processes associated to every stage in project developments. This becomes of utmost relevance when, though considering real estate situations, managerial processes tend to be regular and repetitive and thus offering a high potential for its standardization within the firm. From this need a proposal was made for standardization of management processes inside one of the business units charged of promoting commercial and institutional (public and private) prospects, providing promotion, management, building and marketing services. Apart from its fitting to present operation and best practices inside the Unit this offering looks for strategies towards continuous improvement as a part of a work directed into sustained activities for organizational learning.
2. Processes in the project management frame Considering experiences in project development and evolution in project management models several organizations have adapted their entrepreneurial structure to include stages in its life cycle according to management principles set by project management. This is presented consequently as an ensemble of processes in charge of the project manager to harmonize stage developments and ensure actors participation from different functional project areas to reach performance goals according to needs or business opportunities originating it. In this sense, the starting point for process standardization is the adoption of a common glossary to serve as shared terminology to support project stakeholder communications, an analysis of the particular life cycle inside the organization and the convenient level of processes to be standardized, discarding efforts in those unable to be done regularly to save resources. Life cycle corresponds to the project temporal development from its initial need identification or opportunity up to the final disposition as a useful infrastructure. This time line in building projects usually involves conception, planning, execution and operation phases parallel to its evolution and maturity. In this context, in the case study unit, there were life cycle and project stages non unified definitions whose diversity was originated in types, scales and complexity of projects in process and project manager in charge experiences. However, a first proposition towards a consensus suggests the
following stages, as most frequently recognized: pre-feasibility, feasibility, building, building delivery, related in a linear and simple sequence. Relating to maturity levels found in projects, based on performed analysis and references from project management maturity models (Crawford, 2007), there is an uneven maturity in project management within the unit, where most of its areas are concentrated on initial maturity level contrasting with the firm´s technical area who acknowledges larger evolution partly due to large projects experience for decades. This supports the existent need to level all knowledge areas within the unit to reach a second maturity level, where the main purpose is to standardize managerial processes. Proposes process standardization for project management is basically oriented by Salford University work with seven enterprises from 1995 to 1998 named Process Protocol and Project Management Institute publications from 1983 to 2008 where there has been a continuous update on project managerial processes.
3. Best project management practices diagnosis Best practices identification is bases on systematic analysis of existing processes in project management. Considering the unit organizational features a methodology was implemented to orderly review all information from interviews and documentation. Figure 1 shows this general procedure.
Figure 1: Case study general procedure
3.1 Project management status Interviews to unit members allowed to know relevant information on actual project management practices, firm functional areas, and external participants involved in projects. Most consulted persons are in charge of management responsibilities and were interviewed according their experience and project stage they were directing, according life cycle stages previously identified. This chronological order offered a structured and progressive flow of information needed for the standardization proposal. Through documentary evidence it was possible to consult informs, formats, designs, proposals, contracts and records as part of recently finished projects. Equally, some projects in its planning phase were studied. Additionally, the firm quality system document Sistema de Calidad de la Organizacion (SGI) offered a valuable frame due to its structure and detail.
3.2 Information analysis Document analysis and review concluded with its classification according their relevant project stage connections. In general, all these documents, for different projects and even for the same project, show a low level of standardization, have evolved and change according personal experience of unit members away from any project manager organizational learning. Based on this information, best project management practices inside the unit are identified and grouped in conception, pre-feasibility, feasibility, planning and detailed design, building and construction control and operation delivery, following Project Stages (PS) shown at figure 2.
Figure 2: Project stages
3.3 Best practices Project life cycle definition through the mentioned stages of conception, prefeasibility, feasibility, planning and detailed design, building and construction control, and operation delivery is the essence of the standardization proposal considering, as it will be explained forwards, that it includes a series of management processes (MP), activities, deliverables and documents that allow project evolution following a logic sequence in stages and processes. Both order and terminology used in project life cycle have a generic character. An objective was to find a generic life cycle abele to be applied to any type of developed project and easily adjustable according to characteristics, internal and external contexts particular of any project. Management processes basic structure in every stage corresponds to present project management knowledge best practices and experiences in the unit. This is obtained from individual analysis of processes in every stage and life cycle global analysis as a result of unit consensus. With the first analysis key process in every stage are located. Under second analysis stage relationships are confirmed to reach a project management integrated cycle. As there are scarce published sources related to the conception stage or project starting point specified sequences and activities identified in this study for this phase offer a novel component for traditional project life cycle. This is derived from given emphasis on managerial action locating, planning and valuating risks of project alternatives before setting a portfolio of them and finally selecting a next project option to be developed.
4. Integrated standardization proposal 4.1 Integrated process flowchart An integrated process flowchart is a graphic depiction that shows different PS conforming project life cycles. Every PS is formed by a set of internal processes located along the flow, following a logical relationship among them, and articulated to other process external to the unit. Conventions for representing these processes follow definitions by PMBOK ® Fourth Edition (PMI, 2008) considering that they embody variables and deliverables for many of proposed MP. Connections between MP are of two types: main liaisons and integration links. The connection behaviour across the flow is represented with functions that link resulting information from MP in one directional form, in the case of main liaisons. In the case of integration links, these integrate information flow dynamically. Special conventions were used in the integrated flow to represent graphically some MP as the ones placed within MP limits. These processes are named double function connectors articulating a PS ending with next one beginning. Examples of these are the multiple variations common along the
project that noticeably mark PS limits. Another special MP is the one defined for information storage banks, strategically located along the PS, whose function is to build organizational consulting sources and historical record. Figure 3 shows a general scheme on types and MP conventions.
Figure 3: General scheme of types and MP conventions
4.2 Integrated process map Integrated process map represents other important graphic dimension of MP interactions across PS. In Figure 4 stages from the integrated process flow are shown, intersected by management areas placed in main rows as management knowledge areas within project life cycle.
Figure 4: General scheme of integrated process map
Integrated process map is a matrix representation similar to Project Management Process Group (University of Salford - Process Protocol, 2001) and Knowlegde Areas Mapping (PMI, 2008). This is an important resource especially within firms having matrix organization, as it occurs in this study case, where project management is supported in different functional areas to properly develop its processes. Every area of integrated process map is explained below: Integration management: Refers exclusively to managerial functions and activities, related to organize, lead, control and group every action connected with the project to guarantee its objectives. Technical management: Involves planning, coordination and execution of project technical activities. This management should accomplish goals in terms of scope, cost, time and quality. Legal management: Includes all activities tending to guarantee legal and contractual conditions required for the project. Commercial management: Refers to promotional, commercial and marketing activities for project success. Financial management: Refers to assure and managerial of the financial resources for project development and success.
4.3 Deliverables standardization on MP entry and outputs As a product of “deliverables standardization on MP entry and outputs” inputs and outputs are represented in detail corresponding to a series of documents and/or records to feed every stage in project life cycle. Deliverables mean an advance in terms of information formalization to be managed by the unit in a standardized and uniform way by all project managers. Thus, MP documentation is homogeneous and independent from those human resources having developed it, improving traceability and documentary records.
5. Organizational learning A proposition without precedents is the optimization of information use through information banks incorporated along the integrated map of process flow. With these tools a valuable organized historical record to implement knowledge management is proposed for the unit.
Knowledge management, based on information organization and standardization, allows to have close control of new experiences in projects, keeping and updating records so as to make it a permanent and useful resource. Process standardization means additional tasks to support organizational learning considering how to monitor work structure, working breakdown structures, control and follow-up criteria, and learning after innovative proposals conductive to managerial change y MP maturity model. This increase in MP maturity has to include a uniform availability and use of information technology means. This implies that the firm will require to adopt conceptual assimilation processes and information flow design processes to go forward checking and validating MP flow.
6. Conclusions Process standardization for project management within a maturing firm has to start from recognition of its best practices. Documentation and information analysis of internal and external facts is a basic step to know relevant issues on functional operation and organizational maturity from managerial perspective offering basis for information organization, valuation and connecting it with standardization stages and processes. Integrated Project Management is structured around its life cycle definition, based on associated stages and processes. Combining available tools for integrated project management and best practice analysis two types of diagrams with different specific uses are stated. First, integrated process flow establish connections and time relationships between PS and MP. Secondly, integrated process map distributes processes into different management responsibility areas (Integrated, technical, commercial, legal and financial). Process standardization implementation also permits to standardize a uniform documentary management across types of projects and project managers in order to facilitate control over advance and results in current projects. Another benefit from standardization in MP documentation is in front of certification processes oriented to include project management as a certified element of the entire organization quality. Finally, taking into account the larger added value offered by integrated management due to its focus on early stages of life cycle, this model is recommended to be used to improve project manager personal abilities at the unit, stimulating early project planning.
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