Do you want to be PMI-PBA?

Business Analysis of projects and programs is very essential for organizations as it helps organizations to implement their desired changes and achieve strategic objectives. Business Analysts  work effectively with various stakeholders to get their business requirements defined, the project objectives are well defined and eventually drive the successful business outcomes that contribute to the strategic goals of the organization.

This has made the Business Analysis a topic of increasing importance in project management. Worldwide the organizations have started to acknowledge the importance of and need for project management professionals increasingly adopting BA techniques that help in uncovering business needs, managing requirements well and eventually creating all very important effective solutions to business problems.

Project Management Institute (PMI) has identify this need for certification in business analysis and hence launched the certification PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA). PMI-PBA is a globally recognized business analysis certification.

The eligibility criterion of PMI-PBA falls under two types:
1. Experience - With a bachelor's degree or a global equivalent, you need to have an experience of 3 years in business analysis. This further needs having 4500 hours of experience in 3 years duration doing activities associated with the business analysis.
2. Professional Development Units (PDUs) - You need 35 PDUs.

The PMI-PBA certification exam is of 4 hours duration and has 200 questions.

So get ready to embark on this professional certification.

Six D Framework - A powerful development and assessment tool for Business Case Report Writing

Six D Framework is considered to be one of the most powerful and most effective tool for the development and assessment of new business models; developing and executing strategic initiatives. It also helps in development of new projects for growth and performance improvement.

Due to the lack of definition on how to write the content and structure the business case report, the comparisons between different proposals become difficult. Also there are no rules how the documentation is to be done and preserved, the knowledge and experience gained during the business case writing is mostly lost.


6D Framework is designed to overcome the above mentioned problems.


This framework process has following steps:

1. Identify the action situation and objectives
2. Identify alternatives
3. Analyze the data and develop models and metrics for each alternative
4. Review metrics and select the best option
5. Develop implementation and operational plans
6. Develop performance checklist to measure value delivered

6D Framework helps in delivering an effective and winning business case report which usually has following information:

• Introduction
• Scenario Analysis
• Business Results
• Scenario Selection
• Implementation
• Recommendation

Does Business Case Writing involve project management concepts?

Yes. It does!

In fact Business Case writing is a mini-project in it's own right as it involves almost all the facets of project execution and  management aspects.

Proposal building, Business Case writing and eventual Project Execution are inter-related to each other. At times Proposals received from different sources (internal/external both) act as input to the business case writing. One of the best proposals makes an entry into the Business Case's recommended option. Further this proposed solution approach/option is then taken for execution.

While the business case is presented in a well structured written document, but it may also sometimes come in the form of a short presentation or even a verbal argument. However, Critical projects' selection is always done through an effective business case writing process.

Business Case is not just a guiding tool for the senior management to decide on a particular project with a recommended solution approach but also it provides for the framework for the selected project's execution. For this very reason, business case writing is very important. Business case writing goes through the proper project management process. Like formal project management, business case takes into consideration effective stakeholder engagement/management, estimation, costing, risk assessment, resources' assessment etc. Effective business case writing relies on Organizational, financial, managerial, technical, human resource, contractual and procurement skills.

A successful business case is expected to meet the organization's strategic, economic, business, financial and feasibility criteria.Like project execution, business case writing also makes use of quality gates as it is also authorized by the appropriate body at each phase of its development. The project is then executed against the success parameters as agreed in and made part of the business case. Business case is referred throughout the project life cycle and not just during the initial project selection phase. During the project execution, senior management always compare the project's current status against the agreed criteria in business case. In case the project is found to be deviating from the agreed terms specified in Business Case, the project may be scrapped or terminated. In short the business case acts as the baseline document for the project execution and hence has to be carefully articulated and written.

Lines of Code or Function Points Analysis - Which one offers best Software Estimation?

There are many software estimation methods available in the industry such as Lines of Code (LOC), Function Point Analysis (FPA), WBS method, Use Case Analysis based, Story points , Judgmental etc. But LOC  and FPA based software estimations are the most widely used methods. But then which one is better and effective - LOC or FPA. 

Unanimous answer would be off-course Function Point Analysis (FPA). Like majority of the people my money would also be on FPA.

Most importantly FPA is promoted and encouraged by INTERNATIONAL FUNCTION POINT USERS GROUP (IFPUG). This non-profit organization has over 1200 member companies in more than 30 countries from across industry verticals. This organization is committed to develop consistent and accurate counting guidelines.

This has made FPA universally accepted standard for software estimation. Here LOC has no such support and hence it is not universally accepted standard method. 

LOC is dependent programming languages, tools, methodologies and also the implementing organizations. Here FPA scores immensely as it is independent of programming languages, tools, methodologies and even the performing organizations. and hence FPA acts as a uniform  and widely accepted standard for software estimation.

It becomes very difficult to estimate the number of lines of code needed to develop a system from information that is available in analysis and design phase. This creates dependency of LOC on coding to get estimate. Now coding is part of the implementation phase which is a later stage in software development life cycle. Hence LOC can not provide estimates in early phases of the SDLC. FPA has upperhand in this department as well. Using FPA you can develop estimate in very phases of SDLC i.e. requirement analysis and design phase.

So in nutshell, following are few of the reasons due to which FPA scores over LOC:

• FPA measures software development and maintenance independently of technology used for implementation
• FPA offers for a consistent measure among various projects and organizations
• Using FPA method, you can start developing the software estimate right from requirements gathering and analysis phase
• FPA offers the effective measurement which acts a tool for effective communication among different stakeholders including customers about the size of the customer request, and the development progress in terms of how many function points completed etc. 
• Using FPA companies can benchmark their productivity which can then be used to convert the FP estimates into the schedule and cost budgets

Does that mean FPA is perfect and do not have any constraints or limitations. Not really. In spite of so many benefits, it can only be used to measure business application and not the scientific applications. Scientific applications deal with complex algorithms which the Function points method is not designed to handle.

So the verdict is out - if it is business application and you have to make choice out of the two (LOC and FPA) then FPA is the obvious choice.

Cementing Entry into Project Management Field - Earn Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® from PMI

PMI's Project Management Professional (PMP) certification has been one of the favorite project management certifications across globe and hence most sought after certification by the Project management professionals and also the employers employing them. Customers are also favoring projects to the companies who have PMP certified project managers.

Since PMP certification is meant for the experienced and practicing Project Management professionals, the entry level or aspiring project managers always used to look out for some or the other project management certification. Before getting PMP certification in the  year 2008, I had couple of Project Management certifications from Brainbench.com. 

Whether you are new to project management, or already serving as a subject matter expert on project teams, the CAPM can get your career on the right path or take it to the next level. Entry level as well as project managers with less than 36 months of project management experience can earn this credential.

CAPM can help professionals new to the project management profession with the right footing. It also helps experienced project management professionals to cement their positions.

Below are the CAPM Certification Requirements:

To apply for the CAPM, you need to have:

• A secondary degree (or the high school diploma or the global equivalent)

                                                                  AND

• At least 1,500 hours of project experience (more hours in case of high school diploma)

                                                                  OR

• 23 hours of project management education by the time you appear for the exam.

So friends get certified on Project Management via PMI CAPM.

Do get in touch with me in case you need any help in this regard. You may contact me on reachmsandeep@gmail.com or by posting your comments/reply for this post.

All the Best.

Heroes & Heroism - Is it really Good for Organizational Growth in Long Run?

Today lets ponder about a very important and crucial question(s): can the "Main Hoon Na" kind of parachute riding heroes be good contributors to the sustainable organizational growth and if they don't then whose fault is it?.

Many great management gurus have mentioned that its the organized and organizational efforts that help grow and sustain the organizations and not the individual efforts. As per great management guru Peter Drucker, no organization can survive if it needs genius people or supermen to manage it. Instead an effective leadership managing average human beings can do the job.

Now if what Peter Drucker stated above holds true, then the organizations cannot even think of surviving if they are too dependent on their heroes and heroism all the time, leave aside the growth. Heroes help organizations win the defeated battles. But this does not mean that organizations should always afford to keep battling and not think about anticipating the risks (challenges) well in advance and plan mitigation strategies to overcome or avert those risks. Too much dependence on last minute heroic efforts may develop into giving undue importance to the individuals who in turn ensure that such situations are recurring so as to maintain and enhance their importance. Heroes tend to keep all the credits with them and do not share success with or appreciate others for their efforts. It is also observed that these heroes keep their followers or subordinates suppressed and under fear. This continuing for too long makes heroes egoistic and tend to treat the subordinates or colleagues with disrespect. They should not try to manage and manipulate people. This spoils the team spirit in the organization. In long run this is hazardous for organization's growth prospect and sustainability. Top management is on one hand seen as mute spectator while on the other hand is supporting this menace.

The heroes need to be sober, considerate with their colleagues and subordinates and treat others respectfully. They should try to help others to develop themselves to overcome deficiencies and build necessary skills and capabilities. By doing this they can help organizations with increased skill inventory and bench strength to help them take on difficult challenges or look for bigger growth opportunities. Companies should guide heroes to try to lead and inspire people. Companies should provide necessary help and support to all its employees including heroes and provide them secured learning environment to develop team spirit. Companies should inspire heroes and help them develop leadership. Organization should provide an healthy environment where heroes develop themselves into leaders and these leaders inspire others to become heroes and tomorrow's leaders.

Disclaimer: The above views are personal and should be read in generic terms

What benefits does Project Management Career offer?

Project Managers manage projects that develop systems which in turn help organizations run their operations. Projects are generally taken up to cater to the organizations' strategic need. The need could be to solve issues in running 
operations using existing systems, meeting customer demands, withstanding or overcoming the competition, entering new markets, meeting regulatory compliance etc. So if you really see the project managers are managing and helping the organizations in implementing their important strategic decisions and initiatives. 

Project Managers have end-to-end view of the organisation (from Planning to the operations). They are accountable for the successful execution of the projects. In true-sense, Project Managers are the CEO's of the projects they undertake. Project Management profession can give you the excellent ways to develop managerial skills. Professionals gain transferable skills & techniques for "getting things done". Professionals get the opportunity to act as catalyst of change. Project Managers and their expertise are in great demand across the globe and in all industry verticals. They get to develop acumen using which they think ahead of time to develop systems which solves problems of tomorrow. It is so critical that there is huge demand for the certified project management professionals. There are quite a few project management related certifications are available. Once settled you can go for certification in Project and Program management such as Project Management Professional (PMP), Program Management Professional (PgMP), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) from Project Management Institute (PMI).