2015 Pulse of the Profession

Capturing the Value of Project Management
As PMI looks at the state of project, program and portfolio management in 2015, we see that a number of global dynamics are forcing organizations to take a more critical look at how they operate. Sluggish economic growth continues, putting additional emphasis on how well organizations execute their strategic initiatives. This, in turn, requires more rigorous project, program, and portfolio management. Yet over the past few years, many of our Pulse of the Profession® findings about how well organizations are delivering on their strategic initiatives have remained largely unchanged. That leads us to ask ´why,´ but also suggests it´s time for organizations to revisit the fundamentals of project management and, essentially, go back to the basics of project management.

We see opportunity for greater attention to a number of foundational practices, which our 2015 Pulse research shows high performers are more likely to focus on compared to their lower-performing counterparts, including:

• Greater knowledge transfer effectiveness: The number of organizations that have high effectiveness has increased by 20 per cent since last year.
• More rigorous risk management: This year, 83 per cent of high performers report frequent use of risk management practices, compared to only 49 per cent of low performers.
• More frequent use of agile/incremental/iterative practices in project management: The use of these practices continues to rise, with 38 per cent of organizations reporting frequent use, up 8 percentage points since 2013.

• Higher benefits realization maturity: Though only one in five organizations reports having a high level of benefits realization maturity, we´ve seen an increase of 63 per cent compared to the level in 2013.

Throughout this report, readers will discover what high-performing organizations do differently-and how they are creating competitive advantage by embedding a project management mindset in their organisation´s culture.

Key Findings: A Return to Basics
High-performing organizations-organisations that achieve 80 per cent or more of projects on time, on budget and meeting original goals-are demonstrating that adhering to proven project, program, and portfolio management practices reduces risks, cuts costs, and improves success rates of projects and programs. This focus emphasises the need for all organizations to get back to basics: By embedding a project management mindset in their culture, they will be better able to create a sustainable competitive advantage.

High-performing organizations drive project management and deploy related competencies with a goal of maximizing organizational value. Our Pulse study shows that projects within these organizations meet original goals and business intent two-and-a-half times more often than those in low-performing organizations (90 per cent vs. 36 per cent). High-performing organizations also waste about 13 times less money than low performers. But we have not seen an increase in the number of high-performing organizations since 2012. This number remains steady at 12 per cent. What helps an organization build and sustain its growth capacity and become a high performer? Our Pulse research shows a number of factors contribute to this success, including a focus on what we consider the basics:

• Fully understanding the value of project management
• Having actively engaged executive sponsors
• Aligning projects to strategy
• Developing and maintaining project management talent
• Establishing a well-aligned and effective PMO (project management office)
• Using standardised project management practices throughout the organization.

Key Actions: Focus on Fundamentals
The 2015 Pulse findings detail and demonstrate a clear path forward through a focus on the following fundamentals:
Culture: High-performing organizations fully understand the value of project management and are creating a project management mindset.
Talent: High-performing organizations are significantly more likely to focus on talent management, establishing ongoing training, and formal, effective knowledge transfer. This is especially important in project management, where technical skills are enhanced by the leadership and strategic and business management capabilities that are nurtured through experience.
Process: High-performing organizations support project, program, and portfolio management though standardized practices and by aligning projects and programs to the organization´s strategy.