Do you find that you don’t have or can’t find talent with the exact skills to deliver your IT Projects? As projects become more complex are you struggling to juggle relationships with an ever-snowballing cast of stakeholders? Are the Projects in your portfolio increasingly outside your core expertise? Are your IT Projects now driving business change to the point that YOU now directly influence the future of your business? Are your budgets and deadlines tighter and yet stakeholder expectations greater than ever? Are you finding that your IT Projects necessitate pulling talent away from already assigned duties?
You need IT Project Management as a Service!
That’s it! That’s the blog.
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(Er, that’s only 116 words. Keep going – Ed)
THE BOOMING PROJECT ECONOMY
None of the above is new. Back in 2020, around one out of six respondents to a Project Management Institute (PMI) survey said lack of talent with the right skillsets was the single most important factor responsible for project failure at their organisation.
I especially remember this report being published; it must have been March 2020 because I read it during the UK’s first national lockdown when, like most people, I suddenly had more time on my hands to really pore over things like a Pulse of the Profession®. I recall feeling comforted that by the thought that “normal” would return and encouraged too, as in the same report, the PMI coined the phrase “The Project Economy” and seemed to be predicting that project workloads were about to get a steroid injection! I couldn’t wait to get back to it!
How little we knew!!!
Since 2020, the Project Economy has boomed and then some!!! Over the past five years, most IT Project portfolios are now progressively leading disruption, innovation, growth and expansion.
“The Project Economy,” declared the PMI, “it’s the next generation of teams that will determine how well organisations perform.”
“This is not the time to stick with the status quo,” the PMI wrote, “Relentless technological evolution, shifting customer demands and global socioeconomic volatility are forcing a revolution in how problems are solved and how work gets done. One way that organisations are getting work done differently is through project teams.”
The PMI’s 2020 Pulse report was subtitled The Future of Teaming: Creative, Collaborative and Agile – that’s PMaaS in a nutshell.
THE SIMULTANEOUS BOOM IN PROJECT CHALLENGES
Over four years later and the booming Project Economy, combined with global skills shortages, increasingly complex projects, tighter deadlines and budgets, and greater expectations surrounding return on investment (ROI) and many of those next generation of IT Project teams are stretched to the max. As one PM told me recently, “We’re like a powder keg and we are a single spark away from exploding.”
On top of persistent talent shortages, organisations are suffering more and more from talent poaching, they are losing talent to an increasingly wide range of diverse opportunities.
Having the right people, with the right skills, at the right time to deliver priority projects was among the top three delivery challenges, according to that 2020 PMI research. Most of my colleagues, clients and fellow project professionals say that it still is. Many have found themselves almost limping along with an insufficient headcount.
PMaaS – THE TEAM OF THE FUTURE
It’s not all bad though. I also remember back in 2020, the PMI did a rare thing – they said something I disagreed with.
I know right!!! Heresy!!!! Wash my mouth out with soap and water!!!!
They wrote, “Not every organisation can simply flood teams with more resources.”
Every organisation can, I remember thinking, because every organisation can access Project Management as a Service (PMaaS).
Project Management as a Service is a flexible, on-demand concept that enables organisations to access expert project management resources whenever required, particularly during high-stress, critical periods, or to help deliver complex and demanding projects.
PMaaS offers a flexibility that allows companies to address their varying project needs without straining internal resources, ensuring that each project benefits from top-tier expertise and support throughout its lifecycle.
PMaaS offers access to highly skilled and seasoned project and portfolio management professionals, for as long as you need them, streamlining the “hiring process” in moments when every second counts, and eliminating the need for hiring managers to start a talent search from scratch.
With Stoneseed’s PMaaS, you have direct access to qualified candidates. PMaaS can provide a single resource, like a Project Manager for a short stint, or can also handle the entire lifecycle of project and portfolio management, from beginning to end. Stoneseed offer a range of Project Management Office Services, including PMO resources via the PMaaS model, Virtual PMO (VPMO), remote access to PMO expertise and support or PMO Assessments & Consultancy.
Whether you require end-to-end PMO support, assistance in maximizing the efficiency of your current PMO, or a combination of solutions in between, Stoneseed’s Portfolio, Programme, and Project Management Office can provide access to our team of P3O qualified professionals. Our qualified staff will offer specialized PMO expertise, helping you align resources and expertise precisely when you need them.
YOUR HR DIRECTOR WILL LOVE PMaaS!
The IT Project Economy moves fast and PMaaS helps you to avoid delays recruiting and onboarding and staffing new projects. Launching a new IT Project can strain an HR department’s resources at the best of times but in these days when IT Project teams are expected to deliver faster, conducting interviews and onboarding expert project managers demands specialised knowledge and consumes significant time and resources that organisations don’t have.
Also, HR often searches for new hires in a vast, unfiltered database containing thousands and thousands of potential project managers or other project professionals. Often without project management expertise, HR must determine the best candidates, which can make the decision process challenging. At Stoneseed, our profiling strategies mean not only that we hire the best candidates, but we also know where to find them! When you allow PMaaS talent into your team, with Stoneseed at least, you know that the spade work has done to ensure the greatest talent available is working across your portfolio.
SCALE UP AT SPEED WHEN BUSY, SMOOTHLY STREAMLINE OPERATIONS WHEN NOT
Whether you require one project manager or a team of project resources, PMaaS can swiftly and effectively support your IT project team and business’ needs, scaling up during times of significant demand and, because project scope and needs can shift rapidly, scaling down when workloads are quieter.
PMaaS gives you access to a wide portfolio of project skills, made available against your demand schedule, from a single Project Manager, Business Analyst, Technical Advisory or PMO expert for a few days, right through to a large team of fully utilised project professionals.
STONESEED’S PMaaS CONNECTS YOU WITH THE RIGHT TALENT
Stoneseed doesn’t just use an up-to-date database of qualified candidates to match you with the ideal individuals for your company, we actually employ them.
They’re Stoneseed people!!
Stoneseed’s team are experienced across multiple technology solutions, sectors and industries, and we work on all types of projects and programmes such as Business Change, Transformation, Infrastructure, Digital and IT Project Delivery.
Before we allocate a resource, we get to know you and your culture, ensuring that you and your PMaaS project talent are a perfect fit.
Cultural Compatibility delivers extra value, taking the time to ensure that your PMaaS provider’s team aligns with your organisation’s culture and values is essential and rewarding.
YOUR FINANCE DIRECTOR WILL LOVE PMaaS
As well as that innovative on-demand resource model allows you to dial up and down IT project resources in sync with your delivery needs, Stoneseed’s PMaaS also has a very straightforward and transparent commercial model.
Stoneseed will work with you to forecast the project resources that you will need and then provide a straightforward rate card, with resources defined by type and skill set, that are called off against your demand schedule. You can flex them up and scale them back down throughout the period, and you are simply billed for the resources consumed at the end of each month.
As discussed earlier, PMaaS enables you to align resources as and when you need them, on a cost effective, full-time or part-time basis – helping you manage project expenses more efficiently and yield a greater ROI.
CONCLUSION
Although traditional project management resourcing still has its advantages, the fast-paced demands of today’s IT-led business environment often needs more. Stoneseed’s clients definitely benefit from the agility, flexibility, and efficiency provided by PMaaS.
Back in 2020, the PMI concluded that “today’s teams are formed around a fundamental understanding: Change happens through projects. Organisations are undergoing a paradigm shift in which projects are no longer adjacent to operations but instead the driving force behind how work is done.”
This is even truer now; the Project Economy is on steroids but so are the challenges that can hinder the ROI that you deserve and need from your IT Projects.
If you’re aiming to stay competitive, control costs, and access top-tier resources and tools, embracing the ‘as a service’ model as part of your resourcing strategy can be not only advantageous but essential.
More about Project Management as a Service from Stoneseed
https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/pulse-indepth-tomorrows-teams-today-11941
https://www.stoneseed.co.uk/project-management-as-a-service/