What has Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, Petronas Twin Tower, Kuala Lumpur City Center, Sepang F1 circuit, Sepang International Airport and many more successful projects have in common? Answer: Project Management.
However, it would be onerous to associate the concept of project management with merely the engineering or construction industry, as in reality the usage of project management transcends industry. For example, the United States based Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as "any endeavor in which human, material and financial resources are organised, in a novel way, to undertake a unique scope of work, of a given specification, within the constraints of cost and time, so as to achieve a beneficial change defined by quantitative and qualitative objectives." As such, project management can be seen in various aspects, including human resource, costing, information technology, management, administration, communication and leadership.
PMI, USA was formed in 1969 by a few visionary individuals who shared a belief that project management skills would increasingly be needed for success in the global market place founded PMI. PMI and its members have taken their learning experiences over the last three decades and built a foundation of knowledge for the profession. Project Management Institute (PMI®) has grown to be the organization of choice for project management professionalism. With over 55,000 members worldwide, PMI® is the leading nonprofit professional association in the area of Project Management. PMI establishes Project Management standards, provides seminars, educational programs and professional certification that more and more organizations desire for their project leaders.
The PMI of Project Managers’ Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) ™ constitutes the discipline of project management into four areas:
- Project Management
- Organisation and People
- Techniques and Procedures
- General Management
Each area has a specific focus on project management skills and methods. Each module also has an associated level of knowledge.
This being so, it is not hard to see how the success of a project can easily be affected by poor project management. Projects run into problems normally due to a lack of clear objectives, poor organizational design, informal communication methods and inadequate structured planning and control methods. For example, a project manager often seldom has the authority to command resources as required and must negotiate with functional managers for their cooperation. Due to the importance of project management of the overall success of a project, it is imperative that companies only engage the most competent project managers to run their projects.
The Malaysian Scenario
In acknowledging the impact that PMI (USA) has had in advancing project management, a group of professionals in Malaysia set up a local chapter as a forum for networking local project personnel. The Malaysian Chapter now is more firmly established with members representing the full spectrum of industry and the public sector. A series of discussions, both formal and informal, have resulted in the acknowledgement that the problems of inadequate project management practice in the local arena (referred to in the earlier sections) must be addressed, collectively by the body representing practitioners and academics from all wakes of life.
Although various forms of project management have long been practiced in Malaysia, more modern concepts and techniques are not prevalent. In fact, only a small number of organisations have attempted to assimilate project management in their business processes. Meanwhile the majority are unaware of contemporary project management techniques or are unable to adopt them because of a lack of expertise or resources. But this situation needs immediate remedial action considering the size and cost of many on-going and new projects.
Development projects, for example, feature prominently in Malaysia. However, although a number of these mega projects are representative of the largest in the world, there is an overwhelming number of smaller projects involving both the private and public sectors. The success of all these projects will be instrumental in helping the government turn Malaysia into a developed country, in accordance to one of the objectives of Vision 2020. In the drive to achieve this ambitious goal, local organisations will have to use modern project management techniques to address a number of hurdles. For example using resource leveling may alleviate the problem of insufficient technical manpower.These organisations must also learn fast tracking techniques, which can help, reduce the duration of their projects.
Project budgeting methods will allow for more efficient utilization of funds. In Malaysia, there is no shortage of projects in the pipeline. However, what is missing is truly trained professional project managers. For one thing, it is feared that local project managers are still being constrained by traditional project management practices and as such are unable to keep in pace with the changes occurring within future organizations.
For example, although powerful tools are available to assist in the planning and control of projects, there are far too few qualified users. As such, the demand for computer literate project managers is so great that companies are busily poaching these professionals from each other to cope with their own demand. But this approach does little to solve the current shortage of project management skills. This dearth of supply persists, despite the existence of project management tools like Primavera and Artemis, which have evolved to ease the project workload and improve management standards.
To ensure these techniques are applied and used effectively, the number of qualified project professionals must be increased. Although the larger enterprises may demonstrate practices that are reflective of good project management, others require the help of some form of advisory body in overcoming the awareness and training problems. This is where an organisation like PMI can be of help.
How do we overcome this vacuum?
This vacuum can only be filled through training although it can be argued that training is only part of the answer as some of the skills related to good project management are skills that are inborn. That is why, some may contend that to some extent project managers are born and not made.
But even so, training can certainly help individuals in developing their innate characteristics as well as providing them with specific skills. As many companies are still not very familiar with the intricacies of project management, they generally seek external help in determining the possibility of inculcating project management in their various operational processes. Nevertheless, while there are a few consultancy organisations offering specific expertise within the wide arena of project management, very few can counsel these interested organisations on all aspects of project management.
Herein lies the principal rationale for a professional body undertaking to provide or co-ordinate the different services required, in an integrated manner. To do this, it is good if project managers arm themselves with professional qualifications like the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Examination, which was developed by PMI, USA and offered by a number of local institutions and IMPART Consulting Group Sdn Bhd.
In acknowledging the impact that PMI has had in advancing the practice of project management, a group of professionals in Malaysia recently decided to set up a local chapter – PMI, Malaysia Chapter. PMI Malaysia Chapter now firmly established with members representing the full spectrum of industry and the public sector, intends to be a networking forum for local project personnel. A series of discussions, both formal and informal, have resulted in the acknowledgment that the problems of inadequate project management practice in the local arena (referred above) must be addressed, collectively by the body representing practitioners and academics from all walks of life. More specifically, the activities that need to be formalised comprise
Education and Training
Seminars, symposiums, exhibitions and road shows can be directed at overcoming the awareness problem. But the issue of developing a larger number of professional personnel needs a more comprehensive approach, such as the wider acceptance of PMP. Working together with IMPART Consulting Group Sdn Bhd and other local institutes, PMI, Malaysia can utilise a tested approach in education and even develop it further to incorporate local practices, preferences and policies. Eventually, it is planned that the Chapter could even start offering localized postgraduate professional qualifications or research-orientated programmes with the help of other institutes.
Standard Setting
PMI, Malaysia hopes to establish unified local standards for project management practice in this country. Uniform usage of planning and monitoring techniques will ensure a common understanding among all parties with interests in a project. Enforcement of these standards will definitely reduce the number of projects being completed late or exceeding their budgeted costs. The standards will also be applicable in the design of training programmes (conducted by our Education and Training Unit).
Counseling
As an advisory body, PMI, Malaysia can act as an independent body offering its services to any organisation that needs help. Although it will not compete with local and foreign project management consultancy bodies, PMI, Malaysia intends to direct its efforts in examining an organisation's needs and identifying the strategy or preliminary action to be taken. But the detailed work, if required, will be undertaken by one of the consultancy organisations listed in the directory maintained by the PMI, Malaysia. Matters relating to training can be directed to our Education and Training Unit. One area in which this Unit can play a prominent role is in identifying the means of increasing professionalism and adopting common planning and monitoring standards in the various governmental agencies.
V.S.Ravi Elangkoh is the Director of Program, PMI Malaysia Chapter and Training & Development Director of IMPART Consulting Group Sdn Bhd. Some issues in this article were extracted from a working paper written by Prof. Dr. Padma Nathan of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). An evening talk entitled “The Role of Project Management in Malaysia in the Millennium” on 20th April 2000. Further information please contact Mr. Gabriel at 603 – 7242281 of IMPART Consulting Group Sdn Bhd. | 
