Page 107 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

I needn't have worried. The firm we hired had short notice capacity, and not because they weren't
any good but because they were GREAT. They turned up with their "A-game", the vans were
spotlessly clean, the staff were polite and well turned out and nothing was too much trouble. They
dismantled furniture at one end and reassembled it perfectly at the other, placing it exactly where
we wanted it to go. The breakables were packaged and transported with such care that it was as if
they were the removal guys' own. Bulky furniture seemed to almost magically load itself, in fact, in
the time that it took me to make the lads a brew, they had emptied our living room and secured its
contents safely in their van.

As they left, they wished us good luck in our new home and you really felt that they meant it!

The point is, that any of these services could have been done by ourselves. I deal with contracts on a
daily basis, I have years of sales experience so 'finding buyers' is second nature and I have two
strapping young lads who could have helped me to load a hired van. I could have done it all,
probably, maybe, but I could not have done it all quite so well or quite as quick.
IT Project Management also benefits from the expert touch and you can get this with resources and
talent from the Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) market.

The list of what you want from an estate agent, solicitor or removals firm is pretty much the same as
a list of what you'd expect from buying in services to bolster your IT Project Management capability.
1) Skills and experience

Using PMaaS, you can access talent with the specialist knowledge that you need for a particular
project. I know how to lift a settee onto a van, but the removal guys did in such a way that our whole
living room seemed to take up no space at all in their van! And all while I put the kettle on. Many IT
projects fail entirely or at least fail to realise full potential due to a lack of experience or skills within
the team. It makes sense that a Project Manager, who is idly waiting for a project to manage, should
be given the next one that comes along, they are earning a salary, after all. But when your PM, for
instance, lacks key skills needed for a particular project, it starts to make less sense and can soon
turn into an unmitigated disaster!
2) A sense of urgency and tenacity

Removals firms and hired in Project Managers and resources have something in common. They can’t
afford a day when they are less productive, an off day is NOT an option. As I once wrote on CIO.com.
"They want to get in, get the gold and get out...and move onto the next project”. That makes
commercial sense for you and for them – but they don’t cut corners, because their next job depends
on the reference that you give them.
3) Efficiency (cost-effectiveness & productivity)

I suspect that if we HAD decided to move ourselves, we'd either still be doing it or by now I'd be
gluing bits of furniture back together. I certainly would have spent the first-night rebuilding beds.
Instead, on the first night, we found the local fish and chip shop and sat at our dining room table
eating them like we'd lived there forever. Similarly, with expertise bought in via PMaaS, not only do
you just pay for what you use, you get to tap into expertise and experience when you need it. And
when you no longer need it – it isn't sitting on the bench burning a hole in your payroll. Larger scale
or more complex projects require more experienced Project Managers, and they come cheap.
Having such pricey talent on your books but idle (between projects) can significantly impact on the