“Never start a project until you have defined what you want to do.”
Sitting at her desk in her Sterrett Place office, April Wennerberg, president of Project Masters, explained how her company works with its clients to provide tailored project and program management consulting and training services.
“Project management” can be defined as a discipline that encompasses planning, acquiring, organizing, monitoring and managing resources — physical, intellectual and human — to bring about successful completion of a given project.
“It’s not like project management is brain surgery,” Wennerberg said. “A lot of it is just common sense.”
That common sense approach has enabled Project Masters to earn a reputation for helping clients improve organizational performance through improved project and program management. The company offers expertise in research and development, federal information technology, and construction project management consulting and training.
“Project management is a way of managing scope, budget, work schedules, risks, resources, materials and people,” said Wennerberg. “We use it to keep a project on track, scope and budget. We define the start and the finish.”
Specialized Tools and People
Founded by Wennerberg in her home 15 years ago, Project Masters has the specialized tools and people to focus on the complete project management lifecycle, including staffing, training, and hardware and software selection. The company currently employs 10 full-time staff members and uses the services of five part-time consultants. All of Project Masters’ project managers have 20 to 30 years of experience, and the company can provide personnel with security clearances.
Project Masters graduated out of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program this past May. Currently, the company is registered as an 8(m) economically disadvantaged, women-owned small business (EDWOSB) and a Maryland state-certified minority business enterprise (MBE). Project Masters also uses several contract vehicles and GSA schedules.
April Wennerberg, president and founder of Project Masters, leading a training course.
Project Masters is a Project Management Institute (PMI) Registered Educational Provider (REP). PMI offers a comprehensive certification program, recognized in the industry as the global standard. As an REP, Project Masters had to meet the institute’s application criteria and go through a thorough review process, and periodically undergoes an audit. Being an REP enables Project Masters to teach project management-relevant courses and issue Professional Development Units (PDUs).
An MBA graduate from the State University of New York, Binghamton, Wennerberg also holds a PMI “project management professional” (PMP) certification that requires a four-year degree, at least three years of project management experience, 4,500 hours leading and directing projects, and 35 hours of specialized project management education. Currently, the federal government wants PMP certification on projects were more than $1 million.
Working to the Demands of Individual Projects
Project Masters uses the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) Guide and Standards as its foundation for managing projects. A comprehensive collection of guidelines, rules and characteristics for project management, PMBOK is widely accepted and often required on federally funded contracts.
“But, it’s not ‘one size fits all,’” cautioned Wennerberg. “Project Masters sets up which parts of PMBOK need to be used on a given project.”
“Earned value management” (EVM) has become another important project management method and one more tool in Project Masters’ offerings. EVM is a technique for objectively measuring project performance and progress. Using EVM, Project Masters can combine measurements of scope, schedule and cost into a single integrated system, providing accurate forecasts of project performance, success or problems. EVM also has become a requirement on many government projects; Project Masters helps companies meet those federal efficiency requirements.
Project Masters also has developed a niche “rescuing” projects that go over budget or get behind schedule. As an example, a government agency information technology center managed and operated core communications infrastructure supporting application services, information processing and management of nearly 20,000 employees throughout the U.S. A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) project, undertaken to establish an enterprise-wide operational subsystem, it floundered after two years of work. The agency’s deputy director called Project Masters to rescue the project.
Wennerberg’s team found that no plan existed for project completion; the existing consulting firm was not performing per requirements; and no project, schedule, budget or risk analysis plan was in place.
Within three weeks, Project Masters analyzed the situation and isolated the problems. The team proceeded to establish the necessary contracts, manage the build-out of a secure secret facility, manage hardware and software updates, handle the approval of public and secure documents, establish an administration team and gain the approval of the federal bridge certification authority.
An Outside Perspective
“We offer an outsider’s perspective,” explained Wennerberg. “No one on the inside gets hurt. … We try to form a partnership with our customers. … We work with them on their current processes, tailoring their systems and training.
“Project Masters can get a lot more done, quicker and more efficiently. We define the project’s scope and requirements and then test to those requirements.
“We can build change control systems, audit projects and supply independent verification and validation (IV&V),” she said. “We are not a software reseller; we give an independent opinion and ensure that the best tools are recommended.”
Though its current focus is primarily on federal programs, Project Masters also offers specialized practices for the commercial sector, including business management consulting, program and project management administration services, quality support services and customized training.
“Our work was all commercial,” said Wennerberg, “Now, it is 80% government. In a down economy, it is more government; in an up economy, it is more commercial.”
According to Karl Wennerberg, April’s husband and Project Masters’ director of business development: “We work with other vendors who have complementary functions. … We don’t tackle massive numbers on our own.
“We have a very competent staff,” he said. “We can go into a difficult situation and work it out, offering a customized solution to meet the client’s culture, keeping in line with PMI standards.
“We’ve got a lot of horsepower in a small car.”
{ 1 trackback }