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Application Week1: The Importance of Project Management Skills

Wilson Boaventura

Master of Information Systems Management, Walden University

NSEI 6511: Information Systems Project Management

Gary L. Griffith

March 10, 2022

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Project Success Examples

Project management is structuring how the project is planned, executed, monitored, and

controlled. Its successful development and execution will depend on how project managers and

stakeholders behave upon the project tasks and objectives.

An effective project manager is crucial to a project’s success. Project managers work with

the project sponsors, team, and the other people involved to achieve project goals. To create a

successful project, a project manager must consider the scope, time, and cost and balance these

three often-competing goals (Schwalbe, 2018).

Below there are three examples of successful projects attributed to good project

management.

Boeing 777 project1

In 1988 the Boeing CEO, Frank Shrontz, was looking for ways to improve and upgrade

the Boeing 767 to meet the rival Airbus competition. Philip Condit, Boeing Executive Vice-

president and later Boeing 777 appointed project owner, contacted their customers to know if

they would be interested in such improvement. The customers, mainly their principal, United

Airlines, rejected the idea. Instead, they were suggested building a new commercial jet. The

Boeing Company in December 1989 announced the 777 jet project, and in 1990 has been

launched. The first jet of the series was delivered in 1995, and in February 2001, there would be

325 units of B-777 flying in the service of the major airline companies in the world, including

U.S Airlines.

1
This case is presented originally by Isaac Cohen, San Jose State University at the 2000 North American Case
Research Association (NACRA) workshop. It has been retrived from Harold Kerzner book, Project Management:
Case Studies. 4th ed., p. 97. 2013.
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Marriott's Bedding Program2

This case study is from Marriott International, a worldwide hotel conglomerate, and was

presented by Katy Breuer, Vice President, Operations Planning, and John Whitwell, Vice

President, Program Management Office.

Breuer and Whitwell (2007) report that the project team developed and implemented a

compelling bedding package for more than 628,000 beds across 10 Marriott lodging brands

worldwide in two years. The new bedding is part of a comprehensive initiative to transform the

look and feel of all Marriott brands to create an exceptional and rewarding experience for all our

guests. According to the rapporteurs, the project was successful despite coming under budget.

However, it was on time and had high compliance. It accomplished the project sponsor goals of

significant guest satisfaction and revenue improvement. Market research has shown that

increases in guest satisfaction translate into customers’ intent to return to Marriott for another

stay. Another benefit of the Bedding Program was a tremendous amount of media exposure for

Marriott, which resulted from innovative media and public relations campaigns promoting the

new bedding. Marriott received several awards for those initiatives.

Succeeding as a small technology vendor for Fortune 500 companies3

This case study follows a small technology company’s actions and behaviors towards

acquiring a Big client. The case study addresses the attitudes of both the vendor and the client in

ensuring success and how the vendor was able to maintain a strong relationship with the client

for long-term financial benefit. Docupace Technologies was formed in 2002. Its founder and

senior managers have been selling and delivering document management technology solutions

for over 20 years. Docupace was created with an open business model, offering on-demand and

2
This case study is from PMI website and is presented by Katy Breuer and John Whitwell.
3
This case study is from PMI website and is presented by Diane Altwies.
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on-site, premise-based applications that leverage standards-based technologies. Docupace landed

a client who, in 2009, was the eighth largest company listed in the Fortune Global 500, with over

$227 billion in revenue. The project goal was to implement a system for automating the back-

office operations of the client within 6 to 9 months, which the client could not do in one year.
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Description of what Project Managers did well

As I mentioned above, how managers and stakeholders behave upon the project will
influence its successful implementation.
Today, project managers capture best practices in project management and business
activities. The reason is simple: The best practices are intellectual property that encourages
companies to perform at higher levels. Best practices lead to added business value, greater
benefits realization, and better benefits management activities. Project management and business
thinking are no longer separate activities (Kerzner, 2014).
In the case of the Boeing 777 project, as reported by Kerzner (2013, p. 98), commercial
aircraft manufacturing was of enormous risks where failure was the norm in the aircraft industry.
Developing a new jetliner required an up-front investment of up to $15 billion (2001 dollars), a
lead time of five to six years from launch to first delivery, and the ability to sustain a negative
cash flow throughout the development phase.
What did Boeing do well to overcome all the adversities inherent to the project?
As reported in Kerzner (2013), Boeing’s decision to construct the 777 was based on a
market assessment that estimated the company’s future. Their market analysts forecasted a
>100% increase in the passenger miles traveled worldwide during fourteen years. All employees
in the 777 program, such as managers, engineers, assembly-line workers, and others— were
expected to attend a special orientation session devoted to the themes of teamwork and quality
control. The company initiated a change of culture project and the establishment of new
corporate values at work such as teamwork, collaboration and trust, and effective
communication.
Kerzner claims that successful implementation of project management creates an
organizational culture that is changeable due to the demands of each project that quickly change
its dynamic environment. Excellent companies have realized that competitive success can be
achieved only if the organization has achieved a culture that promotes the necessary behavior
(2013, p. 335, 338).
In Marriott’s case, there was a great deal of variation in bedding specifications primarily
because of the different ages of their hotels. To aid in this process, the project management office
(PMO) developed a sophisticated Excel spreadsheet model that asked individual hotels simple
questions and converted the answers into a database that helped the procurement team create a
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preliminary order and cost estimate for each hotel. This information also aided the procurement
team in planning manufacturing and distribution needs (Breuer & Whitwell 2007). The project
gained support from external stakeholders, and most importantly, it got the endorsement of the
owners and the franchisees. In this regard, the project got the necessary financial investment. An
essential outcome of the bedding program was the expansion of the positive perception of the
PMO. The Marriott organization, especially at the senior management level, became more aware
of the critical contributions of the project management role and processes in managing projects
effectively. Moreover, Breuer & Whitwell (2007) affirm that using Project Management
Techniques such as Communication, Documentation, and Project Management, Unified
Alignment from Senior Management was vital for the project’s success.
Docupace created a specific team to deal with the project of the Fortune Global 500
client. The development team utilized the Tuckman model of the “developmental sequence in
small groups” approach. Docupace did use a visual tool that allowed the client to see the
mapping of the various workflow tasks. Internally, Docupace made some changes and other
leveraged technologies to work together more efficiently. In general, Docupace followed these
three simple rules: Listen to the client and understand their needs. The technology team and its
management were willing to go the extra mile. Used owner and sales (relationship manager) to
negotiate any “touchy” situations. Another key to success was putting together and discussing
lessons learned.
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Analysis of personal skills versus Project Managers

Although I don't have project management skills and experience, my knowledge of the
subject tells me that proper project management requires a set of specific qualities from the
manager: leadership, organization, knowing the team and the business, agility in writing, and
speaking. For example, as a team leader, the person needs to be an agent of change and
engagement and inspire his team to go along with him. The manager needs to know the project
management methodologies. Project management requires knowledge of different project
management methodologies such as Waterfall, Agile, and PMI methods and deciding which way
is best for various projects.
The Waterfall and the PMI methods consist of many upfront planning before starting any
value creation work. Agile methodology is more focused on delivering results. After all this, You
will continually use customer feedback to improve the resulting product or service.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, I would say that in Project Management, companies may adopt several
processes to achieve successful project management. Boeing used a culture-changing approach
by empowering their personnel and the leadership and management style – where the high
management was thoroughly involved in the project. In contrast, Marriott used the Project
Management Office (PMO) to carry out their project management. The Docupace process
included the client’s involvement in developing the system and using diagrams to follow the
entire process.
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References

Kerzner, Harold. Project Management Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence, John Wiley

& Sons, Incorporated, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central,

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/waldenu/detail.action?docID=1598007.

Schwalbe, K. (2018). Information Technology Project Management (9th Edition). Cengage

Learning US. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781337515856.

Kerzner, Harold, and Harold R. Kerzner. Project Management: Case Studies, John Wiley &

Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central,

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/waldenu/detail.action?docID=1108715.

Breuer, K. & Whitwell, J. (2007). Marriott's Bedding Program: Finalist for PMI's 2007 Project of

the Year. PMI Global Congress—North America. Retrieved from

https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/marriotts-bedding-program-project-success-

outcomes-7193.

Altwies, D. (2010). Succeeding as a small technology vendor for Fortune 500 companies. Paper

presented at PMI® Global Congress 2010—North America, Washington, DC. Newtown

Square, PA: Project Management Institute. Retrieved from

https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/develop-long-relationships-tuckman-model-5665.