The George Washington University School of Business Department

The George Washington University School of Business Department of Management Science Project Management Program Strategic Planning 2005

Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM) • Background of the PM program – Program founded in 1996 – 10 th 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 2

Active Students in the PM Program 3

Global Growth of PMI® Membership 4 Source: Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

Global Growth of PMP® Certification As of August 2005.

Selected Graduate Programs in PM • • • The George Washington University (GW) University of Texas at Dallas Western Carolina University Stevens Institute of Technology De. Vry University of Maryland University of Wisconsin, Platteville Boston University International programs … 6

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 7

Weaknesses • Current standing of PM program in school and department • Minimal number of Ph. D 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 8

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 … 9

Threats • New and increasing competition • Attractive, visible, competitive programs • Distance education reduces inherent location advantage … 10

Strategy Development Focus 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. 11

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. 12

Vision • Innovative PM Curriculum – Most innovative Program – Entertain new ideas (venue)- journals, conferences – Excellent course lineup – More interactive online instruction – High quality teaching Continued… 13

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… 14

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… 15

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… 16

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… 17

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… 18

Vision (Continued) • Well respected program in University – All tenure track faculty – Best paid PM instructors in field • Good management of PM program – Standard CMMI 19

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… 20

Obstacles (Continued) • A competitive education environment – – Competitors! We are expensive High tuition fees Competing programs with more resources Continued… 21

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… 22

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… 23

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… 24

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… 25

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… 26

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… 27

Obstacles (Continued) • Limited time for research, etc. – Heavy teaching load – Teaching too many courses – Teaching load, especially with distance education courses Continued… 28

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 29

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… 30

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… 31

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… 32

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… 33

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… 34

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… 35

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 / professions Continued… 36

Strategies (Continued) • More active promotion marketing – – – – – Continuous promotion of PM as a discipline Refine/update story of PM program Enhance external marketing efforts Celebrate 10 th 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 37

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… 38

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… 39

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… 40

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… 41

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 folders Continued… 42

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… 43

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… 44

Actions (Continued) Spring 2006: Write papers Get Prof. Frank and Prof. Young tenured New department by-laws Summer 2006: Write papers Continued… 45

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… 46

Actions (Continued) Summer 2006: Volunteer faculty for target conferences / journal Get PMI® accreditation 47