WBS Work Order
Number
Version #: 1
Author Qianzhu Li
Document
Title:
Project Management Skills and Techniques
Page Number 1 of 4
Review
Date
N/A Active Date 23.05.2011
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is a method of collectively managing, organising and analysing a group of projects in a systematic fashion based upon a series of key principles
(Hubbard 2007). By applying PPM, a project manager can determine the best allocation of resources, time and effort for each project and thus achieve the outcome which best conforms to the company’s stated goal (Sanwal 2007).
As a company which can have anywhere between three to five projects running concurrently,
PPM is absolutely vital in maintaining Permasteelisa’s financial health and reputation for dependability. As stated in the interview with Mr Vatiliotis; being able to maintain a good reputation and thus bring about repeat business is what keeps Permasteelisa viable in today’s marketplace.
Decision makers in the company
Permasteelisa’s parent company is an Italian firm and thus the Australian branch derives many of its standard operating procedures and guidelines from them. The company maintains
75 full time employees in its offices in Sydney and Melbourne and employs a hybrid matrix structure. This company structure affords the project managers a great deal of latitude and authority, and also facilitates the quick communication of ideas, thus allowing the project manager to make decisions after obtaining enough information from other specialists
(Duncan 2008).
Ultimately, Mr Vatiliotis has the final say in which jobs Permasteelisa will tender. However, he makes these decisions after consulting with his marketing manager and construction managers. Should any additional input be required, the managers will then contact the company’s head office for advice.
How are projects screened?
One method of project screening used by Permasteelisa is through the use of established benchmarks. Also used as a method of quality testing, benchmarks established through experience with previous projects allow the company to have a rough idea of the sorts of costs and difficulties associated with a particular style of project.
Since Permasteelisa is a relatively small company employing a small but highly experienced core staff, much of the project screening is done through experience. Factors which are considered are the company’s resources, the capacity of its factories and the reputation of the builder tendering the contract.
WARNING: Google Project controls all documents. Printing this document will result in an uncontrolled copy and will not be updated.
Contact the Administrator if you require a hard copy document.

WBS Work Order
Number
Version #:
Document
Title:
Project Management Skills and Techniques
1 Page Number 2 of 4
Author Qianzhu Li
Review
Date
N/A Active Date 23.05.2011
How are decisions communicated?
An advantage of the hybrid matrix company structure is that its relatively flat hierarchy allows information to be communicated relatively quickly to higher levels of management
(Duncan 2008). This in conjunction with a predetermined set of key factors to be determined, allows the company to make relatively quick and well informed decisions. When communicating with upper management, Mr Vatiliotis informs us that there is a standardised form which is used.
Decisions from the project managers are usually communicated to their subordinates in the form of directions and orders. Since Permasteelisa relies heavily on the experience of its managerial staff in making decisions, their workers are usually not privy to any of the financial details nor are they asked to participate in the decision making process. Despite this, informal gatherings and luncheons/morning teas are held so that upper management can mingle with the staff and ask them of their thoughts on the direction the company is going.
This allows the employees to feel a personal connection with the company and its projects, thus giving them a greater incentive to perform (Liu et al. 2008).
OPM3 is a set of guidelines published by the Project Management Institute. These internationally recognised guidelines are based upon a set of best-practice concepts and procedures and are designed to help project managers more effectively use PPM in managing multiple jobs.
Maturity Model employed by Permasteelisa
Permasteelisa does not employ any officially recognised OPM3 model; rather, the company has its own set of policies, procedures and standardised documents. With over 6000 staff worldwide, Permasteelisa’s standardised operating procedures allows the rapid integration of staff from overseas branches thus saving time and money should expertise need to be called in from overseas.
In order to ascertain the maturity and success of projects through their lifetimes,
Permasteelisa conducts quarterly project reviews. These reviews are aimed as important factors such as causes, finances, resources, progress rates and activities vs. current plans.
Additionally, the company measures project maturity through the use of standardised benchmarks set down by the company’s standardised operating procedures. Because these guidelines are generic and fairly general, they are only really useful for the measuring of absolute things such as a factory’s performance.
WARNING: Google Project controls all documents. Printing this document will result in an uncontrolled copy and will not be updated.
Contact the Administrator if you require a hard copy document.

WBS Work Order
Number
Version #:
Document
Title:
Project Management Skills and Techniques
1 Page Number 3 of 4
Author Qianzhu Li
Review
Date
N/A Active Date 23.05.2011
Essentially, Permasteelisa measures a project’s maturity based upon whether the job was financially successful, whether there were any problems encountered in regards to customer relations and whether the job has potential to generate future business.
Advice to aspiring project managers
One bit of advice given during the interview is that in order for a project manager to be successful he or she must be brought ‘into the fold’ and be made to feel as if the project is theirs. This personal connection to the project encourages the person and gives him/her resolve so that they may strive to achieve for the company (Liu et al. 2008). This advice not only teaches young engineers that it is not only important for them to better acquaint themselves with their jobs, but to also ensure those working under them do the same thing.
Another thing Mr Vatiliotis stressed during the interview was that expectations must be realistic and unambiguous. Only by making expectations for a project as clear as possible does it give people confidence in pursing it, and making these expectations realistic not only prevents morale drop but also helps develop a more accurate timeline. These two traits are vital for engineers as they both factor into the economical and timely completion of a project.
These tie in with Permasteelisa’s long term goal which is the maintenance of its reputation and the securing of ongoing business.
In conclusion, the people employed on a job should feel as if they’re a part of the job from the beginning and be involved in every step of the way.
WARNING: Google Project controls all documents. Printing this document will result in an uncontrolled copy and will not be updated.
Contact the Administrator if you require a hard copy document.

WBS Work Order
Number
Version #:
Document
Title:
Project Management Skills and Techniques
1 Page Number 4 of 4
Author Qianzhu Li
Review
Date
N/A Active Date 23.05.2011
References

Duncan, W., 2008. A Guide To The Project Management Body Of Knowledge, Project
Management Institute, Newtown Square PA.

Hubbard D., 2007, How To Measure Anything: Finding The Value Of Intangibles In
Business, John Wiley and Sons.

Liu J. Y., Chen H. H., Jiang J. J., Klein G., 2008. Task completion competency and project management performance: The influence of control and user contribution,
International Journal of Project Management, vol. 28, pp. 220-227.

Sanwal A., 2007, Optimising Corporate Portfolio Management: Aligning Investment
Proposals With Organisational Strategy, Wiley.
WARNING: Google Project controls all documents. Printing this document will result in an uncontrolled copy and will not be updated.
Contact the Administrator if you require a hard copy document.