Slides

The George Washington UniversitySchool of Business

Department of Management Science

Project Management Program

Strategic Planning

2005

2

Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM)

• Background of the PM program

– Program founded in 1996

– 10th anniversary in 2006

– Distance education mode established in 1998

– MSPM Graduates as of December 2004 426

– Enrollment per year (average) 122

– Active Students (average) 290

3

Active Students in the PM Program

MSPM Enrollments

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

No

. of A

ctiv

e S

tud

ents

Main Campus 112 113 119 129 135 122 138 124 124

Distance 123 132 142 136 162 168 161 164 173

Total 235 245 261 265 297 290 299 288 297

fall 00 spring 01 fall 01 spring 02 fall 02 spring 03 fall 03 spring 04 fall 04

4

Global Growth of PMI® Membership

2,54

5

3,50

3

3,36

3

4,40

6

4,90

5

5,27

2

5,69

9

5,88

3

6,57

0

7,35

6

7,74

4

8,41

3

8,81

7

9,80

3

12,0

53

17,0

59

25,0

04

31,3

33

150,

000

200,

000

43,1

01

54,9

98 70,0

35 86,6

98

99,4

83 120,

981

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

PM

I Mem

ber

s

Source: Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.  As of August 2005.

Global Growth of PMP® Certification

As of August 2005.

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

1984

1987

1990

1993

1996

1999

2002

2005

Year

PM

Ps

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Selected Graduate Programs in PM

• The George Washington University (GW)• University of Texas at Dallas• Western Carolina University• Stevens Institute of Technology• DeVry University• University of Maryland• University of Wisconsin, Platteville• Boston University• International programs

…

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Strengths

• GW name• GW Location• Application area independent• Program in School of Business• Among first graduate programs in PM• Respect of GW PM program by employers,

industry, government, and other universities• PM Student Association and graduates

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Weaknesses

• Current standing of PM program in school and department

• Minimal number of PhD students• Administrative staff turnover• Faculty shortage• 2/3 of PM faculty non tenure accruing (NTA)

– Was this related to uncertainties at the time the program was founded?

It is time to rethink the PM program and its NTA faculty positions

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Opportunities

• Growing interest in PM in organizations• Rapidly growing demand for PM education• Opportunities to:

– Conduct productive research – Publish in main stream / top tier journals– Obtain research funding– Strengthen the program– Enhance program reputation– Increase student enrollment

…

10

Threats

• New and increasing competition• Attractive, visible, competitive programs• Distance education reduces inherent location

advantage

…

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Strategy DevelopmentFocus Question

How to be the leading PM program (in the world) through research, education, and service and thereby increase understanding of the contributions of PM to business education and to society?

Method Source: Prytula, Cimesa, and Umpleby (2004). Improving the Performance of Universities In Transitional Economies.The George Washington University.

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Strategy Deployment Planning

• Vision– What do we want to achieve in the next 1 – 3 years?

• Obstacles– What is blocking us from moving toward our vision?

• Strategies– What innovative practical actions will deal with the

barriers and move us toward our vision?

• Actions– What do we want to accomplish in Fall 2005, Spring

2006, and Summer 2006?

Method Source: Prytula, Cimesa, and Umpleby (2004). Improving the Performance of Universities In Transitional Economies.The George Washington University.

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Vision

• Innovative PM Curriculum– Most innovative Program– Entertain new ideas (venue)- journals, conferences– Excellent course lineup– More interactive online instruction– High quality teaching

Continued…

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Vision (Continued)

• Active involvement / Outreach to organizations– Most appreciated service– NGO partnerships– Most cited program for service to society– Leadership roles in PM organizations– Recognized editorial positions in PM journals

Continued…

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Vision (Continued)

• PM Research Leadership– Continuous research funding– Most funded research– Most research active group– Excellent research output– Most read (cited) articles– Most admired conference presentations– Having a journal

Continued…

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Vision (Continued)

• Program of choice for best students– Most sought after program – Increased student enrollments– Highest GPA applicants– Highest entry requirements– Top notch students

Continued…

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Vision (Continued)

• Most desired PM degree by employers– Most recognized PM program (in Government and

industry)– Industrial partnerships– Most desirable graduates by employers– Most highly respected qualifications of graduates– Program Alumni as CEO of respected organizations

Continued…

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Vision (Continued)

• Most recognized PM program– Highly respected program in academia– Most sought after educational partner– Highest ranked in US News & WR survey– Best recommended program– Highly respected in PM community– Identify PM as a separate discipline in Rankings

Continued…

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Vision (Continued)

• Well respected program in University– All tenure track faculty

– Best paid PM instructors in field

• Good management of PM program– Standard CMMI

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Obstacles

• An Emerging Discipline– Lack of acceptance as separate profession– Lack of recognition as a discipline– PM community’s emphasis on training not education

Continued…

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Obstacles (Continued)

• A competitive education environment– Competitors!– We are expensive– High tuition fees– Competing programs with more resources

Continued…

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Obstacles (Continued)

• Insufficient faculty in Program– Limited faculty lines– All assistants (one associate congratulations! )– No tenured faculty– Lack of encouragement– Not well recognized in the department– Lack of respect in the department– Dependency on outsiders to teach approximately

half our courses– Low salary level in the school of business (recruiting) – People going on sabbatical

Continued…

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Obstacles (Continued)

• Emerging education delivery modes

– Distance education students are not well cared for by university

– Limited computing infrastructure (re: distance education)

– Somewhat removed from distance students

Continued…

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Obstacles (Continued)

• Need continuous telling of a positive story

– Lack of communications with PM communities and societies

– Insufficient promotion of successes (mostly internal)– Failed initiatives (Aiken)– Insufficient outreach to employers

Continued…

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Obstacles (Continued)

• Contradictory (not aligned) reward system– University’s “rewarding A while asking for B”

A = research, B = teaching– Pressure from the administrators regarding top tier

journal publishing– Pressure to recruit/increase student enrollments– Lack of management support– Teaching centric environment– No University recognition for service to society

Continued…

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Obstacles (Continued)

• A challenging group of students– Lack of resources (number of hours / courses)

teaching delivery– Some unhappy graduates– Mixed group of students in their qualifications

Continued…

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Obstacles (Continued)

• Limited generic PM research support– Limited research funding opportunities– Difficulty in obtaining PM data– No GW funding release for research– Lack of funding by outside organizations– No steady stream of research students– Discipline-independence program

Continued…

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Obstacles (Continued)

• Limited time for research, etc.– Heavy teaching load– Teaching too many courses– Teaching load, especially with distance education

courses

Continued…

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Obstacles (Continued)

• Insufficient internal communication (on vision)– We did not have a vision before!– Culture-less (rituals, symbols)– No PM retreat– Lack of strategic planning

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Strategies

• Form PM research forum – Form focus group(s) for funding research requests!– Research that is understood and appreciated by the

department– Improve internal research communication and

information exchange

Continued…

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Strategies (Continued)

• More interactive Program management – Rotate leadership– Enhance esprit-de-corps in program– Regular bi-weekly meetings– Conduct regular meetings and updates to strategic

plan– Documented follow-up action list

Continued…

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Strategies (Continued)

• Continually improve teaching quality

– Improve delivery of program (particularly for distance education)

– Maintain distance education weekly chats– Add discipline specific “specializations” or electives– Request highly visible class projects from NGO’s /

Industry– Seek PMI® recommendations as program for

advanced PM (beyond PMP®)– Benchmark

Continued…

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Strategies (Continued)

• Continually improve teaching quality (Continued)– Review/update curriculum– Standard course material developed jointly– Better group oversight of PM courses– Keep recordings up-to-date– 10-year review

Continued…

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Strategies (Continued)

• Take charge of recruiting– Hire a professional recruiter– Continuous monitoring of competitive market!– Strengthen student recruitment to obtain a very qualified

pool– More selective recruitments!

Continued…

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Strategies (Continued)

• A balanced, clear department reward system– Institute the new department– New clear and transparent bylaws!– Reduce teaching load for each published paper

(Q.C. to be agreed)– Decide on student-number goal (i.e., total number of

students in program)– Use PM program revenue for Research Assistants– Research buy-out

Continued…

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Strategies (Continued)

• A balanced, clear department reward system (Continued)

– Say “no” to some outside overtures (i.e. , be more selective, e.g. China)

– Make research a priority until tenure achieved– Request faculty lines proportional to generated

revenue– Pursue tenure accruing positions– Provide incentives (for research, education)– Reward teaching and service to societies /

professionsContinued…

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Strategies (Continued)

• More active promotion marketing – Continuous promotion of PM as a discipline– Refine/update story of PM program– Enhance external marketing efforts– Celebrate 10th Anniversary very visibly– Better marketing and promotion of the program– Better branding– Better networking– PM newsletter (keep it going)– Strengthen understanding of discipline through

dissemination of knowledge

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Actions

A. Form PM research forum

Fall 2005:

Weekly research presentations of various lengths and origins

Discuss research opportunities with DSOM faculties

Publicize research forum via email to GWSB and doctoral student lists

Make list of PM research funding organizations

Continued…

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Actions (Continued)

Spring 2006:

Establish research advisory group and identify research funding opportunities

Summer 2006:

Setup the e-journal on our website

Write proposals and receive feedback, then submit proposals

Continued…

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Actions (Continued)

B. More interactive program management

Fall 2005:

Use QIPM to prioritize strategies

Plan regular meetings. Schedule and conduct same

Spring 2006:

Get more administrative support

Plan regular meetings. Schedule and conduct same

Continued…

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Actions (Continued)

C. Continually improve teaching quality

Fall 2005:

Develop structured recording schedule

Develop a schedule to review the courses

Recording schedule

Develop recording policy

Prepare common repository of course material (shared drive?)

Continued…

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Actions (Continued)

Spring 2006:

Recording schedule

Prepare a common set for classes being taught in Summer / Fall ’06

Have a policy for course material

Summer 2006:

Record

Review/enhance common set of slides and handouts

(lot of work)

Create course foldersContinued…

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Actions (Continued)

D. Take charge of recruiting

Fall 2005:

Decide program presence at conferences throughout the next 12 to 18 months

Update recruiting strategy (particularly for distance ) Tap into student markets

Continued…

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Actions (Continued)

E. A balanced, clear Department reward system

Fall 2005: Meet with DSOM to discuss department reward system Write papers Write by-laws

Continued…

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Actions (Continued)

Spring 2006:

Write papers

Get Prof. Frank and Prof. Young tenured

New department by-laws

Summer 2006:

Write papers

Continued…

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Actions (Continued)

F. More active promotion and marketing

Fall 2005:

Define marketing plan

Identify target publications and conferences

Spring 2006:

Develop and roll out

Volunteer faculty for target conferences / journal

Continued…

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Actions (Continued)

Summer 2006:

Volunteer faculty for target conferences / journal

Get PMI® accreditation