The development and delivery of an industry led project management professional development programme: A case study in project management education and success management

Forever a profession in the making? The intermediate status of project managers in Germany

Research typically finds that several new professions are barely institutionalized. Labels such as ‘semi-profession’, ‘emerging profession’, or ‘commercialized profession’ have been developed to capture this notion of professions in the making. Yet there is limited understanding of the factors contributing to such an intermediate status. Employing a relational perspective on professions, we study the case of project managers in Germany to shed light on the underlying reasons for this limited institutionalization. We show how project managers in Germany face a particular field of relations populated by various stakeholders, including neighboring occupations embedded in existing institutional structures, which helps explain their sustained status as a profession in the making. Our study contributes to the literature by revealing the reasons for this limited institutionalization, and by offering a positive mapping of professions in the making, as opposed to seeing them either as failed professionalization projects or merely as a stage in the process toward full professionalization.

Multi-Level Efficacy Evidence of a Combined Interprofessional Collaboration and Project Management Training Program for Healthcare Project Teams

Project work is essential for the improvement of healthcare organizations; yet, project management and collaboration in the project context are not taught to healthcare professionals. Three half-day training workshops integrating project management and collaboration were designed and delivered to 14 interprofessional healthcare project teams. Multivariate measures were taken over the course of 36 weeks. Individual, team, and project-level results showed high satisfaction and perceptions of utility; improved self-efficacy for project-specific task work and teamwork; increased goal clarity and coordination; and a significant impact on the functional performance of projects. This study provides initial benchmark measures regarding the pertinence of project management and interprofessional collaboration training for healthcare project teams.

Project Management Trilogy Challenges in Africa—Where to from Here?

While projects are now recognized as a means to achieve competitive advantage in Africa, project management still remains a Cinderella field. On average, 8 out of 10 project managers are accidental or have an inadequate project management (PM) knowledge base; PM training is falling short of some fundamental knowledge areas; and organizations which are supposed to be centered on programs and portfolios are, in practice, project-oriented organizations by default. These challenges are referred to in this paper as “PM trilogy challenges.” Results of five research projects are used in this paper to identify and discuss these issues. Finally, recommendations are made.