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The Axelos 2017 PPM Benchmarking Report has an interesting and insightful title: “The value of Project Management Excellence”. As stated in the foreword by Cameron Stewart, Head Of PPM Product Development at Axelos: “This inaugural report seeks to lay the foundation for a yearly publication aimed at giving insight to the project and programme management (PPM) market for our members, community and accredited partners.” The findings from this research identified a range of issues that could all be categorized under one solution: project management excellence. Project managers, PMOs and organizations all have a responsibility to create this culture of excellence otherwise they could find that their investments don’t bring the competitive advantages they seek. “It comes as no surprise that project managers are being asked to do more with less. This is a trend that could be applied to any business function. However, a lack of resources or time is leading to cutting corners at both a strategic and operational level. Awareness of project management methodologies is high in the industry. However there is a gap between awareness and uptake. Unfortunately organizations are under-investing in the development of their project managers, which the research shows has far-reaching consequences.”

Today’s project management pressures

Project managers (and the projects they’re responsible for) are not immune to the effects of a changing global economy. In fact, the majority of project managers acknowledge that there is increased business competition which is causing a variety of knock-on effects. Some findings:

• 76% states that “The business environment has become more competitive”
• 74% states that “Budgets and timelines are tighter as clients/ stakeholders look for more value from projects”
• 65% states that “PMs are expected to deliver more projects over a shorter time frame”

Furthermore, evolutions in technology bring their own set of challenges resulting in greater complexity in project delivery, increased project risks and an impact on profit margins.

Project management maturity within organizations

The maturity of project management in many organizations is still behind where it needs to be to meet the increased demands of more projects within existing timeframes and budgets. One measure of maturity can come from the P3M3 Maturity Model, yet:

• less than 20% of organizations described themselves as having established processes in place, with ongoing improvements based on monitoring and feedback
• only 53% of project managers describe the project management function as “influential”

Although it is encouraging to see that PMOs are in place in more than half of organizations, their integration at the highest level is far from where it needs to be. If project management continues to be under-represented at a senior level then this will impact on the successful delivery of projects.

The challenges faced by project managers today

At the head of the list of the challenges faced by PMs today there is “over-ambitious timeframes” for projects, followed closely by “changing project briefs and moving expectations”. In the context of increasing project numbers to deliver in the same timeframe or less, plus the relative isolation of the PMO in organizations, these are serious challenges for project managers. Following in the list there are also challenges like “poor communication”, “absence of the right people for the job”, “unrealistic budgets” and “inefficient work practices”.

• Half of project managers felt their project didn’t have the right people in place, which led to project failure in 43% of cases
• 56% of project managers had witnessed significant changes to the project brief and expectations and this led to project failure in 48% of cases

Agile

Agile continues to be a hot topic within project management. There is a huge appetite amongst project managers for agile techniques, yet this enthusiasm isn’t apparent at an organizational level. Why are so many organizations wary about adopting agile? It could be due to a lack of understanding as ‘agile’ is still perceived as the latest buzzword. Project managers need to educate the business about the value of agile to help deliver the number of projects that organizations are now demanding. Organizations need to get on board with adopting agile techniques. Working in an agile way allows project managers to respond to evolving business needs but still the appetite for adoption at an organizational level is low.

• 77% of respondents seeing value in working in a more agile way and just 2% seeing no value in it
• Less than half (46%) of respondents said there is significant appetite for adopting agile techniques within their function and this falls further to 39% at an organizational level

Learning and development

This research has identified a lot of challenges facing project managers, but there were also some positive findings too, especially around ongoing development. Continuing professional development (CPD) is an activity that is commonly associated across professions such as accountancy, medicine and law. However, the majority of project managers recognize its importance and are actively participating in CPD. The only thing that could hold them back is a lack of investment from organizations. If you delve deeper both individuals and organizations are on the same page. Individuals want to do their job more effectively and organizations want to improve the effectiveness of their teams.

Being AGILE and managing project in agile way is not only a statement but organisations have to “make it happen”. Organisations often think they are or could be agile. It could be a wishful thinking but in reality they have what I call an in-house “DNA”, usage, strong company culture which might not be in favour of developing agile practices. AGILE prior to be project management methods is first a mindset, a posture, a way of being. Be aware of “flawed AGILE”, it looks agile but it’s not. In this article we explore 5 examples of area to check before launching an agile project. TITLE: Ready for Agile? Five Questions to Test Your Company Culture ABOUT THE ARTICLE: Organisations are facing so much unknown that they have to be ready almost for anything. That means the ability to launch quickly project and mobilise multi-skilled resources either in house or through pre-agreed commercial subcontracts or a mix of both. The AgilePM guidance of ABC (Agile Business Consortium) has an interesting document called “PAQ : Project Approach Questionnaire” used at the outset of the project. The questionnaire is in fact a risk assessment for the management side of the project. It helps defining if all stakeholders are effectively able to work in agile. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Antoine Breton has 30 years of experience in project management and technical Operations.  He has been an agile management accredited trainer for the past 10 years on “Best Practices” in agile project and programs management: PRINCE2, DSDM - AGILE PM (Project Management and SCRUM) and AGILE PgM (Program Management). He performs consultancy work for embedding PRINCE2 and AGILE within organisations. He delivers training and support for the implementation of best practices. He is able to perform missions in English, and French. TO READ AND DOWNLOAD THE FULL ARTICLE: simply follow this link!    

If you don't plan it, you won't do it. Planning is very important in Project Management, and it is considered one of the most important skills of a great Project Manager; in one of the articles of our library, Planning is listed among the 5 MUST for every PM, beginners and experienced ones.

Then why you shouldn't be planning that important training you want to get done in 2018? Why you shouldn't be working on a plan for the certification that will prove your skills as Project Manager?

Agenda's can become very busy during the year, and planning that training that you've always wanted to take can be difficult at times: at QRP International we know it, that's why we've decided to help you schedule your next training with a great incentive: a 20% Early Bird discount on ALL PRINCE2 courses!

Keep reading to know how it works!

EARLY BIRD PROMOTION: HOW DOES IT WORK?

QRP International has decided to meet the needs of its customers by adding a special promotion for the full PRINCE2 Training Calendar: on all PRINCE2 Foundation and Combi (Foundation & Practitioner) courses of 2018, you can benefit from a very special Early Bird promotion (20% OFF!).

BOOK IN ADVANCE AND SAVE MONEY! Sign up for the best deals by making your ​​reservation early ​(at least ​30 days​ ​before the start date of the training)​ in order ​to benefit from the special 20% Early Bird discount!

To check out the full calendar of training available with the Early Bird option, visit the following pages:

• PRINCE2 Foundation: full calendar of courses in Early Bird Promotion
• PRINCE2 Combi (Foundation & Practitioner): full calendar of courses in Early Bird Promotion

GET IN TOUCH More than one person for one single course? Different inscriptions for different dates? Need extra info on our training calendar? We can help you: GET IN TOUCH!

The 2017 updated version of PRINCE2 has been developed closely with the PRINCE2 community worldwide and taking into considerations several drivers for change. One of the most urgent one is the increased professionalism within the PM community: project management will be more and more considered a wide business skill and this will, as a consequence, require a continuous improvement from every PM working in the field.

The only language ready with the 2017 version is ENGLISH: French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch will be translated starting from January 2018.

QRP International is scheduling the first PRINCE2 courses with the 2017 version, to make sure to provide the most up-to-date Project Management content to its customers: the first "PRINCE2 2017 Version" training will take place in August, and it's already CONFIRMED!

PRINCE2 Foundation + Practitioner training: 21-22-23-24-25 August 2017 => Follow this link to know more on the training and to hold your seat! If you register within the 21st of July, you will benefit from a 20% EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!

WHAT'S NEW IN 2017 VERSION? METHOD CHANGES

The 2017 update of PRINCE2 builds on the proven strength of PRINCE2 while responding to current imperatives for flexibility and agility. You will discover how the core of the PRINCE2 method, like principles, processes and themes remain unchanged, while a renewed focus on the importance of tailoring has been added: the chapter on tailoring has been, in fact, elaborated and more prominently placed at the beginning of the manual, and it contains clear indications about:

• what you can and cannot tailor
• who is responsible for tailoring and documenting
• examples of different project environments
• tailoring and embedding PRINCE2 in an organization

Furthermore, the distinction between tailoring, adopting and embedding is explained in more detail and there is guidance on how to adopt and embed PRINCE2 in an organization.

WHAT'S NEW IN 2017 VERSION? EXAM CHANGES

• FOUNDATION EXAM --> The Foundation was previously of 75 questions, and it has now changed into 60 questions. The duration is still 1 hour, while the pass mark goes from 50% (35/70), to 60% (36/60).  Also the style of the questions have changed, since almost all negative questions have been removed and the number of list and missing word questions have been reduced.
• PRACTITIONER EXAM --> The Practitioner exam was previously of 80 questions, and it has changed into 75 questions. Duration and pass marks remain unchanged. Question styles retained are classic multiple choice and matching (2 columns), while multiple response (2 correct answers out of 5 possible answers) and assertion reason (True/false questions) have been removed. While previously the Practitioner exam only addressed 6 themes and 2 process with the NEW version all themes, all processes and the principles will be tasted. Last important change concerns the validity of the Practitioner certification: from the launch of the new exams the NEW Practitioner validity will be of 3 years ( not 5 years). To know more on the CERTIFICATION changes you can read this simple and informative article.

TO KNOW MORE ABOUT PRINCE2 2017 UPDATE

• WHAT’S THE FUTURE FOR PMs? – Read more
• WHAT CHANGES IN THE METHOD? – Read More
• WHAT CHANGES IN THE CERTIFICATION? - Read More

MORE THAN ONE COLLEAGUE FOR THE SAME COURSE?

Get in touch to get a personalized quotation, or get in touch to know more about KMO portefeuille.

PRINCE2 is firmly established as the world’s most practiced method for project management and is globally recognized for delivering successful projects. In January 2017 AXELOS, announced the upcoming arrival of updated PRINCE2 guidance and Foundation and Practitioner examinations. Together, these form PRINCE2 2017 and represent the first major update to PRINCE2 since 2009. TITLE OF THE WEBINAR: What is the PRINCE2 2017 Update? All You Need to Know ABOUT THE EXPERT: David Maegerman has over 10 years of Project Management experience, performing various roles in different types of projects. As a Project Manager, he delivered IT solutions as well as sales/marketing projects in the distribution and insurance industry. He’s a multilingual trainer for PRINCE2 and Agile Project Management, able to perform courses in English, Dutch and French. ABOUT THE WEBINAR: With this informative webinar QRP International wants to introduce you to the changes, understanding not only what changes in the content, but also what are the main reasons for the update, and how these updates will impact (or not impact) on your actual certification, and/or training plans. To WATCH THE VIDEO follow this link! Want to ask for a quotation for PRINCE2 courses? Follow this link and fill in the form Want to see the full calendar of our PRINCE2 Foundation courses? Follow this link Want to remain up-to-date? Register to our newsletter at this link

“Whichever it will be, we have no doubt that agile is transforming the field of project delivery and will fundamentally change the way the business and IT work together to successfully achieve change.” This is how the KPMG “Agile Project Delivery 2017 Survey” starts, and this one specific sentence already gives the clear idea about the increasing importance of Agile in the Project Management world. While the difference between Waterfall PM methods and Agile ones seems to be well known among the PM community, it is more difficult to find out if there is a clear and realistic view of what “Agile” really means: our goal with this interview is to highlight how different frameworks are in use within digital companies, and how developers, project managers and team members work together. TITLE: From Scrum to AgilePM: An Interview with a Web Developer ABOUT THE ARTICLE: Looking at the fast growing digital companies in Belgium, we have decided to interview Pàu: their team consists of different profiles ranging from conceptual UX over frontend/javascript developers to experienced backend developers. Pàu recently delivered successful projects for Telenet, BNP Paribas Fortis, Colruyt-Group, KBC, De Persgroep, Mediahuis, Essent, Proximus, Boondoggle and many more. “We are living in a rapidly changing environment in which the customer has extensive demands. To succeed in satisfying these demands, organizations are forced to respond extremely quickly to new developments in the market” (from KPMG “Agile Project Delivery 2017 Survey”) So it’s for Pàu: as specifically mentioned on their website www.pàu.be : “Rather than having a single method of working through the project lifecycle, we adopt elements of ITIL, PRINCE2, AgilePM and SCRUM to dynamically apply a methodology that suits the needs of that specific assignment”. This is why we have interviewed Kevin Pauwels, developer consultant, AgilePM certified and Scrum Master at Pàu, in order to investigate further the links between Agile and other well-known framework, such as Scrum, and to find out how this knowledge helps throughout the project. With Kevin's words: "From being Scrum Master, I see AgilePM as the next step, as a way to upgrade my role and my skills, from a more technical role to a less technical one" TO READ AND DOWNLOAD THE FULL ARTICLE: simply follow this link!