The country needs skilled project managers more than ever before! Project management In SA is arguably at a watershed moment in its evolution.
On the one hand, it is feeling the crunch of project cutbacks and delays running into billions of rand, as the global economic crisis takes it toll, though signs of an upturn are now dis-cernible in some sectors.

The flip side to this is that, despite the recession, skilled project managers are in huge demand to help drive SA's multi-billion rand infrastructural programme, leading up to 2010 and beyond. How it adapts to these twin challenges could help define project management's role, with a greater emphasis on public-private partnerships now increasingly be-ing touted as a likely option. Already, project managers enjoy an increasingly influential status as an in-tegral part of the strategic planning of corporate companies and organisations. However, cash flow - or the lack of it - and business stress are two of the main aspects that can lead to project failure.

One estimate earlier this year, cited by KPMG, was that about US$30bn in min¬ing projects alone had been cancelled or the consensus viewpoint being that man-aging large projects in both the public and private sectors remains challenging.  Says Johnny Burger, operations man-ager for leT services and solutions com-pany Xon Systems: "You can't expect a good manager to plan and execute all the details in a project from small to large. A good manager is someone who leads people well. A project manager is the person who has the responsibility for planning and executing projects."

Burger says good project management has enabled the company to make sig-nificant cost savings, one of the ad-vantages being the ability to manage stock better.
"I don't believe that a manager can ever replace a project manager. Unfortunately, project managers are costly, but they are ski1led and extremely marketable in the current market. In our company, project managers have significantly changed what we do and how we do it."

Andreas Bartsch, programme manager for business intelligence specialists the PBT Group, says that given the shortage of good project managers in SA, it be-comes even more challenging to obtain the right resources in specialised areas. "This also brings about great oppor-tunities for individuals who have the required expertise." He contends that project management needs to focus more on understanding the business objectives of projects. "It's not just a matter of upskilling. We need to give people the opportunity to grow through the ranks and gain the necessary experience within the business itself."

He says the present economic down-turn emphasises the need for proper project management, "not just from a delivery perspective". Shaw says that the shortage of skilled and experienced resources is a major contributing factor to project failure. And while the current financial crises may ease the demand for these people, the shortage - in SA and globally - remains. He makes the case for governance structures in major projects to be con-sidered carefully. "It will have to become the norm to have independent oversight on all major projects. This oversight wi1l cover technical deliverables, project man-agement and performance of the project against socioeconomic objectives. "Government departments and agen¬cies responsible for projects need to have standardised project management methodologies, policies and process in place. Without these basics, project suc-cess is unlikely," he says .