The Clarkson Alliance, a leading construction consultancy delivering business benefits to the health and leisure, education and heritage sectors, today announced it has been awarded corporate accreditation status by the Association for Project Management (APM) for its Project Manager Professional Development Programme. The Clarkson Alliance is proud to be the first SME in the construction industry to receive this honour.

The APM corporate accreditation programme is a stringent assessment of an organisation’s professional development scheme, ensuring that it can attract and retain the cream of the country’s project management talent. Customers and stakeholders of corporate accredited companies are assured of the highest levels of quality and professionalism and an ongoing commitment to developing individuals.

Chief Executive of APM, Andrew Bragg said “The Association for Project Management is proud to award corporate accreditation to The Clarkson Alliance. Within APM’s professional community, organisations of every type have an important role to play in raising the bar of project professionalism and as an SME, The Clarkson Alliance typifies good practice in supporting APM’s 5 Dimensions of Professionalism.”

“It is especially gratifying to be recognised by the leading professional organisation in project management for our achievements in the personal and professional development of our staff,” said Graham Clarkson, Managing Director of The Clarkson Alliance. “As a small organisation this endorsement means we are truly able to set the standard for excellence and stand out in a competitive environment. We have always had a strong focus on coaching and developing our people and by implementing the APM’s structured competency framework, we can offer the best levels of service and professionalism in the industry.”

Since it was founded in 2003, The Clarkson Alliance has always recognised that users of project management services in the construction sector need reliable and professional expertise to mitigate risks and deliver projects on time and within budget. The company has delivered many successful projects for clients such as Oxford City Council and Holmes Place health clubs. Today’s announcement underscores its continuing commitment to delivering outstanding service to its customers whilst raising the profile and value of the role of project management.

About the Association for Project Management

Founded in 1972, the Association for Project Management has been at the forefront of the development of project, programme and portfolio management for 40 years.

The APM is committed to developing and promoting project and programme management through its five dimensions of professionalism.

The Association is a registered charity with over 19,000 individual and 500 corporate members making it the largest professional body of its kind in Europe.  As part of its strategy to raise awareness and standards in the profession it is currently in the process of applying for a Royal Charter.

About The Clarkson Alliance

The Clarkson Alliance are consultant project managers delivering capital investment projects which provide business benefits to their customers in the health and leisure, education and heritage sectors. They provide a collaborative project management service which maximises opportunities and minimises risks to deliver new and improved facilities on time and within budget, creating a shared value amongst project stakeholders.

For more information on The Clarkson Alliance, visit http://theclarksonalliance.com

Contact:

Andrea Barnard

Tel: 07768 178356

E-mail: andrea@theclarksonalliance.com

Joel Carboni, GPM’s President commented “We are thrilled to welcome Avanza as our newest training partner. Their strong reputation as a consulting and coaching organization coupled with their corporate vision for environmental stewardship brings tremendous value to our organization and allows us further promote sustainable project management practices throughout the world.”

With the partnership, GPM has expanded their course offerings from the US and Canada to the UK, Republic of Ireland, Australia, and now Mexico and Spain.

Martha L. González, Avanza’s Director of Continuing Education, commented “We are very excited to share GPM’s integral approach of Project Management. We had been looking for a way to incorporate sustainability into our operations and, thanks to this partnership; we will be able to accomplish this personal and professional goal. GPM courses will give our clients the opportunity to develop projects in the greenest possible way and, therefore, take care of our biggest, most important stakeholder, the Earth.” Avanza will also serve as GPM’s Spanish Language provider in the US and Canada.

About Avanza
Avanza Project and Business Coaching is a Mexican company, focused on project management and business coaching, training, and consulting. Our courses are based on PMI’s Project Management methodology and reinforced with human development components. Besides helping our clients become better project managers, we work to enhance their leadership, communication, and team working skills. We also have representatives in Spain and are certified by the PMI as R.E.P.

To learn more about Avanza, visit www.avanzaproyectos.com

About GPM
GPM Ltd. is an organization dedicated to the advancement of the practical application of sustainable project management practices to decouple environmental degradation and economic growth.  Their mission is to evolve the discipline of project management to enable organizations to improve the construct and delivery goods and services without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

GPM training courses which center on EnVex, an andragogy that incorporates classical instruction on core project management methodologies and principles with an iterative hands-on approach.

To learn more visit www.greenprojectmanagment.org

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Time management is the act of planning, controlling and finally executing specific activities, especially to increase efficiency or productivity. It applies to a wide usage area starting from personal time organization and up to business related time management. For the best results and the biggest efficiency dedicated time management software should be used.

A time management system is a combination of processes, tools, techniques, and methods. There are many books and case studies focusing on these notions.

Personal Time Management

The notion of time management was initially used in business related area but in time the term started to also be used for personal activities. People started to be interested on it when they felt the need to be more organized and more productive. It all happens when you start working all day long and at the end you wonder why you haven’t accomplished much.

Time management methodologies consist of a series of habits and good practices which help you to get more organized. The most used and well known time management methodologies are GTD and ZTD. Getting Things Done (GTD) was created by David Allen and it is based on the following principles:

• do not use your memory to collect your ideas, tasks and arrangements
• do not delay decisions on what to do next
• if you can complete a certain task in less than 2 minutes, do it now

Zen To Done (ZTD) is a methodology based on some GTD principles, but with the focus on deciding which reaction must be taken for an action as soon as possible, and never letting gather up.

However time management skills are especially important for small business people, who often find themselves performing many different jobs during the day.

Project Time Management

Time management is an essential subset for project management and it describes the processes required to ensure timely completion of the project. More exactly according to PMBOK it consists of five main phases:

• activity definition – establish the activities necessary to produce the deliverables of the project
• activity sequencing – establish the dependencies between these activities
• activity duration estimating – estimate the effort of work necessary to complete the tasks
• schedule development – create the project schedule based on the above estimates and on the necessary resources
• schedule control – control the changes made to the project schedule

The most important phase is project planning when the project plan is established. A well defined project plan can significantly contribute to the success of the project. Once established the project plan is used to create the project schedule. All it remains now is for the schedule to be respected as much as possible over time and the deadlines to be met.

Project time management is often confused with the more general term project management. This is a big misconception since project management is much more that just time management. I covers many other areas like scope management, cost management, resource management, quality management, risk management and the list continues.

Time management software is ideal to have your personal life organized. However when it comes to managing projects a better choice is to use a dedicated project management software.

Many recruiters state that professionals that received the PMP certification were benefited from this podcast in that they were more likely to receive larger salaries than those that did not get certified.

PMP Prep Podcasts the next step on your road to success awaits now

Not sure where how to go about get certified in Project Management? No problem, Paul Naybour has the road map to your future ready. One visit to their blog Parellel Project Training in step one. Paul and Adrain have a simple motto that reads, We’re with you all the way. ParallelProjects blog has everything you need to know to get you started on your PMP certification. But that’s not the end of it, because there are many courses on Podcast available to fit your needs on the way to becoming a certified PMP.

Options for learners include: distance learning, corporate training, and study groups. Or sign up today for your free Prep Podcast PMBok chapter 1 – Introduction to project Management, it’s all happening now.

What are the benefits of Project Management training?

To Understand better what a PMP Prep Podcast involves, the ideals of Paul Naybour and Adrain Taggart are clear:

The training for Project Management focuses on the change. Change being a normal cycle of all things does not always come easy. Change can take on varies forms, such as physical likened to a building or material form, virtual such as integrating a new IT system into the company or organisational changes in how the office is run. Good project management can help a company because it gives takes ordered steps to managet these changes.

Podcasts are designed to help qualifying professionals for the PMI examination. Why learn the hard way to becoming a Project Management Professional (PMP) when Paul Naybour, and Adrain Taggart can show you the way? Both men are experienced Project Management trainers and Adrien has had excellent feedback on his part for being an expert in PMP training.

Tell me more
• The first Podcast is available FREE now on Parellel Project Training
• PMP Prep Podcasts are recorded by both Adrian and Paul and run 20-35 minute lengths per lesson
• 15 Podcasts covering the entire PMBok Guide – it was tough to fit it all in, but they did!
• Learn at your own pace
• Be taught by experienced trainers in the field of Project Management
• Become a leader in your field
• Earn more money, be more marketable with as a PMP.
• Step by step guidance towards applying for the PMI exam
• Get Chapter 1 for free – then decide if you want to continue

For more information and the free Chapter 1 on Project Management, click Parallel Project Training

During an interview at the APM Project Management Conference in October David describes the role of the Major Projects Authority, a body set up by the Government to monitor major projects. David said: “The MPA will ensure interventions are made where necessary. If things do go wrong they are not allowed to drift. Decisions are taken quickly and either something is stopped or it is supported so it becomes successful.”

Watch the full interview where David states: ”The Government really is serious about project management.”

He adds: “It isn’t project management for the sake of it. It’s project management for delivering good value for money for every citizen of this country.”

The theme for this year’s APM Conference has been announced as “The Art of the Possible”, which takes place on Wednesday 27th June 2012 in London. Be an early bird and book by 31st March to save up to £178.

Planning a project is vital to its success but some restraint is necessary during the planning stage. If the planning phase takes on a life of its own it can waste valuable project resources.

One of the essential parts of a well-run project is the project plan which will include not only the schedule but various other plans such as a communication plan, risk plan, quality plan. A good plan is fundamental to the success of any project and every project manager will spend a substantial proportion of their time first of all putting the plan together. This will include breaking the work down into manageable tasks that can be monitored easily, assigning resources, obtaining estimates, setting milestones and more. Once the project is underway a large part of a project manager’s time will be spent monitoring and controlling each project task through reference to the schedule and adapting it where necessary to fit a clearer understanding of the tasks as the project progresses.

So if you know that a considerable amount of effort will go into re-working the plan as the project develops, what is a reasonable amount of time to spend putting in place the initial plan? That question is impossible to give just one answer to because all projects are different. Very complex projects will, obviously, need a considerable amount of planning up front but it is important to recognise when too much time spent on planning is a waste of valuable resources and that it might be more important for the project to get started and enable stakeholders to see some progress.

If you find yourself in the situation where planning meetings have become a regular part of your weekly activities and at each meeting something new is discussed about the plan so that it needs to be updates then your project is not making real progress.

So instead of trying to achieve the impossible and create a perfect plan at the start of a project, simply plan in revision points at which you can review the plan and make modifications without impacting too much on the progress of the tasks. This will give those working on the project tasks some breathing space at regular intervals to take stock of progress and re-group resources. It is also a good opportunity to re-evaluate the business objectives – particularly on long projects where the initial aims can change over a period of time.

The amount of time spent planning any project should not take up a disproportionate amount of time compared with the estimated time required to complete the project. Just as a project only needs a few stakeholders so the planning phase should be restricted to just a few individuals – if too many people become involved it will become difficult to reach agreement. It is also important to ensure that discussions do not continue to go over old ground – once a decision has been made stick to it and don’t allow individuals to raise issues of contention again and again once they have been resolved.

So next time you find yourself in the position where you are struggling to get the planning phase of a project finalised just take the existing plan, add a review point date to it and get started. Whilst project management methodologies such as APM or PMP recognise the importance of planning documentation as a reference for managing a project it is sometimes more effective to place the emphasis on activities that will produce a tangible deliverable.

With that in mind, here are 20 ways to tell if your company is spending too much time planning the project, and not enough time delivering it. (Warning: A few of these may be slightly over the top — at least I hope they are!)

1. The business stakeholders are asking “Is the software done yet?” and you’re still planning.
2. The requested delivery date for the software passes and you’re still planning.
3. You spend more time in planning meetings than you do with your family.
4. Every time you go to a planning meeting, you meet new people.
5. You have to schedule meetings to plan the planning meetings.
6. You call meetings but no one shows up any more.
7. You’ve revised the planning documents at least 5 times.
8. The planning documents are so complex you create a taxonomy to organize them
9. The planning document set is so large you can’t use email to distribute it.
10. Everyone answers “I’ll get back to you.” to information requests yet no one ever does.
11. Writing the code is expected to take 4 weeks yet the planning has dragged on for 6.
12. People assigned to work on the project are being re-assigned.
13. Writing your risk management plan has become a project in itself.
14. The name of the project has changed at least twice.
15. Your email distribution list is so long you need Constant Contact to manage it.
16. Every time you print your planning documents the printer runs out of toner.
17. The same issues, discussions and debates occur over and over again.
18. The development team spends more time playing video games than writing code.
19. The business, tired of waiting, shows you prototype software they are developing on their own.
20. You’ve been planning for so long that the original project goals are no longer valid.

I’m fairly sure you’ve witnessed at least one of these patterns in at least one of your projects. The cure? Stop. Just stop. Write some software. Test it. Deliver it. Plan a little more — caution, I said a little. That’s how agile teams do it.

Have anything to add to the list?

This first podcast covers an overview of the PMP certification and it’s linkage with the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. In detail the topics covered are:

1. What is the Project Management Institute?
2. What is PMP credential?
3. What is the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge and how it related to the project management body of knowledge
4. What is the process to apply for the exam?
5. Hints and tip to help you prepare the PMP exam.

This is first of a series of Podcasts to be published over the next few weeks covering the entire PMBok^® Guide.  Parallel Project Training is a PMI Recognized Education Provider and provide PMP Certification training in London. For more information on PMP certification visit www.parallelprojecttraining.com.

PMP, PMI, PMBOK^® Guide, are registered trademarks of Project Management Insitute, Inc.

Projects and programmes, by their very nature, deliver that which has yet to be proven possible – a new and innovative design, an upgraded or more reliable product or service, a more efficient way of working, a programme of transformational change, or a record breaking building.

Each project has different stakeholders, expectations, issues, risks, opportunities, challenges and outputs making achievement a triumph in the art of the possible.

With stakeholder and public expectations growing alongside the complexity of new undertakings, and the tolerance of failure ever-falling, the expectation that the profession can deliver what was previously considered impossible increases with every new groundbreaking project achievement.

The conference, which will again be chaired by Professor Darren Dalcher (pictured right) of the National Centre for Project Management, will explore the nature and challenges of innovation and the new project management skills, techniques and approaches required to respond effectively to this new world.

Moving to a new venue and date, the conference  will offer an unprecedented opportunity to hear the story of the London 2012 Olympic programme direct from the team that delivered it, just before the Games open in July. APM’s privileged position as an ODA Learning Legacy Partner means the conference programme offers a unique opportunity to engage with the experience and learn the lessons from the Olympic Programme from those at the heart of delivering the Olympic programme. 

The first keynote speaker for the conference has been confirmed as Dr Ed Hoffman (pictured left), Director of the NASA Academy. One of the most popular and inspiring speakers the conference has ever had, Ed returns to the conference platform for the first time since 2009.

The Conference  promises to be one of the highlights in a momentous year for the profession which also marks the APM’s 40th Anniversary, the launch of the APM Body of Knowledge 6th edition, Higher Apprenticeships and the launch of APMs own ambitious vision – a world in which all projects succeed.

The APM Project Management Conference has, for the last 6 years, set the agenda for the project management profession with keynote speakers including; Julian Foster from BAA Heathrow Airport, Sarah Craig from O₂ , Bill Condon from Sellafield, and Michel Thiry, Managing Partner Valense Ltd.

If you would like to enquire about exhibitor space please contact either Vicki Orbell on 01908 398380 or Kay Beaver on 01908 398375. For corporate or group bookings, please contact the APM business development team on 01844 271 682. Alternatively please contact either Vicki Orbell on 01908 398380 or Kay Beaver on 01908 398375.