FEATURED PAPER
By Dr. Harold Kerzner
Senior Executive for Project Management
The International Institute for Learning (IIL)
New York and Maryland, USA
and
Dr. Al Zeitoun, PgMP, PMI Fellow</span
Global Future of Work Executive
The International Institute for Learning (IIL)
New York and Florida, USA
Abstract
The strategic goal of all companies is sustainable and profitable growth which includes improving the firm’s competitive position, achieving efficient utilization of resources, and maximizing the return on investments in product development. Unfortunately, many companies take a rather passive view on how strategic goals can be achieved and believe that doing business the same old way will continue to be successful in the future. As stated by Albert Einstein,
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Companies must understand how project management best practices can elevate their levels of business success and recognize the need for continuous improvements supported by an investment in the discovery of best practices.
Most organizations today realize they are managing their business by projects. Project management is no longer restricted to a few functional domains but is now utilized throughout the organization. Today, project management is viewed as a strategic competency needed for corporate growth rather than a career path. Project management is becoming the vehicle needed to capture, evaluate, and implement the best practices needed for continuous improvements in the firm’s performance.
Unfortunately, many companies have a relatively poor understanding of the steps needed to effectively capture and employ best practices. The intent of this paper is to provide a roadmap for how project management can maximize continuous improvement efforts utilizing best practices and strengthen the value and relevance that project management brings to the organization’s future.
The Importance of Project Management Best Practices
Project management is no longer regarded as merely a set of activities consisting of a set of processes, tools, and techniques necessary to create deliverables. Project management is now regarded as both a project management process and a business process. Therefore, project managers are expected to make business decisions as well as project decisions. Most enterprise project management methodologies today are integrated with business processes, whereas historically they were just used on traditional projects that were reasonably well-defined. The necessity for achieving project management excellence is now readily apparent to almost all businesses.
Achieving project management excellence is a major component of strategic planning activities. Project management and business thinking are no longer separate activities. Project management is not just about processes; it is now aligned with the delivery of business benefits and value as indicated in the 7th edition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOKÒ Guide), the flagship publication of the Project Management Institute and a fundamental resource for effective project management for all industries.
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How to cite this paper: Kerzner, H. and Zeitoun, A. (2021). Capturing Project Management Best Practices; PM World Journal, Vol. X, Issue XII, December. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/pmwj112-Dec2021-Kerzner-Zeitoun-capturing-project-management-best-practices.pdf
About the Authors
Harold Kerzner, Ph.D., MS, M.B.A
Senior Executive Director for Project Management
International Institute of Learning
New York & Florida, USA
Dr. Harold Kerzner is Senior Executive Director for Project Management for the International Institute for Learning (IIL). He has an MS and Ph.D. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Utah State University. He is a prior Air Force Officer and spent several years at Morton-Thiokol in project management. He taught engineering at the University of Illinois and business administration at Utah State University, and for 38 years taught project management at Baldwin-Wallace University. He has published or presented numerous engineering and business papers and has had published more than 60 college textbooks/workbooks on project management, including later editions. Some of his books are (1) Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling; (2) Project Management Metrics, KPIs and Dashboards, (3) Project Management Case Studies, (4) Project Management Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence, (5) PM 2.0: The Future of Project Management, (6) Using the Project Management Maturity Model, and (7) Innovation Project Management.
He is a charter member of the Northeast Ohio PMI Chapter.
Dr. Kerzner has traveled around the world conducting project management lectures for PMI Chapters and companies in Japan, China, Russia, Brazil, Singapore, Korea, South Africa, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Croatia, Mexico, Trinidad, Barbados, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Venezuela, Columbia, United Arab Emirates, France, Italy, England, and Switzerland. He delivered a keynote speech at a PMI Global Congress on the future of project management.
His recognitions include:
- The University of Illinois granted Dr. Kerzner a Distinguished Recent Alumni Award in 1981 for his contributions to the field of project management.
- Utah State University provided Dr. Kerzner with the 1998 Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the field of project management.
- The Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Project Management Institute gives out the Kerzner Award once a year to one project manager in Northeast Ohio that has demonstrated excellence in project management. They also give out a second Kerzner Award for project of the year in Northeast Ohio.
- The Project Management Institute (National Organization) in cooperation with IIL has initiated the Kerzner International Project Manager of the Year Award given to one project manager yearly anywhere in the world that demonstrated excellence in project management.
- The Project Management Institute also gives out four scholarships each year in Dr. Kerzner’s name for graduate studies in project management.
- Baldwin-Wallace University has instituted the Kerzner Distinguished Lecturer Series in project management.
- The Italian Institute of Project Management presented Dr. Kerzner with the 2019 International ISIPM Award for his contributions to the field of project management.
Dr. Harold Kerzner can be contacted at hkerzner@hotmail.com
Dr. Al Zeitoun, PgMP, PMI Fellow
Global Future of Work Executive
International Institute of Learning
New York & Maryland USA
Dr. Al Zeitoun is a Future of Work, business optimization, and operational performance excellence thought leader with global experiences in strategy execution. His experiences encompass leading organizations; delivering their Enterprise Digital and Business Transformation; guiding fitting frameworks implementations; and using his empathy, engineering insights, and collaboration strengths to successfully envision new business models and execute complex missions across diverse cultures globally.
In his position, as the Executive Director for Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Abu Dhabi, UAE, he was responsible for creating the strategy execution framework, achieving transformation benefits, governance excellence, and creating the data analytics discipline necessary for delivering on the $40B complex country energy mission roadmap.
At the McLean, USA HQ of Booz Allen Hamilton, Dr. Zeitoun strategically envisioned and customized digitally enabled EPMO advisory, mapped playbooks, and capability development for clients’ Billions of Dollars strategic initiatives. Furthermore, he led the firm’s Middle East North Africa Portfolio Management and Agile Governance Solutions.
With the International Institute of Learning, Dr. Zeitoun plays a senior leader and global trainer and coach. He was instrumental in driving its global expansions, thought leadership, and operational excellence methodology to sense and shape dynamic ways of working across organizations worldwide. He speaks English, Arabic, and German and enjoys good food, travel, and volunteering. Dr. Al Zeitoun can be contacted at zeitounstrategy@gmail.com
